Reflecting on My Naval Service

Kaigun-Daisa Hikigaya Hachiman

When you think of Naval service, you think of glorious patriotism. And this idealistic patriotism causes nothing but death.

Those of you who believe in dutifully serving your country, jumping at any chance to go to war, are ignorant of the truth. Why do you have to serve the country? Why is your country in a position where it is at war? In truth, there would be no need for service if your country did not fail in negotiating peace.

The past has shown us that patriotism is flawed. From the samurai, who committed honour driven suicide rather than finding a way to solve their issues. To the officers of the IJN, who encouraged pilots to commit suicide rather than survive and to regain strength. It caused people to commit horrific acts of savagery in the name of the Empire. The world grew sick of our patriotism. And we were forced to pay a large price for our fanaticism.

You may argue that patriotism is necessary to build up a country, to have like minded people be aware that there is a common people to fight for. But that is childish. No more than an excuse to justify whatever crimes you've committed. And in the aforementioned cases, nothing more than an excuse to run away from actual responsibility.

Like youth, where every small mistake and crime will just be stated as "misadventures of youth." We are encouraged to make mistakes. Is it any wonder then, that patriotism is glorified by the youth? Where patriotism is in essence correcting the mistakes that the country makes?

And to not partake in this is seen as a problem. Not jumping at the chance solve the mistakes of others is seen as troubling and weak.

And this baits the weak minded youth into their early deaths. And those who are left have to deal with the original problem and the new problem of dead soldiers.

True patriotism is following a path in which these problems never occur in the first place.

In conclusion, I am truly patriotic by refusing to sink to the level of active combat when all problems can be solved logistically.

Chapter 1: As it is, Hikigaya Hachiman has no qualms

"Hikigaya-dai-i. (1)"

I snapped back into a more attentive pose. "Yes, Hiratsuka-Taishou?" (2)

"What the hell is this in front of me."

Even with her harsh tone, she was motioning for me to sit down at the chair in front of her desk.

"It's a report, ma'am."

"Yes, I have eyes. What I mean is more figurative. How the hell did you get to patriotism is flawed when I asked you to report in about this week's performance?"

"Well ma'am, I honestly have no idea either. I was just writing whatever came to mind. I had a rather late night you see."

She poured me some tea. Then went back to taking another drag from her cigarette. A late night for her too it seems.

"You're lucky I don't actually send these up to command. I'd be down a rather competent officer."

I sipped the tea quietly. "Nothing wrong with the writing then?"

"Oh there's plenty wrong. What's with linking crime and mistakes together? If you were going for juxtaposition it might have worked but it detracts from your point quite a bit because it's too out there. And the entire patriotism spiel? Nice wording but absolutely nonsensical. And rather ironic too considering you're one of the more shrewd officers, and hence more patriotic by that metric. Though I'm starting to suspect that's more because of self-gain and jealousy than a good work ethic. Especially considering the contents of the last few reports had quite a bit of unnecessary detail about how the combined fleet logistics were too luxurious."

"Please explain to me why they get enough bottled ramune to fill a hotel and air couriered wagyu beef while we're having trouble filling up our cruisers with fuel?"

"They get wagyu beef?"

"Not so unnecessary now, is it."

"... True. But it's still not relevant to how you decided to inject your own beliefs into a report." I could see a hint of a smile coming from her lips. Then she sighed, took a drag and folded the report.I finished my tea and set it back neatly.

"So, why am I here?" I asked.

She didn't respond for a while, simply exhaling smoke. I wrinkled my nose slightly but waited. I had learned to not interrupt her few moments of tranquility. The wall still had many marks in it.

Eventually, she opened up her drawer and pulled out a letter, one made with material signifying it to come from high command. The edges were wrinkled, as if it had been opened and closed many times already.

She slipped it over to me, motioning it for me to read it.

By the order of Taishou Yukinoshita

All enlisted officers compatible with shipgirls are to undergo mandatory training and reassignment to active combat duty effective immediately.

I could see why her ashtray was overflowing now. "Is it that bad?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet, but they're beginning to move into a more active phase. Logistic officers like you don't get a free pass anymore, no matter how much I make the case you're more useful pushing paper."

"I see." That was all I could really respond with. When you have a boss who's had orders pushed down from their boss, you can't really complain. "But what is it that they expect me to do? I'm unsuited for direct combat. Anyone with a brain could see that."

"It's true that your… personality is rather undesirable. Not to mention with your dead eyes-"

"Oi I resent that. My eyes are perfectly fine, thank you very much. It's not like I had a choice in that or anything"

"I've seen your baby pictures, you didn't have them then. That's not the point. Don't give lip to your commanding officer!"

Another slap to the head. I inclined my head downwards as if to reflect upon my actions. I must have seemed suitably chastised, as she decided to continue.

"Your circuits are of very high quality, albeit lacking in their capacity. You won't be able to support many KanMusu (5). But for logistics runs, you'll still have your use."

Oh god, I'm going to become a expedition slave?

"Then again I'm sort of glad you won't be able to command too many shipgirls. Who knows what you would do to them."

Do you want my help or not, woman? You're not really selling the whole 'we need you in the navy' shtick. Also, I'm not some dense idiot whose only thoughts are filled with oppai. Though I wouldn't mind having a cool looking red gauntlet. (6)

She took another drag. "Times are getting desperate. We only have so many people who are compatible with KanMusu. I would've assigned you to engineering, but your ability to somehow screw a nut on backwards still astounds me to this day."

I couldn't say anything against that. Forced conscription will occur regardless of my personal thoughts. It's truly unfortunate such potential was wasted on someone like me. Not only were KanMusu limited by the quality of circuits that the Admiral in command had, but only certain people could become admirals. I think the twintailed, tsundere Dai-Gensui (7) said something about INCANTATIONS. OREO? No wait ORIGIN and EREMENT. (8)

Maybe we wouldn't be in this situation had someone else been blessed with my circuits. Oh wait wasn't my philosophy to solve things before they came to war? Damn my past lazy self. And I'm sorry my future self. "You didn't call me here just to inform me of this, did you?"

"Ah, well I did want to have our weekly chat before you're gone. Goodness knows I don't get many chances to poke around with language much. The other reports are all so bland. Stupid Haruno for ruining this..."

Seeing as I still wasn't buying it, she decided to switch tactics. "Tell me Hikigaya, do you have any friends?"

I blinked at that seeming non-sequitur. In the process of my brain trying to parse the sentence, my mouth decided to betray me. "Well you see the concept of friends is rather strange. You could consider someone a friend but they don't consider you one. In that case, the friendship is automatically voided. But the first party wouldn't know that, and still believe they are friends. In that case-"

"Alright stop with that, it's just making me depressed. So you really don't have friends huh. Not that surprising considering your job."

Then why did you ask me that, woman.

"Let me rephrase that to something more suiting you. Can you still talk to people and listen?"

"I'm talking and listening to you right now." I couldn't help but snark.

"And you're also driving me up the wall. But yes, I do believe you can manage that at least. I've managed to secure a competent trainer for you. I've also managed to secure some extra help for your base. Make sure to keep in contact with me alright?"

"Hiratsuka-gensui, you're too young to be my mother." My mind caught up with what I said, and my body instinctively leaned left.

WHOOSH

A fist buffeted past where my head just was.

"Hikigaya, if you needed coffee you could've asked." She said in a very sweet yet terrifying tone, pulling out some powdered coffee and pouring me a cup as if she hadn't tried to just kill me. I could hear some of the drywall cracking.

"A-ah. I, uh, forgive me for that."

While mumbling something about brats under her breath, she searched around in her pockets before pulling out another cigarette. She tapped it against the desk besides her, compacted the tobacco and then tried to light it with a lighter. Having it click a few times without a flame, she gave up and tossed it away.

"Seriously Hikigaya, keep in touch. i don't want to hear you've gotten yourself hurt by a piece of paper. Get along with the help I've organized."

"Hai hai, Okaa-san"

She slapped me on the head. Even so, she was smiling slightly at that remark. Huh, no punch. Guess it was just the age part.

She opened a drawer and pulled out another form. From the quick glimpse of the title I could tell it was a reassignment form.

"Captain Hikigaya Hachiman of the Chiba Abyssal Battle Group. You are hereby reassigned from your position as logistics manager of the second task force to the commander of Destroyer Division 6, an escort fleet of the first task force. Your new base of operations will be Diana bay. You are to report there at 0800 tomorrow. Is that understood?"

I gave a deep bow, knowing that she had once again looked out for me. "Yes ma'am."

Seeing that as my dismissal, I turned to leave.

1-2

Ketoy was cold. Actually, cold doesn't do it justice. Even wrapped in several layers of clothing, my arms and legs still felt the biting wind cutting straight to my bones. Even though summer had just ended, the stiff breeze of about 30 knots managed to sap whatever uncovered warmth away in seconds. What little vegetation grew managed to grow here was sickly colour.

Somehow rather than staying in nice comfy Okinawa or any other southern island I'm sent to this wind blasted rock. Then again I generally hate summer, especially if I have to go outside. Usually I can hide in the living room, AC at full blast and take blissful naps in the sunbeams, never fearing that I would sweat. In Okinawa, it would be entirely different. I would be sweating everywhere I go, and I couldn't hide inside when I'm assigned to active duty.

I miss my desk already.

But as hard as I looked, I couldn't find any trace of it. Only the feeling of daggers as the cold bit at my hands and a very empty bay sitting at the bottom of what looked to be a volcano. There was only a small structure, probably where my base for the foreseeable future and I made my way over. (8.1)

Hitokappu bay isn't even this far north. It's on the largest island to the south, just north of Hokkaido. The first thing that they did after I reported in was look me over, get a disgusted expression, call someone over, who then called another person over, and then I was passed along 6 different people before I was told to get on a boat and dumped off on this rock. I mean, as a support Admiral I expected that I'd be away from the main base, but isn't this a bit too far?! Did they see me and assume I'm some sort of pervert or something? And then send me here in the hopes I freeze while being just far enough to not see me and just close enough to be plausibly part of the base. That's discriminatory and totally unfair! We perverts should rise up against such instantaneous hate! And show them that just because we are perverts we shouldn't be judged. Don't judge a book by its cover and all that. Wait no, I'm not a pervert.

It took all of my effort trying to keep my chattering teeth from shattering each other as I shuffled against the wind. The anchorage that would be my home for the next few months was a small place. Just a naval yard, a few warehouses, a dormitory and office and a few cranes. I couldn't really tell what the island looked like because it was blanketed by a thick layer of snow. All in all the patrol of the place took little more than 10 minutes. Were it any bigger I'm sure I would've lost my hands. Hypothermia is serious business.

And the sun, which usually would've been burning my retinas as I tried to curl into my blankets, wasn't even up yet. Oh how I long for you now, my hated nemesis.

My quick inspection of the grounds took far too long, and I was glad to finally be inside. The interior looked much like the outside, barren. But the lighting was a mellow yellow, seeming to give off a warm, homely feeling. I squinted a bit closer, and realized it was actually just faulty wiring causing dim bulbs. I continued walking through the hallways, noting the cafeteria and dormitories. They too were rather sparse, with furnishings made to last and easy to clean. Near the end of the long hallway, next to the dorms was a door. Outside, a nameplate that was hanging from one side read "Kaigun-Daisa Hikigaya Hachiman."

Who did the construction here? They can't even hang a name plate right.

I sighed, and opened the door. Unlike the rest of the base, the insides were somewhat better furnished. Inside was A decent desk, a leather armchair and a few filing cabinets near the back. The walls were stark white, and the window behind the desk was opaque with water vapor and ice. The light was flickering slightly. I'm definitely filing a report about the crap job the construction people did. Maybe I could also sue for a few more amenities. I could use fire hazard caused by faulty wiring as an excuse, and wasted time looking for my office because of that nameplate. First though, to inform Hiratsuka.

I set about looking for a communications device. There was no phone on the desk, nor on the filing cabinets. There was only a large square object with a line leading to a... wait, why is there a Morse code machine? Where's the phone? No internet, sure, but not even a phone? Are these people really cosplaying as the good old days of the Imperial Japanese Navy? I pulled out my cell phone. No signal. Well… damn. Let's see how well I can remember Morse...

Hikigaya: Hikaga of Diana anciorage reporting in.

Shizuka: Ah Hikigaya I see that you're on time. You need to work on your morse. How are you settling in.

Hikigaya: is cold. Send kotatsu.

Shizuka: A little cold never killed anyone. Man up. its your home until you get reassigned. If you want to leave you better work hard. I'll see about a kotatsu (8.3).

Hikigaya: tell German invade Russia cold not kill. Request mission.

Shizuka: Your contact for further briefing will arrive in two days. Your KanMusu should be arriving today. Please take care of them.

Hikigaya: understood.

Shizuka: Make sure to notify your family. It be better if you tell them than me.

1-3

I froze upon reading that line. 'Notify your family' This echoed over and over in my head. How could I have forgotten my cute, adorable, and very annoying little sister? She's usually at the forefront of my mind… either because she's cute or because she's annoying. Wait that sounds pretty wrong, let me try that again. She's my little sister. I feel nothing for her but brotherly affection. To forget her is just… that's going to be a lot of negative Hachiman points. Maybe enough to wipe out my years of accumulation.

I'm going to need to do a huge favour for her. I don't think my standard response of a prostration would cut it. Maybe cook for her? Wait, my cooking sucks.

Proclaim to her I'll be with her forever and ever? Life consultation? Wait I'm not a siscon. (9)

All the flavours of pocky might do the trick. And maybe some flowers for my mother.

Having found a good plan to rescue my points, and pushing away an image of a screaming old man, I settled into my chair and spun to face the window.

Engrossed in my thoughts, I didn't notice another presence in my office until a knock sounded on the door and a soft voice spoke out.

"Shireikan? (10)"

I turned to inspect the source of the voice.

What greeted me was a young girl with brown hair in a short ponytail and sailor outfit. The skirt and collar piece were both black, with an anchor ornament embedded on the front and a red ribbon tied loosely like a tie.

"A-abyssal!?"

A girl who had a turret pointed straight at my face.

"Wait what are you doi-"

A flash of light.

(1) Kaigun-Dai-i (海軍大尉) is equivalent to Lieutenant ranking. It's one step below Shousa and one above Chuui.

(2) Kaigun-Taishou (海軍大将) is equivalent to Admiral ranking. It's one step below Gensui Taishou, and pretty much the highest rankings in service. Yamamoto Isoroku was a Taishou until his posthumous promotion to Gensui Taishou.

Edit: Lot's of changes, too lazy to change numbers.

Edit 2: Changed Hachiman's base from Hitokappu bay (false) to a real location.

(5) KanMusume (艦娘) literally means ship girl. I think the English sounds stupid and since I don't really know Japanese it just sounds better.

(6) Highschool DxD referece.

(7) Dai-Gensui Taishou (大元帥大将) means big Gensui, which is one rank above Gensui Taishou. Gensui is the highest rank, and Dai Gensui is pretty much a formality ranking for royals. It still holds absolute command over the navy.

(8) Incarnation, Origin, Element. These are said in English. And while Hikigaya is slightly above average, he's not the best at English especially while dealing with new concepts.

(8.1) This is based on the Ostrov Ketoy island in the Kuril Island chain. It is an uninhabited volcano at about the center of the chain. Typical temperatures only reach 10 degrees during the summer and drop to 5 below 0 during the winter. Bay of Diana is this made up name for the bay that overlooks the Diana Strait (пролив Диана). It is currently owned by the Russian Federation with claims made on it by Japan.

(8.3) A Kotatsu is one of those table blanket heater things in anime. They are very nice to sit in during winters.

(9) My little sister can't be this cute referece.

(10) Shireikan (司令官) means commander.

A/N:

This is supposed to be published on Nov 26th. Coincidentally the date that the Pearl Harbor attack force left Hitokappu bay.

Edit: Added (8.1) and did a bit of fixing because I messed up describing where Hachiman was located.

Edit 2: Reworked a bit of dialogue. Added some things so that it flows better. Removed some useless parts. Still needs a rework.

Edit 3: Reworked a lot of the Hiratsuka dialogue to have it be more natural and set up some ideas.

Edit 4: More fixing of describing Hachiman's base in preparation for Chapter 5.

Edit 5: Fixed ranking ssystem because they were too skewed. Yukinoshita Gensui is now Taishou instead.