Always and endlessly

「This is a piece of his past」

『PoV of Zeimachi』

One night with lots of candy in a paper bag that I carried in my arms, there was a dog who howled for the moon on the dark green trash can across the street which I walked upon.

I don't really understand why the dog was behaving like a wolf, but after the dog finished howling, the dog suddenly lowered its nose and turned its head to look straight at where I was standing.

"It's already this late, mom will be angry."

Tonight is the night of the harvest season festival which is often referred to as Halloween for many people, therefore I managed to get a lot of candy from the people around this neighborhood.

Using the Phoenix costume that I had painstakingly sewn myself, I managed to collect many sweets and candy till it filled this bag so I can bring it home and enjoy it with my little brother who doesn't really like going out too much.

"I wonder if he'll like this one, or maybe this one?"

Even if I have to walk to people's houses that I don't know about and walk pass through some rumored haunted places, as long as I can get my hands on these sweets then all of those things won't be a problem for me.

"Alright let's run!"

Then I continued my journey back to my home because even though I was allowed to follow the Halloween trend by my mother, I was given a time limit by her since I'm not ten years old at the time.

There's also no one who want to accompany me as well, so mother told me to return before ten p.m. or she'll be worried about me.

"Hopefully... it's not... ten yet..."

I then continued to run happily with the cold night breeze brushing against my face as I ran home holding a bag full of sweets and candies. On the way I also met some people who kindly opened the way while waving their hands at me, of course I also waved back to them.

When I imagine the expressions of the people waiting for me at home, maybe I'm a little scared because my mother is a fierce person when she's angry, but I'm sure she will forgive me as long as I give her one of the sweets I like the most.

And without realizing it, I finally arrived at the yard of my home sweet home. Of course without wasting too much time I immediately ran to open the door even though my breath was faltering.

"... Ack."

I was so in a hurry, that I tripped over the stairs in the yard and scattered all the sweets from my bag. The Phoenix costume that I was wearing also got dirt on it and my chin was slightly scratched from hitting the sharp edge of the stairs.

As quickly as possible I tried to pick up the candies and put them back in the bag even though there were some that had been crushed by being stepped on or crushed by my own body.

"Hello~ Young chick phoenix."

"Ah... Uhh..."

Unfortunately before I managed to sneak up and surprise her, my mother found me first as she give me one of the candy she took from the ground, she let out her smile that looks so beautiful yet somehow... She looked upset after she showed me that smile.

"I wonder what's happen to my young chick phoenix, hmm?"

As I tried to understand my mother's thoughts, she slowly squatted down while taking out a red cloth from her back pocket, and then she used the cloth to gently wipe my chin.

"A phoenix could heal his wounds, this much should be fine!"

"I see, what a strong phoenix you are. Let's use some water to clean it up okay?"

"Mom, you didn't hear me didn't you..."

"How can I? Make sure to put your costume in the washer alright?"

"... You definitely didn't..."

In the end I couldn't understand why my mother was feeling sad when she cleaned my chin, maybe she was worried because I had passed the curfew according to our agreement and she was sad because I couldn't keep my promise.

"... Sorry for staying out late mom. I'll keep my promise next time."

"..."

"Mom?"

For some reason, my mother didn't answer and instead fell silent while walking in front of me with the bag of candy I had gathered earlier. I was afraid that my mother would not talk to me at all because I had broken my promise.

"Even the great Phoenix couldn't heal every wounds you know..."

"No way... Phoenix is an immortal that could cure any sickness and even rebirth again! What kind of wound can't be healed by Phoenix?"

In my mind, the Phoenix is ​​a very powerful being that can heal any illness and injury from anything, even the Phoenix can rise from the ashes of its own body. So when I heard my mother's strange words, I believe if she is lying to me.

"It's true, there's something that even the great Phoenix couldn't heal from. In fact there're numerous of them. Do you want to know?"

"What?! Tell me mom!"

"Hmm let's see... The first wound Phoenix couldn't heal is from..."

"From..."

"...Juts kidding~ How could even mom know about that~"

As expected, my mother was actually toying with me by telling me those nonsense where there was something a Phoenix couldn't heal.

Even though I was a little annoyed that I had been lied to by her, but I still walked at the same pace as my mother because I was worried that later she would take and confiscate all my sweets.

A slight pain from my chin, then coupled with my mother who continued to walk beside me, the night that started to get colder and made my dirty hands felt a little cold, and tomorrow that would start again.

All of these things suddenly passed over in my mind for some unknown reason, but since at least I could get a lot of candy for the next few days so I didn't pay much attention to it.

"Even a being as powerful as the Phoenix, would not be able to heal the wounds of one's betrayal... Please forgive me sweety."

Including my mother who was talking to herself before she showed me yet another smile even though I wanted to ask her what she had said.

「End of Piece」

-----------------

「Azur Lane Academy : Hill Area, noon」

It's been a few days since Sakura Zeimachi and Hylia with her friend Fuwa had managed to land safely at Azur Lane academy after they sunk the Black Pearl pirate ship in the harbor.

"Fuuh... Let's go Fuwa!"

"Fuwa!"

After they landed and met with Kaga, Amagi, Warspite and Dido who had been waiting for their arrival in a very long time, Sakura Zeimachi had to introduce Hylia to them as a small child who could be guaranteed under his name.

"E-Eh Uhh... Uwaah!?"

"Fuwaa?!"

Indeed, those ship girls accept his share of introduction, however since he didn't told the girls what their relationship was, there's still a seed of sus for the girls known as Hylia.

Right now the aforementioned girl is in the middle of her training near the hill behind the commander office along with Fuwa in her Muki-muki mode as her sparring partner.

She was familiarizing herself with the three swords that Sakura Zeimachi had given her to enable her skill, endurance, and capacity to reach the standard of being able to use「Devasta」.

"...I failed again. Why is it so hard to use a sword Fuwa? And this San... Sentoryuu(?) Zei spoke of is very hard to learn. How can I bite this huge sword while swinging it at the same time?"

"Fuwa?"

Fuwa showed her fists which had muscles and veins that looked very stout.

"You never use sword before so you don't know? Ughh... In this case I'll never be able impress Zei."

But let alone a single sword, until now she still couldn't use and grip the sword in the proper way which showed how amateur she is in using the way of the sword.

A feeling of disappointment welled up inside of her and then she plopped down to lay her back on the meadow that spreads on the ground. Fuwa who then turned back into the form of a furrball also lay down beside her.

"... Hey, Fuwa."

"Fuwa?"

"Do you think... What do you think about Zei?"

Lying down on the green grass in her usual white garment, Hylia grabbed one of the swords beside her and pointed the steel at the shining sun.

"Fuwa..."

"There's nothing wrong with me... It's just, will he be disappointed when he finds out that I can't live up to his expectations or... Will he be mad that I can't learn what he wants me to learn..."

Not long after, Hylia deliberately loosened the grip that was holding the sword called Alastor. The sword she held up then fell down and stabbed the ground right beside her left cheek, causing a small slash to the girl's cheek and a drop of blood flowed to the blade of the demonic sword.

"Fuwa!"

"Ahh... I'm fine Fuwa. It's just a little scratch after all, back then we used to delve into dungeon was worse than this right?"

"Fuwa..."

"Hmm, sorry for making you worried Fuwa."

The feasty haired girl then brought her furrball friend into her arms, they enjoyed the moment as they hugged each other until finally Hylia who felt if she had calmed down put Fuwa back to continue her training.

"Yosh! Let's go one more time Fuwa! We'll never stop in this state! Even if I can't learned this Sentoryuu, I'll definitely impress Zei!"

"Fuwa!"

With the enthusiasm that she has got, Hylia finally resumes her training to be able to master the three swords that have their respective meanings for Hylia to master.

But unfortunately there are two things that Hylia doesn't know yet, the first is Alastor who begins to show his resurrection because he gets a sacrifice from the blood that Hylia accidentally gave to the sword, and the second is...

"Do... your best, ehehe..."

The second is a ship girl with a unicorn doll in her arms who has been spying on Hylia who is training on the hill. Even though she looked like she was spying, it seemed that the ship girl had no ill will towards the feasty haired girl and her furrball friend.

-----------

「Realm of Dream : Akagi」

Just like before, this place was a realm created based on the inner thoughts of the owner or recipient of the「Feather」which could be realized thanks to the Feather's ability which was the Divine key of Consciousness that was able to create such a thing.

It's no exception for ship girls who have their own minds and thoughts either, however... This realm of dream of this ship girl looks very chaotic and full of flames that can devour everyone around her.

"Ahaha... Hahahaha... AHAHAHAHA! How could you say that, my commander..."

In the midst of the sea of ​​​​fire that spreads throughout the place, there is the owner of the dreamland, one of the ship girls who gets a huge impact on her heart because of her past commander and also the person she pour all of her heart onto betrayal.

"Akagi, I'm really sorry but this is the truth you need to face. This place is nothing more than a dream, a transitory place that'll be erased when you wake up."

"Uhuhuhu... Then? What's wrong if this place will disappear when I wake up? As long there's only commander in my side, I don't even need the real word itself!"

Along with her statement that made the entire sea of ​​fire grow even more ferocious, Akagi began to take out her shikigami planes that she had summoned through the help of her dream.

The ship girl's gaze had turned even more frightening, what was in the mirror of her heart was only the desire to close the wounds created by the betrayal of someone she had trusted the most.

Through her life in this dream world, Akagi finally found the person she believed to be "The one" who would be a partner for her and closed the void in her heart, starting from days turning into weeks, weeks turning into months, and months turning into years.

For the ship girl, every second she spent with the man was the happiest moment in her life, until this moment arrived where all her happiness was instantly destroyed.

"Unfortunately Akagi, the time we've spent in here is not a lie. I can tell whether you're lying even with a glance."

Facing someone who was ready to shower him with bullets from her shikigami plane, the man seemed oddly too relaxed even though he was also being surrounded by blazing flames.

"... Ahahaha... Ufufu... No, commander. This time I'm not lying, you belong to me, and me only! Even if I have to rip you apart, cut you into little pieces, keep you in somewhere safe and take care of you until you die, I'll never let go of my "One" ever again... I'll never... Let you break my heart ever again!!!"

With a very fast movement, Akagi used the red airplane shikigami in her hand and threw it at the man. The set of Shikigami planes that Akagi threw then turned into real planes and showered the man in front of her with countless bullets and raging bombs.

"This way... We'll be forever... And ever, commander ♥♥♥. Hahahaha!"

Akagi who felt that if her attack had succeeded then felt very happy with what she was going to go through again with the man, this world is her dreamland, and because Akagi was indeed a cunning and agile person in making plans, she had already made several plans that she would turn to realize with the man in front of her.

At least that's what she thinks right now.

"Looks like it has come to this huh... Akagi, do you really intend to live forever in this world? No matter how good a dream is, you'll soon need to face your own part of reality."

"Without any scratch. No matter what you do you can't change my mind commander, if you really want to talk to me about returning to reality, you need to first stop my burning love if you can!"

Akagi's voice sounded as loud as a thunderbolt before the impending rainstorm at that moment, dozens or even hundreds of red plane shikigami also appeared behind her as if to show her seriousness towards the man.

"I'm really sorry, if only I could handle some of your weight, then this thing will not happen."

But the man who had spent a lot of time with her noticed a hint of desperation from the ship girl's screams.

"You don't need to feel sorry, commander. This is my proof of love for you after all."

And the ship girl also replied in a tone filled with a sense of incompetence, but that doesn't mean she's going to stop what she had started in there.

"Yeah... Akagi, the time for you to wake up from your dream has come."