Hello! Here's my first piece to the KanColle fandom. This took place after the Battle at the Coral Sea, where Carrier Shoukaku was severely damaged. It was shown in the anime so if you have time, give the anime chance. It's really nice.
Fun trivia: After the Battle of Coral Sea, Shoukaku was severely damaged that she failed to participate in the famous Battle of Midway.
So I guess, you guys now know who is my favourite ship in the series. xD Comments, Suggestions, Violent reactions, Reviews are welcome! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Kantai Collection/KanColle. Kadogawa Games does.
"Sorry…" I sheepishly scratched the back of my head as I get off the small boat. We were supposed to meet up the Assault Force Five at Truk Island after sending a transmission that the mission was a success. I insisted to come along to check up with the status of the mission since it is a critical part of our plan to defeat all the Abyssals. Hearing this, Yuubari gladly constructed a small boat for me, which Yuudachi and Mutsuki pulled, with me on board. Nagato and the others served as escorts since the battleship insisted that I should not come alone.
"It's alright, Admiral." Mutsuki said.
"You're light, poi~!" Yuudachi happily added. I gave a small laugh and instructed them to get some rest. The battleship, Yamato, greeted us and assisted our crew to the base. I stayed inside the office while the rest of my fleet enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the island. Sadly, Nagato brought with her the documents that I have to sign. Even though she is not my secretary ship, she took the liberty of acting as an unofficial one whenever my own ship is out on missions.
Another reason why I insisted to come at the island is that I wanted to greet my secretary ship, Shoukaku and planned on surprising her. I thought of giving her one of the newly crafted planes at the Naval District as a surprise. I asked Yuubari to make one for her to increase her firepower after the following mishaps on her previous missions.
"Uhh… I hate documents." I grumbled to myself after finishing everything that Nagato brought with her. I stood up from my chair and stretched out my arms. It's already three in the afternoon and still no sign of the Assault Force Five. They should've been here hours ago since Truk Island is near Coral Sea, where the mission took place. Puzzled, I let myself wander around the base.
The base is really big but still smaller than the Naval District. It is in this island where we keep the battleship, Yamato. With her 46cm guns, she is dubbed as the strongest fleet girl in history. Aside from keeping Yamato here, it is also one our bases where the expedition fleets take a short break from the expeditions before going back to the Naval District. It's equipped with docks and a factory, just in case any of the ship girls will need to be remodeled or equipment that is needed. The food here is prepared by Yamato, who has an amazing cooking skill.
The sixth division destroyers are running around, Atago and Takao are busy chasing each other. Mutsu is picking up some flowers from the flower bed beside the main entrance of the base. Both Nagato and Yamato are nowhere to be found. Yuudachi and Mutsuki took the time to eat some parfaits inside.
I can't help but smile at the peaceful scene here. My ship girls deserve a break after going through extensive missions and expeditions. That peaceful scene was shattered when Nagato came in and tapped me on my shoulder.
"Admiral, the Assault Force Five has arrived." She said in a low voice. "Yamato went on ahead to meet them."
I nodded in acknowledgement.
"Yamato can deal with them." I said. I'm still planning to surprise Shoukaku so in the mean time, I can't be showing any signs of excitement. Nagato nodded and walked to the direction of her sister.
Already feeling refreshed, I went back inside my office. Tonight's going to be a good one.
I guess I spoke too soon.
Just as night came in, Yamato came in the office, bearing the news that Shoukaku has been heavily damaged from the mission. I was about to run out of the room until Yamato continued on, saying that Zuikaku had already taken her to the docks for repairing while the rest of her fleet have been resupplied and currently taking their rest at their rooms.
"Argh… if only we have a bucket." I complained.
"I'm sorry. I have asked the previous expedition fleet to take all of the buckets in this island back to the Naval District." Yamato apologized with her eyes casted down on the ground.
"Ahh! It's not your fault, Yamato." I frantically waved my hands to assure the battleship. "We have longer routes now that our base has expanded after taking back what was ours from the Abyssals." It was enough to assure the battleship.
"Why don't you go and rest? You've been running around the entire day." I said. Yamato immediately took my offer, seeing as her eyes are starting to close due to exhaustion. She excused herself from my room, leaving me lost to my thoughts again.
Maybe I shouldn't have let her join the mission? Maybe I should've used Akagi as a temporary replacement for Kaga? Maybe I should've used a bucket for Kaga's repairs? All those possible alternate scenarios got my head spinning around. Lamenting on the past decision doesn't really help at all. I fiddled with one of the arrows that I plan on giving to her, thinking of what should I do next. Carrier repair times are extremely long so I'm worried that by the time I have to go back to the Naval District, she is still not fully repaired for the next mission. Giving her a bucket is out of the option because there's none here.
I gave a wistful look on the stash of arrows beside my chair. Getting anxious like this will not get me anywhere. I took my coat and grabbed the arrows and went out of my office. As I was about to exit the building, I saw Shoukaku's younger sister, Zuikaku, walking towards the direction of the docks. It's already nine in the evening and she is still out, despite coming home from an operation.
"Zuikaku?"
She immediately halted in her tracks.
"A-Admiral!" She stammered. She was so surprised that she almost forgot to salute. "W-What are you doing out so late?"
"I could say the same with you." I replied. "Shouldn't you be getting some rest since you just came back from a mission?"
"Y-Yeah but…" She trailed off and averted her eyes. She's worried about her sister. I just gave her a small smile.
"How is your sister?" Zuikaku stiffened again.
"S-She's fine… She went out of the docks to resupply earlier." Zuikaku replied. So she can walk, that's good. At least she still has her mobility. "But she can't really leave the docks until she's fully repaired!"
I chuckled at the carrier. "I know. You guys take the longest in repair time." I teased her, earning a blush from the Zuikaku.
"Can you do me a favour?" Zuikaku nodded. "If your sister can, tell her to meet me by the edge of the cliff near the docks later?"
Zuikaku's expression changed from an embarrassed one to a scrutinizing look. I immediately held up my hands to clear the upcoming misunderstanding.
"A-Ah! It won't take long, I promise!" I immediately said before Zuikaku could rat me off. "I… just have something to talk to her… that's all." Scratching the back of my head, I try my best not to buckle underneath Zuikaku's piercing gaze. I know that Zuikaku is worried sick about her sister and she probably won't let her out of her sight until she's fully repaired.
"I promise to take her back to the docks after we're done." Hopefully, this statement will be enough to assure the carrier.
"Hmph… you better not stay out too late. Shoukaku-nee needs her rest." Zuikaku finally agreed. She gave her bow and went off to the docks. As soon as she's out of earshot, I gave out a relieved sigh. At least she agreed. I tightened the grip on the quiver and went off to wait for Shoukaku by the cliff.
"Admiral?"
I perked up at the sound of the familiar voice behind me. Shoukaku's wearing a pale pink robe, no doubt from the docks. Her silver hair sways with the wind and her brown eyes are painted with curiosity and confusion.
"Zuikaku told me that you wanted to see-" Her sentence got cut off as I immediately rushed to her and hugged her tight. It was then that all of my pent-up emotions broke free from me ever since hearing the news of their arrival. I could feel her hesitation and confusion before she shyly hugged me back. Her hands went up and down, lightly patting my back to assure me.
It's a good thing that we're alone or else I would be spending the entire night trying to get away from Kongou.
"I'm sorry…" I told her after breaking from our hug. "It's my fault that you got heavily damaged. I-I-I…" A finger cut off my rambling as Shoukaku silenced me.
"It's not your fault, Admiral." She said. "I-I was caught off-guard… if it weren't for Zuikaku and Fubuki-san, I-"
"Stop! Don't you dare continue…" I shouted angrily. Shoukaku got surprised with my sudden outburst. "Just… let's just say that everything worked out in the end… okay? Everything worked out in the end…" The last one is directly more to me than her. I need to assure myself that everything is fine; she is here, alive and well, and that's all that matters.
A cold breeze blew, sending chills to the carrier. Shoukaku brought her arms to hug her frame. Her robe is not enough to protect her from the cold breeze. I took off my coat and wrapped it around her, which she returned with a grateful look on her face. I sat back down on the ground and patted the space beside me, inviting the girl. Shoukaku followed and took her seat beside me. Enveloped with a comfortable silence, we watch the waves of the ocean as it gently smashes itself on the jagged rocks by the shore.
"I'm sorry… looks like I can't be by the office until I'm fully repaired." The girl beside me apologized.
"Idiot. Don't apologize." I slung my arm around her shoulders, making her lean on my own. "I can have Nagato as the acting secretary ship in the meantime. You just take your time and get some rest."
"As something to welcome you back alive from your mission, I have something for you." I reached out for the quiver that I managed to hide from Shoukaku's view and gave it to her.
"I had Yuubari make it for you."
Shoukaku pulled out one of the arrows and carefully inspected it. It seems that she had never seen one of those before, judging from her curious expression. She lightly weighed it in her palm, to test its weight.
"Admiral, this is… A-Are you sure I-I can have this? I have never seen these before!" She said. Although she tried to hide it, there's an evident tone of excitement and happiness from her words. That was enough to send butterflies to my stomach on how cute and adorable Shoukaku is. She's just like a small child, happy and excited with the gift.
That's just the first part. The real one is coming up.
"After what happened today, I am reminded that you girls could sink anytime. So I thought…" I trailed off as I reached into one of the pockets inside my coat. I retrieved a small black box, which Shoukaku looked at it with confusion. "So I thought I should… do this…" I could feel my face heating up from the embarrassment.
"There's a saying that a captain is married to his ship, and well…" I opened to the box to reveal a simple ring with a small diamond at the center. Shoukaku gasped as she saw the ring. "Nothing could make me happier than spending the rest of my life with you, Shoukaku." I took her hand in mine. "W-Will you marry me?"
Tears started to flow from Shoukaku's eyes as she clamped her mouth with her free hand to muffle her sobs.
"Y-Yes…"
I could feel my smile growing bigger as I slipped the small ring on her ring finger. Shoukaku tackled me to the ground, sobbing. My shoulder is starting to get damp where Shoukaku's face is buried. Her silver hair sprawled all over our bodies as she continued to cry happy tears. I patted her back, feeling a little teary-eyed myself.
"Thank you, Admiral for giving me these planes that I have never seen before." She whispered. "My gratitude is overflowing. I promise to use them on my next assignment." She shot a sincere smile, despite tears running down her cheeks.
"I love you so much, Admiral."
Hearing those words from her, I couldn't help but gaze at her lovingly. I leaned forward and lightly kissed her on the lips. She got caught off-guard but she returned it with a passionate one. I placed my hand behind her head while her arms encircled itself around my neck. We broke apart after a few seconds due to the need to breathe. She leaned back down and in few minutes, I could feel her steady breathing, telling me that she had fallen asleep.
I slowly rose from the ground, holding the sleeping girl carefully so not to disturb her sleep. I smiled down at her as I wipe the remaining tears from her face. I covered her body with my coat before slinging the arrows on my back. I gently scooped her up in my arms and started to walk back to the docks.
"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"
Trivia: "The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" is another way of saying "I love you" from Soseki Natsume, a Japanese novelist of the Meiji period.