DISCLAIMER: I do not own KanColle.

Murakumo stood in the admiral's office, looking out of the window towards the ocean. She had been assigned to a new naval base, and would be the first shipgirl to be under the command of a new admiral who would be arriving soon. She was looking forward to meeting this newcomer and giving him a piece of her mind to properly motivate him along. She couldn't let her naval base be ran by some upstart idiot, after all.

The phone rang, Murakumo quickly picking it up. "Lieutenant Commander Murakumo, the admiral has arrived."
She smiled. "Understood. I'll be there immediately."

Hanging up, she strode out of the office and towards the entrance of the base. She had the short speech she'd written last night memorized to the letter, and she was prepared for any kind of admiral this guy turned out to be. Macho, perverted, idiotic, or just plain generic... she could do it.

"Good morning." The admiral greeted her, bowing. "My name is Fuse Kotori, newly appointed commander of this naval base. I'll be in your care from here on out, Murakumo-san!"

The admiral, as it turned out, was a young woman that was a centimeter shorter than Murakumo. Now, just that wouldn't have stopped her from giving the woman a piece of her mind, but... This woman was one cute girl! Fuse had short white hair with slightly longer side-bangs (with a black hairpin in her hair), adorable blue eyes on a young and cute face, and a small chest. Contributing to her cuteness was the fact that her sleeves were slightly too long, causing them to come up over the top of her hands. Murakumo had a blush on her face just from looking at the girl!

The speech she had memorized had went straight out of the door, and now she just didn't know what to say. After a few moments of just staring at the admiral who had tilted her head to the side, slightly confused at the lack of a response, she finally responded with a bow of her own. "5th ship of the Special Type destroyers, Murakumo. I-I look forward to working with you, so please do your best!" That was as stern as she could sound right now!

Fuse smiled. "I won't let you down!"
The girl nervously smiled back. "Then, I'll show you to your office."

With that, Murakumo lead the admiral to her office, where a simple wooden desk and cabinet stood. "This is the admiral's office, commander. It's rather plain right now, but we should be able to fancy it up later."
Fuse put a finger to her chin. "I know what this office needs." She said, and several moments later the desk had a vase of pretty flowers on it.

"How's this, Murakumo-san?" The admiral asked her, looking at her for her approval. She looked so earnest, so happy... that Murakumo just couldn't take it anymore! This girl was just so cute that she wanted to hug her! "...Murakumo...san?" Fuse asked, confused as Murakumo put her arms around her. The girl had a heavy blush on her face as her mind raced with 'what am I doing!?' and 'I need to stop, but she's just too cute!'.

Not understanding what was going on, Fuse could only think that something was bothering her subordinate, so the young woman put her arms around Murakumo as well, as if to comfort her. This only caused Murakumo to blush harder, but it didn't stop her from hugging the admiral for a few moments longer. Finally, she pulled away, looking away in shame.

"Is something the matter, Murakumo-san?" Admiral Fuse asked her, a worried look in her eyes.
"N-no... it's nothing." Murakumo muttered.
The woman softly grabbed ahold of her shirt, forcing the girl to meet her eyes that were only inches away. "If there's something troubling you, you can tell me, OK?"
Those adorable blue eyes were so close to her that Murakumo's heart skipped a beat.

In the next instant, Murakumo was banging her head against the wall. Why is she so cute!?
"Mu-Murakumo-san!?" Fuse exclaimed, no idea what to do.

In the end, Murakumo had to go soak in the bath to get her heart and mind under control.

A/N: Cover image is "Shio (Shia-Ushio)" art.