KanColle X Devil May Cry: Devil Trigger Protocol

Devil May Cry Naval Base, Commander's Office

Music blared from the jukebox, filling the office. Dante leaned back, eyes closed, savoring the rare peace. Suddenly, the music stopped. He cracked an eye open to see Houshou standing there, clearly the culprit.

Dante: "Why'd you kill the vibe? I was enjoying that."

Houshou: "I'd like to discuss something. Will you hear me out?"

Dante: "If it's a lecture, I'm out."

Houshou: "Hehe, no scolding here."

Dante: "Alright, I'm listening."

Houshou: "It's getting quite warm, isn't it?"

Dante: "Yeah."

Houshou: "The cherry blossoms are starting to fall, but I was thinking we could all go flower-viewing."

Dante: "…O-ha-na-mi?"

Houshou explained hanami briefly.

Dante: "So, we party under trees?"

Houshou: "Pretty much."

Dante: "But the flowers are falling. That's fun to look at?"

Houshou: "We've been too busy to go before. There are still some blooming spots, though."

Dante: "Sounds cool. Go for it."

Houshou: "…You're not coming, Admiral?"

Dante: "Demons might show up."

Houshou: "We want you there."

Dante: "I'll pass this time."

Dante closed his eyes, ready to nap.

Houshou: "Admiral, look at me."

Dante: "…"

Houshou: "You promised to listen."

Dante opened his eyes, meeting her gaze.

Houshou: "We shipgirls don't have parents or real families. We only have each other, living together here. Naturally, we see each other as family. And we admire you. We see you as family, too."

Dante: "Family, huh…"

Houshou: "We're at war. Any of us could die anytime. That's why we want to spend time with family—why I want you to come. Will you join us?"

Dante's own family history hit hard: a missing father, a mother killed by demons, a brother vanished into the demon world. He faced Houshou squarely.

Dante: "Using family to guilt-trip me? That's low."

Houshou: "Is it?" She smiled brightly.

Dante: "Fine, I'll go."

Houshou: "Thank you."

The phone rang.

Dante: "Yo, Devil May Cry."

?: "It's me. Remember?"

Dante: "That voice… you."

The caller was the Marshal's son, a General.

General: "Heard you made waves again."

He was likely referring to the Leviathan incident.

Dante: "Just another day. Not a big deal."

General: "Gahaha! You're a riot!"

Dante: "What's so funny…"

General: "You know Yokosuka's back online, right?"

Dante: "Heard something like that."

General: "My protégé's the Admiral there. I've got a proposal."

Dante: "Proposal?"

General: "A fleet exercise. Your shipgirls versus his."

Dante: "You mean?"

General: "Combat-style training."

Dante: "Pass. We're busy with demons."

Dante hung up.

Houshou: "Who was that?"

Dante: "Some guy calling himself a General."

Houshou: "You hung up?"

The phone rang again.

Dante: "Devil May Cry."

General: "Why'd you hang up?"

Dante: "Not interested. If it's not demons, call someone else."

General: "I'm your superior."

Dante: "News to me. I didn't join the navy."

General: "The Marshal filled me in. Officially, you're in the navy, or you wouldn't be Admiral here."

Dante: "Get to the point."

General: "You're my subordinate. I don't mind the attitude, but hear me out."

Dante: "Spit it out. I'm not free all day."

General: "My protégé wants to meet you. Plus, we can see how strong your shipgirls are. Good deal."

Dante: "I don't train them."

Dante was hands-off with their drills.

General: "Also, my protégé's a looker."

Yokosuka's Admiral was apparently a woman.

Dante: "What, you setting me up? We done? Bye."

Dante hung up again. The phone rang. He lifted the receiver and slammed it down. It rang again.

CRASH!

Dante chucked the phone out the window, shattering the glass.

Tenryuu: "Ow! A phone hit me!"

Tenryuu yelled outside, but Dante ignored her.

Houshou: "Don't throw phones. What did he say?"

Dante: "Wants a fleet exercise with Yokosuka."

Houshou: "You're refusing?"

Dante: "Not interested."

Houshou: "He's suggesting it for a reason, no?"

Dante: "Is he?"

Houshou: "He's the Marshal's son, called the navy's 'strongest,' a martial artist, and next in line for Marshal. His subordinates are all elite."

Dante: "Strongest? Big title. You know a lot."

Houshou: "I have some history with him."

Dante: "Old man's son, huh…"

Houshou: "Interested now?"

Dante: "Nope."

Houshou: "Why not take the exercise? It'd be good experience for us."

Dante: "What about hanami?"

Houshou: "Oh…"

Dante: "Exactly. I'm passing. Hanami's on you."

Houshou: "Fine. Clean up the glass yourself."

Houshou left the office.

Next Day, Naval Base Main Gate

Cerberus: "…"

General: "…"

The General stood arms crossed, staring down Cerberus, who was guarding the gate.

Cerberus: "Who are you?"

General: "Japanese Navy General!"

Cerberus: "…"

General: "…"

Silence. They glared at each other.

Cerberus: "What do you want?"

General: "I'm here to talk to that kid, Dante. Let me through."

Cerberus: "I guard this gate! No entry without permission!"

Ikazuchi: "Cerberus, dinner time!"

Akatsuki, Ikazuchi, and Inazuma appeared.

Inazuma: "General-san!?"

The trio saluted.

General: "Good to see you well. I need to see Dante, but this mutt won't budge."

Akatsuki: "Cerberus, he's important. Let him through!"

Ikazuchi: "If you're rude, the Commander could get fired and end up on the streets! He'd be in trouble!"

Inazuma: "Please let him pass, nanodesu."

Cerberus: "…Fine."

Cerberus stepped aside.

General: "Good work!"

The General passed through, then glanced back. Akatsuki's group tossed rice balls into Cerberus's mouths.

General: "On the streets, huh? Kid's got some loyal followers…"

He headed toward the main building.

Commander's Office

General: "Coming in!"

The General entered to find shipgirls playing billiards and cards. They jumped, saluted, noticed the messy room, scrambled to clean, then saluted again. Dante, unimpressed, glared at the General.

Dante: "How'd you get in?"

General: "Walked through the front gate."

Dante: "Some guard dog…"

Unbeknownst to Dante, Akatsuki's group let him in.

Houshou: "Tea."

General: "Thanks."

Dante and the General sat on sofas, facing off. Houshou, Akagi, Kaga, and Ooyodo stood behind Dante. Other shipgirls eavesdropped outside.

Dante: "What do you want?"

General: "Phone wasn't working, so I came in person. About the fleet exercise."

Dante: "I said no yesterday. We're busy with hanami prep."

General: "Looked like you were playing."

Dante: "Breaks are necessary."

General: "Hanami now?"

Dante: "Family time matters."

Akagi's group sweated. Dante's attitude toward a superior and their probing exchange felt like a verbal sparring match. The air was tense.

Tenryuu: "Hear anything?"

Suzuya: "Not clearly."

Haguro: "Is eavesdropping okay?"

Kongou: "A General showing up out of nowhere is suspicious, dess! Something's up."

Kitakami: "We're in trouble if we're caught."

Satsuki: "Is the Commander getting chewed out?"

Tatsuta: "Why think that?"

Satsuki: "We barely sortie, and expeditions are minimal."

Hatsuyuki: "Commander… fired?"

Miyuki: "For real!?"

Shigure: "Nothing's decided. Let's watch for now."

Murakumo: "Right. If it comes to that, we'll stop it."

General: "I read the report on the large demon fight. Yamato confirmed it. You refused support, didn't you?"

Dante: "So?"

General: "Not overconfident?"

Dante: "What's your point?"

General: "You rejected support, handled it with your shipgirls, and let the enemy reach the defense line. With support, you could've had more firepower and less damage."

Dante: "Yeah, it'd have been worse."

General: "You saying the navy's useless?"

Dante: "How much demon-fighting experience does the navy have?"

General: "…"

Dante: "I'm not clueless. Most demon encounters end in death or retreat. Yokosuka's last shipgirls were mostly killed by demons. Amateurs just get in the way. Thinking numbers win is overconfidence."

Both had valid points. No clear answer.

Suzuya: "Sounds like they're arguing."

Tenryuu: "Heard something about overconfidence."

Suzuya: "But the Admiral's clapping back hard."

Kisaragi: "Is he okay…?"

Dante: "We beat the demon. No one sank."

General: "Thanks to you. But your shipgirls? Are they skilled enough? With so few sorties, I doubt their training's up to par."

Dante: "You mocking them? They train hard, fight demons, and come back alive. That fleet exercise? We won't lose to some rookie fleet."

General: "Don't get cocky, kid! Family's nice, but it's useless in battle. The Marshal respects your style, but as an Admiral, you're naive."

Dante: "If you're just here to pick a fight, show your sorry ass out!"

Tensions boiled. Red sparks crackled around Dante, a sign of Devil Trigger. Akagi: "Admiral, calm down!"

Houshou: "General, that's enough. Even for you, that's too far."

Kaga: "We're not overconfident. We always plan for the worst."

Suzuya: "Admiral's pissed~"

Kitakami: "Houshou-san's fighting back, too."

Tenryuu: "Should we stop this?"

Jintsuu: "Houshou-san's there. It shouldn't escalate too far…"

Ooi: "Barging in will just make it messier."

General: "Fine, I get your point. I'm about results. Prove it in the fleet exercise."

The General stood and headed for the door.

General: "Three days from now, 1300."

Dante: "Don't decide for me. I said we're going to hanami."

The shipgirls outside heard footsteps and lined up against the wall, saluting as the General opened the door. He glanced at them, then back at Dante.

General: "Can't even train your shipgirls to behave."

The eavesdropping was busted. The shipgirls sweated, avoiding his gaze. The General left. Dante kicked the table across the room and stood, his youth making him quick to anger.

Akagi: "Admiral!"

Kaga: "Don't take it out on things."

The noise drew the outside shipgirls in. Houshou chased after the General. Red sparks surged around Dante, his form flickering between human and demon. His emotions overwhelmed his Devil Trigger control, still new and unsteady.

Tenryuu: "H-Hey, you okay?"

Suzuya and Ooi were speechless at his demonic form.

Akagi: "Admiral, please calm down!"

The shipgirls had never seen Dante like this. Unsure what to do, anxiety mounted.

Main Gate

Akatsuki's group lingered with Cerberus. The General was leaving.

Houshou: "Stop!"

Houshou's voice carried anger.

Houshou: "What's your deal? Why provoke him like that? He always gives his all."

General: "I know."

Houshou: "Then…!"

General: "Houshou, remember the old days? When my father was Yokosuka's Admiral, and you were his secretary ship?"

Houshou: "Of course."

Shipgirls don't age.

General: "I wasn't born yet, but I heard stories. When Abyssals attacked Yokosuka, a man saved my father—a silver-haired guy in red, wielding a sword and twin pistols, with carrier Akagi and light cruiser Sendai, wiping out the Abyssals."

Houshou: "…"

No shipgirl named Sendai was at Dante's base.

General: "Mom raised me on those stories. Dad says that guy's younger now."

Houshou: "Yes."

Dante, younger now—what did it mean? Houshou and the Marshal had discussed it. What happened in this world's past? What did the three know about Dante?

General: "Wonder why that is."

Houshou: "I don't know. What's that got to do with this?"

General: "He's doing his best and he's strong. But he's young—too green as an Admiral."

Houshou: "So you provoked him into an exercise to teach him?"

General: "Partly."

Houshou: "He doesn't need that. He knows why he fights and what's at stake. Sure, he's young, impulsive, and stubborn. But he's not naive!"

General: "Emotions alone won't keep you alive. You, of all people, know that from years in battle."

Houshou: "I know! But even if it's baseless emotion, I want to believe in him! Everyone does. Right?"

Houshou looked at Akatsuki's group. They exchanged glances and spoke up.

Akatsuki: "The Commander's strong!"

Ikazuchi: "Always kind!"

Inazuma: "We believe in him, nanodesu!"

General: "He's got their loyalty, I'll give him that."

Houshou: "You've got other motives, but if he takes the exercise, we'll win."

General: "Looking forward to it."

The General left for good.

Inazuma: "What happened, nanodesu?"

Houshou: "No worries. Just a little fight."

Commander's Office

Dante's emotions settled, and he reverted to human form.

Tenryuu: "That was intense…"

Akagi: "Admiral… you okay?"

Dante didn't answer.

Dante: "(That jerk…)"

Houshou returned with Akatsuki's group.

Houshou: "Admiral."

Dante: "Houshou, hanami's on hold."

Houshou: "I figured you'd say that."

Naka: "What!? No hanami!?"

Satsuki: "I was looking forward to it…"

Dante: "Didn't say we're skipping it. Win the exercise, then we party."

Shigure: "Guess we have to win, no matter what."

Tenryuu: "Time to train at the exercise grounds!"

Dante: "Hold up."

Tenryuu: "What?"

Dante: "We'll be your training opponents."

Kitakami: "You're fighting us? Wait… 'we'?"

The shipgirls felt a chill. Nevan transformed from her weapon form back to her demonic self.

Nevan: "You sure, Dante?"

Dante didn't answer, but Nevan took it as a yes.

Nevan: "Time to get serious. I'll have fun with these girls."

Dante: "Don't kill them."

Nevan: "Of course not."

Suzuya: "No way… training against demons? We're gonna die…"

The shipgirls paled.