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Chapter Text

??? ??, 2027, ??? ??, ???, ???

*Beep*

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*Sobbing*

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*Beep*

*Beep*

Chapter Text

???, ??, ????, 7:32 PM, ???, Texas

“What do you mean you don’t want to go to school today?”

“I… I just don’t wanna…”

“John! You are going to get out of that bed, get yourself cleaned, eat breakfast, and go to school!!”

“But I don’t want to!”

“Are you disobeying your own mother! Young Man, you will not talk back to me like that! You WILL listen to what I say, period!”

Chapter Text

July 17th, 2027, 12:42 PM, 250 Nautical Miles Away from Base, South-Southwest

Out in the vast blue emptiness of the sea, numerous search parties were out on the hunt for Glitch. It has been awhile since anyone has spotted them, the theory being they’re recovering from their last fight. The Commander has given them orders to capture if possible, use of force authorized as a last resort or if met with resistance. Each party is only tasked with being out at sea for at most six hours before they’re to be switched by another party.

In this part, Akagi leads a group consisting of herself, Kaga, Kongou, Suzuya, Sendai, and Shimakaze. Each girl are a few clicks out from each other to increase their coverage of their patrol route.

“HQ, this is Patrol Group 2. Over,” Akagi called the base.

“This is HQ,” Odin called over the comms. “Go ahead. Over.”

“We’re approaching our deadline time, so prepare another party when we call. We’re going to continue the search for another fifteen minutes. Over.”

“Copy. Be back before two so the Kommandant can hear your debriefing, acknowledge?”

“Copy. Out.”

“Kaeru no ga tanoshimida ne, Akagi-san (You’re excited to return home, Akagi-san),” Kaga said, rolling up next to her. She was doing her own look around six clicks north east of where Akagi is.

“Shikikan-sama no sutekina o kao ga mi rareru hi ga konai wake ga arimasen (How can I not be when I will get to see the handsome face of my Shikikan-sama)~?” Akagi giggled. “Demo, kono gaichū o hokaku dekitara īnoni, watashi no doryoku no okage de shiki-kan ga watashi ni koi o suru… kare wa watashi o shokuji ni sasotte kureru… watashi ni amaete… soshite kekkon suru… (But it would be nice to capture this pest, and Shikikan fall for me thanks to my efforts… He’ll invite me for dinner… Fawn over me… Then we’ll get married…)”

How am I going to tell her… Kaga thought to herself.

“Akagi-san. Kaga-san. Haitte kimasu ka? Ijō (Akagi-san. Kaga-san. Do you come in? Over)?” the voice of Sendai called to them.

While Akagi was having delirious thoughts about her and the Commander going on their honeymoon, Kaga decided to pick up the call, “Kagadesu. Dōzo (This is Kaga. Go ahead).”

“Watashi no ichi kara yaku 20 kurikku nishi no rēdā de, kasuka ni hansha shingō o jushin shite imasu. 10-Notto kurai de ugoite iru yōdesu. Shimakaze-san to watashi wa, sono yōsu o mi ni iku tsumoridesu. Kongō-san to Suzuya-san ni wa tsutaete aru nodesuga, saisekiba ka dō ka kakunin suru tame ni hikōki o tobashite moraenaideshou ka. Ijō (I’m receiving some faint return signatures on my radar about 20 clicks west of my position. Seems to be moving at about 10 knots. Shimakaze-san and I are going to head that way to see what it is. I’ve already informed Kongou-san and Suzuya-san about it, but I was wondering if you can send up a flight to see if it’s a quarry. Over).”

“Kopī. Mite itadakeru mono o ookuri shimasu. Fuguai no baai wa sugu ni hōkoku shite kudasai. Soto (Copy. We’ll send something to have a look. Report immediately if it’s Glitch. Out),” the white kitsune informed her before turning to her sister. “Akagi.”

“Huh?!” she jolted out of dream.

“Sendai-san wa kanojo no nishi yaku 20 kurikku de nanika o kenshutsu shimashita. Hikōki o sotchi ni tobasubekida (Sendai-san detected something about 20 clicks west of her. We should send up some aircraft that way).”

“Hai,” she nodded, both the carriers sending up two Mitsubishi A6M Zero each, and flew that way.

While over there, the Sendai and Shimakaze were cruising towards the radar signature, staying cautious in case there was danger. The destroyer led the charge with her higher speed, but not too far ahead of the light cruiser. As they started to close in on the signature, they could see up above the Zeroes their carriers matching their speed — giving them air cover.

Finally, within one click of the signature, they could see the faint outline of a figure, skating along the surface of the water like them. Slowing down, the two of them crept closer, to the figure — the Zeroes circling the figure like vultures. They could see it: the dark cloak covering most of the body, the metal plating encapsulating the figure inside, and numerous lights dotting the face. It was them. Glitch.

“Ak—! —aga! We — them! — Glitch!—” Sendai shouted over the radio, her voice being interfered with by something.

But that last word was all that they needed to hear. Immediately, Akagi contacted HQ, saying, “HQ, this is Patrol 2! We’ve come into contact with Glitch! Over!”

“Acknowledge,” Odin responded. “Switching view to you. Remember the goal. Over.”

“Copy. Out,” she said before switching to the Patrol 2 comms. “Kongō-san. Suzuya-san. Haitte kimasu ka? Ijō (Kongou-san. Suzuya-san. Do you come in? Over)?”

“Kopī shite, Akagi-san. Nani ga okotte iru no ka kiite imasu. Watashitachi wa ima, karera no gen e mukatte imasu. Soto (Copy, Akagi-san. We’ve heard what’s happening. We’re heading to them now. Out ),” Kongou said, before turning to Suzuya. “Ikimashou, Suzuya-san (Let’s move, Suzuya-san).”

“Hai!” Suzuya agreed. “Karera dake ga kono mondai ni taisho dekiru yō ni shite wa narimasen (We mustn’t let them be the only ones to deal with this)!”

“Karera ni motto okuru (Sending up more to them),” Kaga told her sister, dispatching three more Zeroes along with five Aichi D3As. The flagship followed suit, launching another four Zeroes and four D3As.

Over by the two with Glitch, they’ve closed the gap between them and watch carefully as their opponent has now stood still. Their guns aimed squarely at them, poised to fire if it does anything hostile.

“Dō shimashou, Sendai-san (What should we do, Sendai-san)?” Shimakaze asked.

“Karera ga shitagau ka dō ka mite mimashou (Let’s see if they will comply)…” she replied, before turning back to Glitch. “Under orders of the Commander of Azur Lane, you are to come with us peacefully. We want to ask some questions, and we aren’t afraid to use force if required!”

No response.

“I won’t repeat myself! Raise your arms up in the air and come with us, or come back with less mass than you currently have!”

This time, there was a response. A low clicking sound came from them, followed by the leakage of white smoke from their sleeves. Backing off, the two watched as the smoke consumed Glitch, making them and the aircraft up above unable to see what they were doing.

Several seconds later, a single, deafening roar was emitted; followed by the sky being lit up with smoke and fire — managing to knock out two Zeroes. Sendai was so distracted by the commotion in the air that she barely had time to react to a fist about to meet her abdomen. Narrowly dodging the attack, Shimakaze jumped in with her blade and attempted to slash at them — Glitch pulling back their arm, and leaping back into the smoke.

“Shimakaze! Kemuri ga nigenai yō ni mukō-gawa ni idō shite kudasai (Shimakaze! Move to the other side of the smoke so it won’t get away)!”

“Wakatta (Got it)— Woah!!” she said before doing another punch by their opponent, this time aimed for her. Again, after the failed surprise attack, Glitch leapt back into the smoke. “You can’t stay in there forever!”

Back at base, the Commander was informed of the situation — dropping his work and heading to the war room. Following behind him was Howe, Jintsuu, and Amagi, the Sakura ladies heading over here as they were in the Commander’s office when he was told. As they entered, they could see Odin watching the two on the holo-map table with the rest of the patrol closing in. Other patrols are currently not close to assist, but are being told by others in the room to still be on alert in case there are more.

“Howe-san,” Amagi called to her. “Isn’t this a similar tactic to what you faced?”

“It is,” she nodded. “That smoke seems to be the crutch of their strategy… They emit it from somewhere within their sleeves.”

“How’s the armor?” Jintsuu continued the questioning.

“Quite durable. My sword and Helena’s 6-inch guns only did superficial damage. My Armor Piercing shells did leave some gashes, while Hornet’s 1000 lbs bombs did significant damage.”

“So their guns won’t be effective until Suzuya-san and Kongou-san get there…” Amagi concluded. “Perhaps my sisters’ 250 kg bombs will deal something to it. Can you relay this to Shimakaze-san and Sendai-san about this?”

“Leider nicht (Unfortunately not),” Odin clarified. “Communication between them is being interrupted — most likely due to something Glitch is doing. We are already having some difficulty talking to Suzuya and Kongou, and they’re only a few clicks away from them.”

“It seems like they’ve upgraded that jamming range. Then it’s up to them now. ” the Commander wrote.

“Shikikan-sama, perhaps you should return to your office and complete that work,” the blue-furred woman told him.

“What? Why? ”

“There’s nothing we can do if we’re not able to communicate with them, and you might get a backlog of work to do by standing here. We wouldn’t want you to stress you out.”

He was about to protest further, but she and Amagi essentially pushed him out of the room — Howe following them out.

“We’ll keep you informed about what’s happening, you can trust us. You’ll get their AAR after they return,” the brunette said, before shooing them away.

“I guess we’ll go back to work,” Howe said with a shrug.

Returning to the table, the two started to ponder what Patrol 2 should do right now.

“Perhaps torpedoes would be some amount of hindrance…” Jintsuu suggested, raising her fan over her mouth.

Stroking her chin, Amagi said, “True *cough*, but the question is will they be able to hit them? I see that the most important thing to deal with are those arms.”

“Ja, that seems to be what they should focus on,” Odin said. “Akagi. Kaga. Can you hear me? Over?”

“Hai, we can,” Akagi said. “We’ve lost contact with the others though. Over.”

“Can you focus your bombs on their arms? That should disable their main offensive and defensive capabilities. Over.”

“Copy. We’ll see what we can do. Over.”

“I doubt they would allow such a thing to happen to them again. Over,” Kaga countered.

“It’s the only thing we got. Out.”

Turning to her sister, Kaga asked, “Sentō-go no hikōki no chōshi wa dōdesu ka? Uchi no futari tomo ochikon deru (How’s your aircraft over the battle? Both of mine are down).”

“1-Tsu wa daun, mō 1-tsu wa ōkina damēji o ukete imasu. Demo tsugi no furaito wa chikaidesu (One down, one heavily damaged. But our next flight is close).”

“Shinjitsu. Watashi no hikōki wa hidariude ni shōten o awasemasu (True. My aircraft will focus on their left arm).”

“Tsugini migigawa ni shōten o atemasu. Kono gaichū ni dai 一空母師団 No jitsuryoku o misete yarou (Then I’ll focus on the right. Let’s show this pest what the First Carrier Division is capable of)!”

With a new focus, the two carrier’s aircraft were now approaching the combat zone — the two frontliners carefully circling a large patch of smoke. With no clear sight of their target, the planes made a pass over it to see if they could wait out the smoke to clear. However, the two down there are having a different reaction.

“Will this smoke just dissipate already (Will this smoke just dissipate already)?!” Sendai shouted.

“Sendai, keikaku ga aru yo (Sendai, I have a plan)!” Shimakaze informed her. “Senkai shinagara kakusan gyorai o hassha suru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Sō sureba, kore ga kabā kara oshidasa reru hazudesu (We should send out a torpedo spread while circling. That should force this thing out of its cover)!”

“Sō naru yō ni negaimashou (Let’s hope it will)…” she said, before launching her torpedo into the smoke; the destroyer doing the same thing, too.

The two of them carefully released their armament of torpedoes into the smoke, coordinating with each other so a blue-on-blue wouldn’t happen. After both made a full circuit, they watched the torpedoes dipped into the foggy cover — both waited patiently for something to happen. At the same time, the aircraft up above were now on their third pass, about to turn to the fight down below. A moment later, a figure jumped out of the smoke and to where Shimakaze was — their torpedoes sailing out of the smoke in all directions.

Quickly, she got herself between Glitch and their smoke, and dashed straight at them with her blade — opening fire with her 127 mm guns. Hearing the fire, Sendai carefully maneuvered around their spread and towards the action, readying her 140 mm guns. In the air, the aircraft were perfectly lined up with an attack run, bombs and guns ready to pounce. Right behind the yellow-furred light cruiser, Suzuya and Kongou arrived in time for the action to start — both not needing to hear what’s happening.

Dodging Shimakaze’s gunfire, Glitch sidestepped to their left as she swung her sword down. Using their right leg, they tried to sweep her legs out from under her, but the bunny was quick to evade back. Hearing the whirring of aircraft engines, they shifted their focus onto the attack from above, bringing out their anti-air guns on their left to deal with them. Unlike last time, their fire was more focused, easily knocking out three Zeroes and five D3As. With their air support crippled for the moment, they turned back to the fight down below — evading fire from the other girls behind the destroyer.

Suzuya skated past Sendai, her blade ready to match Shimakaze’s own as they pincered Glitch from each flank. Being the quicker one, the little bunny dove at them, trying to slash them from right to left. Though they may have dodged that, the heavy cruiser had her blade aimed directly at their torso — her blade making contact with the armor. But like Howe’s blade, it simply deflected off of it and into the water; catching her in a bad position. She would have been struck too, were it not for Sendai, Kongou, and the remaining aircraft attacking at that moment — giving the Mogami-class a chance to regroup with the others.

As they did, they all could hear a low beeping noise, indicative of a familiar communication method.

.-. . - .-. . .- - .. -. --.

“Kikoemasu ka (You hear that)?” Suzuya muttered to the others.

“Sō, mōrusu shingōdesu… demo, hasshin shite iru wakede wanaidesu yo ne (Yeah, it’s Morse code… But we’re not sending out, are we)?” Kongou asked.

“Īe,” Sendai said. “Sore wa machigainai (So it must be)…”

“Karera! `Tettai' tte kaite atta (Them! It said ‘Retreating’)!” Shimakaze shouted, hearing the last word transmitted.

“Iya, chigau yo (Oh no, you’re not)!” the battlecruiser said, aiming her guns and firing with a full salvo.

Not wanting to let their target get away, the others rushed forwards in a desperate attempt to stop them. Seeing the charge down below, the carriers directed their aircraft into a charge ahead of them, letting loose their payload to hit Glitch. They had also sent another flight towards them beforehand, a complement of twenty aircraft rushing to end this.

Only another five minutes until they could join the frey.

Undeterred, Glitch dodged the shells and bombs headed their way, only the shrapnel scratching their metal armor. However, a single 250 kg bomb managed to land itself on their left wrist, knocking out a majority of their anti-air defense. Still, they continued to dodge and weave between the fire and blades, waiting until the perfect moment for an escape.

Four minutes.

Just in time, their smoke charges were ready once more, but they needed to create some distance with the close-range fighters to make this work. Seeing no other options, with aircraft constantly hounding them, and their main way of dealing with them disabled — the only thing left was what got them out last time.

Three minutes.

As Suzuya and Shimakaze were preparing another rush towards them, when the aircraft made one last — a bright white and blue light shone on their right arm. It blinded the attackers, when a thunderous roar was fired, and when they regained their sight, all of the aircraft were down. The form of a massive cannon to that of a battleship’s was now mounted on top of their right arm, aimed directly at Kongou.

A round from their gun sailed through the air, past the others and towards the battlecruiser. She didn’t have time to dodge the attack, her reflexes causing her to raise her rigging to defend herself. A mighty explosion consumed her, a subtle grunt emitted out of her mouth — reassuring her comrades that she was not in mortal danger. She rested on one knee to regain herself, the impact was almost a foreign feeling to her since the end of war.

Two minutes.

When Suzuya turned back to their opponent, she was now face-to-face with them — a fist ready to meet her abdomen. Preparing herself, she felt the weight of steel hit her, knocking the breath out of her, and she could no longer feel the water under her feet. The heavy cruiser was launched a few feet into the air, and to where Sendai was — a couple meters away. She managed to land relatively nicely, but needed to gasp for some air; coughing up spit to clear her airways.

Shimakaze leapt into the air, firing her guns first and then readying her blade to strike them down. As her blade was a few inches away, it was grabbed by their metallic hands, and brought her crashing down to the water — rattling her head a bit. Not done, they then proceeded to pick her up, and kick her towards the light cruiser. This time, Sendai was forced to let up the assault to catch the destroyer, or else she would land head first onto and down into the water. By catching her, she was knocked to the ground.

“Daijōbudesuka (You alright)?” Sendai asked Shimakaze.

“Subete ga mawatte iru (Everything’s spinning)…” Shimakaze deliriously said.

One minute.

With everyone in the immediate vicinity dealt with and seeing the threatening flight approaching them, the smoke flowed uncontested from their arms, enveloping them once again. Kongou rose from her feet and fired a desperate last salvo into the cloud; one last chance to stop them. Sendai did the same, still slinging one of Shimakaze’s arms over her shoulders as she fired her guns. Silence befell the battlegrounds, until the roar of aircraft dotting the skies and circling the smoke took hold.

As everyone waited for the smoke to disappear, they helped each other rise — making sure no one took any serious damage. The only thing that would need a repair is Kongou’s rigging, a large dent now implanted itself on one of her turrets.

But when the smoke cleared, no one was there to greet them.

“To iu koto wa suichū ni mo ikeru to iu kotodesu ka (Does that mean they can go underwater)?” Suzuya theorized, being helped up by Sendai.

“Minakami rēdā ni wa nani mo utsuranainode, sore ga yuiitsu no setsumeidesu (I don’t see anything on my surface radar, so it’s the only explanation),” the light cruiser corroborated her.

“Akagi-san. Kaga-san. Kikoemasu ka? Ijō (Akagi-san. Kaga-san. Can you hear me? Over)?” the Royal-born battlecruiser called to them.

“Hai, kopī shimasu (Yes, we copy ),” Akagi confirmed. “Sugata ga mienai… min'na genki ni shitemasu ka? Ijō (We don’t see them… Is everyone doing fine? Over)?”

“Watashitachi wa umaku iku hazudesu. Watashitachi wa nani o subeki ka? Ijō (We should be good. What should we do? Over)?”

“Honbu ni renraku sa sete kudasai (Let me contact HQ)… HQ, this is Patrol 2, do you copy? Over?”

“Patrol 2, this is HQ, we copy. No sign of the target on our side. Over,” Odin said.

“Do you want us to pursue it? Over?”

A prolonged period of silence then took place as Odin, Amagi, Jintsuu, and a talk on the phone with the Commander and Howe discussed. After a minute, the German battlecruiser called back, saying, “Negative. Kommandant wants you to RTB to get everyone patched up and get your report. We’ll have Patrol 9 substitute watch your area as you make your way back. Over.”

“Copy. Regrouping and returning. Out,” the flagship confirmed before switching channels to her group. “Min'na wa ugokerudeshou ka? Ijō (Is everyone able to move? Over)?”

“Yokattadesu (We’re good),” Kongou confirmed. “Shimakaze ga sukoshi memai o kanjite iru dakedesuga, daijōbudesu. Ijō (Just Shimakaze feeling slightly dizzy, but we’ll be fine. Over).”

“Yoshi, RTB suru yo. Watashitachi to gōryū shite, shuppatsu shimashou. Ijō (Good, we’re RTB-ing. Meet up with us, and we’ll head out. Over).”

“Kopī. Soto (Copy. Out).”

Chapter Text

July 17th, 2027, 7:09 PM, Base, Commander’s House

“Can you hand me that sugar once you’re done with it, John?” Howe asked.

The two of them are currently making something for Patrol 2, who have all been patched up and are resting with friends and family in their living quarters. It was something Howe suggested after they finished debriefing them. John was making a bowl of chocolate dough while she made vanilla dough — the two plan to make some checkered butter cookies.

Nodding, John handed her the bag as he continued to fold in the mixture of butter, sugar, and salt together before adding egg yolks and cocoa powder. Once Howe started her dough, the two were basically in sync with each other.

“Who knew that they had another trick up their sleeves…?” Howe pondered.

“I guess that answers how they dealt with the planes once their left arm was damaged. ” John wrote out as he finished his dough. “ It must mean that they have some kind of Beehive rounds like the Yamato’s. ”

“But then that raises another question. We know that their anti-air armament comes out of their left wrist, but a cannon of that size can’t fit in their right arm. So where did it come from?”

“They can also both skate on the surface of the water, and apparently dive beneath it. ”

“It’s like a robot KAN-SEN… That’s a troublesome thought…” Howe said, the two of them rolled out their doughs onto sheets of parchment and placed them into the fridge. “Now we wait an hour.”

“Hope these make the girls happy. Especially Akagi, I don't want her figuring us out. ”

“Me too, don’t want to earn her ire, which would also likely earn Taihou’s…”

“We need to think of something to get them off our back for a bit, because I think the façade is slowly disappearing. ” John said, both still very unaware that almost everyone knows about them.

“We’ll find something. It’s that or we slowly reveal it to everyone.”

“Is it fine for you to be staying out this late? ” he questioned, washing his hands in the sink. “ I could just do the rest of them while you can go back to your place. ”

“I’m a big girl to be out this late!” Howe pouted, standing next to him to wash her hands.

“I know you are. I just don’t want you to get so little sleep. ”

“Like you’re one to talk, John~” she retaliated, booping her noise.

“Touché,” he admitted before wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a kiss.

Chapter Text

July 18th, 2027, 1:18 PM, Base, Sakura Empire Living Quarters

“Okaerinasai, Akagi-san (Welcome back, Akagi),” Tosa greeted Akagi as she walked into their dorm, opening the door for her. She had just returned from another patrol, but hadn’t spotted her quarry this time.

“Arigato, Tosa-oneesan (Thank you, Tosa ),” she gave her thanks. “Chūshoku wa mada junbi-chūdesu ka (Is lunch still being prepared)?”

“Hobo kanseidesu, Kaga-imōto wa chikinkatsu o abura ni ire, watashi wa moritsuke o shite imasu. Amagi-san wa mō chakuseki shite imasu (It’s almost done, Kaga just put the chicken katsu into the oil, and I’m plating things up. Amagi-san is seated already).”

“Subarashī. Chīsai ko-tachi wa doko ni iru no (Excellent. Where are the little ones)?”

“Itsumo no… (The usual…)” Tosa simply said, causing Akagi to giggle at the implications. The two then walked back into their domicile to eat, the sound and scent of cooking chicken echoing from the kitchen into the dining room — Tosa heading there to make sure everything was fine.

“Okaerinasai, shisutā (Welcome home, Sister ),” Amagi greeted her, Akagi sitting next to her. “Kyō wa nanimonai (Nothing today)?”

“Kyō wa dare mo Glitch o arata ni hakken dekimasendeshita (No one’s been able to get another spotting of Glitch today ),” she informed her. “Futatabi karera ni aeru made dorekurai jikan ga kakaru ka darenimo wakarimasen. Shitagatte, Shikikan-sama to yori ōku no jikan o sugoseru kanōsei wa hikuku narimasu (Who knows how long it will be until we see them again. Thus lowering my chances of spending more time with the Commander).”

“Tashika ni torofī o tsukawazu ni kare *cough* to tanoshī jikan o sugosu koto wa dekimasu (Surely you can just have a nice time with him *cough* without the use of a trophy).”

“Jikan'nomudada to kare ga watashi ni ikari o mukeru no wa saketaidesu. Akagi to sugosu jikan ga saikō ni subarashī kotode wa arimasen… tatoe kare ga ukeireru to shite mo, osoraku hisho mo tsuretekurudeshou! Shiki-kan-san ni wa hau-san yori watashi to motto issho ni sugoshite hoshī nodesuga… kanojo ga watashi to no jikan o dokusen shite iru ndesu! Sukunakutomo ano orokana tori wa sōde wa arimasen… (I would rather not chance that lest he turns his rage on me for wasting his time — not like spending time with Akagi isn’t the most wonderful thing… Even if he would accept, he would likely bring the Secretary with him, too! I wish the Commander would spend more time with me rather than Howe-san… She’s hogging my time with him! At least it’s not with that dumb bird…)”

“Oi! Tabemono o motte aruite iru watashi no ashi ni muragaru no wa yamete kudasai (Oi! Stop huddling around my legs as I’m walking with food )!” Kaga shouted at two little troublemakers as they stook close to her. In the white-furred kitsune’s hands were three large bowls of chicken katsudon. Behind her Tosa carried another large bowl along with two smaller bowls. “Tabemono ga nainoni naze watashi ni segamu nodesu ka (Why are you even pestering me when I don’t have your food)?!”

“Onaka aita kara (Because we’re hungry)~!!” Amagi-chan said.

“Watashitachiha uete shimaudarou (We’re going to starve)~!!” Akagi-chan joined in.

“Wakarimashita, mō jūbundesu, futari tomo~ (Alright, enough you two~)” Amagi said, gesturing to them to take their seats.

Once they relieved Kaga, she and her sister placed the family’s lunch onto the table — taking their own seats when the bowls and utensils were in order. After a quick itadakimasu, everyone started to dig in.

“Yūkai rūto wa itsu demo ikeru to omoimasu… (I guess I could always go the kidnapping route…)” Akagi pondered.

“Sore ga Shikikan-sama o manzoku sa seru to wa omoenai (I doubt that would make the Commander happy with you),” Tosa pointed out.

“Sore ni, kore ni tsuite wa sudeni hanashimashita, Akagi (Plus, we already talked about this, Akagi),” Amagi sternly reminded her, sending shivers down her spine.

“Tadashī (Right).”

“Kare no tame ni nanika tsukutte agete mo ī kamo shirenai (Maybe you can just make something for him),” Amagi-chan suggested with a mouth full of rice.

“Anata wa kitto watashi no dorei no koto o yoku shitte ite, kare ga nani ga sukide nani ga kiraina no ka o shitte iru hazudesu (You surely know my slave well enough to know what he likes and doesn’t),” Akagi-chan added.

“Anata ga tadashī! Shikashi, sore wa nani ka sōdaina monodearu hitsuyō ga arudeshou. Kare ga sugu ni watashi ni muchū ni naru yōna mono. Isoide yaranaito tori ni ubawa rete shimau kiken ga arimasu. Mata, hisho o fukumezu ni, watashitachi futaridake de okonau hitsuyō mo arimasu (You’re right! But it would need to be something grand. Something that would make him instantly fall for me. It would need to be done quickly, otherwise I risk that bird taking him from me. It also needs to be just the two of us, not even including the Secretary).”

“Osoraku, guritchi o oitsumeru koto dake ni koshūsuru hitsuyō ga arimasu (Perhaps you should just stick with hunting down Glitch ),” Kaga stopped her plans. “Tsuyo-sa o shimesu dake de kare o miryō suru no ni jūbunda (Showing strength is enough to win him over).”

“Anata ga tadashī. Sō yatte Akagi wa kokoro o ubawa reru. Tori mo fukumete, dekakeru hito zen'in ni saidaigen no doryoku o shimasu! To iu koto de kikaku keizoku shite ikimasu! *sigh* kinō ano gaichū o tsukamaeru ka gekichin dekite itara, kitto shiki-kan wa watashi ni horete itadarou~ (You’re right. That’s how Akagi will take his heart. I do the most out of everyone that goes out, including the bird! So I’ll continue the plan! *sigh* If we had gotten to capture or sink that pest yesterday, I’m sure the Commander would have fallen for me~) Ehehehe~”

“Shikikan wa sudeni anata ga patorōru ni dekakeru tame ni mainichi doryoku shite iru koto o takaku hyōka shite imasu, anata ni wa yoi chansu ga arimasu (The Commander already greatly appreciates the effort you’re giving every day to go out on a patrol, you’ve got a good chance),” Kaga reassured, playing to her sister’s wild imagination.

How are we ever going to tell her…? Tosa thought to herself.

Suddenly, a knock on their door made everyone turn that direction. No one was expecting any visitors at this time, but Amagi got up to greet whoever that was.

“Hi, Amagi,” Howe’s voice greeted her once she opened the door.

“Oh, Howe. A pleasure to see you here,” Amagi said.

“I’m here to bring some sweets to you all,” she explained, showing them a bag of sweets in her hand. “All thanks to what Akagi and Kaga faced the other day, we were able to learn more about Glitch. So the Commander and I thought of making something for everyone in Patrol 2. I hope you all enjoy these~”

“Shikikan made these… for me ?” Akagi asked, having heard her and emphasizing on herself.

“I’m here, too,” Kaga said to the yandere, but she wasn’t listening.

“Arigato, Howe,” the battlecruiser graciously accepted the bag from her. “Please give our gratitude to Shikikan, as well.”

“Of course. Have a nice day~” she said with a smile, and walked back to the office.

Opening the bag, the six of them saw that it was filled with checkered butter cookies, something all of them agree are quite delicious — especially coming from Howe. Immediately, Akagi-chan and Amagi-chan reached in and took two handfuls of cookies and started to devour them, but they stopped once Amagi gave The Stare.

“Kanojo wa kanojo o nikumu no ga totemo muzukashī (She makes it so hard to hate her)…” Akagi said, with a cookie in her mouth.

Chapter Text

??? ??, 2027, ??? PM, ???, ???

“Well, well… Looks like you made it back in one whole piece. And with minimal damage; won’t be getting an earful then.”

“Yet you still managed to get your AAs knocked out, again!!”

“Yeah, she’s not going to be happy to replace those again. Might have to reinforce that area, or just give you better armor. That could take a few days… the rest of the damage can be easily repaired.”

“… Yes, we have been authorized to give you one upgrade… Which one would you like?”

“Module 04? Right, we’ll get that hooked up, and have you go through several training exercises for it — we’ll bring an expert to teach you.”

“… I don’t know. I barely understand how the whole disappearing thing works, I’m not the one who made it.”

“Anyways, we’ll get this plugged in, create some new controls, and then you’ll be free to test it out.”

“Just don’t start a fire with it. Don’t want to destroy the interior. Oh, and she doesn’t like being around fires, too.”