Foreword
This is a story I wrote a long time ago, and due to many reasons, I stopped after finishing first "volume". And now, I would like to translate my story from my own language to English. As a way to kill time.
Part 1: Initial meeting
- Commander-Lieutenant Issei Mishima, reporting for duty!
I was summoned to the Navy Headquarter in a rather hasty manner: an emergency telegraphy from HQ, told me to immediately moved to Shinkyo as soon as I was able to. And now, I was reporting to Navy Marshal Yamamoto.
- Mister Mishima, do you know why you were summoned to the HQ rather urgently like this?
My heart beat faster and faster. I did not know the true reason. It was not like I made any serious mistake -- I had just graduated from Naval Academy after several months, and joined the rank of reserved Navy officers. Still, when facing Marshal Yamamoto, the most powerful and prominent man in the Navy, nervousness was inevitable. Tried my best to gather my courage to calm my heart, I replied as bravest as I could:
- No, Marshal. I have no idea why.
The veteran Marshal gently smiled. It seemed that he had seen through my unstable mental condition.
- Relax, Mister Mishima. There is nothing urgent here, but I want to finish this as soon as possible. Sit down, and we'll talk.
According to Marshal Yamamoto, the Navy had successfully taken control of Western Theater, but at the same time, been facing a fierce assault from our enemy in the Eastern one. Our enemy was not foolish -- those guys knew exactly how to wage war against us. Since all senior officers were assigned to assist the East side, I was request to set up a base for further operations in the Western front, as I was graduated from Naval Academy with highest score, and in a sense, the "best" among newcomers. That did make sense if I was chosen to be the "vanguard" of the West theater.
By the way, our enemy was no normal naval force. Instead, what we human had been facing for decades was something terrible and utterly monstrous. We called them the Fleet of Abyss, and as their name implied, their ships were in no way "human". They were the ships with the appearance of monster, armed with naval weapons and they currently controlled the whole ocean.
Where had they come from? We could never know. But as far as I knew, they might be the "punishment" Gods had sent for our sins -- the greatest sins of all time.
World War III broke out 40 years ago. The overly abusing of nuclear weapons had led the human to the verge of extinction: nearly 80% of world surface had been drowned into the deep of the ocean due to the massive thawing of ice that led to the rising of the ocean level, and with them, the majority of human race. The few survivors foolishly continued to fight against each other for what was left, until the day the Fleet of Abyss arrived. Weakened by the meaningless battles, the enemy easily won against human naval force and set up their control over the sea. Nevertheless, thanks to their arrival, the human stopped all conflicts and agreed to take the fight to them together, albeit in their own path. And so began a war that lasted for decades for naval supremacy.
Initial, it was all not that easy to fight back against overwhelming odd. However, Marshal Yamamoto was a man of great tactical expertise, and it was not exaggerating to say that without him, we could have been wiped out from the face of Earth for good forever by now. He had led the Navy into many victories, and we gradually took back the field. Still, the war was not completely in our favor. We need every man, every ship in order to win this war, to take back the ocean and to liberate the human race.
- Marshal, why me? Surely there are more men who are much better than me. And leading a large front in the West is no easy task!
I expressed my concern about my own ability. Maybe I was the "best" among newly appointed officers, but my battle experience was non-existed.
- I know it is a hard task for you, but I believe you can do it. It is time the younger ones should take over we old men, isn't it? Besides, our Eastern front is facing enemy heavy assault, and all our senior officers were needed. Who would I put my trust into now, Mister Mishima?
Clearly Marshal Yamamoto had high hope for me. The responsibility was too much for me, but if he trusted me, there should be no reason to fail him.
- Roger! I will not fail you!
- Good! That's the answer I would like to hear the most. If you want to be successful, you must first trust in yourself. Now, I assume you must be tired traveling to the HQ. Why don't you go back to the military dorm and have a good rest? Tomorrow will be very busy.
- Understood, Marshal!
What had happen the day after was beyond my imagination.
- Mister Mishima, I would like you to... meet someone, here.
That "one" who stood in front of me was a... young girl with dark hair, wearing a while serakufu with dark blue accent. In general, aside from the fact that she was in the naval HQ, everything about her appearance seemed normal. What was happening here? Was she Marshal Yamamoto's relative? I began to feel a bit confused.
- Marshal, who is--
- I knew your confusion. In fact, the whole thing is rather hard to believe in the beginning. And I won't bother explain everything from the scratch -- I am old already. I will let her tell you everything. Fubuki, I expect that you will help your commander with all your ability, will you not?
Fubuki? Did he just mean "Fubuki" as in destroyer Fubuki? Or Fubuki as a surname? It had become rather weird.
- Yes, Marshal! I will do my best!
She saluted with a rather childish but elegant and polite posture. Then she looked at me. I, in turn, also looked at her eyes. We both stay silent for a time, until Marshal Yamamoto spoke out:
- Now now, if you two want to start a date, better find somewhere else more suitable, will you?
Clearly the respected Marshal was teasing us. Both of us got flustered a bit, and simultaneously bowed our heads: "Please excuse us, Marshal!". Again, we looked at each other.
- You... you must be Mishima Issei, aren't you? I am Fubuki, it's nice to meet you.
- Likewise, Fubu...ki. Nice to meet you too. And now, would you mind explain everything to me? I got curious already.
- As you wish, commander. Now, please follow me.
I got ackward when speaking her name. And got even more confused when she called me "commander". Would I be her superior officer? And how would she fight, given her small and seemingly fragile stature? There had to be something interesting here.
I walked to the naval port... on foot. Fubuki had taken me to the strangest place I could imagine? Why naval port, and not somewhere else like coffee shop or something like that? I thought she would explain everything to me through a long and boring lecture.
- Er, Fubuki?
- I think it would be best if you can witness everything by your own eyes. Commander, please look at me!
As soon as she finished her sentence, she... jumped into the water.
- Fubuki, what are you--
And then, a bizzare thing happened. Her whole body was engulfed in a light-blue aura that lit up the whole port. The stronger the light emitted, the dimmer her body became. Was she transforming? I thought it only existed on television.
When the light stopped emitting, Fubuki was nowhere to be found. Instead, a very familiar warship appeared right in front of my eyes. Just what was happening here? I could only stare at the newly emerged warship in awe.
While I was still shocking to witness everything, a bow turret turned towards my place. Hey hey, did you not plan to blow me up, did you Fubuki?
And there! Fubuki was... floating above the first turret, waving her hand. She looked faded, as if she was a holographic projectile.
- Commander, did you see that? Did you see that?
Yes, Fubuki, I saw everything. And frankly speaking, I could not even understand a thing. Moving towards "her" instinctively, I asked her, still confused and dazed:
- Fubuki? Are you... are you really a warship? I mean, in this case, are you the real Fubuki destroyer?
- I would like to think so, commander. I am not the real historical destroyer Fubuki. I only take the shape after it. You may say I am the "spiritual representative" of this ship.
Then began another long and strange story about ships and... girls. To put thing simply, the Navy somehow managed to extract the "essences" of sunken warships from the deep of the ocean. By using some confidential methods, they successfully "restored" those "essences", turned them into what Fubuki was now: warships with human young girl as their "core". There were a lot more of those essences waiting to be processed, and Fubuki was one of the first to enter Navy service, and I was the first to be chosen to lead the experimental fleet. Everything was about to start like a big conspiracy theory.
- Commander, - said Fubuki - did you catch up with everything by now?
- Not quite - I scratched my head in embarrassment - but basically, you girls are the "core" of those warships, are you not?
- Yeah, that might be so.
- And where are we going now?
As I spoke, I was already "aboard" Fubuki, and was sitting near her first bow turret, with Fubuki seemingly "sitting" besides me. Were all those things look strange? A moment ago, she was still a little cute girl, but now, she has turned into a warships, several times bigger than my body!
- We now will be heading to the Western Theater central naval port. I was sent to escort you. Some of us should have stationed there already. You will meet them after we arrived.
Now now, did you just say there are some more girls like you Fubuki? Well, if all things with Fubuki did really happen, then I would not need to feel surprised anymore. By the way, it had been a long time since the last time I had visited the sea on a surface ship.
- ENEMY SPOTTED ON THE HORIZON!
Fubuki screamed. Curses! The enemy appeared? I thought we had cleared the Western side for good. I looked at the direction Fubuki pointed in terror.
Three of them! Two destroyers and one light cruiser. Their force was not that great, but the problem was we only had one destroyer to fight against three enemy warships!
- Commander, what should we do? It is the first time I've encountered the enemy in real battle.
Fubuki said, her voice trembled. It was true that we were outnumbered and outgunned badly. Was there anyway to escape this predicament? Would I meet my unfortunate ending here and now?
- Fubuki, how far it is from here to the naval port?
- About 5 nautical miles remaining, Commander.
- We cannot outgun them, but I think we could outrun them, can you do it Fubuki?
- Well, I... I will try, but I don't know if I could get away. I was not designed with strong engine; therefore my speed is not that great for a destroyer. But don't worry Commander. I will try my best to get you out of here!
As soon as she had done her speech, we both saw the flare with smoke from afar. Enemy had fired their main guns!