Hello everyone! Thanks for your patience and let's get right into chapter 3!


"Once you fall in love, you really love that person through thick and thin." Oka Chinami, Golden Time!


Chapter 3: The Ship Girls Appear!

After a couple days comprised of physical and mental therapy, long harsh lectures on naval warfare from Victoria, and some much-needed bed rest, the young m-no, the Shikikan has finally recovered enough to get Dr. Sen's approval to begin his new journey.

"Remember, don't push yourself too hard and feel free to stop by anytime, preferably where your life isn't in any danger of course." Dr. Sen said as he saw the Shikikan and Victoria off.

"Yeah and hopefully Victoria doesn't bully you too much" Winked Nurse Jenny.

Victoria couldn't help but want to glare at the young nurse, but she managed to keep a calm head. "Alright we're off, thank you again for looking out for him Doctor and rest assured I will keep an eye on him so he doesn't do anything too stupid" Victoria smiled before getting into her car.

"Thank you for taking care of me Dr. Sen and Jenny" The Shikikan bowed gratefully before getting into Victoria's car as well, looking back to see them wave him off as Victoria drove to the Azur Lane base, the place where his new adventure begins.

"Alright, so now that you've healed enough and know enough about naval warfare to work properly as a Shikikan, let me fill you in on some more information about Azur Lane as a whole" Spoke Victoria as she drove.

Victoria explained how the Azur Lane was previously at war with another organization called the Crimson Axis, whom of which wanted to utilize the Siren's powers against them. Azur Lane was against the idea since the side effects were still unknown and considered too dangerous. This led to a full out bloody war between the two with Azur Lane managing to come out as the victor. Now that peace has been restored somewhat, Victoria specified how the Shikikan not only has to command the base but to try and build up a sense of camaraderie between all the factions in the newly reformed Azur Lane organization in order to effectively fight against the Sirens.

After about an hour of driving and talking, they spotted a massive bridge that led to a rather large island base a few miles out. Before they continued to said base, Victoria said she needed to stop at the town near the entrance to the bridge and refill her car first.

"Alright I'm going to make sure all the paperwork is all set and get some gas, feel free to explore the area while I get this stuff done. I should be done in about an hour or so but I'll call you if I finish early." Suggested Victoria.

"Sounds good, might be a good idea to say hello to the townspeople too since I'm at it." The Shikikan said before he walked off to explore. Since his officer clothes weren't ready yet, he sported a white hoodie over a plain white t-shirt, black pants, and black work shoes all given to him in addition to a cellphone as a parting gift from Dr. Sen and Nurse Jenny.

From the Shikikan's POV, the town seemed to be steadily growing with construction projects everywhere he looked. He walked around town, where he received a lot of stares from the construction workers and townsfolk alike, to which he responded with waves and greetings as the new Shikikan of the Azur Lane base. The townsfolk all saw him as a polite, nice, and young man with the most mesmerizing eyes that they've ever seen, the sole reason they were staring in the first place. The men thought of him to have a lot potential in being a reliable Shikikan while the women couldn't help but blush as they saw him walk by.

'Alright so this town seems to be transitioning from a large village to a small town, not much in terms of businesses but plenty of houses and stuff in progress. The townspeople, thankfully, all seem to be nice and aren't against the idea of me being the Shikikan.' Concluded the Shikikan.

As he walked further out into the farmland outskirts of town, he noticed small (chicks/ducklings?) gathered near a lake. His curiosity peaked, he walked down to see that they were all trying to pull out a larger (chicken/duck?) with what resembles a crown on-top of its head stuck in some fibrous algae. They all seemed to be struggling, so the Shikikan offered his help by taking off his socks, shoes, and hoodie and swam towards the center of the lake, where he proceeded to tear the algae out from the poor chicken/duck that was struggling to stay afloat the whole time. After he successfully tore away all the algae and carried the creature back to land, the creature jumped on him and snuggled against his cheek while all the smaller creatures jumped up gleefully around him. Some of the creatures then brought him a towel from somewhere to dry off and his clothes he took off, to which he couldn't help but smile at how adorable they all were. Afterwards, the one with the crown bowed to him to which the rest followed; they all then either bounced or hovered away back into the town.

The Shikikan looked at his phone and noticed that he had a message from Victoria saying that some of the papers needed her attention and that she needed more time to get everything under control, followed by a rather distressed emoji.

'Guess I have some more time to explore around.' The Shikikan then proceeded to walk back into town until a few minutes later he noticed that a dark bottle rolled down a hill and landed by his feet. Picking it up, he saw that it was a half empty bottle of bourbon. He walked up to the top of the hill and noticed that a young girl with long white hair tied into twin tails and a bunny ear head band on top was asleep under the tree on the top of the hill.

'Is this hers? Isn't she a little too young for bourbon? Wait, she could be older than she appears though' The Shikikan debated as he was trying to figure out what to do with the bourbon.

"Nmm…" The young girl moaned in her sleep as her hand was moving around, seemingly trying to find something next to her. When she couldn't find it, her sleeping face was becoming agitated to which by pure instinct and without even thinking, the Shikikan placed the bottle next to where her hand was searching. Her hand, feeling the bottle, grabbed it and snuggled it against her tiny frame as if it was a hugging pillow and her agitated face was quickly replaced with a relaxed one. She quietly snored as she turned over to her side and continued to sleep.

Unsure of what to do, the Shikikan shrugged his shoulders since the last thing he wanted to do was wake her up from her nice nap, showed a smile to the bunny haired girl, and began to descend the hill towards the town. As he was walking down, the young girl opened her eyes slightly to see someone walk down the hill and her bottle of bourbon safely in her arms. She looked at the back of the man before she snuggled her bottle again and went back to sleep.

The Shikikan managed to make his way back into town, more specifically into the town market filled with fresh fruit and vegetables and other people walking about. He took a seat on a nearby bench to enjoy the peaceful scenery, something he hoped to make sure would be here to stay and that the chaos he saw would only be a thing of the past. The Shikikan was visibly lost in thought as he was staring into the sky up until he heard a yelp.

"Aah!" Cried out the voice of a young girl with her animal ear hoodie flipped over her head as she fell down and dropped her bag of mixed fruit. The Shikikan immediately got off the bench and went to make sure she was okay.

"Owiee…" Said the young girl

"Hey are you okay?" Asked the Shikikan as he offered her a hand up.

The young girl flipped her hoodie down, showing that she had light purple hair tied into a small ponytail and had a tiara on the side of the top of her head. She looked up to notice that a man with the most beautiful amethyst eyes she ever saw was looking at her concerningly. She lost herself a bit in his eyes as she stared into them only to realize she had been staring when he asked "Um, are you okay?"

She immediately blushed and shook her head before speaking. "Uh yes! I'm okay thank you!" She took the man's hand before getting up. Afterwards the man bent down to pick up the scattered fruit surrounding them. The young girl blushed again before bending down to pick up her fruit as well. Once they managed to gather all the fruit, the young girl thanked the nice man for helping her before turning around to leave, only to wince as she was turning around. The Shikikan noticed her wince and looked down to see that the young girl had a fresh scrape on her leg. Luckily, thanks to the caring nature of Dr. Sen and Nurse Jenny, they had slipped in a small first aid kit into his hoodie's pocket.

"Hey, your leg is bleeding, if you don't mind, come sit on this bench I have first aid kit." Offered the Shikikan.

"Hwah? Um yes please and thank you!" The young girl frantically said with a blush that seemed to be constantly on her face as she was with the nice man.

The Shikikan proceeded to take the bag of fruits off her hands and offered her a hand to the bench, to which she shyly accepted. He then proceeded to treat her with some antibiotic ointment and placed a bandage over the now sterilized scrape. The young girl than hopped up, bowed and thanked the nice man again and apologized for the troubles.

"No worries," the Shikikan smiled lightly, "I'm just glad you're okay."

The young girl's blush reddened even darker. "T-thank y-you, y-you're a really nice person!" The young girl stuttered as she was trying to smile without her blush darkening any further as she looked at the nice man.

Soon after, the Shikikan waved goodbye and continued his explanation. As he was walking away, the young girl couldn't help but smile as she saw the nice man off and hoped to meet him again soon.

'Wait! I forgot to ask for his name and introduce myself!' The young purple haired girl said dejectedly.

'Alright where to next?' The Shikikan pondered as he kept walking until he came by a small bookstore. An idea popped into his head as he then decided to check it out to see if he could find any more information regarding naval tactics, considering how his amnesia wiped clean any knowledge he learned from the academy. Victoria did a great job teaching him, but he thought that it wouldn't hurt to try and learn more since he would hate to fail and even though he hasn't met them yet, he would hate to see the ship girls entrusted to him get hurt. From cookbooks to magazines to manga to erotica, the small bookstore had a wide variety of subjects. It took him a little while longer deeper into the bookstore until he found a section dedicated to war tactics. In said section however, he noticed a small girl with short blonde hair with a black, red, and blue bow on the side connected to a black cross and a blue beret with white ribbons flowing downwards. She was on her tippy toes on top of a stool trying to reach for a book that's still out of reach.

"Here let me help" Said the Shikikan as he walked over and easily grabbed to book for the girl.

"D-Danke!" The young blonde-haired girl smiled and said before she looked into his eyes. She was instantly mesmerized by his eyes that resembled amethyst crystals she once saw in a book. In addition, she felt that his eyes were sincere and kind, yet couldn't help but get a sense of hurt coming from them as well.

"Is something wrong?" Questioned the Shikikan.

"Huh? OHh! I'm sorry I-I uh… got lost in space! Thank y-you for helping me!" The young girl blushed and said frantically.

The Shikikan smiled kindly. "No worries. Are you interested in war tactics to miss?" He asked politely.

"Ja, the feeling of learning something new and the endless worlds and possibilities that books can create and send you to as you read them is so erstaunlich to me! I can't help but want to study more so that I can be capable of understanding things more." The young girl spoke with a rather adorable passion in the eyes of the Shikikan.

Realizing that she has been speaking for a quite some time, she looked up again from her book to see the man smiling at her lightly and couldn't help but look away as her blush darkened.

"Ahem anyway, are you also interested in learning about war tactics too?" Asked the young girl trying to change the subject away from herself.

"Yeah, do you have any recommendations?"

"Hmm…maybe this one, and this one, this one might be good too….OH! Definitely this one" The young girl contemplated as she grabbed a rather large stack of books. A sweat drop was evident on the back of the Shikikan's head as he saw the impressive stack.

"Um…Could we limit it to like a book or two? It be hard to carry back all these books." The Shikikan smiled lightly and asked.

"Huh, oh!" The young girl didn't even realize the large stack she had made in the middle of the aisle. She blushed embarrassingly as she got lost in thought again in front of the nice, helpful man.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Sorry about that, hmm here take these two, I think these ones cover a lot more topics while the other ones I picked are more specified.

"Thank you." Smiled the Shikikan as he turned around to go pay for the books.

'I can't believe I embarrassed myself not once but twice to a complete stranger!' The young girl screamed internally. 'Well thankfully he seems to be nice and understanding, plus his eyes were so pretty that I cou-What am I thinking!?' The young girl put her hands up to her face, only to feel how warm her face was from all the blushing she had done in such a short amount of time.

"Thank you for your patronage" Said the bookstore owner as he ringed up the Shikikan's purchase. The Shikikan then proceeded outside where he felt his phone vibrate.

'Alright I should be done in about 15 more minutes, meet me back at the car around then?' Said the text message from Victoria.

'Will do, on my way now.' The Shikikan texted back, only to realize that he was lost due to him spacing out during his walk that led him here. Unfortunately, the large bridge he saw on his drive in where they parked nearby was nowhere to be found as he was surrounded by large buildings in progress and trees.

"Crap, now what." Said the lost Shikikan.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked.

The Shikikan turned around to see a young girl with platinum blonde hair tied and deep red eyes with some sort of red and white head accessories on her head. She wore what seemed to be a sailor uniform that left her waist exposed. Quickly looking back into the young girl's eyes, he responded.

"Actually, I'm sort of lost, do you know how to get back to the bridge?"

"Yes, I am on my way there now des. Please follow me…des."

"Thank you" Said the Shikikan as he began following the nice girl.

The walk back was not an awkward silence, but somehow a seemingly nice quiet one as they walked back together. That being said, the Shikikan couldn't help but try to bring up a conversation topic with his savior.

"Sooooo….are you from this town?"

The young girl seemed to hesitate a bit before answering. "Yes, I live nearby the bridge des."

And so, the walk turned back into the nice quiet walk all the way up until the Shikikan found Victoria's car.

"Alright I know my way from here, thank you very much for your help miss" The Shikikan bowed slightly in gratitude.

"It was nothing des. Have a nice day des." The young girl bowed slightly before walking away towards the bridge

The Shikikan swore he saw a ghost of a smile as spoke, unbeknownst to him that it was a similar ghost of a smile he sports on occasionally whenever he smiles.

"Ah there you are! Just in time too!" Said Victoria spotting the Shikikan.

"Glad I made it I had some help from -her?" The red eyed girl in question was nowhere to be found as he looked back to where she was walking to.

"? Well anyway good news. All the paperwork is done, and we are cleared to enter the base. Let's go!"

The two went back into Victoria's car and began to drive up to the entrance of the bridge, where they were stopped by a guard, who immediately realized that it was Victoria.

"Vice Admiral Victoria! My apologies I wasn't expecting to see someone of such high rank here today. What brings you here may I ask" The guard asked as he stood at attention and with deference to Victoria.

"I'm here to drop off the new Shikikan." Victoria said as he pointed to the Shikikan.

The guard then glanced over. "Sir! I look forward to working with you sir!" He then saluted, to which the Shikikan followed suit.

The two then proceeded to drive past the guard and drove towards the Azur Lane base. As he looked out the window, he looked down and noticed four small objects seemingly moving in the same direction he was in, but the sun light prevented him from being able to get a better look.

"So how you feeling? Nervous? Excited?" asked Victoria.

"A little bit of both but mostly excitement in meeting these ship girls in all honesty"

"Yeah, I would be too if I was in your shoes probably. I wouldn't worry though, they might be war veterans, but they all seem very nice. I've only met a few of them a couple of times, but overall that's what I've come to conclusion of."

"I'll take your word for it, I trust you wholeheartedly Victoria." The Shikikan said as he turned his head to smile lightly at Victoria.

Internally, her heart skipped a beat when he said that, but she somehow managed to keep calm as she was driving, albeit a dark blush and an unbeknownst growing grin on her face.

Meanwhile on the base….

"Haugh haugh….Mo…..we had to sprint back here at full speed because you fell asleep all the way into the outskirts of town Laffey!" An exhausted girl with blonde girl said while trying to catch her breath. "D-did we…haaa...make it back in..t-time?"

"Laffey…..had a nice dream under that tree…..sleepy…..zzz" Said the bunny-eared girl, seemingly tired and struggling to stay awake whilst standing.

"Hahhh…Y-yeah, just barely, t-thanks to you finding h-her Nimi!" Said a purple haired girl, also trying to catch her breath.

"Javelin, you dropped an apple as we were coming back des" Said a platinum blonde girl with red eyes, seemingly not as exhausted as her friends were.

"Oh! Thank you Ayanami-chan!"

"Nyaa!? Where were you all nya!? We were supposed to meet here to greet the new Shikikan nya!" Said a small green haired girl with cat-like features.

"Judging by how you all look, you four went into town I presume?" Asked another young girl with black hair covering one of her red eyes.

"Phewww….S-sorry Akashi! Shiranui! We're all at fault for losing track of time" Said Nimi who seemed to finally have caught her breath.

"It's nyokay nya! The Shikikan should arrive shortly nya!"

"Speaking of which, looks like he's here." Said Shiranui as she saw a green car getting off the bridge towards them.

"I can't wait to meet him! I hope he's nice" Javelin earnestly hoped aloud.

"I hope he's smart and a good leader" Said Nimi who also was quite curious as to what the new commander was like.

"I hope he lets me sleep zzzzz" Laffey said, falling asleep halfway through her sentence.

"I hope we get along des" Ayanami said, hoping the Shikikan was not going to be against ship girls.

Back to the Shikikan

"Looks like we're here and with a welcoming committee too!" Smiled Victoria before getting out of the car and telling the Shikikan to wait for her signal before coming out.

"Hello girls!"

"Hello Miss Victoria!" All the girls present said politely and enthusiastically.

"Great to see you all lively and well! So, let's get straight to it shall we? Who's ready to meet the new Shikikan?"

"Me!" They all said enthusiastically, except for Laffey who murmured it, but was clearly trying her best to stay awake out of her curiosity to see her new Shikikan, Ayanami and Shiranui, who said it with more as a matter-of-fact vibe, and Akashi who "Nya'ed" in response.

Victoria then looked back to the car and waved to the Shikikan to come out.

The sunlight was harsh as the Shikikan was getting out of the car so he had to avert his eyes by covering his forehead with his hands. He took a few steps forward until he reached the group of ship girls and Victoria and finally adjusted to the sunlight.

"Hello everyone, I'm the….new…..Shikikan?"

It was at that moment that the Shikikan realized that he had met four of these girls before, like barely-an- hour-ago before. His face showed slight shock and surprise as he looked at the revealed ship girls before him.

The aforementioned four also stared back at the Shikikan in his casual attire before….

"Ehhhhh?" Screamed the purpled hair and short blonde-haired girl.

"Ohh…" The bunny eared girl said seemingly surprised that the person in front of her looked like the one from her dream.

The red eyed girl didn't say anything but still showed a look of pure shock while Shiranui, Akashi, and Victoria looked at their fellow ship girls questioningly.

"Nya?" "Hm?" "Huh?" Said the green haired cat-looking girl, the black-haired girl with red eyes, and Victoria respectively.

The Shikikan took a moment to collect his thoughts before being the first to speak after the surprise revelation he and the four ship girls just had.

"I….I wasn't expecting to see all of you again so soon." The commander stated before showing them his light smile once again.

"Neither did I!" The purple and short-blonde haired girls said in perfect unison before looking at each other and then at the bunny eared girl and the platinum blonde haired girl with red eyes.

"You've all met before?" Asked Victoria, very lost in the whole ordeal.

"Technically yes, when you were doing the paperwork stuff I went around town and briefly met with each of them." Explained the Shikikan.

"Nya? So you all wanted to get a head-start by meeting the Shikikan first nya?" The cat girl said while smirking.

"No! It was a coincidence!" The girls previously in unison showed off perfect synergy once again.

"Hmm suspicious…" Said the blacked haired girl.

"This is one helluva coincidence huh?" Victoria said while looking at the Shikikan who could only nod slowly in reply. "Well anyway, let's introduce ourselves, shall we? You first." Victoria smiled as she looked at the Shikikan.

"Umm, hello everyone! I'm the new Azur Lane Shikikan. Pleased to meet all of you and I hope we get along!" The Shikikan briefly said before giving a light smile again and bowing.

The girls then followed suit.

"I'm Javelin! Shikikan, I look forward to your guidance!" Said the previously unknown purple haired girl while giving the Shikikan a smile that radiated happiness.

"Guten Tag, I am Z23, let us study and aim for the top together!" Said the now knownshort blonde-haired girl.

"Benson-class destroyer, Laffey, waiting for your orders...Shikikan, the ears are not real, so please stop staring at them..." Murmured the bunny ear girl, seemingly tired and struggling to stay awake.

"I'm...Ayanami des, they like calling me the "Demon" des. Thanks for having me…des." Said the platinum blonde red-eyed girl.

"Nya! The one and only repair ship, Akashi, that's me! I run nya base store so come and see me often nya!" Said the cat girl.

"And I'm the second ship of the Kagerou-class, Shiranui...I'll be in your care, Shikikan." Said the black-haired girl with a blank face.

"Alright now that we've formally introduced ourselves, how about we go for a tour around base and get lunch after?" Victoria recommended.

The tour began with the girls showing off the various facilities shared by the ship-girls. These included, but not limited to, Akashi and Shiranui's respective stores, the lecture hall and tactical classrooms the girls regularly attend to maintain a proper education both in and out of naval warfare, the four main factions (Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, and Ironblood) dorms and their decorative variations to suit each faction's tastes, and last but not least, the canteen, where all the ship girls go to eat and where the Shikikan, Victoria, the starter squad, and the two main merchants on the base decided to have lunch.

The canteen was a rather large facility, decked out with the latest in kitchen technology and had plenty of seats available. As he stepped inside, the Shikikan noticed some familiar looking creatures hovering and bouncing about carrying supplies. When said creatures noticed him, they immediately stopped what they were doing before rushing towards him and jumping onto his person.

"You guys are here too?" Questioned the Shikikan who was starting to feel overwhelmed by the massive number of adorable creatures jumping onto him.

"Ehhh? Shikikan you met the Manjuus already too?" Javelin asked.

"Yeah before I met you girls, I ended up helping them out by getting one of them with some sort of crown on-top of its head stuck in some roots and algae out of the lake in the town's outskirts."

"A crown?" Questioned Victoria before….

"Ehhhh!? You met the Manjuu Queen!?" A very surprised Z23 said. "The Manjuu Queen is said to be the sole leader of all the Manjuus in the world!"

"Ohhh so that's what they're called." Replied the Shikikan who unintentionally diverted the question somewhat. He then proceeded to rub his finger on the cheek of one of the Manjuus on his shoulders, to which it chirped with bliss.

"Shikikan, you're amazing. I have yet to even seen the Manjuu Queen before." Ayanami said in slight surprise.

"Huh really? I've seen them everywhere since I arrived in town, but is the Queen really that hard to find?"

"All Manjuus obey the Queen and is supposed to be well guarded and hidden, but the fact you not only found her, but saved her must mean that the Manjuus have taken a liking towards you." Victoria hypothesized.

"The Manjuus are really helpful at the base and in town by helping building things and providing maintenance yawnnnn." Said Laffey.

"To be honest, besides nya fact that they answer to a queen and that they ny'all possess rather high intelligence levels, we don't know much else about them nya." Akashi explained.

"Either way, it's a good thing to be on their good side Shikikan." Stated Shiranui.

"Hmm, well they seem nice so it's only right to be nice back to them…right?" The Shikikan half replied in the form of a question.

"Eheh, Shikikan you're a nice person" Commented Javelin with smile.

The Shikikan could only smile lightly back at the girl's rather adorable smile.

"Well anyway, who's hungry? You girls can sit back and catch up with Victoria while I go check out the kitchen and whip something up for us." The Shikikan inquired.

"Wait, since when do you know how to cook?" Asked Victoria who was seemingly surprised he seemed confident in being able to cook up something for them.

"Well, I got tired of reading Dr. Sen's medical books and Nurse Jenny's magazines didn't seem too interesting to me so I decided to spend some of my free time watching cooking channels on the TV in my room back in the hospital."

"Nya? Shikikan were you hurt before coming here nya?" The cat girl seemed rather confused as to why the Shikikan was in the hospital.

It was at that moment the Shikikan realized that the ship-girls didn't know about his past. He looked towards Victoria questionably , who only looked back at him before replying with a nod and a smile that somehow said, 'it's okay, go ahead' and 'I'm here to help'.

"Well….I.."

Growlllllll

"….I'm hungry." Laffey stated after her stomach growled in demand of food.

Everyone began to laugh, even the Shikikan who chuckled a bit at Laffey's airheaded cuteness.

"Well, let me go make some food first before we talk. You girls go ahead, relax, and catch up with Victoria. I'll try to be quick" The Shikikan offered a light smile before walking into the kitchen.

"…He seems like a nice person." Shiranui was surprisingly the first to speak after the Shikikan left for the kitchen.

"Yeah! I think we'll all get along with him!" Javelin radiated in positivity.

Meanwhile the girls were having their fun conversing with each other, the Shikikan was looking around the kitchen to see what he had to work with.

'Hmmm there's so many pots and pans and devices I thought I would only see on the cooking shows. For food, there seems to be enough to last for weeks on end.' The Shikikan pondered on what he should make. 'Hmm, first impressions are pretty important right? Might as well put in the extra effort and make something special for each of the girls. Maybe something unique to their factions? But that would take a lot of time and Laffey seemed really hungry now..."

Chirp Chirp!

The Shikikan turned around to see a lot of Manjuus wearing chef hats lined up before him on the countertop as if they were waiting on his commands.

"..Do you guys want to help?" Asked the confused Shikikan.

Chirp Chirp Chirp!

Somehow the Shikikan understood that their chirping meant 'yes'.

"Well then, since I plan to make something special for each of them and will need some time, could I ask that you guys start by making some appetizers for them? Doesn't need to be too complicated, but something that can keep them busy while I make the entrees would be great."

Chirp!

The Manjuus scattered and immediately got to work by cutting up some vegetables, boiling some broth, and prepping some shrimp.

The Shikikan was starting to understand how incredibly amazing the Manjuus are.

'Alright, let's get to work' The Shikikan said in his mind before rolling up his sleeves and beginning to cook to impress the girls.

In under half an hour or so, the Manjuus brought out some appetizers for the girls consisting of an assortment of tomato and cucumber salads, miso soup, shrimp tempura, and onion rings.

After taking a couple of bites of each…

"Wow! This is great!" Exclaimed Victoria

"The Manjuus are really good at whatever they do, needless to say their cooking is great too" Z23 explained.

The Manjuus chirped cheerily in response.

After a few more moments of happily waiting and enjoying their conversations with each other, the Shikikan came out with a cart full of dishes with silver cloches on them that hid what was underneath.

"Sorry for the wait everyone and I hope you all are still hungry." The Shikikan said as he was putting the hidden dishes in front of each person.

One by one, the Shikikan revealed the dishes he worked so hard on.

First was Laffey's.

"For Laffey, an apple-wood smoked bacon cheeseburger with the works and a side of hand tossed crinkle cut fries."

Laffey's stomach growled and her eyes glowed at the sight before her.

Next was Javelin.

"For Javelin, fish & chips with freshly caught cod battered and fried until golden brown and potatoes cut and fried into golden chips."

Javelin couldn't help but look at the food in front of her with twinkles in her eyes.

Third was Z23.

"For Z23, pork schnitzel breaded and fried until golden brown with a side of authentic German potato salad [Author Note/fun fact: authentic German potato salad has bacon in it!]

Z23 was trying her best not to shed a tear at the prettily plated dish in front of her as she was also trying to prevent her stomach from growling.

Ayanami's turn.

"For Ayanami, pork katsudon with the pork battered and fried to a golden brown, eggs cooked in a sweet mirin and salted broth over freshly steamed white rice."

Ayanami's eyes were widened and a slight bit of drool was apparent, to which she quickly wiped away embarrassingly and hungrily.

Akashi's next.

"For Akashi, grilled sanma grilled over a hot clay pot and a side of freshly steamed wild rice."

Akashi 'Nya'd' in absolute joy as her eyes turned to fish.

Shiranui's up.

"For Shiranui, Japanese style spicy mapo tofu with optional additional spicy sauce on the side next to a bowl of freshly steamed white rice."

Shiranui tried to maintain a calm face, but her excitement was given away due to the sparkles dancing in her eyes.

And last, but not least, Victoria.

"And for Victoria, an avocado tuna melt wrap made with tuna and mayonnaise made from scratch, shredded mozzarella cheese, and a side of homemade shoestring golden-brown fries.

Even Victoria succumbed to hunger as her stomach growled at the site of the dish before her.

"Hopefully you all like it." The Shikikan said in hopes that his efforts would pay off.

After a few bites of their various lunches...

"Mhmm Gnom Mhmm Gnomm." Laffey seemed to be really enjoying and lost in her burger.

"Mhmmmm so good!" Javelin couldn't help but fall in love with the depth of flavor in the fish and chips.

"Wow! This is the best schnitzel I've ever had!" Z23 couldn't and didn't want to stop herself.

"So delicious" Ayanami said with an adorable happy smile as she continued to eat.

"Nya, Shikikan you're the best nyaaaa." Akashi seemed to be melting, in a good way of course.

"This spiciness and flavor are something to die for." Shiranui said as she continued to add the spicy sauce on the side to her plate with happiness very apparent on her face.

"I had no idea you were such a great cook! Did you really only learn all of this from watching cooking channels!?" Victoria was shocked at the depth of flavor her tuna melt had.

"I'm glad you all are enjoying it" The Shikikan smiled and sighed in relief that this hard work paid off.

"Oh! Before I forget, I made something for you guys too." Shikikan said as he looked towards the Manjuus who looked back with question marks apparent on their heads. He proceeded to take out a plate that had an assortment of smashed grains. "Thank you for all your help, this might not be much, but it's a plate of toasted nuts and other whole grains that I mixed and mashed together."

The Manjuus happily chirped and ate the unexpected meal before them."

"Shikikan, aren't you going to eat?" Asked Ayanami.

"I was going to make something simple for myself, but I ended up getting full from taste testing everything I was making" The Shikikan lightly smiled before making a small chuckle.

After the girls happily ate their meals...

"That was amazing! Thank you Shikikan!" Javelin said as happy as can be.

The other girls thanked him as well as the Manjuus chirped happily.

"I'm glad you liked it" The Shikikan smiled again.

"So Shikikan, could you tell us about yourself?" Asked Z23, curious as ever about her new commander that seemed like a really nice person and a really great cook. All the other ship girls had the same view of him and even Shiranui had to admit she was curious to learn more about him.

The Shikikan looked towards Victoria, he responded with another smile and nod.

"Well….I'm currently having severe memory loss, but I'll do my best with what I do remember."

The Shikikan then proceeded to retell his rather depressing, yet courageous story starting from his time at the World Maritime Naval Academy. He talked about how he only remembers being happy during his time there, well….before that day. He retold the story he told at the hospital and by the time he finished, all the ship girls looked rather sad with some having tears after hearing the tragic story he experienced. Others also felt upset and abhorred at the Siren's cruelty towards him.

The Shikikan couldn't help but look down dejectedly as the horrible memories flashed in his mind, when all a sudden he felt a warm sensation on his right hand.

"?" As the Shikikan looked up, he noticed that someone's hand was on his hand. He looked up further and noticed that it was Ayanami, who had a look of determination on her face.

"Daijoubu, I will protect you." She said before smiling warmly and caringly at him.

The Shikikan couldn't help but move his right hand from under Ayanami's to holding her hand.

"Thank you, that means a lot Ayanami, and I promise that I won't let you down as a commander." The Shikikan said with the largest smile he has made thus far, causing Ayanami to smile back with a warm blush. While his smile didn't seem very big at all, it radiated gratefulness and determination.

'No fair Ayanami! I wanted to hold hands with the Shikikan too!' Javelin exclaimed in her mind. "M-Me too! Those Sirens are too cruel." She said afterwards.

"I won't let the enemy near herr commandant." Z23 said with a serious face.

"Laffey too will protect her friends." Laffey said without a yawn but with determination.

Akashi and Shiranui nodded in response to the starter squad's pledges.

"Shikikan nya, come stop by Akashi store later nya. I have some stuff I want to give nya." Said the green haired cat girl who wanted to help out the Shikikan too.

"Just this one time, come to my store too and I will give you a discount on somethings you might like." Shiranui added surprising everyone since she never once offered a discount before.

After lightening up the mood, the Shikikan couldn't help but smile again as he got to better understood how kind the ship girls were.

"Thank you everyone. Now back to important matters. Who wants dessert?" Like magic, a 'ding' could be heard from the canteen kitchen's oven. The Shikikan got up and the Manjuus after finishing their food followed after him. The girls were surprised once again that the Shikikan even managed to make dessert in such a short amount of time given all the different lunches he made.

The Shikikan came out with the cart once again and with the assistance of the Manjuus served each of the girls a nice slice of his freshly baked, straight-out-of-the-oven black forest chocolate gateau cake topped with cherries and whipped cream.

"I'm in heavennnnnn." Javelin said as she seemed to be melting into her chair.

The other girls hummed in agreement and pure bliss as the cake melted in their mouths with each bite they took.

After the girls managed to gather themselves after eating the heavenly cake…

"Alrighty girls, I need to get down to business stuff with the Shikikan so you girls are free to leave." Victoria said, to which all the girls thanked the Shikikan once again for the amazing lunch and dessert before leaving the canteen.

Victoria then led the Shikikan to the center of the base, where she stated was where the Shikikan's office was located.

"Alright we're here." Victoria opened the wooden door to the office and upon stepping in, he noticed that the office was on the smaller side but was otherwise nice and clean. There were some plants around the office with a large brown desk and black office chair in the back of the room. There was a black couch to the side of the room with a wooden coffee table next to it atop a clean red rug. There were other office essentials such as filing cabinets, bookshelves, a small fridge and microwave, and a small supply closet with cleaning supplies, a space heater, and a desk fan inside.

"Here's your office, it might be on the smaller side, but don't worry, you'll get the chance to upgrade and expand when you rank up and get some personal income flowing." Explained Victoria.

Just as she finished, her bag began to vibrate, to which she took out a flat circular device that she placed on the desk before pressing the blinking red button on the side. A hologram of an old man with thick rectangular glasses and a well-groomed mustache and beard in high naval officer attire appeared before them.

"Hello? Hello? Is this thing working?" Asked the old man. "Sir, you are on video call." Stated a female voice in the hologram's background.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral we can see you." Victoria said with a light chuckle as a few drops of sweat was apparent on the back of her head [Author note: Like you would see in anime].

"Oh! There you are!" The old man said as he looked up to where Victoria and the Shikikan stood.

"Ahem. Greetings Shikikan. My name is Teitoku, I am the Fleet Admiral of all the Azur Lane operations." The old man stated with a kind smile.

"Sir! Thank you for having me!" The Shikikan immediately stood at attention and saluted his very much higher ranked officer.

"Kekeke at ease laddy." Cackled the old man. "Much like my daughter, I prefer familiarity over formality whenever possible."

'Wait…where have I heard that phrase before….?' The Shikikan questioned himself.

"I have received the reports saying that you are awake and healthy, albeit some memory loss is that correct?"

"Yes sir! Please rest assured though that my naval capabilities have been retrained into me by Victo-Vice Admiral Victoria sir!"

"Kekeke glad to hear my daughter didn't scare you away" Teitoku said light-heartedly.

"Dad! I mean…Fleet Admiral! Please refrain from unnecessary comments!" Victoria exclaimed with a very embarrassed blush.

'Her dad's the Fleet Admiral!?' The Shikikan was visibly shocked at this discovery.

"Kekeke, hai hai. Anyway laddy, back to business. I assume you've gotten the chance to meet some of the ship girls?"

"Yes sir! They all seem very capable and I sincerely look forward to working with them!" The Shikikan stated his true feelings.

Teitoku smiled upon hearing that. "Very good to hear. Since Victoria has briefed you upon the situation with the Sirens, I'll keep this short and sweet." Teitoku then put on a very serious face before continuing.

"Shikikan, the situation with the Sirens is quite dire. All the nations in the world have gathered together to fight off those blasted Sirens, but their technology is overwhelmingly superior. And that's where you come in." He paused to look at Shikikan, who looked back with a fiery determination ablaze in his amethyst-gray eyes. Upon seeing this, Teitoku's serious face lightened up.

"Your eyes show that you've seen a lot but have the will and determination to see things through." Teitoku concluded wisely, surprising both the Shikikan and Victoria. "I feel a lot more relieved now that I've met you. Victoria, great work finding such incredible potential." Teitoku said with great relief and happiness.

"Thank you sir!" The two saluted to their respective compliments.

"Shikikan, your job is to not only combat the Sirens and bring peace back to this war-scarred world, but to maintain the friendly relations of the ship girls' various factions and build a sense of unity, which in turn will help you with your combat against those monsters." Teitoku clarified to the Shikikan his job once more.

"Now, Victoria, if you would please."

"Sir!" Victoria then proceeded to pull out a box from her bag that she then gave to the Shikikan. When he opened it, a silver wristwatch with what seems to be a display screen on it instead of a clock was revealed.

"In short, that wristwatch monitors all your registered ship girls' statuses in terms of damages and mental state. You will need this to make sure all the girls stay safe and sound before, during, after, and outside of all operations. And yes, it functions as a clock to kek." Teitoku explained the fascinating device.

"Alright now, Victoria, may I ask that you leave the room so I can discuss some more private matters with the Shikikan please?"

"Yes sir." Victoria saluted before walking out the office and closing the door.

"Shikikan, I must thank you." Teitoku's serious face was replaced with his usual kind one.

"May I ask for what sir?"

"For saving Victoria from the chaos of that…day five years ago. When I heard about what happened I rushed to try and help, but I was commissioned too far away to make it in time. I was worried sick and panicking over the idea of losing Victoria, but when I got word from the base she managed to reach after you helped her escape, she told me everything that happened. She told me how heroic you were in how you saved her from a falling building caused by the Siren's assault, and even prioritized her safety over your own by having her escape first. For that I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Teitoku proceeded to take off his hat and bowed in sincere gratefulness.

"Sir please raise your head. I only did what I thought was right and could do during that nightmarish day, and if I'm to be honest, I really wish I could've done more…."

"…You're a good person laddy but give yourself some more credit!" Exclaimed Teitoku. "It takes a lot more than just guts to stand up to those monsters, let alone not be paralyzed in fear, unable to do anything. You were a hero to not only me, but to Victoria that day as well. You even managed to survive the past 5 years captured by those monsters and even managed to escape. To me, you are an unsung legend that I wholeheartedly believe is destined for greatness from here on out. Remember that if you ever falter laddy." Reasoned Teitoku with sincerity and a bright smile.

"That means a lot sir, thank you."

"Please…call me Teitoku when it's just us."

"I don't know sir that seems to be a little too..."

Teitoku frowned slightly before grinning. "Hmm, how about Father than? I'm sure you've somewhat noticed my daughter's admiration towards you, it was pretty obvious whenever she would talk about you kek kek."

The Shikikan actually blushed an almost unnoticeable blush before responding. "V—V-Victoria is a very nice, incredibly b-beautiful lady, but I don't think she feels anything like that towards me." Shikikan said as his blush was starting to become a bit more visible.

"…Pfftt Kahahahaa! How nice it is to be young kahahaha!" Teitoku couldn't help but break out in tears and laughter.

The Shikikan could've sworn he heard a 'thud' at the door.

"Sir, you are scheduled for a meeting in ten." Said the female voice in Teitoku's background.

"Oh right, thank you Alexa. Alright Shikikan, now that we've met and I've briefed you on the situation, I only have one more piece of advice. I'm aware of your personality somewhat now and saying this might be unnecessary, but please take good care of the ship girls. I'm sure you've noticed they are more than just powerful weapons that was given to humanity as miracles."

"Yes sir, they all have their own personalities and quirks, and I've not once thought of them as anything less than fellow people with their own sense of self. They are most admirable and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to connect with them that you have given me." The Shikikan bowed to his superior, who only smiled at how 'right' of a choice he was for the job.

"Heeheheee" There it was again, a noise behind the door.

"I'm relieved you feel that way Shikikan and I'm looking forward to hear of your endeavors. Please keep in touch and don't be a stranger."

"Will do…..Teitoku." Shikikan smiled lightly.

Teitoku smiled back before…

"Oh! Before I forget take a look at your watch. There is a feature titled "affinity" that helps you understand If your relationship with each ship girl is on good terms or, god forbid, bad terms. In short, a score of 50 is a baseline level where anything below is bad and anything above is good. Needless to say, but try to maintain a score higher than 50 with all the ship girls Shikikan."

"Will do!"

"Good! Well I'm off to attend to matters. Take care and good luck Shikikan!" Teitoku saluted before his hologram disappeared.

'Good to see that everyone's still able to smile despite the Sirens' presence in the world.' Shikikan thought in happy relief.

'Now what was that noise I kept hearing behind the door?'

Shikikan began to walk back to the door when…

"Wahhh!"

"Ehh!? Wait Javelin don't…!"

Javelin, Z23, Ayanami, and Laffey bursted through the door onto the group piled up.

"Owiee…Oy Javelin!" Z23 said with an embarrassed flush

"S—Sorrryyy! I tripped over Laffey's bourbon!"

"Ohhh Shikikan….wanna take a nap together?" Laffey asked casually before she took a swig from her bottle, not really paying any heed to being unable to get up as she was at the bottom of the pileup.

"…Sorry for eavesdropping Shikikan." Ayanami looked down slightly apologetically.

Shikikan couldn't help but let out a light chuckle seeing the starter squad's antics. He proceeded to walk over to pat Ayanami's head, who immediately looked up after feeling a kind, warm, gentle sensation and realizing that it was the Shikikan's hand.

The Shikikan then proceeded to help the ship girls up one by one.

"Did you girls need something?" Shikikan asked with a kind light smile.

"N-not really, I just wanted to visit you in your office Shikikan. But then I heard a voice and your voice talking and I couldn't help but get curious teehee." Javelin smiled cutely as she rubbed her head awkwardly.

"I-I wanted to see if I could help you study naval tactics but saw Javelin and Victoria with their heads against the doors and I got curious too." Z23 said with an embarrassed guilty blush

"Laffey wanted to take a nap in Shikikan's office." Said the bunny eared girl as carefree and as bold as ever.

"Ayanami…wanted to talk to Shikikan more" She blushed adorably while looking to the side.

"Hahaaa" Shikikan managed to do an awkward laugh while rubbing the back of his head before realizing something.

"Wait Z23, did you say Javelin and Victoria?" Shikikan asked, to which she nodded her head and pointed back to the door.

The Shikikan walked towards the door to see Victoria with her head in her knees to the side. Victoria noticed his presence and looked up to show him a light red mark on her forehead and a very bright red blush on her face as she looked at him.

"…B-Baka.." Victoria said as she continued to redden as she gazed into Shikikan's crystal colored eyes.

"Eheh…ummm….how much did you girls hear?"

"Victoria thudded her head against the door when you were talking about her." Laffey said before continuing to down the bottle in her hands.

"And we heard up until your thoughts on us before Javelin started giggling like crazy." Z23 said as she looked at the culprit who stopped her from hearing more.

"B-But! How could I not be happy when the Shikikan compliments us like that!" Javelin tried to defend herself as she held her hands up to the sides of her face as swung her head left and right repeatedly with hearts coming out of her head comically.

'So that means no one overheard the affinity business huh?' Concluded Shikikan.

"Ahem" Victoria cleared her voice as she got up and tried to recover herself. "Well, Shikikan, it seems my d-Fleet Admiral Teitoku approves of you…...of you being the Shikikan I mean!" Victoria stuttered.

Shikikan smiled in response, "Yeah he seems like a nice person and a great leader."

"He might be kind of a clown, but yeah, he's really good at his job. But anyway, I think it's time I head on back and get back to work. You have my number on your phone and I'll be keeping in touch so don't lose it okay?" Victoria said as finally collected herself.

"Sounds good and thanks again for everything Victoria." Shikikan responded with a kindhearted smile

And Victoria's blush returned triumphantly. "N-No problem, keep in touch and good luck!" She said before walking away to her car all while looking backwards and waving everyone off in a hurry.

'I hope what she overheard doesn't bother her too much.' Shikikan though as he was curious as to what Victoria thought.

"Well girls, I think I'm going to head over to Akashi's and Shiranui's stores and see what they have for sale. Wanna come along?" Asked Shikikan.

Before they could all reply 'Yes', as if by a stroke of bad luck, their phones all vibrated in sync. They read the message before looking back up at the Shikikan.

"Sorry Shikikan, I need to go report to my Ironblood"

"Same, Royal Navy asked me for a progress report.

"The Sakura Empire wants Ayanami to give them a status report."

"Eagle Union wants Laffey to tell them about Shikikan."

"Oy Laffey! I- I mean Laffey you meant a status report right ahahaha." Javelin asked awkwardly.

"Mhhmm? Oh..yeah Laffey meant to say status report, not Shikikan."

"Sigh, well anyways sorry Shikikan, it looks like we all have to go our separate ways due to business." Z23 said with a hint of regret.

"No worries, I'll probably be at Akashi's and Shiranui's for a while before heading back to my office."

And so, the girls and Shikikan went their separate ways…seemingly. When the Shikikan was out of sight, the girls immediately got together again.

"Did you all get asked for reports on the Shikikan?" Asked Z23

"Yeah, I can't wait to tell them! Shikikan seems so cool!" Javelin said with excitement.

"Laffey likes Shikikan…..He makes good food and is nice yawnnn."

"Ayanami will be happy to report Shikikan is a good person to the Sakura Empire."

"Yeah, I plan to give a positive report to Iron Blood as well. He seems like a good capable leader, but…let's agree to not give out the details of herr kommandant's past, I think he might want to tell them himself." Z23 recommended, in which everyone quickly nodded in agreement.

The girls than scattered to give their reports through their phones.

Almost as if in sync, they all began their separate video calls.

"Ayanami, reporting in"

"Laffey, here"

"Javelin is ready to report."

"Z23 ready to report on Shikikan's evaluation."

They all paused before saying the same thing.

"The Shikikan is a good person!" They all reported as if in unison to their respective leaders.

Meanwhile...

"Achoo!" 'Hmm, I hope I'm not coming down with a cold or something' The Shikikan thought as he was making way towards Akashi's and Shiranui's stores.


Phew! First of all, thank you all for the likes and follows! This is the first and longest fanfic I've ever written and I'm glad people are liking it! As you can tell, I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I plan to try and keep at least a weekly update at the latest per week. It all depends on work and life tho tbh.

Anyways thanks again for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter of:

Azur Lane fanfic: An Unsung Legend Chapter 4: The first commission!