DISCLAIMER: I do not own KanColle.
Hai: Yes.
Itai: Ouch.
Yatta: Hooray!
Admiral Shirai was sitting at his desk, working on more paperwork when Aoba walked into his office. "Commander!" She said, stopping in front of his desk with her notepad and pencil in her hands. Never a good sign.
"What may I do for you, Aoba?" He asked, setting his paperwork aside.
She leaned forward, a grin on her face. "How was dinner with Akashi last night?" She asked, winking at him.
"It was nice." He answered honestly. "How was the pizza?"
Drool came out of her mouth as she reminisced about last night. "Aa, it was so- Eh!?" She made a startled sound when she realized it. "You... noticed?" She guiltily asked, averting her eyes.
Aoba had stowed away on the emergency plane that Shirai and Akashi had taken out to dinner, and the reporter had a tasty treat while spying on the admiral and Akashi, something that Admiral Shirai had caught on to.
"Well, never mind that!" Aoba quickly recovered, leaning in more. "So, what did you and Akashi talk about?"
"It was all just small talk." Shirai told her, putting his finger against her forehead and pushing her back on her side of his desk. "How to keep your equipment in check, making proper repairs, what we liked to do in our free time, and the like."
She began writing down some notes. "So you complimented her looks, showed a lot of interest in her, and even inquired as to when she was available next!?" She exclaimed, her eyes lit with inspiration.
"Basically?" He simply said as he wondered just what kind of things went on in that mind of hers.
"Thank you very much, commander!" Aoba saluted before rushing off.
"Well, I can see where this is going." Shirai muttered to himself.
The Next Day
Admiral Shirai was sitting at his desk, working on even more paperwork when Inazuma timidly walked up to him. "C-commander..." She whispered, glancing at him from underneath her bangs.
"Nanodesu, Inazuma?" He asked her.
"W-well..." She suddenly bowed. "I wish you two the best of luck!" She said before rushing out with a red face.
"I knew this was going to happen..." The admiral muttered to himself, sighing.
Before Shirai could ponder on how to deal with this situation, Fusou walked in. "Good morning, Fusou. Is something the matter?" He asked, seeing a down look in her eyes which she quickly covered up with a small smile.
"It's nothing, admiral." She said, waving off his concern. "I just wanted to congratulate you."
A bead of sweat ran down Shirai's cheek. "Congratulations for what, may I ask?"
"There's no need to hide it, admiral." She told him, turning away. "I know she'll be in good care in your hands." She added before walking out rather briskly.
Aoba went too far this time, it seems. Shirai thought, worried about how Fusou was feeling, just before his office door was flung open and a figure leapt across the room at him. Acting quickly, he grabbed her before she could send them both down to the floor. Her arms went around him and a face was buried in his chest. "Teitoku, how could you!?" Kongou whined, hugging him tight.
"Kongou..." Shirai began, his voice low, causing the girl to quiet down and look up into his eyes.
"Teitoku...?" She softly whispered.
He laid a hand on her head. "Do you really think I would cheat on you without telling you first?" He told her, smiling.
Tears of joy ran down her face. "Then, that article in the newspaper about you and Akashi...?"
Shirai continued as he undid her buns. "It is true we went out to eat, but Aoba, being the reporter she is, merely over exaggerated the story to make it sound interesting."
Kongou smiled, hugging him tighter as her hair came undone. "Then Teitoku is still mine!"
"By the way, you and I aren't dating."
"Eh!?" She looked shock. "What about all of those intimate moments we've shared together?"
"You mean the hugs?" Shirai asked, raising an eyebrow.
"And the kisses!"
"What kisses?"
She suddenly smiled, leaning forward before he placed his hand over her face. "Teitoku, just let me give you one on the cheek!" She whined.
"Not today."
"Then tomorrow?"
"No one knows what the future holds."
"Eeeeeh?"
Shirai then placed both of his hands on her shoulders, a serious look on his face which instantly sent a blush across Kongou's face, making her act like a shy maiden as she averted her eyes and pressed her fingers together. "Kongou, I have a mission for you."
Her eyes lit up, and she turned to face him, burning with determination. "Hai, teitoku?"
"I need you to find Aoba and bring her here."
"Hai!" Leaping from his chair, over his desk, and onto the floor, she saluted, blew a kiss, and then flew out of his office.
Just when Shirai thought he was going to get a moment of peace until Kongou brought Aoba back, Akashi flung the door open to his office, her face burning red. "A-a-a-admiral!" She stuttered, walking up to his desk and holding out the morning newspaper. "T-this... a-and... I-I don't... Uwaaa..." Not able to form a clear sentence, she could only stand there and whimper.
He took it and took a look at it, even though he already knew what it would be about. "It appears that Aoba followed us last night."
"Why did she have to make a story about it!" Akashi suddenly blurted out, before blushing even more at her outburst. "I-I-I mean, it's not like we're d-d-d-dating...!"
The admiral looked like she had stabbed him through the heart!
"Admiral! Don't make a face like that!" She exclaimed.
Shirai composed himself. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist myself."
Akashi placed her hands on his desk, leaning forward. "W-what are we going to do?" Then, noticing how close she was to him, she was suddenly halfway across the room in an instant. He swore she moved faster than Kongou.
"Everything will be sorted out by tomorrow." He told her, confident about it.
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
For the umpteenth time in the last thirty minutes, Shirai's door was once again flung open and Kongou walked in, holding up Aoba by the back of her collar. "Teitoku, surface task force reporting in!" She said, dropping Aoba to the ground.
"Itai, itai... you don't have to be so rough." Aoba whined, standing up and dusting off her rear.
"Girls, listen up." Shirai spoke up, getting their attention. "Aoba, I have a story for tomorrow's paper for you, if you'll clear up everything about Akashi and I dating, which we are not."
Aoba, instantly interested, was in his face in an instant. "What, what?"
He smiled, his finger against her forehead. "Pizza party this Sunday, the entire base."
"Really!?" Suddenly all three girls were in front of his faze, forcing him to lean back in surprise.
"Yatta!" The girls exclaimed before clasping hands and twirling around in a circle.
Aoba was the first one to break free. "I'll go start writing, and I'll make sure to clear everything up about you and the commander, Akashi!"
"Thank you, Aoba." Akashi told her, bowing softly. "I'll start making preparations for the party."
"I'll help out Akashi." Kongou said as Aoba walked out.
Then, Akashi and Kongou turned on the admiral, another bead of sweat going down his cheek as he wondered what he had gotten himself into. "Teitoku~" Kongou began, Akashi stepping forward. "The requisitions forms?"
"Of course." Shirai said, handing them over. He was going to dread getting them back when they were filled out... Plus, all of the pizza he was going to have to order...
Well, as long as they got this misunderstanding sorted out, then everything would be fine.
Sure enough, the next day, most everyone forgot about Akashi and Shirai's date as they saw the new headline. For those who still remembered about it, their minds were put at ease when they read the side article.
Fusou let out a sigh of relief, a small smile playing across her lips.
A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone! Updates will be entirely random, so I can't guarantee anything. Aside from that, after reading a fellow author's story, I've decided to be a little more active with author notes, including responding to some reviews. With that said, there's really only one review I can say anything to, aside from thank you for your interest to everyone else!
Also, the next chapter won't be continuing off from the last chapter like this one did. So, no pizza party for the readers.
This chapter... turned out to be rather long compared to the others, didn't it? What kind of chapters does everyone prefer? Short, long, or maybe either?
380ZX: Indeed, this story will be slice-of-life with comedy and trace amounts of romance thrown in. Eventually, the admiral may end up with one of the kanmusu... which one, is left to be seen.