Author's Notes: Hello! Long time no see! It's been a while, yeah but it's not my fault, schoolwork was tough and I totally didn't get lazy. Well, to compensate for the long wait, I'll give you all an extra-long chapter to enjoy. Well, till the end of the chapter, bye-bye~
Chapter 4
Tides
Onboard HMS Ark Royal
Florence Nightingale Hospital
20th of April
Rosehip slowly stirred out of her slumber. Her senses informed her that she was laid down on something comfy and soft. A bed probably? She also felt something heavy sitting on the far end of the bed by her feet.
Opening her eyes, she was greeted by Roselle, who was humming a song as the brunette picked petals from a rose and threw them on the bedsheet. The sunlight coming from somewhere illuminated the girl's large forehead, somehow even reflecting the light so that she had to blink a couple of times before Roselle's face came into full view.
"What are you doing?" she asked, somewhat annoyed by both the mutilation of an innocent rose and the fact that the petals were staining the starched white bedsheet.
"The sleeping beauty has finally awoken! I'm just preparing you for the next time Princess Charming visits." Tossing out a petalless rose, Roselle picked up another and started the process over again.
"Huh, what are you talking about and where are we?" Looking around, she saw that the room they were was scrupulously spotless, and the faint smell of disinfectant reached her nose.
Are we in a hospital of sorts?
Further glancing around led her to see four more beds like the one she was lying down on. The one next to her held her gunner Rosemary still fast asleep, while the two remaining beds lay empty, one for Roselle and another for Rosemallow she assumed.
"We're in Nightingale's and you've been out cold for a few hours."
Well, that explained her throbbing head, the only thing she remembered was being shot at by the Churchill and before she knew it, she and the others were knocked out cold. Strangely, the shot knocked her and her crew, necessitating the need to go to the school's onboard hospital.
"Did anything happen while I was knocked out?" she asked as she sat up a bit as Roselle handed her a glass of water and she drank her fill. Her throat was dry as the deserts of North Africa and the drink was like deliverance to her.
"Your English rose just came by earlier."
A jet of water suddenly spewed out of her mouth as she spat out the water she was drinking, causing the floor next to her bed to be wet.
"Assam-senpai?! Did she say anything?" she sat up even straighter as she felt herself blushing furiously, her cheeks quickly heating up.
"Nah, she did leave a present for you," her driver said, nodding towards the nightstand.
Rosehip turned and saw a pleasant surprise. A kaleidoscopic of colours in the form of a bouquet was by her side, its scent a perfume that was slowly filling her up as she picked up a flower and sniffed it. Attached to the stem on one of the flowers, is a tag. Taking a closer look, it read;
Get well soon! Love, Assam.
Her blush deepened and she stifled a scream. She had her senpai's love! And for her, that was the only thing that mattered in the world right now.
She was snapped out of her trance by Roselle, who did so by throwing a bundle of petals at her face.
"Before you descend into insanity, she also left something else for you." Her driver pointed to an object that was blocked from her view by the vase.
It was a conspicuous brown paper bag. Curiously, she peeked at its contents.
"Konpeitō!" Rosehip exclaimed to her delight; she could barely contain her excitement as she ripped open the package and poured a handful on her palm and popped it into her eager mouth.
The crunch of the candy as she brought her teeth down like the hammers of justice was a pleasure indeed relishing the sweet gooey puddle that formed as the crushed sweets melted on her tongue. The experience was completed when she felt some of the stuff stick to the roof of her mouth.
"You looked like you came," her driver, who just finished laughing her head off, cracked.
She was about to snap back when a knock on the door suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"Come in," she said to whoever it was outside.
A tall brown-haired girl dressed in St Gloriana's blue school uniform abruptly entered, her hair set in a vintage pin-curl style that hadn't been in fashion for decades. Other than her antediluvian coiffure, another feature that puts the girl in the spotlight is the blackeye she has on her right eye.
An awkward standoff ensued between the three as they waited who would speak first.
"Uhm..." The girl looked like she wanted to say something but words failed her and she trailed off.
"Quite a nasty shiner you got there mate," Roselle snicked, still in a mood to poke fun at others.
The new arrival looked as if she was going to reply when a nurse barged into the room. Her long black hair was meticulously tied into a French braid with a complexity that only served to complement her prosaic hair. A pair of red-framed eyeglasses were also gingerly held on her nose, serving as a window to her hazel eyes.
"Miss Alexander, your accommodation is the next door on the left," she said as she led the girl away by her arm. Suddenly, her head popped back into the doorway and said, "Sorry about that ladies." promptly closing the door.
"What was that all about?" she asked, chowing down on more candies, much to her heart's fulfilment.
"Dunno, but she looks like one of the new transferees," Roselle said. She stood up, went back to her bed and picked up this month's issue of Senshadou Monthly and started to peruse the magazine.
Looking at a clock on the far end of the wall, Rosehip spotted that it was already half-past three o'clock in the afternoon. The sudden realization that she hadn't had anything for lunch hit her hard. Her stomach roared in protest, demanding something more filling than sugary candies.
"Hey Roselle, where is Rosemallow by the way?" she asked, wondering where her loader had gone to.
"She had woken up not long after Assam-senpai passed by, then her elder sister visited afterwards and said something along the lines of Senshadou being a dangerous sport and then took her to get lunch at the cafeteria."
"Maybe we should get lunch as well?" She replied, the mere mention of the word making her even hungrier.
"Nah, don't worry, I already took care of it," her friend replied.
As if on cue, Vanilla and Cranberry barged into the room, the former carrying a tray, the latter carrying two, doubtlessly one for her still snoozing gunner.
"What took you so long, you fuckin walked here?" Roselle stung out, who must have been waiting for so long for the two to come back.
"As a matter of fact, yes we did, now shut up and enjoy the food." Vanilla retorted back, balancing the tray she held, careful not to spill its contents.
The trays were filled with God knows what, but the aroma! It was heavenly and made her stomach growl more. Or maybe that was her hunger, desperate to eat anything.
"What are we having for today?" Rosehip asked, trying her best to not drool in front of others.
"Just some mashed potato and sausages," Cranberry replied, setting down the tray on her lap. True to her word, the food consisted of a mound of mash, with some chopped chives on top, and three fat greasy sausages, all coated with a thick layer of onion gravy and one glass of water.
"Bangers and mash? Yum!" Roselle said as Vanilla gave a tray to her and immediately, tucked in, not bothering to place the napkin on her lap first. After doing the said activity, Rosehip picked up her spoon and began attacking the mound as well, while periodically taking bites of the sausage.
Initially, she had had difficulty adjusting to British cuisine and Darjeeling serving her now-infamous jellied eels at the Welcome Party didn't help. But over time, she overcame her hesitation and dove in headfirst to the world of another culture. Sure, the mashed taters need more salt but it was hospital food, so no luck there. Of course, she still hadn't forgotten her roots and occasionally ate something from her own culture as well, for example, the konpeito that she now saved for dessert.
In no time, the food was gone, while the two who had delivered the food had smirks on their faces as if they were watching a speed-eating competition.
Rosehip gave a small burp and laughed along with the others afterwards. This is why she was happy to be along with her Crusader comrades, they didn't really care if you committed a faux pas, unlike others who judge you from their ivory towers.
Immediately the earlier protests of her stomach were now silenced as she resumed munching on her candies.
Vanilla and Cranberry stayed around for small talk and shared the latest gossip; about how after sending off Earl Grey, Darjeeling had a thunderous look on her face and began taking her anger out on the nearby garden decor.
"Bollocks! Darjeeling-sama would never do that! She's always calm and collected, not to mention Earl-Grey senpai is her mentor, why would she get mad at her? Also, I had to escort Earl Grey-senpai earlier too, and she's one of the nicest people I have come across," Rosehip countered. She didn't really care much for rumours but she sensed that this could possibly tarnish their commander's reputation and so she shot it down before it could even take off.
The two looked down at their shoes in silence, after all, even though the rules were a bit relaxed when they're all together, she was still their commanding officer and Rosehip was content that they at least felt sorry for it.
She had set aside her tray, also unfolding the napkin, and was considering taking a leak when the door slammed open and a tall girl entered the room and immediately after headed straight to her bed, the girl's brown long braided hair swinging like a puppy's tail.
"Rosehip...contraption…Darjeeling…heads will roll!" Rukuriri mumbled, trying to catch her breath first before forming cohesive sentences.
"Slow down a bit there Ruk, just calm down." She looked at her, concerned. Meanwhile, her two subordinates, sensing trouble, took their leave and closed the door behind them while Roselle walked over to hear what the overall Matilda commander had to say.
"They discovered your convoluted contraption."
Rosehip chilled at these words and saw her driver turn pale too and they both had good reason to. Any illegal tampering of Senshadou vehicles, even if it was just to serve cold beverages, was an offence punishable with suspension from the team or worse, expulsion, effective immediately.
Would this be the end of my Senshadou career?
"Furthermore, they found out that it had interfered with the tank's safety features, causing the blackout you and all of your crew had experienced earlier." The brunette sat in the corner of her bed and helped herself to some of the candy, which Rosehip had abandoned after hearing of the terrible news.
"Did she say anything about consequences or something?" Unbeknownst to Rukuriri, Rosehip was slowly leaning forward, eager to hear what her response would be.
"Something along the lines of sacrificing personal safety for a few creature comforts and that heads will roll," Rukuriri replied nonchalantly, examining a sugar candy before throwing it down her mouth.
"Thanks a lot, you're a Godsend! Anything else?"
"They talked about an Irish school of sorts but I fell asleep by then, Nilgiri just woke me after it was done and I immediately ran over here." She stood up and fixed her skirt. "Well, I'll be off, where the hell are you going?" she suddenly said, much to Rosehip's surprise.
She followed where Rukuriri was looking and saw Roselle had gone back to her bed and was in the process of putting on her boots, her Senshadou jacket on her shoulders.
"It's a bit unfair, ain't it? They should hear our side first before passing judgement," her driver fumed as she walked to the door, only to be intercepted by Rukuriri who began talking her out of her insane plan.
She watched the two, each trying to undermine the other and cracked a smile, despite the news she received. Might as well make the most out of her remaining time on the team.
With her being in deep thought, she failed to immediately notice her phone buzzing on the nightstand and it was on its third ring before she picked her up.
"Hello, Rosehip here, who's this?
"It's Assam, how's it going?"
Oh, God… It's Assam-senpai, what do I do?!
"I-I'm fine, just had lunch, why'd you call?"
"By now you know that your little fridge has been found out?"
Rosehip almost dropped the phone in shock. "How did you know?" she replied, anxious at what will come next.
"Rukuriri just visited, didn't she? And is still there, correct?"
"How did you bloody know that? You're nearby aren't you?"
"Don't be silly, I bugged the bouquet."
"You did what?!" she exclaimed, holding up the bouquet to inspect it carefully and sure enough, placed on the ribbon was a small circular device that was smaller than a penny and looked like a button.
Both Roselle and Rukuriri looked at her in surprise and asked if she was alright.
"Assam-senpai has been secretly listening to our conversation!" Roselle's face was aghast while Rukuriri looked as if she already knew.
"Don't go destroying that wire now, it's quite expensive."
Rosehip pulled the device from the ribbon to inspect it, but it was so minuscule that a magnifying glass would be needed to examine it in detail. "How does this thing even work? It's so tiny!"
"It has a transmitter that's connected to my ear that allows it to go through great distances," Assam explained, the girl's voice a cheerful chirp and it served only to infuriate Rosehip even more.
"You're unbelievable!" she shouted into the gadget, hoping it would make the Assam wince in pain, as a payback for this indecent spying.
"It's not inserted in my ear right now. Take it easy." The girl on the other end replied.
"Don't tell me there's a camera in here too?" She asked, turning the bug in her hand.
"Okay, now that's a little paranoid but I can tell you something that can save your arse." Her senpai said, her voice sounding like trumpets from heavens and instantly putting her at ease.
"Alright, you have my attention." Rosehip waited with bated breath, this could be the magic bullet that she needed.
"I need the assistance of you and your crew on my trip to Shamrock."
"Sha-sham what?!" Rosehip stuttered, caught unaware of the sudden request.
"It's an Irish-themed school of sorts that we are going to link up with," Assam carefully explained.
"Why us?" Rosehip asked. If they needed an interpreter, Orange Pekoe would have been a better choice, after all, she aced the aptitude English test a few days ago. God forbid they would have her speak English or whatever language they speak in that country.
"In addition to visiting, we are handing over a few tanks as a sign of goodwill, and we need someone who has the expertise when it comes to repairing tanks and who else should I turn to other than the best, you're not the head mechanic for our team for nothing, right? Her senpai answered back.
Did she just praise me?! Did Assam-senpai say I was the best?
"Can you give me time to mull this over?" she replied, still processing the stream of information being passed on to her.
"Sure, just give me a ring when you have made a decision." She ended the call and saw the eager looks the girls in front of her were giving her.
"So, what did she say?" Roselle asked, her anger earlier now replaced by a smile whether Assam-senpai's name was brought up.
Rosehip spent a good part of a few minutes sharing what she has been told over the phone. Rukuriri merely nodded while Roselle had a gleam in her eyes. The Matilda commander said farewell, perhaps not wanting to be more involved in all the mire they were about to enter and was on the way to the door when it opened and the same nurse from before now carrying a tray with a teapot and some cheap china.
"Would you girls like some tea?" The nurse smiled at them sweetly, so sweet that it could make a pot of honey a run for its money. None of them could refuse and Roselle gladly took the tray, a weird look in her eyes.
"Oh and your friend, Ms Rosemary, here, I'm afraid she wouldn't be waking up soon." The nurse went beside the girl in question and clipped something on the clipboard that was attached by the foot of the bed.
Dread filled her insides again and she had to swallow before asking "Do… do you mean, she's in a coma?"
The nurse frowned, adjusting her glasses, "No, what I mean is she has more severe concussions than you had and it will probably be a few hours before she can regain consciousness. Don't worry, she won't develop any lifelong consequences, but she'll be quite tired for a few days, and that's it. Please do call if she does wake up. If you don't need anything else, I'll be off now."
The nurse had a bounce in her step as she walked towards the door but turned around, "If you do need assistance, just ask for it in the nurse's station around the corner, or just ask for Nurse Amy," giving them another one of her beautiful smiles.
The three of them looked at each other, Roselle having a cheeky grin on her face, as they began drinking the tea. It was nothing special, just plain generic tea, but tradition was tradition so they drank it just like they drank the tea brewed by Orange Pekoe.
Rukuriri asked where the restroom was and Roselle pointed her to the back of the room, where a sterile bathroom was located. The braided girl put down her teacup and went to use the powder room.
Rosehip had to weigh her options. If she did agree to go to that school and mess up, that would be the final straw for Darjeeling. But if she did not, she, along with her team would be booted from the group.
She must have had a pensive look on her face because Roselle snapped her fingers in front of her face. "A penny for your thoughts?" she asked, holding the tray the Cranberry had placed on Rosemary's nightstand, realizing she could very well eat the girl's share of food since she wouldn't be back up any time soon.
"It's about the deal Assam-san gave us, I don't know if I should accept it or reject it," she said dejectedly.
"Why would you reject such a deal, it's too good to be true!" Roselle replied, in-between mouthfuls of cold mashed potatoes.
"That's the point, this is a big thing for Assam-san, I don't want to ruin her moment. Not to mention ruining any chances of her with Assam-senpai.
"You must have hit your head harder than I thought. You would normally have taken this opportunity like you took every curve in the carrier in our tank. My oh my, is the great Rosehip finally reeled in control?" Roselle laughed, waving the metal spoon around like a baton.
"Shut up, you know I'm being serious so do so as well or I'll bonk your head with that tray," she fumed, her fingers slowly tightening around the stem of the teacup, so much that it could break any minute now.
"Geez, no need to get worked up, I'm just messing with you. You have to take into consideration that she asked for us exactly, it would be extremely rude to turn her down," the girl said, eating the last spoonful with relish.
"I see your point," Rosehip nodded and picked up her phone.
"And besides, it's not like it will cost you your life, right?" Roselle finished, using a piece of sausage to wipe the last vestiges of mashed potatoes on her plate.
She dialled Assam's number, which she totally didn't have memorized and pressed the call button. The call was picked up immediately at the other end.
"Hello, Assam-senpai, we accept your request, however, there may be a snag."
"And what would that be?"
"A nurse came over and said we could be discharged tomorrow but Rosemary, our gunner, has to stay."
"Will she be alright?"
"The nurse said it wasn't anything serious, just some mild concussion."
"Okay, I'll take her spot in the meantime."
Being in the same tank as Assam-senpai. Is this for real?
"I'll be heading over to visit soon. Goodbye." Assam said before ending the call. She heard steps coming from behind her as Rukuriri came back from the bathroom.
"Did I miss anything?"
Onboard HMS Ark Royal
St Gloriana's Tank Garage
22nd of April
Rosehip spent a sleepless night in the hospital after Roselle kept trying all night long to use a marker to draw on her face, till a smack on the face with a pillow finally did her in.
Assam-senpai did visit the day after, explaining to her all that she knew about the school they would be visiting. Shamrock seemed to be a small school-based around the country of Ireland, which apparently had a long history with the United Kingdom. In fact, if Assam-senpai hadn't pointed it out on a world map, she wouldn't even have found it. After that, they managed to grab lunch together, although she had a nagging suspicion that someone, who she was sure was wearing leather boots, was following the two of them.
She, along with Roselle and Rosemallow, was discharged from Nightingale's yesterday afternoon, so they all returned back to their dormitories minus one. Rosemary had finally woken up and the girl's red hair which was usually tied into twin tails using ribbons was left in a dishevelled bird's nest and she had to smack her driver again for trying to hide the poor girl's black-framed eyeglasses, which caused Rosemary's golden eyes to slightly tear up. Though the girl definitely teared up when they said their goodbyes but they did promise to visit again after they returned.
"Rosehip-san?" Rukuriri, who was the dealer, snapped her out of her thoughts "Your response?"
"Call" she declared as she pulled a packet of Skittles candy from her pocket and placed it on the ever-growing pile. She knew that she should at least try to keep a straight face but couldn't help but smile like a madwoman.
Rosehip was in the lounge room with the others playing poker after a day's hard work. The lounge room also had a snooker table and a dartboard, whilst a jukebox belted out tunes in the corner. She learned how to play poker from her brothers, who picked up the card game in boredom. While her skills wouldn't foil a terrorist plot in a high-stakes game in a Monte Carlo casino, it was enough to make her one of the best players in St Gloriana, if not the best.
On the table with her was, of course, Rukuriri, Rukuriri's subordinate, Nilgiri, the Cranberry and Vanilla pair, her own driver, Roselle, and the rest were the technical crew, fellow mechanics who were the backbone of the team. Rosemallow, while not seated on the table was in the room, roaming around, a tray in hand, filled with slices of pound cake and crunchy madeleines, which went hand in hand with the afternoon tea. Today's session had gotten more intense than usual, so much that the tension in the room was so thick one couldn't penetrate it with a 6-pounder shell.
Despite being only discharged the day before, she joined the others as they had spent the entire afternoon making the old Covenanter tanks serviceable again. Darjeeling had decided that the perfect gift would be three of these baby Crusaders, which the other members had considered too generous. A select few had even wanted to just give them the Valiant Gloriana had long since removed from service but Darjeeling wasn't that cruel.
However, before they could repair the tanks, they had to first get their hands on them. So, she along with others took part in a trip to retrieve the cruiser tanks from the abysses of the ship, even encountering delinquents from the Naval Studies huddled together for warmth around an oil drum. The repair itself was quite as tricky because after years of being exposed to the elements, some parts of the tank had to be replaced, and then there was the issue of the radiator, which many consider was the Achilles' heel of the tank, but it was nothing she and her trusty band of mechanics couldn't handle.
The lounge room, which was nothing but a refurbished storage shed, was small, in fact, the dozen or so girls inside were constantly bumping into one another, causing much argument over at the snooker table. It also made the room very uncomfortable and hot. Because of that, she was only wearing her undershirt; her red Senshadou jacket slung on the chair she was sitting on. The others were dressed down to the same degree as her, revealing their voluptuous breasts or their flat as plank chests. Roselle, on the other hand, was still fully dressed, jacket and all.
"Okay, that's everyone and now for the final card, ladies and gents," Rukuriri announced and revealed the last card. "An eight of clubs, what's your call?"
Bingo! Just what I needed
The cards before that were an ace of spades, a king of spades, three of hearts, a knave of spades and finally eight of clubs. In her hand was a pair of black cards; an eight of spades and an ace of clubs, add the other ace and eight on the table and she got two pairs, a respectable hand.
"Check," she merely said. She was really sure she'd got this in the bag, this hand is going to be her golden ticket to the chocolate factory and it was quite the chocolate factory, for on the table a bar of Cadbury milk chocolate, a box of Twinning's high-quality tea, a pack of Digestives and a can of Pringle crisps were among the many things that would serve as the laurels to whoever would win this bout. But it wasn't just food, for there was also a Scallop Card, a card used to pay for public transportation onboard the Ark Royal and someone had even tossed in a mechanical pencil.
Others had already folded all except for the boot-wearing Roselle and another mechanic named Rooibos, who was known for being messy particularly when it came to repairing the tanks. In fact, the violet haired girl still stank of coolant after the mess caused by replacing one of the broken radiator pipes on the Covenanter tanks.
Meanwhile, Nilgiri, who was seated next to her, looked as if she got hit by a bus because she had already folded, preventing her from partaking in the final prize and costing her a jar of marmalade and an IOU for a fish and chips in the Black Prince, the carrier's onboard pub.
Rukuriri turned to Rooibos who merely nodded and turned to ask Roselle. "All in!" Roselle confidently declared, putting her boots in the play.
Those boots were pretty valuable to her, is her hand really that good or is she bluffing? Might as well commit to it.
"I'm out of chips," she said, cursing herself for not buying more.
"You know the drill; IOUs," Rukuriri answered, handing her a sheaf of paper which she took a sheet from and wrote the words IOU then signed the paper, before placing it in the pool. She noticed Rooibos tossed a gift-baskets worth of foodstuffs and made the pot bigger than ever.
"Now reveal!" the Matilda Commander instructed them.
"Read it and weep baby!" the mechanic proclaimed, unfolding her cards, which were a three of diamonds and a knave of clubs.
"Two pairs, Jacks over threes," Rukuriri adjusted the cards, to show to the growing crowd of onlookers, who were probably attracted by the air of tension surrounding the table.
"Close, but no cigar, Rooibos-san" she smirked, showing her all-black pair of aces and eight.
"Higher two pairs! Aces over eights" The braided brunette discarded the earlier cards and placed hers alongside the other ace and eight.
Roselle laughed out loud, clutching her chest. "Both of you are already defeated!" She threw her cards on the table, a ten of spades and a queen of the same suit…. A Royal Flush. The highest hand in the game. Rosehip could have wept there and then, her two pairs didn't even stand a chance, it was like a deathmatch between a tiger and a house cat.
"Roselle wins! Rukuriri announced unnecessarily, as the former started sweeping the prize towards her, an ecstatic look on her face, accompanied by a wide grin that stretched ear to ear.
"ALARM!"
A shout came forth from the jukebox, which was connected to a microphone worn by the lookout posted outside the door. Like a troupe of ballerinas, a flurry of activity was set off inside the lounge room, as they tried their best to hide the fact that the room was home to an illegal gambling den.
Frilly tablecloths were thrown over both the poker and snooker tables, their respective paraphernalia was hidden away. Billiard balls were hidden inside teapots, cue sticks were affixed with broom heads to disguise them as cleaning materials. She saw Rukuriri hastily stuff the deck down her chest as she herself helped Rosemallow arrange porcelain into the table, quickly filling them with lukewarm tea to make it seem as if they were having a tea party all along.
As the dartboard was reversed to reveal a clock, she realized it was already 31 minutes past 5 o'clock in the afternoon, which meant it was already late and it was probably dark outside. That was the other downside of this room, it had no windows, robbing them of the ability to glance outside.
She took a seat, lifting the teacup and took a sip. In no time, their little maskirovka was done. It wasn't U-boat crew fast, but fast enough for a bunch of high schoolers. When the door opened, the cause of the alarm walked in, and it was none other than Assam-senpai.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you ladies, but I have been looking for Rosehip-san, does she happen to be here?"
Assam-senpai was looking for her?! Did she do something wrong? Maybe they incorrectly restored the Covenanter tanks? Did she change her mind about them being accompanying her to Shamrock?
These thoughts raced through her mind, till a kick to the shin courtesy of Roselle brought her back to reality. A simple "Hai!" was the only thing she could mutter as she looked down at her hands and found she was shaking so badly she spilt half the content of her teacup on to her own clothes.
"Great, would you come with me, we have something important to discuss," her senpai simply said, walking outside and doubtlessly waiting for her. She placed the almost empty teacup at the table and fetched her jacket from the back of the chair. She could feel the eyes of everyone on her, looking at her with curiosity, pity or in Roselle's case, a punchable smirk.
Rosehip walked out of the door and closed the door. Assam was leaning on a walk in front of her and held out a handkerchief, which she promptly took to wipe herself dry.
"I must say, I'm impressed, to do so much in such short notice," Assam said, taking back the handkerchief she let her borrow.
"I beg your pardon?" Does she know about the lounge room? she thought How could she bloody know? Were they too obvious?
"Stop feigning innocence, I know that you just finished playing poker and that you lost too." Assam giggled, which would have been cute if not for the present situation.
"There's no use hiding anything from you, is there?" she sighed, Assam-senpai strikes again.
"Not quite, you just happen to forget to return my pen earlier." Assam calmly explained, starting to walk and she finished up cleaning her skirt to catch up.
Oh! Before they started the journey towards the centre of the carrier, Assam had her sign some documents needed for their trip. She was so busy the entire day, that she had forgotten about it, till now.
Rosehip reached into her pocket and pulled out the fountain pen, examining it in the dying light of the sun. "I knew these things have a camera!" she said, triumphantly, waving it around.
"Not quite, you can actually learn a lot just by listening carefully, like how Roselle is surely counting cards." Assam outstretched her hand, waiting for her to give back her pen and cracked a smile as she gave it to her.
Anger flashed through her face, followed by confusion. "Roselle is doing what?!"
That slimeball! She thought as she clenched her fists hard, ready to get back at that cheating scumbag, until a hand was placed on her shoulder, from her senpai obviously, and even without uttering a word, it made her calm down.
"How can you say that anyways?" The gesture warmed up her insides and dissipated her anger, allowing reason to work its way through her mind.
"Ever wonder why out of all the people in the table, she was the only one who didn't remove her Senshadou jacket, not to mention your other friend Rosemallow frequented her the most." Assam-senpai patiently explained, crossing the road as they went.
"Are you really sure those things don't have a camera and where are we going, anyway? The Tea Garden is over there isn't it?" She pointed to her back. The tank garage, and therefore their lounge shed as well, was only walking distance away from the Senshadou headquarters, but not too near as to disturb the activities held inside the Tea Garden with the noise made from repairing and maintaining the tanks, but also not too far so that the girls could mount their vehicles during emergencies.
"Yeah, these are my own creations so I'm 100 per cent certain and we'll be taking a long cut." Assam started to hum to herself, a skip in her step.
"And why is that? It's almost dark," she replied, looking up and was not surprised to see the moon slowly overtaking the sun.
Assam just smiled and said. "You'll see." They walked for a few more minutes before they sighted the entrance to Hydette Park, St Gloriana's largest green space onboard, it was nothing compared to its counterpart in the middle of London, of course. The sizable park was, however, filled with trees, bushes that could be used to hide super-heavy tanks and even a lake, which according to rumours still held an amphibious Valentine tank that sank after its first trial.
A lot of people were out and about, enjoying a late-afternoon walk, chatting, with not a care in the world. Children played in the playground while their parents sat on picnic blankets laid down on the grass as the last vestiges of the spring cherry blossoms fell down on all of them.
"By the way, we're even, that Konpeito was my treat so don't expect me to still treat you," her mentor said, who must have guessed that she was looking at a nearby food cart selling some fish and chips. She continued following her till she bumped into her after she hadn't noticed her stopping.
In front of them, was a girl wearing a uniform similar to the one they were wearing, standing behind a raised podium, which Assam had called the Speaker's Corner. The girl in question was speaking to a small group of disinterested people. She wondered who that girl was, as she looked very familiar, till the girl's bright green eyes darted towards them and she then remembered the timid eyes of Darjeeling-sama's driver, Ruhuna-san.
"T-the title of my last poem is…. uhmm." Ruhuna looked at a piece of paper, anxious about now having her teammate watching, in addition to the bunch in front of her
"You can do it, Ruhuna-san!" Rosehip heard Assam whisper under her breath, encouraging the socially awkward girl who she herself had personally never really talked to.
The green-eyed girl took a deep breath and continued. "The title of my last poem is I'll Be Your Beach."
She giggled at that, her senpai just rolled her eyes, "You and your dirty mind."
Your mind is so full of troubles and fears
That diminished your wonder over the years
But today I have a special place
A beach for us to go.
A shore reaching beyond your sight
A sea that sparkles with brilliant light
The walls in your mind will melt away
Before the sunny glow.
Once she got into it, Ruhuna delivered the poem perfectly, a shine in her eyes that wasn't there when she encountered her during classes or at practices.
I'll be the beach that washes your worries away
I'll be the beach that you daydream about each day
I'll be the beach that makes your heart leap
In a way you thought had left you long ago.
Let's bury your heavy thoughts in a pile of sand
Bathe in sunbeams and hold my hand
Wash your insecurities in the salty sea
And let me see you shine.
The people now began to take notice and the crowd gradually grew, if Ruhuna was getting nervous, she was doing quite well in hiding it.
Let's leave your memories in a footprint trail
Set you free in my windy sail
And remember the reasons you're wonderful
When you press your lips to mine.
I'll be the beach that washes your worries away
I'll be the beach that you daydream about each day
I'll be the beach that makes your heart leap
In a way you thought had left you long ago.
But if you let me by your side
Your own beach, your own escape
You'll learn to love yourself again.
Ruhuna got off the podium amid a sea of clapping, amongst them was her and Assam, who stayed on the edge of the crowd, never going too near but not so much as to keep sight of the speaker.
"That was amazing, Assam-senpai, but I don't understand, why did you have to take me all the way to here?"
"You seem to have a lot in your mind, often a good poem does help in keeping me calm."
"Thanks, but I didn't know Ruhuna was such a skilled poet! How did you know about it?"
"Well, back when we were in our first years, I happened to catch her practising Sonnet 18 and ever since then I've been watching over her with great interest."
"Isn't that stalking?"
Assam blushed, turning her head away from her. "No, it's not! It's not like I'm causing harm or anything!"
The two of them walked in silence for a while, making their way back to the Tea Garden and in no time, they had reached the building. They passed the empty tea room and headed to the Commander's office. Her senpai rasped on the door three times and then opened the door.
It had never occurred to her that she had never been inside Darjeeling-sama's office before and was surprised at how spacious it was. It was probably bigger than the entire flat she shared with the other three at the Covent Garden district on the carrier's East End.
As it turned out, Darjeeling-sama was not alone, for with her was a man dressed in overalls, who was on all fours cutting up the carpet that lined the floor. The man had already removed about three-quarters of the room's covering, which had all been rolled up in large cinnamon roll-like cylinders, leaving the floor looking like a hairless cat.
"Oh, Assam and Rosehip, come in, would you like anything to drink?" Darjeeling-sama said, looking up from the piece of paper she was reading.
"Well, if you offered me Scotch and plain water, I'd drink Scotch and plain water," her senpai replied, eliciting a smile from Darjeeling-sama.
Must have been an inside joke between the two of them?
"Alright, let me just call Bohea." Their commander picked up a golden tea bell from the corner of her desk and rang it.
Immediately, a side-door opened and the head of Gloriana's Royal Maid Corp, Bohea, entered the room, all dressed up in her pressed black skirt and starched white apron. Originally a member of the school's Tea Club and ever since made an honorary member of the Tea Garden, the white-haired girl looked smart in her servant outfit, not downright silly like the time Darjeeling-sama wore one for their tea party.
"Can you get these two fine ladies each a cup of tea and-" Darjeeling-sama looked at the clock at the mantelpiece, which showed that it was a few minutes before six in the afternoon- "since it's pretty late, can you serve as dinner as well?"
"As you wish, Darjeeling-goshunjinsama," the maid acknowledged, bowing, bending a knee and holding her skirt slightly up all at the same time, before closing the door behind her.
"Hey Miss Darjeeling, you want to leave a little strip? Maybe a lightning bolt? Unicorn? Something like that?" The carpet remover pointed to a small piece of carpet in the corner.
"No, I want all of it replaced."
"Alright, we're going Brazilian." The man began attacking the strip with his specialized tools, much to Rosehip's own wonder.
"She just had to spill champagne on it, now where were we?" Darjeeling sighed and began clearing the paperwork from her desk, arranging them into neat little stacks before placing them underneath a small object that looked like a British Mark IV WW1 tank.
"Interested in the paperweight? My sister got it for me on my birthday. It came all the way fro- Darjeeling-sama was explaining, a weird glint from her eyes, but was abruptly cut off by a cough from Assam. "Oh, I was just on the phone with the captain and he was kind enough to lend us one of the carrier's Providence-class transport ships. It will take around a day to go from here to HMS Unicorn.
"That long? Isn't there another way?" she found herself asking.
"We could have leased one of Saunder's Super Galaxies but not at such short notice and Shamrock's residents wouldn't want a 170-ton transport aircraft ruining their weekend." Darjeeling-sama smiled and then frowned again. "Why don't you have a seat, I'm afraid this meeting could take a while, that's why I asked Bohea-san to get us something to eat as well."
They took the wooden chairs in front of Commander's desk, where her lower stance had allowed her to watch Darjeeling-sama's exquisite blue eyes scrutinised the two of them before they resumed the conversation.
"That's transportation settled with and that leaves us with only one important matter unresolved. I talked to my counterpart a while back and she would be glad to receive you and your gifts. However, their student council had made it clear that no tanks shall be seen threading their tracks through the streets of Shamrock. Transporting four tanks is already a logistical nightmare, adding their transporters could possibly overload the ferry," Darjeeling-sama told with exasperation.
An idea popped inside her head and she stood up before she said what was on her mind. "We can recreate the Sunshields used in Operation Bertram." She suggested and noticed Darjeeling's questioning looks while her senpai nodded in agreement.
Rosehip had done research on the tanks she had commanded of course and she had read about Operation Bertram, which was the deception plan that preceded a major offence at El Alamein, hiding units of the Eighth Army away from prying German eyes. One of them involved creating Sunshields, which were basically canvas and some metal sheets fashioned to resemble a lorry cab, and used to disguise tanks like Matildas and Crusaders, making them look like lorries to reconnaissance planes.
Assam had explained that for her and Darjeeling-sama looked on with interest, before writing down something on a pad of paper. "It is a wild idea to camouflage a tank to make it look like a lorry using a canvas screen. It would be quite useful, consider it approved and Rosehip-san, thank you for sharing such a brilliant idea, it would seem that Assam made no mistake in selecting you and your crew."
Rosehip's heart skipped a beat. That certainly sounded like praise coming from Darjeeling-taichou; looks like she forgot about that contraption after all.
"Now, if the necessary materials were to be ready by dawn tomorrow, how long would it take to disguise all the tanks involved? Darjeeling-sama asked her, those blue eyes of her perhaps assessing how well she could do the job.
"Well, depending on the cooperation of others, it can be done around supper time," she replied, confident in the skill of her crew.
A knock on the door made all three of them look at it before Darjeeling responded once again with a "Come in!" The door immediately opened and Bohea, along with two other maids came through, placing before them a hearty meal of Chicken Tikka Masala.
"Now before we all tuck in, Earl Grey-sama left behind a bottle of champagne that would be a waste to throw out. Now let's first have a toast to your luck before you depart."
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
24th of April
8:47 PM
The night sky, especially when viewed in the middle of the sea held a certain charm to it, the likes of which poets love to write about and left anyone witnessing it awestruck. It would have been the perfect spot for a confession of one's love or to just spend quality time with your special someone.
All of these buzzed through Rosehip's mind as she was very lucky to gaze at all this beauty with her beautiful Assam-senpai next to her, however, they were spending their time rather unromantically.
"I told you I'm fine, I don't nee-" Whatever protest her senpai was going to say was lost as her hand went over her mouth to prevent herself vomiting prematurely while she dashed over to the ship's railing and puked her dinner overboard.
Rosehip couldn't help but roll her eyes as she held her senpai's hair back while she was throwing up. With her other hand, she uncapped a bottle of water to give to Assam-senpai after puking for the nth time now.
She found it easier to deal with tanks than other human beings, which were now currently somewhere inside the ship, along with a last-minute guest. It was decided that their own Crusader be brought along since they were more comfortable using it and would be able to use it to guide the kids in operating their brand new sleigh.
She, her crew and her senpai, along with the cruiser tanks now disguised as lorries, boarded the HMS Pinafore earlier that morning, being personally sent off by Darjeeling-sama herself, who was waving her silk handkerchief at them with Orange Pekoe next to her bidding them safety and luck on their arduous trip.
As it turns out, due to the Ark Royal's massive size, the rolling waves of the ocean it sailed on were countermanded simply by its sheer magnitude, but not so much in a ship less than one-thousandth her size and so she found out that her senpai got seasick quite easily. In fact, they had spent the entire trip so far like this, Assam-senpai puking overboard while she tried her best to help.
Her senpai gestured for the bottle of water which Rosehip gave to her immediately as she readied her own handkerchief. As she had found out in the past, having a piece of cloth at a moment's notice was very practical and she had brought a stack of them before going on the trip. This one, unfortunately, smelt horrible, as she had used it to repeatedly wipe off excess barf from Assam-senpai's face.
It would probably be better to throw it all together rather than wash it, even if it meant throwing away something that came into contact with senpai''s precious face.
What the fuck do you mean precious? The poor girl's literally throwing up everything she ate in the last 36 hours and all you can think of is how a hanky covered with all her puke is precious?! She sighed, she was becoming such a filthy degenerate.
Disgust must have passed over her face, as well as Assam-senpai, looked up over her shoulder, still looking a bit green and mumbled. "I'm sorry for troubling you Rosehip, I knew I should have told you beforehand…." and returned back to vomiting.
Rosehip wished Roselle was here to help her out but no luck there since the two of them had been snubbing each other ever since their argument. After being informed by Assam-senpai a few days ago, she immediately confronted Roselle, which wasn't really the best course of action now that she thought of it, and it escalated into a shouting match and would have been worse had it not been the timely intervention of Rosemallow-san.
Where was Rosemallow-san anyways? Probably sleeping in her quarters or something. Rosemallow was the de facto "senpai" of the Rosebush, keeping her and Roselle in check and had pulled them out of trouble more times than they could count. She had taken on the role of being the responsible one, reminding them of homework, or in most cases, letting them copy hers. She would have been the perfect person to ask for help in this, but alas, Rosehip wasn't so lucky although she could ask for a random person's help but that would be too awkward even for her.
After a few minutes, Assam-senpai's situation seemed to improve and Rosehip used the handkerchief to clean her up, promptly receiving thanks from her senpai.
"Ah, Rosehip, I've dropped my purse. Would it be too much to ask you to pick it up for me?" Assam requested, her vivid violet eyes vying for attention.
She responded back with an "Hai!" before bending over and picking up the various contents of the purse that had now been scattered across the ship's deck. Amongst them were an ornate coin purse, a small stainless steel box, a planner, a spray bottle of hand sanitizer, spare hair ribbons, some feminine articles and an elegant display case containing a single stamp.
A bit of research, they had found out that Shannon or Iona Yoshimura, was really fond of signatures, however, Darjeeling-sama said it would be a bit pretentious to send hers so through a subsequent searching of the Tea Garden's safe, they found a single magenta coloured stamp, with the label "British Guiana" written on it. Figuring it wouldn't be worth that much, they had decided to send it as a gift along with various tea blends, mixed by Pekoe herself and Darjeeling-sama even sent some jellied eels to go with it. They had long since returned the eels to the ocean, thinking Shamrock may consider that monstrosity a declaration of war rather than a symbol of peace.
She stood up and handed back Assam-senpai's purse, noticing how colour had slowly returned to the girl's face. Her senpai opened the purse to see if something was amiss before to her own surprise, opened her coin purse and extracted a coin that strangely shone even in the near-darkness they were in.
"This is a gold sovereign coin that came all the way from Britain. Keep it and take care of it." Assam held it out to her with both hands and which Rosehip gingerly accepted.
Before she could even ask a question, a girl her age, all dressed up in a Royal Navy sailor uniform came up to the two of them and said, "Ma'am, the captain sent me to inform you that we're an hour away from our destination."
"Thank you," Assam simply said. The girl in the sailor uniform turned around and left.
A moment of silence descended between the two of them, only the thrashing of the waves against the ship's keel and the soft whistle of the night breeze were the only sounds that filled the atmosphere. But the pause wasn't awkward or anything, rather it was very comfortable.
"Rosehip, I can't meet with the welcoming party looking like a mess, I'm going back to my quarters, care to walk with me?"
"Sure thing!"
The two of them began navigating the labyrinth insides of the ship, barely marked with any signs or symbols that would help in their passage.
"Tell me Rosehip, what are you afraid of?" Assam had casually asked as they both ducked to avoid hitting their heads in some low hanging pipes.
Don't tell me she knows about that as well?!
Trying to stay cool, Rosehip racked her brain for an answer and decided it would be best to humour her way through.
"I was afraid we would hit an iceberg and sink!"
The night before they left St Gloriana, the entire Senshadou Team went to the pictures to partake in the monthly movie viewing party and the film chosen was Titanic, a movie about a bloody big ship that struck a bloody big iceberg and sank in the bloody big Atlantic.
She couldn't care less about the film and would rather have slept in early to have the energy for tomorrow's voyage but it was one of those social events that would be scandalous to miss, not to mention her position as the overall Crusader Wing commander forced her to sit through the three hours long film.
The start of the film was rather dull, with all the science stuff that ended up being just a treasure hunt for a long lost diamond. But after that, she found it rather enjoyable, especially when Jack was introduced. Not only was he good at cards, not having to rely on cheating to win like some brown-haired fiend, but also his shenanigans and social status that reflected hers as well. Speaking of cheating, one salty girl behind her kept on kicking the back of her chair with heavy cavalry boots and pelted her hair with popcorn seeds.
As much as she would like to stand up and whack the mischievous culprit, she was seated next to Darjeeling-sama herself and any more transgressions would have had her sent off to Coventry. Fortunately, someone had her back and did it for her, and it was all the more satisfying to hear that smack while she tried her best not to giggle.
Being next to Darjeeling-sama had its perks though, like when the "Draw me like one of your French girls" scene came on screen. It was where the rich girl laid naked on the sofa, wearing only her shiny necklace and was drawn by Jack. Darjeeling-sama had turned beet red and tried to stop the movie, while she and Rukuriri, who was seated on her right, were secretly laughing their arses off.
During the movie's climactic sinking and the subsequent panic where Jack sacrifices himself to save the girl of his dreams, Darjeeling was quietly sobbing into her handkerchief and even unconsciously held Rosehip's arm, crushing it. It took all her willpower not to flinch.
Assam-senpai was unfortunately on the other side next to Orange Pekoe but she did pull her for a bit after the screening to remind her to be on time and to pack a bit of clothing for their stay, not that it was needed, considering she was ready as she could be.
Now the blonde had a laugh and actually looked quite healthy despite being seasick like crazy a few moments ago "Don't be silly, we're in the Pacific, not to mention we melted pretty much all the icebergs," her senpai replied, always having a soft spot for corny jokes. They continued walking for a bit, till they reached her accommodation. "I'll be quick, just wait outside and no peeking!"
"Don't worry, I'll stand around here all day like the Queen's Guards if I have to!"
After a few minutes, she quickly grew bored and began mulling over the idea of checking up on her senpai.
What's taking her so long? It's not exactly far-fetched for her to get into trouble considering how delicate her condition was.
Maybe I'll have a look to see if everything's alright.
Don't be stupid! She'd get angry if she spots you.
But what if she needs my help….
That's it, to hell with the consequences!
With her mind now set, she approached the door and checked to see if the door was locked by turning the knob. After it had turned all the way through- which was really weird -she slowly pushed the door open enough for her to have a look inside with as little as possible chance of being spotted.
Her senpai had her back against her, sitting on a stool, while she combed her blonde hair, humming a tune as she went, reminding her of a Disney movie that she had watched years back. Assam-senpai's petite figure was only hidden by a towel as Rosehip's eyes bulged out of its sockets in shock. She had never seen another woman dressed down to that degree and it came with an unexplainable thrill that made her sweat profusely.
Suddenly, someone had unceremoniously yanked her back and closed the door. Rosehip was about to protest until a hard smack sent her reeling and brought her back to the real world.
"Well? Tell me what I saw was not what I think it is?' Rosemallow asked in a grumpy voice, the same one she used when scolding them, complete with the arms folded in front of her chest position, but this time, a rolled-up copy of today's paper was in one of her hands, no doubt the weapon that had she had used to hit her.
Rosehip tried to reason but no words came forth and she must have looked like a child caught stealing from a cookie jar for her orange-haired loader made a loud sigh.
"Pervert, I know we all make mistakes in the heat of passion, however always remember to think using this-" Rosemallow poked her forehead with the newspaper -"and not this." before using it to gesture to the in-between of her legs.
Her mouth finally worked again and she managed to reason out. "But I wasn't peeking on her! I was just checking on her to see if she needs my assistance!"
Rosemallow looked at her intensely, making her slightly cower away, the height difference didn't help in any case. "Since I don't see the usual signs of you lying, I'll believe you're telling the truth. Now I believe Assam-senpai have been puking all-day long, am I correct?"
"Yeah…."
"Seasickness?"
"Yup."
"Poor girl, maybe this will help?" Rosemallow unslung her bag and took a sheet of pills from the side pocket. "Motion sickness pills, you should have asked me beforehand and remember, she needs to have a full stomach before drinking it."
Her loader paused for a second as she opened her bag once more and extracted a Tupperware filled with cupcakes, before taking one and handing it to her.
"Ah, a cupcake." She held it gingerly by the foil, examining it carefully, the exterior of the pastry was filled with pepper-like seeds and glazed with thick white cream on top.
"No silly, it's a muffin, and not just any muffin it's our family's special poppyseed muffin!"
"Can I have one as well?" she asked, the mere sight of the treat made her hungry, as always. Rosemallow was like a magician, pulling out treats from her hamper every day; it was a miracle she still could fit through the commander's hatch.
"No, it's your punishment for doing something brash again."
"Awwwwwwwww, pretty please?"
"Fine…." Rosemallow procured another one and handed it to her, scarfing the pastry down as soon as she received it, relishing the tangy taste of the lemons in the muffin that left her smacking her lips afterwards.
"Mhmmmmmmmmm, delicious!"
"Now, I'll be off, if you need me, I'll be at the bow. By the way, when you're done taking care of Assam-senpai, I think Roselle has something to say to you." Her loader gave her a wink and went off on her way.
Not a minute passed when the door cracked open and her senpai stepped out of her quarters, all dressed in a new shiny Senshadou uniform.
"I'm back, sorry if you have to wait, oh what's that?" Assam pointed at the articles she held.
"Rosemallow-san passed-by and gave me some medicine for seasickness but you have to first eat something before you take it," She replied, holding out the pastry to her senpai, which she promptly received.
Assam took the muffin from the foil and split it evenly in the centre. "I'm pretty sure you're hungry as well and I can't bear to eat with someone else watching me, so here."
"No, it's fine."
"Ey, I washed my hands!" Her senpai cracked a smile. "Don't tell me you want me to feed it to you?" She asked, with a wide smirk on her face.
Ah, the battle of wits, well, two can play at that game
She performed a mock bow and replied: "Why, yes, your majesty."
For a split second, she saw that Assam-senpai was taken back, but it was soon replaced with a mischievous grin. "Kinky as that request may be, I am an amenable ruler."
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Rosehip closed her eyes and opened her mouth, deciding to just go with the flow. In a few moments, she felt her senpai gingerly placed the piece of pastry inside her mouth, its already familiar flavour eagerly seeping through her tongue.
She was surprised when after she bit down, she felt something hard and a yelp in front of her made her open her eyes. Assam-senpai wiggled her index finger, which she had most likely bitten, tears in the corner of her eyes.
"Ahhhhh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
After what felt like an eternity, Assam-senpai finally responded. "If you don't mind, I will talk to the captain about the cargo," and then left the scene.
Rosehip immediately felt glum and mentally kicked herself for messing up so badly.
You fucked up bad! How could you mess up so badly?!
Feeling dejected, she began to zigzag across the corridors, her feet taking her to somewhere she didn't know. While walking she saw that Roselle's door was ajar, if it not for their argument, she would have gone straight to her to drown her sorrows and ask for advice. Roselle, despite being a wild spirit, was the go-to person you could approach, especially at times when you needed reassurance the most.
But not this time around…. She probably loathes you now more than ever.
She was about to steer clear of the door, then remembered what Rosemallow-san said. So she began weighing the opinions until Roselle made the decision for her, who popped her head out of the doorframe.
"Ah, I knew it was you, you're the only one who can make walking as noisy as a horse galloping against cobblestone."
She merely looked at her driver's usual cheery face and couldn't bear herself to say a word.
"I know it's not much, but I hope this will make you feel better." Roselle stretched out her hand, in it a Wagon Wheel.
She walked the distance and took the treat. "It's fine, I'm not angry at you anymore."
Roselle frowned and asked. "Then why the long face?"
Rosehip began telling the tale of what happened earlier, from getting caught by Rosemallow-san to the embarrassment she inflicted on her senpai. Roselle began laughing hard, clutching her side before finally stopping but still continued to giggle as she spoke.
"Ah, my spleen. My God, Rosehip, I wasn't at your side for a few days and these things happened!"
The two of them continued to banter while walking through the insides of the ship, eventually finding themselves at the bow of the ship where a smiling Rosemallow looked at them with interest and asked. "Friends again?"
"Not quite," Roselle answered back, but a grin on her face betrayed her.
"Come here you two!" Rosemallow shouted and pulled both of them into a bear hug that probably crushed a few of her ribs. "This calls for a celebratory muffin!"
Both she and Roselle suddenly had ear-wide grins and pleading eyes as they outstretched their hands looking on like kittens waiting to be fed.
Later when their hearts and stomach were filled, Rosemallow confessed that she was the one who hit Roselle last night and they even recreated the scene in the movie they watched where they each took turns standing above the railing and shouting the lines.
"Say, what would Rosemary say if she was here?" she asked, thinking of how her poor gunner was missing out on the fun here
Roselle simply shrugged and said, "She'd probably complain about the waves or something." bursting into a hearty laugh afterwards.
From the mist, a ship-like shape took form. It wasn't as big as the Ark Royal but what made it peculiar is that the entire bloody ship was painted green.
"Well, that's probably Shamrock, can't wait to get off this boat!" Rosemallow yawned, probably looking forward to a goodnight's sleep.
"Hear hear," she replied. It would also make sure that Assam-senpai wouldn't get seasick as well.
"Hey Rosehip!" Roselle called her out.
"Yeah?"
"You smell like puke, it would be best if you change your clothes, you stink bomb!"
"That's rude of you! I'll deal with you once I'm done." Rosehip said, before dashing off back to her own room to change, making a mental note to lock the door first, in case karma came peeking.
Author's Notes: Well, that's all for today! I hope you caught all the Easter eggs and references, speaking of Easter eggs, Happy Easter everyone and to those that don't celebrate Easter, stay frosty~
P.S: Special thanks to those who helped me along the way. Sharky, Shrimpy, Crabby and other non-sea foods ones like Niko, Clarky, Galilool, Monty and of course, you, my dear reader who have patiently waited for an update. Till next time then~
P.S.S: (08/04/20) Hai hai, more edits, most of which in the last part of the chapter, making it overall easier to read, I hope. On the next chapter then!
P.S.S.S: (08/10/20) Moar Edits!
