Blinking.
Blinking, and some more blinking.
A yawn, sitting up, and a cat-like stretch.
Morning has always been one of the most, if not the most parts of the day. Maybe even for normal humans. There's sleep, breakfast, stretching, and morning exercises.
It's the start of the day, and humans(?) have always had a tendency to place importance on beginnings. Like how first impressions are one of the most important parts of getting to know someone in that you never really forget the first impression.
Not that she particularly felt that way, though. Why anyone would confine anyone to a shallow first impression she didn't really understand.
Anyway, mornings were important. The start of the day. The only time off the top of Atago's head that could be more important than morning would be sorties.
Atago gazes around the as-of-yet pitch-dark room. She could just vaguely make out the outlines of all the ships sleeping on the floor.
They're big shapes, small shapes, all feminine shapes, animal ears like hers included, clothed by darkness and pajamas.
It's filled with sleeping mattresses. You could see the tatami mats in the spaces in between them. There are wooden walls on two out of four sides of the square room, with traditional Japanese translucent sliding doors taking up the rest of the spaces.
And she turns her gaze from the walls to right next to her.
Good morning.
She's greeted by the sleeping faces of her family; of her sister ships, Takao, Choukai, and Maya.
They look so peaceful but there's also lines of drool if one looks close enough. Mostly on Takao's face. Always the messy sleeper.
Her whole body isn't faring much better in that regard; slanted with her limbs all over the place.
But it contrasts so much with her expression, which even now is pulled taut in a no-nonsense scowl that would've been intimidating if not for the drool trailing down her mouth.
It's one of the cutest things in the world, though. Especially with the pajamas everyone is wearing. Atago's face blossoms into a wide grin.
Also featuring saliva on the corner of her mouth. Quickly corrected.
Choukai and Maya are silent sleepers, though. No noise and proper posture all the time; facing up, arms on their sides.
In the few times Atago has been able to observe her own sleeping posture upon waking up, she'd observed herself to be more spontaneous, like Takao.
(It should go without saying that that doesn't mean that Choukai and Maya aren't as much of her sisters as Takao is.)
She may have even been a little bit messier, considering that her foot was just short of someone's face.
That tends to happen often in these naval bases where all the ship girls are divided by faction and choice which often results in sharing big rooms a lot like this one.
Atago gives Takao another fond look.
Even supposing that in some alternate universe, they weren't in the same faction, nothing would ever take her away from her dear sister, and the rest of her family, she thinks without sparing a thought for why they'd be in different factions if they were sister ships.
She leans over to Maya, supporting herself with her arms, careful not to wake anyone else up.
"Good morniiiing." Atago whispers softly, careful not to wake anyone else up.
She opens a single eye. Immediately.
"Good morning, Big Sis."
Maya doesn't mumble or show any signs of grogginess, even this early in the morning.
She's up early today, too. She could've been up at the same time as her, or perhaps even before.
But when she did wake up, she always seemed to have a tendency to stay in bed. But contrary to nature, she wouldn't fall back asleep. Maya would just close her eyes and wait for the right time to rise.
Or so I think.
It could be that - Maya having a strange habit of staying perfectly still in bed after waking up - or she could just be an amazingly light sleeper, light enough that a whispered greeting in the early morning would wake her up and have her rearing to go right away.
Ah, the hue outside is turning brighter. It's black turning to a dull light blue which changes to a brilliant yellow that'd never let us stay asleep.
"It's time to grab breakfast."
"Yes."
"Hey, Takao, Choukai..."
The two shifted a little with soft whines, almost inaudible, but Atago was confident in her ears. She had four, after all.
Choukai was quickly up after a few seconds as always, which is why she didn't try anything else to wake her up.
Takao was a heavy sleeper, so she got a surprise hug in bed from behind, courtesy of big sister.
She turned her head and shot her an annoyed look that didn't sting any with how her eyes were practically still closed and her mouth still bordered with drool.
For people who were technically soldiers they often didn't look the type, this time being one of those. But they are.
They were even able to get up without causing much of a stir or waking any of the other girls needlessly, after all.
Choukai and Maya looked amused at Takao, who wouldn't meet any of their eyes, probably because hers was still closed.
Atago giggled.
Waking up, as always, was a highlight and a delight where she got to think about her cute little sisters in peace and admiration.
And so the morning would carry on and end.
Then afternoon would come, and then evening. And then morning again.
Then again.
And she wouldn't have it any other way.
Not with a family like this.
A high-pitched, annoying, obnoxious, repetitive, infernal ringing sounded out, next to a bed.
A groan in equal-parts pain, annoyance, and fury.
He felt around for his phone, picked it up, and cracked an eye open just enough to get a glance at the screen, because there was no way he'd be able to deactivate the alarm without even looking for the button.
He didn't want to grope around in the darkness like a fool.
Then it came to him just as he saw the alarm's name.
First day at work.
A groan in equal-parts alarm, annoyance, and self-loathing.
What kind of slob showed up late to the first day at work? In the military, no less. He'd get a demotion at this rate, maybe before even a year, or even a month.
10 minutes. I'll make it if I skip breakfast.
So the man threw himself more than dragged himself out of bed, rising to his feet sloppily - his sleep schedule needed work - and made his way to shower. It was as mercilessly cold as always; so much so that he wanted to scream, but he didn't, because that'd be girly, and he was a manly military man who had been good enough at his job to be appointed Admiral of a fleet - his own fleet - in his twenties.
He cracked a small smile.
At least he had already packed the night before. Small mercies. It was already shaping up to be one of those days.
He would shower quickly, put on his uniform given to him for the task, pick up the luggage, then drive to the naval base.
He exited his room, things in tow, and checked out. He was staying in a humble apartment for the course of his assignment. As expected, there was almost nobody out at this time. The sky was still a sleepy dark blue, and the streets only illuminated by a few headlights. It was almost dark enough for it to be mistaken as night.
"Hey, have you heard, Big Sis?"
Yellow eyes turned to meet the person who was asking.
"Heard what?"
"We're gonna have a new admiral today!"
Atago frowned at Choukai, who proceeded to eat some egg. She tilted her head, and hummed in confusion.
A new admiral? Since when? It's not as if Atago particularly liked the previous commander, but an explanation would be in order. She hadn't heard anything about this.
"What happened to the last one?"
Choukai looked up from her plate of 1 and a half omelettes. She blinked.
"You don't remember? He quit."
Hm. Was that so? Since when?
"Hm? Is that so? Since when?"
Choukai rolled her eyes up to the ceiling to contemplate. "Last week or so?"
Last week, hm. Quite recent. Time flew quickly in the naval base.
"Good riddance. What a piece of work," Akagi joined the table sneering, sister in tow.
She didn't look nice sneering. Then again, nobody did, as far as she knew. So she took it upon herself to change that.
Atago gave a cheerful smile and beamed, "Good morning, Akagi!"
"Good morning," was said from all around the table in varying tones of liveliness.
Hooray for solidarity.
Takao, ever the serious one, frowned. "It's prohibited to talk about your superiors like that."
"He's not our superior anymore." Choukai and Atago giggled, the latter sounding substantially more forced. Takao's frown deepened.
No… The solidarity...
"Always going on about how expensive and needy we are while not even being able to assign us in proper team compilations… Then leaving the base for days at a time because he was 'busy'..."
It felt as if there were a dark cloud around her growing with every word she spoke along with the viciousness in her tone. It was a little sad.
"Akagi," reminded her sister.
Kaga gave an apologetic look. Atago gave her a sympathetic one.
Ever the peacemaker, that one. Atago let her lips tug at the thought, inserting more amusement into her expression than she should've, but not enough to be offensive.
"I only wish he'd have left sooner." Satisfied with her rant, she started digging into the glistening omelettes on her plate.
Choukai and Maya were nodding while Atago was giggling. Nervously, of course.
It just didn't sit right with her to be so venomous with someone, and she doubted that it ever would.
Takao sighed and continued with her meal while nobody else seemed affected in the least.
She wasn't about to start anything serious over a little rant. She would adjust to her comrade, and at other times her comrade would adjust to her. That was just how it went. Just as always.
"That said," Choukai picked up the conversation, "How do you think the new one will be like?"
"It's too early to say," chimed in Maya, "I just hope he's nothing like the previous one."
Takao sighed slightly, almost imperceptibly, but didn't say anything.
While it was definitely interesting to have an almost completely alien factor shoved into their lives, there was obviously no use in fantasizing about how they'd get along, or how he would act. Humans were not so gifted as to be able to see the future with just their minds. That kind of thing only existed in anime and manga.
"It's no use to think about it, but I'd like it if he-" Atago trailed off, thinking of the wording for what she was about to say, and staring at the ceiling because it no doubt held the answer.
"-was more… approachable…? Than the last," She'd said a question as much of a statement.
"Amiable," Takao suggested, always the nice and prim girl, looking all the more defeated at admitting how much of the opposite of amiable the previous commander was.
Her own face scrunched up in a tension, as if holding in a laugh and trying not to show any emotion at the same time.
She had personally never found the previous commander to be particularly hostile, or anything like that. They just didn't get along very well. They never really clicked, so to speak. And she respected that. It was natural.
So natural, in fact, that he didn't get along with anyone else in the base.
Which was the case, but he should be given the benefit of the doubt or something. Maybe he just happened to not particularly get along with any of the girls in the whole base. That didn't make him a bad person. Probably.
Choukai giggled at the tension that was no doubt manifesting itself - rearing its ugly head - on her face.
She sighed, much like Takao a few seconds prior. Akagi looked smug.
It looked like it was about to become an interesting day, Atago thought as they continued eating their omelettes in amiable peace.
The city bustled and tussled with city life as a man drove his way through in a humble car, flanked on all sides by looming skyscrapers, a few busy people having seemingly gotten up this early to go to their jobs - Were they so busy? Did they never stop being so busy? Or did life never stop being so hectic? - and, true to the lack of population on the sidewalks, a lack of car population on the streets, which meant a quick and smooth transit.
That's what he was expecting.
It's also what would've happened if not for an obstacle in his path.
An old lady, the type one would imagine when they hear the word grandma, was crossing the street in front of him at a pace that looked too horrendously slow to be anything but leisurely.
Upstanding and outstanding citizen that he was, he patiently waited for the old lady to cross.
But it was just so mind-bogglingly slow that he was starting to get a little bit infuriated with the old lady for blocking his path while being so slow. It was actually impressive how slow she was.
The old lady groaned inaudibly, signalled by the opening of her mouth - or was she just breathing - but kept going.
If she had competed with snails in a race to see who was the slowest, he had no doubt in his mind that she'd win.
Then her body visibly wobbled and he was out of the car before she could say first day in the new job, much less collapse in front of him.
His arms steadied her shaky frame and, looking up to him, she said, "Thank you, sonny. What's your name?"
He had no time for this. "It's not important, ma'am. Let's just get you across this street."
He painstakingly offered her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
A car honked behind his.
He stepped forward, still holding the ancient granny like an oversized egg.
Why was someone honking at him? Could they not see that he was helping a granny across the street? What kind of degenerate dog honked at someone helping a granny across the street? Were they blind?
At the thought, he looked at the granny in his arms. Definitely blind.
"Oh… Oh, no, I insist, sonny boy. I'd love to know the name of the nice young man who helped me so kindly this morning."
Did she really want to know his name or did she just not want to not know his name? Better yet, maybe the old lady should've known that there was a car crossing by by the time she had been making her way through the city streets. Maybe that would've been better for everyone.
"It's Shiki Kan." Forced smile.
The granny in her arms trembled a little bit. She had been trembling for the past few seconds as they were crossing the streets, but she seemed to do it a bit more this time.
Her mouth, scrunched in focus, morphed into a wild smile, which opened and let out the words:
"What kind of name is that!"
Then she laughed like a harpy or a witch while letting herself be practically carried throughout the street like the dead weight she-
He forced out a smile and dropped her off the sidewalk, still laughing like the senile dolphin she was, and turned to leave.
"Thanks, Sonny! I'll remember you!"
He shuddered at the thought and continued on his way.
But not after waving back at the old lady, because not doing so would make him a snob and a bad member of society.
The car behind him seemed to have steered past his - a fact that he had registered when it happened - because the streets were big and vacant enough for that.
He sighed. It looked like being late had become an inevitability.
Was it worth it? No.
The naval base itself was pretty and homey, much more so than he'd expected from a naval base.
Military bases in general were likely among the last things most people would think of upon hearing the word homey. They were stiff, with tension in the air and war drifting about everywhere, whether or not there was actually a war because they were always prepared for it.
They weren't supposed to be dotted with strolling, frolicking, and otherwise leisurely walking young women who almost looked like young women if not for the guns attached to them.
Naval bases were usually bordered by the sea anyway, and it was always beautiful, but it was never supposed to be lively, because the only way it'd be anything close was if there were an invasion, and lively wasn't exactly how one would describe Omaha beach during D-Day.
They weren't supposed to be homes; they were supposed to be bases.
Then again, he supposed, that might have never been the case for these ship girls, who were supposedly born and raised in these so-called bases which, a dime-a-dozen, were reserved exclusively for them and their commander.
He didn't quite know what to think about how the military dealt with them. Ship-girls; inventions or weapons that combined the immense firepower of a ship with the speed, flexibility and maneuverability of human soldiers, then increased even further. And the way to manage them was to stick them into these reserved compounds along with a military official and say give us many grandchildren, or enjoy your honeymoon?
Which definitely wasn't what they were told, but it might as well have been. Live among these women and love them for your duties? What about all the training? What about the expectations? They were set up to be soldiers, warriors, not househusbands, that they should sit around in a command room to give orders sitting on their asses and do nothing else!
Some admirals were so unsettled with the job that they deliberately gave less than their 100%- they half-assed, or even quarter-assed the job until the military swapped them out for someone more willing.
Which just so happened to be him, except for the willing part.
Yay.
"Admiral! Why are you late!?" His predecessor, tall, but only slightly taller than him, in his same uniform, looked down his nose at the young Shikikan, eyes blazing with fury, hat and ridiculous moustache in place along with a facial structure that reminded him of Squidward, or rather one of those ancient Tiki statues. Like the dad character from Rainy with a Chance of Meatballs.
He couldn't do anything but bow in a show of submission to authority and apologize furiously.
That only seemed to disgust him more. The taller man scrunched up his nose and furrowed his brows further. "And on your first day, no less!"
"I am deeply sorry, sir. It will never happen again." He didn't bother making eye contact, because that might've been seen as disrespectful.
"Why are you late?" The tone seemed to soften considerably. Now the young admiral knew that he was not being spoken to as a subordinate, but as a friend. Or as a subordinate but in a friendly manner.
"I was almost on time until an old lady blocked my path. I had to get out of my car to help her cross the streets. It was a saving grace that the streets are empty around this area this early in the morning."
The taller man groggily blinked at him, eyebags visible, and let out a laugh.
"That sounds like you."
It made him out as if he were some sort of golden-hearted anime or movie protagonist who did things like helping old ladies cross the street regularly. Because he wanted to.
The smaller man sighed. "Thanks, I guess." Which wasn't the case but he wasn't one to look a gift horse at the mouth and probably never would be.
One has to be thankful for the good things that happen to them, after all.
His predecessor smiled down at him as he stood up and dusted his uniform.
"So, are you prepared for the job?"
A contemplative hum.
"More or less. How bad could it be?"
And as if he had told a funny joke, the older Ex-Admiral's smile turned into a grin that showed off his teeth and stretched his mouth ear-to-ear.
"Please don't smile like that. You're scaring me."
The Ex-Admiral frowned at that, as if deeply offended, then just as suddenly barked out another great laugh.
He was a friend that he had met in passing before.
He seemed uptight at first glance, but once you got to know him, he was actually quite lax.
Almost annoyingly so, actually. But he wasn't going to say that even at gunpoint. He had no doubt in his mind that the man would be able to do worse things to him than a mere shooting, after all.
That's why he waited for the bigger man to finish laughing. It didn't take long.
He gave him a sharp look.
"Hm. Anyway, ready or not, let's introduce you to the constituents of the base. You'll also have to pick a secretary ship."
A what?
"Excuse me, sir."
He was answered with an inquisitive glance.
"A secretary ship? I was under the impression that my secretary was going to be another..."
He hesitated, feeling for the words in his mind's eye while the taller man raised his eyebrow.
"Human being."
Without meter-long guns attached at the hip, went unsaid but understood.
"Besides, I've never particularly needed a secretary before."
If the former admiral took any offense - whether it be to his audacity or to his attitude towards the shipgirls - he didn't show it. He probably wouldn't have taken offense anyway considering he was so willing to move out, but it never hurt to check for signs. You always have to please people in power.
Instead, he scrunched up his nose again, as if the topic physically smelled bad.
"Nobody else ever volunteers to be in these places."
Nobody ever wants to be near these.
"Besides, it's not like they always have giant guns on them. I think they're detachable," he muttered.
Then he looked directly at him.
"And taking a secretary isn't about actually having someone help you with your work. It's about growing closer to the shipgirls, one at a time."
The bigger man's eyes said sorry even as his mouth twisted into a wry smile.
"So let's pick one out for you, already," he said as he started walking to another part of the base.
"Any recommendations," he ventured.
His only friend in the vicinity took a few seconds to mutter a No, none.
Atago was overseeing a spar between Maya and Takao. It was her job to make sure that they didn't actually injure each other, especially since they were still on duty. They were dashing, slashing, passing each other when Choukai approached her.
"Big Sis, we're having a roll call."
So she called out to her two younger sisters who, though a bit miffed that their sparring had been interrupted, sheathed their blades and made their way to the underground shipyard together.
It was a huge, cubic, attic-like space, boxed in with sheets of metal and accessed through hallways that lead to staircases that lead back up to the main grounds of the base.
The space functioned as a safe bunker, a place to distribute oil among the shipgirls, a place to store equipment, a place to equip said equipment, and most other utilities that would be afforded a large, cubic space.
Right now it was filled with dozens of girls from every faction standing around the center, where two men - the soon-to-be Ex-Admiral and someone else she didn't recognize - were standing on chairs to make them visible over the crowd.
The first thing that came to Atago's mind was that the other guy was probably their new admiral, by virtue of the uniform, standing with the Ex-Admiral, being segregated from everyone else and being a guy.
Obvious stuff.
The second thing that Atago noticed was that thankfully, everyone was relatively quiet despite the relative crampedness. It was so quiet that one could actually hear what the two men at the center were saying to each other even from the outer parts of the crowd which circled around them.
Ah, that's why it's so quiet.
"This is a lot," said
"Yeah, there are a lot of ship girls in a naval base," said Ex-Admiral sagely, as if explaining that the floor was indeed made of floor.
Looking around closer, she could see that many of her fellowmen(women) were staring intently at the two men while a minority subtly leered at them. If they noticed, they didn't show it. If they were bothered, they didn't show it.
As expected of the Military's top brass, their poker faces are impeccable.
"So, what do you think?"
The Ex-Admiral nudged the New Admiral.
"I think that..."
New Admiral stroked his chin, as if to think on a great truth.
"There's a lot of them."
They chatted like that for a bit, making small talk and saying nothing worth remembering.
Some of her sisters' faces faulted a bit from their supposedly unwavering stares, making her stifle a giggle.
"Please bear with us for a bit more! We're waiting on the rest of the base," said the New Admiral.
Rogers, hums of affirmative, and mildly impressed looks with raised eyebrows resounded through the crowd like ripples through a pond.
The New Admiral had already directly addressed them all. That was perhaps more than could have been said for the Ex-Admiral (although it must be noted that she personally held no harsh feelings towards that guy).
That meant that he showed more promise, which was good. It gave them hope for a better future, with an Admiral that understood, interacted with and got along with them and everything.
Although that was just the first sentence he spoke. Hardly any basis.
The Ex-Admiral smirked at the new one, as if taking credit for his crowd control skills.
Atago could sense Maya rolling her eyes and hear Takao sighing. They were huddled together, but in a natural manner in which the air wouldn't be too cramped nor too spacious.
Soon enough, the people stopped funneling in. They were now not at the outermost layer of the crowd but rather at one of the outer layers.
The man shot his junior a look, slapped his back softly, and said something that sounded like okay go.
The man shot his senior a look, rubbed his back, and coughed a bit. Like he was clearing his throat before starting his speech.
"First of all, it's nice to meet all of you today. My name is Shiki Kan, and I'll be your new admiral starting today, as you may have heard. Please call me Shikikan."
Giggles and murmurs sounded throughout the crowd, mostly consisting of what a funny name, I see what he did there and what!? we have a new admiral since when what happened to the old one.
"Some of you may be asking what happened to the old admiral to necessitate my being here."
A few high-pitched noises were made, as if to say what he heard me how.
The New Admiral inhaled.
"The Old Admiral has been dismissed and is going to be stationed somewhere else for his service."
That man gave him a look that said who are you calling old.
"Therefore, I will be stationed here as the Admiral henceforth." He bowed from his hip.
A few girls started clapping until the other man nudged him.
New Admiral looked up and nodded.
"There's one more thing. I will select a secretary to aid me in my duties," The Old Admiral was nodding along with him now.
"You there," he pointed a finger that should land towards… her sister?
She had thought about what would've happened if one of her sisters were selected as secretary before. She concluded that it might be a little lonely at first, but they would adjust and still make time for each other, so it would be completely okay.
As long as she was still there to take care of her remaining sisters, of course. What would she do without them?
"Pst, Takao, I think he means you."
To which her sister raised her eyebrow.
"You with the… funny ears."
"Funny ears? That's you, Takao."
Takao pointed at herself.
"Uh, no, the other person with funny ears."
Ehhh.
Atago pointed at herself and nodded.
"Yes, you."
Oh my. This is unfortunate.
"Please take care of me."
He bowed again at the hip, and applause rang out. The crowd seemed to follow who he was pointing at, but didn't have much reaction, probably because the secretary role was never viewed as anything particularly special before.
It was just a role wherein one spent more time away from the other ships and with the Commander instead. With Shikikan.
Atago internally sighed and resigned herself.
He seemed like a man of a few words if his speech just now was any indicator.
It would be unfortunate indeed to have to spend more time away from her beloved siblings and family, but being secretary wasn't going to be too challenging.
She wasn't going to have to be away from her family for too much.
Her new commander wasn't going to be too… not amiable.
Probably not.
Yeah, she should give him a chance to prove himself. It could even be the start of a great relationship. Who knew?
The men descended from their chairs.
And with a backdrop of applause, metal walls, and hopeful(more probably: desperate) optimism, Atago's life as the Admiral's Secretary started.
