Chapter 24
Study Session pt1
A year ago…
The sound of chalk scraping against a crowded blackboard rang through the quiet classroom of Shipgirls. A simple equation to determine the speed and launch angle of a torpedo to hit a determined target, at least to the Shipgirl sat near the corner of the room. She had lost most interest in the class weeks ago since she was forced to attend by her "snotty superiors," as she liked to call them.
"That nine-tailed bitch!" She cursed in her head as she stared longingly at the sea through the window. She was many miles away from her homeland, and many more from where her heart truly belonged. She had hoped to have been transferred to the Eagle Union's main base of operations, to where her beloved Commander resided, but that wasn't meant to be. If even that fox bitch couldn't get transferred there, that woman would've seen to it that she also couldn't.
Now, she was just wasting away on this godforsaken island not getting anywhere with anything.
"Taiho!" The instructor called, but got no response, "Taiho-chan!" She said louder as she smacked her pointer against the blackboard.
"Y-yes!" She stammered out in surprise, before shooting Langley an icy glare.
"Since you've been paying so close attention to my class," the short bespectacled Carrier said with a pout, "would you please solve the problem on the board?"
"15 degrees at 24 knots." Taiho answered quickly, not even sparing a second look at the blackboard before she resumed her gaze out the window.
"T-that's correct…" Langley stood in shock as she adjusted her glasses, before taking an eraser to the other side of the chalkboard.
"H-how did she-?" A voice of another shipgirl said under her breath, seemingly frustrated.
"Heh" Taiho smiled smugly at her own reflection, basking in her apparent superiority to her peers.
She didn't belong here… she thought. She deserved to be at the Commander's side, helping to get rid of the "pests" that inhabit this world. And only she was truly capable of that feat.
"Can you figure out this next firing solution?" Instructor Langley asked the Shipgirl next to Taiho.
"..."
Taiho heard the shuffling of pages followed by a barely audible groan. Sneaking a peek through the window's reflection, a Shipgirl with long flowing twin-tails stared down at her desk, the frustration in her posture growing by the second.
Taiho hadn't bothered to remember the girl's name, nor anyone else's in the class for that matter. How could she be struggling with such a simple question? She scoffed in her head as she kept her gaze fixed on the distressed Shipgirl, the Commander doesn't need a useless ship like her. He wouldn't bat an eye at someone such as her.
Or so she thought, before she caught a glimpse at the girl's massive rack.
H-how?! Taiho grinded her teeth as she stared down at her own chest. She knew her beloved Commander's preferences, she had plenty of first hand experience to attest to that and that girl had the potential to steal her thunder.
Who is she?! Taiho grumbled to herself as she thought about it further.
CL-48… It said prominently on the girls thighhigh stockings. She was of the Eagle Union… a Light Cruiser no less. To think they were touted as the Elite amongst the Shipgirls, what a joke! She scoffed.
"Honolulu?" Langley asked again, waiting for the young Brooklyn to solve the problem on the board.
"I-I… uhhh…" the busty Cruiser stammered out as she scrambled to find a hint to the answer in her text book.
A Brooklyn… Taiho narrowed her eyes at the girl next to her, before letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Psst," the Carrier discreetly tried for the Cruiser's attention.
Honolulu's panicked eyes met with Taiho's for a brief moment, before the Carrier's flicked away to continue her gaze out the window.
"45 degrees…" Taiho whispered, mumbling to herself as to why she was helping her in the first place
"Ah… 45 degrees!" Honolulu answered with a desperate squeak. .
"Uh huh~" Langley nodded in approval, waiting for the last part of the answer.
"At 15 knots…" Taiho whispered again, before Honolulu gave her final answer.
"Correct!" Langley clapped happily, "see Lulu! You're getting the hang of this.
"..." Honolulu, sighed in relief as she sat back down with her head hung low.
"Y-you didn't have to do that…" Honolulu whispered back a little harshly.
HAH?! After going out of her way to help!? Taiho quickly snapped around, She deserved to-
The Sakura Empire Carrier went to say the last part aloud, but the sight she was greeted with as she turned around left her words in her throat.
"B-b-but t-thanks…" Honolulu smiled before bashfully burying her face into her arms on her desk, "...I appreciate it…"
This girl… Taiho gritted her teeth, fighting off a blush that had flashed across her face, she's dangerous…
"T-think nothing of it!" Taiho scoffed, unable to deal with the girl's sincerity.
Why did she help her? Taiho thought again as the class resumed quietly once more. She knew Eagle Union Cruiser's were not too well versed in the way of the torpedo as the majority of them were not equipped with any, of course she'd struggle…
Class ended with a bell before the Shipgirls inside scrambled for the door.
"Don't forget to do the work I assigned!" Langley shouts to the back of the retreating girls.
"Okay~" one sang as she ran into the halls.
Still at her desk, seemingly in no rush, Taiho gathered her belongings at a leisurely pace.
"I hope my class doesn't bore you…" Langley slowly approached.
"Well then your hope is misplaced…" Taiho said with a huff.
"I-I'm sorry to hear…" the bespectacled Carrier tried her best not to look hurt.
"But you're doing good work getting these fools to shape up."
Langley let out an anxious chuckle at the halfway complement, "Taiho-chan… it's not nice to say such things about your fellow Kansen."
"The truth is harsh," Taiho said as she hooked her bag over her shoulder before stepping past the shorter carrier.
"Have you thought about teaching?" Langley said in an almost desperate attempt to keep her for a little while longer.
"Hah?" Taiho scoffed as she stopped by the doorway.
"Maybe not teaching…" Langley took a moment to pick her words, "but you have the aptitude to be an amazing tutor."
Taiho let out an incredulous chuckle, "I wouldn't waste my breath-"
"Then why help Honolulu-chan?" The little Carrier did her best to look smug, as she presented her question like a gotcha moment.
Taiho sucked at her teeth, vindicating the older Carrier.
"I may not have the best eyes or ears like my peers, but… I have plenty of experience under my belt," Langley slowly approached her student once again, "I know when someone is being helped."
"T-thats because I couldn't stand how useless-"
"But that's not true…" Langley said quickly as she gave her a warm smile, "you care more than you let on~"
"W-what nonsense-"
"I know you're the first to show up for class," the little Carrier started to pace back and forth, holding a hand in the air listing off her points, "and I know you always clean up the classroom in the mornings before I get in."
"That's commonplace from where I'm from-" Taiho gave her rebuttal.
"You never miss any of the work I assign. No matter how useless you say it is," Langley listed off again, cutting her off, "you're a very diligent student, Taiho-chan~"
"W-why, Y-y-yes…" Taiho crossed her arms under her bust doing her damndest to not look so smug, "everything I do is for the Commander's sake and he doesn't need any useless ships under his command."
Langley giggled to herself with how susceptible the young Carrier was to compliments, "I say you should think on it, you can do a lot of good for the girls on this base."
"Hmph…" Taiho turned on her heel with a huff making for the door once again. As she stopped by the classroom's threshold she took one last glance at her pint-sized teacher. Opening her mouth as if to say something, no words left her lips before she retreated into the hallway.
Who does she think she is?! Taiho grumbled, clutching at the straps to her school bag as she stomped down the hall. What a joke! Me imparting my knowledge to these imbeciles! The Commander only needs me! Not any of these… these… insects!
She wants me to think on it, Taiho laughed to herself, before blowing a raspberry at the classroom behind her, "that's what I think about it!"
Just as she turned the corner to the staircase, she bumped into something soft, knocking her to her butt.
"W-watch where you're-" Taiho went to scold before she froze in her tracks at the well endowed shipgirl standing above her.
"Oh my~" St. Louis leaned forward offering her hand, "are you alright?" she said concerned, shooting the fallen Carrier an apologetic smile,
Taiho knew exactly who this girl was, but it was the first time she had seen her up close, and from her low angle on the floor, as that girl's chest swayed left to right, like the mighty waves on a vast ocean… her reputation precedes her…
That smile… Taiho snarled, like she's looking down on me…
"Oh dear~" St. Louis got down on all fours, crawling closer to the Carrier.
"W-wha?! What're you?!" Taiho's said in a panic as the bluenette swiftly slid between her still open legs. St. Louis's face was millimeters away from the surface of her thighs as the Cruiser's hands softly caressed them.
"There seems to be a tear…" St. Louis said to the flustered Carrier as she observed a hole in her pantyhose closely, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I-I see that!" Taiho stammered, but the Cruiser just narrowed her eyes as she examined her thighs even more closely.
"You're in luck!" St. Louis quickly snapped to look at Taiho directly, "I should have the same shade and size."
"..." Taiho stared wordlessly at the busty Cruiser as she slowly got off of her, offering out her hand once again. That's what this was about?! She nearly gave me a heart attack!
Not wanting to be on the floor any longer, she took St. Louis's hand, but that might've been a mistake as she was hurriedly whisked away.
"W-w-where are you taking me?!"
"Don't worry~" St. Louis sang, "I'll get you fixed up."
Taiho kept her guard up as she allowed herself to be pulled along the courtyard. This could all be one elaborate prank set up by… by… A…Abacore! Taiho scanned the area ahead of them in a panic, rapidly searching every bush and corner that that damned submarine could pop out from.
Before she knew it, she was led along the halls of the Eagle Union dorms before finally stopping by a door at the end of the wing.
CL-48, read the placard on the wall… Why does that seem familiar…
"And we're here~" St. Louis announced before pulling Taiho inside.
The room was very spacious, with cute decor dotting the room. The amount of red was surprising, as she thought St. Louis would have an affinity for blue. Taiho didn't seem to mind, she quite liked the color red afterall. There was an open door to a second bedroom on the other side of the suite, mostly empty with crates of stuff stacked inside. For storage probably…
"C-can we just get this over with." Taiho said with a huff, crossing her arms under her chest.
"Okay~ I'll take good care of you~" St. Louis sang before she knelt suddenly.
Shouldn't she be fetching those tights? Why's she kneeling? Taiho furrowed her brow before she felt the Cruiser's hands slip under her skirt.
"Wha?!" In one swift motion, her legs felt the chill of the air directly on her skin.
o7
"Arghh…" Honolulu threw herself onto her bed before burying her face into her giant stuffed reindeer, "that was so humiliating! What's so special about stupid torpedoes anyways!" She yelled as she rolled over on her back.
She played with the plushie's limbs as she hugged it tightly, staring up at a paint chip on the ceiling, "I'm a Brooklyn… I don't need any torpedoes," she said to herself as she took in its scent. There was no trace of her sister left on the reindeer, but Honolulu liked to imagine.
Looking down at her uniform, she knew Helena would probably get mad at her for lazing around in it.
"You're getting it all wrinkled!" She would cry.
Her little sister had a lot on her plate on most days and lessening that load by not having as much laundry to do was one way Honolulu could help out.
With a groan she kicked her legs off the bed, sitting up slowly. She tucked her reindeer back into its little nook by the side of her pillows.
The sailor uniform she wore was one of her favorite outfits. Picked out by Helena on one of the many shopping sprees St. Louis used to take them back in their old home port. It's as cute as it is light and comfortable, and not to mention, didn't accentuate her chest as much as any other clothes she had in her wardrobe.
The weather was getting warmer, so the need for thick stockings wasn't as important, she thought, as she hooked her thumbs under the waistband of her pantyhose, pulling everything down in one swift motion. Her skirt was the next to go as she let it fall to her feet.
There were no hangers left in her closet, she noted with a click of her tongue, as she went to grab her discarded clothes from the floor.
"Helena probably took them all…" Honolulu sighed, the lengths she'd taken to lessen her sister's load was for naught as Helena already went and did it anyway.
"I'll have to ask her when she gets back…" she said, resigning herself to just leave her skirt neatly laid out at the foot of her bed.
The door to her suite was heard opening as she heard the familiar footsteps of her sister enter. It was St. Louis from the sound of her voice, but she was talking to someone, probably Helena most likely.
Perfect!
"Hey, Lou?" Honolulu asked as she swung the door to her room wide open, "you don't happen to have any extra hang-"
The redhead froze in her tracks as a blush crossed her face. In her living room, her sister was on her knees, undressing a random girl as she had her pantyhose down to her ankles, "-ers…"
It's that girl! "T-Taiho?!" Honolulu stumbled backwards as the Sakura Empire Carrier snapped her neck in her direction.
"W-wait this isn't-?!" A flustered Taiho yelled back before freezing up for the second time today, "-y-y-your…" she stammered out holding down her own skirt.
Red… the thought of a puff of flame flashed through the Carrier's mind as her gaze drifted slowly down Honolulu's body.
"Oh dear~" St. Louis let out a guilty chuckle.
"Lou?! What're you-" in the middle of processing the sight of her sister intimately disrobing a girl from her class in her living room, Honolulu realized something as a cold draft graced her bare bottom.
The two twin tailed shipgirls became very much acquainted with the color red, in more ways than one as their whole faces lit up like a beacon.
A shriek graced their floor of the Eagle Union dorms before the door to Honolulu's room was slammed shut with alarming force.
"I've done it again it seems…" St. Louis scratched at her cheek as a culpable look flashed across her face.
o7
Taiho chose to pay attention to class the next day, hoping it would take her mind off that embarrassing debacle.
I-I can't be seen in such a compromising position like that ever again, i-if the Commander would get word… No! This body is solely for him!
In the corner of her eye, Taiho spots Honolulu as she snuck glances in her direction. The Cruiser's foot tapped rapidly as she fidgeted with a pencil on her desk.
Did she have something to say? Taiho snuck a glance herself. The girl had ears as red as her hair as she pouted into her palm.
Just then, their eyes met, before both hurriedly looked away.
Why am I getting flustered?! Taiho berated herself as she grew more impatient with the situation. She knew she saw more of Honolulu than she had wished, but that wasn't even Taiho's fault.
"T-Taiho! About yesterday…" Honolulu finally got the nerve to speak up.
Addressing me so casually?! "Just forget about it," Taiho said back quickly, not sparing the girl a second look, lest she reminds herself of what she saw. For both our sakes…
"I-I just wanted to say sorry…" Honolulu whispered, "my sister's a bit…"
"You have nothing to apologize for!" Taiho snapped, "if your sister would like to, then she could do it herself." she said with a huff, before turning back to the blackboard.
"And if you're still hung up over that," Taiho continued, not wanting to look at Honolulu for the next part, "i-i-it's no big deal… We have communal baths from where I'm from so I'm used to seeing other girl's… uhh…" she tried to keep a stony face, but her face tinged the same color as what she saw.
"Y-y-you didn't have to say that out loud…" Honolulu whined, blushing hard as she felt the eyes of everyone in the classroom on them.
"If you guys are finished…" Instructor Langley adjusted her glasses, looking embarrassed for them.
Both girls resisted the urge to jump through the window at that very moment.
o7
Honolulu contemplated if she should show up for class the next day, given yet another humiliating public display. Nothing was seen this time, but the implications were too much for her to handle.
But she supposed, Langley and St. Louis would get mad at her if she were to miss out on her classes, even if this situation was the latter's fault.
With a long sigh, Honolulu adjusted her bangs in the Mirror before straightening out her skirt, double, triple checking the zipper was taut and secured. If she were to get too hung up every time something like this happened to her, she would never leave her room.
With a quick slap to her cheeks, the Cruiser steeled her resolve before departing her room.
She got to class early, earlier than anyone else, she thought before sliding the classroom door open. But already at her desk with her gaze fixed to the ocean, Taiho sat quietly, lost in a daydream.
She didn't really know much about the Carrier she sat next to, other than what the other girls said about her.
Intense, rude, and unhinged, were just some of the things said about her, but the way she sat there, alone, lost in her own thoughts, made her seem mostly harmless. Her gorgeous silky black twin-tails draped down her back, practically to the floor, framed her body like an exquisite portrait. An almost tragic one at that as if she gazed out that window waiting for her lost lover to come back from the sea. It wasn't as melancholic as Helena when she was younger, but Taiho was beginning to remind her of her youngest sister. Was she alone by choice? Do the other girls tend to avoid her? Or is it the other way around? Were thoughts the Cruiser couldn't shake.
Honolulu hadn't realized she'd been staring as their eyes met in the window's reflection.
"M-morning!" She unintentionally shouted as she greeted the Carrier with a little bow.
"Oh… it's you…" Taiho only spared a short glance at the young Brooklyn before turning back to the window, "… Morning…"
She mumbled out after a short while.
Honolulu didn't know why, but she found herself fighting off a grin at being greeted back before she stumbled into her seat.
The two sat quietly with the Cruiser trying to read through a few pages of her little book, but the silence was becoming harder to bear as she started to fidget in her seat.
Hearing movement next to her, Honolulu catches Taiho rummaging through her schoolbag before the Carrier pulls out a small plastic package.
"Here," Taiho held out her arm, presenting a sealed package, "take it."
"What is it?"
"I suppose I have you to thank," Taiho said, "so I made sure to get the exact same ones."
They were tights from the looks of it, "Y-you didn't have to… I have plenty-"
"Just take it!" Taiho waved the package in Honolulu's face, "I hate being indebted to anyone… So here!"
"T-thanks!" Honolulu squeaked as Taiho plopped the package on her desk.
"You two are lively this morning~" Langley sang as she entered the classroom with a mug of steaming coffee in hand, "so Taiho-chan. Did you think about what I said the other day?"
"You're still on that?" Taiho groaned, the annoyance clear in her face.
"Y'know~" Langley sang again before taking a sip of her coffee, "the Commander would be really appreciative of you if you considered it~"
Taiho's eye twitched as she suddenly became more perceptive of the older Carrier's words.
"You said it yourself~ the Commander doesn't need useless shipgirls, so what better way to get his praise than to help those girls?" Langley flashed Taiho a smile as she laid out today's lesson at her desk, "and you can start with Honolulu-chan, since you two seem to know each other so well."
"Huh?!" Honolulu bounced glances between the two Carriers.
Taiho gnawed at the nail on her thumb as she grumbled to herself, "y-you'll let him know… right?" she asked, halfway convinced.
"Of course!" Langley clapped, "he'd be ecstatic if he saw her score in class shoot up, and probably even more so once I tell him who was responsible."
"w-w-wait a minute!" Honolulu rubbed at her forehead, trying to follow their conversation.
T-t-t-the Commander would p-p-praise me?! The thought cascaded in Taiho's mind as stare glared menacingly at Honolulu, and all I need to do is help this girl?
"H-hold on! What's happening?" The young Brooklyn cried, "why does it feel like I'm being forced into something?!"
"It'll help you too Lulu! I know you're struggling right now and you could use a hand."
"I'll do it!" Taiho readily agreed.
Ughh…. Honolulu smacked her forehead on her desk, resigning herself to her fate.
o7
As the bell rang, Honolulu made sure to make a swift exit, hoping to slip away from her new tutor, but before she could make it too far into the hallway, a firm grip latched onto her wrist.
"Where do you think you're going?" a menacing voice said from behind the Cruiser as the crowd of students thinned into the stairs.
"Uhh…" a chill ran down the Cruiser's spine as a dark shadow cast itself over Taiho's eyes.
"You're my ticket to the Commander's side, so I hope we can cooperate~" the smile on the Carrier's face was a reluctant one but she would do anything for the Commander.
o7
Honolulu felt the lids of her eyes grow heavier by the second as she almost nodded off face first into an open text book. She normally would've spent her off duty time relaxing and lazing about until St. Louis or Helena needed her help with something, but she found herself at her kitchen island reading through lines of numbers and equations that seemed to jumble around the longer she stared.
Across from her was Taiho, an armored Carrier of the Sakura Empire, who she was now finding out that those rumors about her were at least partially true. That look Taiho gave her earlier was unnerving to say the least, like something bad would've befallen her if she were to refuse.
But now that they're actually doing it, Taiho seemed rather subdued, almost normal as she adjusted her black rimmed glasses, reading a line in her textbook aloud.
The Armored Carrier fingered an equation laid out in front of Honolulu, poking and prodding it, repeatedly, growing a bit annoyed by the second.
"Hello~" Taiho huffed, "are you even listening?"
"Uh… y-yeah!" Honolulu straightened out her posture quickly, refocusing back down onto the page.
"Good. Now tell me… will the Torpedo hit?"
"..." No matter how many times she re-read the problem, Honolulu couldn't visualize it in her mind, "ugh… how am I supposed to know?!" She cried before smashing her face into the open textbook.
"So you weren't listening…" Taiho rubbed at her temples.
"I'm a gunboat! I can't even equip our useless torpedoes anyway!" Honolulu pulled at her hair in frustration.
"Your torpedoes aren't useless!" Taiho Slammed her textbook down on the countertop. She didn't mean for her temper to flare, but she of all people knew all too well how deadly an Eagle Union Torpedo could be if used properly.
Honolulu jumped from the sudden noise, staying quiet as she felt she struck a nerve.
"They can be quite effective…" Taiho took a deep breath, "and they can be devastating if you underestimate them."
"S-sorry…" Honolulu said in a low voice. She herself knew how much a torpedo stung, being struck herself by a Long Lance of all things, "I just don't get why the Commander would assign me to this class if I can't even use them."
"If you can understand how to use them yourself, then you can understand how your enemies can use them on you!" Taiho puffed out her chest. As her brain slowly went over Honolulu's words, something clicked, "w-wait… The C-commander?!"
"Y-yeah…" she said back hesitantly as Taiho's demeanor changed suddenly, "he's always sticking his nose in my business…" she looked away with a blush.
Taiho resisted the urge to bite at her thumbnail as her eyes twitched rapidly. Just how close is this girl to my Commander?!
Her answer arrived when she took a closer look at the picture frame on the opposite counter. The Armored Carrier could almost immolate herself at the sight. Even she didn't possess a picture together with the Commander, let alone one so… so…
"C-c-can I take a closer look at this photo?" Taiho shakily asked.
"Huh? Y…yeah… sure…" Honolulu said back, a little weirded out.
The Carrier's breath grew ragged as she slowly reached for the picture frame. It was more than she could dream of. Every photograph, every portrait she'd seen of her beloved Commander was always so stoic, so rigid. She loved that domineering look in his eyes in those depictions of him, but this was the first time she had seen him smiling… laughing even…
"Y-you really like the Commander… huh?" Honolulu said as the Carrier was practically salivating as she held the picture close to her face.
"I-I don't get what you see in that man…" Honolulu said, fighting back the red building in her cheeks, "he's loud, crass, inappropriate, a drunkard, and is always meddling…"
"He is an amazing man!" Taiho exclaimed, not wanting to hear anymore slander, "he has to be… he wouldn't have saved Taiho if he wasn't…" she said quietly as she ran her fingers along his face.
"Can I take this photo into my possession?" Taiho said, almost desperate.
"N-no!" Honolulu let out, "it's my family photo!"
"Family…?" Taiho said, confused. In the foreground of the picture, she had completely missed the main subjects of said photo. Other than Honolulu she recognized some of them. St. Louis, she had met the other day, and the shorter one… she remembered her as the girl constantly running around the base with something in her hands. The other redhead she had no recollection of, neither the one wearing the mask, but she did recall having met the blonde one next to the Commander many years ago back in the Sakura Empire.
"Yeah! So you can't keep it!" Honolulu said as she snatched the frame away.
Taiho clawed at the air in a desperate attempt to keep it in her grasp.
The Carrier looked genuinely heartbroken as Honolulu kept the frame guarded by her chest. She felt a tinge of sympathy for the girl, "y-you can look at it…" she said in a small voice, placing the photo back down on the counter, "b-but it doesn't leave this room!"
"Hai!" The smile on Taiho's face was jarring with how quickly she flipped moods.
o7
Hours had passed, but Taiho barely noticed. Only until the little pendant hanging from the ceiling above where they were "studying" slowly became the dominant light in the room. She had spent the majority of the session staring at the Commander in the photo as Honolulu quietly read through her textbook.
The silence was replaced by long, heavy breaths, almost as if someone was sleeping. Finally breaking her gaze from the picture frame in her hands, she snuck a quick glance at Honolulu.
With her head planted in her arms, her shoulders fell and rose with a serene rhythm. Fast asleep, drooling onto the pages of her textbook.
This girl is close to the Commander… Taiho grit her teeth as dark thoughts flooded her mind.
If I were to… Taiho slowly reached over to where the sleeping Cruiser rested her head. All she needed was a single second, and her pool of potential rivals would be reduced by one.
The smile on the Commander's face caught her eyes yet again as it entered her peripheral. He was smiling, laughing… but he wasn't the subject of the photo as she had already established. He was smiling at something, someone… her…
What's so special about this girl? …besides her chest… Taiho grumbled, still believing herself to be bigger.
Taiho leaned closer, observing the Cruiser's features a little more closely. She mumbled something in her sleep as her hands appeared to be fending off an imaginary assailant. "L…Louis… n…no… it's too short…"
I guess she's pretty cute… Taiho poked at Honolulu's flushed cheeks, but she did not stir.
Just then, a devilish look took over the Carrier's face as her dark shadow came over the sleeping girl. She slowly reached out her arms, doing what she had set on earlier.
o7
Helena's little footsteps carried her quietly through the halls of her dorm. Stretching upward, she let out a long audible yawn, as the fatigue of her week's training was starting to finally hit her. She wasn't normally ever back at the dorms ready to hit the hay with at least some light still left outside. She had called it early at Cleveland's insistence after noticing her accuracy start to falter.
Clevie really keeps a close eye on me… hehe… Helena giggled to herself as she hid her blush with her hands.
Just as she turns the corner to her hallway she spots a sorta familiar figure exiting from her sister's room.
"Is that…?" Helena quietly crept down the hall to get a better look. The girl had on a disturbing smile as she stared down at something in her hands, laughing creepily all the while.
A small feeling of dread formed in the pit of Helena's stomach as she got closer to the end of the hall. She had heard rumors from the other Shipgirls about Taiho and her… personality… had she done something terrible to Honolulu?!
"U-umm…?" Helena spoke out timidly, "c-can I help you?"
"A-A-Albacore?!!" The Sakura Empire Carrier shrieked, nearly dropping what she had in her hands.
"O-oh… it's just you…" Taiho said as the color came back to her face, "what do you-" she said back a little rudely before her color drained right back out.
"What were you doing in my sister's room?" Helena spoke clearly as she narrowed her eyes at what the girl was holding.
"N-n-nothing!" Taiho squeaked as she hid what she was carrying behind herself, "so if you'll excuse me…" she gave a small bow before darting away down the hall.
"W-wait!" Helena reached out but the Carrier was already gone. Her attention snapped to the half open door to Honolulu's suite and the fate of her sister inside. With a thud, Helena pushed it open.
"L-Lulu!" Her heart sank when she saw her sister laying face down on the countertop, unresponsive.
Rushing over to her sister's side she shook her rapidly, "Lulu!" Helena cried as Honolulu began to stir.
"H-Helena…? Is that you? What's going on?" The drowsy Cruiser slowly lifted her head as some drool trailed down to a small puddle on her textbook, "where's Taiho?" She said, rubbing her eyes.
"Taiho? I-I just saw her leaving…" Helena stammered out, "y-you were hanging out with her?"
"I guess you could say that…" Honolulu stretched before scrambling to wipe the drool from her face.
"You guys were studying…" Helena said low as she observed all the scattered textbooks on the countertop. The pit in her stomach grew as she eyed the blanket by the foot of Honolulu's stool. It had been draped over her sister's shoulders when she entered, before she shook her awake.
"Yeah…" Honolulu yawned, "or at least trying to," she said with a guilty chuckle,
"I need to apologize…" Helena said with eyes downcast as she helped to organize the mess on the counter, "I treated her suspiciously…"
"She does kinda give off those vibes," Honolulu chuckled, "but… s-she's pretty nice… I guess…" she said with a slight redness to her cheeks.
As Honolulu scanned her room she noticed a particular framed picture missing.
"But maybe I should've kept a closer eye on her…" she groaned to herself.
o7
I know, I know… it's a flashback and there is going to be a part 2 to this but I figured I'd put something out before I have you guys wait too long for an update.
I always did like Taiho as a character, in the game and in Crosswaves, she's hilarious with all her inner dialogs.
But a reason why I wanted to include Taiho was because in her Schoolgirl skin, she has a little keychain of Honolulu hanging off her school bag and wanted to explore how that would come about. It's silly I know.
Next chapter is part 2 to Honolulu and Taiho's relationship and I plan on it leading directly to the end of the party chapter after Honolulu runs off, so you guys won't have to wait too long for some plot progression.
Also, Happy New Year to everyone who read this far! Because I know I never expected I'd still be working on this fic going on almost 3 yrs now.
If you've got any critique on how the story is going so far, please let me know!