Author's Note: How was your summer event everyone? Did you manage to bring Teruzuki back home?
Those salt aside, this new chapter has finally... Kitanda'd XD
Edit: Lovely PixelDemise has proofread this chapter as well! Thank you very much, Pixel!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kantai Collection (owned by Kadokawa) or the song Lifetime Respect (sung by Miki Dozan).
Be with me for my whole life
Including all the ups and downs
Miki Dozan - Lifetime Respect
Somebody, please tell me this is a joke.
Admiral Tendouji Airi had both hands on her head as she stared at the piece of paper before her in horror. This one announcement that she just received... She desperately tried to think that it was all a bad joke.
… In order to remove the limiter of the ship girls in your fleet...
The next clause sounded like sheer nightmare.
.. all admirals are advised to have provisional marriage with feasible ship and forge an unbreakable bond of matrimony.
88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88
"88 FUEL MY ASS! DON'T FREAKING CLAP ON ME!"
- "Age of Expiry" -
From the very first moment Airi took on the title of admiral, or even from the very first moment she took on the navy as her place of work, she knew and understood exactly that this field was mostly the field of work for males. She understood that and it was even a part of her pride that she could ascend to her current rank, to show achievement worthy of praise, despite the rarity of her own gender in the field. She understood and acknowledged everything. Supposedly.
This one order pissed her off.
Matrimony is such a big word. Especially for Airi.
Was this a direct insult of her being single despite her age? Or that she had just recently broke up with her boyfriend for a rather stupid reason?
"You're with those girls too much! Do you not love me anymore?"
It was her job! Why was she getting moved to this naval base in the first place if it wasn't to take care of those so called "girls" and protect his sorry ass?
"I can pay for us both, you can let go of your job. No? So, you're more into babysitting, yes? Fine. I'm not going with a woman who won't even listen and care for me."
"I AM BABYSITTING YOU THE WHOLE TIME, YOU JEEEEERK!" Airi furiously hit her desk over and over just by thinking of him, all his antics, why was he such a crybaby and a jealous little brat when all the time she had always been the one who-
The door opened with a click.
"... Admiral?"
Shouhou opened the door rather hesitantly. Instead of walking right in like she usually did, she stood by the doorstep and looked inside. Airi smiled wide and bright with her fist still clenched tightly on top of the desk and cheerfully answered, "Oh, Shouhou! You've come back! How was the expedition?"
The excessive smiling only made Shouhou turn paler.
"Y-Yes, I am fine. The expedition ended safely as well... Rather, is everything alright, Admiral...?"
Nope.
"Yes, don't worry! Everything is fine. Come in, Shouhou, report to me about it. Are the others outside? Come in."
Although the light carrier girl seemed to look unconvinced, she stepped in eventually, followed by the rest of the fleet, and delivered her report as usual.
Airi listened and answered, commenting if needed, then praised the fleet for a job well done, all with a smile. But her fist remained clenched hard on the table, on top of the folded letter of order from the grand marshal.
~~XXX~~
"Airi, you know my acquaintance's son is such a good looking man-"
"Airi, your high school friend is getting married next month, when will yours be?"
"Airi, I think I will be happy to have a grandchild soon."
Airi put her face inside her palm, feeling like sobbing. She could totally imagine the rage of her family if she did this one quest the upper echelon requested of her. It would probably go like this:
"Hey, Mom! I am married!" *shoving one of her ships in front of her whole family. "Look at this beautiful ship! yYay!"
"SHIP?! STOP THIS NONSENSE THIS INSTANCE AND GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" *nuclear bomb exploding*
She would be disowned by her family for marrying a ship, that's for sure. That, and she had never seen her subordinates that way either. Even though Kongou showered her with BURNING LOVE and such, she viewed all of them as her friends and for some, her little sisters or even children. Never once had she thought of them as romantic options. Even now she felt tortured, thinking of marrying girls she thinks of as her own sisters.
Airi sighed. Maybe she could ask for a way out….
~~~ XXXX ~~~
"Tendouji-kun, it was based on study cases with the other bases, it has happened more than once with flawless consistency. It was proven."
"Sir, isn't there another way? Like new remodeling?"
There was a chuckle from the other side of the phone. Airi had the urge to slam the receiver right down when she heard it. It was fortunate how she was alone in her office again, having sent Shouhou elsewhere to deliver reports, in case something happened.
"One more economically beneficial? I do not think so. It isn't such a big deal anyway, Tendouji-kun! It is just provisional marriage, just a ceremony and a cheap ring, and that is all. You don't even have to sleep with them if you don't want to. Or would you rather do so? I know other admirals are dying for that."
"... With all due respect, Sir."
The grand marshal let out booming laughter, much to Airi's chagrin. She could just imagine just how... Amused the old man was.
"The other admirals are really happy with this. Isn't this something to be happy about, marrying these girls? Listen, Tendouji-kun. If anything were to happen to your naval base because your ship girls are under leveled compared with the others and get wrecked by the Abyssals, I will ask for your full responsibility. Performance record is still the only thing in your resume, isn't it? I would hate it if I should take some unpleasant measures just because of your... gender preferences."
How sweet of you.
"... Understood."
"Good," The grand marshal finally seemed satisfied. "You are among my best admirals. I see you already have many ship girls reaching their maximum level so you have lots of options to choose. All the better, is it not? A set of soon-to-be wives! Hahahahahaha! If you will excuse me now, I am busy, Tendouji-kun. Do contact me if any real problems arise."
"... Yes, Sir."
"A piece of advice, Tendouji-kun," A chuckle was heard inside the grand marshal's voice. "Don't you go like those other admirals who are too busy with their emotions dealing with these ship girls. Do what you must to protect peace, they are your tools of justice so use them well. I'll talk to you another time."
Use them well.
Airi stared at the receiver, listening to the resounding monotonous dull beep it gave when the grand marshal cut off the line. A few seconds later she slammed the receiver back to its place, chiding under her breath.
What an enlightening conversation.
My tools of justice... Airi glanced at the ship girls archive on the desk within her grasp, right on top of the Abyssal fleet report. A sad smile curved her lips. I bet you have never been in our shoes, grand marshal.
~~~ XXXX ~~~
Kaga... Kongou… Nagato... Shigure... Tone… Akagi...
Airi flipped the archives of the ship girls idly, staring at the numbers and graphs that showed the track record of each girls in her base. She had several girls already at their maximum level. If it was only to fulfill that dreaded quest, she could do it anytime. The small base had grown considerably after her transfer and the growth of the ship girls had been satisfactory. There had never been any sinkings since she came, so it was not that surprising—every girl has her time to gain experience. The resources depot had been continuously crying though.
It's better to marry the battleships because the low consumption bonus will be a good advantage... especially for the Yamato-class... If Bauxite consumption remains the same, then there won't be that many changes picking carries. Will the status increase affect carriers?
But then Kaga had been a really trustworthy confidante all these times, so was her faithful Shouhou. Kaga was an unfazed, strong-willed, and a logical source of reasonable insight in times of need. She had proven herself to be a formidable ally in many ways. To simply scratch her from the list because the upgrade would be unfavorable for her seems rather... heartless.
But then...
But I can't imagine marrying Kaga! Airi facepalmed with both of her hands, suddenly feeling an immense depression. Just imagining it make her shudder because of obvious reason concerning the other carriers. Will she even consider it in the first place?! Kaga would hit me with those planes if I proposed to her. She will kill me before I even go up the aisle, seriously. Those glares will kill me. Or those planes. Oh God, I can feel them killing me now. Oh God, this feels so real-
"Admiral."
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Airi almost fell off the chair when the oh so familiar cold voice came so dangerously close. And it was real, since Kaga stood in front of her desk with her eyes slightly narrowing upon seeing her admiral's reaction. "K-Kaga! W-why are you here?!"
Without a change of expression, Kaga offered the papers in her hand.
"... the full report from the last sortie."
"A-Ah, yes!" Airi snatched the paper away from the ship girl's hand. "Yes, thank you! I forgot! Hahaha..."
Stupid. What am I doing? And now I can't look at her in the eyes and it's not like I am going to propose or anything because it isn't even decided if I will even do that quest in the first place and... and pull yourself together, Airi!
In that instance, Airi felt like hitting her head on the desk again. MARRIAGE. PROPOSAL. seemed written in a billboard-size sign on top of Kaga's head.
Kaga remained silent but her brown eyes followed the admiral's movement and expressions. After a while, she said, "... That makes me slightly upset."
"Eh?" Chills ran down Airi's spine. She slowly looked up to see the cold gaze of Kaga upon her. "... Yes?"
"Am I unpleasant to look at, Admiral?" Her brown eyes turned golden when sunrise fell on them—emphasizing their power. "Or do you have something you want to discuss with me? I am fine with it."
"Well…"
Shall I? But then...
In that instance Airi felt like burying her face inside her palms again, which she did eventually. My life! My first ever marriage! Can't it be like me in wedding dress with handsome man in a tuxedo before me and those beautiful white flowers and doves flying around. Why must it be with either a Carrier or a Battleship?! Okay, I can always pick destroyers and cruisers or… NO, THAT IS NOT THE POINT.
Airi unconsciously made an unintelligible sound while she lamented about her life.
A sudden touch on the head made her froze. It was… a pat?
Airi slowly lowered her palms and looked up, meeting the emotionless golden eyes courtesy of Kaga. They met for a split second, then as suddenly as it began, the standard carrier dropped her hand that previously patted the admiral's head to her side again. Without a change of expression, she said, "You have been doing great work. Don't let anyone say otherwise."
"Eh?"
"If you would excuse me."
And she was out, before Airi could even collect herself and shout to halt her.
Now the admiral was frozen by her place, with her mouth wide open… and no one came to help her decipher what the heck had happened.
All that lingered was those words the standard carrier said, echoing in the now empty room.
"Don't let anyone say otherwise."
~~XXXXXX~~
The sun was setting and wind started to blow from the mountain to the sea. It was a good wind. A good time to be out and watch the sunset.
The admiral stood by the pier, watching some of her destroyers being trained by Takao. Shouhou stood faithfully beside her. Her admiral stood straight, the sunset lined up her silhouette with a rather dramatic effect. Somehow, the drama was palpable this time.
After a while, the admiral spoke.
"... I will try another group date."
"... A-Admiral?"
"There must be hope… in another group date!"
She suddenly makes a fist and a drop of painful tears fell from her eyes.
"I will… persevere! Not the grand marshal, nor the world can bring me down! I can do this! I SHALL NOT GIVE UP!"
Work hard, 28 years old me!
The seagulls resounded in the distance, slowly fading to nothing just like the disappearing light of the mighty golden sun.
And thus, Admiral Tendouji Airi had decided that she would not marry any of her ship until she had married, for real, in real life, with a man of her choosing. From that moment on, she had added another type of suffering in her life. One that seemingly would torture her for quite a while…
-End-
... And yes, I managed to get myself a Teruzuki. What a sweet, cute little jewel she is.
Good luck preparing for the Fall Event in November! :D