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A lone girl is traveling the ocean in the middle of the night at a regular speed, she is happy.

Harusame was finally returning home, even if at first she didn't like the idea of going to the same place where those beloved lives were lost, she could only hope for the best now. She knew better than anyone the route to follow, she got lots of experience traveling the sea, knowing the safest way to reach her destination. But it all didn't came free, she once was a clumsy and shy ship girl that did everything wrong. When she came to realize her own existence for the first time she didn't understand much at time, and right then she was suddenly transferred, as part of an exchange between bases.

She hasn't even realized how to properly move in the water when the exchange happen, fortunately she was accompanied by a fellow Japanese ship that was also part of the agreement. A long dark haired carrier girl was the one who help her adapt those first days, aid her at traveling and showed her how to correctly move. She later became her friend at the same base.

Island H, the base known with only a simple letter, a code name that indicated the level of secrecy the place got. It served as the main European base in the pacific even from before the abyssal army appeared. From Harusame own perspective, the place was not only big and amazing, the first time she got the it was simply different, as the place looked more like a small city than a real military base, the type of buildings, streets, colors and arrange was different from what she can imagine.

The first steps she took after arriving were harder than her whole travel, however after seeing him waving his hand, she felt as if her body was lighter and all turned easier.

…Hello, you two must be the new Japanese ships that came to help at this base. I´m the officer in charge …. A pleasure to meet you, my name is Johann…

Those were the first words he spoke to Harusame and even now she remembers them with affection. To some people a simple welcome phrase would be nothing, but to her it caused a big impression in her. Of course she was a humble inept ship girl, not strong as her fellow companion that arrive with her, who was flagship of the famous first air fleet, no, she was only a simple girl with no real strength or abilities. Her own past didn't shine nor made a difference, she was average, maybe below that, and yet he looked at her.

…So your name is Harusame… are you alright? Your face is quite red...

She blushed every time she was near him, at first those encounters were fast as she was too ashamed to even talk, but with time, she eventually gained the courage to answer him. With that she started to learn how about many things new to her, not only her new life but also what was inside her body.

…Here take a look at this… this is a map of the nearby islands and installations. I want you to lead the next expedition…

Back then everyday was a new experience, as with her job she took it seriously and try her very best. She quickly started to gain more knowledge about her part in the war, even if she was especially good at combat, she did fight lots of enemies. With time she became better at transporting and scouting, winning her place among the fleet as an expert in her area, and in doing so also grow her relation with her admiral. Even if her admiral was not around always, he took at least some minutes with her and Harusame valued this time more than anything.

...Do you enjoy being here Harusame?... I do love to having you around…

At first she couldn't understand why her face blushed when he talked to her o why does her heart beat harder when being next to him, even her voice was almost gone when she tried to answer his questions. With time she came to understand her own feelings, but knowing herself too shy to confess them, she wanted to be around her admiral each day, more and more, and soon he came to learn about her feelings. Afterwards she became a woman and learned what her love really meant, that and many more experiences that marked her life as human.

Harusame was blushing again, remembering all of this. It also brings a sad feeling again to her heart. It's been too long for her to bear all those feelings that have carved a hole in her soul, it all changed that fateful day.

…I wish that you all go to this place and receive the special supplies we need…My beloved girls I will be waiting for your safe return...

Those were the last words she heard from him. That day was supposed to be an easy job. It would take them roughly three days to reach their destiny and return as it was far away. That´s why the admiral picked his most trusted ships for this mission as this was a top secret operation. But they never picked the package, as they received the bad news before reaching their destination...

They all return to the base at full speed, even if their legs were aching, got injured and traveling through enemy fire, they never stop. They saw the aftermath of the abyssal attack firsthand and despaired with the sight.

They all found a still burning base, were everyone have been slaughtered, both by the aerial bombardment and by the abyssal themselves. Burning human remains were scattered around the destroyed streets, rubble and collapsed buildings, the sea around the island was burning by the fuel floating around, a large dark cloud and a searing sensation filled the place of death. The sole survivors to found their fellow ship girls around, well, at least what remained of them.

But all of that didn't matter at that moment, as only one life really was the important one for them. Yet they couldn't found him in the upper ground, they all knew about the underground facility so they all tried their best to find a still functioning entrance. They battled for hours and hours and yet they couldn't find a way in, until they explored the only remaining structure, where they launched a few days ago, was the only thing with a bit of power. Inside behind the big metal door they found something that broke their hearts forever…

A single tear drops for her eye. Harusame remembered the most painful thing and the mirage that haunts her each day.

A piece of her soul died that day, even with weeks to recover from the shock she couldn't accept, even when their sisters were sent just to make her feel better, it didn't change it. Then the never ending questions made by different officials, the constant transfer from base to base, even when threatened or forced to fight, nothing filled the gap in her heart.

Then after a year passed and the hole in her chest got covered by a false scar, she got transferred to the Sasebo naval district, were she found a little peace. There the commander was a fat man, an officer that ranked from the low ranks thanks to being the remaining son of a Japanese politician. While he was nothing special to Harusame, even his name that he constantly babbled didn't remained with her. A somewhat responsible officer that tried his best with the ships he got, as he was in main land he was attacked a few times and faced a pair of dangerous events but somehow survived by perhaps sheer luck. Even if this man tried to help Harusame a few times, none of his words reached her, so every time she answered with an empty smile.

But nothing last forever and she want to try it again, after revisiting her old base and meeting that kind hearted admiral, she felt a bit of warm within herself, a seed of hope started to grow with idea of being with her sisters again and having people she can trust and finally recover from losing his loved one, finding peace of mind.

The pink haired faintly smiled, as all those memories are now nothing more than melancholic illusions.

In the middle of the sea only her light was visible, darkness covered the sky as the moon not visible these days. She knew that using a faint light and following the safe routes was the best way to reach every base, she was still on radar from the nearest base, so there was nothing to be worried.

-My sisters should not be far by n-now…- she said to herself as to remind herself she was not alone anymore; all her sisters should be on way to greet her.

-Eh!...- She immediately turned around as a chilling sensation travel her spine. Harusame was used to travel at midnight and knew that the sea can be scary at times. In her travels she has seen strange stars falls from the sky, weird noises that came from the waters, weird mists that sometimes engulfed her but at the end nothing serious ever happened to her.

-It's the dead of the night. I'm a little... No! I'm not scared at all- she felt shivers but faced again the route –M-my sisters should be nearby, I just need to keep going and then I will see their lights- she continued her travel yet this time she increased her speed to her maximum. No she was not scared but got a bad feeling about that hour.

She then hears it, a ghostly laugh.

The girl´s heart skipped a beat when she identified the voice as that of a woman. She tried to escape, she knew that same feeling from before, it was the same she got once, the terrifying sensation that someone was closely following her. She turned off her light and accelerate but a loud noise filled dazed her and a sudden column of water fell over her making her lose balance.

A loud series of explosions destroyed the silence of the night and columns of smoke rise from a burning sea.

Harusame opened her eyes feeling dizzy, she was wet and pain filled her entire body yet somehow she was still alive. She felt the cold water and a chilling sensation filling her legs. She was confused but appeared to be lucky, maybe she was attacked and left there after the enemy thought she was killed. She tried to stand up but her limbs didn't respond, she got a painful feeling in her back and in the middle of her arms. At that time a sudden rush of adrenaline filled her and give her enough strength to send a distress signal.

She felt her body cold and was starting to feel tired.

-I´m afraid… Please Admiral… Help me…- she fighting to remain conscious, she started to cry and weep with her remaining vitality. She wanted to see her sisters again, she wanted to see her beloved admiral again, she wanted to see that kind hearted man. She wanted to convince herself that she still got things she can live for, she wanted to try again with this new chance, she wanted to be happy again, so she could only wait for the best and wait to be rescued.

She stayed floating in the water for hours, she passes out and recover a few times but finally she heard something in the air, she moved her head to watch a small plane flying around. Harusame smiled with pain and raised her bloody hand as if wanting to reach it…

But her hand rise from the black sea below her and grab her by the neck. Something terrible was below Harusame and she loved to taste the ultimate despair of her victims. This produce a sudden reaction in the ship girl, even in her injured state she tried her best to shook her off but that hand was stronger than her, and slowly dragged her to the bottom of the sea, leaving her with only her last breath as her mind remember her life in a pair of seconds, all her happiness and regrets appear before her, then all fade into darkness.