After reading many fanfics and fanarts, I find my self wanting a story of female admiral, one that is a young straight female with no love interest. More than any love interest story, I somehow want to make something simply either heartwarming or slice of life. Because my drawing sucks, I ended up with this fanfic. I believe this story will be a multi-chaptered story of loosely linked chapters. Anyway, please enjoy.
Edit: I would like to convey very very deep gratitude to PixelDemise for the proofread! Turned a whole lot tidier and totally fix loads of my faulty grammar. Thank you, Pixel!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kantai Collection or any of its characters or the part of K-On! song Girls in Wonderland lyrics. I did translate it myself.
What will happen?!
I wonder what is written in the page about tomorrow
- Houkago Tea Time: Girls in Wonderland -
At first, Admiral Tendouji Airi wasn't so sure about her job. Surrounded by males, in a status dominated by their species, being an admiral was way above what she would ever expect out of her career. Compared to her co-workers, as a woman she was smaller, though not exactly short either. Every time they had the general meeting at the main headquarter and sat at the same table, she was one of only two women there. The one other than her was an older lady, with an iron hard will that could dominate her fellow admirals. She, on the other hand, felt pretty much plain and meek with her looks and rather forgettable disposition. Perhaps the only things that stood out among the others was her long black hair. People did say that when they talked to her, her brown eyes showed 'uncommon' intelligence. Until now she didn't understand what they all meant. Even if she were to look at the mirror, all she saw was her face with her usual composure and her usual plain look. As for her track record as an admiral, she had a clean, good record. Above average, but not that outstanding either. She was deemed competent as an admiral though, and for that she had pride. Perhaps the only thing she had pride for.
That was why, when the order was carried out for her to take over as the head of a small naval base at the outskirts of the country, she was pretty much surprised. It wasn't just another naval base as well, it was the naval base of the Kanmusu—the girls who inherit the spirit of warships. Being an ordinary human, the idea of governing a naval base filled with Kanmusu was quite intimidating. How should she address them? Will they accept her? How will they react?
"There has been a case of adultery with the previous male admiral, so we have decided that a female admiral is the right choice. Do your job well."
How petty.
So that was how it was. It was new situation for both Airi and the Kanmusu. Who was her in their eyes? Superior, yes. As a fellow female? They had never had this situation before and neither had Airi.
This story is a slice of life of the female admiral, Tendouji Airi, as she fulfilled her noble duties.
~~~~~~ X~~~~~~~
"AAAAAAADMIIIIIIIIIRAAAAAAAAL!"
Goosebumps trailed the neck of Admiral Tendouji Airi immediately upon hearing that characteristic loud shout. Oh dear.
SHE was back from sortie.
Oh God save me.
"THERE!"
The door of her office opened with a loud bang and there before the long haired female admiral, who sat frozen by her desk, came the oh so familiar face of the fast battleship Kongou-the latter's eyes lighted up with LOVE when she saw her favorite, most BELOVED admiral by her usual place. And ignoring her own battered body and torn miko clothes, the fast battleship girl leaped with a deafening cry of joy.
"BUUUUUUUUUUUUURNING LOOOOOOOOOOVE!"
Dear fleet. If I were to die by suffocation thanks to a not so unprecedented accident involving super tight hug by a dreadnought ship, please let my ashes join you by the sea.
The battleship smelled of gun powder, burnt clothes, and blood.
"Admiraaaaaaaaaaal! I miss you sooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooo much DESU! CHU! CHU! CHU!"
Airi already lost all will and hope to actually resist Kongou, she just knew it would be futile. Who was she to have the ability to resist a hug and kisses (dozens of them) from a battleship. A hug so tight, only another battleship could pry her off. Ones most likely to be able to were obviously her sisters.
"Onee-sama!"
Never before did Haruna's voice could sound so relieving. Well, Haruna was always an angel so it wasn't exactly true. Being the relatively sane part of the Kongou-class sisters, Haruna would always understand the admiral's predicament. Especially when it involved neck breaking hugs and kisses.
"A-Admiral, please forgive Onee-sama! Haruna will try her best!"
Don't worry, Haruna. As long as she doesn't accidentally kill me I will most probably forgive her... Which won't seem likely unless you help me breathe right now…
Kongou's love could be so suffocating.
However, getting almost strangled to death by Kongou's fierce hug was just a tiny event of many common happenings in the naval base. It was just another day being a female admiral in a Kanmusu naval base... One among the many regularities.
-Collision and Instant Bucket-
"... And that concludes the report on the last sortie."
Shouhou's voice soothed the intermittent headache Airi always suffered whenever Kongou arrived. She was glad she picked Shouhou as her secretary, the young woman was enthusiastic and kind. Plus, she didn't shower her with unbearable BURNING love like Kongou. Hers was a rather... calm, manageable one.
Speaking of Kongou, Haruna had dragged her sister away while apologizing all the time. They were supposed to go to the dock right away for repair but Kongou disappeared right after they arrived-certainly to an obvious place. Her power and speed sure followed her even on land. Somehow Airi regretted remodeling her to Kai Ni. She was glad she remodeled her sisters as well though.
"Shall I file the report and ask Ooyodo-san to deliver them, Admiral?"
"Eh? What?"
The admiral wasn't paying attention. Shouhou lowered the archives she had in her hand, smiling gently.
"Admiral, I think it is time for you to take a break. You have been working since yesterday."
Hearing the remark of her secretary ship, the female admiral sighed then leaned back into her chair. Fatigue plagued her features. Shouhou followed her movements with kind eyes.
"Shall I make you some tea, Admiral?"
Dear God, thank you for bestowing me this angel. Despite being touched by her secretary's attentiveness, Airi smiled and shook her head. Tea means staying in the room and that means no break. So finally, after so many hours sitting, she stood and stretched herself. Her shoulder felt stiff, her back hurts. Was it age- no. No. It must be exhaustion. Yes.
"Why don't you go to Mamiya's with me, Shouhou? They said there will be a new menu."
"E-Eh?" Blush quickly spread on Shouhou's face. From how light suddenly lit up inside her eyes though, Airi knew the girl was elated. "I-Is that okay, Admiral? I-I mean, I don't mind staying here to file the reports-"
"Of course, I can't let my secretary do all my work while I am taking my break, will I?" the admiral laughed, tapping Shouhou's arm lightly. "Besides, I need company. We shall get our daily sweets replenishment! Come on, let's go."
Airi didn't need to look back to know how Shouhou beamed in happiness when she followed her. Somehow just seeing that smile was enough to made the admiral's day billion of times better and made her believe that the day would only get better.
She was too naive.
As soon as she opened the door and walked outside to breathe in the smell of the long awaited break, a voice broke out:
"Commander! Watch out!"
The next thing that she remembered, was how the ceiling of the corridor looked so bad they really need replacing... and also how she could hear her ribs crack.
Someone had collided with her, forcing air out of her lungs and throwing her to the wall.
"ADMIRAL!"
Ah, what a lucky day...
Merely running into someone can turn into something devastating in this naval base.
-X-
Sitting in one of the room by the naval clinic, Airi swore her chest was so painful she could barely breathe. Gulping several painkillers the doctor of the clinic provided, she winched in pain. She could feel the bulge of a medicine pad below her breast, the coldness of a slave, and the stinging pain of each breath she took. She really did break her ribs.
Shouhou eyed her movement with apparent nervousness. After her admiral finished drinking the medicine, she quietly asked, "... How do you feel Admiral?"
"Much better," A lie. A blatant lie. It hurt like hell. Collecting bits of pride, Airi forced a casual smile. "Thank you for helping me get here, Shouhou."
"No, Admiral, it's nothing," said Shouhou, receiving the glass her admiral just finished using. Her eyes were filled with worry since her admiral seemed to not getting any better after drinking the medication. "I did help you to get here but... should I have brought you to the dock instead?"
"No, no, that won't work for me definitely," The idea of merely taking a bath to heal her wounds sound really tempting to try but inside her heart she knew she should be realistic. The rules of anime didn't apply to her, a normal human. "Thank you, Shouhou. So what ha-"
"COMMANDER!"
Suddenly the white cover surrounding her space was spread open in an ear-splitting creak. Ikazuchi came with a bucket of instant repair, behind her trailed a pale faced Inazuma. Airi barely remembered the moment of when she was struck but now with them here, everything was clear as day.
"Commander!" Ikazuchi raised the bucket in her hand and shoved Inazuma to the front. "Please use this! Inazuma is very very very very sorry to have crashed to you! Inazuma! Now!"
"I... I'm very sorry, Commander!" Inazuma bowed down so deeply her head almost hit the bed. "P-please accept this instant bucket we found in our last expedition! I... I didn't mean to hit you, Commander..."
"It's okay, it's okay, lift your head," Airi gently said, smiling. Looking at how Inazuma was on the verge of tears would melt anyone's heart. She was also worried that this much commotion would actually disturb the place. It's a clinic after all. " Are you alright yourself, Inazuma-chan? I am not angry, it's okay. Look, I am perfectly fine too."
"Please use this bucket, Commander!" Ikazuchi again, shoved the instant bucket. "You will get better soon, like, right away! Instantly!"
"Ummmm well..." Now this was tricky. How shall I explain this? That despite being female, my body works differently? That a bucket of green liquid won't repair me instantly like it will do them in baths? Airi finally forced her smile, swallowed her pain, and tried the vaguest answer she could muster with her most cheery voice. "... Well, I am okay! See? I will heal fast anyway so I don't need it, don't worry. Let's save it for our next operation!"
Perhaps that was not as clever of an answer as she thought, since Ikazuchi had her eyes sparkled and she asked, "Eeeeh? Commander heal fast too? How long will this injury take you to heal? Ikazuchi can get well from critical damage in 15 minutes, you know!"
… Ah...
Aaaaaaaaahhhhh! The difference of healing speed! Airi suddenly felt like hitting her head to the wall from frustration, envy, and desperation. Damn it! I am a fast healer myself but the difference of our standard is too great! What should I do what should I say WHAT SHOULD I—
"Um, you see," Breathing was painful, speaking was painful, and pretending to keep her voice high and spirited required massive amount of sheer will. "Usually for others it will muuuch take longer but for me. I will heal in just a month or so, so don't worry! Hahahaha..."
"A MONTH?!"
Bad idea.
"Commander, I AM SO SORRY!" Inazuma cried right away, prostrating in front of the admiral. "Inazuma is very sorry! Inazuma will be more careful!"
"Um."
"PLEASE USE THIS BUCKET, COMMANDER! PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU."
"Admiral, that is worse than Akagi-san in Critical Damage! Are you really okay?"
"Commander, please forgive Inazuma!"
"Uhh... you see..."
So, this would take a long time... and a whole lot of painkillers.
-X-
The sun was setting when Airi finally left the clinic with Shouhou, who remained faithfully by her side. Moving was painful but the painkillers did their job. The large amounts of talking she did earlier this day had weakened her energy though. She felt dozens of times more exhausted that she usually did at the end of the day. She finally explained to Inazuma and Ikazuchi (and also indirectly to Shouhou) how despite being female she was not a Kanmusu so the bath and the bucket won't do her any good, that one month was really fast for someone to heal from fractured ribs, and other injuries. In the end, she had to spend time calming down Inazuma who cried so much while apologizing. Her white admiral uniform now had a patch where it was all damp from tears.
Being an admiral in a Kanmusu base meant not only sortieing "ships", but also babysitting, teaching, and be the emotional buffer of so many young girls.
Airi had left the majority of her work today neglected though thanks to this and she couldn't imagine doing overtime work with her injury. The sun was almost completely out and the night would soon set in. She wanted to sigh but it would hurt so she holds it in. Whichever she did, it hurt though.
Walking along the peers towards the office, Airi took notice how the sky turned bright red by the horizon with the sea brimming with orange lights. She then realized that she skipped lunch today.
"So... this may be a little late but... do you still want Mamiya, Shouhou?"
Might as well take a full break today. Shouhou seemed surprised by her question. She examined her commander long and carefully before finally said, "But it seems like you're still in pain, Admiral. Maybe we should just call it a day?"
"It's alright," Actually it's more like if I don't have any distractions, it will hurt worse, Shouhou. It won't go away in a week or so anyway. Imagining being all by herself miserably in her lonely apartment suffering from unending pain while tortured by the thought of unfinished work made not only her ribs, but also her heart, hurt. She was still a single woman living alone anyway and the injury would exacerbate that notion a dozen fold. "You haven't eaten anything during the day, have you? I'm famished too. Ah, or maybe the cafeteria will be better?"
Shouhou appeared to be contemplating the options while examining her condition. After a while, she finally nodded and gave her gentle smile.
"If it is alright with you, Admiral, I will be with you all the time."
Choosing Shouhou as her secretary really was among the best decisions she had ever made since she went to the base.
"Perfect! So, shall we go? We can just pass the dock to the left..."
The dock?
A wave of uneasiness suddenly crept up Airi's spine.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!"
OH NO.
"BUUUUUUUUUUURNING..."
"Oh no, Kongou, DON'T—"
"-LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEE!"
SMACK.
"~~~~~*% #*$ ## !$ &#!"
"Admiral? Admiral! Hang in there! ADMIRAL!"
With this, one day of Admiral Tendouji Airi had ended rather painfully.
– End -
*Nanodesu is rather hard to be written in English or any other language other than Japanese, if that is possible in the first place.