Alexis groaned and stretched her hands as she walked down the base's corridors. She had just finished a training sessions with James and were feeling the effects of his new upgrades. Though James did his best to hold back, the arm, sword and the boots were significantly stronger than before. As a result, Alexis had been on the receiving end of some unfortunately overpowered strikes.
James did apologize and head off to his next training session while Alexis was headed to the hospital. She didn't feel like anything was broken but she felt more tired than usual. She wanted to be sure that nothing was wrong with her. After all, she had to be ready when the call came.
A trip to the medical wing told her that her fears were just that, in her head. Vestal noted how her muscles were a little sore, but a little relaxation would solve that problem.
When she was done, Alexis headed out and wondered what to do with her day. Usually, she'd be helping around the base or helping everyone in the Resistance. Now, she had the day to herself and didn't know what to do with this free time.
"Hey Alexis," said Alec, coming to her from the right side. She turned and greeted him then told him about the day's events so far.
"Hmm something to do for the day," said Alec, stroking his chin and looking thoughtfully.
"You could help me with my regular work," he suggested "I'm reviewing my plans and strategies. It'll be great if I can get someone else's perspective."
"I don't know about that," said Alexis wearily "don't you need to have a certain way of thinking to plan and strategize?"
"True but anyone can review the plans," said Alec "and, since you lack that background, you might spot something I didn't."
Feeling a little confident after hearing that, Alec and Alexis headed to the strategy room. There, Alexis was amazed at the numerous plans and protocols Alec had in place to counter the enemy. In between her analysis, she paused to see him staring at multiple screens. His expression was focused and she could only imagine the myriad of thoughts going on in his head.
They spent the day there and only came out briefly to have their lunch. By evening, the two were tired from all that work and were looking to relax. On their way to the baths, Alexis first spotted a curious sight.
A little ahead of her was the group of Suruga, Phoenix, and Taihou. They were headed to one of the large convention rooms and kept checking around to be sure no one was following them. Alexis raised an eyebrow as she did not recall seeing this particular trio together any time before.
"Hmm?" said Alec, noticing her stop "what's wrong?"
But Alexis did not listen. Instead, she followed the group and Alec followed after her. She reached the door to the hall and quietly opened it. Before Alec could voice his concerns, she went in.
"Just what is she thinking?" wondered Alec and followed after her.
The two entered a large dark room. There were no windows for the moonlight to come in so they were in total darkness. The two waited till their eyes got used to the dark and spotted several figures in the hall. On further inspection, they found there were many figures in the hall.
Just as Alec and Alexis were about to say something, they heard the sound of someone tapping on a mic. This was followed by a familiar voice saying.
"Can someone please turn on the lights?"
The pair heard the sound of switches being flipped and lights came on all around them. Now fully illuminated, the two saw they were intruding on some event the girls were having. At first, it seemed like some way for them to have fun, but when Alec looked at the banner being prominently displayed on the stage, his eyes grew wide.
In bright letters, the sign read "Welcome to the 1st ever Annual SKK-con."
Alec spotted several familiar faces in the crowd and surmised that at least half the fleet was here. He saw several familiar faces and numerous stalls located on either side of the hall. This seemed exactly like a typical convention, only it was centered on the Commander.
Knowing what he knew, Alec could tell this took place without James' knowing. He felt a hand on his shoulder, spun around and saw Bremerton greeting him with a somewhat curious look.
"Alec, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I followed Alexis in and…" he stopped when he realized there was no sign of Alexis.
"What is this? What's going on?" he asked.
"Oh this?" said Bremerton, letting out a nervous chuckle "this is just something the girls decided to do at the last moment."
"This doesn't look very 'last moment,'" said Alec and Bremerton looked away.
"Oh look they've got the plushies I've always wanted," she said and took Alec to one of the stalls. There, he spotted Alexis who was holding a super-deformed plushie of James dressed in his typical uniform with a sword drawn at his side and a very serious expression.
"Hey Alec," said Alexis, "check out what I found."
"What in the name of…" said Alec, looking at the plushie a little closer. He had to suppress a chuckle when he noted how closely it resembled James' serious face.
"Awww he's so cute," commented Bremerton and Alec looked at her in surprise.
"Ah, we've been found," said a monotone voice.
Alec looked at the one in charge of the stall and saw Shiranui looking at him with her usual deadpan expression.
"Oh no," she said, the tone of her voice remaining perfectly flat "are you going to tell James about this?"
"Um…"
"Of course not…" said Bremerton "he'd never do something that'll take the fun away from the girls, right?"
All Alec could do in response to that question was nod in agreement.
"Good," said Shiranui "as a reward, I'll let you have the first edition of our strategist plushie."
"Your what?" asked Alec and Shrinaui handed over a super-deformed plushie of Alec holding a cloth map and looking equally serious.
"Aww that looks so cute too," said Alexis "Can I trade you that for mine?"
"You can keep both," said Alec, handing it over to her and seeing her squeal in delight.
"Hold on a second," said Bremerton, noticing someone in the crowd around the stall "is that you Saint Louis?"
She reached out to tap the shoulder of one of the girls nearby. Immediately, the woman took her plushie and saw Bremerton then Alec and her face grew red.
"Uh, this isn't what it looks like," said Saint Louis, while still holding the soft toy. No words came to mind and so she darted off before Alec or anyone else could lob a question at her.
"Hey Shiranui," said Bremerton "when are you going to make more of these?"
"We'll be aiming for a winter launch but if all else fails, we'll launch it during the next convention," she said, "please ask Akashi for further questions. Answering all this is taking a toll on my stamina."
Then, they heard someone from the stage saying
"Attention everyone, due to the high demand, Volume 1 of the popular SKK and Tomboy series is no longer available."
This announcement was met by several groans from the audience.
"However, we do have Volume 1 of the newly launched series titled: Forbidden Love between Commander and Strategist."
Alec's eyes opened wide in shock as he looked around. He spotted the stall in question and darted over there before Alexis or Bremerton could say anything.
Once there, he took one of the manga and flipped through the pages.
"OH DEAR GOD," he exclaimed, surprising many of the girls and causing many more to only now realize he was there.
"Hmmm, what's wrong?" asked Alexis, bending down to pick up the book in question.
Alexis was stunned to see a detailed and very sexualized version of James and Alec being the stars of the story. Much of the story featured the two in numerous 'provocative acts' that went beyond a simple kiss.
Alexis went through the pages with a vested interest. She didn't even bother to cover the nosebleed she got from reading this.
Once she went through the first chapter, she turned to the girl in charge of the stall and said "I'll take this and anything else you'll have."
"Oh no you won't," blurted Alec, stopping Akashi from gathering any other manga similar to this.
"Why are there Yaoi comics of James and I?" he asked.
"It isn't just you," said Belfast, holding what looked to be a bag of the books "there are other variations too. There's gender-swapped Cleveland, gender-swapped Hornet,…"
"That's not helping," stated Alec, who pushed the immediate thoughts out of his mind "and how is any of this happening in the first place? Wouldn't Akagi be pretty much against this event?"
"Why don't you ask her?" said Belfast and used her thumb to point at Akagi who was also deeply engrossed in one of the books at the stall. Next to her was Kaga.
She paused when she noticed Alec's eyes on her and lowered the book.
"Please don't tell my husband about this," she said and resumed reading.
"Sis you're reading too fast," said Kaga as Akagi turned a page.
Alec wanted to say something when he heard someone tap the mic again.
"Attention, attention," said Roon "as I'm sure you're all aware, now is time for the main event."
At this, the girls all crowded around the stage while the lights around them dimmed. Alec wondered where this was going and that was the reason why he stayed. It had nothing to do with the maids standing at the doors that prevented him from leaving.
"As many of you are aware," said Roon "when we last gathered here, the highlight of the event was a picture of a near shirtless James after one of his training sessions."
"MONEY WELL SPENT," shouted a voice from the crowd.
"However, in the time since then, we believe the picture does not properly represent James' current physique," continued Roon. She then pointed to a slide brought out by Hibiki.
"Given how much he eats on a regular basis," said Roon "we've surmised that he's added a few pounds but not so much that it's noticeable."
"Hence, our head researchers believe that this is the current physique our Commander has."
She pressed a button and the slide showed a very detailed drawing of a shirtless James with a sultry look and a lean, toned body.
"The closest we've come to confirming this is the recent picture taken by Graf Zeppelin during James' arming… no pun intended."
Roon clicked again and the picture showed a side view of James taking off his shirt with much of it covering his head and exposing his chest.
"Despite Graf Zeppelin's best efforts," said Roon "we only managed to snag an obscure view of James that neither confirmed nor denied the presence of his new lean look."
"Other attempts at trying to get him shirtless have failed miserably," she said and began showing several slides.
"The strip poker incident, the strip backgammon incident, the strip Yahtzee incident, the strip hopscotch incident… and so on…"
"Hold on a second," said Alec, raising his hand up. The audience turned to him and a spotlight shone on him.
"Akagi," he said calling out to her "how are you okay with all this?"
"In truth," said Akagi, "I am ashamed to say that I've only seen my husband shirtless just once. It was on our wedding night and…"
"…stop," interjected Alec.
"Why? It's important," stated Akagi.
"Fine, but I reserve the right to say 'stop' at any point."
Akagi nodded and continued.
"It was our wedding night and we were in the process of spending our first night together. It was dark and I could barely tell what was in front of me. James however had no problem, which is strange. In fact, if it was so dark how did he manage to…."
"STOP," yelled everyone in the room, surprising Akagi.
"Anyway, fast forward to the next day and as I'm waking up, I see James come out of the bathroom wearing only his night pants. The next thing I know I'm waking up in the infirmary and Vestal told me I lost half the blood in my body."
"Since then," she added with a fake tear "I've never been able to look at him shirtless. My life depends on it."
"Ok," said Roon, "back to the main topic."
"Since we all want to see James shirtless and there no way to do that except ripping the shirt off him, the girls in the Sakura Empire were kind enough to build a hot springs to solve such a problem."
Alec's mouth dropped at the statement.
About a few weeks ago, some of the girls approached James with the intent of building a hot springs. They said that it would be great for the skin and could help with fatigue. Alec noted how James also tried a few hot springs himself and so was fine with the idea. At the time, he too didn't mind it since it was a good way for everyone to relax after a long day.
But now though, the true intent became clear.
"The plans are in place," said Roon, showing a detailed floor plan of the hot spring interior.
"We've already sent out an invitation to the humans and James about the hot springs. There's enough place for everyone. Once the people have assembled, all we have to do is storm the right place and…"
Roon then displayed a very detailed picture of James wearing a short towel while the mist from the hot springs served to cover most of his body below the stomach.
Alec heard other discussing ideas and knew he had to do something. This was going too far and he had to warn James before it was too late. So he slowly made his way away from the crowd and scanned the entrances.
The maids had left the doors now and that gave him the chance he needed. He was about to move when he felt something wrap around his chest. Alec looked down and saw several rows of tape on his chest and his hands, binding him in place and preventing him from moving.
"Trap successful," said Sheffield, appearing out of thin air next to him.
"Good work Sheffy," said Belfast "now there won't be anything to get in the way of our work."
"Alright ladies," roared Roon "the people are already headed to the location as we speak. All that's left to do is get your towels and get ready. The maids will be present near the door to hand you a towel. Get it, get changed and get your camera ready."
As Alec watched everyone leave the room, Alexis bent down to pick him up and hoist him over her shoulder.
"Wait, hold on a second," said Kaga, pointing to Alec trying to break free "if you take him out he's going to tell."
To solve that issue, Alexis brought out a roll of tape and slapped some of it on Alec's mouth.
"Problem solved," she said and Kaga nodded.
00000000000000000000000000
At the place in question, James was the first to arrive and was reading through the pamphlet. He was looking at the many medicinal benefits it provided when a crowd of people rushed past him and spun him around a little. James recovered soon enough and continued walking to what he thought was the men's hot spring.
However, if he were to have taken a moment to look at the sign above he would have noted that he was heading for the exit.
But, c'est la vie.
0000000000000000000000000
"You ready ladies?" asked Roon and got a loud roar from the girls.
"Then let us charge through," she declared and went through the entrance.
0000000000000000000000000
James meanwhile lowered the pamphlet and was a little confused. He had indeed reached a hot spring, but there were neither girls nor boys present. Instead he saw several snow monkeys (hot spring monkeys) sitting quietly in the water. One was busy grooming the other while another simply sat and enjoyed the silence.
One of the monkeys, perhaps the leader, noticed James' presence and stared at him. An awkward silence lay between the two for a moment before the monkey moved aside a little and gestured with one hand for James to come in.
James questioned the safety and security of such a move. Then again, if they were hostile, they would have shown it from the start. With a shrug, James threw caution to the wind and got in.
0000000000000000000000
The girls marched through the corridors with determination and a goal in mind. Alec had been deposited near the entrance and they'd set him free after everything was over. With no one to get in their way, the girls moved closer and closer to their goal.
As they neared the entrance to the men's room, Roon came forward. Since she was the one that organized this, it made sense for her to do the honors.
The Iron Blood put her hands on the handle and swung the doors wide open.
"HERE WE GO," she said as she and everyone else brought out their cameras.
Once inside, they passed by the bathing area and saw the guys sitting in the bath. There was a thick mist between both sides so neither could tell what was going on.
"Hey," said Curtis, noticing several figures standing by the bathing side "come on in, the water's just perfect."
Then, he saw the figures move towards the others. When the mist cleared, Curtis saw in shock, confusion and mounting horror that the girls from the fleet had wandered into their side.
"Kyaaaah, perverts," cried one guy in an effeminate voice.
"Wh-wh-what the hell's going on?" cried another.
"What are you all doing here?" shouted a third.
In the midst of the insanity, confusion and several men leaving the hot spring, the girls spied from side to side, searching for their objective.
"What the hell?" shouted Friedrich as she reached the same conclusion the others did.
"Where they hell is James?" shouted Eugen as that led to the girls barging into the hot springs and turning the whole place inside out searching for him.
In the distance, enjoying the night air and the warmth of the hot springs, James could feel his stress melt away. He heard the uproar coming from the lodge and saw something was going on.
"Hmm, I should go check it out," he said, with some reluctance in his voice.
As he rose though, he felt something grab his finger. James turned to see it was the monkey that invited him here. The monkey shook its head, telling James not to go.
James watched as the monkey tapped the area near the edge and caused another small monkey to come down from a tree. The new monkey held a hollowed out coconut in both hands with straws. The new monkey passed one to James and the other to the leader.
The leader monkey took a sip and gestured for James to do the same. He did and was surprised to find it had a fruity and slightly alcoholic taste to it.
James once again turned to the source of the noise. He really should check it out, but the atmosphere here was amazing.
"Oh well," he said lowering himself into the water "I can be here for a little longer. What's the worst that could happen?"
(AN: Sorry but I really needed to write this chapter)