Hello all! Happy to see you guys again. This chapter took a bit more time since I started back from scratch. I hope you guys find this chapter better written than the original's but I also understand if I don't meet everyone's expectations. So without further ado, here is chapter three.

Azur Lane HQ

As the events of the deal began to take hold at Harper's outpost, Admiral Spears sat back and watched his terminal light up with information. Many messages between other admirals, politicians, and a few junior officers in several conversations with each other. A few clicks sent the notifications away and brought up a separate screen. "Jenkins, has there been any news regarding the compromise?"

Not even several feet from his desk sat a much younger and skinnier man with light skin. He was much skinnier, almost anorexic, than most and the clear bags under his green eyes showed his exhaustion. His brown hair was a bit more frazzled than well groomed but his uniform was up to par. "Well...As of right now, we are looking at possibly a singular marriage on both sides. That's the best case scenario."

The Admiral looked quizzical, "What about the worst case scenario? The factions within Crimson Axis and Azur Lane all have something to gain. The only wild cards here are the Iris Libre, the Vichya Dominion, and the Northern Parliament."

"From the reports and hearsay, most of the Iris Orthodoxy are religious. Some are much more serious than others with only a couple possibly being non-religious." Jenkins's mind awoke like a power grid as he went through file after file. "The Northern Parliament has put their hand in but no news on how they will sort their Kansen."

"Alright, give me possibilities for both best case and worst case scenario for Harper," Spears stated.

Jenkins gave a shocked look at the thought of the worst case scenario. That was overkill in his mind, but nevertheless, he answered. "Best case scenario, there are several good options from Azur Lane. From the Royal Navy: Hood, Howe, Gloucester and Sheffield."

"Wouldn't the marriage of the maids have to go through the Queen? Moreover, what put Sheffield on the list?" Spears questioned in amusement

Jenkins chuckled, "It's for the possibility of a maid fetish. Also, Sheffield's more serious attitude will round out the teasing nature of Prinz Eugen." Spears would nod in response and gesture for the young officer to continue. "Hardly any choices from Iris Libre but we have a few on our own side. From the Eagle Union: Intrepid, Baltimore, or one of the Cleveland sisters."

"Intrepid? She's not on Harper's base last time I checked. I might have to give Adams a call," Spears murmured to himself. "Just rapid fire some options on the other side. Especially for the worst case."

Jenkins replied, "Guilio Cesare or Littorio would be excellent choices from the Sardinians. We'll have to contact the Vichya to see if they would put anyone forward and that leaves just the Sakura. Takao and Shoukaku seem to be our best options and they are also stationed on Harper's base."

Spears let the information process for a moment. There was the best and the worst case scenario in front of him but, it was just a matter of how the negotiations smoothed out the rules. From the decade of warfare against the Sirens, Spears had learned to always plan for the worst. So, he hoped Harper would be able to handle the pressure. "I have to say, that's a lot of great contenders."

Jenkins adjusted his glasses with a confident smirk, "Well, when you go through as much study material as I have, you can see how I came up with it."

"What study material would that be, Jenkins?" Spears questioned out of curiosity. The young man didn't seem like a romantic so what got him all these ideas?

What Jenkins answered astounded the Admiral. "Hundreds of light novels, one thousand manga and ten thousand doujins!"

"...Jenkins…"

"Yes sir?"

"You're a fucking degenerate."

Outpost Delta

In contrast to Harper's base, the outpost was quite small with the dockyard only able to dock a few ships reliably. It was much closer to the mainland of the Eagle Union but not as close as Pearl Harbor. Due to the smaller area, there was considerably less personnel which meant an easier time for the commanding officer. Specifically, keeping his Kansen in check while there was important work to be done.

Except, it was far from orderly. "ACHOO! COOPER!"

Immediately after the yell, a destroyer sprinted right out of the administration building with a black cat on her head. Following after her was a tall and muscular man looking as enraged as a bull. His uniform was similar to Harper's with the same exact yellow stripes that denoted his rank, three solid ones on the sleeves in fact. Despite the fact the destroyer could easily outrun him, the officer was dead set on catching her by the looks of it.

"Get back here with that damn cat!"

"I'm sorry! Catalina just likes your office chair!"

The Kansen on station were not deterred by the sight nor were they even surprised it was occurring. Far too often, the commanding officer was chasing Cooper around over the small cat. Every time, he would chase her until he couldn't keep pace and eventually give up after losing steam. No matter how many times Cooper was lectured about keeping a pet on base, especially one the commander was allergic to, the cat always returned. Was it a form of bad luck or fate whimsically spitting at the officer?

After chasing the destroyer for a half hour, the officer went back to his office. There, he was greeted with a couple Kansen busying themselves with what work was available. The cruiser of the two perked up the moment the officer entered, jumping out of her seat practically.

"Commander Adams," she spoke. "While you chased after Cooper for the fourth time this week, I was able to get both this week's and next week's logistical reports settled."

Adams was relieved to hear the news, a much needed break from chasing a destroyer around. "Thank you, Memphis. Make sure you submit it to Admiral Spears as soon as you can."

"Maybe you should look into some sort of prescription or send Cooper out on commissions with Marblehead. I've been speaking with my sister and some of the girls there are looking to take a vacation," The other Kansen spoke. She raised her sunglasses to look Adams in the eye.

Adams raised a brow, "A vacation? The war is practically over and now there is some stupid political marriage bargain that many of us have to participate in. If anything, everyone is on vacation as we speak."

Bremerton replied, "Frankly speaking, all of us girls do deserve a little time to see our countries again. Homesickness isn't going to make us fight any better if we aren't focused."

Adams frowned. He wasn't a big fan of leaving his outpost low on personnel despite the closer position to the mainland. He hadn't seen the Eagle Union for years but he wasn't complaining about going home. Yet, he also couldn't deny the reasoning of giving the Kansen a small break to recharge. Years of fighting would wear anyone down, even if they were designed to fight wars.

But he needed another opinion. "Memphis?"

The light cruiser looked to the floor with her eyes avoiding the others. "Well...It would be nice. Maybe catch up with the others, especially my sisters. I would like to take a trip back to the Eagle Union. I can't imagine how the girls from the other factions feel."

"...Alright," Adams let out a sigh. "Ask around and see who wants to take a vacation. I'll talk to the higher ups and see how long they are willing to give them. Is there anything els-"

The phone nearby began to ring with a classical sharp tone. The shrill of the sound was enough to annoy anyone who let it ring off for too long. Without a second thought, Adams walked over to his desk and picked up the phone. The only time the phone ever went off was when his superior officers had decided to check in.

"This is Outpost Delta."

"Commander Adams," The voice of Spears rang through the wire. "How's everything going on your end?"

Adams held his breath in stunned silence from the casual tone of his superior. He expected a more professional dress down than this. "Uh..fine. Is there something amiss?"

"No, no. Not really. I'm having Jenkins double check everything and he hasn't complained about it yet. But I do have something to request of you," Spears replied.

The Commander responded, "What is it, sir? I'm sure I can accommodate it."

"Have you been experiencing any problems at your post? In particular, any of your subordinates?"

Adams almost felt his heart soar at the mention. "I do have a couple issues. Mostly a personal allergy that keeps coming up."

He heard a chuckle come from Spears, "I hear. I have a few reports about your cat issue with Cooper. Well, I'm looking into a rotation with everyone under my command. I know your base is in need of some new faces."

"Frankly sir," Adams began. "I would be fine if I simply had a couple transfers. But, I do have subordinates asking about some leave."

"Leave? Hm," Spears muttered to himself. That was a bit new for him. He had given commanders like Adams and Harper some leave before but the Kansen? They were considered personnel, in Azur Lane standards. "I don't see why not. Just make sure you're not leaving your post undefended if the Sirens come around."

Adams sighed in relief. Maybe he too would take some leave. "Thank you sir, now what was that request you have?"

"Right, right." Spears coughed before speaking, "I actually wanted to have Intrepid transferred out of your base and posted on Harper's. Since you're having problems with Cooper, maybe her as well. I'll have some of Harper's subordinates replace them so you're not working short handed."

"That's the best news I've heard all day, sir." Adams was elated to hear his superior's words. Not only was he not going to have his allergy activated on a daily basis but some reinforcements were a sweet deal. Although, why was Spears requesting the transfer when he could have just ordered it? Was there something he wasn't telling the commander?

Spears was also elated. "Fantastic. Just forward everything to Jenkins and I'll sign off on it. Oh, and before I forget, you better get your best suit fixed up. Jenkins has a list of potential spouses for you to look at."

"W-Wait...What?!" Adams yelled with his demeanor shattered

"That's right, Jenkins made a list. Apparently, he's read enough material to make him some sort of marriage expert. It's as ridiculous as it sounds but he's got a lot of wisdom...somehow."

"H-Hold on! You haven't even asked me my preferences!." Adams gripped the side of his desk so tightly that he might even crack the wooden frame. Bremerton and Memphis shared a glance at their commander's state. "Get me on the line with Jenkins, I'm giving that pencil pusher a piece of my mind."

If it didn't get any worse, Spears replied, "Sorry Adams, my hands are tied behind my back here. I have to honor the agreement meaning you and your fellow commanders got to do your part. Enjoy that leave."

"Sir!" Adams's words fell on deaf ears when the line disconnected. "...I'm going to kill Jenkins next time I see him."

"Did you really have to let the news out?"

"Better now than later. At least they have time to calm down."

Harper stared blankly at his desk as the whole scene at the beach was too chaotic for him. The whole beach turned into a battlefield as the Kansen were informed of the political marriages. Naturally, many of them were shocked by the news and became the source of the chaos. The hardest part was going to be the girls getting acquainted with their assigned husbands, or they hopefully had affections for an officer already.

With a sigh, Harper then said, "I'll give you that. Just check with me before you begin making the base into a powder keg."

His wife replied back, "No promises~."

Harper let the response slide as it was expected. He did take note that besides the accusation she made against Hood, Eugen wasn't coming off as jealous as she could be. She seemed to be taking all this very well, "You know, I kinda expected you to be a bit more angry about all this."

"There's nothing I can say against it," Eugen shrugged while looking away from him. "This is for Ironblood so I'll comply."

Harper frowned but he didn't retort on how unfair this was for the both of them. It was for the sake of peace. "I'm in a similar boat. I don't like the reasoning for it either but this is to help everyone. If I had more say in it, I would have told the delegates to shove it."

That seemed to put a grin on the heavy cruiser. She turned and sauntered over to Harper's desk before resting herself in his lap. "Then I'll make sure that every girl who's married to you learns that I'm your first and you're my liebe."

"Nothing wrong with that, just tone it down a bit. Don't want to start drama if it can be avoided," Harper smiled back. He placed a hand to Eugen's cheek before bringing her into a kiss. A simple one yet to be expected from a husband trying to reassure his wife.

KnockKnockKnock

The noise surprised the couple momentarily, making them wonder who would be knocking on the office door. "Come in."

The door opened with a particular cruiser entering into the office, one bearing a striking resemblance to Eugen. Out of the four sisters that Harper was aware of, she stood out the least. From her figure to even her facial appearance, she could have easily been a twin if it weren't for the different uniform of hers. But, what was bringing her into the office when there wasn't any work to be done?

"Tallin~," Eugen began with her arms outstretched for an embrace. "What brings our schwester from the north?"

Despite the fact the two heavy cruisers were on opposite sides of a previous conflict, they embraced like family would. "The Northern Parliament contacted me to relay a message."

That sentence put Harper's mind on edge with the news he received earlier. "Tallin, if it has to do with the political marriage agreement, I have to discuss this with Eugen first."

"It does have to do with it. The representatives have made complaints about Ironblood already having several officers coaxed to their will, including you." Tallin stated bluntly, every word coming as cold as the frozen land.

"Accusing people like me of being coaxed is a strong accusation from the Northern Parliament. Last time I checked, none of us have stated our allegiance to Ironblood or any of the Crimson Axis factions," Harper retorted

Eugen added, "They sound as paranoid as they always do. Afraid that the whole world is out to get them for their 'collective ideas' as they say. Schwester, if that were true, there wouldn't be a Northern Parliament right now."

"Blood is thicker than water, but they are still my comrades-in-arms." Tallinn spoke before conducting herself, "The representatives threatened to leave Azur Lane unless concessions are made."

Harper swore that this had gone into political bullshit ever since the negotiations began. "Concessions? Like what? Allow every officer, like me, to be married to one of their Northern Kansen?"

Tallin's answer sent a shiver down his spine. "Da."

Harper saw how the 'equally aligned' was going to be abused by all the factions involved and Tallin only confirmed his fears. Despite being part of Azur Lane, the Northern Parliament had always kept to themselves and only asked for aid when needed. They seemed to be secretive about their motives, as far as he heard, and some disturbing stories were rumored. One story involved an advisor being executed on the mere assumption of being a spy and the whole political drama behind that. At the end of it all, the Northern Parliament had officially lit the match to the powder keg.

He should be grateful that he was getting a head start to this whole mess. However, Harper still was not at all happy about maintaining relations with so many factions with no common enemy to fight. How were the other commanders, like Adams, handling the news? "Thank you for the message, Tallin. It could be said that it was inevitable."

"Your welcome, comrade. This news is not pleasing for them either, but we all have a duty to fulfill," Tallin said. "I have plenty of information on your potential suitors if you wish. There might be some...important details to know about a few of our members."

Eugen chimed in, "I've heard a few rumors about a certain light cruiser with a chain fetish."

Tallin grimaced at the mention with Harper matching her discomfort. He had no clue who Eugen might be referring to but that did not stop his imagination of procuring a possibility. The thought of a Kansen having some sort of dominatrix personality and holding certain kinks that might be a massive red flag. No question needed to be asked about who that light cruiser might be, and Harper didn't want to know.

To make sure Eugen wouldn't want to make the atmosphere any worse, Harper stated, "Just send me some dossiers on who you think I might be matched with. I'll take a close look at them to be sure I know what I am in for. You're dismissed, Tallin."

The heavy cruiser gave a nod and left the office at a brisk pace. Her sister, meanwhile, looked more than amused by what was going on. "That went well, ja?"

"If by making me wary that one of my suitors may have some sort of kink I'm against counts as well….It could have gone way worse," Harper grumbled but admitted to the relevant information being helpful.

Eugen gave a small smile as she got behind the man of her heart and began to massage his shoulders. "Now...we need to talk about expanding the fleet~."

Harper only replied, "I'm not even going to ask what you mean by that."

"E-Eh?!"

The collective shrills from the Sakura dorm was more than enough to gather what was going on. Unlike the rest of the base, Kansen of the Sakura Empire were able to recreate their traditional housing unlike their counterparts. The island had more than enough room to do so and the large amount of cherry blossom trees only enhanced a visitor's experience. Despite the natural element of it, they did not reject some of the technology shared amongst the factions. One piece being a video call through a large television instead of having to use a radio.

Speaking of the video call, Nagato was using the feature from the safety of their home country. She had to admit that it was more interesting getting to speak with her fellow Kansen while seeing their expressions from many miles away. "The Northern Parliament has pushed their interests and the Sakura Empire will not tolerate their disrespect. Therefore, we will follow suit."

"Nagato-sama...T-This is….Hard to take in at once," Takao spoke up from among the group. "We just heard about the marriages earlier. Now you're saying one of us has to…."

"That is correct." The shrine maiden answered with a slow nod.

Shoukaku fidgeted her flute between her fingers as the room devolved into silence. It had only been hours since the news was unveiled to them and now, one of them was going to marry Harper. There weren't many of them that had been assigned to this post so the selection was small. Pair that with the carrier having been a secretary to the man only could lead to one outcome. Unless Nagato had other plans, this was going to resolve very quickly.

"Who has the most interactions with the Commander? Takao?" Nagato questioned, looking towards the heavy cruiser for a response.

Takao answered with a flushed face, making it evident that she might be potentially chosen. "I...I handle the commissions on a daily basis. W-We see each other somewhat."

Nagato hummed as if taking it into account. She then turned to another of the gathering, "Shoukaku, you are his secretary at times, yes?"

"Hai, Nagato-sama. I was just attending to my duties yesterday but I only do so once a week." The carrier answered smoothly, the fidgeting of her flute helping in keeping her calm.

The battleship hummed some more and thought about the relevant information. It wouldn't make sense to choose someone that wasn't already stationed but it seemed that neither Takao or Shoukaku have any ground with Harper. He was already married but he was still a part of the program. "Then we have no choice but to leave the decision up to the Commander. I will have to discuss it with our other sisters but in the meantime, we can't have our allies getting an upper hand over us."

"Hai!" came the collective voices of those gathered

The screen would soon turn off leaving the Sakura just muttering amongst themselves. For the faction leader to call them and announce that the Sakura Empire was going to marry off their Kansen only confirmed Eugen's words from earlier. It was easy to assume that only high ranking members like Akagi would get the honor but that was dashed quickly. It was clear that one of them was going to have to step up, especially between Takao or Shoukaku based on their interactions with Harper.

Speaking of them, Zuikaku looked over to her older sister. "Nee-san…"

The older crane sister seemed lost in her thoughts, twiddling her flute to distract her from the outside world. Her face was revealing a faint red hue as her thoughts remained on the commander. He was going to decide which Sakura Kansen would marry him but at least neither Akagi or any of the carrier divisions were here. The only one that interacted with Harper as much as she did was Takao.

It wasn't till Zuikaku shook her shoulder that she broke away from her thoughts. "Ah, sorry. I couldn't help but think of Nagato-sama's words."

"Do you and Shikikan Harper…?" Zuikaku trailed off on her question, a little embarrassed to ask in the presence of others.

Immediately, Shoukaku shook her head with a prominent blush appearing. "N-No, it's strictly professional.

But the carrier wasn't the only one being put in the spotlight. Takao was having her own troubles being teased relentlessly by Atago. The other heavy cruiser was having a hilarious time poking at the stiff nature of her eldest sister.

Neither of them would know how chaotic the following days would be.

There we have it. Adams has been given a list by our friendly otaku Jenkins but he isn't that pleased about it. The Northern Parliament has seemed to push everything forward to the detriment to commanders all over the globe but what are they playing at? Stay tune for the next chapter