Winner

Zuikaku's day off had been pretty uneventful until she, of all things, found herself seated in front of a pachinko machine at that purposefully gaudy and ear-splittingly noisy parlor. Throngs of people, from salarymen on breaks to housewives, left no rows unoccupied, unperturbed by the constant smell of smoke filling the air—she wondered how they managed that, given all the effort she had to give to keep herself from choking.

She also wondered if the activity was actually exciting, given that nearly everyone seemingly wore the same blank expression, a sharp contrast to the machines they were using.

Just beside her was the Commander, wearing civilian clothes—it was his day off, too, it seemed. He was waiting, ever patiently, with a big smile.

"Well, think you're ready, Lucky Crane?" He said, waving a card in front of Zuikaku. "You've been staring at the machine for about ten minutes now."

Zuikaku inhaled and sighed. Maybe she would never be ready. Not ready to make an inevitable fool of herself—the Commander would treat her like a child again when that happened.

Damn her curiosity, she grumbled. And besides, why this specific machine anyway? It was too cutesy for her liking. But the Commander seemed too eager to teach her how to play that bizarre game. When he's like that, she really can't refuse.

At least, she wasn't the only female there; she thought such establishments would only be frequented by old men. She was relieved to see that there were women her age, which probably explained the presence of the machine she was using.

"Okay, I'm ready," she finally said. Without a word, the Commander slid the card into the slot.

"Alright, press that little black thing," he pointed to a small button. When Zuikaku did, small balls started filling the tray.

"See that knob on the lower right? You'll want to twist it," he continued. Zuikaku stared blankly in response, first at the Commander and then at the object. She hastily reached for it, giving it a hard twist. The balls shot out the top and into the losing chute.

"Huh?" She stared at it wide-eyed.

"Try again, but not too hard this time. Oh, don't be too soft either, or they won't move; you'll have to adjust the power," the Commander remarked. While he didn't laugh as she had expected, he sounded amused enough to get Zuikaku flustered.

Nevertheless, she decided to try again, turning the knob left and right. The balls launched into the center, audibly bouncing against the pegs.

"Well, you might want to aim for them to hit that thing in the center. That's how you win," said the Commander as he watched.

"Um, okay," Zuikaku trailed off; she wasn't too keen to share the excitement, but when she noticed the balls landing into the hole and the numbers started rolling, her eyes became glued to the screen, her heart racing.

The three numbers match, and more balls fill the tray.

"Well, this is the first time I saw someone getting the jackpot on their first try. You really are the Lucky Crane," the Commander quipped. Zuikaku heard it and smiled.

Maybe it was because she was already warmed up to that game. Or perhaps it was because she always liked the feeling of winning. Whatever it was, she could feel excitement rushing through her.

And that was a good enough reason to continue.

While she did not always get the jackpot, Zuikaku knew she had fun. The Commander advised against showing it, saying it was bad luck, but she didn't care.

She had lost count of how many spins she had already got, but the machine still had something in store.

"Huh...it takes longer this time…" she mumbled. She already got another spin, and two of the numbers were already matched. The middle one kept going back and forth while the bleeps and the music were becoming increasingly frantic as the good cat on the screen battled it out with his archnemesis.

"Oh man, haven't seen this one in ages. The reach mode. If you win this, you win big. Like, really big."

"Oh," was all Zuikaku said; her eyes were still on the screen. She thought she could win this; all the signs were there.

As it turned out, she did. As hundreds of balls, vastly more numerous than she had gotten so far, poured into the tray and the box below, she managed to keep herself from cheering, partly because of what the Commander had told her and partly because she didn't want to seem like an idiot.

"Oh my. Damn. I wish I had your luck back then, Zuikaku," the Commander whistled when he saw the winning box, filled to the brim.

Zuikaku nodded. For a while, she thought of asking if she could continue, but the Commander, as if he could read her mind, shook his head.

"The most important thing here is, knowing to quit when you're ahead," he said.

Zuikaku had no disagreement with that.

After receiving the receipt for her winning, Zuikaku headed to the exchange counter where the Commander was waiting.

"They have quite a selection here...anything caught your fancy?"

Zuikaku browsed the selection. Truthfully, she found most of them useless. She had no need for toys, that's for sure. Eventually, her gaze settled on something.

"I'd like that one," she said, pointing at a bottle of sake; the Commander looked at it as well and was caught off-guard, doubly so when Zuikaku passed him the bottle.

"Here, for you, Commander. Your favorite, if I recall correctly. Thank you for today; it was fun."

"Uh, are you sure…? I mean, it's your winnings."

Zuikaku tried not to smirk. It was rare for the Commander to react to her like that.

It felt like another victory to her.

Father

"Ohoh, what happened?" Shoukaku couldn't quite hold back from asking when she saw the scene in front of her as soon as she entered the Commander's office to check on her sister.

"Mutsuki fell and scraped her knee pretty badly," Zuikaku replied without turning her attention from the wound she was treating. Mutsuki whined each time Zuikaku pressed the soapy water-soaked cloth against it, but she clearly put her best effort not to bawl and stay calm—the fact that there was a lollipop in her mouth probably helped too. In contrast, Kisaragi, who seemed fine, was crying, though the Commander tried his best to cheer her up with sweet words and head pats. When they proved to be ineffective, he ended up making funny faces—which, though undignified, worked as intended.

"There... don't move too much for the time being, alright, Mutsuki-chan?" Zuikaku said gently after applying some ointment and a bandaid over the wound. Mutsuki sniffled some more but beamed after that.

"Thanks a lot, Zuikaku-san, Commander! It doesn't really hurt anymore!" she exclaimed.

"Th-thank you, Commander, Zuikaku-san..." Kisaragi bowed at the two. She had stopped crying.

"No problem, no problem; here, have a candy too," the Commander offered Kisaragi the same lollipop he gave Mutsuki earlier. She was initially reluctant—but seeing Zuikaku smiling at her, she gave in.

Not long after, the two left, holding hands with each other.

"Good job, Zuikaku," Shoukaku, who had been silent for quite some time, chimed in.

"Ah, no big deal. Commander was the one who carried Mutsuki here," though she looked happy being praised, Zuikaku, as usual, tried to downplay it.

"Well...I can't just leave her be, can I? I have to do something," said the Commander, "If anything, you're the one who did the most work."

"No, no, it's something anyone can do, you know?"

"Yes, so is carrying someone, Zuikaku."

Shoukaku sighed at the exchange.

"Let's just say you two put in an equal amount of effort," she suggested after some thinking. The two were quick to accept it, she noted.

"Alright, good point. Anyway, thank you, Zuikaku. You're a great help," the Commander said with a shrug.

"Same goes for you," she laughed.

"So, I imagine the Commander carried Mutsuki on his back. Am I right?" Shoukaku inquired. The Commander gave her an incredulous look, which despite being rare, was not entirely surprising—but Zuikaku, with that admiring look, surprised her more, as if she thought the question was nothing out of the ordinary.

"He is. It's like seeing a...father."

Shoukaku blinked and turned to the Commander, who apparently was struggling to decide between amusement and bemusement.

"Well, that's...surprising. But I'm flattered," the Commander said as he walked to his desk to rummage through one shelf and produce yet another lollipop.

"Here, a good father always rewards kids who did their best," he laughed as he handed the candy to Zuikaku.

"I'm not a child," she muttered, but she took it anyway, though she didn't eat it.

"Hahaha, yeah, you aren't. But that doesn't mean I can't care for you, right?"

Shoukaku was unsure how Zuikaku interpreted the admittedly casual remark, but she turned very red and stammering.

"Ah...ahahaha. We-well. I...well, guess...uh, that is, thank you, Commander. Um, see you tomorrow? It's time to call it a day, right? See you!"

And with that, she turned tail and bolted out of the room.

"Good grief, Commander. Messing with her like that," Shoukaku shook her head. The Commander was unfazed by the reaction, most likely because he was already all too familiar with it—and was often the cause.

"You don't think I'm lying, do you?"

"Of course not. I'm joking," Shoukaku replied, "you've always been honest."

"Glad to hear. Perhaps you should catch up with her."

"In that case, I'll see you, Commander," Shoukaku bowed and walked towards the door. But she didn't close it right away, even after she was outside.

"You forgot something?" the Commander raised a brow at her strange smile.

"... I'd have to say, you two seemed more like parents back then instead of father and daughter."

With a giggle, she closed the door, leaving the Commander behind.

"Were we? I wonder," he chuckled.

Beer

"It seems you have an explanation for this…if you do, please tell me. No, I won't get angry," the Commander told his secretary, the very guilty-looking Zuikaku. That didn't sound very reassuring to her, even though she knew the Commander would keep his words well.

Just beside her stood Shoukaku, who was still looking at a rather large number of beer crates stacked nearby. She cannot decide whether to be amused or bewildered by them.

Zuikaku swallowed before answering, "Um, well, I kinda…randomly participate in…you know, a Suntory raffle. It seems that these Kirin beers are the prize. I… didn't expect to win, honest. I just thought it was amusing…"

"…Oh," was all the Commander said before he burst into a laugh that served to make Zuikaku even redder; she eventually had to cover her face and hide her blush as the laughter went on.

"Okay, so that explains it. Must be nice, huh, Lucky Crane? I certainly hope you're not planning to guzzle all of them by yourself. Don't want you to end up with a beer belly now, do we? "

Zuikaku heard Shoukaku snorting at the remark, and she grew even more embarrassed.

"…Well, it's not like she could, eh, Commander? Base alcohol policy and all," Shoukaku said, clearly still trying to hold back a laugh.

"Yep, yep," the Commander nodded. "Not entirely forbidden, though. But If it is this much, I think sooner or later, you'll have to turn them in to the MPs."

"…Fine by me," a resigned Zuikaku muttered.

"Oh…what are those…things doing here?" Yuubari, who happened to be passing by, chimed in.

"Zuikaku got lucky," Shoukaku replied for her sister.

"…No surprise. Can I have some?"

Zuikaku blinked at that. "You…drink, Yuubari?"

"Drinking? No. My job requires a clear mind. I need them to get rid of rust from my equipment. And there are a lot of rusty bolts there, no thanks to seawater and the like. I'd need them for polish, too."

Zuikaku blinked again.

"Rust…? With beer?"

Yuubari shook her head as if she could not believe Zuikaku didn't know that already.

"…The carbonation is the key," she said, eyeing the crates impatiently; she was in a hurry and didn't feel like explaining in length. After all, they would just fly over Zuikaku's head anyway.

"Well, go ahead and take as much as you want…" Zuikaku, still a little surprised about the revelation, pointed at the crates.

"Well, then, I'll take a crate if you don't mind. Thank you very much," Yuubari bowed and took one with her.

"…Well, that's one less crate to think about," Shoukaku commented.

"Oh…are those…beer?" Before Zuikaku could answer, another passerby spoke.

"Oh, Choukai-chan. "Yes, they're beer," once again Shoukaku replied for Zuikaku.

Choukai, dressed in what appeared to be gardening garb instead of her uniform, seemed unusually happy hearing that.

"…C-can I have some? I could use some to kill garden slugs…oh, and probably clear up brown spots, too."

Zuikaku shrugged at that; while that was the first time she heard such use for beer, it was less surprising than what Yuubari had told her earlier. She's also grateful Choukai was too elated to bother asking where they came from.

"Eh, sure, just take as many as you want," she said.

Thanking Zuikaku profusely—and leaving her flustered again— Choukai took quite a lot with her, though still significantly less than Yuubari's haul.

For whatever reason, more and more people noticed the beer crates after that, and all of them seemingly had a use for some. Some were plausible and mundane enough, like soothing tired feet or cleaning stains. Some were a little strange, like tying a fly. Some others were bizarre. She could not fathom what benefit bathing in beer will bring and didn't want to try and find out either.

In any case, it solved her problem to a degree, leaving her with only a handful of beer. Shoukaku had left after asking for some earlier, saying she could use them for her recipes. Zuikaku wondered just how her sister would use them, but knowing her, she was sure the result would be tasty nonetheless.

"Well, well. Looks like they won't go to waste after all," the Commander remarked.

"Thank gods they aren't," Zuikaku heaved a sigh. "Here, would you like one?"

The Commander took the offered can and noticed Zuikaku, too, was holding one.

"Well, why not? Cheers."

"Cheers, Commander."

News

"...What are you girls doing here?" The Commander addressed the chattering group of giggling ship girls surrounding the secretary's desk. They quickly moved aside to reveal Zuikaku, with the local town newspaper in hand and a sheepish smile on her face.

"Ah, so it's the little birdie," the Commander laughed at the reveal—Zuikaku brought the paper up her face to hide the blush that decided to rise at the most unwelcome time. It didn't last long; she had been getting better at managing them.

"But really, Commander, big sis never thought you could be so philosophical," Atago piped up, barely keeping her amusement in check. "I mean, nobody would expect that if not for your interview."

"And you girls are laughing over that? Sheesh, just because I'm from Osaka doesn't mean I cannot be serious, you hear?" The Commander shot Atago a glare, but everyone present could tell he was only pretending.

"Oh, but we are not laughing over your wisdom, Commander," Shoukaku chimed in. Her tone was gleeful, and the Commander was unsure if he could believe her claim. He soon decided to let that pass and try to find out for himself.

"Well, if that's today's paper, I would like to read it," the Commander turned to Zuikaku, a hand reached out.

"Oh, okay, here."

"Thanks."

As he gave the front page a look, the Commander discovered articles on the recent local Marine Day celebration, which the base took part in. He recalled they did interview him about the sea and things like that, and truthfully, he was quite proud of how it turned out.

But that alone didn't explain why his subordinates looked so amused, and only after he saw his photo on the page did he understand why.

"Of all the photos in the whole world, they had to use this?" he couldn't help but speak aloud, and there was an odd choking sound from all present—as if they were collectively holding back their laughter.

"Pardon me, sir, but I guess that's what they thought was the most interesting picture of you," Aoba said.

"This is not your idea, isn't it?"

"Uh, no, sir; not at all."

"Oh well, what happened, happened. Now I believe you guys have work to do, so get to it," the Commander gestured toward the door, and the group all bowed before marching out. The dismissal seemed to do little to dampen their amusement, and Zuikaku thought she heard Aoba bursting out a laugh outside.

"Typical people, thinking someone getting hit by mud is funny," the Commander chuckled as he took a seat.

"Um, I'm sorry I showed them that," Zuikaku stood up and bowed, but that only got the Commander to raise a brow at her.

"Hmm, apology accepted? I'm not angry, though. It's just that's not my type of comedy," the Commander leafed through the pages, giving each a cursory look. "...Do you think it's funny?"

"Wh-um, no, really."

"Not really?"

"No, I mean, not that I find you getting hit by stray mud balls funny, but it's just…"

"Go on; I'm not going to get mad."

"But...how you answered the interview with such a straight face after that, well, I guess it's...kinda funny? No, not funny, it's…."

"Charming? Disgusting? Annoying?"

Zuikaku groaned as she felt the blush creeping up her face again.

"No, not that...I don't know. Commander, please don't make fun of me," she whined, and the Commander decided they should just start working before she exploded.

"Alright, alright, let's just leave it at that, and let's get to work," the Commander set the paper aside.

"Yes…" Zuikaku nodded and took the untouched paperwork she had left yesterday.

Maybe one day, she could really tell the Commander her answer to his question—that she found it charming.