Chapter 2: I am a flagship once again, kamo.

She tried collecting whatever statues she came across, stuffing them inside her body and storing them as cargo, but as much as it pained her, she had to prioritize.

Statues of children and young teens got picked up first, alongside statues with the highest risk of shattering. If the group looked like a family or a couple, she immediately categorized them as a set. She left the buried ones alone, protecting them with even more soil after marking their location.

After some surveying, she made plans to remove a good chunk of the village's surrounding forest in the upcoming days. These unfortunate trees would be lumber for her project, and clearing the land would make the village safer as predators would find it harder to hide.

She didn't know why there were lions here. Thankfully, her very presence scared them off. Animals could always tell a human and Kanmusu apart because a human didn't carry the stench of metal and oil, and their instinct would always identify her as what she truly was; a weapon of mass destruction.

"Oi, Akitsushima!" A familiar blonde girl that would be in high school if she was a modern citizen greeted her. "What are you doing all the way out of the village?" She was carrying a huge jar for some reason.

Beside her was the boy Akitsushima first woke up to. Spiky black hair with a rope headband, reminiscent of a hachimaki that diligent Japanese workers once wore. He was carrying a basket of rocks, and he looked a bit exhausted.

"I am surveying my surroundings. I didn't see either of you earlier. Where did you go? You guys missed out on my cooking."

"I was out fetching hot water from high in the mountains," the teen replied. "Chrome was gathering materials anyway, so we went out together."

Akitsushima watched as Kohaku nudged the boy beside her.

"Anyway, I really need to get this to my sister, I was already late on schedule. Chrome! This is your chance! It's up to you now!" she said as she ran back into the village.

Now alone, Chrome stepped up and faced her with confidence. "Please! Teach me your sorcery!"

"Eh?"

"I am this village's insanely smart, genius sorcerer! I definitely have what it takes to learn your sorcery! Please share your secrets with me!" He boasted pridefully.

"Sorcery? Right, you people think what I am doing is magic..."

It technically was but…

"Sorry to tell you this, but I can't and won't, kamo."

"What?! But why not?! I will show you I have what it takes to-"

She stopped him right there. "It's not a problem of time or interest, kamo. The fact of the matter is my power is unavailable to the average human, because I am not a human to begin with. You weren't there during my explanation to the chief, were you?"

"-God damn it!" The boy shouted angrily, throwing his basket to the ground. "So I went out to gather this stuff for nothing?!"

"Wait… what do you have there?" Digging through the basket, Akitsushima found something that made her eyes widen. She pulled out a chunk of dark grey ore with spots of rusty red. "I-Iron, kamo?!"

Akitsushima's expression surprised Chrome. A diabolic idea hatched inside his head immediately. He evilly grinned, as he crossed his arms. "Y-Yeah! I know where I could get more of these! But guess what? If you want me to cough it up then you will need to teach me your sorcery!"

The Seaplane Tender frowned; this kid was still desperately trying to get her to reconsider. It was kind of cute actually.

Wait a minute… what was "sorcery" to this boy? Maybe he was confusing her power with something else he should be learning instead.

"Chrome, what is your definition of sorcery, kamo?" she asked him seriously.

"Sorcery is the crazy thing that happens when you mess around with materials!" He answered confidently. "Kids collect everything. They smash, mix, and burn them… if something crazy happens that's sorcery! What else could it be?!"

Akitsuhima stared blankly into Chrome's face, before she started giggling.

"What the hell! Why are you laughing!? What's so funny!?"

"Sorry, sorry," The Seaplane Tender smiled at him. "Silly Chrome, you are not a sorcerer... You are a fledgling scientist, kamo!"

"S-Scientist? What the hell is that?"

"A scientist is someone who studies and utilizes science... Science is humanity's greatest invention. I was created from science, kamo." Akitsushima smiled. "I see now, you are the restarting point of this humanity. I am glad this Japan is not going down without a fight, kamo!"

"Restarting point of humanity!?" Confusion were all over his face. "I don't get it! What does that mean?!"

"Fufu…" Akitsushima looked him in the eye. "You really lucked out, Chrome-kun. By the time I am done with you, your village would be out of the stone age, kamo~"

"Wait! Wait a minute! It sounds like you are changing your mind!" The boy shouted in excitement.

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"Wow!"

Chrome's shed was filled with so many minerals, all organized neatly in jars and pots. "You gathered everything by yourself, kamo? How long did it take?!"

"Hehe! Awesome, right?!" The boy bathed in the paise. "It feels great to have someone admire my collection! A girl, no less! Kohaku and everyone else just crap on me!"

"Iron, Copper, Coal… You even found Bauxite!" Akitsushima exclaimed. "This is amazing! You have to tell me where to get more of these! Especially Iron! I need so much of it it's not even funny!"

"Yeah, this dark rock with reddish spots?" Chrome asked. "I sometimes find them in the caves. I will take you to the place where I find them, I guess."

"That would be great, Chrome-kun! It's an unfortunate fact that Japan isn't blessed with good mineral deposits, but if luck really blessed us with a mine near the caves then that would make my time here so much easier!"

The boy watched as Akitsushima pulled out the previous rectangular object. On top of that, she pulled out a flat green plate and a thick string.

"What are you doing with those things?"

"I am checking the aerial photo Taitei-chan took on my laptop…" She stopped herself when question marks started shooting out of Chrome's head. "Okay, I am sorry. Let me explain to you, kamo."

Picking up the rectangular object, she pointed the back to Chrome's face. A surprise snap sound echoed out before she showed him the result.

"W-Who's that?! Wait! T-That's me?!" The boy exclaimed as he puzzled over the image on the rectangular object. "It's like looking into the surface of clear water!"

"This here is my smartphone. What I did was taken a photograph of you, Chrome-kun. A photograph basically allows me to record a moment in time," Akitsushima tried explaining in detail. "Earlier I sent Taitei-chan out to do the same thing in the air, now I have a bird's-eye view of nearby lands."

"A-Awesome!" Chrome beamed. "How does your "smartphone" work!? Explain it to me!"

"I don't know, kamo," Much to the boy's shock, the Seaplane Tender shrugged. "I mean, I know the principles behind many of its inner workings, but if you are asking me to build you one then no, I can't, kamo. This was made by dozens of talented people with materials and techniques I won't waste time replicate."

"Oh man…"

"Anyway, this here is my laptop," Akitsushima flipped open the green plate, revealing its black clear surface. "Basically, it's a larger version of my Smartphone with more functions, kamo."

A yearly salary ensured almost all Kanmusu could afford modern electronics (Admiral literally forced the government to implement a law), therefore almost everyone had phones and laptops by now. Handheld game consoles were also extremely popular as they were the perfect time waster between Expeditions and coastal patrol, especially amongst the Submarines.

The laptop light up, now displaying a photograph of Taitei-chan and Akitsushima herself, apparently having a fun time with faces Chrome didn't know.

"I-I think I am getting it. But who are these people?"

"You mean my wallpaper? These are my allies…" Akitsushima replied with a frown. She pointed to the pink-haired one and said, 'Akashi', then to the one with long black hair and weird eyewear, 'Ooyodo,' then the two brown-haired ones, 'Ise and Hyuuga, then the short-haired one, 'Hayasui', then the one in a green dress, 'and lastly Mizuho, kamo.

"Whoa. I have never seen someone with peach-colored hair before."

Akitsushima chuckled. "You should've seen the other girls then. The naval base has pretty much have every color in the rainbow by now, kamo."

"Really?! That's how many people like you exist?"

"Hundreds of us, kamo. And new ones will keep coming." She replied, earning another gasp.

She grabbed her thick string and inserted them into the laptop and the smartphone. "This is a cable. I am transferring data- I mean photographs between the two, kamo."

Chrome watched with interest as Akitsushima fiddled with the laptop, her fingers moving automatically in almost a blur.

"Mt. Fuji!" She exclaimed after a quick scan. "Something recognizable! That's great, kamo! We are near the coast then that means…" she pulled out an image containing a map of Japan from one of the folders. "Taitei-chan circled around the lake so I know the shape of it… therefore your village definitely sits on Lake Ashi. So the nearby coast is… Sagami Bay."

She was really close to the Yokosuka Naval District, which was only like a day of travel to get over there, but at the same time very far from the Kure Naval District, the base her Admiral was last stationed at.

She understood this was not her home. However, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness fully knowing those districts had long since been destroyed over here.

"A-Awesome! That's the most detailed map I have ever seen!" Chrome beamed again. "Holy crap, if this is true then there's still so many unexplored places! This land- Japan, right?- Just how big is it?"

His eyeballs almost pop out of their sockets when Akitsushima switched to the world map.

"Japan's an island nation, Chrome-kun. We are tiny compared to the rest of the continents, kamo," she introduced the rest of the world. "Say hi to Europe, Asia, Russia, the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, kamo."

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed again. "Wait, back up a bit! So that's what you meant by America?! You were all the way over there?!" He drew his finger across the screen, trying to grasp the absurd distance with his primitive mind. "How far away was it!? How did you even get over there?! By boat?! How many years did that took?!"

"8 hours- I mean, a third of a day," she replied. "Sailing that far away would have been a waste of time and resources. My fleet took military aircraft over there before starting our mission, kamo."

"You guys flew?!"

"Yes. Think Taitei-chan, but bigger, big enough to carry hundreds of people."

Chrome imagined a scenario where a ton of people sat on the back of a gigantic Taitei-chan as they sped through the sky. Not exactly right, but good enough to give him some understanding. "AWESOME!"

He grabbed Akitsushima and shook her. Well, he couldn't move her, so all her could do was place his hands on her shoulders and look her in the eyes. "Please, tell me all about it! What was the world like before I was born?! What was Japan like?!"

Akitsushima thought to herself and nodded sadly. "We are going to be here for a while, kamo. Prepare yourself, Chrome-kun."

She spent the next few hours showing the boy the future his world lost. She pulled out photos of the modern world to add to her explanations. The boy was thoroughly blown away by all the human achievements that previously only existed in fantasies.

"I am definitely not from your world, kamo. And if we Kanmusu existed over here, we would never let something like this happen… or at least, we would do our best to preserve human civilization until a solution was found. My condolences to your world, kamo…"

Tears streamed down Chrome's eyes in a sorrowful waterfall. "D-DAMN IT! So my ancestors spent millions of years building up this absolutely insane, amazing civilization… only to lose it all because everyone turned to stone somehow?! Who did this!? If I ever find him, I will murder him!"

"I agree. Assuming there was a perpetrator, this was a crime against humanity on the highest order. No previous vile figures from history ever came close to this magnitude, kamo. The fact that the petrification doesn't kill but rather keeps the victim conscious and alive in stasis…"

"That's even worse! That's like worse than death, right!? What an asshole!" Chrome punched the floor. "What do we do now?!"

"... my priority is to look for a way back to my home, kamo. But while I do that, I will do my best to help the humanity over here. My Admiral would've ordered me to do so regardless, kamo." Aktsushima nodded. "Chrome-kun, please. Join me in my endeavor and help restore your world."

"You don't have to ask, Akitsushima!" The boy shouted in confidence. "I will help you find a way home and rebuild my world! You said my ancestors had knowledge of miraculous medicines, right!? I have to know more about it!"

"You need medicines, Chrome-kun? Is there someone sick in your village?"

The boy frowned. "Ruri… You saw her right? She's the chief's daughter and Kohaku's sister. She's suffering from the same illness that killed her mother…" he muttered sadly. "She's the whole reason I taught myself to be a sorcerer. I have been looking everywhere for a cure for her, but…"

Akitsushima reached her hand into her body. "... What's her symptoms? What's her illness like?"

"Coughing. She coughs like she's going to spill her guts out. Because of that, she can't sleep, and that's not counting the constant chest pain..."

"Does she have a fever- I mean, does her body heat up to the point that it feels like burning?"

"Yeah, I think it happened before."

The boy watched as the Seaplane Tender withdrew a red box with a white cross on it. "This is all I have, kamo. I am not a medical vessel, therefore I didn't bother carrying other medical supplies beyond this…" She opened it, and handed Chrome a clear bottle of pink liquid. "It's cough medicine, kamo. It should relieve her suffering and let her sleep at night."

"T-Thank you!" The boy received the bottle like it was going to shatter.

"This is only temporary… Her sickness is likely to be more than just a common cold. I don't even know what to do, kamo… I guess start rotting potatoes and hope for Penicillin?"

"What's a potato?"

"Never mind…" Akitsushima eyed Chrome. "I hereby officially declare the formation of the Isekai Civilization Restoration Fleet, kamo!"

"A fleet?"

"Yes. That's right, and welcome to my fleet Chrome-kun. You are the first human, and male, to join a Kanmusu squadron." She did the greeting now known to the boy as a Salute. "Let's work together from now on, kamo~"

"Yeah!" The boy returned the gesture. "We will restore what my world lost and find a way to kick the ass of Ruri's illness!"

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It was now nighttime, and Chrome had parted ways with Akitsushima so he could feed Ruri the cough medicine, leaving the Seaplane Tender to retire to her alone time.

Rathering than making a shelter, she leapt into the lake and sailed miles off the coast. The anchors attached to her ribbons sank into the surface as she docked her body in place. She sat down and glanced up the crescent moon.

Without light pollution, the stars of the Milky Way were a wonder to look at. Usually, she only got to enjoy this sight when sailing long distances in the middle of the ocean. It felt surreal to see the stars so clearly within mainland Japan.

Her surroundings were shrouded in pure darkness. Silence was everywhere except for the occasional croaking of the frogs or the chirping of insects or birds. Many people would pay good money to escape to this place for a relaxing experience with nature.

However, she was not enjoying any of this, because they only served to remind her that she was far far away from home, perhaps a literal timeline or universe away with a good chance of never returning.

She already missed stationing with Ooyodo and Fubuki as everyone attempted to reduce Admiral's work load.

She already missed slaving into the night with Akashi and Yuubari, only to watch with annoyance and slight jealousy as Samidare "escorted" the melon out mid-way through like a good wife.

She already missed nerding out with Ise, Hyuuga, Hayasui, Mogami, and Mizuho, as they attempted to spread the religion of Zuiun. SEAPLANE BOMBERS FOREVER!

She already missed eating at Mamiya at night, because it was entertaining to watch the dumpster fire that would follow when alcohol got involved. A drunk Ashigara would complain all night that she was still single before Myoukou and Nachi dragged her home, followed by Haguro frantically apologizing. Jun'you and Pola would have a drinking contest that ALWAYS ended with BOTH of them naked and then being dragged home by Hiyou and Zara.

Speaking of food, she missed Houshou's night stall too. Alcohol was limited over there, but it was still fun. The fried chicken skewer produced by the mother of carriers was just legendary, even though she herself rarely got to eat more than one serving because the carriers would steal them all first. Usually the night would end with a bar fight because the word "turkey" was muttered as an insult.

Oh god, she was missing the torpedo squadrons at night, what was wrong with her? What she wouldn't give to hear Sendai or Kawakaze leaping over her screaming "Night battle! Night battle!" right this moment.

She reached out her hand and then closed it into a fist.

"Me and Taitei-chan will definitely return home, kamo. Wait for us everyone..."

And so Akitsushima closed her eyes and slept on the surface of the lake, ending her first night in this post-apocalyptic alternate world.

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Fifteen minutes after Ruri swallowed the medicine, her coughing was subsided. It wasn't truly gone, of course, but brought down to a level where she could fall unconscious and ignore it.

"It worked, Chrome. Ruri-nee's fast asleep now," Kohaku said as she exited the chief's house. "It feels nice that she is sleeping so soundly for once."

"Yeah, I told the chief so! Thank you for holding back your father, by the way. He almost made me spill the damn thing!"

"To be fair, he had the right to be skeptical… Remember your last attempt at a medicine? All it did was make Ruri-nee pee all day…" The blonde girl shrugged.

"Yes I know! But everything from now on will be different!" Chrome replied." Akitsushima has shown me the way!"

"Huh? What way?"

The boy gave his friend a brief summary of the revelation he had received from the Kanmusu.

"I… don't understand much of that," Kohaku eyed him with a deadpan stare.

"I expected as much, gorilla."

Chrome immediately found himself brutally pummeled into the ground.

"Anyway." The girl waved the smoke off her right knuckle. "From your ramblings I do understand one thing: Akitsushima might have the answer to Ruri-nee's illness right?"

"Y-Yes…" Chrome weakly raise his head up in pain. "M-My point is… can you lend us a hand…?"

"Of course. I will take any opportunity to save Ruri-nee's life." Kohaku answered with determination. "I am definitely joining your fleet thing."

"Then… Welcome aboard… Urgh." Chrome tried to Salute, but he blacked out instead.

The girl sighed as she picked up her unconscious friend and began walking towards the direction of his shed. "Such a shame… If only you were born tougher, then you could've had a chance of marrying Ruri-nee…"

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異世界文明維新艦隊

Isekai Civilization Restoration Fleet

Flag Ship: Seaplane Tender Akitsushima

2nd: Human Chrome