Hymn From the High Seas (Azur Lane x Commander Male Reader)

Bermuda

Contrary to my fears, the night ended faster than I realized. I can't even remember at what hour the storm passed over the island. For a full, sleepless night, I kept both my kansen's attention as well as my own locked in a never-ending heart-to-heart following the end of my confession.

"I knew something was off about you!"

"Poor thing, I bet it was scary waking up to a world war."

"A world without sirens... What was it like? Was it peaceful, Comandante?"

"If you weren't commanding ships, what else did you do, Shikikan?"

"Did you ever wanna join the Navy? Ah, what am I sayin'. There's no need for a navy in a world without Sirens, is there?"

"Do you miss your home? I bet it's peaceful, knowing there aren't any Sirens."

"Kommandant... do you want to go back?"

"Shikikan... you ain't leavin'... right?"

At this last question, I gaze upward, the golden sky piercing through a crack in the boarded windows. Day has come.

"You think I'm going to leave after all I've said?" I laugh and stand up as I don my service cap, "I'll stick with you to the very end. I won't go back after coming this far."

* * *

Standing at the edge of the balcony of my quarters, I scan the dock-side of the island with binoculars. No damage to the port. Not that I can see, at least. Maybe a bit of flooding. I pan over to the town. Lots of debris in the road and on buildings. I'm sure some windows were broken by the thrashing winds and the projectiles borne by it.

Trees around the island have been uprooted. Only the tall, thick-trunked palms remain standing while the frail ones have been snapped or ripped from the dirt. I glance up at the mountain behind me and frown. We're lucky we weren't hit by a rock or mud slide. If it had been anything other than an extinct volcano, the hurricane's rapid weathering could've done some damage.

When I peer through my binoculars at the shore further away from the town, I catch sight of a warship run aground, "Monarch, come here," I zoom in on its rusty hull.

Behind me, Monarch pushes the sliding door open wider, "What is it?"

"A beached ship. You recognize it?" I hand her the binoculars and point in its direction, "Looks like a destroyer, from the size of it."

"I cannot tell. It is large enough to be mistaken for a light cruiser," Monarch adjusts the magnification as she stares into the distance, "Sakura Empire design. No doubt mass-produced," she lowers the binoculars, "Shall we investigate?"

* * *

"It's a bloody ghost ship..." Drake mutters with engrossment, staring up at the rust-eaten hull half-buried in the sand, "Must've made landfall during the storm."

"An entire ocean, and the ship beaches itself here? That's nothing short of a miracle," Vanguard says, her curious eyes glued to the vessel.

I approach the deteriorated keel and look to Drake, "Can I get a lift?"

"Only after a tetanus shot," she says, putting her back to a more pristine patch of the hull.

After tugging my gloves tighter, I step onto Drake's knee, then her hands, and climb onto her shoulders where I haul myself over the side. On the deck, my boots crack through a layer of rust, and I freeze, waiting to crash through. When nothing happens, I let go of my breath and lean over the side of the ship.

"The deck armor is rusted to shit. Be careful when you come up," I warn them before turning to the bridge, now embarking on a little adventure.

As peaceful as it is, life can be monotonous on the island. A ghost ship turning up in one piece would've been something to daydream of. Now that it's here, I can only wonder what secrets it might hold.