Tokyo

Tokyo was one of the largest islands in the empire, and incoming and outgoing traffic filled every path of its harbour. On the Eastern shore of the island was a large tower, quite similar in design to the Imperial Palace in the Tokyo of Hasegawa's world. 

Myōkō steered herself towards a large ornate pier at the base of the tower. Unlike the rest of the harbour, there were hardly any ships at this pier, just a pair of destroyers getting repainted. Myōkō pulled in opposite them, and dropped her anchors. Quickly, a group of workers on the dock began to moor her to the pier.

Myōkō turned to Hasegawa. "All right then, follow me."

She threw a ladder down to the pier from her deck and quickly climbed down.

"Where are we going?" asked Hasegawa, climbing down the ladder after her.

She turned towards him and said, "To Yamato, the Empress of the Yamato Empire."

***

The hall where Yamato received them was a large room, with a raised section separated by a thin screen at the far end. spaced evenly throughout the room were ten young women, some of whom looked like children. An eleventh woman stood in front of the screen, the silhouette of another person visible behind her. 

Myōkō walked half the length of the room towards the screen before kneeling. Hasegawa, who had no idea what he was doing, copied her. 

The woman in front of the screen spoke,"Myōkō, why have you brought a civilian into the presence of the Empress? Are you not supposed to be fighting Eastasian Forces in the Shanghai Sea right now? Explain yourself."

Myōkō raised her head. "Now, you see, Yahagi-san," she said, emphasizing the -san as if she didn't really mean it, "I was fighting Eastasian destroyers, all on my own, I might add, when I found, on I tiny little rock, this man, Hasegawa Kenji. I have reason to believe he came here from another world, so I brought him here."

Yahagi scoffed at that. "Someone from another world?  Don't be absurd. Yukikaze, Isokaze, Myōkō appears to have lost her wits. Escort her and the civilian out of the palace."

Two of the women standing around the room stepped forward and began to walk towards Myōkō and Hasegawa. 

"Wait."

It was a strong, commanding voice, laced with a hint of poison, coming from behind the screen. All of the women in the room turned towards the screen and kneeled. Hasegawa, who still had no idea what was going on, copied them. 

The voice continued, "Myōkō, what leads you to suggest that this man is from another world?"

"Yamato-sama, he has authentic-looking documents for a country that does not exist anywhere in the world, and has no idea how he ended up  in the middle of the Shanghai Sea."

"Show me these documents," commanded Yamato from behind the screen. 

Hasegawa produced his passport, and handed it to Yahagi, who brought it behind the screen to Yamato. 

Silence.

More Silence,

The silence was becoming deafening. No one in the room dared move, for fear of disturbing the Empress. 

Finally, Yamato spoke.

"Hasegawa Kenji, citizen of the State of Japan, it seems that Myōkō speaks the truth, and you are indeed from another world. One can tell this simply by the quality of this document, something which could not be recreated anywhere in this world."

At these words, Myōkō breathed a sigh of relief. There probably would have been serious consequences for her if she ended up being wrong, But Yamato had not yet finished talking.

"Myōkō, even if you made the right choice, you deserted your position on the front lines without any warning. You will be punished for this."

Myōkō's face fell, thinking about what her punishment would be.

"Hasegawa-san," Yamato continued, "I would like to talk to you at length, but now is not the time. For now, you shall stay in the palace under protection. As for your punishment, Myōkō, you are being removed from frontline combat."

Myōkō looked crestfallen. Hasegawa was sorry for her. He didn't fully understand what this meant, but it seemed like helping him was harming Myōkō's career.

"However," added Yamato, "you will not be sitting around in the rear doing nothing all day."

Myōkō's ears perked up at that, and a glimmer of hope crept into her eyes. 

"Starting today, you will be Hasegawa-san's bodyguard. He is, quite possibly, the most important asset that we have, and must be protected at all costs."

What? Hasegawa was shocked. He was a random guy, and sure, he might have come from another world, but the most important person in the empire? 

He looked at Myōkō, and she seemed equally shocked. She must have assumed he had some value, otherwise she wouldn't have brought him here, but this had to be more than she had expected.

"Do you accept this position, heavy cruiser Myōkō?" asked Yamato, as Yahagi returned Hasegawa's passport.

"Yes, of course, Yamato-sama."