*Disclaimer - I do not own the copyright for Azur lane
On a day as beautiful as today, with clear skies to boot, everywhere throughout the island, you would see ship girls enjoying their day. Whether it be talking with each other, laughing and eating away, shopping at the stores managed by the Manjuu, or basking in the sun at the beach. The girls were enjoying themselves with nothing to worry about for once. With scouting parties off on their routines, and nothing to report to the girls on the island, most of the girls were taking it easy and living the best life they could. However, one would think that seeing all these kansens out and about, there would be another person to join them in enjoying the sun. The confident and well-respected and well-loved commander.
Several of the girls that wanted to find the commander first were Akagi, Kaga, Enterprise, and Taihou. Akagi and Taihou were obvious in their intentions in looking for the commander. Kaga was curious about where the commander was but had her... intentions more hidden than those two. Enterprise had been looking for the commander to ask him a few questions about the next operation that was in the works. Plus, she secretly wanted to see the commander. This leaves us to where the four of them first met each other. Right outside the commander's office.
"My, my, this is a surprise to see you here, Grey Ghost. Taihou, I already knew you'd be here" Akagi said, looking at the two in front of her.
"Akagi. Can't say I'm surprised to see you here. Kaga. Good to see you" Enterprise said, nodding at the white-haired fox.
"Likewise, Grey Ghost. I take it you have a reason for wanting to meet with the commander?" Kaga asked.
"Yeah. I had questions about our next operation coming up. The plan is still in the works, but I wanted to lend the commander my thoughts on the whole thing" Enterprise tilted her cap before looking at Akagi "I'm guessing you have some sort of reason for seeing the commander?"
"You'd be correct in assuming that. And seeing that you are smart enough to know why I'm here, I'll just come out and say that I wanted to spend the day with Shikikan since it's rare we get a beautiful day like this with no training drills to run" Akagi answered.
"And we have patrols watching the perimeter around the island and reconnaissance squads looking for any Siren activity. It's the perfect day to spend with Shikikan. I'm sure we're not the only ones that want to spend time with him. Seeing that there's someone else here as well" Kaga turned to look at Taihou who was trying to stay completely still so that the three girls could forget about her being there. But in reality, that just made her presence even more present. "Taihou. What are you doing here?" Kaga questioned.
"E-eh?! Why am I here to see Shikikan? Well, I-I needed his help with... with my riggings! Yes! My riggings. I wanted to hear his voice- I mean his thoughts on what I should do..." Taihou couldn't finish what she was saying and remained silent on the matter. Leaving Enterprise, Kaga, and Akagi to look at her with a knowing look.
"Hmm. It seems there's going to be some competition for Shikikan today. Very well, Enterprise, I'll allow you to speak with Shikikan. Do know that I'll be there along with you" Akagi stated, staring Enterprise down.
*At least she's gotten a bit more lenient when it comes to Shikikan* Enterprise thought. "Alright. That's fine with me. *Looking at the commander's office door* Well, shall we get to it then?"
With that said, Enterprise walked up to the commander's door and knocked on it several times followed by her calling out to the commander.
"Shikikan? Are you there? *Knock-knock-knock* Hello?" Enterprise then looked at the other girls who were tilting their heads not sure what to do. Deciding to take a risk, Enterprise knocked a few more times before calling out to the commander. "Shikikan, forgive the intrusion. We're coming in"
Turning the knob on the door, Enterprise was the first to enter the room and saw that the lights were off. Strange. The next thing she noticed was that the room looked practically untouched. As if no one had even come into the room at all today. Even Shikikan's desk looked untouched with no papers sitting on top of the desk. Enterprise steadily walked up to the desk to see if the commander left a note or something indicating where he was currently at. Akagi and the others began to look around the room for anything to go off of.
After spending the next five minutes searching, the girls came up with nothing. Kaga was beginning to wonder about all the places Shikikan could be. Taihou was obsessing over the commander and sitting in his seat trying to figure out where the commander was by sniffing his seat... yeah. That was her excuse for sitting in the commander's seat. Akagi while on the verge of going ballistic and blasting Taihou out of Shikikan's seat was also beginning to worry about his whereabouts. And Enterprise was thinking about pulling out her spyglass that she kept from her detective stunt with Essex and start investigating the room for any fingerprints and such but stopped herself short seeing that perhaps the commander was just somewhere else.
With no real answers, Enterprise decided to ask for help with this matter.
"Alright. I don't think the commander has been in here since yesterday. Or even before that. I'm going to make some calls and see if anyone else has seen the commander" Enterprise said.
"I'm thinking the same thing. As much as I loathe having to the other girls who wish to spend time with Shikikan, I'd at least feel much better to know where he's at as well" Akagi added, reaching into her chest and pulling out a phone.
Enterprise followed suit and reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone. She figured she could make a call to Cleaveland and then Nevada to see if the two had seen the commander. If not, she could call Essex or Baltimore or Belfast or anyone else really.
Akagi was of the same mind. She could make a call to Ayanami or Takao if they had seen Shikikan. If they hadn't seen him, she'd call Littorio and Prinz Eugen for their help. Even if it meant dealing with them getting to Shikikan first as much as that annoyed her.
Getting to it, Enterprise first called Nevada to see if she had seen the commander. At the same time, Akagi called Takao to see if the commander was elsewhere.
"Hello? Nevada, you there?"
"Oh? Hey Enterprise, what's up? Why aren't you down at the beach? San Diego, Hood, Hornet, Laffey, and Ticonderoga are here. Zuikaku and her friends are heading over soon. They stopped to get some watermelons for lunch" Nevada said.
"I'll stop by later. But have you seen the commander at all today?"
"The commander? I thought he was in his office finishing up some work. Is he not there?"
"No. He's not here. I'm with Akagi, Kaga, and Taihou and we are looking for him" Enterprise answered.
"Hmm... I'm not sure then. It's still somewhat early in the morning before 10. Maybe he had a late start and is at the cafeteria? Try calling Essex. She's probably scarfing down her food there" Nevada proposed.
"Alright. Thanks for the tip. Tell the others that I'll be there after I've found the commander" Enterprise said.
Meanwhile, Akagi was talking with Takao about the situation.
"I can assuredly say that Shikikan is not at the training grounds" Takao replied.
"And what of the docks? Could he be looking something over with the engineers?" Akagi asked.
"I'll contact Atago and see if he's down there. She along with Prinz Eugen were looking for Akashi. Something to do about an outfit Shikikan took interest in but was only sold at Akashi's shop" Takao explained.
Feeling a tinge of worry beat in her chest, Akagi cooled herself down before responding to Takao, "Very well. Do keep your eyes on the lookout for Shikikan and call me if you see him" Taking a glance at Kaga, Akagi could see that she was looking around the room again to see if there was something they missed.
With the first call not being successful, both Akagi and Enterprise began to call their other friends.
"Essex? You there?"
"Huh? Oh! Enterprise what a surprise. *Muffled sound* Whaw-What are you doing?" Essex asked while sounding like she was eating something on the phone.
"I'm looking for the commander have you seen him anywhere?"
"Nope. Haven't seen him since yesterday when we were doing maneuvering exercises. Are you looking for him?"
"Yeah. I along with Akagi, Kaga, and Taihou are. If he's not there, then keep me posted if you do see him" Enterprise asked.
"*Muffled sound* Surr-Sure. I'll let you know" Essex said.
On the other hand, Akagi was having no luck at all.
"Ayanami, have you seen Shikikan at all today?"
"Sorry senpai. I haven't seen him. I'm currently with Nimi and Javelin out shopping. We're going to be heading to the beach soon. Do you want me to call you if I see him?" Ayanami asked.
"That would be helpful if you could. Thank you once again, Ayanami" Akagi replied, before ending the call and looking over at Enterprise who shook her head.
Over the next ten minutes, both Akagi and Enterprise would continue to call their friends and allies on the whereabouts of the commander. Each call ended in failure with no one really knowing where the commander was. After the eighth call ended in yet another failure, Akagi was beginning to lose it. Her eyes were now glowing red and her ears standing straight up. The calm Akagi from earlier was gone. And now the extremely worried and borderline yandere Akagi was about ready to go hunting for the commander. Kaga had grown more concerned as each call ended leaving her to be in a determined yet hardened state. Prepared to do whatever it took to find the commander.
Taihou... Well, Taihou had lost it after the third call and was now completely lost.
Enterprise, however, had changed her appearance. Now donning her detective hat and spyglass in her hand while taking notes on her phone about the places that the commander was not seen, and the girls who she called and reported not seeing him. This was all beginning to sound like a mystery. There was no way the commander would up and vanish into thin air...unless...
Deciding that they were wasting precious time, Enterprise decided to take charge of the situation and whistled inside the room grabbing everyone's attention.
"Alright, listen up! Seeing that we have no clue as to where Shikikan is. And that no one has seen him today, it's possible that one or more of the girls are lying"
The temperature in the room went frigid after Enterprise said that. Akagi's eyes were now covered with her hair but at an angle, you could see her eyes glowing a dark red color along with hearing her signature laugh. Kaga looked quite pissed and had her eyes also glowing a dark blue color. Taihou... Again, Taihou was Taihou. Muttering to herself about how someone could be keeping Shikikan to themselves. And that when she finds that someone, she'll give them hell. *Unless it was Albacore in which... she'll reason with her*
"Or the other likely scenario is that Shikikan has been kidnapped and is somewhere on the island" Leaving a moment of silence for that statement to sink in. "I propose that we split up and look for him. I'm planning on heading down to the beach to meet with some of the girls and get them to help in the search" Enterprise proclaimed.
Calming herself down, Akagi took a few deep breaths before responding, "I agree with that plan, Grey Ghost. Kaga and I will head to the docks to meet up with Prinz Eugen and Atago who will most likely agree with helping in the search for Shikikan. As much as I loathe the idea of having so many girls looking for Shikikan, I'd rather see him safe and sound than not at all"
"*Nodding her head* Understood, I take it Taihou will... go her own way. *Glancing at Taihou still muttering to herself* Well, at least give us a heads up if you see the commander, Taihou"
Seeing Taihou nod her head but still mutter to herself, Enterprise figured the plan was a go.
"Mm. Let's go find Shikikan"
Now with a plan of action, each of the girls took off in separate directions in order to round the troops and begin the search for the infamous yet missing Shikikan.
However, what all of the girls did not take into account was that the commander was safe and sound. Actually, the commander had just gotten out of the shower in his quarters and was putting on his clothes to get ready for the day when he remembered what happened yesterday. Recalling the events of yesterday, the commander remembered that he sent New Jersey a personal request of taking command of the perimeter squadron safeguarding the island. Along with orders to call him on his cell phone if anything drastic were to happen essentially giving him the day off for the first time in months. She even gladly offered to keep his situation a secret between the two which earned her a kiss that she gladly accepted. Thanks to his hard work the past few days, spending countless hours in the office signing off on expenses or finishing paperwork, or even coming up with battle plans for a variety of scenarios. The commander was able to complete all his would-be work today in the days behind.
Which ultimately meant that he had earned himself a day off. He'd been planning this for quite some time. The chance to be alone for once and enjoy doing things that he wanted but hasn't had time to do. The commander even prepared himself a mini fridge full of snacks and food and drinks to last him the day without having to leave his room. He was a man of unrelenting commitment and sheer determination in having a day to himself where he could enjoy a little alone time. Which he was very excited about.
Reaching his closet, the commander began to pull out a bunch of items to use. Video game consoles, manga, building projects, movies, books, tools, and a whole lot more stuff. Placing most of the stuff on his bed, the commander then took a step back to bask in the amazing sight in front of him. Even letting himself tear up a bit.
"Aw man... where to begin?"
But... the only person who knew about his whereabouts was New Jersey and she wouldn't spill the beans about what it was that he was doing. Which as you might have guessed, will lead to... problems.