The Life of Carriers

Chapter 2

Meanwhile

It was another boring day on the mainland, except for the fact that the carriers had to deal with all of this reorganizing. The members of Carrier Fleet 1 aren't showing that much regard for this change. On the other hand, one little girl in Carrier Fleet 5 would say other hand. Zuikaku was peering out of her room window and spotted Akagi and Kaga walking through the courtyard. She couldn't help but groan at the sight of them.

"Eh, I hate Carrier Fleet 1." From across the room, her roommate was just waking up and heard her little comment.

"Uh, Zuikaku, why are you starting this so early in the day? You should enjoy these nice days off. It's not like we're gonna be like this forever."

"I know. It's just that the way they carry themselves is just too much, especially that Kaga girl. She thinks she's so great. Well, I'll show her who's the greatest."

"Of course you will." Out of nowhere, Shoukaku came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Shoukaku-nee, what are you doing?"

"How about you join me in the bed? I didn't get to say good morning to you like I usually do." Zuikaku's face got all red. She avoided Shoukaku's eyes contact for it would only make her more embarrassed.

"O-Okay, I'll come back." Shoukaku grabbed her hand and led her back into the bed. She was the first one in, followed by Zuikaku. When she made it onto the bed, she noticed Shoukaku staring right at her with her big, round eyes. "What?"

"Good morning." She leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Immediately, Zuikaku's face turned red like a cherry.

"Ah, what are you doing?! We can't do stuff like that this early in the morning."

"Why not?" Zuikaku turned her head.

"Because I'm not mentally ready for it."

"It's okay. There's no need to be shy. Here, I'll take the lead this time." Shoukaku held her by the cheek and turned her head back towards hers. She then kissed her right on the lips which cause Zuikaku to moan to herself. As she continued to kiss her, Zuikaku was losing her composure. She immediately pushed her away and fell out of bed. "Are you okay?"

"Ow, ow. I'm fine." Suddenly, a knock came from the door.

"Don't worry. I'll get it." Shoukaku climbed out of bed and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she was greeted by Mutsu. "Ah, Mutsu-san, good morning."

"Good morning. I'm sorry to bother you on your days off, but the Admiral is requesting for the Carrier Fleets to started warming up. The reorganization process is about to finish up."

"Okay, we'll be right out there." She closed the door and smiled at Zuikaku.

"What up with the smile?"

"You woke up early on the wrong day. We have to start warming up. The Admiral is almost finished with the reorganizing of the Fleet."

"Aw, okay." She walked over to her dresser where Shoukaku came from behind again.

"We can get ready together." Her head exploded as she grabbed her things and stormed out of the room as fast as she could. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed." She grabbed her things and went to get ready for the day.

When the two of them finished getting, they walked into the courtyard to see all of the old comers and newcomers gathering in the square. Shoukaku was very happy about it. She liked the idea of new recruits taking on the responsibility of the fleet. On the other hand, Zuikaku didn't like it. This meant the possibility of being split up with Shoukaku and she works her best when she's with her. As they neared the docks, Zuikaku spotted Carrier Fleet 1 make their way back from the docks. This immediately heated her up as she clenched her fist tight.

"Carrier Fleet 1, ugh." Suddenly, her shoulder was grabbed.

"Calm down. We're all in the same fleet in the end. There's no need to have harsh feelings about them. What'll happen if you're grouped with one of them?"

"I'd rather die. Ah!" Shoukaku immediately smacked her on the head. "Shoukaku-nee, you're so mean."

"Come on. Let's get our blood pumping. No more laziness." She suited up and jumped into the water. Zuikaku was a little behind, but it was only because she like watching Shoukaku sail out to the ocean for the first time. She watched her hair flow through the wind and her elegant body swaying through the water. "Are you coming?"

"Of course." She packed on her things and caught to Shoukaku in the water. Together, they did their normal procedures. They practiced their maneuvers, their shooting, and team tactics that they came up with. As they continued to practice with each other, Zuikaku found herself paying a little too much attention to Shoukaku. She was a little clumsy when it came to balance and completely out of it when it came to memory.

"Zuikaku, are you okay?" It took her a second to answer her back for she was too busy watching her.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"It doesn't seem like that to me. You seem kind of out of it right now."

"No, I'm perfectly fine. Are you okay?" Shoukaku gave her a dirty look which caused her to turn her head in embarrassment.

"I think we should call it a day." Shoukaku sailed back to the docks while Zuikaku was behind her by some time. She was too busy thinking about how she let down Shoukaku. Her own desires got the best of her to the point where she couldn't concentrate at all. When they reached the docks, a siren blared over to PA system indicating an announcement.

"Attention. Attention. All ships, please make your way to the auditorium for an important meeting. That will be all." Zuikaku immediately looked at Shoukaku with a lot of concern on her face. She knew what this meant and she wasn't happy about it.

"It's okay. Whatever happens, I know you'll be just fine." Shoukaku grabbed Zuikaku's hand and the two of them walked to the auditorium.

When they arrived, they saw that everyone was already there. They were one of the last ones to arrive. They saw that everyone was gathered in their own class. The light cruisers were on the left side of the auditorium, heavy cruisers were to the right of them, destroyers right next to them, and then battleships and carriers. Since the carrier class was one of the smaller classes, they were forced to stand near Carrier Fleer 1 which made Zuikaku a little on-edge.

Even though everyone was gathered inside the auditorium, the meeting hadn't started yet so there was still some time to socialize. Most of the girls were crowded around the battleships. They recently returned from a small tour and rumors have been spread that they are the most powerful ships in the fleet.

After a few minutes, Secretary Ships Nagato and Mutsu took to the stage which made every shut up immediately.

"Good afternoon everyone. The Admiral would like to apologize for the reorganization dilemma that's been going on, but thanks to your patience, everything's finally been organized and now, we're here to announce the new fleet groups."

Everyone immediately looked at each other with concern, completely unaware of who they would be with.

End of Chapter 2