Disclaimer: I own nothing but with that said I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway!

Yes yes, I know another story I am aware I have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people but this idea wouldn't leave so I'm just going to have to entertain it for a little bit so just bear with me until it gets out of my system. It's a different take on my other story Blurring The Lines where I decide to see what I could do without having to follow the guidelines I got in the request for that story. This doesn't mean anything is happing to BTL, at worst this will be a bit of a test or something not entirely sure.

Either way, I hope you can still enjoy it and if so let me know (or don't I'm not your dad)

...

"Commander! Akashi has come to speak with you about new developments, nya!~"

Aiko Watanabe looked up from her work as the head of their research division, as well as the biggest drain on her wallet, entered her office in a rush nearly tripping over herself in her haste as she made her way over to the desk. Her cat-like eyes were open wide and her ears twitched maniacally as if she'd just downed at least four cups of coffee in the last hour alone.

Or more than likely she'd gone through at least five bottles of oxy-cola in one sitting. It wasn't all that uncommon but the sugar rush hit fast and it hit hard.

"Hello to you too Akashi," She greeted barely looking up from her work to address the huffing girl who seemed a breath away from falling over. "What's got you so worked up, hm? You didn't get caught scamming people again did you?" She chided disinterestedly knowing that sometimes Akashi could get a bit lost on her path to hoarding riches, leading her to sell things that weren't exactly worth what she charged for them.

The shopkeeper also had a no-refund policy in place that often meant she went unpunished for her actions unless they got really out of hand or you were scary enough to frighten her into submission and get a refund, but that was pretty rare.

"No, and Akashi is insulted that you believe she would do something like that! Nya~" The repair ship stuck her tongue out at her before seemingly remembering why she was here in the first place, snapping back to attention. "That is not the point, nya! I came to tell you something big has just happened!"

Something big?

"Well go on then, you've got my attention and anything that distracts from all this damn paperwork can't be that bad…" She grumbled putting her pen down and turning her attention away from the stacks of never endings forms and requests she needed to fill out daily. She knew it was an honor to have been chosen to lead an organization of such importance but the amount of paperwork that came with it was ridiculous.

Sometimes she regretted putting in that application but there was nothing to be done about it now. She couldn't just resign and even as much as she hated it there were upsides to the job as well as her own personal goals.

"You are familiar with our work on bringing back unfinished and unrealized kansen correct, nya?"

"Yes Akashi, given that we have broken our backs to bring quite a few of them into our forces I do think that I am familiar with the system at this point." She deadpanned wondering why the merchant had to make everything so dramatic… probably something she picked up as a marketing tactic or something. "Has something changed?" She inquired wondering if there was some complication with their process.

"Yes! Well, no but also yes!" Akashi tripped over her words as she struggled to explain why she'd marched all the way from her lab just for this. "The system itself has not changed but while Yuubari-chan and I were digging through the data recovered during our last confrontation with the Sirens we stumbled upon a new set of blueprints, schematics for a previously unknown ship!" She exclaimed and Aiko's eyes widened slightly at the news.

Now that definitely caught her attention, anything they could glean from the Sirens was useful… but the discovery also posed a worrying question in her mind.

"Are you saying that the Sirens are trying to create new ships?" She inquired her tone shifting as she took on her role as a leader to assess a potential rising threat. The Sirens were already a force that for the moment outmatched them even without the benefit of the resources they had to expend fighting off the Crimson Axis... the idea that they may be preparing to add to their already formidable strength was cause for alarm.

Akashi, however, seemed to be less worried about such an outcome.

"We do not think so, nya~" Akashi said and pulled out a large folded up piece of paper that she had somehow managed to hide within her sleeves and held it out for her to take. "Judging by the information we managed to glean from the pieces of data we recovered there doesn't appear to be any plans related to producing new ship designs." She waved her sleeves in reassurance "Given how deeply this was buried away we think this may actually be the blueprint for a ship that comes from beyond our time, possibly even from where the Sirens may have originated from!"

A kansen from the future? The idea alone would have been tough to swallow had it not been for the fact that the Sirens clearly possessed technology and abilities that had no business existing in their current era. Given the data had been retrieved from the one known as Tester, it was entirely possible that they'd just managed to get their hands on something the Sirens had intended to keep quiet…

If so then they were almost duty-bound to pursue it… Unless the Sirens had wanted them to find this? That was a possibility she couldn't rule out and if so that begged the question of why? Why supply them with a means to fight back when they seemed so bent on breaking them? It just didn't make sense… unfortunately for her not making any sense seemed to be a talent of theirs.

"Not to give my approval of this just yet… but if you are right and this does come from a time or place beyond us, would we even be able to build it?" She unfurled the paper and her eyes glanced over what appeared to be the design of what vaguely resembled a cruiser of some kind but she couldn't recognize half of the components that went into its creation. "I don't even recognize half of what's written here." She admitted.

Granted she wasn't intimately knowledgeable about all the fine details necessary to build a ship but she wasn't a novice by any means either. Whatever these schematics were, they were far from basic.

"No, there is no way we can build it, at least not how it's is built here, whatever these resources are they appear to be far beyond anything we have now…" Akashi sounded more a bit put off as she was forced to admit that there was something that even she couldn't make. "However! We think we might be able to replace a lot of the missing parts with ones of our own, it won't be perfect but with the advances we've made since beginning to research Siren technology it could come close, nya!"

Aiko paused to consider that angle, that could actually work and despite her money-grubbing ways Akashi would not have presented the idea if she didn't think it would pay off in the long run.

She had a good eye for risk assessment after all.

"I assume you've already got estimates on what we'll need for this project?" She asked sending a sidelong glance at her and in true form, Akashi smirked and pulled out a clipboard containing everything she would need for this task.

"Akashi knew the Commander would see the potential and so Akashi has indeed created a list of everything we will need in advance, nya~" She handed the paper over and Aiko immediately felt a migraine coming on as she surveyed the requirements, this was going to be unquestionably the most expensive and resource intensive project to date. She couldn't even go to the board for funds given that the PRs were considered personal projects and not necessary expenditures.

Of course, the board was also perfectly fine with benefiting from the extra firepower her "personal projects" brought to their side... the uppity pricks.

She supposed she'd have to bite the bullet then.

"I hope this is worth the trouble, I'll begin gathering what we need but keep in mind we are on a budget starting now so don't expect any patronage from me for a long time." She warned tuning out the sudden and distressing wails of her resident tech who just realized her best customer had essentially cut her off for the foreseeable future.

At least she wouldn't be the only one suffering but for now, she had some teams to assemble.

…

Several Months Later…

"We're almost ready Commander just some last minute preparations and all our hard work will pay off!" Yuubari shouted digging her fingers into the mess of wires and circuits that were sprawled around them while Akashi ran from computer to computer going over calculations with such intensity that she was surprised her eyes hadn't popped out of her skull yet.

"Let's hope so, we've put far too much into the project to walk away empty-handed." She grunted doing her own part to help with the preparations by hauling around the larger cables and connecting them as needed. She may have been forced to sit behind a desk most of the time but that didn't mean she wasn't physically active and she wasn't about to let them do all the work while she just stood around looking pretty. She'd even forgone wearing her usual white suit in favor of a more comfortable pair of loose-fitting sweat pants and a light grey tee-shirt that kept her from overheating as she handled the physical labor. Her short hair also had the benefit of not getting caught on everything which made it easier.

She could have ordered one of her girls to do it but that just wasn't the kind of person she was and her subordinates often joked that if she wasn't a human she would almost definitely have been born a kansen. She wasn't so sure she would have minded such a thing but alas there was only so much raw determination and will could grant her and so she was stuck leading from the back most of the time.

Grunting as she snapped another electrical cable into place, she wiped the sweat off her brow and bounced over to where Akashi was peering over the girl's shoulder as worked on calibrating the machine used to manifest new kansen. Usually, it was a fairly easy process but when it came to PRs the whole thing got a lot more complicated so they needed to make sure everything was perfect.

"How's it going on this end Akashi?" She asked.

"Nya, I think we are clear to go, Commander! Everything looks good and the wisdom cubes have been loaded onto the platform, all that's left is to pull the lever and see the results!" She said quickly rushing to the podium to ensure everything was as it should be.

"Yuubari, are we set?!"

"All clear, it took a bit of work but I've managed to reroute enough power to maintain the output needed! I just hope San Diago isn't too upset that I had to borrow some from her stage lights hehe…" Yuubari grinned nervously and off in the distance the trio heard what sounded like frantic wailing in the background.

Something about being numbah whan...

…

"She'll be fine, let's get this rolling!" Yuubari quickly made her way to one of the levers that would finalize months of hard work and promptly ignoring the deadpanned stares the duo were sending her way before they two began to move to their positions.

"Nya, on your signal Commander~" Akashi hurried to the second lever.

Aiko stared ahead at the large podium loaded with gently glowing cubes, Ten fragments of untapped potential sat just waiting to be used… This was the final step on the road to the newest chapter of their journey and she could only hope it would prove worth it in the end.

"Fire when ready!" She commanded and without wasting a second Yuubari and Akashi pulled their respective levers and the room instantly came to life with the sound of shifting gears and static. A large laser that was grafted to the sealing hummed as it began to draw in power arcs of electricity running across its metal chassis as it shifted position.

The lights dimmed as all available energy was drawn to a singular point, a single speck of blue light that shined brightly at the very tip of the device, the light nearly blinding the trio as they waited for what was to come next. The point of energy gleamed like a newborn star before suddenly shooting forward in a single thin beam of light that struck the waiting stack of cubes, causing them to glow brightly.

Hairline cracks began to appear along their surface and soon the room was alight in a rainbow of colors all melding into one before splitting once again the process repeating over and over again as each of the cubes began to vibrate violently while the cracks grew ever larger.

"Akashi!" She yelled trying to be heard over the loud whirring of the machine and the sounds of cracking glass that emanated from the podium. "What's happening?!"

This had never happened before!

"I don't know?! We did everything right, nya!" Akashi cried shielding her eyes when the light from the podium became too intense to look at, Yuubari and Aiko following suit as the lab flashed a brilliant white and the sound of shattering glass echoed loudly in their ears, almost deafeningly so.

And then, just as quickly as it began… it all stopped and silence reigned once more.

…

"Nya… is everyone okay?" Akashi lowered her sleeves and to her relief neither Yuubari or the Commander appeared hurt by the resulting experiment, both seeming a bit dazed by the events but otherwise unharmed.

"Other than the fact that I'll probably need glasses after that, I'm fine." Yuubari groaned pawing at her eyes in an attempt to wipe the fuzzy stars clouding her vision away. "More importantly did it work is what I want to know?

Aiko didn't bother affirming her safety instead making her way through the smoke towards where she knew the podium was to see just what had happened to the fruits of their labor. Anxiousness gripped her she waved away the slowly dissipating remains of what appeared to have been a hardware malfunction judging by the smell of burning smell that was assaulting her nostrils.

"Come on… let that have worked!"

Had she been paying attention she would have noticed one of the large cables along the floor had been blown loose by the rather violent reaction but in her frantic state, she didn't register its presence until she'd tripped over it a sharp yelp unconsciously passing her lips as she tumbled rapidly towards the ground. Her eyes closed instinctually as she braced for impact with the floor below, her arms reaching out to cushion her fall as she awaited the familiar sensation of pain that would accompany her descent.

But it never came, instead, she felt herself being caught by a pair of strong arms that quickly wrapped themselves around her, pulling her back up before she could have her impromptu date with the concrete. Large, but gentle hands helped guide her back onto her feet and a peal of deep rumbling laughter filled her ears as she slowly regained her senses, unconsciously leaning herself against whoever had caught her as she did so.

"Easy there Miss, are you alright?" A warm voice asked merrily but she could hear genuine concern within their words and their rather deep and very masculine voice made for a distinct departure from what she was used to.

…Wait, what?

Quickly opening her eyes, she was greeted to the sight of a pair of bright and kind blue eyes that gazed bemusedly back into her own amber-colored orbs the twin aquatic colored gems shining brightly even through the smoky haze. A wild yet sunny grin met her inquisitive expression witch such force that it threatened to split its wearer's face in two if got any wider than it was now. But none of that caught her attention as much as one very important detail that sent her mind reeling in shock.

A male kansen… her mind blanked as she combed through every meeting she'd ever had with the warship manifestations and she could not recall even a single passing mention of there ever being a male among them. Not a single book, article, journal, or even footnote sprang to mind on the phenomena that was currently standing before her in all of his impossible glory. For reasons that were unknown to them all kansen were female without exception, it was just the reality of it there were just no male manifestations…

Until now.

"Um, hello? Anyone there?" His rumbling voice and quizzical expression forced her from her shock as she realized that she was still draped in his arms like some kind of damsel.

"E-Excuse me…" She quickly righted herself pulling out of his embrace to hurridly regain her composure. She was the Commander of Azur Lane she needed to get herself together, especially if he really was what she believed him to be. "Forgive my actions I was caught up in the moment and forgot my surroundings." She apologized but her gaze never left him, her curiosity proving far more interested in studying this anomaly than kowtowing to proper manners of all things.

He was tall she noted, quite a bit taller than herself probably standing at just under six feet if she had to guess which still easily put him well above most of the girls on base with maybe a few exceptions. He also possed some very distinct markings on his face, six thin but distinct lines adorning his face three on each cheek… they almost looked like whiskers if she was being honest, passively reminding her of a cat or perhaps a fox.

He had short-cropped blond hair but she could see that it had a bit of wildness to it judging how it spiked up towards the top as if it wanted to continue growing into some kind of mane but had been cut short for the sake of making it easier to manage. Moving her gaze from his face to the rest of his attire she found it was rather lax in nature compared to some of the more elaborate outfits she'd seen but it didn't look bad on him by any means.

A dark black zipped up jacket with buttoned sleeves and a red sash tied around his left bicep, the left sleeve was rolled up slightly while the right hung loosely down revealing that he kept his right arm wrapped in thick looking bandages. She couldn't help but wonder why? Moving down he wore a bright pair of orange pants with two strange-looking holsters attached to his hip and leg respectively and a pair of dark black open-toed sandals that stretched up to about is calf it seemed.

Overall he looked rather youthful and she hazarded a guess he that was in his late teens or early twenties at best. Granted age was a bit pointless when it came to certain kansen who looked nothing like their actual age, the diminutive form of one British Queen came to mind before she quickly banished the thought.

"Eh? That's way too formal!" His previously baffled look quickly gave way to a mischievous grin and without warning he easily stepped back into her space with a laugh pulling her once more against him, her chest pressing tightly against his own while their faces sat mere inches apart to the point where both could feel the breath of the other upon their lips.

Despite herself, she felt a sudden flush take her at his forwardness given that her position and general demeanor had never prompted such action from… well, anyone! She was the commander of an army with enough power to sink an island for goodness sake! Not that she would ever do that of course but the point remained the same.

That didn't seem to bother him in the slightest however and she could see the amusement on his face as she struggled to process the shift in dynamic, his chest once more rumbling with barely contained laughter as she leveled a furious glare at his snickering face.

It seemed they would have a new troublemaker on deck, she could already feel the headaches incoming...

"Enough of that," She huffed pushing her way out of his grip and getting herself under control she wasn't a little girl that was just going to let him do as he pleased after all. "Before you go having a laugh at my expense how about introducing yourself." She prompted phrasing it like a question but it was clearly a demand. "I am Aiko Watanabe, Commander of this base and head of Azur Lane." She declared standing to her full height reaching just up to the nape of his neck.

"Spoilsport... but we'll do it your way!" He grinned happily and stood up straight. "The names Naruto, the sole member of the Uzumaki-class Large Cruisers! I'll be in your care from now on Commander, I do hope you can handle having me around~" He finished, sending a cheeky smirk her way that almost assured that he was going to cause her problems in the future. Right now though, she was far more focused on what'd he'd just said and the implications of it.

"Uzumaki-class?" As expected, she had never heard of that class of ship before. It sounded like a name right out of the Sakura Empire even if appearance-wise he looked like he should belong in the Union, but if she was right that would make him part of the Crimson Axis… were the schematics perhaps gained from the future Sakura Empire? If so it was rather depressing to think even out into the future they'd still failed to convince the Japanese fleet to return to their side.

Then again the future wasn't written in stone so perhaps there was still time to change the course of events but she would keep that little tidbit in mind.

"Is there anything else you can tell me? Where you are from or when you were originally constructed?" She asked wondering if perhaps they could even some insight into what the future might hold, anything that could give them some direction.

At this Naruto's jovial expression grew rather subdued and a frustrated look appeared on his face. "I wish I could but I'm drawing blanks Commander…" He admitted uncomfortably for once displaying emotions outside of joviality. "There are pieces… voices and words but no faces or dates to attach them to. Like something is missing to link it all up. I'm sorry but I honestly couldn't tell you much." He explained sounding genuinely apologetic and annoyed that he could not answer her questions which banished her immediate thoughts that he was lying to cover up some truth he didn't want to reveal.

Either he was a grade-A actor or he was being honest and her gut told her it was the later.

Did the fractured memory have something to do with them building him too early perhaps? He wasn't a one to one recreation of his blueprints either having to make do with parts that they had access to instead of from his own time and some things had to be left out. Given that every other PR had been built with advancements instead of regressions she couldn't rule out that the blame for his fragmented memory could very likely fall upon them.

She would have to make due and pray that with time he would remember at least something of value but she wasn't holding out a lot of hope that the universe would be so kind as to just drop the answers into her lap.

"That's fine if you can remember anything just let me know." She asked and he nodded.

"Of course, you'll be the first to hear it." He promised quickly returning to previously his upbeat demeanor and she graced him with a trusting smile glad that they could at least agree to be open with one another. Thankfully it didn't seem like he was going to be uncooperative with which reassured her somewhat.

There was still time to be proven wrong though but they would cross that bridge if they needed too.

...

- Commander's Office a few Hours Later -

It had taken some time to get the latest member of her fleet out of Akashi's sight at the repair ship had taken a very keen interest in running through a rigorous gauntlet of tests upon seeing him but at last, she'd managed to get them both out of the lab and into her office where she had begun filling him in on the current state of affairs.

"So both the Sakura Empire and the Iron Blood left Azur Lane to join the Sirens?" He asked trying to wrap his head around the info dump that had just been laid on him.

"Yes and no, despite our hopes to unite and push them back, both groups ended up splintering off and creating a new opposing faction but they are not overtly allied with the Sirens either." She clarified crossing her fingers as she leaned back into her chair. "They are also not the only members of this Crimson Axis, they have been joined by smaller groups as well such as the Sardegna Empire and Vichya Dominion, though the rationale for the latter group is in question and we have had a few deserters rejoin us which has proven helpful."

"What caused the split?" He questioned a small frown worming its way onto his face as he tried to understand why these groups would actively work against one another. "This couldn't have been an overnight decision."

"We aren't fully sure, the most obvious reason we are aware of is that there was a conflict in ideals in regards to how best to handle the Sirens. Many of us believed that through unity and bringing forth the strength of humanity we could persevere and push the Sirens back, these groups became the core factions of Azur Lane." She stated. "However, others believed that security could only be obtained by adopting the technology of the Sirens and incorporating it into ourselves."

"This rift in opinions and methodology eventually caused the split and since then we have been fighting both the Sirens and the Axis." She finished with a long sigh of resignation. She hated how things had turned out but there was little she could do, she had not been put in charge until after the split and by then it was too late, neither the Iron Blood nor the Sakura Empire appeared willing to rejoin them and their allies were either too stubborn or unstable to be reached out to.

So they had to keep fighting, keeping fighting and hope that they could convince the rest to return and unify once more.

"I see." He scowled as he learned more about the conflict. "What allies do we have?" He asked shifting the conversation to a topic a bit less sensitive and Aiko perked up a little at the change.

"Right now the two largest pillars of Azur Lane are the American Eagle Union and the British Royal Navy." She revealed. "These two groups have maintained their commitments to Azur Lane's goals and have been invaluable in securing the well being of those under our protection. As for others… well other than some slight rumblings of dissent from other groups we can not claim to have nearly as many allies as the Axis." She admitted sadly.

It was only the overwhelming naval power of the Royal Navy and the exceptional air superiority provided by the Union that allowed them to stand up to such overwhelming odds. If either of them withdrew for any reason… she dreaded to think of the consequences. Thankfully both factions appeared fully committed to maintaining the core values of humanity.

"It doesn't look like that's stopped you though." He praised lightly having gotten a glimpse of the base on their way here, it was a peaceful place without the malignant air of defeat or resignation wafting from it. "You don't strike me as the type to let something like unfavorable odds stand in your way." He grinned and she couldn't help but chuckle at his optimistic outlook on her even having only been in her presence for a few hours.

"I don't have much of a choice, the world is depending on us to deliver them the peace we once maintained I can't afford to quit when things don't go our way." She then leveled him with a hard look, one that belied the softness of her features, amber-eyes filled with the same fiery determination that had gotten her promoted to commander in the first place. "I dream that one day we will find peace and I will fight for it until my last breath, I will protect those I love and those who need to be protected."

That was her promise, not only to herself but to those under her and to those who knowingly or not relied upon her. She had joined the not out of obligation but out of a desire to make a change and here was the place she could do so.

For a moment, Naruto found himself stunned into silence by the conviction in her voice, the intensity of her gaze telling him that she wholeheartedly stood by her words and that there was nothing that would sway her from her course of action. She had the face of a leader, one that had fallen before but would rise up again and again until she found success. An odd nostalgic feeling bubbled in his chest and a bright smile made its way onto his face, a barking laugh escaping him that caught Aiko off guard at its suddenness.

Was he mocking her? Did such a jovial person perhaps possess a more nihilistic view of their struggles?

"When a person has something important they want to protect.. that's when they can become truly strong." He mused, the words falling out of his mouth before his mind could process them, a melancholic chill running over him but with it came a sense of purpose as well. "Well, Commander if that's how you truly feel…"

He leveled her with a determined expression of his own this time catching her off guard as he adopted perhaps the closest thing to a serious expression she'd seen since his "birth". It made the hair on her neck stand on end but she was forced into silence by the look of respect he was currently affording her... as if he was acknowledging her beyond just her role as commander, his whole demeanor shifting just for a moment.

"Then I ask that you use me as you see fit, so long as you continue to follow your convictions I am yours to command!" He swore standing up to his full height and saluting her, accepting her as his commander, his new leader. "My power is yours and with it, we'll create the peace you desire!"

He would make her dream a reality or die trying, that was his promise!

AN. Chapter Completed!

Hope you all like this, I wanted to give myself a kind of counter to Blurring the Lines to work on where I wasn't limited as much by the initial premise. Don't get me wrong, I love BTL but since many of the design choices were out of my hands it makes the storytelling options a bit limiting, especially as I work to branch into the actual story events of the game. I also want to assure people that the creation of this story doesn't mean BTL is going to stop or anything but it may indicate a shift to a less serious type of fic, we'll see.

As you can see it's not as fleshed out an intro as BTL but that is part of the trial nature, I'm testing the waters to see how far I really want to take this so I apologize if you feel its not as strong an intro but that is the reasoning.

In the meantime, I do want to go over some stuff here though! Specifically, why certain choices were made that are different from BTL.

Naruto's size/age/class/rarity:

These three things were changed because I wanted them to be a bit less confining than in BTL, little shota Naruto is fun in that story but it puts a cap on what I can and can't do and boils many interactions down to just being cute. An older Naruto opens a lot more options for both combat, relationships, dialogue, etc so I decided I would set him to his age and general appearance from Naruto the Last.

The reason I switched him from BB (Battleship) to a Large Cruiser was that I always thought it was more fitting for him to be a vanguard ship than a backline given how he fights. Now I know the anime has made backline and frontline a bit interchangeable in terms of effectiveness but I think he's far better suited for this. I didn't make him a destroyer, sub, or carrier because none of them really fit other than maybe destroyer and only if I went with pre-Shippuden Naruto. Aviation could have fit but again I think up close and personal fits him better.

He is of the Decisive rarity so do expect him to be quite powerful but I will keep him in check where I can, I do want to toy with a more powerful character but if I see it getting a bit repetitive I might up the world challenge.

The world/villains:

This is a big change since some people who have read my other fic might have gotten the idea that the Sakura Empire and the Iron Blood are actually on the "Good Guys" team but that is not strictly true. In-game they are enemies opposed to Azur Lane and so for those people who have fallen in love with Akagi and Kaga in BTL, I will warn you in advance that they are not going to be the same here. That is not to say anything about the future but expect them to serve as the antagonists they are.

Same for the Iron Bloods.

I also won't be introducing Naruto to the rest of the factions as I did in BTL, I want to go for something a bit more natural, which is why I have introduced the PR system early on and unlike shota Naruto this one isn't borderline a replica of their enemies so there is less tension there.

Anyway, that's all for now, let me know your thoughts and I'll see you again later!