KanColle X Devil May Cry: Devil Trigger Protocol

Devil May Cry Naval Base

Dante dozed in his office chair, feet propped up as usual.

"Good morning!"

Akatsuki burst in, followed by Ika and Hikari.

"Admiral, you run a handyman business, right?" Akatsuki asked.

"We made flyers for you!" Hikari beamed.

"Pretty great, huh? You can rely on us!" Ika added.

"…Flyers?" Dante muttered.

"Yup!" Akatsuki nodded.

"We're heading to the port town to hand them out!" Ika said.

Akatsuki and Ika were buzzing with excitement.

"No need. More work's a hassle. We're on a six-day weekend policy," Dante said.

"That much rest, and we'll go broke!" Hikari protested.

"Thing is, money rolls in without doing anything," Dante smirked.

"?" The trio blinked in confusion.

"You get paid by the navy because we work hard!" Ika huffed.

At the door stood Tenryuu, Tatsuta, Kisaragi, and Hatsuyuki.

"Hey, don't just barge in!" Dante snapped.

"Wanted to show you quick!" Tenryuu grinned.

"Fine, calm down," Dante sighed, noting Tenryuu's amusement at Ika's enthusiasm.

"We'll advertise properly for you, Admiral!" Tatsuta chirped.

"Off we go!" Kisaragi waved.

"Hey, wait—" Dante stood, but Tatsuta led everyone out, except Hatsuyuki.

"You not going?" Dante asked.

"…Nope. Too tired. Sleeping," Hatsuyuki mumbled, collapsing on the sofa.

"Dammit…" Dante grumbled, slumping back to nap.

Port Town Near the Naval Base

"Devil May Cry Handyman Services!" Akatsuki shouted.

"We take any job!" Ika called.

"P-Please, support us!" Hikari stammered.

"Thank you!" Kisaragi sang.

The shipgirls handed out flyers, Akatsuki and Hikari pushing past their shyness.

"Hey, Tatsuta," Tenryuu said.

"What's up, Tenryuu-chan?" Tatsuta replied.

"This okay without his permission?"

"The girls wanted to help with the business. Good chance to make the Admiral work, right? Here's a flyer!" Tatsuta smiled.

"(Wish he'd send us on missions instead…)" Tenryuu muttered.

Naval Base, Admiral's Office

"Excuse me," Akagi said, entering. Dante was still asleep.

"Admiral, Mamiya says we're out of ingredients for dinner."

"…" Dante didn't stir.

"I know you're awake," Akagi pressed.

"…Go buy some, then."

"We're out of money."

"That's rough."

"We go on expeditions and sorties, but you tag along uninvited, so we're recalled early with no results. And we're broke because you spent the budget on 'essential expenses'—guitars, drum sets, cars, pool tables, even a jukebox! Do you know how much those cost? Then you blew the rest modifying your car and bike!"

"…" Dante stayed silent.

"Ooyodo got chewed out by headquarters for misusing funds. They called it 'unprecedented.'"

"…"

"And of course, those don't qualify as expenses. The marshal himself said, 'No way.'"

"So what now?"

"They'll deduct it from your navy salary."

Dante clicked his tongue.

"The destroyers went to hand out flyers to earn money. Get it together," Akagi scolded.

"Essential expenses. Also, six-day weekends."

"Ugh…" Akagi groaned.

Ooyodo rushed in. "Admiral! A resident called—the girls handing out flyers are in trouble!"

"Never a dull moment. I'm on it," Dante said, grabbing Ebony & Ivory and leaving.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" Akagi followed.

Port Town

"You block the street, bump into us, and complain? Bold move, brats!" Two thugs loomed over the shipgirls.

"You bumped into us!" Akatsuki snapped, her shyness gone.

Big mistake.

"Can't even apologize, huh?" The thug shoved Akatsuki.

"Eek!" she yelped.

"Akatsuki!" Ika, Hikari, and Kisaragi rushed to her.

"Stop it! Don't touch them!" Tenryuu barked.

"Then you pay us compensation!" the thug sneered.

"Compensation?" Tatsuta asked.

"Check this flyer—'We take any job,' 'Devil May Cry'!" the other thug mocked.

"Lame name!"

It's not lame.

The thugs laughed at the flyer's text.

"Wahhh!" Akatsuki, Ika, and Hikari sobbed. Their hard work—crude but heartfelt—was mocked. Kisaragi comforted them.

"You jerks…" Tenryuu and Tatsuta glared.

"Can't pay? Fine. You two ladies can make it up to us another way," the thugs leered.

Someone approached, bumping shoulders with a thug.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" The thug grabbed the man's collar—a silver-haired guy in a red coat.

"You're the one acting tough," Dante said, gripping the thug's arm tightly.

"Ow, ow, ow!" the thug yelped.

"They're kids. Don't scare them further," Dante growled, glaring at the other thug, who froze, sweating and trembling. As a half-demon devil hunter, Dante's presence was overwhelming.

The pinned thug swung at Dante, who dodged effortlessly and pressed a gun to his forehead.

"Touch them again, and you're dead."

"Eek!" The thugs fled.

Dante stared after them.

"Admiral…" Akatsuki sniffled.

"Admiral!" Ika cried.

"It was scary…" Hikari sobbed, clinging to Dante.

"Don't make me work so hard," Dante said.

"Admiral…" Tenryuu muttered.

"Sorry, we let this happen," Tatsuta apologized.

Akagi approached. "Everyone okay?"

"Tired. Let's go," Dante said.

"You were cool, Admiral!" Kisaragi giggled.

"Reflect on this," Dante shot back.

"Heh…" Kisaragi smiled.

"Sorry, Admiral," Akatsuki mumbled, clinging to him.

"Stop getting snot on me."

"But…" Akatsuki pouted.

"Tenryuu, Tatsuta, you okay?" Akagi asked.

"We're fine, but the kids…" Tenryuu said.

"Sorry for worrying you," Tatsuta added.

"Glad you're safe," Akagi said.

Townsfolk surrounded them.

"Saw the whole thing!" one said.

"Those guys were trouble. That was satisfying!" another cheered.

"You're their Admiral, right? Cool foreign guy!" a third added.

"How'd you know?" Akagi asked.

"Everyone knows you're shipgirls! TV makes you sound scary, but you're just girls. Felt bad, so we called the number on the flyer," a woman explained.

"Thanks for calling the Admiral!" Tenryuu grinned.

"Take this bread as thanks for dealing with them!" a baker offered.

The townsfolk piled gifts on them.

"Whoa, I can't carry all this…" Dante groaned.

"Can I have a flyer? You do any job, right?"

"Really? Gimme one! We're counting on you!"

"Help us fish. The Abyssals make it tough."

The gifts kept coming, and the flyers ran out.

On the Way Back

"Called to town just to haul stuff?" Kaga grumbled.

"Sorry, Kaga," Akagi said.

"At least we won't go hungry for a while," Mamiya noted.

"Time to prep dinner," Houshou added.

"It's heavy…" Hikari whined.

"One, two, one, two!" Ika chanted.

"A proper lady can carry this… okay, it's tough…" Akatsuki admitted.

Hikari, Ika, and Akatsuki struggled with the load.

"Admiral, making cute girls carry heavy stuff?" Kisaragi teased.

"I'm pushing the bike," Dante replied.

"Unfair!" Tenryuu protested.

"It's carrying stuff too."

"Why not the car? I'm done…" Hatsuyuki groaned.

"Why am I doing this?" Kita complained.

"My hands hurt," Tatsuta said. "You okay, Tenryuu-chan?"

"World-class, no problem!" Tenryuu boasted.

Akagi smiled at Dante. "We gave out all the flyers. Work's gonna pour in."

"I only do demon jobs," Dante said.

"A handyman doesn't do everything?" Kita asked.

"Handyman's not a jack-of-all-trades."

"What's the difference?" Akashi asked.

Mamiya chuckled. "Who knows?"

"Don't forget fleet command," Ooyodo said.

"Oh, right…" Dante mumbled.

"You forgot?" Akagi asked.

"Unbelievable," Kaga sighed.

Ooyodo, Akagi, and Kaga exchanged exasperated looks.

"Let's go home," Dante said.

"Yes, sir!" they chorused.

Bathed in the sunset, they returned to the base. Rumor has it, the phones rang nonstop with non-demon job requests… or maybe not.