Yukikaze

Tedious.

That was the word that described most of her life.

Unlike her sisters, who were always energetic and ready to do something, Yukikaze was bored by life. Everyone always mistook her boredom and indifference for intelligence, cruelty, or some other cold quality that would match the snowy wind for which she was named. Everyone, except for three people. These three had seen through her layer of indifference, and caught a glimpse of her mind. They had given her something to take interest in, in this dull and tedious world. 

The only issue was the fact that all three were enemies, not that they all knew that, of course. The current Empress, who she served, and the previous one, who she had served in the past, as well as the man who changed the world from the shadows beyond the horizon. She danced to their strings, just as they danced to hers. She made herself useful to them, and they provided her with something interesting. 

This latest sequence of events had been most interesting. She didn't deny her part in starting this war, but she didn't regret. Most importantly, the arrival of the builder was bound to cause some interesting events. 

No matter. She think about the future once she returned to Tokyo. Right now, she had a job to do. The Builder had hidden himself away in the abandoned Westarian Naval Base on Guam Island. All that she had to do was find a way to make him leave, and make him reveal his existence on a world stage. 

She sighed, sitting down on top of her superstructure, one leg tucked under the other. She was wearing the standard field uniform of a Squadron Commander of the Imperial Navy: black shoes, black pants, and a black jacket, with the symbol of her rank, a single gold flower, on each of her shoulder epaulets, and a black officer's cap with that same flower. The only difference between the uniform that she wore and the standard one was a pin of a golden sun on her left breast pocket, signifying her position as a member of the Imperial Guard. 

The regulations around uniforms were rather lose in the Imperial Navy, something that they had in common with the rest of the world. Standard personnel, such as engineers, tactical advisors, marines, desk workers, essentially, any member of the Navy who wasn't a shipgirl wore their uniform at all times. Shipgirls, however, were only required to wear their uniforms during ceremonial events. This was one of the rules that Yamato had put in place when she became Empress. However, whenever she was in the field, Yukikaze still liked to wear her uniform. Old soldiers tend to keep their habits. 

She had gotten lost in thought, and had missed the moment when the island when it appeared on the horizon. It was now only about ten kilometers away, and she could begin to make out the details of the harbour. There were three main areas, the first being a simple mooring ground for a fleet of ships, the second being a repair yard with several berths, and the third being a sheltered harbour with several torpedo nets hung across the entrance. Inside, she could make out the outline of a large hull, most likely Fuji's. She glanced around at the harbour walls, taking stock of the defenses. When the Westarians had left, they had taken the guns with them, and now, nothing remained except for a few searchlights and century-old steel cannons. Deciding that it was safe to advance, she pushed into the harbour.

***

Salem was in a panic. She had gotten the other three as soon as she had spotted the approaching destroyer and informed them of the situation. Hasegawa was still half asleep, but was also filled with nervous energy. Myōkō was panicking, and Salem could tell how surprised she was that Imperial forces had already come to the island. Salem was surprised too; she couldn't believe that the Westarian Fleet at Leyte would have fallen so quickly. Fuji, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic, and was full of energy. It was almost as if she was hoping for a chance to fight.

The destroyer was heading straight for them, and Myōkō quickly identified it as a Kagerō-class destroyer of the Imperial Navy. They split up, each heading for their own hulls, and Hasegawa stayed on the pier. Fuji began to maneuver her hull to block the entrance to the sheltered harbour, lining up her guns and taking aim on the destroyer. Myōkō and Salem stayed behind her, preparing for a fight. 

The destroyer passed through the harbour entrance, maintaining its course. It made no move to turn and launch torpedoes, nor did it fire its guns. It simply approached them, drawing closer and closer.

When it was only a few hundred meters away from them, Fuji fired a warning shot into the water ahead of its prow. The destroyer, understanding the message, slowed to a halt, turning to the side. One of its signal lights began to flash, sending the message "no hostile intentions stop have come to talk end of message". It was a simple message, delivered in international code sequences. To illustrate its point, the destroyer dropped its anchors into the shallow water and turned its guns and torpedoes to face away from Fuji's hull.

A figure appeared on the deck of the destroyer. It was a young woman in the black uniform of an Imperial Navy Officer, with bluish-white hair the colour of snow going just below her shoulders. Glancing at Hasegawa and Myōkō, Salem could tell that they recognized her, but Fuji seemed completely oblivious as to who she was. After a short pause, Fuji sent a small cutter over to the destroyer, bringing the shipgirl over to her hull. At the same time, Myōkō and Salem quickly made their way to Fuji's deck. 

The five of them met at the base of Fuji's 'C' turret, in an arrangement that reminded Salem of when she had first met them. Hasegawa and the young woman were standing opposite to each other, between the turret and the base of Fuji's superstructure. Myōkō stood behind the destroyer, a pistol in her hand. Fuji sat on top of her turret, her legs dangling off the edge, and a bored expression on her face. Salem stood nervously behind Hasegawa, her fingers on the trigger of her own pistol.

The destroyer seemed more at ease than any of the four of them. Now that she was closer, Salem could see her bright blue eyes. The rest of her face was serious and unmoving, and looked almost like a mask, but her eyes were practically glowing with energy. Salem didn't know why, but there was something about her that she found extremely unsettling.

Hasegawa was the first one to speak. He was fully awake now, and his voice was serious. 

"Yukikaze. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Tokyo with the Empress?"

Yukikaze smiled in response, but it was a lifeless smile, like all the warmth had left her body.

"I was ordered to come here and warn you about the future," she said, her voice as cold and smooth as snow, "You need to leave Guam, now, or you will die."