A/N: Yep... this fic is still alive...
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It doesn't matter if you are a naval officer or a regular civilian, everyone loves a comfortable bed and warm blanket. McKenzie most certainly did.
The Maple man was fast asleep and gleefully(yet unknowingly) snuggling a pillow as he slept, while a comfy blanket wrapped his body. Though this time he wore a pair of boxer shorts and a white T-shirt, as he did not want to have another awkward encounter with the "Royal Maids.". Queen Elizabeth may have had good intentions by having them come over, but the Maple had come dangerously close to being lable a Pervert as a result.
Hopefully today they would not be in his room when he woke up, or at least that was what he hoped.
As the minutes ticked away and the sun slowly began to creep over the eastern horizon, a sweet smell soon began to fill his nostrils. But of course, McKenzie was still quite lost in dream land and didn't even seem to notice. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.
"Hehehe... you're cute when you when you sleep." A female voice spoke up. "Delightful..."
McKenzie slowly began to stir from his sleep and when his vision finally cleared up, he soon found himself staring into the face of a woman with piercing crimson eyes, red lips and a facial expression that would make a minor ask for a Adult.
"Good Morning, Shikkikan-sama."
What followed next was an incredibly manly (but not really) scream of terror, that echoed out from McKenzie's home and across the Alliance Base. As the grown man now found himself staring face to face with one of the Sakura Empire's well endowed aircraft carriers...
"What the hell are you doing in my house?!?!" The Commander exclaimed, as he quickly tried to cover himself with his blanket.
"I'm sorry if I surprised you, Shikikan." Taihou replied sweetly, Her outfit, was similar to a kimono, was being worn in such a way that... for a lack of a better term, gave McKenzie a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon. "But I thought it would be best if I came over and make you breakfast, as a sign of my gratitude for allowing my fellow countrymen to have a home at the base."
'Uh... yea..." McKenzie replied, now using his blanket to cover himself once again. "Why are you in my room in MY house? couldn't this wait until later today, when I am in my office?"
Taihou seemed to be slightly disheartened by the Commander's reaction, but quickly perked up again as she said "I... may have been slightly zealous in my wanting to properly thank you. I guess I will see you again later, my dear Shikikan." And with that the Sakura aircraft carrier left the bedroom, leaving a very confused yet concerned McKenzie behind.
From the way Taihou was acting, he really didn't want to know just how she planned to 'Thank" him.
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A Couple Hours Later...
After his rather unnerving encounter with the Sakura Aircraft Carrier (and making sure she had indeed left his home), McKenzie got dressed left his house as well.
Unlike the day before, Wales would not be picking him up this morning. Rather, McKenzie would be using his own personal vehicle which brought with him from Vancouver. Once again, making sure Taihou was not hiding in his Impala, McKenzie switched it on and drove off.
Meanwhile, at the academy itself, many of the students were now starting to arrive for their daily lessons. It may have been hard to believe that girls who were also warships, would need to "go to school". But as new tactics and technologies are created, it would make sense to pass on the new information to the ships/girls who would need it the most.
On of those who was tasked with teaching this knowledge, was the Union carrier Langley. She may have looked like a young child, but Langley was by far one of the more respected members of the Eagle Union fleet. As she had trained many of the Union's carriers and taught many of the skills they used during the first war against the Sirens.
Now with the new Alliance, the Light Carrier now found herself
imparting her knowledge to not only the Eagle Union, but the other factions as well. A daunting task, but fortunately the other factions had volunteered to teach at the Academy as well. But with the student body growing as more and more ships arrive, Langley knew they were gonna need more teachers to deal with the surge.
She was just about to enter the building when she heard a familiar voice call out her name. Soon enough, the light carrier saw Prince of Wales walking up from the Court Yard.
"Good Morning, Wales." Langley greeted the Battleship. "Um... where is the Commander?"
"He said he would be driving himself today." Wales answered, though with a slight hint of disappointment in her voice as she spoke. "So I decided to come in early to prepare his work schedule for the day. After yesterday's meeting with Nagato, he said he wanted to finally get started with work today."
"So what does he plan to do today?"
"He said I wanted to go through some reports from the last twelve months."
"So around the time of the split and the Orochi Incident." Langley asked, as the pair made their way into the building and away from most of the foot traffic.
"It seems so." The KGV Battleship replied. "But if I have to guess, he wants to know more about the role both Kaga and Akagi played in it all."
"Especially now with the them now living on the base.' Langley added. "I spoke with Master Mikasa yesterday, she told me everything."
"Apparently, it is a apart of their punishment. Or at least that's what the Commander told me. Though he still isn't sure what to do with them right not." Wales stated, just as the pair made it to the Faculty room. "Hopefully he will come up with a plan soon."
"I hope so too, though I hope it's much sooner rather than later." the carrier replied, a concerned expression forming on her face. "From what Mikasa told be, Nagato's decision to have the foxes posted here did have some push back."
"Considering what they did, it's not surprising. I doubt anyone here would be too willing to associate with Kaga and Akagi."
"Well according to Mikasa, the words 'Decommission and Retire' were thrown around more than a few times during her meetings with the other senior ships."
Upon hearing those words, Wales felt a cold shiver run up her spine. She had head them herself while recovering from her wounds near the end of the last war, as they were used in reference to herself. "Well hopefully they won't make Nagato regret her decision while here." the KGV-class battleship quickly replied. "Maybe he will have figured out something by today."
"You really think so?" Langley asked curiously.
"No." Wales confessed. "But you never know."
Eventually the pair finished their conversation and went their separate ways. Their conversation about the two fox sisters still fresh in their minds as they got ready to start their day. About this same time, McKenzie's car pulled into the courtyard and into his parking space. A "hiss" could be heard as the Impala "dropped" to the ground and McKenzie got out, making his way to the offices.
"Good Morning, Commander!" Wales greeted, as the man entered his office. "I hope you had a good night's sleep."
'I did... Before Taihou woke me up..." McKenzie replied, leaving out the last part.
"That's good to hear, because today is going to be quite busy." the blond woman replied, as she handed over several documents she had prepared before McKenzie's arrival.
"Oh well, time to earn my pay." The Maple replied, which caused the KGV Battleship to giggle just a bit. But McKenzie didn't notice, as he began to read up on the documents given to him.
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By mid day, McKenzie was now fully engrossed with his work. Wales had left the Academy to deliver some files to the Commander's secondary office at the Port Area, leaving McKenzie alone to carry out his duties.
The documents in question which had been given to him, were in regards of the recent spike of Siren Activity in the wake of the Orochi Incident. There had been sightings Sirens fleets near several major shipping lanes, which suggested that the Sirens were going back to their tactic of crippling major supply lines. Much like what they did during the pervious war.
Obviously, these supply lines needed to be protected and would require ships being deployed to do just that. So engrossed he was reading the files, he did not notice the door to his office open. Allowing a certain aircraft carrier to enter and attempt to engage her new target...
"Hello, Shikkikan-sama..." a playful but familiar voice said, once again catching the Maple off guard. Though unlike earlier that morning, he was able to regain his composure and not scream in terror like last tim. Lifting his head up, McKenzie saw Taihou standing before his desk with a trey of food.
"Oh... hello, Taihou." McKenzie replied, trying to remain calm. "What brings you here now?"
"Oh... I just wanted to apologized for this morning." the Aircraft Carrier replied. "I think that I may have a over stepped some boundaries by breaking into your home."
"Gee, ya think?!"
McKenzie thought to himself, but just replied... "It's okay. Just... don't do that again."
"Like Ever."
"Still, I think need to apologize for what I did. So in an attempt to seek your forgiveness, I decided to bring you your lunch." and with that, Taihou placed the tray on his desk. "Beef Ramen, with some sweet rice balls and a glass of Green Tea Soda to wash it all down."
"Green... tea... Soda?"
"Yes." the Carrier said happily. "It's a popular drink among the Sakura Empire's ranks."
McKenzie was a little perplexed by Taihou's attempt to apologize, especially since she had apparently gone through the trouble of bringing him lunch to do so. Truth be told, he already had his own lunch which he had brought from home. But falling into the stereotype of Maples being overly polite and not wanting to hurt her feelings, McKenzie took the bowl of Ramen and Rice Balls. "Well... thank you, Taihou."
"I hope you enjoy it. I made it myself!" She said gleefully, seemingly happy that her attempt to apologize/impress her commander had worked.
"Did you now?" the man replied, as he be began to eat. Then it happened...
McKenzie's eyes went wide as he stopped mid slurp. The noodles which had been leading up to his lips soon slid back into his bowl, before he asked... "You... said you made this?"
"Yes!" The carrier replied, glad that McKenzie was enjoying her home made meal.
"Oh... okay... how much salt did you use..." McKenzie asked, trying his best not to spit out the salty mess in front of the carrier.
"I... may have used a little more than what the directions said." Taihou confessed, completely unaware of McKenzie's situation. Nor did she seems to notice the distressed expression now forming oh his face. "But I thought I would enhance the flavor a bit. How does it taste, Shikkikan?"
"It's... It's tastes something else." McKenzie replied, struggling to swallow. "Um... I... I... think I will finish this later when I get home. I'm... gonna be quite busy for the rest of the day so I would appreciate if you..."
"Say no more, Shikkikan-sama. I understand that you are quite busy and will leave you alone now. Good bye." and with that, Taihou left McKenzie's officer. Happy that her attempt to please the Commander with her cooking had seemingly worked.
But no sooner had the Aircraft Carrier left, McKenzie ran into the near by washroom and proceeded to wash out his mouth as best to his ability. All the while wondering just how the hell she could not have not known that what she had made was so salty!
Thankfully, that would be the last time the Commander/Shikkikan would have to deal with that Sakura Aircraft Carrier. As the rest of the day went by without any issue. But as he made his rounds and interacted with some of the ship girls, he was unaware that Taihou was not the only Ship Girl who had taken an interest in him.
Thankfully, unlike Taihou, most of them respected McKenzie's privacy and made no attempts to insert themselves into their Commander's daily duties. But there were a few who were waiting patiently for their chance to make the Commander theirs, Taihou being one of them.
But like stated before, nothing else happened for the rest of the day and eventually, McKenzie got into his car to head home for the day. But as he pulled out of the Academy Compound, he was completely unaware that a certain crimson eyed carrier was watching him as he left. A carrier who's mission was to make her Shikkikan her own.