Chapter 157 - 143

I'm really not sure what to make of this...

While I was taking a walk along the pier as a change of pace from my work, I spotted a rather special guest just stting on the pier. It was Hoppou. She is back.

For some reason, I felt that she might expect some food. So I went to Mamiya's Dessert Store and bought two bowls of Anmitsu, just in case. When I got back, she was still there. As I approached her, without looking at me, she waved her hand up and down,

"You're... here... Sit..." (Houppou-chan)

"O.. kay..."

This creature is still hard to read, as usual. At least I know she won't attack me if she is happy.

"That... smells good..." (Hoppou)

She stared at the bowls of Anmitsu I was holding with glimmerimg eyes.

"Yeah. I saw you just now. So I went and got this for you."

I passed a bowl to her. She took it and stared at it for some time. Does not know how to eat it?

...

Yeah. She definitely doesn't know how to eat it. She is just looking at it.

I scooped small portion of my bowl with the spoon and placed it in my mouth. I can feel her staring at me! I pretended not to notice and ate slowly.

At the corner of my eye, I can see her holding the spoon in the way a child would hold it. She scooped a spoonful of Anmitsu and brought it into her mouth.

"!!!" (Hoppou)

Did she like it?

"This... Delicious!" (Hoppou)

Yeah. She likes it.

"Sweet... Melt in mouth..." (Hoppou)

"I know, right? Mamiya makes the best desserts."

"Must... show gratitude... Bring me... to maker..." (Hoppou)

"You don't have to. I will let her know you like it."

I don't know how the girls at Yokosuka handle this, but if a Northern Princess walks around my base, everyone will freak out and go in guns blazing.

I watched Hoppou happily munch on the Anmitsu. I think she might be the only Abyssal who isn't suffering from a limbo of despair and bitterness. Come to think of it, why hasn't she been sunk yet? If we sink her, she might be able to become a shipgirl.

"Say, are you fine with this? Being an Abyssal and all."

Hoppou stopped eating for a bit. She just looked at me with those big orange eyes of hers before facing the sea.

"Can't sink yet... I... have a duty..." (Hoppou)

"A duty?"

"Yes... But I forgot..." (Hoppou)

What?

"At first... feel cold... angry... Why the surface people... get to live... happily... Jealous..." (Hoppou)

That kind of thinking checks out with how most Abyssals should feel.

"Then... Met grandpa..." (Hoppou)

She must be talking about the Marshal Admiral.

"Grandpa teach me... many things... Teach me... warmth... Many fun things... Now... bad feelings... gone..." (Hoppou)

There was a small smile on her face when she said that. A rather lonely smile.

"But nowadays... Grandpa busy... Can't come out to play..." (Hoppou)

Yeah. We have been busy for quite a while.

"That's why... I come here now..." (Hoppou)

Huh? Woah, hold on.

"Weren't you lost the first two times you came here?"

"Back then... I lost... Now... I come here... on my own... delicious food here... Same warmth... as Grandpa's place..." (Hoppou)

She just deemed my place as her new hangout spot. Not that I mind though, but I hope she will be careful next time she comes. I really don't want the others to freak out. I think I should let them gradually get use to her presence.

Hoppou continued eating her Anmitsu slowly. I don't know what duty she has but I do know despite being an Abyssal, she has learnt ways to be happy and be positive. The sorrow and bitterness may still linger, but she K owe how to cope with them now. The Marshal Admiral really did a great job helping her despite being an enemy of humanity.

I pet Hoppou's head. I think I may have startled her because she suddenly stopped eating and stared at me. I quickly retracted my hand and apologized,

"Ah. Sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"No... more..." (Hoppou)

"Huh?"

Hoppou took my hand and placed it on her head. Oh. She wants me to continue. I gently pat her head as she savoured her food. I think I understand why the Marshal Admiral decided to 'tame' her. She is just a small girl, looking for warmth and love. Although sinking and turning her into a shipgirl is a more practical option, it's sad to see her suffer through the pain of getting shot at and blown apart. If she were like those aggressive Abyssal Princess, I would have given the order to sink her without hesitation. Now, she is talking to me like any other young girl.

"What is this? The Commander of this timeline is into little girls now?" (???)

Eh?

A tall woman, clad in white military uniform with a black jacket and black leggings, appeared out of nowhere in front of us and was floating in mid-air. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail with a large white ribbon. Two large ship-like constructs with a pair of Twin 203mm gun stuck out from her sides. As if the guns weren't menacing enough, she even has an oversized black sword! Who is she?

"Not like it matters. Die!" (???)

"Woah!"

I grabbed Hoppou and rolled out of the way as she swung the big sword of hers down on us. The air was filled with hot smoke and heat as soon as her sword hit the ground, missing us by a few metres. The spot we were sitting at had a clean cut. No. The entire pier had been cut into two! The emergency alarm started blaring.

"Tsk! There is no point struggling. I will take care of you before that woman comes." (???)

What is going on? This woman is clearly a Siren. She just came out of nowhere like the Sirens usually do. The biggest question is, why is she trying to kill me? I glanced at Hoppou to make sure she is alright. She is being extremely quiet, despite our situation. I got back on my feet and held on to Hoppou.

"Who are you?!"

"Hoh... Even at death's door, you are still asking questions? Well, I should at least answer this last question before you disappear from this world. I am Ember. I am reisdue, born from the exhausted flame. But my resentment for humankind still burns. Now," (Ember)

Ember raised her sword again. She looked at us with eyes full of hatred. This is scary! No. Snap out of it! Now is not the time to be-

"Hurry up and disappear!" (Ember)

Yeah. I'm dead...

"All sh.i.p.s... Don't hit the human near me... fire at will..." (Hoppou)

Before Embers sword can strike us, a couple of flashes appeared from a distance behind her. Shortly after, there was a whistling sound, followed by loud explosion and smoke as shells hit Ember's back.

The shock wave from the impact and heat was overwhelming! It's taking a lot of effort to stop myself from getting blown away as I covered Hoppou with my body.

"Gh! So that's the anomaly that crazy Siren mentioned. The looks are not what I expected. Doesn't make much of difference!" (Ember)

Ember turned around and started to fire her main guns into the direction of our saviors. I quickly took the chance to move out of the way.

"Un... forgivable..." (Hoppou)

"Hoppou-chan?"

"My... Anmitsu... Unforgivable!" (Hoppou)

I noticed the bowls of Anmitsu that had fallen to the ground, melt and already inedible. She is pissed that Ember caused her to spill her dessert?!

"Go back...!" (Hoppou)

The cat-eared abyssal lifeforms she had with took to the skies and opened their mouths. Bullets rained down on Ember as she attempts to block the attacks from both directions.

"This is annoying!" (Ember)

With a swing of her sword she took out Hoppou's small companions. Is she really a Sirens? She is way stronger than the ones we have ever fought.

"Don't get... too c.o.c.ky!" (Hoppou)

More of those small cat-eared abyssals come out from her sleeves. Even the large Abyssal with the big gun started firing at Ember as Hoppou jumped onto the water surface and begin maneuvering around Ember.

I picked up my phone which has being ringing for a while, I just couldnt hear it because of the explosions.

"Admiral! I finally got through! Are yo-" (Ooyodo)

"Arm all the shipgirls and head to my location! Target the floating edgy woman. Do not hit the Abyssals engaging it. They are friendly."

"Roger! Deploying all sh.i.p.sgirls!" (Ooyodo)

"You too, Ooyodo. Get down here."

"Understood." (Ooyodo)

As Ember is being distracted by the Abyssals, I took the chance to back off to a safe distance. My uniforms is a singed from all that heat and my back hurts a little. I think some debris hit me back there.

Moments later, the pier was surrounded by my girls, all armed to the teeth. Ember must have felt some killing intent, as she turned to our direction while returning fire at her Abyssal aggressors. As soon as she saw my girls, there was a look of confusion on her face.

"Hm? The shipgirls of this timeline are different from the usual... What is the meaning of this?" (Ember)

I knew it. I have no idea what this woman is even saying. All I know is that she may be Siren, judging from what I have seen. However, she is tougher than the Purifier and Observer. No doubt, she may be stronger than those two. Just when I thought the Sirens were a bunch of pushovers...

"No matter. Come, I shall apprais-" (Ember)

"Takao-san?" (Zuihou)

Zuihou stepped forward, bow pointed to the ground,

"You are Takao-san, aren't you? You saved me when Shoukaku-san and Zuikaku-san were brainwashed on that island. You remember that?" (Zuihou)

Takao... Azur Lane's Takao? She does bare a little resemblance to one of the girls that helped me secure Zuihou from a rogue Shoukaku and Zuikaku attempting to activate Orochi back then. We are dealing with another rogue Azur Lane shipgirl?!

"Who are you? I don't remember such things happening." (Ember)

"No way..." (Zuihou)

"Don't bother, Zuihou. She is not the Takao you know."

One thing's for sure, she is a threat we need to eliminate.

"Are you done talking? Now, show me the strength of this timeline." (Ember)

"Hoppou-chan, back off!"

Hoppou understood what I meant and retreated a safe distance. Zuihou herself retreated to the back of the firing line.

"Fire!"

"Sorry. Get back!" (Fusou)

Everyone took aim and fired their guns as Fusou grabbed me by the arm and pulled me backwards. Right. I shouldn't be standing in their line of fire. Fighters took to the skies and rained bullets down onto Ember. We can't use bombers in this situation. A battle on the water surface would be optimal but we can't risk hitting the base infrastructure. The Abyssals also continued their assault.

Ember skillfully dodged and blocked most of the shots with her sword. Red and black balls of energy shot out from her guns as she returned fire in both directions.

"Scatter! Don't get hit by her shots! We can repair the base later."

Everyone scattered as balls of energy flew all over the place. Even I scrambled to get out of the way. Buildings were hit and some were reduced to rubble.

"This is annoying!" (Ember)

Ember swung her sword widely, destroying the fighters, both ours and the Abyssals. The shockwave from her swing blew us back and damaged more buildings behind us. Seriously, what kind of Siren is she?

"Enough! This is a waste of time." (Ember)

Ember's guns pointed downwards. By now, the Abyssals have stopped firing. Hoppou is still growling at her but she is being held back by a Harbour Princess.

"You girls are strong. So that's how it is. You are not from Azur Lane, aren't you?" (Ember)

"Huh? You attacked us without confirming anything?!"

"Tsk! That woman...! Giving me the wrong coordinates..." (Ember)

Her face twisted with ire. It looks like she was tricked...

"No matter. I will just lock on to her location myself. I won't apologize for my earlier aggression but let me give you a warning," (Ember)

She pointed her sword at us,

"Don't get in my way." (Ember)

"Wait...!" (Hoppou)

Just like how she showed up, Ember vanished into thin air.

"Grr..." (Hoppou)

"Hoppou-chan,"

I walked towards Hoppou as she came to me,

"Sorry. I'll give you more desserts next time. I promise."

The anger on her face subsided, returning back to her usual expression.

"Ok... Next time... Come back... Promise..." (Hoppou)

Hoppou looked at the girls behind, who were to fire at a moments notice. They are on edge and confused. Their natural enemy just helped us chase away another unknown adversary.

"Fight... tall woman... Use this... and call me..." (Hoppou)

Hoppou hesitently passed me the Akuten Zero she had been carrying.

"Isn't this... Are you sure?"

"Yes..."

For the first time, I can see a tinge of sadness in Hoppou's eyes. This Akuten Zero means a lot to her.

I got a idea.

"Wait a bit, okay? Ryuujou,"

"Yeah? What is it~?" (Ryuujou)

"Run to the hanger and get a Reppu. Make sure it's empty."

"Admiral, are you serious? You can't just-" (Ooyodo)

"Just classify it as destroyed. We need to produce more anyway."

"Seriously... Fine. I can't believe this happening..." (Ooyodo)

"Come, now. Go get it."

"Oh. Yea' Be right back." (Ryuujou)

"The rest of girls, stand down. They won't hurt us."

The girls looked at each other, before pointing their weapons down at the ground.

"Admiral, are you sure we can trust that Abyssal?" (Mogami)

"Yeah. She was acknowledged by the Marshal Admiral so she is friendly to begin with. And she just saved me and helped us."

"But-" (Mikuma)

"Don't worry. As long as we don't do anything to anger her or her fleet, she won't attack us."

I pet Hoppou's head as she stared at her Akuten Zero in my arms. Shortly after, Ryuujou came back with a Reppu.

"Here ya' go." (Ryuujou)

"Thanks. Here."

I passed the Reppu to Hoppou. She looked at it with amazement, like a child who found a new toy.

"Now we are even. If you need help, launch the Reppu and I send people to help you."

"Gratitude... Treat it... like it's precious..." (Hoppou)

Hoppou hugged the Reppu as she smiled. The Harbour Princess came forward and put a hand on Hoppou's shoulder. She bowed before pulling on Hoppou's hand. Time for them to leave.

"See you... later..." (Hoppou)

"Come back anytime!"

"Now then,"

I turned around and faced my damaged base,

"How are we going to fix all of this?"