Kantai Collection © Kadokawa Games, DMM

Properly Relieved

Jason M. Lee

"-and that's before the cops pulled up and cited the dumbass for indecent exposure, driving under the influence, sandals instead of proper shoes, expired license, expired plates, public disturbance AND improper use of an alligator!" Jersey finished with a howl, slapping a hand onto her thigh with a loud smack.

Peals of laughter exploded from her sisters, Missouri practically falling off of her chair and onto the floor while clutching her stomach. As Iowa lifted her bottle for a sip while snickering, Wisconsin calmed down enough to look about her eldest sister's room. They didn't get to gather together often, what with them being stationed at four different bases and their hectic schedules, so it was a treat to see how the lead ship of the last of the battleships decorated her room. Various knick-knacks, the obligatory laptop with phone charging from it, posters, a shelf filled with books, but it was something on the large cork board that drew Wisconsin's attention.

"You know, I've been wondering..."

"About the universe?" Missouri quipped as she climbed back up.

The youngest of them shook her head. "About who that girl is."

A dainty hand pointed at the cork board that had a variety of pictures, a mix of Iowa meeting her former sailors, some of her hanging out with the other capital battleships, and of other scenarios. One in particular, tucked near the corner and in the shadows, contained a smiling young lady in a blue dress with a white sun hat, her blue parasol providing her shade as she stood in front of an elegant water fountain.

What was notable was the dark hair and deep brown eyes amongst the sea of blonde hair and blue eyes.

Iowa took a long pull from her bottle before lowering it, a wistful smile on her lips.

"That girl... she's me. Or rather, was me, from before."

Jersey nearly spat out her beer and had to pound her chest when it went down the wrong pipe. Missouri's beer wound up coming through her nose, also forcing her to cough.

"There's a story to it, isn't there, Sis?" Wisconsin posed after she got her wits back. "Unless you're not comfortable with telling us..."

"No, it's fine." Blonde hair swung as Iowa shook her head. "How much do you know about Natural Borns?"

The younger battleships exchanged looks, as all three of them were Summons. "Other than being reborn into life with biological parents before manifesting their rigging, not a whole lot," Jersey answered with a shrug, wiping at her chin.

Iowa nodded. "Us Natural Borns, we're not that different from the average human, other than having a stronger love for the ocean and anything water related, be it sports or the sciences. You know how Willie Dee was into water polo before her awakening, right?"

Nods went around.

"I loved playing the piano, still do, but I also loved designing water fountains." She gestured at the photo Wisconsin had pointed out. "That fountain was my class project for engineering during university. It took me weeks to figure out the mechanics to make it flow right as well figuring out how I wanted it to look like. Dad absolutely loved it so much that he had it installed on our family property not long after. That's where my water tug came from."

Iowa paused, rolling the bottle in her hands as her sisters waited patiently. She had taken her gloves off, since it was a casual affair with her sisters. It was strange, she mused, that she hadn't spoken about this with the rest of the Iowa-class after they had come back. At least it was in controlled conditions.

"It started some time after the Abyssals appeared but before they made the public announcement..."

~ o ~

A landlocked state she and her family may had originated from, but with her attending university in a state that had a coastline and was home to one of the busiest ports on the east side of the US, the whispers no doubt filtered in fast, especially from the students whose families worked at the docks. The strange disappearances, the odd weather phenomenons out in open ocean as told by the meteorological students, and it was hard to ignore the daily reports from the local stations of the constant searches by the Coast Guard. Tensions had risen again, that familiar anxiety that had shrouded the City That Never Sleeps so many years ago.

For her, she had to constantly battle the sensation of absolute wrongness each time she heard news of vanishing ships.

She had been hoping that visiting her parents for summer break would ease that feeling, and that things would be alright when classes resumed.

It didn't.

At first, her father had noticed it one morning and had thought that she had bleached the tips of her hair "to try something new, what with her being young". She denied it, confused as well. Obviously, they checked in with a close friend who was a hairdresser, but he couldn't find any evidence for the change either. Her mother, a geneticist, had been tempted to get a third opinion, but it was shot down when their family doctor gave her a clean bill. If her parents hugged her more tightly than usual and tried not to show worry in their eyes, she didn't bring it up.

None of them brought up the fact that her hair was already more than two inches blonde from the bottom up when the fall semester started.

The next thing was noticing her eye color while getting ready for morning classes, a tinge of dark blue ringing her pupil. More than already nervous, she had gone to the university's medical campus, but both the optometrist and ophthalmologist also found nothing physically wrong with her, other than commenting that her vision had improved. The only silver lining was that her roommate had commented how it made her appear more regal and could she give the name of the optometrist who gave her those awesome contacts?

There was still that feeling of wrongwrongwrong whenever the news anchors reported another missing vessel. And that internal tugging that had her looking out towards the ocean unerringly more and more often. Not to the point that had her grades dropping, thankfully, but it was starting to get harder to fully focus as the weeks passed by - she could subconsciously pay attention only so much without appearing like a slacker. Again, whispers flew about from those whose families worked at the docks, but there was a different buzz to it.

Almost... hopeful. As if something was pushing back against the cloud of tension.

Finals came, graduation proceeded without a hitch, and she decided to take a year off. Neither of her parents commented about the slight change in eye color when they picked her up at the airport.

And then...

Her mother found her first when she didn't show up for breakfast. What she discovered after opening the door and yanking the sheets off was a young woman transformed. One who easily towered over her father if she had been standing up, hair that practically shone like the sun, sleeping clothes that strained at the changed proportions, and barely restrained panic in blue eyes that rivaled the deepness of the ocean.

Instead of a soft-spoken and calm lady, her parents hugged a loud and terrified young girl. If her grip on both of them left bruises due to her newfound strength, they said nothing, other than speaking comforting reassurances in low and soothing voices.

The UN soon announced the Abyssals' presence, as well the existence of ship girls.

She also saw memories that weren't her own, things that she learned in passing from her history classes but in far more detail. Some were short wisps, conversations between sailors on their loved ones or bets on the latest pranks, whereas others were clear as day, naval operations and events that had significant dates. It wasn't a ceaseless flood, but it made for many sleepless nights.

The worst part was the now stronger tugging, the insistent need to go out into the ocean each time an Abyssal report ran on TV or on the radio.

Her mother wished for more logical answers, being a person of science. Her father, a more religious and spiritual man, opined that the Powers That Be most likely had their reasons.

On that thought, after long hours of discussion with her parents, as well long periods of hesitation, she finally called Naval Station Great Lakes. It took a lot of talking to be able to get in contact with someone high enough, but she subsequently got through.

The USN eventually sent one of their officers to retrieve her several days later, as well a JMSDF kanmusu whom she immediately recognized as the second eldest of the Big Seven even though she had never really studied ships. It was the Japanese warship who truly confirmed what she had become.

Before she left her old life, her parents pulled her close, forcing her to bend down to properly hear their words.

"We still love you, we'll always love you, and we will always be proud of you."

~ o ~

Silence, save the sounds of naval work filtering through the window.

"Shiiit," Jersey breathed, staring between her older sister and the photo multiple times. She was having a hard time picturing that the loud and boisterous Iowa, who could tank 14" shells with no problems, used to be the young lady in the picture, who looked like the epitome of an elegant southern belle. "You're not pulling our shafts, are you, Sis?"

A rather wobbly smile. "Me being a bit like Kongou is something of a coping mechanism after I left Great Lakes and transferred to Pearl."

"Fuck, hit me, Mo. Ain't no way I'm taking this sober."

Missouri promptly tossed her sister a new bottle from the cooler. "Did any other Natural Borns go through the same thing that you did?"

Iowa shook her head. "I'm the only one to had gone through such a drastic change, although I've heard that Tenryuu's left eye also became different after she awoke. No one else knows, other than a very select few within the admiralty, Nagato, and Kongou."

"Why keep it a secret?" Wisconsin asked, scooting closer to Iowa.

"Do you think any other parents would be as understanding as Sis's here were if they found out their little girl transformed so unexpectedly like that?" Jersey dryly snarked, making a "gimme" gesture at Missouri, who sighed and handed another beer over. Jersey bit the cap off, chewed on it for a moment before she chased it down with a swig. "Especially for seriously devout families? It's already bad enough that some folks still can't - and won't - separate us from Abyssals."

A wince, remembering some of the rather vocal protestors. "Point."

Looking at the calendar, Missouri frowned. "That aside, how long has it been since you last saw your parents?"

"Skype, whenever I get the chance, but you know how things are. My last session with them was six months ago. I do have shore leave coming up."

Making several calculations and shuffling through several reports in her head, as well consulting one of her fairies, Missouri smiled widely. "Well, then. I have an idea."

Jersey took one look at the gleam in her younger sister's eyes and warily scooted back. "Are we gonna regret this, or what?"

"'Or what,' my dear sister."

~ o ~

"Okay, maybe you have a point," Missouri muttered, tugging at the frayed edges of her shorts.

"Told ya," Jersey grumbled, struggling not to readjust the belt that she had picked earlier. Sure, her combat outfit had a belt, but this was different!

Wisconsin simply whimpered, pulling at her hat to the point of it covering her eyes.

Out of the four of them, Iowa was the only one who looked the most comfortable in civilian clothing, the younger three constantly fidgeting. Jersey had a pair of jeans, a wide belt, boots and a vest over a black T-shirt with a white outline of a dragon on it. Denim shorts, a red tank top, and sneakers was Missouri's pick, while a St. Louis Cardinals handkerchief tied her hair back. Wisconsin had opted for a sunhat (that coincidentally resembled Iowa's old one), a cream-colored sundress and sandals. Iowa herself wore a Hawkeye cap, gray slacks, and a loose orange long-sleeved shirt. If one had asked any normal person who saw them at a distance, they would've said that it was a group of sisters going out to visit their parents.

Not that it stopped the otherworldly aura that came off of them, drawing the occasional stares as Iowa navigated down the streets with familiar ease in the open-top rental. There was no turning that off.

There wasn't much need to sweet talk any of the admirals to grant the Iowa-class sisters time off together, so as long they understood that they were on call.

What confidence Iowa normally showed gradually drifted away as she walked down the path and up to the front porch, her sisters falling in formation behind her while looking about the neighborhood. Looking at the door frame, Iowa couldn't help but be amused at how she used to tiptoe to reach the top - all she had to do now was just stretch out an arm. There, the porch swing had a new layer of paint. Here, hanging planters alongside a hummingbird feeder. Down the street, she could hear that annoying high-pitched barking from the dog of Cranky Old Ma'am Betsy, who no doubt was still yelling at the neighborhood kids for being "naughty children". She could hear the gurgling of a fountain from the backyard, and briefly wondered if it was still the same one her dad had installed until Jersey jabbed an elbow into her ribs.

Right, they were battleships, the fastest and most powerful ones of the USN. They didn't do nervous. They eat Abyssals for breakfast!

Except Jersey's left leg was shaking uncontrollably, Missouri was starting to further fray her shorts' edges, and Wisconsin looked about to shred the sunhat that she was now clutching in both hands. The summoned battleships didn't get to interact with regular civilians often, other than the civilian contractors and government workers, so when Missouri had proposed her original idea, Jersey looked ready to go raid Phoenix's still before Wisconsin and Iowa stopped her from doing so.

Shaking her head and taking in a deep breath, Iowa rang the bell.

More gray in her father's beard and more wrinkles around her mother's eyes, but still the same.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet my sisters, Jer, Mo, and Wisky. Your... daughters, I guess." She scratched the back of her neck. "Sorry it's been so long."

From the warm smiles that bloomed on the older couple's faces as the door opened wider, the four of them realized that maybe they didn't had to be so worried after all.

A/N: Why, yes, that's a reference to Iowa from Pacific: World War II US Navy Shipgirls with canon KC Iowa in the same setting. Did I forgot to mention that this was due to a cracked dream during a heatwave?