A/N: Welcome to the Thanksgiving-themed chapter I have constructed. I hope you all enjoy it.

The Admiral found himself at his desk once more after the events of last night. He was in no mood to discuss what happened between him and Akagi at that moment. The determined kitsune had successfully done a home run with him while having the whole event recorded. It took a call to High Command to have the video off the air and deleted permanently. Some people had to have seen it but at least the whole world didn't watch it.

Shikikan currently rested on top of the wooden desk's cool surface to reduce his blush. Even though he was not very happy with Akagi had done, he wasn't against it either. In fact, he kind of enjoyed what had occurred more than he hated it. A weird way to feel considering that it was a nonconsensual romp. Yet, in a strange way, it was somewhat relieving to have it happen than to fear it occurring later.

"Master,"

Shikikan raised his head to find Gascogne sitting across from him with her blank amber eyes staring at him, "What is it, Gascogne?"

"Report...Several items of great importance. The first being a request sent from Baltimore…" the monotone voice came out of the Prototype Battleship

The Admiral looked interested when the name was mentioned, "What kind of request?"

Without missing a beat Gascogne replied, "Baltimore requests a date at Master's convenience."

Oh, so somebody from the Eagle Union was finally throwing themselves into the ring. The officer counted at least three Ironblood (four if Roon was counted), and three Sakura shipgirls already tying the knot with him. Although, the Sakura took the lead in putting the Admiral to the bed ever since the protocols were changed and the fear of pregnancy was squashed. Out of the Royal Navy, only Hood was on the man's mind but none of the Eagle Union seemed to be. Hornet couldn't even be considered someone he had romantic feelings for due to her friendly nature.

"Good to know, what else?" he finally spoke after he settled his thoughts

Gascogne continued, "Report...High Command has requested Master test some experimental gear that was shipped to allied fleet."

"Experimental gear? Like what?"

"Unknown. All written accounts were blotched with black ink."

Shikikan just nodded but couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with the news of a shipment of prototype gear. It wasn't the fact it was experimental, but that all forms of information were either classified or inked out. What were they sending him that he didn't need to know the details until he got it? Was it Siren tech that they happened to reverse engineer with help from some former Ironblood scientists? He knew that was extremely risky considering the brainwashing the Sirens could easily do on others.

"Informing...The Thanksgiving feast is scheduled for today with each faction bringing their own on the holiday," Gascogne mentioned, tilting her head to the side, "Question...Does Master celebrate such a holiday?"

Shikikan gave a nod, "Yes, it's a tradition. Well, more of a North American tradition but I'm glad to hear that everyone is going to celebrate it in their own way. Although, last year's celebration did not go as well."

The Vichya Battleship's head was still tilted, "Last year's celebration?"

"It went a little like this…"

The Commander was busy in the mess hall looking over preparations of the Thanksgiving feast. At the time, he had only shipgirls from the four main factions with neither the Iris (besides St. Louis) or Sardegna Empire having joined him. He had a long list of objectives that needed to be completed right away with little room for error or rest. He ditched his uniform and dressed in civilian clothes for this occasion. A sight that none of the girls expected but were quite liked to see their superior out of the usual.


"Drinks, check. Seating arrangements for everyone? Check. Turkey…"

He looked over to see everyone crowded around a massive turkey roughly weighing around twenty pounds. It wasn't cheap and he doubted one of those would satisfy the wide assortment of shipgirls. So, he had to get multiple of them which costed them a good amount due to rationing making such birds hard to obtain. Something about feeding the men on the front lines although all the fighting was on sea and hardly on land. Still, rationing did not help the Commander in obtaining such meat for the feast.

"As Queen, I will have the first taste," he heard Queen Elizabeth said, looking over to see the dwarf queen about to cut one of the turkeys with a knife

She was met with her cheeks suddenly being pulled by the officer, "Not until everyone arrives with their own food to share."

"Unhand me servant! I must do the honors!" the boisterous shipgirl retorted but only got her cheeks pulled more in retaliation

It was then that Shikikan looked around to be sure none of the other turkeys were being touched. His eyes widened when he saw one of the tables was not with their turkey and a little shipgirl running off with it. Said shipgirl having pale hair with dog-like ears on top and pinkish-red eyes. She wore very little clothing besides a shirt barely reaching past her chest, a skirt, socks and shoes.

"YUUDACHI! NO!"


Gascogne nodded along as the Admiral told the horrible time he had to organize a Thanksgiving feast with the shipgirls he had at the time. This year's feast was going to be worse considering his roster had expanded quite a bit. The factions should be able to handle themselves but keeping shipgirls like Yuudachi or Queen Elizabeth from impatiently starting the feast was going to be a handful.

"Anything else to report?"

The toneless shipgirl looked at the papers in her hands, shuffling them momentarily before continuing, "Reporting...Marriages must be set for those who have been promised. Analysis...tactical effectiveness increased with promise ring."

The Admiral sweatdropped, "You don't have to talk like that. Just speak normally like everyone else."

"Affirmative...resetting basic speak pattern to Master's liking."

Gascogne's antenna twitched for a few moments with her eyes glowing. She stayed unmoving with her stare directed at the man in front of her. Nothing gave the officer any clue as to what she was going through right now. Unlike Roon, Gascogne lacked any emotion for him to fear.

He broke from those thoughts and got back to business, "Anything else?"

"Affirmative, Battleship Littorio and Battleship Jean Beart are currently dueling in the ocean," Gascogne informed

The Admiral got out of his chair and proceeded to head over to the docks to go inspect the battle for himself. What got those two to start firing at each other on a holiday they should be focusing on? Then again, Littorio was always an outspoken type that felt the world revolved around her while Jean did not like bullshit. It wouldn't surprise Shikikan if Jean challenged the Italian Battleship to a duel to make her eat her words.

He stopped to give the Prototype Battleship a pat on the head before heading out the door, "Thanks for the report, Gascogne. Just make sure we aren't overflowing in paperwork."

Gascogne watched her superior leave the office building while one of her hands went towards where he had patted. Her eyes scrunched up to analyze both what and why he had done so. She didn't let her thoughts linger on it for too long before she turned back to the paperwork at hand.


When he arrived at the docks, he already saw pillars of water erupt from a distance. Barely making the figures of the two shipgirls duking it out, the officer took out a set of binoculars to enhance his view. Thanks to the gear, both women were visible with damage to their rigging but unwavering smirks towards one another.

"They've been at this for an hour," Shikikan heard a voice beside him, lowering his binoculars to see Cesare watching the fight calmly

She had her vessel docked next to her in case she had to go out and break up the fight. It easily towered over both of them and it always fascinated the Admiral that it would disintegrate into rigging upon her command. Such mysteries of the Wisdom Cubes was still being researched with hardly any progress being made.

"What caused them to engage their rigging and fire on one another?" he questioned back, turning his attention

The other Italian shipgirl gave a sigh while watching her comrade avoid several shells from her French opponent, "She couldn't keep her mouth shut."

He gave her a questioning look to inquire what she meant exactly. It was only then that he turned back to the battle to see Littorio unleash her barrage of shells. Jean's side of the ocean was erupted in explosions and pillars of water shooting into the air. Although the barrage was very inaccurate, Littorio was clearly going for area coverage. From an amateur's point of view, it looked like Littorio was clearly the victor from all this.

But as soon as the barrage stopped, Jean Bart retaliated with a barrage of her own. One of her shells landing squarely on Littorio's main gun. The explosion alone disabled the gun from firing and the impact was definitely going to hurt. Looked like history repeated itself once more.

"Well, looks like we have a winner. Now, what caused these two to fight?" the Admiral questioned, putting his binoculars down and looking to Cesare for an explanation

The Sardegna Battleship explained, "While the major factions have their own facilities, we have to share with the Iris Libre and Vichya Dominion. Dunkerque was planning to make the desserts for tonight but Trento accidently spilled the contents when she assisted her. Littorio was the victim of the spilled treats and one thing led to another."

"Let me guess, she yelled at Dunkerque and Jean joined the fray?" Shikikan finished

"Yes,"

He gave nod of confirmation while the two duelists made their way back to the docks. Littorio looked visibly upset about her loss with Jean keeping her frown. At least neither was going to brag about the match at all now. He really didn't want either of his shipgirls to be going for a second round for some ridiculous reason.

"Are you two done now?" he questioned, his posture becoming more professional and intimidating

Shikikan had to put an external appearance like so with shipgirls like Littorio and Jean. It almost made him sound like an old father with the tone he had to put up. Then again, he had multiple Sakura destroyers who viewed him as an elder or Unicorn that decided to call him her Papa. It was better than Onii-chan at least.

Littorio was the first to speak, "Our duel has concluded. I must apologize for my rude behavior. It was not right of me to have spoken harshly to your ally."

"Sure, next time I won't be as courteous for you to shoot first," Jean Bart replied, her tone a bit harsh but considering how she behaved on a normal day, this was her usual

The duo walked past the Admiral and Cesare back to their shared kitchen. The officer let his posture go slack when they were far away enough they wouldn't see him. He would need to go with them just to be sure they wouldn't cause another duel. But could he blame them when Trento was a bit of a clutz? The girl couldn't tell the difference of salt and sugar to the point she added the wrong one to her tea.

Then a thought came to Shikikan's attention, fishing something out of his pocket, "Oh, before I forget, I actually was able to twist some events around to get these for next week."

Cesare turned to the officer to find a couple of tickets presented in front her, "You...didn't have to do this."

To her dismay, he replied, "No, I insist. Not every day a storm ruins the perfect night to go see an opera. I really want to see one, so I was able to get these tickets."

Thankfully she had enough self-control to push down a rising blush to not embarrass herself further, "Well, thank you. I'll make sure to be ready next week."

Cesare took one of the tickets and put it in the same pocket where her pocket watch was located. Shikikan She didn't have much time to see what her Admiral was up to before she felt her hand being grabbed and being pulled along. This time, her blush revealed itself as Shikikan pulled her along back to the shared culinary area.

"Damn you Admiral,"


Shikikan and Cesare arrived to a large kitchen that seemed small due to the amount of shipgirls currently working around the place. Upon entry, his senses were assaulted with the smell of sugar and starch. He could get a faint whiff of flour in there as well with the atmosphere feeling quite warm.

"Ammiraglio, what brings you here?" he heard the young voice of Carabiniere, the Italian Destroyer out of uniform and in her more casual attire covered up by an apron

Her question got the other girls of the Iris, Vichya, and Sardegna looking towards him in confusion. They had no expected him to be in the kitchen when they were hard at work preparing food for the feast. Food for the hundreds of shipgirls that would be attending although they doubted all of them would like their preferred culinary. Even so, the shipgirls around the Admiral weren't against him being here either. He had fooled around with the major factions for the most part, denying them any attention besides the occasional visit.

Shikikan simply replied by taking off his white uniform to reveal a gray undershirt before he took one of the leftover aprons and put it on, "You won't mind if I help you all a little?"

He didn't get any answer nor did any of the girls try to push him out. On the contrary, he found himself thrusted into the hands of the French first before the Italians dragged him back. Funny enough, most of the shipgirls were smaller than Shikikan due to them being Destroyers but they still had the strength to carry him around like a toy. He really needed to review over why these women could probably beat him in an arm-wrestling competition without giving an ounce of their strength.

"Amiral," he heard Dunkerque say, "try one of my macarons. I just made them a few minutes ago and I want your input."

Shikikan was presented with a wide assortment of the bite sized dessert with so many colors in the bunch. Taking one of them at random, he tossed the treat into his mouth before his taste buds practically exploded. It felt like a barrage of flavor attacking every nerve in an endless assault to overwhelm him. It felt like a state of nirvana with how his taste buds basically overloaded in ecstasy.

"It's very good. Probably the best you've made so far, Dunkerque," the Admiral said honestly, wanting to take another macaron but he knew there would be plenty of food

His eyes then noticed some movement in the back, spotting Trento trying to carry over a pot filled with pasta. Instinct took over as the officer went over to be sure the clumsy shipgirl didn't drop it or put it in the wrong place. His instincts were proven right when she suddenly lost her footing due to spilled flower on the floor. Thankfully, all he had to do was simply get a grip around her waist and brace himself for the combined weight.

"T-Thank you, Amiral," Trento said with gratefulness, placing the pot safely on the counter

Shikikan gave a nod but he felt the atmosphere around him go a bit cold. Turning around, he spotted the jealous looks of Trento's comrades. Thankfully, the Iris and Vichya were mostly made up of Destroyers, giving some breathing room for the only male on the island. If Shikikan had it his way at the beginning of his career, he would have asked for a position somewhere else. The shipgirls' competition for his affection was getting a bit old and a bit tiresome.

"Amiral, have a taste of this. I made it myself," the Admiral turned towards Zara who held a tiny plate with a block-like dessert

He didn't question what it was at the very moment, instead, taking a fork and taking a piece. His tongue was immediately greeted with a salvo of flavors like cocoa, coffee, and cheese. A pleased look washed over him with his body unconsciously getting another piece. However, the piece was not there which made the officer look confused until he noticed the entire dessert gone. Looking to his left, he found the sleepy Le Malin having eaten the entire thing.

Shikikan would have been annoyed if it weren't for Malin's sleepy look being so adorable. Even in the peaceful place like this island base, Malin seemed to always be exhausted for some reason. Maybe she was training with her comrades in war exercises.

Shikikan's thoughts were broken when he saw the door open from the corner of his eye. Gascogne entered the kitchen having done all the paperwork for the day, her poker face still plastered. Following shortly after her was Roon, the yandere shipgirl stopping as she saw the Admiral with the other shipgirls.

"..." her silence was followed with her rigging being summoned with all guns pointed towards Shikikan, "Any last words?"

"Uh... Is it too late to s-"

The sounds of Roon's main guns could be heard with the officer running out of the kitchen. The regular human male running for his dear life with a vengeful Ironblood hot on his heels. Even with the days he had spent with her, that yandere side still never went away.


Shikikan looked over the mess hall, the entire area transformed to seat as many of the shipgirls as possible. Tables had been arranged both in the interior and exterior to accommodate such a vast number. Like last year, he had to be sure Yuudachi stayed away from all the food until it was ready to be served. Although, he reduced the number of turkeys this year since Zuikaku was not a fan of the poultry. Something about a losing all of her fighters in a botched attempt to push back an American assault.

After the scary being known as Roon, he had changed into more civilian clothes for the occasion. He kept a gray undershirt with a pair of jeans, but he wore a thick black coat over it and a red scarf. It was fall, moving onto winter, so the weather was quite cool on the base. However, the cool wind did little to hamper the general happiness warming his heart for celebrations like this. But, the only item on his list that he preferred to avoid was to give a speech before the meal.

He really hated speeches. Shikikan didn't feel it motivated people enough to warrant their necessity. They took too long to get to the point, and they were a nerve wrack to come up with. He wasn't some gifted speaker like Mikasa or some of the other elder shipgirls. If he ever made a speech, he made it quick and to the point. Although, he could see the usefulness of them when it came to dates.

Speaking of dates, Gascogne was kind enough to fix up the Admiral's schedule so he could manage his very complicated love life much easier. Next week would be a week full of dates and testing some new equipment. High Command was going to reduce the paperwork since the next holiday was next month.

Thank goodness.

"Admiral, are you coming to eat with us?"

The officer was so deep in his thoughts that time flew faster than expected. He blinked to realize that the shipgirls had begun gathering food on plates to enjoy for the evening. They didn't wait for him to make some boring speech about how proud he was to work with all of them. Enemies having become good friends and even the deepest of rivalries having been quenched in friendship. Sure, they all had their problems with each other from past circumstances, but they put it behind them for a peaceful future.

Shikikan blinked again to see Enterprise waiting for him at the entrance to the mess hall. She must have been the voice to break him out. At this rate, he might as well be Tirpitz with all the thinking he had been doing. He shook his head to get himself fully back into reality and walked towards the entrance.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Don't expect me to give a rousing speech again," he said as he walked towards the station of food to get his large plate and enjoy a night of merriment

Besides, he had dates to look forward to in a week. Let's just hope they don't go south on him.


Alright, here is my Thanksgiving chapter with some shipgirls from our favorite French and Italian factions. I was attempting to go a bit longer, but I wanted something for this festive holiday. So, I hope I entertained all of you. Have a happy Thanksgiving, even if you don't celebrate it, and have a good night.

Next Chapter: A Date with Baltimore