USS BB-61 Iowa

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?