Kantai Collection – Kankore – Kakuyoku no Kizuna

Chapter 5

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EpiloguePart 1

Shrouded in twilight, the Naval District Office echoed with the Admiral"s pleased tone.

"The Third Okinoshima Operation has ended with the complete destruction of the enemy main fleet and the retreat of the remaining abyssal garrisons in the surrounding area. While we took severe damage, no ships were sunk..."

The Admiral placed the report he had just read out loud onto the desk.

"An excellent battle report. Don"t you think so?"

"Indeed, it"s quite worth celebrating."

Having poured a cup of tea for the Admiral in the capacity of the acting Secretary Ship, light carrier Houshou broke into a heartfelt smile as she responded.

"Mm, with this the Anchorage in the Okinoshima Waters has now been disabled. We have secured the safety of not simply the homeland, but also of the entirety of the Nansei/Southwestern Islands. Of course, this doesn"t rule out the possibility of a new enemy offensive; even so, supply convoys and other maritime traffic will now be able to sail unimpeded everywhere from the homeland to the Nansei Island Waters, up to the Western Seas we are now preparing to a.s.sail."

"Those two children of the 5thCarDiv seem to be very hardworking."

Houshou smiled, pleased. Nowadays she rarely fought on the front lines or served as the Secretary Ship - her main role nowadays was in logistics and food services. In the past, however, she had once been in charge of the training of Shoukaku and the other main fleet carriers.

"It"d be quite wonderful if Shoukaku could come around to a new point of view from all this."

"She"ll be fine, with how her younger sister is. Both of them will be definitely be able to separate from their fates and find their own luck - and for me, that"s perfect."

"And that"s why you insist on using the Zuikaku"s power as "The Lucky Carrier"?"

"That alone is not enough to defeat the Abyssals. We do not know their source, nor do we know the circ.u.mstances or place of their birth. Even if we secure the Western Seas and enter an extended campaign, it may be that we are unable to hold out, as in the past. For that purpose, I hope to keep my trump cards in hand."

"That"s not what Zuikaku would hope for."

"That"s fine. I have no plans to fight a war in which I am dependent on that kind of ability from the get-go. Even so, we must make preparations for circ.u.mstance and happenstance."

The Admiral turned his gaze to the setting sun in the distance.

"...Not only that, our opponents are not simply the Abyssals."

Houshou nodded quietly in affirmation to what the Admiral had left unspoken.

Perhaps because the mood had darkened considerably, the Admiral spoke up again.

"Ah, I"ll make sure that she doesn"t hate me too much. After all, I do have to one day confirm with my own eyes what color her panties are. Shoukaku wears one of those sensual lace ones, so could it be that your"s are--ahhhhhowowwwow!"

The Admiral"s hands stretched towards her hakama, but Houshou swiftly grabbed his hand before he could reach.

"You"ll get punished for this kind of thing, Admiral."

"......"

"Even if you are deliberately trying to annoy them, there will be consequences for doing this kind of thing to those children. Well, although it"s not completely forbidden..."

The Admiral regarded Houshou--in spite of her slight irritation, she seemed to have figured it out. Houshou nodded gently as if in affirmation.

"The war has not ended yet. We must do what we can to silently protect them...we must win, after all, but we must also rescue the hearts of those children."

"That aside, I heard that a shipgirl wanted to talk to me face to face?"

The Admiral"s voice became serious with his inquiry. Houshou replied with a pained expression:

"I heard about this from the factory. The higher-ups have had a lot of opinions about what they want to do once she enters battle-ready status--though fortunately I"ve been able to stave them off thus far--and it"s for that reason that I want to hear what she wants. The other shipgirls are currently off to welcome Zuikaku and company, so you are the only one who has heard this.

"....Let her in. Her life is my responsibility."

"Understood."

Houshou left the office. As if to replace her, a new shipgirl entered.

She was a slender girl, with thick dark hair. Clad in a specially made red-on-white dress, her hair bound with a cherry blossom bob. On her left arm was a badge emblazoned with the Z-flag--the flag of "That War" a.s.sociated with the commitment to decisive battle. Perhaps it was because she was now in the Naval District, but she had not yet equipped the heavy outfit that had been depicted on the report.

"Welcome to the Naval District. Next up, although this is a little sudden, I"d like you to answer my question"

The Admiral greeted his guest from where he sat.

"Why have you asked to see me, before you have even been outfitted with your equipment yet? Neither the other shipgirls nor the higher-ups are aware of your existence. You can be said to be the true trump card of this Naval Dstrict--I was hoping you would be able to stay under the radar."

"Because there is something I would like to ask of the Admiral."

The ship known in "That War" as the largest, strongest, peerless Battleship in the world--the First Ship of the Yamato Cla.s.s, Yamato, gazed at the Admiral with empty eyes as she spoke.

"Please sink me."Part 2

The sea is their hunting ground. As long as there are no destroyers or light cruisers to drop depth charges, they are free to launch torpedoes as they like, hunting battleships, carriers, and other heavy warships.

"That"s what they say, but we were just at the Northern Waters and Western Waters - now they want us to scout the southern waters too? They sure love ordering people around~"

Submarine I-168[1] spoke with a weary voice.

As she had just said, she was now in the Salmon Seas, deep in the Southern Waters.

The Salmon Seas remained completely under the control of the Abyssals, and only submarine shipgirls could even come close.

The two submarines advanced through the unique cobalt-blue seas unique to the South, clad in the school uniforms specially manufactured by the Admiral.

"Since I"ve a.s.sumed duty on paper, I haven"t even been inside the naval district yet! With all these constant sorties, I haven"t even had breaks! Ahhhhh~really now, I want to do some sunbathing once in a while too!"

"There"s no point complaining about it here~"

The other submarine, shipgirl I-58[2], responded casually.

"Let"s hurry up and get this job done, alright? Then maybe the Admiral will treat Goya to the Mamiya Jelly he promised me!"

"I wish I were as easily bribed as Goya!"

"What"d you say?"

"I didn"t say anything!"

With that, the two floated onto the ocean"s surface. This operation"s goal was to probe deep into these waters.

"Well then...."

Under a cloudless sky, I-168 and I-58 showed their faces on the ocean"s surface. If there were no mistake, there would be an island in front of them.

Logically, the island would host an Anchorage in construction, and it would not be unusual to see large amounts of abyssal ships. Of course, they were ready and eager to attack said Abyssals if given the opportunity.

And yet, a moment later, both I-168 and I-58"s expressions froze.

"That"s impossible...that kind of thing shouldn"t be possible...!"

I-168 spoke as if she had found herself in a nightmare.

"That shipgirl-like thing...that Abyssal that"s come ash.o.r.e...what is that thing...?!"

"Imuya, planes in the skies!"

".....!"

Suddenly, a swarm of enemy planes began to dive as I-168 shouted:

"...! Goya, crash dive! How, how, why...?!"

Feeling a fear and confusion she had never felt before, I-168 could only flee back to friendly waters.

Translator"s Notes and ReferencesJump up↑ Her name is ImuyaJump up↑ Known as Goya

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