Iowa

It's almost noon, and you have basically completed the tasks scheduled for the morning, so you plan to find out the latest situation of the ship girls on your fleet. You opened the filing cabinet beside you and took out the reports of the ship girls.

Houshou said that she hopes to increase the independent budget for the kitchen to purchase ingredients such as hamburger buns, cheese, and Italian noodles. Kaga expressed her hope to strengthen etiquette and safety promotion in public baths. Nagato requested that the specifications of the training range be strengthened and the number of live-fire exercises be increased, similar to Mutsu's roomand the Yamato-class's specification. Saratoga apologized for Iowa's behavior and said it would try to restrain her actions in the future.

You rubbed your eyes and reread the Sara's report. Everything seemed to point to a clear fact.

You headed to the foriegh ships' quarters and found Saratoga and Iowa's room. You knocked on the door. After a while, the door slowly opened. Saratoga, wearing pajamas, yawned, and stood in front of you with sleepy eyes: "Haah... Commander? Good morning. I'm sorry for my manners, but I've already taken a day off through the proper channels..."

You didn't ado, asking her where Iowa was. She blinked: "Oh, Iowa? She must be having lunch at this time? She kept me up all night yesterday, and my head is not so clear now..."

You thanked her and headed to the cafeteria at full speed, where there were still few people. As soon as you stepped through the door, you can caught a glimpse of a striking figure out of the corner of your eye.

Having dazzling blonde hair, she is taller than almost all the Japanese ship girls. When your eyes fall on the American ship girl, she turns to look at you almost at the same time. "Hmm~~~ Admiral!!!" Still holding the pizza in his hand and dragging a large piece of perfectly melted cheese to his lips, Iowa had a smile on her face and the stars in her eyes shinging. "Are you here to have lunch too?"

Look at the table in front of her, there is an abnormally huge American cheese pizza, half of which has been eaten.

'Houshou has defeated herself once again.' You can't help but think so.

You heard the announcement of the fleet's return and rushed to the dock.

You passed many shipgirls; some were wrapped in simple bandages or gauze, others had torn clothes. Seeing you, they blushed and covered themselves with their bodies. You knew they were fine, so you simply glanced at them, not stopping.

You could smell the scent of gunpowder on them, mixed with the stench of oil and burning, oxidizing metal, obliterating the usual damp fragrance of the sea breeze. The stench grew stronger as you approached the dock.

You had heard earlier on the radio that the fleet had been attacked, and the fighting was far more brutal than expected.

Most of the girls who were still able to move, like the ones you had just encountered, had gone to the infirmary, the bathhouse, or the dormitories. Inside the dock were the shipgirls who had been severely damaged in the battle. Finally, you reached the main gate.

You pushed open the heavy metal doors, and what greeted you was the dismantled riggings hanging in the darkness, accompanied by a harsh roar and a stench, even the smell of blood. You made your way through row after row of equipment, instantly recognizing aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and some battleships.

The closer you got to the seaport, the more severe the damage to the riggings became. You held your breath as you gazed at the horribly twisted gun barrels and funnels. The enemy had concentrated their fire, but the frigates had effectively dispersed the fire, and the damage to the capital ships was minimal.

Miraculously, you hadn't seen a single shipgirl yet.

However, you eventually came upon the figure you least wanted to see: the super battleship Iowa, slumped and dusty on the metal mesh floor of the dock. Her proud, massive hull was severely twisted and damaged, hoisted aloft by chains, being dismantled piece by piece by the maintenance crew and sent off for repairs. She herself was also in tatters, and not a single piece of her clothing was intact. Blouse, skirt, even stockings, all scorched and ripped, revealing soft, pale flesh, stained with oil and sweat. Her brilliant blond hair, now covered in mud and dust, lay scattered across her face.

"What a lucky girl to turn back with all fingers and toes after such a beating!" The chief engineer approached you, handing you an estimate for the damage assessment and repairs. Even without looking, you could tell the staggering price was largely paid by Iowa.

Iowa heard you, tilted her head, and happened to meet your eyes.

"Hiiiiiii~~~~~~~~ Admiral~~~!!!! Are you here to see me?" A mischievous smile instantly spread across her grimy face, her star-shaped eyes gleaming. "Sorry, I was mercilessly defeated."

She straightened her back, half-kneeling like a shy Japanese girl, her blonde hair falling from her shoulders. Her unhurried movements highlighted her tall figure, revealing her ample breasts and deep cleavage beneath her torn shirt, her exposed abdomen, and her long, toned legs. She rested one hand on her thigh and tapped her head lightly like an old-fashioned cartoon character. "As you can see, my riggings is all wrecked. It seems I won't be able to fight with you for the time being."

"Why not take this opportunity to take a break?" She even stuck out her tongue. "I'm just kidding☆ You don't mind, do you, Admiral?"

However, you didn't miss the vulnerable look in her eyes.

That happened at the New Year's temple fair.

The evening sky was tinged with twilight as you climbed the hillside path. Looking back down, the view was incredibly expansive, encompassing not only the entire city but also the outlines of the naval port and navy base faintly visible in the darkness.

You believed you would likely never forget this sight; it was a beautiful city. A sudden wave of melancholy washed over you.

You reached the summit of the mountain where the shrine stood. Stone lanterns, old streetlights, and paper lanterns hanging everywhere were gradually lighting up, illuminating the adjacent stalls and tents, as well as the scattered tourists. In a few hours, the place would be packed with New Year's worshippers.

New Year's worship. This event is not only important to traditional Japanese ship girls, but also a great opportunity for foreign ships to travel out of the base, experience and immerse themselves in Japanese culture. In fact, elder Japanese ships like Yamato, Mutsu, and Kaga often made it a tradition to visit the shrine shortly right before the New Year to preserve their precious rest time. Therefore, what you saw at the moment, besides ordinary citizens, were mostly young destroyers and cruisers, as well as foreign ship girls eager to experience the festive atmosphere. You glimpsed German ships huddled together. Eugen and Zeppelin exchange honey apples and roasted corn, along with a box of takoyaki, watching with great interest Bismarck, dressed in a pink morning glory yukata, wrestling with goldfish at her feet; she seemed quite engrossed. You also see Murakumo, Fubuki, and Yuudachi running and playing. Atago and Takao accompanied Gotland and Nelson browsing the jewelry stalls, with Haruna and Kirishima nearby. You've heard from Ark Royal that Warspite also wanted to participate in the shrine visit, but her schedule didn't allow it, so she'd visit tomorrow morning.

You would probably have to wait until the summer festival to see this interesting scene again. You thought to yourself. You continued exploring deeper into the stalls, intending to do your year-end shrine visit while you're at it. But then you heard shouts coming from the stalls ahead.

A large crowd had gathered in front of a small tent, mostly elementary and middle school students from the nearby community, with a few adults also stopping. You walked around to the front of the stall and saw that the person in the middle of the crowd is none other than Iowa. Even though it was a freezing winter night, Iowa was only wearing a loose striped gray sweater, exposing her neck and shoulders, and a pair of obviously unwarm denim shorts paired with brown stiff riding boots. You noticed she was wearing a rather retro frontier sheriff's leather hat, and realized she was now dressed as a cowgirl. The metal target in front of her was askew, and beside her were plush toys she had won from the vendors. Looking closer, you saw boys and girls nearby holding similar dolls, looking at her with admiration.

So that's it. The American cowgirl ne-san who passed by swept through the air gun vendors and became a heroine for the children...? Nagato would probably be very envious.

Iowa noticed you behind her, turned around, and waved her toy gun: "Hey~ Isn't this Admiral? Are you here to witness Iowa-sama's shooting prowess too?" She gave you a playful smile, quickly spinning the seemingly heavy revolver in her hand. "For America's most powerful warship, tasked with long-range precision shelling, this distance of just a few yards is child's play! My target practice in college was much harder than this." She said, firing another shot into the stall. A pile of tin cans toppled over, and a groan came from somewhere.

She suddenly gripped her pistol, pretending to aim at you, closing one eye, spreading her legs, and flashing a confident smile: "American sharpshooter, Iowa! I won't miss even against you, Admiral!" Although it was a toy gun, you noticed her index finger was outside the handguard; otherwise, her posture was quite professional, displaying the solid habits honed through military training. Seemingly casual, but actually quite skilled.

You and she stared at each other, noticing the scattered tin cans and the stall owner's frustrated expression, before you were finally able to calmly reflect. No, is this right?! Is it acceptable for a top-tier battleship girl to storm into a private market and disrupt the economy?! And what's with her revealing outfit? Wasn't she wearing that proper New Year's kimono last year? Where did that expensive custom-made outfit go?

時間靠近中午，你大致完成了上午的預定任務，所以你打算了解一下你艦隊上艦娘的近況。你打開了一旁的檔案櫃，取出艦娘們的報告書。 鳳祥表示，希望增加伙房的獨立預算，添購漢堡麵包、乳酪、義大利麵等食材。 加賀表示，希望加強大眾浴場的禮儀與安全宣導。 長門要求強化練習場的規格並增開實彈演習的次數，比照大和型與陸奧的房間辦理。 薩拉托加對愛荷華的行為致歉，表示今後將盡力約束她的行動。 你揉了揉眼睛，重看了一次薩拉托加的報告，一切似乎都指向一個明確的事實。 你前往海外艦宿舍，找到了薩拉托加和愛荷華的房間，你敲了敲門，過了一會，房門緩緩打開，薩拉托加穿著睡衣，打著呵欠，睡眼惺忪地站在你面前:「哈阿...指揮官?早安啊。我為我的儀態感到抱歉，但我已經循正規管道請假了...」 你沒有多費唇舌，向她詢問愛荷華在哪裡。她眨了眨眼:「噢，愛荷華啊?這個時間她大概在吃午餐?我昨天被她搞得整晚沒睡，現在腦袋不太清醒...」 你向她道謝，全速前往食堂，那裡人還稀稀落落。你一踏進門，就可在眼角瞥到一個醒目的人影。 一頭炫目的金髮，幾乎比所有日本艦娘都要高挑，當你的視線落在那位美國艦娘上時，她也幾乎同時轉頭過來看你。 「嗯~~~提督!!!」手裡還捧著披薩，拖著一大塊完美熔融的起司在嘴邊，愛荷華臉上掛著微笑，眼裡的星星閃耀著。「你也是來吃飯的?」 你看相她面前的餐桌，是一大片巨大異常的美式起司披薩，已經被吃掉了半面。 「鳳祥又一次的戰勝了自己。」你不禁這麼想。

你聽到了艦隊歸來的廣播，於是火速奔向船塢。

你與許多艦娘擦身而過；她們之中，有些人包著簡易的繃帶或紗布，有些人衣服破損，看到你便臉紅心跳地把身體遮掩起來。你知道她們沒事，所以只是以眼神簡單向她們示意，沒有停下腳步。 你可以從她們身上聞到火藥的味道，混合著油料和金屬燃燒氧化的臭味，抹去了平時海風的潮香，隨著你愈靠近船塢，臭味就變得愈濃。

早先，你就在無線電中聽到了艦隊遇襲的消息，戰況遠比預期的更加慘烈。

還能動的女孩大多像剛剛碰到的那樣，前往醫護室、浴場或宿舍了；船塢裡頭的，是戰鬥中嚴重受損的艦娘們，而你終於來到了大門前。

你推開沉重的金屬門，映入眼簾的是掛在黑暗中，被卸下的儀裝，伴著刺耳的轟鳴聲與臭氣，甚至還有血的味道。你穿過一排一排的裝備，一眼能認出空母、巡洋艦、驅逐艦與部分戰列艦。

越靠近出海口，儀裝的損傷便越嚴重，你看著悽慘扭曲的砲管與煙囪，不禁屏住呼吸。敵軍這次集中火力猛攻，但護衛艦們很好地分散了砲火，主力艦們受到的傷害並不嚴重。

奇蹟似的，你目前沒看到半個艦娘。

然而，你終究是見到了最不想看到的身影，超級戰艦愛荷華，灰頭土臉的癱坐在船塢的金屬網地板上，她引以為豪的巨大艦體嚴重扭曲破損，被鎖鏈高高吊起，正由整備班們逐一分解，分別送走維修；她本人也殘破不堪，身上的服裝無一完好。上衣、窄裙或甚至是絲襪，全都燒焦裂開，露出白皙柔軟的肉體，沾黏著油污與汗水，燦爛的金髮如今蒙著泥塵，散漫在臉上。

「打成這樣還能全艦歸還，這女孩可真幸運哩!」技工長向你走來，遞出了損害評估與維修的估價單，不看便知，驚人的天價，有大半是出自愛荷華的。

愛荷華聽到了你們的聲音，歪頭一看，正巧與你四目相接。

「Hiiiiiii~~~~~~~提督~~~!!!!你是來見我的嗎?」淘氣的笑容瞬間爬滿她汙濁的臉，星形的瞳孔閃閃發光。「抱歉捏，我被毫不留情地打敗了。」

她撐起身體，挺直腰桿，像靦腆的日本女孩一樣半跪著，金髮從肩上滑落，舒展開的動作凸顯了她高挑的身材，無論是破損襯衣間的豐滿乳房或深邃乳溝、裸露的腹部或是纖長健美的雙腿，全都一覽無遺。她將一手拄在大腿上，像老式卡通角色一樣輕輕敲頭。「如你所見，我的儀裝都壞光光了，暫時，似乎沒辦法和大家一起戰鬥了呢。」 「乾脆趁這個機會放個假好了?」她甚至不忘輕輕吐舌。「開玩笑的☆你不會介意吧，提督?」

然而，你沒有漏看她眼底脆弱的神情。

*那是在新年廟會上發生的事。*
*傍晚的天空已染上暮色，你爬上山邊的坡道。回望山下，視野極為開闊，不僅整個城市盡收眼底，連海邊的軍港及鎮守府，都可以在黑暗中隱隱望見輪廓。*
*你相信，自己大概永遠無法忘懷這裡的景色；這是一個美麗的城市。你忽然感到一陣惆悵。*
*你來到了神社所在的山頂，石燈籠、舊路燈，以及掛在各處的紙燈籠已逐漸亮了起來，照亮比鄰搭建的攤商帳篷以及稀稀落落的遊客。再過數個小時，這裡就會被新年參拜的民眾擠得水洩不通。*

*新年參拜。這活動不僅對注重傳統的日本艦娘來說重要，更是外國艦們一年一度在異鄉遊興、深度體驗並融入日本文化的一大時機；不如說，像大和和陸奧、加賀這樣的年長日本艦，往往建立了慣例，待到過年前不久，才會抓緊時間前往參拜，保存貴重的休息時間；因此你現在放眼所及的，除了普通市民，多半是年輕的驅逐艦與巡洋艦，還有渴望體驗年節氣氛的外國艦娘。*
*你瞥見德國艦聚在一塊，歐根和齊柏林交換啃著蜜蘋果和烤玉米，還有一盒章魚燒，饒富興味地看著腳邊穿著粉色牽牛花浴衣的俾斯麥和撈金魚搏鬥；她看起來十分投入；也看到叢雲、吹雪和夕立等人奔跑嬉戲；愛宕和高雄伴著哥特蘭與納爾遜逛飾品攤位，榛名和霧島也在一旁；你從皇家方舟那聽說，厭戰也很希望參加參拜，但作息無法配合，所以會在明天清晨造訪。*

*下次要看到這有趣景象大概要等到夏日祭典了吧。你尋思到。你繼續向攤販深處勘查，打算順便先進行一次今年的年末參拜。卻發現前方的攤販傳來吆喝聲。*
*小小的帳篷前圍繞著不少群眾，大部分看來是附近社區的國中小生，也有少數成年人駐足。你繞到攤販正面一看，人群中間的竟然是愛荷華。*
*明明正是冬夜的大冷天，愛荷華竟然只穿著一件寬鬆的條紋灰毛衣，露出大面脖頸與胸肩，下身更是只有一件明顯毫不保暖的牛仔短褲，配上棕色硬馬靴；你發現她頭上戴著一頂頗復古的大拓荒警長皮帽，這才意識到，她現在渾身一副牛仔模樣。她面前的鐵罐標靶東倒西歪，身邊放著向攤商贏來的布偶獎品，仔細一瞧，一旁的男孩女孩也抱著相似的娃娃，崇拜的看著她。*
*原來如此，路過的美國女牛仔姊姊橫掃空氣槍攤販，順便成為孩子們的偶像英雄嗎……?長門大概會很羨慕。*
*愛荷華發現了身後的你，轉身向你揮了揮手上的玩具手槍:*「呀吼~這不是Admiral嗎?你也是來見識愛荷華大人射擊的英姿的嗎?」*她朝你露出俏皮的笑容，在手中快速旋轉看起來沉甸甸的左輪手槍。「對挑戰超距精準砲擊的美國最強艦來說，這不過幾碼的距離簡直小菜一疊!我大學時的打靶訓練都比這難多了呢。」她說著又隨手朝攤販內開了一槍，一堆鐵罐應聲倒下，不知哪處傳來了店主呻吟的聲音。*
*她忽然握緊手槍，作勢向你瞄準，閉單眼叉開雙腿，露出自信的微笑:*「美利堅神槍手，愛荷華!就算是面對提督也不會失手哦!」*雖然是玩具槍，你發現她的食指放在護弓外，此外的姿勢倒是足具架勢，顯示出軍訓培養的精實習慣。看似隨便，但其實真有一手。*

*你和她乾瞪著眼，瞥見七零八落的鐵罐和捶胸頓足的攤商，忽然才得以冷靜思考。不，這不對吧?!最高階的戰列艦娘殺進民營攤販破壞經濟是可以的嗎?!還有，她這一身清涼裝扮是怎麼回事?她去年不是還穿著她那套正正經經的新年和服嗎，那一身名貴的訂製品到哪去了?*