The view originates from the POV of a flock of birds flying across the ocean, migrating south. When these flying animals dare to cross the vast sea, it is a sign that the ocean weather around their flight route is the safest route for sailing. The view shows an aircraft carrier escorted by 4 destroyers in an H-formation.
In the middle of the ocean, which Izumo knows as the Pacific Ocean. Because the navigation monitor displays the name of the sea area with that name. The helicopter destroyer aircraft carrier is not heading to the Arctic Ocean. Instead, it is following the guidance of the four destroyers she met, "accidentally" while she was heading to the Arctic. The Arctic can wait for another time, Izumo thought.
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Narrator's POV.
JS Izumo is no longer alone in the middle of the ocean. There are four ships accompanying her, inviting her to dock at their command center. Because there are many things that need to be questioned. They all equally do not belong to this universe, which still appears to be Earth.
Shifting to the dining table. Various seafood dishes have been served there. Fortunately, the aircraft carrier has the logistics to provide vegetables and seasonings. This allows for a variety of dishes; Sweet Jolly was even able to make Sushi using the fish caught in the sea earlier with Akaneko. Young coconut ice served as the accompaniment. Ayanami, Javelin, Nimi (Z23), and Laffey are amazed to see the fully stocked dining table. Out here in the middle of the sea. Jolly proudly shows off his cooking.
"Please enjoy, destroyer girls, as a gift for our first meeting in the middle of this vast ocean," Jolly said enthusiastically.
They are all inside the hangar where planes and drones are parked and supplied with weapons. However, there is no smell of oil or grease, because it's simply not needed. They move using a mysterious energy from their ship girls. This is also what confuses Izumo.
"Itadakimasu! (Thanks for the food!)" said the four destroyer ship girls as they scrambled to grab grilled fish, Sushi, Presto Tuna, and fish head soup. Akaneko himself also joined the meal. The long table, covered with a red tablecloth, looked festive and busy. Jolly joined in eating beside Izumo.
"So..." Izumo began her sentence slowly, full of questions. "You are directing me to the command center, Azur Lane. How many ship girls are there? If you are indeed also trapped in this world. And where do you get your energy from?"
To answer this, Nimi raised her hand to Izumo. Signaling that she would be the one to explain. So that Izumo could understand, because it seems Izumo is also a ship girl but from a different era than them. Or perhaps even a different world concept.
"We were all born from an energy cube called a Wisdom Cube. This object contains the energy and information to manifest a warship into a girl (kansen). That is what we were told by the Commander who gave birth to us," Nimi explained.
"Commander? You are led by a naval commander?" Izumo asked. In her heart, she knew this commander was the player who played the game and had a close relationship with these ship girls. The player who built them using wisdom cubes, according to the game's lore.
"Yes!" answered Javelin. "When we were all simultaneously transferred from our original dimension, we were separated from our Commander. We were confused and panicked. But the leaders of the four factions were instantly able to take control of the situation together. At that time, all faction members were gathered at the command center. So you could say almost all the ship girls were brought here," Javelin continued. Her face looked very sad; on her hand, a ring was worn on her ring finger.
Izumo saw it; she remembered when she played the Azur Lane game. She had indeed made a sacred vow between the commander and HMS Javelin, their affinity was at 100% and they were officially "married" according to the game's lore.
She must be worried sick, her commander disappeared and wasn't brought along to this dimension, Izumo pondered, watching Javelin. Javelin, realizing she was being stared at so intensely by Izumo, immediately blushed. She shoved too much rice and fish into her mouth until she choked. Laffey, who was eating casually with droopy eyes, handed a glass of coconut water to Javelin. Javelin quickly drank it, and her throat was freed from the mouthful of food she forced down. Izumo chuckled softly at the sight.
"Just take it easy eating, Javelin. I was just interested in your explanation and also, oh right, Nimi," Izumo said, shifting her gaze towards Nimi. "Could you teach me how to control the ship's energy? I'm like a newborn baby in this world. I can only control this ship to sail somewhere. Even though (looking around the hangar inside the ship's hull) there are many weapons here that I could move with my hands. I want to be like you guys, to maybe turn this ship into a weapon rigging like yours."
Nimi listened seriously to Izumo's words. She nodded.
"For that, we use the energy of the Wisdom Cube to transform our ships into rigging weapons on our backs. And it enables us to glide over the seawater. Fortunately, all the ship girls, including Akashi—who indeed fills several important sectors in terms of resources and logistics—came along. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief," Nimi explained. "If you want, we could show you. Who knows, you might also be able to transform into weapon rigging. What we usually call 'engage mode'," she added.
Izumo raised an eyebrow.
"Akashi? Is she a warship girl too? And I could be like you all as well?" Izumo asked.
"Akashi takes care of energy distribution and logistics supply. She routinely checks that our Wisdom energy reserves are still at a safe level. She repairs damaged ships. And of course, you should be able to do it; you are just like us. A ship girl. I just want to know if your energy is compatible with the Wisdom Cube," Nimi said.
Ayanami looked at Izumo intently. As members of the Sakura Empire faction, their characteristics naturally include fox or cat ears. Some have more than one tail. For example, IJN Kaga, IJN Akagi, IJN Amagi. Izumo, in her opinion, should have more than one tail. But Izumo only has one. Like some destroyers, although Ayanami herself doesn't have a tail.
"Izumo, after we finish eating I'd like to talk about a few things. As a ship girl who shares the same physical traits as the Sakura Empire faction, desu," Ayanami requested to Izumo.
Izumo moved one of her hands to hold her chin.
"Okay, I need more knowledge anyway. And of course, this is also to assert that the three of us are good kids aboard this aircraft carrier," Izumo replied.
Ayanami felt relieved. And they all continued eating while discussing some minor things, and yes, Laffey fell asleep at the dining table.
"Laffey!!!!! Don't sleep with your face on the plate!!!!" Javelin yelled into Laffey's ear, which failed to wake her from her deep sleep, her face covered with sticky rice and fish.
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On one of the ship's balconies, at the stern. Next to the Russian NK Package anti-submarine system and the Korean K-SAM air defense system. Ayanami and Izumo were seen standing side by side. The two of them with their hands resting on the guardrail.
"Sakura Empire, what is it called in your world?" asked Ayanami.
"Japan. Well, even though this ship comes from Japan, the soul that fills this silver fox girl isn't originally Japanese. (laughs). But that's okay. I'll just roll with all of this. You know, what you're seeing right now was originally a man who deeply admired the aircraft carrier which, in my world, is the strongest and largest ship in Japan. Maybe if it were in the Sakura Empire, this ship would be a fusion of IJN Musashi and IJN Akagi."
Ayanami listened seriously to all of Izumo's words. Her face showed a sense of admiration for this figure she and her friends had only met a few hours ago. Ayanami then held her breath slightly before releasing it.
"Do you want to try gliding on the seawater like us?" Ayanami offered.
Izumo was slightly confused on how to respond.
"How? I don't even know if a Wisdom Cube would be compatible with me. Since I can only control this ship and all the weapons and aircraft here," Izumo replied with a hint of disappointment.
Ayanami pulled out a Shikigami paper. She pressed it against Izumo's chest. A blue light appeared, surrounding the corners of the white Shikigami paper. Izumo felt a strange surge of energy there. It was as if she received a powerful energy boost.
"That is Wisdom Cube energy placed in the Shikigami as a backup. Akagi cares deeply about her faction members. She equipped all Sakura Empire ship girls with Shikigami containing Wisdom Cube Energy compressed into the talisman paper. The energy can add power to a ship girl so she can perform on the water to return home in the event she runs out of energy, desu," Ayanami explained. "And now Izumo, hold onto both of my hands, desu," she added.
Izumo hesitated slightly. She held both of Ayanami's palms. The wind at the stern of the ship, which was currently traveling at full speed, sent both of their hair whipping back and forth. The two looked at each other. Izumo's hands firmly gripped Ayanami's palms.
"We jump down, desu," Ayanami said simply.
"Jum... wait a minute, Ayanami... (panicking) we're at the back, the waves are actually huge here because of the ship's propellers. Eh, wait.... Ayanam...." before Izumo could finish her sentence, Ayanami jumped upwards with full force, dragging a terrified Izumo along to fly and free-fall towards the water.
Izumo's face was terrified. However, amidst her fear, Izumo's wooden sandals transformed. They turned into shoes shaped like the bow of a ship, designed like a lower front hull. Complete with wave breakers, pointed tips, and tiny propellers on the shoes.
Splash.... splash... splash....
The two landed on the sea. Ayanami pulled Izumo's hand, making her move along with her. Izumo realized she was standing on the water. Not sinking. She could even see her reflection clearly on the sea's surface.
"I.... I can walk on water," Izumo said in awe. She looked down, gliding as if she were on a surfboard with a propeller engine. Izumo opened both her arms, balancing her body.
The cloak covering her kimono slipped off somewhere, as she closed her eyes. Izumo was enjoying it. The strong wind made her silver hair flutter and fly in the direction of the breeze. Her tail wagged left and right. She felt so incredibly happy. Ayanami smiled gladly seeing Izumo so joyful.
"Once we arrive at the command center, maybe you can learn the engage mode with your own ship, desu," Ayanami said.
With a happy smile, Izumo nodded joyfully. The two of them glided forward together. Positioning themselves right at the front of the fleet heading towards the Azur Lane command base, located in the middle of the ocean which the JS Izumo DDH-183's navigation system read as the Pacific Ocean.
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Meanwhile... 20 nautical kilometers from the beach of the Azur Lane Central Headquarters.
Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper, and Admiral Graf Spee were in active rigging mode. They were asked by Bismarck to welcome the arrival of the four destroyers who had just carried out an observation mission.
"If it weren't for my little sisters and Big Sis Bismarck's orders, I'd probably be too lazy to wait around this long on the water like this. In this dirty, foreign sea," Prinz Eugen said, stroking one of her riggings shaped like a sharp-toothed ship hull.
"Sh-shut up. We also want to make sure Little Nimi is safe. Besides, why did it have to be destroyers that went out, instead of cruiser and aircraft carrier classes," Admiral Hipper grumbled in annoyance.
"That was Big Sis Bismarck's decision. Absolute," responded Admiral Graf Spee coldly. Rather than joining the useless debate between her two sisters, she chose to monitor the direction of the last known navigation where the little destroyers had gone. They estimated they would meet very soon.
"The sky is a beautiful blue," said Graf Spee.
Back to Izumo and Ayanami at the front of the ship convoy. Ayanami saw three ship girls standing still in the middle of the sea.
It looks like the seniors of the Iron Blood faction are welcoming us, Ayanami thought to herself.
Ayanami then approached Izumo.
"Big Sis Izumo, we are close and we are being picked up and welcomed by the Iron Blood ship girls," Ayanami said.
Izumo was surprised. Izumo then activated the radio communication channel attached to her kimono.
"Sweet Jolly, Akaneko, get ready, we're close. And prepare yourselves to be welcomed by the hosts," said Izumo.
"Standing by." That was the voice heard from the communicator.
Izumo looked ahead, towards the three ship girls who were far away but visible. On the flight deck of the JS Izumo, Javelin, Laffey, and Nimi (Z23) were already standing at the front end. The three of them watched Izumo, who was now able to glide on the water.
"Wasn't Big Sis Izumo unable to do that yet?" Javelin said curiously.
"That must be Ayanami's doing, using a special Sakura Empire Shikigami. One that contains Wisdom Cube energy. So it can be used even if not all abilities become active. Because its function is as a backup energy reserve for escaping. It's limited to being used for escaping across the sea," Nimi (Z23) explained. Javelin nodded, satisfied with the answer.
The POV now focuses on several dolphins swimming fast, jumping out of the water a few times. Alongside that scenery, the fleet consisting of the JS Izumo and the 4 destroyers could be seen approaching the three Iron Blood ship girls waiting for them.
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To be continued.
Next Chapter 2: Differences And An Agreement