'What... What the fuck?!' (Y/n) internally screamed, completely shocked by the girl's sudden move.

Regaining his senses, he managed to shove the girl from him and moved away, his cannons still aimed at her. He was completely caught off-guard, and did not know what was her reason for doing such thing. It was his first time seeing her, yet he was already sexually assaulted!

"What the hell, woman?" (Y/n) wiped his lips with his arm. "The fuck is your deal? I was just minding my own business here, and now you're here, interrupting my day and harrasing me?"

"..." The unknown woman did not reply, yet she had a noticable frown plastered in her face. She picked up her bow and simply held it, making to attempts to attack.

"Hey." (Y/n) called out. "Are you listening to me?"

"I... I understand if you don't know me..." She said, her voice breaking. "It's probably better this way."

"What do you mean?" (Y/n) asked her, now completely confused.

The woman sighed, seemingly saddened. "You'll know soon enough..."

"You were that girl back then, aren't you?" (Y/n) brought up, making her flinch. "What are you doing there? Are you stalking me?"

"...Yes." The woman admitted. "However, I'm not an assassin. I merely wish to see you."

"Is that why are you after me?" (Y/n) pressed on. "You simply want to annoy me? Don't give me that shit. I know you have some ulterior motives, and right now, I see you as a threat not just to me but to the entirety of humanity."

"(Y/n), I-" The woman stopped mid-sentence, realizing what she had said.

(Y/n) reloaded his cannons. "How did you know my name?"

"As I said earlier, you'll learn soon enough." The woman repeated. "I've seen you again, and that's enough for me. I'm satisfied... for now."

And with her final words, she sailed away, leaving the male kansen alone. He was about to gave chase, but she was already gone before he could make a move.

(Y/n) sighed. "I need coffee."

(Y/n) suddenly heard a faint sound of a jet flying overhead. He took a glance and saw an F-35, but it wasn't his. He recognized the markings in the tails and quickly realized who it belongs to.

"Fuck, that's Iowa's jet..." (Y/n) cursed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How in the hell didn't I notice that? She's definitely going kill me..."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and sailed back to Azur Lane, hoping that things don't stir up when he arrive.

---

Upon arriving, (Y/n) unsummoned his riggings as his ship materialized nearby. He walked further, and was greeted by Iowa who had her arms crossed, and was smiling, which was a clear giveaway that shit is about to go down.

"Hey, darling." Iowa greeted as she approached him, and gave her husbund a short hug afterwards. "What took you so long?"

"I... encountered some problems along the way." (Y/n) lied, but he knew that Iowa wasn't buying that.

"I see." Iowa said. She motioned the male to follow after her, which he did. "Let me ask you this - if you found a bag full of money in it, would you take it to the authorities?"

"No way. I'd totally keep it. Finder's keepers." (Y/n) replied with a small laugh. Soon, he found himself in a disclosed area in the docks, where not even a single shipgirl can be found except for them.

"Well, aren't you honest?" Iowa giggled. "But what if I was an undercover officer and I saw you take it?"

"I'd probably give you the half and have you look the other way." (Y/n) answered.

Iowa nodded. "I'm sure that's what you'd actually do. You're not lying."

"Anyway, why are you asking me these things?" (Y/n) inquired. "It's kinda strange..."

The two were getting suspicious with each other, and they both knew it. However, they kept their demeanor and acted the same, both pursuing the same goal - one hopes to escape the predicament he was in, and the other wants to extract information from the latter.

"Nothing." Iowa said, her tone getting more serious. "You see, I can tell if people are lying or not. I'm almost certain. I have my own ways of determining that, you know? Especially if they're sweating. And if I taste it, I will really know."

"..." (Y/n) narrows his eyes as the atmosphere becomes tense.

"Anyway, you know why I called you here." Iowa said, her eyes looking directly into his. "You saw my Lightning, right? You know what I'm talking about, so let's go straight to the point."

"..." (Y/n) stayed silent.

"Who was that girl?" Iowa inquired, a malicious aura looming over her.

"Who?" (Y/n) played dumb, unaware of the consequences.

"Don't fuck with me!" Iowa exclaimed as she pinned him on the wall, making a small crack from the force of the hit. "Don't make me repeat the same question twice, (Y/n), because its totally useless. I won't accept that you're cheating on us."

"...No one." (Y/n) admitted in hopes of defusing the situation. "She simply confronted me. That's all."

Iowa glared at (Y/n), while he maintained his calm expression and kept his cool. After a while, Iowa gave up and distanced herself from him.

"You're not sweating." Iowa said. "Alright, I believe you. Sorry to bother you."

Iowa walked away, finally leaving him on his own devices. (Y/n) lets out a sigh, not noticing the sweat that was on his cheek.

"That was close..." (Y/n) mumbled, letting a sigh of relief.

"Close to what?" Iowa suddenly appeared behind him, completely surprising the male. That's why you don't celebrate too early.

'Shit-' (Y/n) was about to turn around, but his hands were siezed by Iowa. She then licked his cheek and savored the taste, making him both afraid and uncomfortable.

"This taste... is the taste of a liar, (Y/n) (L/n)!" Iowa proclaimed, her grip tightening around his wrist. "Well, well, well... would you look at that? Looks like the situation had completely changed."

'...How the hell did I lose control over this conversation?!' (Y/n) thought in distress.

"You told me a lie." Iowa added, obviously angry. "And now, I'm gonna have to find out why you lied to me, aren't I?!"

Iowa snapped her fingers, and in an instant, her sisters appeared in a flash. They then surrounded him, all equally furious.

"W-Wait! I can explain!" (Y/n) exclaimed, successfully saving his life and the base itself.

Iowa lets go of his wrists, but her glare did not drop the slightest. "...Go on."

And so, (Y/n) explained everything that had transpired, going back to the moment he got into Japan, to his encounter with the unknown woman.

Of course, he was forced to tell every single detail, and as expected, they were infuriated when they learned that their husbund was almost taken away from them.

"I'm gonna kill her." Iowa remarked with a grin.

"Don't bother." (Y/n) interrupted. "She had already disappeared to God knows where."

"Wait, maybe we should report this to Commander Alexandra." Missouri suggested. "As (Y/n) had said earlier, she could pose a threat to us."

"She's right, sis." New Jersey agreed.

After a moment of silence, Iowa spoke. "Alright, I'll tell the Commander about this. However... we will keep a close eye on you, (Y/n)."

"...Do I have the right to refuse?" (Y/n) asked.

"N O." The Iowa-class replied with a glare.

"Of course I don't." (Y/n) sighed. "I'm fine with that as long as you don't come into my room and stab me in my sleep... ah shit."

---

The Next Day...

The Royal Navy had conducted a naval exercise alongside Eagle Union carriers and battleships. Of course, the Iowa-class were invited to the exercise to test their capabilities in combat.

However, due to them being veterans and had came across many battles ever since they were launched, they've easily defeated most of the participating shipgirls. Their superior firepower and fire control systems had also added to the reasons why they won.

(Y/n) was watching the things unfold, trying to distract himself from yesterday's events. His wives did not lie, and he really was kept under surveillance  like some sort of high-profile criminal, so much so as sleeping with him in his room last night (and much to his thankfulness, they did not stab him in his sleep).

"Hmm..." (Y/n) hummed as he watched the battle. "They're too sloppy, but at least they did well."

"Agreed." Alexandra nods. "I mean, the Iowa-class had the most modern weaponry, so they've easily beaten my shipgirls."

"Nah, even if we didn't got retrofitted with modern weapons, we could still handle ourselves just fine." (Y/n) disagreed. "Did you forget that they had a lot of experience fighting Sirens? We can adapt to any situation and will do anything to accomplish our mission, even if we had to sacrifice ourselves."

"...I see." Alexandra said. "Why don't you go there next?"

"I'm not in the mood." (Y/n) refused.

"Hmph. Coward." Queen Elizabeth, who was watching the exercise with them alongside Warspite, mocked the male kansen.

(Y/n) snapped his gaze towards the loli battleship and stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you please repeat it?"

"I said you're a coward." Queen Elizabeth said again.

"Elizabeth!" Alexandra snapped. "If you won't show respect to others, I'm going to retire you!"

"Wha-?!" Queen Elizabeth was shocked. "Y-You can't do that!"

"Y-Your Majesty..." Warspite tried to calm her down,

"Unfortunately for you, I can." Alexandra shot back.

"Why are you defending him?!" Queen Elizabeth shouted.

"Because I treat everyone equally." Alexandra replied.

"To be fair, I don't see you as a queen." (Y/n) remarked, shocking them further. "I only see you as a sassy, lost child."

"...Oof." Alexandra said with a snicker.

"How dare you?!" Queen Elizabeth growled.

"And that further proves my point." (Y/n) said blankly.

"Grrr... Warspite! Take him down!"  Elizabeth ordered.

"Y-Your Majesty, I can't do that..." Warspite politely refused.

"Are you questioning me?" Queen Elizabeth said.

"Of course not, Your Majesty..." Warspite cooed.

(Y/n) sighed. "Fine, I'll do it, if it helps her sleep at night."

"Good! I can't wait to see you cry in shame!" Queen Elizabeth laughed.

"Are you sure?" Alexandra asked, forcefully ignoring what Queen Elizabeth had said.

"I just want to get this over with." (Y/n) answered.

"...Alright." Alexandra conceded. "All shipgirls, step aside. Warspite, (Y/n), take your positions."

Warspite complied and jumped to the water as she summoned her riggings, while the others moved to the side and watched the duel unfold.

(Y/n) soon equipped his own rig and went to the water, postitioning himself a few meters away from her.

'I can't wait to see you crumble in shame~' Queen Elizabeth thought in joy.

"This is gonna be fun." New Jersey remarked.

"I'll bet he'll finish this in a minute." Missouri added.

"Always has been." Iowa and Wisconsin agreed.

"I'm sorry for this, but orders are orders." Warspite said.

"Don't apologize." (Y/n) waved it off. "However, let me tell you this one thing, Warspite."

Warspite raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"When you're going to dispose of someone, you always have to prepare for the posibility that it may be you who's going to be disposed." (Y/n) elaborated in a calm manner. "That's why you don't need to hold back."

'T-This guy...' Warspite shivered upon hearing the odd calmness of his voice. 'He's going to kill me... He's serious! This guy is actually going to kill me! He's intense enough that he'd actually do what he says he's going to do!'

"Fighters, take your positions!" Alexandra shouted over the megaphone. "(Y/n), you are forbidden to use anti-ship missiles to balance this fight!"

"Roger that." He acknowledged. 'Don't need 'em anyway.'

Warspite adapted a battle stance, while the male battleship simply stood there. Menacingly.

"Begin!" Alexandra shouted again.

Taking the cue, the combatants aimed their cannons at each other, but (Y/n) was slightly faster and managed to fire a full salvo, forcing her to dodge.

'He's fast!' Warspite thought in surprise.

She returned the favor and fired a barrage of her own. However, (Y/n) easily sliced the shells with deadly precision as they exploded behind him.

Not giving him a chance to recover, Warspite advanced and raised her sword, preparing for an overhead strike. The male saw the obvious move and easily blocked it, causing sparks to fly off from their swords.

"He's good, isn't he, Takao?" Atago giggled.

"Indeed." Takao agreed. 'I should ask him to spar with me.'

(Y/n) kicked her stomach, sending her flying. Warspite landed a few meters away, quickly recovering from the sudden move as she held her stomach in pain.

"Ow..." Warspite muttered.

(Y/n) suddenly appeared in front of her, catching her off guard. He went in for a horizontal slash, which she barely avoided by moving backwards.

'That was close! If I was a second slower...' Warspite thought in relief.

"He's good, I'll give him that." Enterprise commented.

Warspite countered it with another salvo, which was fired at point-blank range, covering him with smoke and flames. Everyone watched in shock as to what happened, while Queen Elizabeth smirked in victory. The Iowa-class simply smiled, wanting to see more of it unfold.

Warspite realized what she had done and was horrified. She didn't know what to do. What if she injured him or worse, killed him?

As the smoke cleared, it revealed (Y/n) who had his head bleeding, the blood trailing down to both of his cheeks to his chin before dripping to the seawater.

Everyone except for the Iowa-class was surprised that he managed to survive such a point-blank bombardment, and it only showed how strong he really is. Iowa and her sisters weren't worried, knowing that it was nothing but a mere scratch to him.

(Y/n) stared at Warspite blankly yet menacingly, causing her to tremble. "My turn."

(Y/n) rushed forward and went for a slash, with Warspite successfully blocking it. (Y/n) pulled back and lets out a flurry of sword slashes, forcing her to go onto the defensive.

Warspite managed to block most of the attacks, but she still got hit and suffered wounds on her arms and torso, causing her to hiss in pain.

(Y/n) kicked her in the stomach once again, throwing her to the side. The female kansen managed to recover, though in immense pain. She then noticed him walking past her and putting his sword back to its sheath, much to her surprise.

"What are you doing?!" Warspite called out. "Why did you stop attacking me? Why didn't you finish me off?!"

"'Why', you ask?" (Y/n) glanced at her. "Because you're a good person."

"What...?" Warspite was surprised.

"You hesitated for a moment before attacking me. That only shows that you're not just a mere servant." (Y/n) added. "You were able to make decisions on your own, even without your bratty sister."

"..." Warspite didn't know what to say.

"You are a warrior, Warspite, that's why I respect you." (Y/n) said his final words before walking away, bringing their duel to an end.

---

Word Count: 2594 Words