(AN: Thank you to Ultimate Kuuga for that sweet nickname and yes she is definitely going to be there.)

"The Dragon of Omens, the Silver trio, ruby knights, the final letters, Lone Queen of the North, Empress of Metal, Steel Eater, Blitzkreig…" said Hornet going through paper after paper in the meeting room. She was not alone as Z23 and Eugen were also in the room with her, sorting out documents for the Commander to review. "Honestly, it feels like I'm reading less about people."

"That's one of the traditions we have back at home," said Z23, arranging some documents "before I came here, they called me Little Tornado."

"I was called Red Queen," said Eugen "but that was a long time ago. Ever since joining this fleet, I've mellowed out a lot."

'That is true,' thought Hornet, remembering how Eugen earned that title.

"You know, looking at these titles I've started wondering," she said "is the Commander secretly Iron Blood?"

"Huh?" asked the other two in the room.

"Think about it, Iron Blood women are strong, courageous, tough, noble, the first to step into a fight and the last ones to leave. They train their bodies everyday, they constantly hone their skills and they have a cool title to top it off."

"Wow," said Z23, at the realization. The very same traits she often chided the Commander for having were the same characteristics her sisters were famous for.

"Best not to bring that one up though," said Eugen to Hornet.

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"So, that's who we're going to meet with next," said Pensacola, sitting in the cafeteria, along with South Hampton, Houston and Chicago.

"Damn, I still remember the last we saw of Bismarck," said South Hampton, taking a sip of her drink "One eye was cut, her right arm was shot to hell and she was outnumbered fifty to one. Even with those odds, that woman didn't stop fighting."

"She ain't the only badass in the world," said Houston "recently, Z23 and the Commander beat a high-ranking Siren."

"Seriously?" asked Chicago.

"Yeah," replied Houston, "sliced that monster up into three pieces."

"And he's going to get a whole fleet of 'em," said Pensacola "do you really think he could do it?"

At that question everyone at the table remained silent.

They had good reason to wonder whether or not he could make good on his claim. Although he may have had many of their qualities, that alone was not enough. To get a better understanding of the faction, it is important to know about their history.

To put it simply, in a world of soldiers, the Iron Blood were warriors. The faction was the first to encounter the Sirens during the first war and under the leadership of Bismarck, they offered a stiff resistance to the Siren forces, nearly beating them all in each encounter.

It was after many battles with the Sirens that Bismarck decided to go out and ally with the other factions, leading to the famous fleet being formed. However, after the war was over, the Iron Blood returned to their Kingdom and seemingly cut themselves off from the rest of the world. The other factions also did not interact with the Iron Blood as the group were prone to violent outbursts and did not interact well with the others.

As much as the faction had a code of honor they abided by, there was an emphasis on strength and in their minds, only the strongest ruled and everyone else followed the will of that person. So, for the Commander, the task of gaining allies in a wild bunch like the Iron Blood was akin to a rat taking on a lion and expecting to win.

As for the person in question

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He was near the beach, but he wasn't alone. Before him stood Saint. Louis, Neptune, Monarch, Ibuki, Izumo and Roon. Because they had arrived in the middle of an attack on the base, there was no time to formally induct them into the fleet. Now that that danger had passed….

"I am number 01 of the PR class, Saint. Louis," said the woman in question, on one knee with her head lowered "my spear is yours to command."

"I am number 02 of the PR class, Neptune," she said, smiling at him "I live to serve you Commander."

"I am number 03 of the PR class, Monarch," said the redhead, standing to attention and saluting him "my cannons will see our fleet to victory."

"I am number 04 of the PR class, Ibuki," said the blue haired girl, bowing "please take good care of me."

"I am number 05 of the PR class, Izumo," she said, kneeling down and placing her sword on the ground, similar to Saint. Louis "ready and willing."

"And I'm number 06 of the PR class, Roon," said the woman with a casual wave.

All six of them stood to attention then saluted him and said all at once "from this day forward we swear an oath of absolute loyalty to you. Use our powers to fulfill your ambitions."

"It is an honor to have you in my fleet," he said, bowing deeply to them "I will not let your trust in me be misplaced."

"Now then," he said, rising up "with that out of the way, let's go gain some new allies…."

"Oh no you don't," interjected Belfast, making her presence known by grabbing him by the collar and dragging him back to his room.

"Wait, Belfast, what are you doing?" he asked, clearly against the idea "I have a mission to…"

"It's been seven days since the attack. There's still paperwork to do, shuffling our teams, selecting the groups for the commissions and seeing to the repair work," she said, "you don't have time to go running around the world right now Commander, not when there's plenty of work to be done."

"Uh Commander," said Saint. Louis, "what should we do in the meantime?"

"Right, right," he said, his voice fading "Ibuki and Izumo can be at the hospital. Help out Akashi and Vestal. Saint. Louis, Roon and Monarch, report to Cleveland for help with the repairs. Neptune, you have my permission to start that café with San Diego."

As much as he wanted to get started on his next object, Belfast and Z23 were firm with what came first. The base needed to be back to working condition before he could even think about going after anyone else. This resulted in him staying in his room for days, going over the necessary paperwork, approving requests for materials to come in and okaying commissions that were still undergoing. When he thought that he was done, either Belfast or Z23 would enter the room, drop a pile of papers on his desk and set him back to square one.

This went on for three days.

On the evening of the fourth day, he finished much of his work and decided to take a stroll through the base. As he was walking through, noticing how the repair work was proceeding faster than expected, he came upon Akagi seated outside the cafeteria, playing with the straw of her empty beverage.

"Hey Akagi," he said, coming up to her. Instantly her ears perked up when she saw him and she quickly rose to her feet.

"Hey Commander," she said, cheerfully "fancy seeing you here. I thought you had work."

"I do, but I managed to convince Belfast and Z to take a little break. And if they're taking a break, I'll take one too. Wanna keep me company?"

"Of course," she said, coming forward and linking her arms with his.

"I love the smell of the sea breeze," she said, when they neared the beach "when I was young, Kaga and I would sneak out of our rooms and go to the beach, just to play in the water. Of course, it being night and all we'd catch a cold and get scolded by Amagi."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," he said, noticing the expression his companion had when talking about her.

"She was Commander," she said, looking a little misty-eyed "and she would have loved you Commander. Whenever I think about it, I notice how the two of you are so similar."

"Well I'm still not yet able to make weapons form on my sides and glide on water."

"You know what I mean," she said, playfully nudging him "smart and kind, wise and diligent. She was a picture-perfect beauty at home, but on the battlefield… she was something else."

"I've noticed that it's starting to get pretty hot in the evenings," he said, trying to change the subject "It's making me sweat a lot more."

"By all means Commander please take off your shirt," she said instantly "you should let your body breathe a little."

"I think I'll stick to losing the cape," he said.

"Now that I think about it, we are getting close to summer," she said.

"Summer huh, I wonder what that's like here?"

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One night he had trouble sleeping. It was strange because he didn't do anything to cause this restlessness. He was sure he didn't eat anything strange which begged the question, why did he feel uneasy?

As he struggled to sleep, tossing and turning on the bed, he understood why he felt so restless. He felt like he was being watched, as if someone or something was watching him, like a predator targeting its prey.

Slowly and cautiously he opened his eyes. It looked pitch black, which told him it was early morning, perhaps a few minutes before dawn came. To the right of his bed, he saw there was no one.

'Alright,' he thought 'maybe it is just me.'

But as he turned to his left side, he saw a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him. Instantly, sweat began pouring down his head, fear took over him and his mind went into overdrive, thinking about what he needed to do next.

What was more terrifying was that as his eyes slowly got used to the darkness, the figure that was staring at him became all the more clearer. This caused him to emit a high-pitched scream, audible only to dogs, cats and dolphins.

"R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-Roon," he said, terrified at the person staring at him, "Wh-wh-what are you doing?"

"Don't mind me Commander," said Roon, "I'm just watching you sleep."

'I do mind that,' he yelled, but he yelled inside his mind "why are you watching me sleep?" he asked.

"Hmmm, I wanted to keep you company but then, when I saw you sleeping so innocently, I couldn't help but stare and admire how cute you looked."

At this point in time, dawn came and the sun slowly rose over the horizon, illuminating the room. The Commander also remembered that he clearly locked the door to his room before going to sleep. A quick look at the door and window indicated there was no tampering done, which begged the question of just how did Roon get into the room?

"How long were you watching me?" he asked, trying to hide how scared he was.

"Not really sure," she replied "I didn't see the clock or anything when I entered. Although I do know that it was dark outside when I came in. Like really dark."

'Oh, dear god,' he screamed internally 'she's one of those types.'

The type that the Commander referred to was a Yandere. Although it has been 'cuteified' to a nauseating degree in recent forms of pop culture, a Yandere is a deeply troubled individual that may look beautiful, kind and loving on the outside, they have a very dark personality on the inside. The best examples of a true female Yandere can be found in Yuno Gasai, Kaede Fuyou and Sakura Matou.

The most dangerous trait of a Yandere is their habit of developing a deep interest in one person and becoming infatuated with said person to the point that anyone else coming near the object of their affection is treated as the enemy.

'Think damn it,' he yelled in his mind, 'there has to be a way to defuse this situation.'

The already troubling situation he was in was further exacerbated when he heard some metal cracking, then saw how the doorknob to his room was crushed.

"Good morning Commander," said Akagi, striding in with a smile on her face "and how are you on this…"

"Geh," she said, her smile fading and her expression becoming dark.

"Commander," she said, the color in her eyes absent "why is Roon in your room?"

Before he could answer in some logical form Roon replied instead "I am making sure that the Commander is safe at night."

"Well thank you for your diligence," said Akagi, her hostile aura not decreasing in the slightest "you can go now."

"Nah, I don't want to"

"Why?" shouted the Commander.

"The Commander needs to be kept safe at all times," she said, coming closer to him "seeing as you're not suitable for the job, I'll do it."

"That's right Commander," she said, smiling and cradling his head in her arms "you'll be safe with me."

"Roon," said Akagi, forming her weapons, "get away from the Commander, NOW!"

"Make me," she taunted, forming her weapons.

"Wait, wait, wait not in my…."

But it was too late. The pair attacked each other and though the only severe damage caused was to his room, the Commander resolved to have some security measures installed in his room to prevent this incident from happening again.

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Walking through the base after finishing his work, the Commander noticed something strange: there was no one around. Thinking that perhaps they were all eating, he headed to the cafeteria, only to find there was nobody there either. Even Hornet, who would usually be hard at work making something new and delicious for the base was absent.

A little concerned that something was amiss, the Commander instinctually reached for his sword, only to remember that it was gone, no longer usable since the last fight.

"Damn Sirens," he muttered, eyeing some of the kitchen utensils.

"There you are," said a voice from behind.

He turned around and saw Hiryuu and Soryuu standing behind him.

"Girls, what's going on? Did something happen to everyone at the base?"

"Yeah Commander," said Soryuu "we all went to the beach. It is summer time remember?"

"But I didn't see anyone near the beach when I was out on patrol."

"Not that beach," said Hiryuu, grabbing his hand "come on, we'll take you to there."

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'Oh my god,' he thought, upon viewing the scene out infront of him. The fun, the merriment, the alluring swimsuits that were on display, it made him realize something.

'I'm on an island,' he thought 'with beautiful women. How the hell did I not realize that?'

"Why are you gawking like a monkey?" asked a voice.

Still with his jaw hanging wide open, he turned around and saw Z23, standing next to him, wearing a purple one-piece swimsuit, with frills around the shoulders and waist.

"Am I gawking, I'm sorry," he said, forcibly putting his mouth back "It's just,"

"What?"

"Hmm," he said, derailing his train of thought and turning his attention to Z23 "I never noticed it before but, you look really different without the beret. It suits you."

Z23 offered no response. Instead, she turned around and left, not wanting to show the tinge of red on her cheeks.

"Was it something I said?" he wondered.

"Heya Commander," said Cleveland, coming up to him "how are you?"

Cleveland had on a typical two-piece swimsuit, colored in yellow with patches of white flowers on the top.

"Taking it all in," he replied, smiling at her "quick question, is everyone from the base here?"

"Not just the base, but everyone from the Sakura Empire as well," she said.

"Really? When did everyone get here?"

"You shouldn't worry about things like that Commander, just enjoy yourself," she said "so what do you think?"

"About your swimsuit?" he asked "you look beautiful in it," he added.

"I-I-I-I meant about seeing everyone on the beach," she said, blushing and trying not to show it. Luckily for him though, Columbia and Monteplier arrived and took Cleveland away. As that happened, the Commander found himself in the company of the Yorktown trio, two of whom were sitting on a deck chair, while the third was out playing with Houston, Glowworm, Hammam, Shoukaku, Zuikaku and Wales.

"We usually take a day or two to have fun at the beach," said Enterprise, applying a generous amount of lotion on Yorktown's back "normally its just to have fun but in light of what's happened, it's good for everyone's morale."

The Commander simply nodded, munching on a triangular sandwich.

"And it's one of those events where everyone can participate," she added, not noticing that she was rubbing lotion a little too far south of the designated area.

The Commander wanted to point it out, but his sentence was interrupted when someone else said "figured you'd be hiding in the shade instead of going out and having some fun."

He turned around and saw Akagi and Kaga, dressed in a red and blue swimsuit respectively

"And you're even making our poor Commander suffer from boredom when he could be out there having fun," she added.

Akagi turned to the Commander, pushed her hair back on purpose and asked him "well Commander, does the sight of me in swimsuit make your heart race?"

"Yes," he said, almost instantly, shocking the four people around him.

Perhaps realizing that he should have gone with a more neutral answer, the Commander also realized his mistake, but it was too late now. Once words were said, they could not be taken back.

'Good luck dumbass,' said his brain, mentally leaving him.

"W-w-w-well what I was trying to say," he said, frantically trying to not sound like a pervert "I'm normally getting my ass kicked by Belfast or seeing everyone glide on the water and fire powerful weapons on their sides. Because of that I tend to forget that I'm on an island, with many, many beautiful women."

"Like you Akagi," he added.

"Oh she fainted," said Kaga, tapping Akagi, but the damage was already done. Although Akagi was rooted in her spot her consciousness had faded, no doubt a result of what the Commander just said.

Seeing that he was causing more harm than good, the Commander decided that it was better for him to head back to the office. Maybe he'd get some work done, maybe he'd fall asleep before getting anything done. Whatever he did, it didn't matter as long as he wasn't causing trouble for everyone here.

But as he was on his way back, he heard someone ask "and just where do you think you're going?"

He turned around and saw Belfast and Eugen stopping him in his tracks. Belfast had a red two-piece swimsuit while still keeping on her tiara and maid armbands. Eugen on the other hand had a black two-piece that looked a little too small for her.

"Sorry," he said, looking at the sky "I was just thinking that now's a good time to get some paperwork done. And I don't want to cause trouble for anyone so…."

At this, the pair looked at each other and sighed.

"Apologies master," said Belfast.

"Just remember, you brought this on yourself," said Eugen.

"Huh?" he said, followed by the two of them hitting him on the head, effectively knocking him out.

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"And its time ladies," said Soryuu on the mic.

"To kick off our beach party," added Hiryuu, followed by fireworks and confetti going off, to a cheering crowd.

"In addition to our regular team based events," said Hiryuu "today we're also having a number of events, where the winner will have one of three important prizes."

"As for who gets what, we'll that'll be based on your age group," added Soryuu.

"Before we show everyone the three grand prizes, let's bring out the prize first," they said together and behind them was the Commander tied up in a chair, looking very confused.

"Wait, what's going on?" he asked "when did all this happen? Why am I tied up?"

"Oh Commander you should stop asking such dull questions like that," said Hiryuu, putting an arm on his shoulder "you should just enjoy the program."

"Fine, then untie me," he said.

"We can't do that," said Soryuu, shaking her head.

"Why not?"

"Because then the prize would get away," they replied.

"What?"

"Anyway," said Soryuu, ignoring his question "you'll find that in addition to competitions to see which faction is better, there are also additional competitions based on age. And here are the prizes for the winners."

The pair gestured to a large board behind them, which showed a list of three things. The Commander was visibly worried at all three of them.

"In the youngest age group," said Soryuu "the Commander will be your big brother for the whole day. He'll bathe you, help you get dressed, take you out on a picnic, read you stories of your choice and tuck you in at night."

"For all the teenagers here," said Hiryuu "the Commander will serve you breakfast, lunch and dinner and, will feed you all three meals."

"And…" said Soryuu

"The grand prize," said Hiryuu

"For all the ladies here," they said together.

"You'll go on a date with the Commander at the newly opened Grand Park on the Sakura island. You'll ride on some of the many attractions available, play in the pool together, enjoy a delicious lunch and dinner and afterwards, will dance the night away under the light of a thousand stars."

"Oh good grief Hiryuu," said Soryuu, purposely waving her hand over her face "just thinking about that last one's making my heart race."

"Calmness sister," said Hiryuu "remember, it's our job to oversee the competitions impartially."

"Those prizes seem pretty mundane don't you think?" asked the Commander, surprising both Soryuu and Hiryuu.

"What do you mean?" asked Soryuu.

"I mean if these are prizes meant to help motivate the fleet then it should be stuff like new weapons or improvements to the weapons you have or maybe some kind of commodity that they can use multiple times later on or at least give them all something they like. I mean who's going to get motivated from…"

But his words were halted when he noticed that many (and I mean many) members of the audience in attendance were visibly fired up after hearing the prizes announced. Some of them were Enterprise, Cleveland, Belfast, Wales, Z23, Akagi, Unicorn, Suruga, Aulick, Saint. Louis, Roon, Neptune and Hornet.

"By your own admission Commander," said Hiryuu

"We're giving the fleet the greatest commodity available," added Soryuu.

"And now, let the competitions commence," they said, kicking off three fun filled days on the island. Needless to say that at the end of the event, the Commander was very, very tired.