....So she's not killed and instead preserved, I see.
Well, she's his former teammate after all, who was supposed to be dead.
...Reunited like this...

Well shit. What happens to Ruriko? Does the apparent target on Reiji's back get even larger after this? Do Kongou and the other girls have a new rival for the admiral's heart?

Find out in the next exciting installment of Dragon Ball Z Fleet Journal!

Okay, it's gonna take a good hour to translate all that, so I'm gonna post it here first.

For those who're wondering where all those names came from, refer to my comment in post #2748111. And while this season was underway, the picture book in question came up on happypanda: here the said page.
The list contains in total 32 names, separated into 4 squads. The top one says "Kamio Reiji: wounded". Apart from him the highest ranking one is "Warrant Officer Tanba Yoshiyuki: KIA", who is the leader pf squad #2 and is likely the 'vice commander' Re was talking about. Then, the second name on squad #3 is "SSgt. Zenbutsu Koutarou: KIA" (if I'm reading it right) and must be 'Kou-chan'.
As for the already mentioned two, Nao-kun is the last in squad #1 and Ruriko herself is the second-in-command of squad #4, or the 'support squad'.

Why do I feel there will be more of his old comrades that will come out to get him?

ALostRouter said:

Why do I feel there will be more of his old comrades that will come out to get him?

You don't reckon they're ALL turned into strong abyssals, right? I mean...the hime-class abyssals are technically....you know, female.
It would be a nightmare to encounter a former MALE comrade but you see a FEMALE body in front of you.

ALostRouter said:

Why do I feel there will be more of his old comrades that will come out to get him?

inb4 sudden asspull drama where he can't force himself to fight Abyssals knowing they might be his old comrades

I hate bullshit like this. Just fucking castrate the only dude to prolong series.

ginx2666 said:

inb4 sudden asspull drama where he can't force himself to fight Abyssals knowing they might be his old comrades

I hate bullshit like this. Just fucking castrate the only dude to prolong series.

I hope not. I'd rather deal with the mystery as to what exactly happened to Ruriko and the Army's dark secrets.

Or we could always go back to our daily dose of slice of life in the Black Yokosuka base, with Re-chan Ruriko running around.

This is gonna be fun when the high-ups learn about her...

ginx2666 said:

inb4 sudden asspull drama where he can't force himself to fight Abyssals knowing they might be his old comrades

I hate bullshit like this. Just fucking castrate the only dude to prolong series.

Plasma-chan said:

If possible I would have liked to save its life. If! Possible!

Perhaps they'll try to pass her off as/convert her into a normal shipgirl

Knite0 said:

Perhaps they'll try to pass her off as/convert her into a normal shipgirl

I think that is EXACTLY what is happening here. And I think the outcome of that is going to reveal questions about the original Shipgirl program as well. Make no mistake, Reiji is not giving up the fight. He'll just have a new, additional target.

I do hope she gets to fight alongside Reiji again.

But who is she going to pose as for the time being? Hayasui?

AdventZero said:

But who is she going to pose as for the time being? Hayasui?

Hayasui's the likely candidate if Reiji decides to "recycle" abyssal parts to create a whole new shipgirl. Although here's the thing: Re's a battleship and if he'd want to preserve the memory banks, he has to slate her as a battleship with the same body specs. An oiler, while fitting on the body, would rather be a strange thing for her ship class.

Damnit Yua, i shouldn't get this invested in a Kancolle manga, but you keep making it more awesome with every update.
I was already preparing myself for the "I'm a monster, kill me" ending, but you actually went for what i was hoping for since we started suspecting she was an old comrade.

I'll say it now: if Ruriko manages to become part of daily life of the Base, ANY of the shipgirls giving her grief for any reason (yes, even for having a nice rack) will instantly plummet to the lowest place of my favourite list.

The girl was turned into a mechanized drugged-up soldier, fought horrors 20 times her size, saw her comrades get eaten alive, GOT FLIPPING EATEN ALIVE HERSELF, became a brainwashed monster, and the first thing after coming back and seeing her Captain is "Thanks god you are alive".....

#HappinessForRuriko

Espadas said:

Damnit Yua, i shouldn't get this invested in a Kancolle manga, but you keep making it more awesome with every update.
I was already preparing myself for the "I'm a monster, kill me" ending, but you actually went for what i was hoping for since we started suspecting she was an old comrade.

I'll say it now: if Ruriko manages to become part of daily life of the Base, ANY of the shipgirls giving her grief for any reason (yes, even for having a nice rack) will instantly plummet to the lowest place of my favourite list.

The girl was turned into a mechanized drugged-up soldier, fought horrors 20 times her size, saw her comrades get eaten alive, GOT FLIPPING EATEN ALIVE HERSELF, became a brainwashed monster, and the first thing after coming back and seeing her Captain is "Thanks god you are alive".....

#HappinessForRuriko

She might have a thing for Reiji....much to Inazuma's dismay. In fact, I can see her approving of Reiji's resource spending--which will make her Inazuma's enemy of sorts.

Espadas said:

I'll say it now: if Ruriko manages to become part of daily life of the Base, ANY of the shipgirls giving her grief for any reason (yes, even for having a nice rack)

I hate to be that guy, but doesn't Kongou technically have her beat in that department?

Kei_Fujitora said:

She might have a thing for Reiji....much to Inazuma's dismay. In fact, I can see her approving of Reiji's resource spending--which will make her Inazuma's enemy of sorts.

That's something I was wondering myself...does this mean Kongou (who HAS slept with Reiji), as well as the other girls who have a thing for him, have a new rival?

carguy1701 said:

I hate to be that guy, but doesn't Kongou technically have her beat in that department?

Not sure if i understood you right, but what i meant is that i hope the shipgirls won't act hostile toward her (either for technically being an abyssal, utterly trashing them in combat, being close to Reiji, or having a bigger chest like Inazuma implied in that previous commentary).

As for the "rival" part..... to be perfectly honest i've always preferred the "true harem ending" in these situations (mainly because i hate seeing a girl emotionally crushed), but if i was Yua and had to pick one to be Reiji's official partner i'd choose Ruriko in an heartbeat. :V

carguy1701 said:

Well shit. What happens to Ruriko? Does the apparent target on Reiji's back get even larger after this? Do Kongou and the other girls have a new rival for the admiral's heart?

Find out in the next exciting installment of Dragon Ball Z Fleet Journal!

she was apparently devoured by an abyssal land ship during reiji's last battle as a foot soldier.

cd_young said:

she was apparently devoured by an abyssal land ship during reiji's last battle as a foot soldier.

HAPPENS, not happened.

Damn it. She was eaten right in front of him, and still fought her way back, right out of the heart of the abyss. We'd better not lose her now. After all that she deserves to live. She has earned her happy ending.