A/N: Wow, thanks to everyone that took part in the poll I put up on r/AzurLane, it was a big help!

Part Five – Foxtail and Pretzels

I hear a knock on my office door, in time with my stomach rumbling, a reminder that I had skipped breakfast so that I could look for that computer to see a message from the past. Running a hand down my face I call out, perhaps a little harsher than I should've, "Enter!"

I turn my chair to see the door open and find that a smile reaches my lips, but doesn't seem to go any higher, when I see a brunette at my door, a box in her hands. She's looking down and all but whispers, "Sorry to disturb you sir, but Belfast asked me to bring this to you…"

Waving my hand dismissively I said to her, "Sorry about that Swiftsure, I skipped breakfast and that came out harsher than how I meant it."

She lets out a breath; clearly, she was worried I was mad. I take the case off of my desk and slip it down by my feet while she enters, looking around she asked, "Did I leave your office like this?"

I shook my head as I admitted, "No… this was all me."

She put down the box on my desk as she told me, "You might want to tidy up a bit, sir, Sheffield can be a little harsh about excessive messes… And she's not been happy with my attempts to learn how she cleans up…"

Running my left hand over my head and down to my left cheek I nod before I say to her, "Thanks Swiftsure, anything you need today?"

She takes a step back before using her left hand to push some hair behind her ear as she shook her head and said, "No…"

She paused and bit her lower lip before changing what she was going to say, "I'm good, sir. If you need anything Gneisenau should be in soon, I'm sure she'll take good care of you today."

I nod while I slide the box over to me and crack the lid to see a scone, thermos, jar of a white liquid, sugar cubes, and a BLT sandwich. I turn my attention to Swiftsure and ask, "Are you busy later? I'd like to pick your brain about something… and thanks for this, I really do appreciate it."

To my surprise, I see a smile at the edges of her mouth as she closes the distance again and asks, "Can I see your phone? That way I can make sure you have my number…"

I hand it over, faster than I thought I could, she has it for a moment before handing it back to me and says, "I'll talk to you later, sir."

She gave me a bow before she hurried out of my office closing the door behind her. Once she's gone I dig right into the breakfast, the food is glorious, and the tea was spot on. I had just finished my breakfast when I hear another knock on my door, in a much more pleasant tone I bid them enter.

When it cracked open I saw my mother, and behind her, I saw Gneisenau at the desk, in this moment I knew I was out of time to try and figure out what to tell my mother. As she entered she closed the door behind her, looked around, and asked, "Why are these files all over the place?"

I sigh and run a hand over my head before I reach under my desk and pull out the case and say, "Because I had to move a file cabinet to find this."

She tilted her blond head to the side and asked, "And what is that?"

I popped open the case and took out the laptop, I turn it to face her and turn it back on. I let her sit and listen to the same message. I watched how she reacts to it, I could see the anger clear on her face when she saw a young Henry, but it turned to sadness when she learned that I was a planned accident and she wasn't his first choice. As she got to the same spot in the message I did, she reaches over and closes the laptop, her other hand gripping the arm on the chair, I could see the tears being held back by her force of will alone. Through clenched teeth she got out, "You are not an accident."

I laugh a little, technically I am, my parents had drunk sex one night and I was the result of that. I shake my head a little as I say, "Technically, I am. I wasn't planned for by you… but just because I'm one, it doesn't mean I'm an unwanted one."

That seems to snap her attention to me as she takes on a surprised look as she says, "Not at all! When I started to feel you move around inside of me, it was a surprise, it was a feeling I started to love… As you got bigger and I found it harder to sleep, I would wander around my dorm, singing to you."

I smile at her and reach across my desk as I say, "That right there, proves that you wanted me."

She gets out of the chair and wraps me in a tight embrace as she says, "More than anything Mitchel… and when I laid eyes on you for the first time, I knew that I would always love you."

I closed my eyes and just enjoyed being held by my mother, it was a feeling I really wasn't used too, but right now, I knew it was a feeling I had missed out on. That simple gesture was telling me everything was going to be alright. When the hug ended I looked up at her and smiled as I said, "I wish I could've grown up with you."

She strokes the right side of my face and says, "Me too fy machgen bach."

"I didn't catch that…" I say to her, with my eyebrow raised.

She smiles, a few tears still in her red eyes as she tells me, "Fy machgen bach is Welsh for, 'My baby boy'. Why am I not surprised your father didn't teach you any Welsh…"

Our mother and son bonding time came to an abrupt end when I could hear some arguing from the front office, with a heavy sigh before closing up the laptop in the case and stuffing it back under my desk I say to Wales, "I should go and see what's going on out there…"

As I opened the door I could see an irritated looking Gneisenau, her eyes locked on a dark-haired woman with what looked like fox ears and nine tails protruding out from under her coat. She placed a gloved hand down on the desk, leaning forward into Gneisenau's face as she said, "I told you to let Shikikan-sama know that his beloved has arrived."

Oh hell.

"And I told you, that Kommandant Thatcher is not anyone's beloved." Spoke Gneisenau, in a strangely level tone of voice.

"I don't know who Shikikan Thatcher is… I am looking for Shikikan Takada…" said the fox woman, not giving any ground.

I sigh inwardly in relief; she's not here for me. However, my sigh seemed to make one of her fox ears twitch and turn in my direction. She turned in short order to face me, her red eyes going wide at seeing that I was not the person she was looking for. I saw her eyes go up and down my frame, while she licked her lips and started to saunter over to me, putting excessive sway in her hips as she did so. Just as she was about to reach me, she put out her right hand, letting it slide up my chest, over my shoulder, and behind my head as she said, "Shikikan-sama, Akagi has returned from the task, that Akagi had been assigned…"

I felt myself gulp, as she placed herself against me, there was just something about her that sent my alarm bells ringing, then she leaned in a little closer and sniffed me before whispering in my ear, "Akagi could be yours Shikikan-sama, you only need to say the word."

I was about to respond when I heard someone clearing their throat behind me, followed by my mother saying, "Akagi, perhaps you would be so kind as to set back from the Commander and leave your report on your way out."

I see this Akagi take on a sour look as her eyes switch from mine to my mother before they return to me as she says, "Another time perhaps Shikikan-sama…"

As she turned and started to walk away, she brushed me with her tails, before looking over her shoulder and winking at me as she bit her lower lip and I felt a shiver run down my spine… that was trouble with a capital T…

Once the door was closed leading out of my office Gneisenau spoke up, while she pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "Akagi is always trouble… Be mindful of her Kommandant."

I run a hand over my head as I ask, "I thought she said that she was the beloved of my predecessor?"

My mother put a hand on my shoulder as she said, "In the couple of years that I've known Akagi now, she has her eyes on whoever wears the mantle of Commander; it is power that attracts her."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose as I say, "This place is insane… I've been here four days, and I've been propositioned for marriage and now for something physical…"

"To be fair Kommandant, I didn't ask you…" sighed out Gneisenau.

I give a slight laugh before returning to my office as I agreed with her, "You're right Gneisenau; it was Bismarck that offered you to me."

I just settle back into my chair when I hear the intercom buzz, with a heavy sigh I press the button and ask, "Yes?"

"Your oh-seven-hundred is here Kommandant, would you like me to send her in?" asked Gneisenau.

"Let's not keep her waiting." I say back and stand back up.

She didn't wait at the door, rather she opened it and started to walk right in, and well I was kind of surprised by what I saw walking in. She was tall, made taller by the boat sandals she wore. Her blue skirt split open on one side right up to her hip, around her belly she had what looked like an armored belt, behind her I could see tails, at least two, both of them a dark white or light grey with black tips. As my eyes continued up, I noticed and wondered how her ample bust didn't fall out the sides of the fabric that covered them. I didn't let my eyes linger there, and I knew my eyes went wide when I saw the downward-pointing fox ears with multiple piercings, but it was the pink eyes that took my attention, they looked like they had seen too much. As she entered the room, closing the door behind her she spoke, "I am the name ship of the Tosa-class battleships, Tosa. Nagato has assigned me to work closely with you… and keep somethings at bay."

I extended my hand to her as I said, "Commander Thatcher, a pleasure to meet you Tosa."

She looked at my hand and wrinkled her nose as she said, "I can smell Akagi on you…"

I sigh and take my hand back as I admit, "Yeah… I just met her a few moments ago, she's…"

"Trouble." Tosa finishes for me.

I watch as she walks around the office I still have to make my own, almost like she's trying to get a read on me by the things I have around me before she says, "You live a very Spartan life, do you?"

I sigh and shake my head as I say, "No… I only just got here; I've not had any time to make this space my own yet."

"So you're weak then?" she asks over her shoulder at me.

Again I shake my head, "I wouldn't say that either."

She sighs, turning to face me as she folds her arms under her bust she outright asks, "I only serve those who I deem worthy. As for you... well, I do not believe in making hasty judgments. So tell me what makes you so special?"

From what I've learned, nothing so far… just that I'm the first hybrid of kansen and human… I see her lips press together, guess my shrug came across the wrong way.

I run my right hand over my head; I mean if she's going to work closely with me, she's going to find out sooner or later… With a heavy sigh, I say, "The only thing that makes me special, is that my mother is a kansen."

That did it, I see her pink eyes go wide for a moment, before she half closes them again, while her head tilts off to the side and she asks, "Who?"

"Prince of Wales." I respond.

She brought her gloved right hand up to her chin and made a noise like she hadn't expected that answer before she said, "Huh, perhaps I shouldn't rush to judge you then."

Wow, she's a little frustrating… I sigh inwardly again, as I smile at her and say, "I think that will be all for this morning Tosa, if you need anything, please be sure to let Gneisenau know… For now, I have some reports that Akagi dropped off that I need to look over."

She shrugs and moves to the door to leave, not closing the door behind her. Again I sigh, close the door and slump in my chair and groan out, "Why me?"

When no answer came, I got down to my work and to try and push through today. For now, the mystery surrounding my birth and being taken from here is solved… well mostly. My father implied that maybe some darker ending was in store for me had High Command had their way… Still not something I want to worry about right now.

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I had managed to make it through the day, the paperwork hadn't been that bad, I even managed to get the files put back in order. I had the case with the laptop on my desk again, just looking at it, taking in what it meant again. I knew that Wales loved me, but now I wonder if my father ever did or if I was just some burden he had forced on him. Turning my chair so that I could look out over the port and just wonder what my life would've been like had I been raised here. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I missed the door to my office opening, I had no idea I wasn't alone until I heard Gneisenau say, "Isn't it amazing how different people can come to different conclusions about the same topic?"

I blink a couple of times before turning around to see her, a lollipop in her mouth, one arm under her bust, her right knee slightly bent forward as she looked at the case. When she saw my confused look, she pointed at the case with her right hand and said, "That, regardless of what you found on it, regardless of whatever answers to your past are there, none of it matters. You are who you are, and whatever is there will not change that."

She was right, this just had answers to questions I had wondered about, but am I any happier knowing them? Rubbing the back of my head I ask, "But how does that relate to different people coming to different answers?"

Gneisenau sat across from me, taking out the red lollipop, crossing her legs at the knees as she said, "I had asked your mother about it, she said it showed the monster that your father was. Looking at you, you see something different I bet."

I nod and lean back in my chair as I say, "He was in an impossible position, tasked with seeing how compatible humans and kansen are… then one drunken night with someone he didn't see as his first choice resulted in me."

I sigh and rub my right arm as I continue, "Things only got worse, when it looked like Wales was going to take me to term, High Command got scared and worried that an…" I paused to make air quotes as I said, "expensive asset like my mother was going to be useless for months, possibly years."

I watched Gneisenau's face for how she would react to the term expensive asset, she did a good job at hiding it, but I could see that she was irritated at hearing it. She slipped the lollipop back in her mouth for a few moments, clearly thinking on something before taking it back out and saying to me, "The better question is, Kommandant, how do you see us?"

Huh… I hadn't thought about it… I mean, my mother is one of them… I shrug as I say, "I never really thought about it, I just feel like I'm talking to women, I guess."

I see her nod before she gets out of her chair and says, "Come along, Kommandant, it is time to pack it in for the day."

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As we left the commander center I was about to turn towards my quarters when I felt Gneisenau slip one of her arms through mine as she said, "No… you are coming with me to the kneípe… pub. No need for your pet maid to feed you tonight."

I gave a little shrug and said to her, "Lead on."

I hated to admit it, but I wondered if she had some ulterior motive for doing this, but then again Gneisenau isn't the dominatrix I thought she was when I first laid eyes on her, rather she is dedicated to her tasks… wait, is she trying to work the second part of the task that Bismarck gave her?

I risked a glance down and noticed that she had undone the top button of her top, giving me a view down, I had to admit, she really is pretty. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her use her left hand to push her glasses up as she says, "I'll let you look tonight, but you can't touch."

I felt my cheeks get hot as I murmured out, "Sorry…"

I feel my arm move up and down against the side of her bust while she shrugged and said, "Nothing to be sorry about, I bait the hook, you took it."

That didn't help…

"So you did this to see if I'd look?" I ask her.

"Naturally, if I am to stand a chance of accomplishing the tasks that Herrin Bismarck set for me, I have to be sure I stand a chance." She says completely nonchalantly, pausing to take out the lollipop as she added, "I'm not a fan of the idea of being tied down by emotions Kommandant… But I have a task to do and I will give it my all."

I sigh inwardly as I stop to look up at the stars and say, "I wonder if anyone has stopped and asked: what does Commander Thatcher want?"

Gneisenau moved to sit on the edge of the golden anchor in the center of the square, her hands behind her, pushing her chest outward as she looked up at the stars and said, "I don't think anyone has, Kommandant. Then again, Herrin Bismarck never asked me what I want either…"

I sigh and move to sit beside her as I say, "Well then, what is it that you want?"

She blinks at me a couple of times before taking off her glasses to wipe them before slipping them back on, shrugging and saying, "I have no idea right now. For now, though, I want a warm, soft, chew pretzel… What about you Kommandant?"

I laugh before smiling at Gneisenau as I say, "Simple really, not be hounded to be forced into a relationship and process the last four days. A lot has happened to me in such a small amount of time... and a good beer."

She gets off of the wall and extends her right hand for me to take it, as I do she pulls me up a little and says, "Then off to the pub we go."

Once we got to the pub, I was surprised to see that it was a multi-level structure, I'm not sure what I expected really but it was Gneisenau that tugged on my arm as she said, "We'll be heading to the third floor, it's more like a pub back home… each floor is themed for one faction. The third floor is for the Iron Blood."

As we entered on the ground floor, I did a quick look around and it was clear this floor was themed for the Eagle Union, themed to look like a so-called dive bar, darkly light with plenty of neon signs, pool tables, and dartboards. The second floor made me think of the local pub back home, right down to the white walls and music… it was kind of eerie really. I turned my attention back to Gneisenau as she leads me up to the third floor, she looked back at me over her shoulder and winked, kind of like she knew I was watching her stern as we climbed our way up.

I'll be honest, I found her really confusing, she gave off a stern air, dedicated to her assigned tasks, but sometimes I got to see a softer side of her and I was finding the contrast kind of intriguing. Once we were on the third floor, I was surprised it'd been transformed yet again into something you'd see in an old part of Berlin, warm wood, the smell of beer, and most importantly, what sounded like people having a good time. Looking around I saw a few kansen up here. Gneisenau lead me to a table and typed in our order into a panel on the table as she said, "I hope you don't mind, I ordered beer and pretzels for us."

I shook my head and looked around as I said, "No, that's fine… I likely couldn't read the menu anyway."

She laughed a little and leaned back in her chair, following my eyes to see a pair of light cruisers with white hair and she says to me, "I'm kind of envious of Karlsruhe and Köln… They get to be together while I'm separated from my Scharnhorst… I understand why, half the fleet is kept at home, half here."

I sigh before I say to her, "And I'm kind of envious of you, I don't have a sibling, sure I had some friends growing up, but it was just me and my dad most of the time."

I catch her nod just as our beer and pretzels arrive and she says to me, "Too good friends, family, and good beer."

I clink glasses with her and say, "Here, here."

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After three or four of those beers, we leave the pub, and she was supporting me, apparently, I'm kind of a lightweight when it comes to drinks… she's taking me back to my quarters, but I can see that she's flushed in the cheeks, and gives me a sloppy smile as she asks, "I and my sister were given the epithet of The Ugly Sisters for what we did so long ago, and it still hurts a little… Kommandant, do you think I'm ugly?"

I shook my head from side to side as I slurred out, "Not at all, I think you're really pretty actually."

She looked at me, her blue eyes really wide and her cheeks bright red and she said to me, "Let's get you home Kommandant… you've got to get up early."

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A/N: Chapter five done. Now we start part two of this story as he starts to build relationships with those in his orbit.