Our Bonds

A loud noise woke me up in the middle of the night. It sounded like an explosion. I glanced out of the window, only to see something glowing in the horizon. What is that? Is it going to be a repeat of last year's incident? The one where the sky was lit up by something? Speaking of that, HQ hasn't told us anything about that incident. They said they would investigate but nothing was ever officially announced. It was around the time when we discovered the appearance of Azur Lane too. Looks like they shelved that incident entirely. Anyway, what is that? It's definitely some kind of light source, that's for sure. It's definitely not a searchlight from a boat. The light is... dancing...? It looks like a fire. Something is burning nearby. Is that in our premise?

Suddenly, something flew up into the the sky, around the area where the lights are dancing. It was like a flare. It blew up and became an glowing fireball. A firework, huh. Who is launching fireworks in the middle of the ocean? And what kind of firework slowly floats down? What a crappy excuse of a fi-

Wait! That's a star shell! That area is in our waters! Yahagi's patrol fleet is engaged with something! Normally, I would trust them to handle it with ease, but my gut is still telling me something bad is about to happen.

"Mnh... Admiral? What's wrong?" (Zuihou)

An almost n.a.k.e.d Zuihou sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her night Yukata had came undone again.

"Zuihou, get your SCAMP and some night bombers. I'll go wake up the others from fleet 1. I want you to scout ahead first, report the situation and I will send the others if needed."

"Eh? What's going on? Is that..." (Zuihou)

Zuihou got up and changed into her usual miko uniform. I rushed to the command center and turned on the PA system.

"Fleet 1 members, Yuudachi, Agano, Suzuya and Yamashiro, you are to be on standby immediately. Head to the port and await further orders. Equip yourselves with night battle equipment. I repeat..."

I hope I'm wrong about this. If I'm wrong, the others will be pissed about waking up in the dead of the night, but it's better than taking a risk with lives. I looked up at the monitor displaying the condition of the patrol fleet...

What the heck?! Murasame vitals suddenly fell to the red! She has been heavily damaged! This is already a bad sign. If only I can see what's going out there. That's the thing about patrol fleets. You can see their condition but not the actual scene. The weird cameraman doesn't follow them.

"Admiral, I'm ready." (Zuihou)

Zuihou spoke to me through the comms.

"Alright. Weigh anchor!"

"Zuihou, moving out!" (Zuihou)

Zuihou made a beeline towards the location where the star shell was launched. As soon as she is in range, she activated her SCAMP and launched a wave of night bombers.

Shigure's vitals fell to red! They are not up against Abyssal light cruisers and destroyers. They engaging with either a battleship or an aircraft carrier. How else would two of my stronger destroyers instantly received heavy damage? I looked at the monitor showing Zuihou's night bomber and my fears were confirmed.

A Battleship Re-class. Murasame and Shigure are down. The others are barely holding their ground against the battleship.

The rest of fleet 1 is already on standby. There condition and status are being shown on the port monitor.

"Admiral!" (Zuihou)

"Yeah. I see it. Engage the Re-class from afar. Try to sink it. If not chase it away. I'm sending the others to you."

"Roger!" (Zuihou)

"Fleet 1, weigh anchor! Rendezvous at Yahagi's current location and provide assistance. We have a Battleship Re-class to take down."

"A Re-class? What is one doing so close to shore?" (Yamashiro)

"I don't know, but it's getting dangerous there. Murasame and Shigure have been taken down. The rest are barely holding on. Zuihou is providing air support at the moment."

Yahagi just got damaged moderately. Shimakaze is trying to flank... That thing is as fast as Shimakaze?! It's kick sent the fastest destroyer flying back.

There is something weird about the Re-class. It's movements are erratic, it seems to prefer to be on all fours rather than be bipedal. It's tail, which is also a main gun, is just swinging wildly. It's not attacking Zuihou's plane, just dodging the bombs while attacking the others at the same time. It's almost like a wild animal. There is a red glow around it, so I can confirm it's an elite. Unless...

Gahh. Now it's not the time to think about all this. I need to contact Yahagi.

"Yahagi, can you hear me?"

"Admiral? I rea- Guh!" (Yahagi)

I can see the Re-class jumped on Yahagi's gun turret, before kicking her back. Yahagi is tougher than the destroyers, but I don't think she can hold her ground any longer.

"Keep fighting. I need a sit-rep."

"Amatsukaze-san and Shimakaze-san are helping me take the Re-class down. Things are not too good. Murasame and Shigure are in critical condition. Satsuki is defending them. Those planes belong to Zuihou-san, right?" (Yahagi)

"Yeah. I'm sending the rest of the fleet to your location. Retreat... is a bit impossible at the moment. That thing will definitely give chase. Hold out until the others arrive. We are chasing that monster away."

"I apologize-" (Yahagi)

"Save it for later. Once everyone comes home."

"Roger." (Yahagi)

I switched the channel to Yamashiro's comms,

"Yamashiro, how long-"

"ETA five minutes. Just a little longer. We can almost see them." (Yamashiro)

"Alright. Yuudachi and Agano, secure the injured and provide shelling support. Yamashiro, I need you got in close and personal with the Re-class. That thing is abnormal so it's extremely fast. A point-blank blast should be able take it down."

"Leave it to me." (Agano)

"Understood poi!" (Yuudachi)

"You want me grab that thing?" (Yamashiro)

"If possible. Don't just grab it. Strangle it. Break it's neck if you have to. Beat the living lights out of it. Make it regret coming into our waters and messing with us."

"Violent, but I like it. It will pay for hurting my precious friends." (Yamashiro)

"Suzuya, assist Yamashiro and stop it from attacking Yahagi any further."

"Got it. I brought my own guns. That thing will pay for ruining my beauty sleep." (Suzuya)

"We see it now. Engaging the target!" (Yamashiro)

Agano and Yuudachi sped past Zuihou, and straight to the Satsuki's position. Yamashiro and Suzuya made a beeline to the abnormal Re-class.

"GRREEEE!!!" (Re-class?)

That's not the usual noise a Re-class makes. This one really is an anomaly.

"Damn, you are a noisy one!" (Suzuya)

"Careful. That thing can instantly penetrate our armor with its bare hands. Don't stop firing!" (Yahagi)

That's a real problem. I'm assuming that's how it managed to take down both of the Shiratsuyu sisters. It's speed and erratic movement is making it hard for the girls to get a clear shot at it. It can dodge a shell with relative ease and get close to someone before they can fire. In fact, they taking more damage from friendly fire rather than from the Re-class itself. It's smart enough to make use of the confusion to deal damage just by running about. However, that Re-class is targeting everyone except for Satsuki. Why? Does it have a thing for short girls? Yeah right. As if they have that kind of bias. Or maybe it has. If that's the case,

"Satsuki, leave Murasame and Shigure to Agano and Yuudachi. Go help the rest."

"Understood. I will leave them to you. Murasame is hurt really bad but Shigure is in worse shape." (Satsuki)

"What do you mean-" (Yuudachi)

Yuudachi gasped in shock. She quickly went down her her knees to check on her sister, her hands covering her mouth,

"No way. How did this..." (Yuudachi)

"What? What is it?"

I can't see from here. What is Shigure's condition?

"There is so much blood..." (Agano)

Blood? What kind of mortal wound did it inflict on Shigure?

"This is bad. Should I wake Akashi up too?" (Rei)

"Commander Rei?! When did you come in?!"

Rei was standing next to me. That gave me a fright.

"I have been here for a while. Anyway, like you said, that Re-class is abnormal." (Rei)

"We can discuss about that later. The main priority is getting rid of that Re-class and getting everyone back to base."

I watched as Satsuki fired at the Re-class. Just as predicted, it dodged her shells with relative ease. I originally thought Satsuki would be able to catch it by surprise, but the Re-class is aware of her presence. I thought it didn't notice Satsuki. But one thing is for sure, it is focusing all its attacks of everyone except for Satsuki. It's not even paying attention to Zuihou's planes. Usually they would attempt to shoot the planes down first. Not to mention, Re-classes have aircraft capacity. It's not using it's planes or it's main guns. It's just engaging in close-combat. If that's the case,

"Yamashiro, stay where you are. Satsuki, keep shooting at it. Don't bother trying to hit it, just drive it away from the rest and lead it to Yamashiro."

"What are you trying to do?" (Satsuki)

"Good plan. Satsuki-chan, just do it." (Yamashiro)

"I don't know what you two are planning, but it's better than nothing." (Satsuki)

"The rest of you, try to stay clear of Satsuki's line of fire. If not, brace yourselves. Stay on the defensive." (Rei)

"Roger." (All)

Satsuki raised her left arm, allowing her triple Autocannons to aim straight right at the Re-class. Satsuki's equipment is different from the other destroyers. While the other destroyers have main guns with high firepower and strong torpedo launchers, Satsuki's strength lies in her AA autocannons.

"Finally, it's my turn!" (Satsuki)

Satsuki's autocannon started spraying at the Re-class. It's working. The Re-class is dodging with sidesteps, rolls and jumps. It has stopped attacking the others, focusing all its attention on dodging Satsuki's bullets. It's head is turned towards Satsuki's Autocannons. That will be it's downfall. The Re-class jumped upwards in its attempt to dodge. And then, as it lands,

"Got'cha!" (Yamashiro)

"Yes!" (Rei)

It landed straight into Yamashiro's hand. Yamashiro caught the Re-class by the neck. True to its animalistic behavior, the Re-class started screeching at its captor, clawing at Yamashiro's hands and trying to sink it's teeth into her skin.

"That hurts!" (Yamashiro)

Yamashiro slammed the Re-class into the water, holding in under the surface for a few seconds before pulling it out. She positioned the Re-class in front of her right gun turrets.

"This is for waking us up." (Yamashiro)

A point blank blast from Yamashiro's 41cm triple gun battery caused the Re-class to let out a ear-piercing scream. Yamashiro punched it's face it to shut it up for a second,

"Shut it! I'm not done. This is for coming into our waters!" (Yamashiro)

Another blast and another scream echoed through the comms.

"And this, is for hurting my friends!" (Yamashiro)

Yamashiro fired an AP shell, piercing through the Re-class's body and leaving a big hole in the middle. She dropped the now lifeless body of the Abyssal battleship into the water, watching it sink and slowly dissipate into dust. Everyone, including me, was astonished by what just happened. Never have I seen Yamashiro that violent and angry before. I know I gave her that idea, but still... Remind me to never piss her off.

"Shigure!" (Yamashiro)

Yamashiro hurried to Shigure's side. She too gasped by the destroyer's condition, something I can't see from the monitor alone.

"I should have blast at it a few more times. This is horrible." (Yamashiro)

"Hurry up and bring them back. We can treat them from here."

"I don't think this will be easy to treat." (Agano)

"What is it? What did the Re-class do to them?"

"The Re-class knocked Murasame out in a single punch but I think her bones are broken. Shigure's eye... got stabbed by its claws." (Yahagi)

That's worse than I thought. Yamashiro should have blast a few more holes into that Abyssal...