Despite the occasional errant branches hitting the roof and the downpour crashing onto it, being inside the storm shelter—one of the many on the base—quickly became dull and unbearably quiet.

Zuikaku glanced at Lieutenant Ohtori Kensaku, who at that time was busying himself by tinkering with the radio instead of striking up a conversation. Somehow, she felt slightly offended by that but left him to his devices anyway. After all, if she was going to be trapped there for a considerable amount of time, at least it would be with someone she knew well.

Ohtori placed the radio back on the table after failing to get anything instead of static.

"Tune in to the radio for information, they say," he scoffed.

"Give it time…the typhoon was just starting," Zuikaku suggested. She was unsure how long it would last, but she figured they would need to ride out the storm for at least a day for the worst to pass.

"Eh, you're right. And when it's done, we have plenty of clean-up to do."

"Oh geez, that's true, isn't it?" Zuikaku groaned. She could imagine it already—the fallen trees, strewn debris, broken buildings—and shuddered. A passing glance revealed Ohtori was grimacing, likely after imagining the same thing.

"Not to mention, we might also need to help the townspeople. Repairs, clean-up…probably many of them will take shelter here while their homes get fixed…" he said, staring into the wall as if there was an imaginary window to the outside.

"Well, I don't mind. They are all so nice," replied Zuikaku.

"Me neither. I hope everyone is okay. And my ramen place, too."

"Mm. Now that you said that, I wonder what Shoukaku-nee is doing…" Zuikaku trailed off, her gaze shifting towards her side of the wall, and stared at it.

"Eh, she's fine, of course; I mean, she's smart and sensible, so she most likely would seek refuge right away at the first sign of the storm."

"Oh...oh, of course! There's no way Shoukaku-nee would get drenched and…"

Zuikaku was cut off by a towel landing on her face. She immediately removed it and spat out the fuzz.

"Yeah, she won't. But you almost did," Ohtori quipped. Zuikaku glared at him but soon dried her hair with the towel. After all, if he was teasing her, it didn't sound like one.

"I was at sea making sure nobody was out there," she replied as soon as she was done.

"I know. You're responsible; that's why you're the base secretary."

Zuikaku paused and whipped her head towards Ohtori—she was about to ask him if he was serious, but the plan was promptly forgotten when she noticed that he was in the middle of removing his shirt.

"Wh-what are you do-do-doing?" she stammered and covered a good deal of her reddening and heating face with the towel.

"What? I'm soaked too. I don't want to catch a cold," he replied and continued what he was doing. Zuikaku found the air of nonchalance infuriating, but it was indeed the only rational thing to do. And besides, there were more pressing matters at hand—like why it felt colder all of a sudden.

"Is it just me, or is it really getting colder?" she ended up asking that aloud.

"...Your coat is wet, that's why," Ohtori replied. "Maybe you should remove it for the time being?"

Instead of doing so, Zuikaku wrapped her arms around the coat, even though only her face was getting warmer.

"...I'm not thinking of anything weird, mind you," Ohtori frowned at the reaction.

"I…I know, still…ugh, fine," Zuikaku sighed. She began removing her coat, at first slowly—but then realized it seemed too much like she was seducing someone, just like in that film she was forced to watch some time ago—and ended up scrambling to get it off as quickly as possible.

Embarrassing as it was, she did feel somewhat better after tossing the coat away, and now she was hungry—which was not surprising given that she had missed lunch.

She had taken a look at the supplies when she arrived. Food was plenty, and their medicine stock was adequate—though she wished there would be no reason to use them. The Commander had always made sure the shelters were stocked, so she wasn't worried about running out of necessities at all—the only mildly concerning thing to her was that constantly flickering light—it seemed it could go out at any moment.

As soon as she thought of it, it did just that.

"Great," Zuikaku moped. "Are there any candles? And the stove, too, while you're at it," she turned to Ohtori, who was rummaging through the cabinet under the cot.

"Hold on, let me see…" he replied. He found some rather quickly, along with fuel tablets and a stove. He placed them all before Zuikaku.

"Okay, here we go…"

With a flick of the lighter, light filled the room once again. Zuikaku found a small kettle and put it atop the stove. The only thing she needed right now was water, and there were plenty of them in bottles lining the wall.

"Ohtori, pass me that water bottle, will you?"

"Here."

"Thanks."

The wait for the water to boil seemed to take forever, as did the three-minute wait for the instant ramen—but as she savored the aroma wafting from the cup, Zuikaku felt it had been worth it.

"What are you waiting for? Dig in! I don't want to eat alone," she told Ohtori, who paused some more before taking his share.

"Mm… It's been ages since I ate this," Zuikaku remarked between mouthfuls; she didn't even bother with swallowing first.

"I had one yesterday," he replied, with a bit of satisfaction from seeing her betrayed pout.

"Traitor."

"But the way I see it, the anticipation of having something again after so long makes it better, isn't it?"

As if she wanted to put that remark to the test, Zuikaku took another bite and laughed.

"I guess you're right."

Nothing else was said after that, and both were content to finish their meal like that.

"Thanks for the meal," both said in unison. Ohtori went back to fiddling with the radio again, leaving Zuikaku on her own.

"You know," she said after lighting another candle, "that was like a candlelight dinner back then. I've never had any before."

Ohtori paused and looked at her, smirking.

"...Maybe not dinner, but close enough. Sorry that your first was with a guy like me, though."

"But I enjoyed it," she replied, watching him nearly drop the radio.

"...You did?"

"...When did I ever lie to you?"

Ohtori thought Zuikaku was being playful, which would be surprising enough, but she seemed earnest.

"Uh, I'm just surprised you brought it up like that. You don't strike me as someone…you know…romantic."

"Eh, I don't know about it. I just enjoyed it, that's all."

"Well, glad you did," Ohtori picked up the radio again; he had made some progress with it earlier, and it had finally picked up something. After some time, Zuikaku noticed him pausing, even though the radio had not worked as intended.

"Since you enjoyed it...after everything's taken care of, why don't we go somewhere and do it again?"

Zuikaku almost fell off the cot, but she quickly straightened herself just as he turned around, facing her, waiting.

A date. He didn't say it as such, but that was definitely an invitation to one.

Nobody had ever asked her to go on one before; of all people, Ohtori had to be the first. But after everything she'd said earlier, she had no reason to decline. And if he was the first, she figured that was actually better.

"Alright, why not. Where are you taking me? A fancy restaurant?"

"No, the ramen place."

Zuikaku had a good laugh over the answer. Ohtori was dead serious about it—but then again, she liked the ramen place better.