"Kathrine! Kathrine! Kathrine!" Eren and Gales voices weaved together into an indistinguishable, but a still excited mess.

"I wonder what's got them this worked up?" Lauren grinned as both teenagers bounded out of the door at top speed. We hadn't even come to a complete stop by the time they surrounded the car, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Something tells me it isn't because they're happy to see me," I chuckled, stepping out of the car from the backseat. Of course, given how Eren had grabbed my arm, trying to pull me back towards the open door.

"Have you seen it? Have you seen it?" her voice rang in my ears.

"Seen what?" Lucas frowned, trying to keep up as Gale had joined his sister's frantic attempt to pull me inside. I shrugged about as well as I could manage. If I didn't know any better, it was probably shipgirl related.

"You haven't? It's all over the internet, a bit of the news, too," Gale's voice sounded completely incredulous.

"I haven't been around a computer since this morning," I frowned, turning towards Lucas and Lauren. He'd been with me the whole day, so he wouldn't know. And Lauren looked just as confused as I was about whatever this was. So they didn't know.

"It's all over the shipgirl circles right now. It's got a lot of people freaking out. In a good way, of course," Eren finally managed to bring me through the front door, her parents following behind. I heard it latch behind us, which was good. They weren't paying to cool the outdoors, after all.

After a swift detour through the kitchen, we finally arrived in the living room, where Eren's laptop sat on a vacant chair.

"Watch".

What stuck out first was the poor quality. Very blurry, likely taken from a cell phone camera of some kind. Then the language. It was a tickle on the back of my memory. Or Kansas's memory. Japanese, I think? I wasn't quite sure.

Of course, the lackluster quality didn't matter for too long as the camera turned towards a ship. Was that? Even if the shape wasn't familiar, the position of the guns would have made it painfully clear. There was only one steel hull pre-dreadnaught left in the world.

Mikasa.

Though, nothing seemed too out of place. At least, not enough for Eren and Gale's level of excitement at our arrival.

That was before the shouting began to intensify in the background. Then Mikasa's hull began to glow.

It started faint, but it quickly built up. Not quite bright enough to be a sun, but more than enough, that even though the video, I was forced to avert my eyes. And just as it began to brighten, it began to dim.

Then, the cycle began to repeat. Slow. But ominous. As if something was coming. But eventually, the light died, fading for good. Maybe? Sure, it had stopped. For now. And that was not me being ominous myself. For now, was the best description I had for that. Something inside me just felt like this was just the beginning. Of what? I wasn't sure on that front, though if I had to make a hypothesis, Mikasa was trying to wake up.

Of course, I was in no position to even try to test this hypothesis. Nor did I know how to test it. Besides, Japan was probably on it by now.

"That's, odd. A steel hull has never done that before," Lucas frowned, finger rubbing the underside of his chin. "Not even during summoning did we get anything like that."

"Maybe it's because she's an older ship?" Lauren frowned as well, as Eren and Gale's eyes remained fixed on me.

"I don't know. Maybe? She's pretty close to Yokosuka, right? So that might be it?" I shrugged. Honestly? I had no clue on that front. "I do have a feeling she's trying to wake up, but I don't really have anything more concrete."

"We can speculate all we want, sadly, but I don't think it'll change much," Lucas shook his head. "She's on the other side of the Pacific, after all. I'm sure the Japanese Navy is already investigating."

Yeah, that was fair. Of course, Japan's Naval force would be looking into such an event. I just hoped everything turned out alright.

Plus, it was about time a pre-dreadnought actually started doing things. The fact I'm so far the only one that's managed to come back was kind of offputting, honestly.

Where exactly were they?

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There were still a few days before I headed off to regular school. Days I intended to make as much use of as possible. Afterward, I would certainly spend time at the base, but studying was important too. Studying was important, and I really hadn't been operating as much off of memory at school like I once had been. Plus, I was now at a completely different school, what memories I had about the first round of high school was pretty much null and void.

I mean, no beating around the bush. There were education programs for shipgirls, well into college, if I understood it correctly. So it wasn't like I was going to throw away that opportunity, even if I didn't have an idea what I wanted to do. To do otherwise just seemed wasteful, even if I've already done the whole dog and pony show once before. Because degrees don't transfer over lifetimes, after all.

But that wasn't what was important right now.

"How are you still able to launch airstrikes? You've sunken three enemy ships and you're still able to throw out max plane strikes?" Eren could be heard over the clicking of her keys and mouse.

"I told you. Shipgirl magic. There's no other explanation of why she's this good," Gale added in, shaking his head from behind the screen of his laptop.

"Oh, you two of little faith. I've been playing games for quite a while," that was an understatement of the century. "You really think I need magic to be as good as I am at this game?"

Honestly, I wasn't even that good, to begin with. Decidedly mediocre was probably the best way to place my skill cap at it. Not bad, just not good, either. I was just really good at keeping my planes alive. Wasting them needlessly did nothing but give the enemy team more points, after all, and put me at a disadvantage later on.

"So, are we queuing up for another match? Ideally without Kathrine in our carrier slot?" I stuck out my tongue at Eren, though she swiftly returned the favor.

"Sadly, I think it's getting a bit late," Gale let out a yawn. "If the two of you want to stay up, I won't stop you, but mom might."

I looked down at my phone. For a school night, it certainly was getting around that time. Of course, I would be getting up fairly early too, and jet lag was still a thing. My body let out a creaking sound as I stretched on the floor. Gale was right. It'd be best to just call it quits for the night.

"You're no fun," Eren frowned, turning towards me.

"Maybe. But he also isn't wrong, either," exiting out of the game, I stretched even more. "Besides, it's not like we have the luxury of sleeping in."

"Fine!" Eren let out a grown. "You two are no fun."

"More like I understand the power of a good night's sleep," I grinned. There was a reason I survived college without a single drop of coffee. Or caffeine in general, for that matter. A record I intended to keep, even if the only person keeping score was me.

"You sound like mom," her eyes rolled, and I chuckled.

"And? It's not like she's wrong," my parents should be thankful. I never really protested things like bedtimes. Well, not to their faces, at any rate. Sneaking a Gameboy or similar device under my pillow to play at night was something I did quite frequently.

"Come on, Eren, you know Kathrine is the only person in the world that refuses to touch caffeine. She's going to get tuckered out faster than most," Gale snickered, elbowing his sister in the arm.

"Are you? Challenging me?" I raised my eyebrow about as far as it would go. Was he trying to imply as was some sort of lightweight? Oh, no no no. That wouldn't do at all. Just because I understood the importance of sleep, didn't mean I couldn't pull an all-nighter if I absolutely had to.

"Maybe?" he paused, almost if pondering his mistake. Then his face grew into a very smug expression. "Do you really think you can stay up all night?"

"I pulled up two all-nighters back to back," I wasn't lying, though I'd wiped myself out doing so. "Tell you what. If you really want to see, I suppose we can find a day when our schedules align and we won't have to worry about sleep."

The siblings looked at each other as if telepathically conversing with one another.

"That does sound fun," Gale hummed, tapping his fingers against his laptop.

"I think you have yourself a deal," Eren grinned, her fingers tapping against themselves in an imitation of Bond villain.

"Excellent choice, with the," I mimicked the movement. "It's a classic."

"A classic? A classic from where?" Eren paused.

Right. Lucas married into the family without showing them classic movies like Star Wars. I was going to have to rectify that at some point.

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"We are number one!"

"Is she always singing that?" I looked at San Deigo, once again on her stage, as we speed past.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Yes," the married couple groaned.

Okay, now their reactions made more sense. Yeah, that would probably get very annoying. Day after day, for possibly years. Though, as a light cruiser, she couldn't be on base all the time. Right? She had a very impressive service record, after all. So it's not like she could be this goofy constantly. Right?

Right?

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"I was hoping a few more would show up," Atlanta stood at the front of the room, as I turned from my position near the front of the room.

Nearly empty. Lucas wasn't kidding about how these rooms don't get as much use anymore. The perks of being late? I guess?

It wasn't like one-on-one instruction was a bad thing. Honestly, it meant a teacher could spend all of their attention on a single student. Not always needed, but it couldn't do any harm, either.

There were at least a few others, though. One was a carrier of some sort. She seemed shorter than several of the others I'd meet so far, so probably a light or escort carrier of some sort. Certainly taller than Langley, though. Her hair had a silvery color to it, which wasn't that weird compared to Langley's green.

Which put her in contrast with the other student. She had to be a destroyer of some classification. Her frame and guns gave that much away, at any rate. Beyond that? I had no idea.

Maybe I should start putting in some research. It might help me at least recognize who I was talking to. Then again, in the case of the Fletchers, I don't think a lot I could do on that front would matter. Having nearly two hundred siblings had to be an utter nightmare. Especially when someone tries to factor in how many Fletcher's could end up as natural borns, bringing in even more extended family into the fray. You'd need to rent a stadium or massive banquet hall to get every single one of them together at once.

That's an ouch, no matter how you want to slice it. Birthday/launch day parties, alongside, well, every holiday ever, would be positively hellish. And that was putting mildly. I could already see my five new sisters causing problems at family gatherings just simply with volume.

"Very well," Atlanta's voice broke me out of my thoughts as she began to jot on the board with chalk. Weird. I've never actually seen someone write on a chalkboard before. Back at home, we had projectors and whiteboards. Maybe it just felt right for her? I wouldn't fault someone for that.

I quickly pulled out my pin, glancing down at the three-ring bind that occupied my desk. What type of student would I be if I didn't intend to take notes? It certainly helped me focus, at any rate.

"Given how we have two new faces," my eyes flicked upward towards the board, with 'Anti-Air 101' written at the top of the chalkboard, surrounded by a square. The huff behind me and to the right meant that the carrier was the recurring face. Reluctantly, at that. "We will be starting at the absolute basics."

I bit my lip as a dull thud echoed from the desk of the carrier, her groan only confirming that she had smacked her head against it. No doubt intentionally. What was that about?

"And given how we have a pre-dreadnought in our midst for the first time," my gaze went from the board to Atlanta in a heartbeat, but she was wearing the same expression, one that was very blank, almost expressionless. No, expressionless wasn't quite the word I was looking for either. More along the lines of someone who's probably been at this a bit too long.

The carrier behind me continued to bang her head against the desk before her. Okay, now I was curious what exactly her deal was.

"We would have started there, regardless. Now, keep your head up," Atlanta frowned, before fully turning to face the board. "We have a lot to cover."

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And she was not wrong. There was a lot to cover, even on a basic tactical level. There wasn't a lot of complexity mirroring the carrier's evasion pattern so you could continue to fire your anti-air guns. Of course, that was in theory, rather than the heat of battle with bombers streaking overhead. And I'd already had enough experience with those for the time being.

Then came the guns. For once, I was almost happy for my nearly none existent anti-air. At least I was skipping guns like the Chicago Pino for weapons such as the Orliken and Bofors. At least there was some silver lining on that front.

Still, Atlanta made it sound as if shooting down an aircraft was a form of art. Then again, given her six twin-five-inch guns, on top of who knows how many other, smaller, anti-aircraft batteries, it probably was.

Still, it felt like I was missing something. Something wasn't just clicking, snapping into place in my head. It wasn't like I didn't understand it. Use anti-aircraft guns to protect the carrier with a multi-layered defense. It was just, I don't know. I could picture it in my mind. But the problem was it was static. Lacking motion, and in a battle, that motion would be kind of important. Like the difference between learning about something in theory, and actually, well, practicing it.

Well. That does kind of answer that question, doesn't it? Which was sadly compounded by the fact that if I read Admiral Jeffery correctly, he didn't want me to practice until after I had my retrofit. And honestly? It kind of made sense. I wasn't supposed to see combat until I was 18 years old, which gave them plenty of time to work out exactly what they wanted to do with said retrofit. Practicing now might result in bad habits that were hard to break later down the line. Given how my current anti-aircraft weapons were meant more as a stopgap measure, and by no means the finished product?

Frustrating, but it made sense. Made slightly more frustrating by the fact it made sense.

Still, Atlanta was very enlightening on the subject. That alone was more than enough.

"That shall be all for the day, I think," Atlanta came to a close. "Lunch hour begins in thirty minutes, meaning the lunch rush started a half-hour ago."

Wait? What? It was close to noon? My stomach released a none too subtle gurgle, almost as if to signal it, yes, it was in fact, noon. A glance at the clock only confirmed this. We'd arrived at the same time we had yesterday, which was fairly early, but damn. The hours felt as if they had flown right by.

Didn't even have time for a snack, either. I'd packed a few things for today simply for that very reason. Unfortunately, but that was the way of the world. Sometimes you get your apple and cinnamon snips, others you get nothing but an empty stomach.

Well, there was certainly nothing I could do about it now. Eating now would just ruin my appetite for lunch. Actually, would it really? Probably best not to risk it though. Still, I'll keep what I had on hand for the afternoon, and if it didn't get used then, there was always tomorrow. An apple wasn't going to go bad in a single day, and I made sure to take extra care with the cinnamon snips to make sure they didn't end up getting crushed.

By the time I'd started gathering my things, the carrier was already out the door, a near blur of silver hair being the only evidence she had been there at all. That and the dent in her table. That didn't look good. Wasn't that punishable or something? Defacing or damaging property like that? Especially military property? No wonder why she was in classes.

After a brief moment to get my notebook into my hull and somewhere under lock and key, I watched as the destroyer went up to Atlanta, before bowing.

That was, something I'd seen before. I used to do martial arts in my previous life. A sign of respect to one's teacher. It, well, surprised me, to be honest. I certainly hadn't expected such a display here, of all places. Directed at Atlanta, of all people. Her mouth twitched slightly, almost the beginnings of a frown, but by that point, the destroyer had scampered out the door as well.

"Thank you," I nodded in appreciation as I appoarched.

"I saw you taking notes. Yet, your notebooks are gone," Atlanta's mouth curved slightly upward, almost unnoticeable. "Most natural borns take a while to pick up on that little trick."

"Really?" I shrugged. "It just seems so convenient, and at the same time, logical. I mean, we're also ships now, so shouldn't we be able to place objects in our hulls?"

"But you still carry a lunchbox," she pointed down at the container in my hand. "Why is that?"

"Because if it was just as simple as placing food and fuel in our hulls, then why would we need to eat?" Atlanta paused at my statement, for a moment, before the twitch in her lips turned into the start of a proper grin.

"You. You I like. You actually think about the weird questions," Atlanta chuckled. "Still, you should probably hurry along. The mess will be crowded enough as is. It'll get worse the longer you daddle. Though I do hope to see you in class in the future."

"I intend to, ma'am," I grinned, taking her advice. I wasn't exactly in a hurry. Honestly, it probably wouldn't change that much in the grand scheme.

"Don't you ma'am me! You're the older one!"