AN: This is the longest chapter I have done yet for this story and I will continue to make longer chapters.
The early morning of the sun began rising above the horizon, shining its warming light onto land and sea before it. In the office of the Commander, the sun could not penetrate his reinforced defenses of curtains, blankets and comfy pillows. Nothing could break Shikikan's carefully placed trenches so he could sleep all morning. Absolutely nothing…
Until his door was opened and the curtains were pushed aside with light flooding the room and forcing the officer to dive into his blankets for cover. Who would dare unleash the sun's artillery upon him? Who dared to disturb the slumber he so desperately wanted to have without incident?
Why, it was one of the Royal Navy maids that dared to pull this stunt. The Commander uncovered himself and squinted with the harsh light in his eyes to see which one. To no one's surprise, it was the mighty Belfast, the head maid of the Royal Navy. One of Shikikan's best shipgirls to sortie with for two main reasons: she can make a really good breakfast and she basically made the enemy unable to hit a shot. But right now, she was his worst enemy.
"What time is it?" Shikikan grumbled while trying to go back to sleep, turning one of his pillows into a shield against the sunlight
"Eight o'clock master," Belfast answered, opening every single curtain to where the sunlight was inescapable, "Hood requested I had you awake at this time."
The Commander slowly got off of his bed, rubbing his tired eyes to wake them up, "She did? What for? Isn't the ball during the evening?"
The maid brought over tray that had a single mug, a filled coffee pot, and several condiments to supplement the drink. She set the assortment down on the Commander's desk before filling the mug with a fresh brew of hot coffee. She then added a couple scoops of sugar and a small amount of creamer before bringing the mug to the grateful officer.
"Yes, but I believe Hood is teaching some of the other girls how to waltz properly. Some of them are eager to learn," Belfast said, seeing a look of content on the officer's face as he drank the coffee, "Ah, her Majesty also wishes for you to partake in some activities today as well."
Taking a long sip of the deliciously brewed drink, the Commander replied, "Sounds fun. However, who will look after the paperwork while I'm busy?"
"That can be arranged. Her Majesty would never have you fall behind on important matters just for her sake. Is there anything you need before I depart?"
Shikikan set down the mug on his desk, refilling the fine porcelain before turning to the maid, "Will you be attending the ball yourself or will you be just assisting the others?"
The Light Cruiser smiled, giving a curtsy to the Commander, "This year, I will be attending. Her Majesty was grateful of my service. The other maids can handle the requirements without me."
The officer gave a nod as the maid departed from his quarters. He took another long sip of his coffee. The warm liquid was perfectly brewed to not be scorching hot but neither lukewarm. He could feel the caffeine giving his body the necessary awakening it needed to get on with his day. A day mainly with Hood teaching other shipgirls how to waltz.
He remembered last year being entertaining with the amount of dancing, fine drinks, and socializing. This was one of the few times where other members of the Azur Lane High Command would come together to enjoy themselves. No need to talk about the war or worry about strategic points. Just a day at a fancy party with fellow admirals and shipgirls.
Although Shikikan was the main admiral of the shipgirls, he had let some of his most powerful girls be under the command of other admirals. They desperately needed firepower and unchallenged versatility to hold onto heavily contended swaths of ocean. He hadn't seen those girls for over a year but he had heard their support boosted the morale of the sailors. The reports alone filled a good amount of his paperwork, several being requests to have the girls be permanently out of his command. Requests he denied due to a mix of fear and concern for the safety of the other admirals.
The Commander took another sip of his drink while turning towards his closet. He opened it to find among the large amounts of admiral suits, a single tuxedo that was carefully maintained. He had gone to great lengths to keep it looking brand new since Queen Elizabeth herself gave it to him. For as spoiled and naive that petite woman was, she knew how to reward the officer something worthwhile. A tuxedo that had a black bowtie and the end of the coat was cut in the middle to have flaps. A little too fancy for his tastes, but it was only used for special occasions.
For now, he dressed into his normal admiral uniform until it got closer to evening. He wouldn't need that suit until then so he better hurry up and eat some breakfast so he could meet Hood. The office outside of his room was quiet with no one walking, speaking, or being present. It was just him and he would leave the building to be alone for the day. Walking out from the front door, he could feel the heat of the sun blasting him while the ocean's cool winds brushed over him.
Closing the doors, he then put his hands into his pockets before making his way to the mess hall. He shouldn't expect too many shipgirls up and about for at least an hour. The leaves of the trees to his left and right blocked out the sun while he thought. Who would be there to learn from Hood? None of the Royal Navy ships would need such training since it was a requirement of their country for them to learn. As outlandish as that sounded, it made the whole process of teaching much easier.
Realistically, the Commander could only think of the Eagle Union or the Sakura Empire girls learning how to waltz properly. Their homelands had different forms of dance that was not like waltz at all. For the Eagle Union, they turned all the noble dances and put a lot more energy into them with jazz and/or swing music. Personally, Shikikan preferred those dances since they were much more fun, but the Royal Navy held the facilities, so what they said went.
At least if he didn't say otherwise.
Shikikan sat alone in the mess hall with a simple breakfast laid out on the table. Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and water. He already had his coffee earlier so there was no need to have another cup unless he wanted to crash. The mess hall was lightly populated with a few Destroyers, a couple of Cruisers, and Nevada manning the kitchen. Quite odd that he didn't find Hornet here yet, this was her preferred time to wake up by now.
"Hey Commander, who woke you up this early?" a voice said to his left, taking the neighboring seat
Speak of the devil.
"Hornet, I was just wondering when you would show up," he replied, his lips curling into a smile at the sight of the Carrier
The Yorktown-Class ship smiled in return while settling her food down. The same as the Commander but with a lot more bacon and eggs. Stereotypical Eagle Union ships and their love of protein-rich food.
With a piece of said bacon in her mouth, the shipgirl spoke, "A little birdy told me Hood was teaching some of us how to dance like a lady. An elegant one at that might I say."
The use of the Royal Navy's accent at the end made the officer chuckle, "You are correct. I guess she wants me to assist as an example. I could use a refresher after a year of mundane work."
"You can say that again. Hey, so is it true?" Hornet giggled before she turned to the Commander with an expectant look on her face, "Are those priority ships coming back?"
He gave a nod while taking a bite of his toast, the thoughts of seeing the priority ships again now filling his head, "Every single one of them. If I remember right, I sent Admiral Martin six of them."
"You do know that there are twelve of them now?"
His mind went blank when he heard Hornet mention the priority ships having twice their number. He only sent Martin the six he researched during his years on base. Did that mean Azur High Command had six other shipgirls that he did not hear of? None of the paperwork he had done for the past month mentioned another set of six shipgirls designed to take out Sirens. Unless, High Command was going to bring them here eventually.
"Twelve you say? I certainly need to meet the six that didn't come from here," he muttered, a shiver ran up his spine when he thought of one particular shipgirl, "I sure hope she isn't the same after spending some time away."
Hornet raised a brow, her curiosity piqued, "Who?"
The officer turned towards the shipgirl with a dreaded look in his eye, "Roon. Akagi can get bad but at least she was sweet about it but Roon...Oh boy. I don't think anyone in the Ironblood, besides Bismark, can keep her from blowing up the base."
"And you didn't marry her…" Hornet trailed, getting a sense of what the Commander was hinting at
He gave a nod, "I just pray that her time with the Admiral got her possessive nature away. If not, the insurance is going to have a field day with all the repairs."
Shikikan finished his breakfast quickly and prepared to leave to push the thoughts of Roon out of his mind. A year should be enough time for her to either lose that yandere part of her or at least have it tamed to manageable levels. Her main guns alone made the other cruisers fear her for their life. If there was a reason why the Commander wouldn't allow his shipgirls to be permanently under someone else's command, Roon was that reason.
Azur High Command better give him some answers once they got here tonight.
Shikikan was walking down the street on his way to the ballroom. Passing by many of the shipgirls staying on the base and giving his greetings. He passed by Akashi's store which only made him shake his head at her 'discounts' for certain items. The munitions store was next door with Shiranui having a sign quite literally saying 'no discounts' displayed on the window.
He heard a faint sound of music in the distance when he turned the corner to enter a separate street. This one leading up a hill to a large structure that resembled a small castle. Quite funny considering Queen Elizabeth went out of her way to have buildings constructed in her honor. At least, she tried to before the Commander shut them down as an unnecessary waste of space.
He opened the large double doors adorned with fine glass to find the interior wide open with the dance floor being the main area. There was a stage for the musical accompaniment to play their music or other reasons. Standing in the middle of the whole room was Hood twirling elegantly in a circular motion as if she was dancing with others. There was a record player seated on the stage with ballroom music playing through it.
The bright interior of gold and silver really shined with the sun's rays bouncing off the material to a glaring degree. Hood only stood out more with her blue modest apparel compared to the lavish gold and silver of the room. None of the other shipgirls were here yet so that meant Shikikan was on time.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked with a chuckle which broke the Battlecruiser's concentration on the music, forcing her to stop
She smiled before going to the record player to stop the music, "I felt a little warm up would help prepare my lesson for today."
She grabbed the dial of the machine but put it back to where she wanted the music to play. She didn't put it in the resting position for a good reason. The music began to play with Hood taking a few steps towards the Commander. Grabbing both ends of her skirt, she bent down with her knees halfway to curtsy.
"May I have this dance, Commander~?" Hood asked with a different tone in her voice, one that was more elegant than how she normally talked
No doubt Shikikan was blushing right now. He never actually danced with Hood in last year's ball, that honor was to Wales. He couldn't bring himself to answer with his throat suddenly feeling dry and constricted. Instead, he did the next best thing by taking a few steps towards the Pride of the Royal Navy with shoulders rolled back. He looked like he was standing at attention until he bent himself from his waist to bow. He kept his face towards the ground until he rose back to his former position.
As of tradition in this dance, he offered his right hand to her respectfully. Hood did not hesitate to lay her left hand in his right before the two got closer. Her right hand joining his left while her left hand transferred to his right shoulder. Shikikan's right hand went to Hood's back before they proceeded to slowly waltz with the music.
They moved in a counterclockwise motion around the room but turned clockwise with their dance. Occasionally, the Commander stopped to twirl Hood once or to perform a maneuver that looked complicated to the average person but was child's play once learned. Minutes past by them while they were interlocked in this simple yet elegant looking form of dance.
He couldn't help but stare into her ocean blue eyes with her returning his gaze into his chocolate brown. The only thing that would break them out of this lasting gaze into each other's soul was the music stopping. Thankfully, Hood had chosen a rather long musical piece that seemed to drag for ages.
Then the unexpected happened. The Commander heard the music stop for a moment which allowed him to break out of his trance to notice they were not alone anymore. At the doorway were a few familiar faces staring at them with incredulous expressions. The notable shipgirls being Shoukaku, Hornet, Helena and Cleveland. He honestly expected more but the ball itself wasn't a requirement to attend, even if Queen Elizabeth would be ranting at him for allowing some girls to not attend.
"Mi-Milord? What are you doing here?" Yamashiro questioned, pointing at the officer that was still in a dancing pose with Hood
Hood broke away from the Commander before approaching the four shipgirls calmly, "I requested the Commander to assist in today's lesson. Are there any problems?"
Yamashiro shook her head while hiding her face lighting up red in front of the Commander. The prospect of dancing with him was too embarrassing for the unlucky Battleship. Thankfully, nobody laughed at the poor girl's embarrassing moment before Hood began her crash course.
A couple hours had passed before Hood concluded her seminar with the other shipgirls and bid them farewell with the Commander in tow. To be more precise, she gently grabbed his arm and took him towards the Royal Navy dorms without paying any mind to a pouting Shoukaku. They did pretty well, even with Yamashiro tripping herself every once in a while.
"So what kind of activities does her majesty want?" Shikikan asked to the graceful lady next to him
Hood hummed while changing her position to where she was pressed against his side with her head on his shoulder, "The Queen wishes to test some party games for the event. It's a tradition we have some entertainment during the ball. Belfast and the maids do such a nice job putting them together.
The Commander found himself blushing with the affection he was receiving from Hood, almost in a school girl kind of way. Nothing lewd about it but simply elegant. That was until he felt a tug on his other arm to find it wedged in between two soft mounds. He looked over and blushed even brighter to find a pouting Shoukaku looking at Hood while having his arm in between her breasts. It took all his willpower not to have a nosebleed right now considering his position between the two women.
"Shikikan, where are you going without me~?" the Older Crane Sister questioned sweetly to the officer
"Erm...I was…" he was about to answer, finding his voice failing him and his mind going blank when he felt both women press against him
Hood kept her elegant smile on her face despite the pouting aircraft carrier angry with her, "Don't worry Ms. Shoukaku, I'm not the one to worry about stealing the Commander. He's still got plenty of space for both of us."
This reply didn't stop the cute pout plastered on Shoukaku's face. Instead, she just tugged on the Commander's arm while looking at him, "Shikikan, whose breasts do you like more?"
"What the question is that?! Is she trying to make me choose?" Shikikan thought to himself, looking between the two women that had him under their control, "I would rather not answer that. I have many things to do."
Thankfully, this got the shipgirls to back off for the rest of the trip to the Royal dorms. Upon entry, they were greeted with three bodies lay still on the floor. The bodies of York, Jamaica, and Hermes were of note with expressions that clearly shown some sort of disgust. Belfast, Little Bel and Edinburgh were standing over them with an empty tray and barely contained giggles.
"Should I even ask what happened?" the Commander muttered with concern, slowly stepping around the three shipgirls who were unresponsive
Belfast was the first to satisfy his curiosity, "Welcome, Master. We were just testing out a prototype game that her Majesty would like to have at the ball. Don't worry about the three ladies suffering from our test, they were so willing to prove themselves."
Edinburgh stepped in with another tray that had small pastries no bigger than a coin in size. The Commander looked back at the three HMS shipgirls on the floor to notice that they were slightly drooling. They clearly ate something that assaulted their taste buds enough to render them unresponsive. These pastries must have been what they tried out and led them to their current status.
"I think I'll pass. I don't need to be in a hospital bed when we have a ball several hours from now," he stated firmly, unwilling to take part in something that would leave the High Command useless for a time
"Very well Master, we'll report this back to the Queen and come up with something else. Maybe lower the bad pastries effects to something sour," Belfast nodded, sending Edinburgh away with Little Bel
She then cocked her head a little seeing a very protective Shoukaku basically hugging the Commander's arm while looking at Hood simply affectionately hugging his other arm. If the head maid knew anything about the time she spent with the Commander, there was some fierce rivalry between the shipgirls. Although, she never expected it from Shoukaku of all the shipgirls the Commander recruited over the course of the war.
"Ahem, Master, I think it is time to look after the preparations of the ball. Here is a list of all the guests," Belfast stated while producing a paper from a nearby table for the Commander to inspect.
He was able to get his arms free to take a look at all the names printed out on the single piece. Some were obvious such as himself and several of the shipgirls but he found some names he was unfamiliar with. Names such as Georgia, Seattle, and Gascogne? Who were these people? Were these the shipgirls that Hornet mentioned, being built from High Command. How different were they compared to the priority ships he made here?
"Is everything in order?" Belfast asked, seeing the Commander intently look at the list as if he found something wrong
He took a moment to check once more but didn't notice anything off besides the new names, "Yeah, everything's looking great. Is there anything else we need to look after?"
"Yes, there are the drinks we have to consider and what kind of treats the guests should be served…" Belfast began to list off every little bit of the event with the Commander only nodding along
This was it, the Royal Ball was about to start or at least had started. The Commander checked himself once more to find no wrinkles in his suit. That part was taken care of along with the little matters Belfast informed him about. He felt his nerves jitter a bit knowing he was about to meet some new shipgirls that he had never met before. The worst part was meeting Roon again after so long.
"Martin, I swear to god you better have knocked her behavior away," he thought to himself while pulling his bowtie tightly
He grabbed any necessities and made sure he sprayed on some cologne even though he had already taken a shower. A pair of white gloves rested in one of his pockets along with a handkerchief for backup. You never know what was going to happen when the shipgirls got together. Lastly, he grabbed an additional coat just in case the weather got too chilly. Although, nights like this near the equator were quite nice to walk around.
Leaving the room, Shikikan took a glance around the office to find it quiet. He let the other girls have the rest of the night off to join the ball or rest. He was looking forward to seeing the shipgirls in their party attire, especially Hood. A blush formed heavily on his cheeks when said thoughts began to go much further than admiring Hood's features. Those thoughts making his pants feel quite tight when they were comfortable before.
"Slow down hotshot, can't break protocol. I need these girls at their best,"
With his mind under control, and a certain uncomfortable strain in his pants dealt with, the Commander left the building to begin his small walk to the Royal Ball. However, he wasn't expecting a beautiful lady waiting for him on the other side. The moment Shikikan opened the door, he found Shoukaku waiting for him but looking more beautiful than ever.
Her outfit seemed to be made of silk considering it was semi-transparent. It was a far cry compared to her more modest kimono she normally wore. Her dress didn't even reach her knees and seemed to only peek Shikikan's interest. Her cleavage was quite visible and only a part of her hair was tied with a flower-like item while the rest flowed freely. Finally, she had flowing strands of her dress similar to her kimono.
"Wow...You look amazing," the Commander uttered, the previous thoughts he had now forcing their way back
His comment only made the Sakura carrier blush greatly, something he normally didn't see on a daily basis, "Thank you, Shikikan. You look more handsome."
Shoukaku approached him and took one of his arms but with more care and without a Royal Navy Battlecruiser to contend with. They were silent on the way over to the Royal Ball but the Commander couldn't deny that Shoukaku had his attention. Ever since she joined his fleet, she had worked diligently to prove herself and keep her sister safe. Shikikan knew that she had feelings for him but neither of them were sure how to express them without it being cheesy.
In no time at all, the Royal Ball was in front of them with a grand amount of lights brightening the area. The inside shined in golden light with classical music being played from the inside. The Commander noticed that other officers were now here and making idle chatter with shipgirls of their respective nations. This was a sight Shikikan fought for, a world united against the Sirens and not each other.
"Commander, took you long enough," a voice, a much older male voice, said
He looked up to the steps to find a elderly man dressed quite nicely for the event. He wore a more embroidered suit with several medals showing off his ranking and still adorned with a naval cap. The man was a little chubby, having lost the need to exercise due to his age but was still healthy enough. A thick gray beard placed itself on his wrinkly face but his green eyes still held a firm command to them. Although he looked imposing, he was a bit shorter compared to his contemporaries.
"I'll see you inside," Shikikan said, wanting to speak to the High Admiral on his own
Taking this perfect moment to embarrass him further, Shoukaku kissed the officer on the cheek before she went inside the structure. Shikikan was left spellbound for a moment before turning his attention to the older man ahead of him.
Reaching out for a handshake, the Commander smiled, "Martin, still kicking as usual?"
The High Admiral grabbed Shikikan's hand and gave it a firm shake, "I'm not dead yet! I see you got yourself into a rather...impressive position."
A heavy blush fell upon the Commander, "Let's not talk about that. Any sign of the Sirens since the Operation Hammerhead?"
The older man shook his head, resting himself against a tree while looking out at the ocean, "I'm afraid not. Ever since we took out a couple of them permanently, they stopped their assaults besides the occasional raid on our convoys. Those priority ships you sent us made short work of them."
"How are they? I heard you got priority ships of your own now."
Martin chuckled before gesturing towards the doors, "They're inside, waiting for you. As for the others, yeah, we took a page from you and made six. Some of them don't hit as hard as yours but they are a godsend compared to our normal ships."
The Commander nodded, "So what brings them here if they are such a great help with your fleet?"
"Two things, I'm putting them under your supervision and you're being promoted," the High Admiral answered with a grin, leaving Shikikan stunned
"Run that by me again. You're giving me your shipgirls along with the ones I sent you and I'm getting promoted…" he trailed, unsure how to feel about having more shipgirls in his already chaotic island base
The elderly man placed a hand on the younger officer's shoulder before explaining, "Listen, Commander, you're the only one to handle these girls correctly. High Command has taken some of their designs to improve our own ships so we have a better chance. Besides, I'd rather have my sailors focusing on not dying than eyeing those shipgirls."
Shikikan replied, "I understand that. It just seems a bit odd that you aren't keeping a few just in case. You never know when you need them."
Martin scoffed, waving off the officer's concern like a stubborn man he was, "We'll be fine. Now, let's forget about the war and focus on less important matters. I believe you have some girls waiting for you."
The Commander smiled and turned to go inside but he stopped when he heard the High Admiral speak again, "Oh, by the way, we heard your concern with how protocol is and your shipgirls that have increasingly got more sexual. Let me just relieve in saying that you have no need to worry, I had one of our scientists conduct a test."
"Uh..sir...not out here," Shikikan muttered with a growing blush, thankfully not getting the attention of the other guests or shipgirls
The old man chuckled while lowering his voice, "If anything escalates, you ain't going to get one of them pregnant. Something about Wisdom Cubes not allowing normal conception yadda yadda yadda. So go get them...Admiral,"
Martin gave an informal salute as the Comm-...No, the Admiral gave him a thumbs up before proceeding inside. A massive load fell off his shoulders on hearing that news but another fear replaced it. He better not go spreading that around the base or he'll never be able to get out of his office. But if the shipgirls couldn't have children, then what would happen once the war ended.
"Ok, not those thoughts. Let's just have a good time and move on," the Admiral said to himself as his vision was blinded by the bright lights inside
A moment to adjust to the brightness and he found himself in awe with how grand the dancing area was. There was a massive circle for officers and shipgirls to dance in while musicians played their music on the stage behind them. Forming that circle was many tables mostly filled by shipgirls who either watched the dance or chatted idly. The Royal Navy maids were working overtime to serve food to everyone. Many drinks were placed on rectangular tables for patrons to just grab and enjoy.
"How is it so far, Master?" a voice spoke behind him, no doubt being Belfast
Shikikan turned around to find himself in awe of what the Light Cruiser dressed herself with. Gone was her maid outfit but being replaced with a lovely dark blue dress that was much more modest. A black bow nestled itself on the back of her head with her hair being mostly free. She wore dark blue sleeves that covered her arms from her upper arm to her hands. To finish it off, she wore black high heeled shoes to compliment her attire.
The Admiral found himself ogling her for too long, snapping back to her question, "Magnificent as always, Belfast. The Royal Navy knows how to outdo itself every time."
This brought a smile to Belfast, "Thank you, Comm-"
"Admiral now, just got promoted," he corrected, rubbing the back of his head at how informal his promotion was
"Apologies, Admiral," she finished before leaving the Admiral to enjoy himself
Shikikan had to admit that he was loving the sight of all the guests in their expensive clothing, a dark thought of Akashi basking in gems crossed his mind. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Taking a seat, the Admiral enjoyed himself a drink prepared by the maids and just watched the other guests from afar. His eyes scanning for any women who didn't fit the profile of the shipgirls on base.
His eyes wandered over the many bodies of people surrounding the area but he had yet to spot a shipgirl unfamiliar to him until he looked around where he sat. Sitting across from him was a shipgirl that held an eerily neutral stare at him. She was slender in build with blue hair that barely reached her the top of her shoulders. Bright yellow eyes were staring into his very soul for some sort of answer to a question.
"Ahem...I don't think we've met before. What's your name?" the Admiral asked, hoping this wasn't another Roon situation
The girl blinked before speaking with her head cocked to the side, "Are you my new master? Master Martin confirmed that I was reassigned the base commander."
Her tone was robotic like she came off an assembly line that only made the conversation awkward, "I am the base commander."
The two black attanae 'ears' on her head twitched, staring at the officer with those lifeless eyes of hers. Shikikan wasn't sure what she was thinking or if she was trying to form a reaction with the news. Was this one of the priority shipgirls that Martin was transferring over to him?
He got his answer when the girl stood up and bowed, "Gascogne, the 4th Battleship of the Richelieu-class, was cancelled due to the start of the World War. But, this time, Gascogne will fight for the Master, and annihilate the enemy that blocks the Master's path."
"Nice to meet you Gascone, I'm sure you'll fit right in," the Admiral smiled at French shipgirl, earning him the same blank look
He sweatdropped since he was used to having shipgirls at least give him a reaction rather than a blank stare. Even Shiranui showed some emotion from time to time but this girl seemed to lack it.
"Emotions are too difficult,"
The Admiral didn't have more to say as he heard the music begin to play a new piece and many bodies proceeded to the dance floor. His eyes turned to the dance floor and his memory came back to him that he was supposed to find Shoukaku. Thankfully his search wouldn't be long since she stood out from the rest of the crowd. No doubt looking for him for the past several minutes since he was conversing with Belfast and Gascogne.
"Shikikan, there you are." the Sakura aircraft pouted cutely at him, grabbing his hand quickly and pulling him towards
Before he could question what she was putting him into, which should have been obvious, Shikikan found himself on the dance floor with Shoukaku. If he were to guess why she brought him out here, it would most likely be to one up Hood. Speaking of that battlecruiser, where was she in this event?
Wherever she was, the Admiral's attention was taken away by Shoukaku. Her sky-blue eyes had him entranced to her alone, his arms taking the position he took during the practice waltz. Shoukaku placed one of her hands on the officer's shoulder and the other was held by his hand. Time seemed to not exist for either of them, the only surroundings being the color of their eyes and the small movements of their steps.
As the duo enjoyed themselves on the dance floor with the other couples, they were unaware of an upper balcony that specific members of the Royal Navy could access. Hood looked down at the dance floor with a gentle smile on her lips, still in her normal attire for the time while a good amount of her colleagues had dressed elegantly.
One battleship decided to break her silence, "Ms. Hood, are you not worried about the race for the Commander's heart?"
The battlecruiser turned to slightly look down at the boisterous Queen Elizabeth, who changed her attire to a white ball gown, "Worried? I can't force his heart to reciprocate the same feelings."
Her Majesty seemed not content with that answer, her eyes narrowing slightly, "Oh? Surely he fancies you more than the rest, does he not?"
Hood turned back to observing the dance floor with her back to the Queen, "Out of the Her Majesty's Ships? Yes, as far as I have seen. Good things come to those who wait."
Queen Elizabeth said nothing, looking to observe the Shikikan dancing with Shoukaku. While Hood was content to wait her turn, the Queen had no luxury. Her eyes only seemed to glare daggers at the curvy Sakura carrier.
"Damn those other battleships and carriers for having a gift I cannot have," the petite Battleship muttered under her breath, turning away before she exploded in fury
Shikikan was on his way back to his room with Shoukaku hugging his side affectionately. Compared to earlier in the day, she had a content smile on her face while being buried into the Admiral's clothing. Although, he noticed that her outfit didn't exactly do well to keep her warm and the cool air was blowing. Taking off his extra coat, he wrapped it around the Sakura Crane Sister with a blush being his reward.
They stayed for about three hours before sleep was calling for the officer to head back home. He had taken a few drinks but didn't make the same mistake he made at the Ironblood Brewery. The last thing he needed was putting another promise ring on a shipgirl when his state of mind was not rational.
"E-erm...Shikikan…" she mumbled with her blush growing, a specific thought coming to her since they were alone
"Hm?"
He was expecting her to say thanks for dancing with her, but he was terribly mistaken, "Do you know what it means for cranes to dance with each other?"
The Admiral raised a brow at such a question due to his knowledge of animals being mediocre at best, "Er, no. What does it mean?"
The Elder Crane Sister took a deep breath before looking at him in the eye, her usual smile was on her face despite her blush, "It's a mating ritual for cranes to find their lifelong mate."
Either it was the alcohol or the exhaustion that prevented the officer from reacting right away. The meaning of two animals 'dancing' with each other as a form of mating ritual seemed odd. What was that supposed to mean? He opened the door to his personal room before his slightly intoxicated brain finally processed the meaning altogether.
Shikikan's face was a bright as a tomato when he turned back to Shoukaku. He got the meaning now and it didn't help with their proximity to each other. Words escaped him to respond as she advanced on him. His limbs felt like unmoving steel beams like nails planted themselves in his feet.
His eyes locked onto Shoukaku with the mesmerizing feeling enveloping him once more. In the unlit room of his with only the light of the moon shining inside, he didn't see her hands come forward to cup his face. Her sky-blue eyes disappeared before he felt the warm feeling of her lips on his own. Just the Admiral and his shipgirl sharing a kiss in the night with only the moon to shine upon them.
Except that wasn't all that happened that night.
Alright. Do you like long chapters like these or do you prefer the shorter ones? Leave a review below with your thoughts of the chapter and stay tuned as usual.
