Cleveland came upon an interesting sight when she dropped by the Ironblood dorm as she made her rounds around the base. Several of them were trying out costumes, reminding her that Halloween was just around the corner.

"Hey girls, how's the prep?"

"Oh, it's the secretary," Prinz Eugen was the first to reply. "We are trying our costumes. We must make sure they fit, you know? Did you know I'm the Wicked Witch of the West? You Americans know who she is, right?" she winked.

Cleveland eyed the cruiser from top to bottom; she was indeed wearing a very revealing witch costume, and she idly wondered if Eugen indeed used magic to keep them in place.

"Yeah, fit. Sure, that's important," Cleveland chuckled and looked away before Eugen could remind her too much of her own chest—or lack thereof—and so she wouldn't blurt out that melting joke that crossed her mind.

But to her chagrin, her eyes soon landed on Gneisenau, who was equally curvy and whose costume was just as revealing.

"…Uh…so you are a demon, huh?" she asked, though only to be polite.

"Oh yes. Thanks to Eugen, now I am rather fond of wearing this sort of thing…yess."

"Uh, okay, good for you," a shuddering Cleveland forced a smile; the "my-switch-has-been-flipped" face Gneisenau gave her as she answered was kind of unsettling, and she quickly looked around for a distraction, eventually settling on Deutschland.

By far, her costume was the most normal, if a little overbearing—a black gothic dress with the puffiest skirt she had ever seen, complete with a set of fake pointy ears.

"Are you a vampire?" Cleveland inquired, receiving a scoff in response.

"I'm a demon princess. Know the difference, peasant," Deutschland snarled. To Cleveland, she sounded as if she was trying to be haughty but ended up bratty instead.

"Okaaay, Your Highness," Cleveland laughed good-naturedly. Deutschland made another scoff before turning to the person standing beside her, who was looking over the dress. Cleveland noticed her scowl soften as she did.

"Spee, just leave it as it is," Deutschland cooed, "more importantly, are you sure you are not participating?"

Spee's only answer to that is a brief nod.

Now, this is interesting, Cleveland thought and walked closer to the pair.

"Oh, um, Graf Spee, right? Why are you not participating?" she asked, backing away a little from Deutschland's glare.

"… I'm not going to look good in anything," Spee murmured, "I'd rather not…not in front of Herr Kommandant…"

Deutschland rolled her eyes and looked like she was about to pull all her hair out.

"Look, I told you many times that simply isn't true. You are cute, and…oh, pretty, and…that…that…"

"I don't know…I don't have a costume anyway…"

"What? That can be arranged! If you want one now, we can always buy one! Make one!"

While the two sisters talked, Cleveland was deep in her own thoughts, unnoticed, until an idea struck her.

"You don't need to buy one. I think I know a costume that suits Spee."

"What…?" Deutschland, livid as she was at the interruption, cannot deny she was curious.

And looking at Spee, noticing her subtle change in expression, Deutschland had little doubt that she felt the same.

"You see, the Commander is a massive horror movie buff, so we can always dress Spee as a horror film character. I think I know one that fits her and is simple to prepare, to boot!" Cleveland declared. If she must be honest, this is not simply a matter of finding a perfect costume anymore, but something more important, and she liked the idea of playing the part of a matchmaker.

"And what does that lowly animal have to do with—" Deutschland cut herself short as the realization hit her. "Heh. Forgot about that. As much as I hate it, I will leave it to you, then."

"But, schwester..."

"But nothing. At least, go with Cleveland and give it a try," Deutschland turned to her with a comforting look she'd only ever give her sister.

Cleveland found the scene pretty heartwarming, at least until Deutschland whipped her head to face her, complete with a glare that screamed murder.

"But if you screw this up, I'm going to kill you, understand?"

Despite the blatant threat, Cleveland managed a laugh; Deutschland could be such a handful, but she's a good sister, nonetheless.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of doing that."


The long-awaited day finally arrived, and as the night fell, shipgirls, in and out of costumes, began to converge at the largest park in the base.

"…A…are you sure…this is…okay?"

"Oh, come on, your sister and the Commander's waiting," Cleveland, now dressed in her own costume, pulled Spee along. She already made sure to tell her sisters to go ahead to ensure the plan went without a hitch and told the Commander to wait for "a surprise."

Without much trouble, they found the man they were looking for, giving candies to the Mutsukis. He wore a dingy shirt-jacket over a dirty black t-shirt, complete with a fake machete—Cleveland recognized the costume and snickered, recalling the Commander deciding to forgo the mask because it scared the destroyers.

"Heeeey, Commander over here!" Cleveland shouted and waved like mad. The Commander noticed and walked over to her, grinning as he saw the costume.

"Oh, hey. Who are you? A reaper? Here to claim me? Nice scythe, by the way," he joked, admiring the first thing catching his attention.

"Claim you? Nah, I can't do that, Mr. Vorhees, sir—and yeah, Helena made it. She's good, huh?"

"Yep. This one is very well-made. Of course, everyone else's costumes, too."

"Well, Helena, me and my sisters also made another one. An extraordinary one. This one gonna have you floored," Cleveland moved aside and motioned for Spee to come.

When he saw the reluctant shipgirl, the Commander blinked a few times as if to prepare him for a prolonged staring.

"…Uhhh, Herr Kommandant…is this…strange?"

Spee wasn't sure at first if what she was wearing—a striped orange sweater, a fedora lent by Biloxi, and the most bizarre one, the glove with fake claws—was something the Commander would want to see.

But his reaction just now, despite slightly disconcerting, provided her the much-needed relief.

He liked it.

"My word, that's the cutest Freddy Krueger cosplay I've ever seen," the Commander exclaimed.

Spee certainly had no idea who that was, but that hardly mattered—she was on cloud nine right now, and without realizing it, she smiled.

"Well, so what do you think Commander?" asked Cleveland, who was just as excited.

"Well, I already said this, but you're…cute, Spee. Excuse me," the Commander briefly looked away to cough, "I…was surprised, but it really suits you. Most of all, though, I'm glad. You finally decided to…well, join in on the fun instead of distancing yourself."

"Is...that so? Then, I… I'm glad, too."

"Careful now, Commander, or she'll haunt your dreams," Cleveland remarked as she started walking away to find her sisters, silently wishing Spee good luck.

"She can haunt my dreams anytime," the Commander chuckled.

Hearing that, Spee had never been that flustered before, but her resolve had never been stronger, too. With her gloved hand, she tapped the Commander's arm.

"Then…umm…Can we take a walk together?"

The Commander grinned at that.

"Sure."