Foreword:

Hey there gamers. As you may be able to tell, this was meant to be finished by May 12 for Takao's birthday/launch day, but I sadly wasn't able to finish it in time. Better late than never, I guess. I also started writing this a year ago, so there may be a few dips in quality since some parts I wrote very recently, while others I wrote months ago.

This uses a mix of AL and KC girls, but this isn't really a serious crossover. I just wanted to write the ships I like from both games. That being said, there are a few terminology/lore changes for the sake of consistency. Instead of Shikikan/Commander, I use Teitoku/Admiral; instead of AL's term for 'shipgirl', kansen, I use Kancolle's equivalent term, kanmusu. The overall lore is a bit closer to AL than KC, though.

If you read my main fic, Macross Horizon, you will probably recognize some names, character relations, and general personalities. That's because that fic evolved from a more traditional AL/KC fic that I wanted to write a few years ago, but never got around to actually writing. Well, now I've decided to re-visit that idea, but with a more slice-of-life/anthology approach.


Chapter 1 – A Day Off

May 12, 20XX

United Nations Naval Base "Horizon"

326…

327…

328…

In the courtyard of the dorms for the Japanese kanmusu, a woman stood in solitude, her katana glistening in the morning light as it sliced through the air. She rose her arms, relaxed her grip, swung down, and repeated. Normally, she would repeat this perfect motion 1,000 times; such was daily routine of Takao, the woman who possessed the power of the historical Japanese heavy cruiser of the same name. However, today was not a normal day...

"Ohayo, Takao-chan!" a voice called out to Takao, momentarily disrupting her focus. She recognized the voice as belonging to Ooyodo, her best friend. The two had been through much together – they had attended the same military academy, where they together learned to master their rigging, and now they shared the same naval base, where they fought together to push back the Siren invaders.

"Ohayo, Ooyodo." Takao coolly replied to her friend before returning to practicing her sword strokes.

'Up – 335, down. Up – 336, down.' She thought in a steady rhythm, as if she were a metronome.

"Takao-chan, Admiral Hiroshi has requested for you to report to his office." Ooyodo said. She noted something down in her clipboard and returned it to its normal position, clutched in front of her chest.

The mention of her beloved's name was all it took for Takao to completely lose her previously perfect tempo. Her sword strokes immediately stopped. "And what is the reason for this? He knows that I'm always training at this time of the day."

"I have no idea," Ooyodo lied as naturally as she breathed. Of course, there was a reason why Hiroshi had called for Takao, but to tell her the plan that herself, the Admiral, Takao's sisters, and some of Takao's other friends on the base had come up with would ruin the fun of the surprise in store for her. Ooyodo pushed up her glasses and smiled, "He seemed pretty occupied with something, and he specifically requested you to help him. Isn't it your duty as the secretary to help the Admiral with anything he needs?"

The mention of duty hit Takao like a truck. While she knew Ooyodo had merely said that in jest, Takao could not stop her oncoming thoughts that stemmed from that phrase. Was she not being a good enough secretary for Hiroshi? She sheathed her katana and raised her left hand to look at the silver engagement ring adorning her ring finger. Was she not being a good enough partner, either?

No, that wasn't it. She recalled Hiroshi telling her when he proposed to her that no matter what, she was perfect in his eyes. That memory was all it took for Takao's insecurities to blow away like cherry blossoms in the cool spring wind.

"You okay, Takao-chan?" Ooyodo asked. She knew that Takao had been working herself too hard over the past few days, but she didn't expect her friend to act in such a way towards a single teasing comment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired, that's all," Takao nodded. "I'll be off now, have a good rest of the morning, Ooyodo!" She took off in a light jog towards the Admiral's office.

"You too, Takao-chan!" Ooyodo smiled and waved at Takao, who was now growing smaller in the distance.

"Ufufu... I'm sure you'll have lots of fun today, Takao-chan..." Ooyodo lifted her clipboard level to her mouth and giggled to herself. She turned around and sat down at a bench in the courtyard. A short time later, she was joined by Atago, Maya, and Choukai, who were listening in on the conversation a short distance away.


Rear Admiral Hiroshi Nakajima, the commanding officer of the base, sat idly at his desk, eagerly awaiting for the arrival of his lover at the door. He stared at the desk perpendicular to his own, which was usually occupied by that woman, and began reminiscing about her.

When he had first arrived at the Horizon naval base as a Lieutenant Commander, Takao had been the one of the first kanmusu assigned to be under his command. At first, she had been cold towards him, only wishing to talk when it was about work. However, as he worked more with her, he began to see more and more of her kindness that she reserved only for those close to her.

While the two were oftentimes in denial of their feelings for each other, slowly but surely, Takao's twin sister, Atago, played the two like puppets, driving them constantly into romantic situations with each other. For several months, the two were a couple in all but name, doing almost everything together, yet firmly claiming that they were only friends to anyone that asked. But finally, during the base's summer festival celebrations, and at the careful planning of Atago, both Hiroshi and Takao confessed their true feelings to each other at the same exact moment.

Since then, their bond had only grown stronger, and while Hiroshi had climbed the ranks since then, and several more kanmusu had been assigned to his command, it was clear to all that his eyes remained set on Takao, and her alone.

While the Admiral continued to think about his partner, he failed to notice that the person he was thinking about was now at the door.

"Teitoku-dono, it's Takao," she announced, accompanied by two swift knocks on the door, "I'm coming in now."

The door swung open, and Takao entered the room. The first thing she noticed, other than Hiroshi himself, was the clothes he was wearing. Rather than the usual white and gold officer uniform he usually wore – not dissimilar to her own uniform – he was now dressed more casually, as if he were about to go out on a date. Additionally, while Ooyodo had said that the Admiral was preoccupied with something, it appeared that he had merely been lazing in the office, as he was currently staring off into space, smiling to himself.

"Ah, Takao-chan, I've been-" Hiroshi exited his daydream and started in an excited voice, but was quickly interrupted by Takao, who was now mildly annoyed as she found out that her morning training had been disrupted for seemingly nothing.

"What are you doing, Hiroshi? Ooyodo told me that you were doing something important, but all I can see here is that you were goofing off. Seriously…" Takao began to scold her partner for what she perceived as slacking off. While she tolerated Hiroshi's easygoing nature off-duty, it was a different story when they were on-duty – especially if it was in the office.

"Takao-chan, I promise, I really was doing something!" Hiroshi, who finally had an opportunity to speak, said. "I've been thinking, let's go on a date today!"

"Huh? But – " Takao started, a confused expression forming on her face.

"No buts! I've already confirmed with High Command that we have the day off. Ooyodo will be in charge while we're gone; we both trust her, right?"

"Of course…" Takao nodded. Ooyodo was her most trusted friend alongside Hiroshi and her sisters – and if there was anyone who could keep the base organized and running other than herself and Hiroshi, it was that girl.

"Well, go get changed, then! I'll meet you in 45 minutes at the airfield - I've arranged for us to be flown to the mainland for today," Hiroshi stood up from his desk and placed himself next Takao. He took Takao's hand into his and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

The couple briefly smiled at each other before Hiroshi left the office to help with preflight preparations on the base's airfield. Takao, on the other hand, departed the office towards her and Hiroshi's quarters to change into something more befitting of a date.


Hiroshi and Takao's quarters were located on the floor above the Admiral's office. While the Admiral had initially lived in the space alone, he had arranged for Takao to share the residence with him once the two had gotten engaged. In the few months since then, the couple's residence had evolved to reflect their ever-growing bond – Takao's calligraphy now decorated the walls, and shelves that were once almost bare were now overflowing with pictures of the happy couple and trinkets that were important to them.

Takao began humming to herself in front of the mirror as she made her final preparations to her looks before heading out. True to her own humble nature, the outfit she had selected to wear on her date was plain but cute – a long, tan skirt, combined with a light blue jacket and loose-fitting white shirt.

She looked down at the base of the mirror at a picture of her and Hiroshi – this particular photo had been taken by Atago during New Year's; Takao stared at the picture of herself and Hiroshi smiling as fireworks exploded in the background. She too unconsciously began to smile to herself as she began to recall that day – from the food, her friends, and most importantly her time spent with Hiroshi, every second had been paradise for her. She was glad that she had decided to let him into her heart – before, occasions like this had been few and far between, but now, because of Hiroshi's help, she was able to not only smile more, but enjoy her life to the fullest unlike in the days where she considered herself as nothing but a weapon.

As she looked at reflection, Takao pondered on how to style her hair for the day. Going to the mainland wasn't too often of an occurrence for naval base personnel, so she wanted to look special for the occasion.

After a minute of thinking, she decided to temporarily abandon her trademark ponytail in favor for letting her hair down, similar to the hairstyle of her sisters Atago and Choukai. Finally, Takao was ready to go out and meet up with Hiroshi. She looked down at the small watch on the back of her left wrist – 35 minutes had passed since she had last spoken to Hiroshi in their office.

In front of the residence's entrance, Takao took a deep breath, trying to contain the joy she felt inside her. She would have an entire day by herself with Hiroshi – no Atago to tease her, no Sirens to worry about, it would just be the two of them doing whatever they felt like doing, enjoying each other's company. She resumed her humming from earlier as she took a step out of the shared quarters and out of the building towards the base's airfield.


Takao practically skipped down the streets of the base as she daydreamed of what activities she could do with Hiroshi on their date. Where would they go? What would they eat? What would they talk about? Just thinking about it made Takao smile to herself. However, the tempo of her thoughts was shattered in an instant as a pair of hands dropped onto her shoulders…

"Kyaa!" Takao's body tensed up and her head snapped behind her to identify her attacker.

While Takao thought she would be free of her twin's antics and teasing for the day, she had made one critical error: she assumed that she would not run into Atago before departing the base with Hiroshi.

"Ara, Takao-chan~! You look so cute today!" Atago complimented her twin. She removed her hands from her sister's shoulders, swung around to face Takao, and began eyeing her from top to bottom, "Of course, you always look cute, but I'm sure that Hiroshi-kun will just want to eat you up the second he sees you!"

"A-ah..." Takao forced a short laugh to distract her sister from her intensifying blush "Thanks, Atago..."

"Don't mention it~ I'm just stating the obvious!" Atago said as she moved to stand at Takao's left side; now accompanied by her twin, Takao resumed her walk to the base's airfield. "You know, you should have asked me to help you get ready for your date, though. If onee-chan had helped you, I'm sure you'd get a bigger reaction out of the Admiral than with what you're wearing now!"

Takao lightly jabbed Atago in the side. She then brought her hand up to her forehead and frowned slightly, "Seriously… Atago, how many times do I have to tell you... You're not my onee-chan. I am your onee-sama. And I'm sure that even if I did let you pick out something for me, it would have been no less than a glorified bikini."

The two sisters laughed in unison at Takao's last remark. "Ara~ You saw right through me, Takao-oneesama!" Atago said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she waved her hands in front of her as if she were surrendering to Takao.

"And besides," Takao added, her face turning a little red as her lips formed a slight smile, "I think that both of us know by now that the best way for me to impress Hiroshi is just by being myself."

Atago nodded in agreement as she smiled to herself, proud of how much Takao had grown from her old, cold self, and could now even joke around with her.

By now, the twins could see the figures of Hiroshi and another person, who appeared to be the pilot of the plane the couple would use. Takao hastened her pace, not wanting to be late, and was quickly followed by Atago.


Seeing the arrival of Takao and Atago, Hiroshi briefly left his position next to the aircraft to greet the twins. As the couple approached each other, their pace began to hasten slightly until they were finally face-to-face.

Hiroshi briefly ran his eyes over Takao, inspecting her chosen appearance for their date. As expected of Takao, it was modest and elegant. The simplicity of the outfit placed emphasis her cute face and hair, which were beautiful as always. The change of hairstyle was also a pleasant change; while he enjoyed Takao's normal ponytail, there was a certain charm in seeing the full width of Takao's sleek black hair flowing elegantly past her shoulders.

"You look really cute in that outfit, Takao-chan," Hiroshi said to Takao, "And it's a rare treat to see your hair down. I like it!"

Takao gave him a soft smile and bowed her head slightly. She was glad that her own fashion choices had a good impression on her partner; she also made a mental note to brag about this victory to Atago later. She looked up and gazed on Hiroshi – like her, he too was dressed quite simply, donning jeans, a striped shirt, and a white jacket. Similarly to her, his hair was quite different today, as his dark brown hair was quite fluffy without the obstruction of his usual hat. However, his usual glasses remained, adding a nice border to his dark brown eyes.

"You look handsome today, as well," she replied, widening her smile.

By now, Atago had caught up with Takao, and was now standing slightly to the right, behind her sister.

"Ara, Teitoku, what about me~? Don't I look dashing today in my outfit, as well?" Atago said smugly, as she leaned forward to emphasize her chest and pointed at herself with her thumb.

Hiroshi took his focus off Takao to eye her sister. Such a phrase from Atago usually implied that she was wearing some sexy, out-of-the-ordinary outfit, and would soon be scolded by either Takao or Ooyodo to change into something more appropriate. However, that was not the case today, as Hiroshi gazed upon Atago's standard sharp white and gold uniform.

"Oh of course, I've been blinded by how stunning you are today, Atago! The uniform you're wearing today is truly something else; it completely blows Takao's outfit out of the water!" Hiroshi played along with his soon to be onee-chan-in-law sarcastically.

While Atago giggled, Hiroshi saw Takao pouting in the corner of his eye – it was almost as if she was motioning for him to praise her even more than her sister. "Ah, you know I was just joking, Takao-chan. You'll always be the greatest in my heart no matter what," He reassured his partner with a brief pat on the head. Her hair felt a lot softer without her usual ribbon in the way.

"Anyways, Teitoku," Atago started, moving up closer to the Admiral to whisper almost directly into his ear, "Preparations are underway for the mission."

"Very good, Atago," he replied. "Also, please do send my regards to Ooyodo for agreeing to assume command for today."

"Acknowledged." Atago gave a brief salute to Hiroshi and turned around to walk back to the main base. However, once she had taken a few steps, she turned back around, to give one last departing message, "Oh, and have a fun date today, Takao-chan and Hiroshi-kun~! Maya-chan and Choukai-chan are busy with work right now, but they wanted to say the same as well!"

Hiroshi and Takao waved in acknowledgement to Atago as she turned back around to continue her journey back to the Japanese dorms, where Ooyodo, Maya, Choukai, and others were doing preliminary preparations for the main event of the night.

"Well, shall we depart for our date now, Hiroshi?" Takao looked up slightly at her partner, who was now standing next to her.

"Of course," Hiroshi stared down back at Takao's amber eyes while simultaneously taking ahold of her left hand with his right, "Let's get our date started."

As the two approached the aircraft that would by flying them today, the features of the person who appeared to be pilot become more recognizable. That long brown hair… The smokestack-shaped hair ornament… While Hiroshi had obviously known who the pilot was, he had kept the pilot's identity secret from Takao. However, it was now becoming painfully obvious to her that today's pilot would be none other than the bubbly Saratoga…

"Hey, Sara!" Hiroshi called out to Saratoga as he and Takao approached the plane, "We're just about ready now, how are things on your end?"

"Ah, Admiral Hiroshi, she's all perfect and ready to go!" Saratoga stopped what she was doing and turned back to respond. She then stood up and started waving her hand towards herself to signal the two to come to her before turning back around to finish closing up a compartment of the plane's fuselage.

Takao and Hiroshi came up to the plane right as Saratoga had put all her tools back in her box. She signaled to one of the base's mechanics who had been helping her to put the box back in its place; the mechanic quickly gave a salute to the Admiral and his flagship before departing. With the three now alone, Saratoga turned her attention to Takao.

"Hey, Takao-chan!" Saratoga casually greeted Takao with a bright smile on her face. Today, instead of her usual elegant long dress, Saratoga looked more like a fighter pilot, as she donned a leather flight jacket while a pair of sunglasses dangled from the loose, white shirt she wore underneath.

"Hello, Saratoga." Takao returned the greeting to the carrier with a forced smile and weak wave. Was everyone just going to start adding '-chan' to her name now? She didn't mind it from Hiroshi or her friends, but certainly not from the American carrier who she barely knew. Why did Saratoga even add the honorific to her name in the first place? She was sure that Saratoga couldn't speak even a crumb of Japanese. What on Earth was she up to?

Takao was forcing herself from groaning. Of all the flight-certified people on base, why did it have to be Saratoga? Why couldn't it be Kaga flying them?

While Saratoga was the main carrier of Hiroshi's forces, and the two had been able to work together in the battlefield, Takao was never able to break the ice with her on a personal level. Maybe it was the memories of the encounters with the Saratoga's bombers that the original Takao supplied to her via her cube, or maybe it was Saratoga's 'onee-san'-type personality, which reminded her of Atago. Whatever the reason, just being around Saratoga made Takao feel uncomfortable.

"Takao-chan, you should know that Sara isn't trying to belittle you or anything." Hiroshi said, almost as if knew what Takao was thinking from her expression alone, "She just wants to get to know you better - that's all she's trying to do. Actually, the reason I had Sara come out to fly us today is to help you two become better friends."

"Mhm!" Saratoga nodded, "Hiroshi and I work a lot together as well, you know. I think it would be beneficial for all of us both on and off the battlefield if we could become just a little bit closer."

"Okay…" Takao said weakly, still weary of Saratoga.

"Alright, well how about this – let's have you two just start from square one, and we can work on getting you two acclimated to each other while we fly over to the mainland." Hiroshi said, stepping in-between the two girls.

"Yes, Admiral." Saratoga acknowledged.

"As you wish, Teitoku-dono." Takao said; while she was not warm to Hiroshi's idea, she still had on obligation to comply with him as both his subordinate and his partner.

Saratoga straightened her stance, "United States Navy fleet carrier Saratoga, at your service." She gave a brief salute and then offered her hand to Takao, "But please, do call me 'Sara'. I hope we can get along better in the future."

To Takao, Saratoga's tone seemed genuine enough for her to believe that she not be playing some elaborate prank on her – maybe she wasn't as bad as had assumed. Besides, if Hiroshi trusted her, so could she. What good was her relationship with the Admiral if she could not at least attempt to trust the very same people that he put trust in?

"Japanese Navy heavy cruiser Takao, at your service as well." Takao returned the salute and grabbed Saratoga's hand, "Likewise, let us put our strained history behind us, Sarato-... Sara."

The two shook hands, hopefully marking the beginning of a budding friendship between the two.

"Good job!" Hiroshi applauded the two, "Now, let's be on our way, shall we? We can talk things out more in the air."

The two women nodded; Saratoga climbed into the cockpit and began pre-takeoff preparations. Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Takao entered the rear-section of the aircraft's cabin and sat down next to each other on the bench-type seat.

"Hiroshi, isn't it a bit risky to be flying such a small plane out from the base?" Takao asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I sent out Kaga, Akagi, and a small reconnaissance fleet out earlier to patrol our flight route. They'll make sure nothing gets to us." Hiroshi replied, placing his left hand over Takao's right.

As expected for the commanding officer of a naval base, he had thought ahead and made measures to counter worst-case scenarios. Takao wondered why she had even asked such a question in the first place if she already knew the response.

Saratoga had completed her pre-takeoff procedures and had received confirmation that she was cleared to take off. Hiroshi and Takao held each other tight as the aircraft began to accelerate and lifted off from the ground below.


10 minutes into the flight, Saratoga's aircraft was now at cruising altitude, leaving the pilot with little to do other than occasionally looking at the dials on the control panel and watching out for any abnormalities. Hiroshi decided that now was a good time to continue the reconciliation between Takao and Saratoga.

"So, Takao-chan, Sara, for our next activity, why don't you tell each other what you specifically dislike about each other? You can use this to gain some mutual understanding on each other and improve yourselves," he told the two.

"Well," Saratoga stated, "I've never truly disliked Takao, Admiral – you know that. It's just that I'm annoyed that she's always trying to avoid me for no good reason."

"You know this as well, Hiroshi, but besides the obvious bad history our namesakes share, I dislike you because of your overall demeanor," Takao said, cutting straight to the chase as she looked directly at Saratoga, "It reminds me of Atago, especially with that nickname of yours, 'Sister Sara'... Believe me Sara, one Atago is enough for me, so I would rather not deal with two of them on a daily basis."

"Oh my, I think you may have misjudged me, Takao. While it's true that a lot of people on base refer to me as a kind of 'reliable older sister' to them like your own sister, I don't necessarily tease them as often as Atago does to her friends." Saratoga giggled as she finished her statement, and looked back at Takao, doing a 'V' sign with her right hand.

Takao returned Saratoga's gesture with a faint, but more genuine smile than she had given her earlier. Hopefully she was being truthful about that…


Thus, 20 more minutes passed into the trio's flight – with Hiroshi as the mediator, Takao and Saratoga were now becoming closer together as they discussed topics such as their hobbies, favorite foods, and even gossip around the base. However, the pace had begun to slow down, as Takao's responses were continually interrupted by her yawning as she struggled to keep from dozing off.

"Okay, one last thing, then you can sleep for a bit - who do you think rocks bunny suits better Takao, Carol or Ooyodo?" Saratoga asked, taking a second to look in the back of the cabin.

"Shhhh…" Hiroshi whispered at Saratoga, his right index finger in front of him.

Takao was now fast asleep, her head resting on Hiroshi's shoulder. He returned his right hand to his side and positioned his left to rest on top of Takao's hands, which both lay on her lap.

"She's been overworking herself for the past few days, so she deserves some rest. It'll be a long day out for us anyways, so she'll need it." Hiroshi whispered to the front of the aircraft, "I'm glad you two are getting along better now."

Saratoga giggled softly in acknowledgement before dropping the equivalent of a Helen of Bikini, "Okay, but what about your opinion, Hiroshi? Carol or Ooyodo?"

"Excuse me?"

"Who looks better in a bunny suit? North Carolina or Ooyodo?"

He sat for a second and thought about the events that had transpired just three weeks ago during Easter – North Carolina had 'encouraged' her fellow bunny-lover Ooyodo to wear a bunny suit, claiming that many people on the base thought that she would look good in it. Ooyodo of course had declined, but after much pestering from not only North Carolina, but from Atago, Akashi, and even some of the other base personnel that worked with her as well, she eventually gave in to the demand and, as promised, showed up to the base's Easter party in a bunny suit alongside her blonde friend.

North Carolina was proved right – everyone loved Ooyodo's look that day. The outfit's black stockings emphasized her long, slender legs, and made up for her lack of 'top-heaviness'. Combined with her embarrassment of the situation and the outfit being the complete opposite of her usual prim and proper appearance, Ooyodo had turned out to be more popular during that party than even North Carolina, who was known to be the authority of bunny suits on the base.

Hiroshi's opinion on the matter was firmly in Ooyodo's favor – although he had a good friendship with both ladies in question, he worked far more closely and often with Ooyodo. It also didn't help that he saw North Carolina as a sort of mentor figure to him since she was one of veterans of the base who had been stationed there long before he was assigned.

However, answering such a question was not something that he should be doing next to his fiancée. Thus, the obvious answer that came to his mind was to dodge the question with honesty. He began to picture what Takao would like in such an outfit – he could already see her cute blushes in his mind as she tried to make bunny ears with her hands.

'Wow, that's a lot of ears...'

"Neither. Takao does it better than both of them combined," Hiroshi quickly said, wanting to move the conversation along in case Takao woke up.

"Oh come on, Hiroshi! That's such a lame response! I personally think Carol does it best, she has more of the figure for it I think…" Saratoga said. Unbeknownst to Hiroshi, an evil smirk was forming on her face, "Well, we could just turn around and go back to base if you don't want to tell me."

Saratoga pushed the yoke slightly to the left, tilting the plane for a split second, letting Hiroshi know her threat was very real, and that she could force him back to the base if she wanted. While there would certainly be consequences for her going on any further, there wouldn't be a thing that the Admiral could do, as he had no flight experience.

"Sara…"

Saratoga giggled, "I know, I know. If you tell me, I'll keep quiet for the rest of the flight."

"Ooyodo."

"Ooooh, I understand – "

"Didn't you say you would be quiet for the rest of the flight, Sara?"

"Yes, sir…"

Hiroshi spent the rest of the flight silently praying that Takao had not heard any of his and Saratoga's conversation, nor did he want Saratoga to bring up later, elsewise he would be in for an earful later…