Extended Summary: Shoukaku has been serving as Secretary Ship to Admiral Seiji for two years until a new Admiral is given command of her: the future Chief of Navy, Amagawa Teiichi, the youngest son of the Amagawa Clan famous for producing many successful and powerful Admirals. Drawn into the sticky web of politics and sex, Shoukaku, unable to decide which man she loves, must decide between doing what is right and what she wants.
Author's Note: I will confess that I do not play Kancolle and neither have I watched the anime. While I do enjoy keeping and collecting art of the shipgirls from time to time, they have never struck me as particularly worth the effort to make a story around them. A particularly detailed dream last Thursday changed all that. On Saturday, I finished a 4000 word outline, and this evening, I am writing the first chapter. I apologise if I make any glaring errors in technical details and such.
This story is rated M for sexual content.
I will work to updates this story on a weekly basis every Wednesday afternoon, since all I have to do is to follow the outline I've written for myself. Let's go, then.
.-.
The Five Stories Of Standard Carrier Shoukaku
Chapter One: The Introduction Part 1
.-.
"Good morning, Admiral!"
"Ah, g'morning, Shoukaku."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, "You're more awake today than usual. What's the occasion?"
Honda Seiji, still rubbing his eyes as he slouched in his office chair, shrugged. "Performance and bonuses. The unofficial results are out today, and while I'm definitely getting something here," he pointed at the chest of his dress uniform, creaseless and hung on the wall, "I'm not sure if I'll get anything... Here." He tapped the sleeve, where his rank epaulette would be attached.
Shoukaku smiled and nodded. "Ah, would that be the medal for the Battle of Boxing Day? It feels like only yesterday when we were out there repelling the force..."
"...And in typical Navy fashion, they deliver it late. Bah. I'll be heading for the meeting; just take care of training." Seiji checked his wristwatch and reached behind him for his headdress.
Shoukaku took Seiji's dress uniform off from its hangar and examined it in the mirror, checking that all the various patches and pins were in order. There was a blank space on the right chest of the uniform, one that would soon be marked as proof of the most recent victory. Their most recent victory. The Battle of Boxing Day, Shoukaku remembered, was unusual in that Admiral Seiji had even come to the front line to fight with her, rather than remain safely at base and give orders in the security of Port Yokosuka. Indeed, he had had his reasons for doing so, but Shoukaku still wondered why would he even go to such lengths for her sake.
It is not uncommon for naval officers to develop relationships with their secretary ships, and yet...
Seiji gently took the uniform from Shoukaku's hands. "Thanks," he said as he put it on, "And I'll see you later, I guess? Maybe today will be a peaceful day!" He laughed nervously.
Peace in wartime? Preposterous! But that did not stop Shoukaku from hoping. She gently buttoned up his uniform, feeling his breath slow down and deepen below her fingers. "Have a good day, Admiral!" she said.
"I will."
Seiji left his office and Shoukaku behind as he made his way to the conference room. Many of his colleagues were walking about, carrying files and cups of coffee while their secretary shipgirls in battle dress accompanied them. Reaching the conference room, he knocked twice and entered. Most of the key personnel weren't there yet, save for Ooyodo, secretary ship for Admiral Miyamoto.
"G'morning, Ooyodo," Seiji greeted. "After today, can we expect the sun to rise in the West tomorrow?"
Ooyodo remain unfettered as she read from the stack of papers before her. "Good morning Admiral Seiji. I see you are victorious as ever on the seas but inept as ever in greeting others. Would you like some tea?"
Seiji accepted the plastic cup of the cheap, surplus tea and sipped as Miyamoto himself and a few other senior officers entered the room and took seats. "Shall we begin?" The thin, greying Admiral Miyamoto, Base Commander for Yokosuka Port, looked around at the assembled men and received no objections. "Very well."
Copies of the meeting notes were passed around. "Alright, first and foremost. Some of you might have heard the rumours, some of you might not have. I am here to tell you it is no rumour."
Miyamoto paused and sipped the bitter-tasting tea. "The Amagawa clan's youngest member is coming here."
The mood of the room changed. Soured, if you will, but with a tinge of curiosity. "Amagawa? Would you be referring to Amagawa Teiichi by any chance?" The heavyset Head of Logistics asked.
"The one and only," Miyamoto said. "And his father is quite insistent that he be given a good shipgirl."
Admiral Satoshi, a quiet man with a receding hairline, narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards. "Admiral Miyamoto, pardon me, but are you suggesting that one of our flagships be handed to him? And especially when all of the present company just happen to be the nominees for promotion and merit awards tomorrow?" He looked around at his fellow officers as he said. "I find the timing of this development most unfortunate."
Seiji shifted uneasily in his seat. The lengths the Navy would go to to whip their own men, never mind the shipgirls, how was this even allowed? The answer to that was surely upon Miyamoto's mouth.
"The Amagawa clan is well-known for bearing three of the last four Chiefs of Navy in the last century," Miyamoto said, "Each Chief was tremendously successful in stopping Abyssal incursions and pushing back the frontline. It should go without saying that the future Chief's most appropriate place to begin is right here, the present frontline. Already, they have in mind a suitable shipgirl for Admiral Teiichi," he emphasised. Miyamoto's gaze shifted to his left to look directly at Seiji.
"Oh gods, no. Not like this," Seiji thought.
"Admiral Seiji," Miyamoto spoke slowly and deliberately, "The Amagawa clan is most impressed with your combat record, especially after the Boxing Day Battle. They see that you and the armoured carrier group have adapted very well to fighting on the frontlines, with the constant threat of Abyssal ships on our doorstep. Therefore..."
Miyamoto let the axe fall. "It is recommended that you shall handover command of Standard Carrier Shoukaku to Admiral Teiichi, effective this week."
"You can't be serious," Seiji blurted out. "Standard Carrier Shoukaku and I work very closely together. Our combat performance is proof. You would simply substitute me on the word of a clan?"
"An old and powerful clan, Admiral Seiji," Miyamoto corrected.
"But this is tantamount to meddling in our affairs!" Satoshi chimed in, "None of us here have commanded for less than five years. Admiral Seiji's record is unparalleled amongst us. At least reconsider the choice!"
"Trust me when I say I did not have any hand in this decision." Miyamoto dismissed everyone with a wave of his hand.
Every other officer at the table rolled their eyes. Miyamoto's fondness for alcohol was his most well-known weakness, and more likely than not, his regular visits to the new bar in town had probably been paid for by the Amagawas. Maybe even the bar itself was built by them! Seiji looked to his colleagues for support, but all of them averted their gazes. A vein throbbed in Admiral Satoshi's forehead, but he had run out of counterarguments.
"If you have any other concerns, please, bring them up later. Moving on..." Miyamoto droned, but Seiji was no longer listening. All he could think about was Shoukaku.
How long has it been since he treasured Shoukaku's company? When she entered his life as his first carrier to command, did she somehow slip into his heart as well?
Long after the meeting was over, Seiji pondered these questions as he slipped into his office, uncorked the bottle of whiskey, and took a long swig of the fiery stuff. Swallowing it down, he held down the burn for as long as he could before finally breaking into a coughing fit, and capped the bottle reluctantly. It was only the afternoon - he didn't yet have the liberty of being as drunk as he liked on the job.
It shouldn't be happening, and yet it did. Seiji has always heard stories and gossip about officers getting overly-familiar with their shipgirls. The shipgirl's apparent naivety, outward appearance, and sexual innocence made for a potent object of desires -and not for the first time, Seiji could believe why some officers tried to initiate relationships with some of them. Those never ended well, or so he thought - if the many rules and regulations prohibiting 'unprofessional' relations between officers and shipgirls meant anything, it was that at the very least, one shouldn't mix up work and pleasure.
But this was different. There was no pleasure. There wasn't anything to mix up to begin with, but if that was really the case, why was he so reluctant? For a man used to giving orders, ironically he was having trouble following one himself.
Was he in love with Shoukaku? Surely not. Seiji tried to recall some of his older relationships, those flings. A crush in middle school, his first girlfriend in highschool, and several others he had cut contact with before signing up, those never seemed remotely close to love. Hell, he had never even kissed Shoukaku, let alone intimated his thoughts or feelings.
Maybe he really needed that second swig of whiskey after all. Seiji reached into the cupboard for the bottle again.
.-.
"All in a day's work, eh? You're a real piece of work, sister!" Zuikaku pouted and blew a raspberry at Shoukaku as they headed back to the main building from the archery range. With no sorties for either of them this week, Zuikaku had taken to the range with a burning vengeance to one-up Shoukaku's score, and one-up she did - but it was Shoukaku's score last week. It was her calm hands and steady breathing that let Shoukaku edge out her sister ship by a single point.
"You're so competitive, Zuikaku. You didn't even realise you were distracting Kaga with your exaggerated concentration! That might explain why she went off early." Shoukaku nudged her with her elbow. "You should be thankful she didn't complain at all."
"But it's Kaga," Zuikaku shot back, "She averages five words a day and seven facial expressions a week. It's normal for her! Anyway, whatcha up to later? Getting dinner with us, or... Ad-Mi-Ral?" Zuikaku teased.
Shoukaku's cheeks coloured slightly. "Well, I should go check in with him. He hasn't paged all day, and I'm curious to find out about tomorrow's arrangements anyway. I'll see you later!"
Zuikaku turned left to head for the showers. "Akashi is coming later! Don't ask how I dragged her out!" She waved and skipped away, leaving Shoukaku to make her way into the main building. Soon enough, she reached Seiji's office, but just as she was about to open the door, she heard a low, familiar groan.
"Admiral? Are you okay?" She tried the knob and found it unlocked. "I'm coming in," she called.
It wasn't well-lit on account of being late afternoon, but when Shoukaku flipped the light switch, an unsettling sight met her eyes: Seiji was slumped over his desk, not moving. The stench of whiskey permeated the room - the bottle lay smashed on the ground next to his desk, presumably where it had rolled off.
"Admiral Seiji! Pull yourself together, what happened? How much did you drink?" Shoukaku hurried over to his chair, careful to not step on the shards of glass. "I'll get Housekeeping to clean this up. Just... Just don't vomit or anything, okay? Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
"Mm.. I'm fiiine," Seiji slurred as he blearily opened his eyes, "There... There wasn't a lot left... Anyway."
Shoukaku huffed in annoyance. "You're clearly not fine. You ought to retire to quarters immediately. Can you stand?" She tugged at his sleeve but Seiji was as responsive as a bag of lead bricks.
"Stay... Stay awhile," he mumbled, "Just this little more, before... Before..."
Seiji's head hit his desk with a solid thunk, earning another sigh from Shoukaku. Seiji was hardly a drinker. His one saving grace was that he was not too heavy, and with a little effort, Shoukaku managed to tug him from his chair (which promptly toppled over) to the small two-seater sofa on the adjacent wall. Resting his head in her lap, Shoukaku couldn't help but wonder what would someone think if they were to enter his office this very moment.
Eventually, Seiji finally found the strength to sit up. "Forgive me, Shoukaku," he said, "I am such a disappointment."
The deadpan tone he spoke with irritated Shoukaku. "Disappointment? What are you on about? If the last few weeks have shown, you are no disappointment, Admiral!"
Seiji shook his head. "It's not that," he said, "It's not about that. This be different. I can't do anything about this."
"Okay, and are you going to tell me what's going on, or not?"
Seiji hung his head in his hands. "There's... There's a new Admiral. He's well-known, powerful, and connected. They want to make him next Chief of Navy, and for his flagship... It's you." Seiji threw up his hands like it explained everything.
"I'm not sure I'm following, Admiral," Shoukaku said, "Am I going to be remodelled? Wasn't the purpose of today's meeting to inform you of your promotion?"
Seiji shook his head violently. "No, no, it's not like that! I seriously don't get why they're doing this... Shoukaku," he grabbed her hands in his, "They're gonna kick me off. You won't be my secretary ship by the end of the week, you understand? The son of the Amagawa clan will be coming in, and they're going to give you to him!"
Shoukaku's eyes widened as it became clear to her. "But... But what about our achievements? The battle record? Doesn't Admiral have a say in the matter? Isn't there a way to change the minds of the people involved?"
"I'm glad you think alike, but there's nothing I could do. The decision wasn't mine to make." Seiji found himself repeating Miyamoto's words to his immense disgust. "I can't... Damn, I can't believe I'm even saying the shit he was spouting..."
"Don't say such sad things, Admiral," Shoukaku murmured as she patted his shoulder. "Everything will turn out okay."
Seiji let go of Shoukaku's wrists slowly, only to encircle and squeeze her in an awkward hug. Shoukaku's face was pressed into his shoulder while Seiji nuzzled her neck. As intimate as the gesture was, Shoukaku was not prepared for it, and gasped as she tried to wriggle out of the drunken man's hold. "Admiral? What are you doing?" She exclaimed.
Seiji didn't hear her, or didn't listen. "We've been together... Ever since your commission date, it's always been like this. You're so wonderful, Shoukaku, I wonder what have I done to deserve such a good shipgirl like you..." Snaking an arm around her waist, Seiji tried in vain to pull her onto his lap. Shoukaku squirmed and tried to free herself from his grip. "Admiral! Admiral Seiji! Get a grip on yourself!" Something warm and wet could be felt on her shoulder - was that Seiji tearing up? The smell of drink was coming off him in waves.
"I don't want... To let you go," Seiji growled into her ear. His hand slipped down, found her backside, and squeezed painfully.
Shoukaku's chest began to feel tight. Faced with the incriminate invasion of her space and body, she shut her eyes tight and pushed away as hard as she could, grunting with the effort. Her arms strained with the effort, but she finally escaped Seiji's grip, knocking him onto his back on the sofa, and allowing her to get to her feet. Shoukaku tugged her battle dress back in place, covering herself. Looking disorientated, Seiji rolled off the sofa and landed on his knees with a loud thud.
"I'll.. I'll be going now. Bye!" Shoukaku stammered as she backed out of his office. Not staying to hear his response, she race-walked to the showers, praying she wouldn't run into anyone else. She descended the stairs in record time and reached the showers just as Zuikaku exited the bathroom, tying up her still-wet hair.
"Hey Shoukaku- Whoa, are you alright? That's a serious look you have there!"
"Can we leave soon? Please? Have you got a spare set of clothes? I realised I've left my stuff back in... Ugh, never mind!" Shoukaku shifted from one foot to the other, scanning their surroundings as though she expected Admiral Seiji to roll out from behind the nearest pillar. She flinched when Zuikaku reached out to grasp her hands, earning an odd look.
"Shoukaku, what happened? You're awfully jumpy all of a sudden! Did something happen to you?"
"Just let me shower first," Shoukaku said, reaching for Zuikaku's bag, "I'll tell you later at dinner."
tbc.
