"Javelin!"
"Laffey! Guys! It's so good to see you!" Javelin yelled as she ran up in excitement to her friends, meeting the Eagle Union destroyer halfway and jumping into her hug.
Z23, Ayanami, and Shimakaze stopped in their tracks right in front of the mess hall. They were about to have breakfast, but right before they could cross the threshold, Laffey had turned around to look behind them. The usually sleepy and absent-minded destroyer had suddenly sprung into action, yelling Javelin's name and running off to meet her with open arms.
After a moment of surprise, the three remaining destroyers did the same, running up to them and joining the group hug, with Z23 saying, "I was hoping you'd be part of the royal delegation, but I didn't think they'd actually allow you to come."
"Hehe, we have to thank Warspite; she convinced Her Majesty to bring us along," Javelin beamed, looking back and pointing at Unicorn behind her.
"And there's Unicorn too!" Shimakaze broke off the hug and all but leaped right next to the purple-haired carrier before throwing her arms around her neck.
Unicorn, who had been demurely standing on the side, tried to reciprocate the hug, but she found her cheeks being pinched by the lapin destroyer.
"Wuaaa, your cheeks are so squishy, Unicorn; they feel like mochi," Shimakaze wondered with a blissful expression.
"Uuu… hallou, Swimakaje," Unicorn tried to formulate a proper greeting while the enthusiastic Sakura shipgirl squished and twisted her cheeks in her hands.
Ayanami was the first to notice the presence of the third girl. Admiral Graf Spee was watching from the side as the destroyers greeted each other with such merriment. She's had the chance to befriend both Unicorn and Javelin during the trip, and they hit it off pretty well, especially thanks to the outgoing nature of the destroyer. Javelin was very excited to introduce her to her friends, and Spee was sharing the same feeling, but now that they were right in front of her, she felt too self-conscious to try and join in on the conversation. Meeting too many new people at once was still a bit unnerving to her, so she just stood there, looking at her feet, with her heart pounding in her chest and a lump forming in her throat, preventing her from speaking.
Luckily, Ayanami approached her first. "Hi, I'm Ayanami, and this is Shimakaze; we are both from the Sakura Empire. You are Iron Blood, right? What's your name?"
Spee lifted her head in surprise, not expecting to be addressed out of the blue, and began fumbling with her words.
Javelin turned around with a smile and moved right next to her, with Laffey still hanging from her neck. "Guys, this is Spee; she's our friend. Spee, this sleepyhead here is Laffey, and the super serious one is Z23."
"Nice to meet you, Spee…" Laffey was already starting to doze off, her excitement slowly wearing off.
"Admiral Graf Spee, it's good to see you after so long- wait, Javelin, who are you calling super serious?!" Z23 protested.
"Oh, right, you are both Iron Blood, so of course you already know each other," Javelin sheepishly scratched the back of her head, laughing at her own blunder.
Indeed, they already knew each other. Spee remembered Z23 to be a nice person, a diligent Kansen, and one of the few among the younger shipgirls who didn't send her weird looks because of her rigging; those were the main reasons why she stood out to her the most out of all the other destroyers back in their homeland.
Z23 huffed in annoyance, then addressed the heavy cruiser again. "Anyway, you can call me Nimi, like they do. Is it okay if I also call you Spee?"
Spee was caught off guard by her words. She didn't expect Z23 to remember her after all that time, since their relationship never went beyond mere professional courtesy. She also recalled trying to get close to her multiple times in the past, only to be held back by her own shyness and having to give up on it once the destroyer was transferred to Azur Lane. Knowing that she was willing to become friends with her filled her heart with joy and elation.
"Calm down, Spee. You are not friends yet. She just asked to call you by your nickname, nothing more. Don't get ahead of yourself," Spee thought. "O-of course you can, N-Nimi," she said as she awkwardly shook the hand that Z23 was offering her.
"Hey, Spee-chan, wanna be friends?"
Graf Spee froze at Ayanami's words. She looked at the Sakura destroyer with bleary eyes as her breath caught in her throat.
"R-really?! Just like that?! I mean… are you sure?" She went back to stuttering and fidgeting with her hands.
Ayanami nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Of course, Javelin's friends are also our friends; right, everyone?" Ayanami looked around for confirmation, and a warm feeling spread through Spee's body as the others gave their approval.
Her heart made a leap in her chest as she beamed at the other shipgirls. First Leviathan, then Javelin and Unicorn, and now Ayanami and everyone else; with every passing second, she was getting more and more convinced that she'd made the right decision when she'd asked August and Bismarck if she could depart with them as their escort.
She still hadn't gotten over her own insecurity, but it felt like she had made leaps and bounds; any more happiness and she could probably die of joy.
"T-thank you so much; I'd love that!" She couldn't contain herself; her eyes sparkled in delight as she gave her response.
"Great, now let us go have breakfast together," Shimakaze suggested to the group.
"Shouldn't we wait for Carabiniere and Sparviero to arrive?" Z23pointed out.
"Cara's right there," Laffey pointed ahead of them, right where Carabiniere had just appeared from around the corner.
The Sardinian destroyer approached the group and came to a stop right in front of the cafeteria. It didn't take long for the others to notice that something was up with her. Her unfocused eyes, pursed lips, and dreamy expression were too evident to go unnoticed.
"Carabiniere, are you okay?" Z23 addressed the matter as soon as she came up to them.
"Eh? Ah, don't worry, Nimi, everything's fine; I was just lost in thought," Carabiniere reassured her.
"Um, alright, then," even if not entirely convinced, Z23 decided not to push the matter. "But where's Sparviero? You said you'd go fetch him."
Carabiniere stiffened at the mention of the shipboy, and her cheeks flushed a light shade of crimson. She did go pick up Sparviero for breakfast like she always did, but when she didn't find him inside his room in the Sardinian dorm, she was directed by the Commander to the Sakura's, where apparently, he was supposed to be meeting with his brothers.
Once she arrived, she was stopped by the ruckus coming from inside their room. The shipboys seemed to be having fun inside, and she didn't want to intrude on their well-deserved leisure time by interrupting them. While she stood there in front of the door, pondering what to do next, she couldn't help overhearing some of their chatter, and at that point, she decided to stick around for the rest, especially after hearing her name being uttered.
Hearing that Kurama guy basically tell Sparviero that he didn't need her anymore was a tough blow, but it's not like she'd let it get to her. What she didn't expect, though, was the effect it had on her when the latter thoroughly rejected his proposal, expressing how important she was to him and how hellbent he was on keeping her around.
For some reason that even she couldn't figure out, what she heard left her a bit dumbfounded and with a weird feeling that couldn't be described as anything but butterflies in her stomach. Noticing immediately the effect those words had on her, and with the risk of being caught increasing the longer she stayed there, she was quick to leave the place.
And that's exactly what was bugging her. She had never felt anything like that in her life, so she couldn't tell exactly why his statement had left such an impression on her. Could it be that she was actually starting to feel something for him? As in something more than just close friends? Were they even close friends by this point? She had sworn to be his bodyguard, after all; where did the line between professionalism and personal attachment lie, exactly?
She was so lost in her thoughts on the way back that she didn't even bother coming up with an excuse for the others.
"Ah, um… He's busy with his brothers today," she answered Z23's question.
"I see, then we can start with breakfast if everyone's okay."
"Yeah, let's go," Carabiniere breathed a sigh of relief at the change of subject.
"Hi! I'm Javelin, from the Royal Navy. Nice to meet you," Javelin jumped right next to her and introduced herself to the newcomer with a bright smile.
The Sardinian destroyer jolted in surprise at the enthusiastic greeting. Chastising herself for completely ignoring the presence of the three strangers, Carabiniere cleared her throat and saluted smartly. "Carabiniere of the Soldati-class. Destroyer of the Sardegna Empire. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
She figured she'd set aside the matter for the time being and enjoy some breakfast with her friends, and as much as she didn't like the idea, she decided to ask Littorio for advice later.
"Is that all you've got?! Put your back into it!" Kurama shouted after repelling another assault from Kawakaze and Zuikaku.
The three of them were sparring in an open area of the docks right next to the port's training bay. Out to sea, at a safe distance, Kaga and Enterprise were having their own sparring session; the azure flames of the Sakura's fox fire sporadically came to life as she tried to land a significant blow to the other carrier with her paper planes, with Enterprise dodging and leaping around, retaliating in kind with her bow.
After learning that Kurama was also training with Kaga and Kawakaze, Freedom and his group decided that it couldn't hurt to do so together. Kaga and Zuikaku were particularly excited about it, the former eagerly waiting for a chance to confront the Grey Ghost after so long, the latter eager to test her skill against another swordsman.
What the Red Crane wasn't expecting, though, was for Kurama to be such a difficult opponent.
Kawakaze brought her guard up once again and turned to glance at her comrade. Zuikaku was clenching her teeth in frustration, tightly gripping the hilt of the blunt practice sword she was holding. Bruises marred the exposed skin of her arms, marking the spots where the shipboy's swords had made contact. The silver-haired destroyer had gotten used to facing him since they sparred plenty of times during the trip, but the carrier was struggling to keep up with him.
He was holding two training katanas in his hands. Dual wielding was an incredibly hard combat style to master and even harder to properly use in battle; every swordsman knew it, but the shipboy was wielding them with incredible ease, clearly denoting how much of a skilled and experienced warrior he was.
And if that weren't enough, he wasn't using just his weapons but also his tails. All his nine appendages together were massive, not as bushy and thick as Musashi's or Shinano's but definitely longer than theirs, slender enough to act as whips, and tough enough to hurt when they connected. Their movements were erratic and their patterns unpredictable, which was throwing off the Sakura carrier more than she was willing to admit.
Maybe in a real fight and with a real sword she'd be able to cut them off, but what would be the point? Even if she managed to do so, she'd leave herself wide open for his strike, rendering the feat pointless to begin with. She had to aim directly at him; otherwise, what kind of training would that be?
"How is he able to do that?" Zuikaku muttered under her breath. Kurama was fighting her and Kawakaze at the same time while using both dual wielding and his tails on top of that, effectively maneuvering eleven different limbs simultaneously. His dexterity and coordination were outside the chart, even by Kansen standards.
"When you achieve full control over your Cube, this kind of coordination becomes child's play," Kurama replied, almost as if reading her mind.
"Eh? You heard me?"
"Yes, and I suggest you stop getting distracted with pointless musings and start getting serious about this if you want to have a chance against me," Kurama replied sharply, making the shipgirl frown.
"Kurama, be nice to her!" Freedom called him out from the corner.
South Dakota and her sisters were sitting and resting on the side with him; their turn to use the training grounds was already over, so they opted to just sit there and listen to Freedom's "lecture" while catching their breath. The shipboy was still recovering and couldn't directly participate in today's training session, so he had to settle for giving some pointers about energy management and Wisdom Crafting to the shipgirls while the others worked their asses off.
Kurama grumbled in annoyance and settled into a stance, ready to take on the two Kansen once again. Kawakaze turned to stare at the other shipboy, marveling at the effectiveness of the reproach, but then shook her head and went back to focus on their opponent; if they wanted to come out on top, they had to work together.
"Zuikaku, I have a plan; follow my movement and wait for an opening," she said to the carrier.
"Wakatta. Let's teach him some manners," Zuikaku said, taking a stance and lunging at him right after Kawakaze.
Kurama smirked at their display of confidence. He took a deep breath and was ready to meet them.
A few steps away from them, standing on the docks, two carriers were doing some light exercise with their rigging.
"Like this, Miss Yorktown?" Aquila asked the veteran.
"That's right, Aquila, now tilt back your flight deck a bit more… There, launch them," Yorktown instructed the greener carrier.
On her mark, the squadron of six aircraft that had appeared atop Aquila's rigging took off all at once. The fighters traveled over the entire band-shaped flight deck before taking to the air; the launch was mostly successful, as one of the planes in the back of the formation almost failed to take off, slightly careening dangerously close to its nearest comrade. Luckily, Aquila managed to correct its course right on time, setting it back into formation before a collision.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Aquila turned to the veteran with a smile as her aircraft, which she made sure remained in their miniaturized state, began circling above their heads in standby.
"Nice save; now let's try some evasive maneuvers," Yorktown said with an encouraging tone.
Aquila nodded, mentally ordering the air wing to take position slightly out to sea.
Littorio was right; since they arrived at the base, training was going better than ever for the Sardinian shipgirl, all thanks to the presence of the many carriers around from whom she could take example. From Peter Strasser to Enterprise, the fact that all of them were more than willing to share tips and offer guidance to her was making her ecstatic, only fueling her desire to improve. And now even Yorktown had agreed to share her incredible baggage of experience, and she couldn't help the blissful smile adorning her face.
"Aquila, watch out!" Yorktown's alarmed tone brought her back to reality.
Startled by the sudden warning, Aquila frantically attempted to redirect the six aircraft from their current collision course, making all of them climb higher in the air... except for one, which was aiming straight for Kurama.
The shipboy, who was too focused on sparring with his two partners, didn't notice the miniaturized fighter until it was a few inches from his head and inevitably crashed straight into his temple.
Silence fell over the docks, and everyone froze in place as the plane clattered on the ground like a broken toy and disappeared in a flash of light.
Kurama brought a hand up to feel a few drops of blood trickling down the side of his head. "Is there a carrier with a death wish around?" He broke the silence with a menacing growl right as Freedom began snickering under his breath, which only aggravated the murderous glare on his face.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Aquila hurried next to him in panic, with a mortified expression of regret on her face. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to do that; I got distracted. I'm truly sorry!" The Sardinian carrier fidgeted awkwardly with her cane in hand, unsure whether to check on him herself or stay away from him to not upset him any further.
Kurama blinked as he recognized the shipgirl in front of him; this was Sparviero's sister. As absurd as it sounded, it was enough to assuage his irritation.
"It's okay; just be more careful next time," he muttered, rolling his eyes and averting his gaze from her.
"B-but you are bleeding; here, let me," Aquila produced a handkerchief from her sleeve and moved it to the side of his head. Initially, Kurama thought of pulling back, but then decided against it and let her make amends for her blunder without uttering a word.
"I… I have no words," Kawakaze shook her head as Zuikaku looked at her in confusion. First with his brother, then with the clumsy carrier; she had never seen him act so mildly around others.
"You can say that again, Kawakaze. If it were one of us, he wouldn't be so lenient at all," Kaga added from the side. The White Fox had just finished sparring with Enterprise; needless to say, the two had stepped onto dry land right on time to witness the scene. Kaga had to bite her tongue to hold back her amusement. She figured she'd take advantage of the chance to get back at him, if only a bit. "What's wrong, Kurama? Were you too distracted to react in time?"
"Shut up, Snowflake," Kurama spat after nodding a thank you to the shipgirl who had just finished treating him. Though he had to admit that they were right. Although he wasn't exactly that close to Aquila, if she were to throw an entire airwing of fighters at him, he'd just brush it off as nothing. She was Sparviero's sister, after all, and hurting her in any way was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Stop. Calling me. That," Kaga hissed through her teeth.
Meanwhile, Yorktown had been standing on the side, relief showing on her face. Even though their craft weren't exactly dangerous for Kansen like them when they were in their smaller form, they still packed quite the punch if they connected directly, causing some serious injury if they hit a delicate part, and she was glad everything turned out all right. She was so relieved that she didn't notice the presence of the woman approaching her from behind until a familiar voice reached her ears, accompanied by the distinctive sound of geta clacking on the concrete.
"So that's what all that ruckus was, and here I was hoping to finally find him..."
"Oh, good morning, Akagi," Yorktown turned to greet the new arrival as the carrier came to a stop a few feet away from her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was merely taking a stroll around to get acquainted with the place," the Sakura carrier replied with a huff.
In truth, she was looking for the Commander with the intention of asking him, or rather, coercing him into showing her around the port, but she hadn't been able to find him the entire morning. With both his lodging and his office crumbled or crumbling, she figured she'd find him at the cafeteria for breakfast at this hour, but she still hadn't gotten any luck.
"Since you're here, why don't you join us for some light exercise?" Yorktown offered.
"Who? You and that pathetic excuse of an aircraft carrier? I'll have to pass; just being in her presence will make my hull rust," Akagi waved her off.
"Oh, don't be so harsh, Akagi; Aquila's still learning. We've all been rookies at some point in our lives," Yorktown tried to appease her.
Akagi scoffed haughtily. "I don't remember ever being as embarrassingly inept as her, even when I was a rookie, and I had to learn to use my fox fire rigging from scratch without anyone to guide me. Since I was alone, I never had anyone to confront myself with until Kaga came to life as a carrier instead of a battleship."
In the beginning, when humans first discovered Wisdom Cubes, and when women capable of summoning warships out of thin air and wielding enough firepower to level down a city started appearing from those weird alien contraptions, no one knew what to make of the situation. It took a lot of time, effort, and self-discovery by the shipgirls themselves only to come to a basic understanding of their own capabilities, all with the risk of their progress being undone at a moment's notice by the Sirens, of which they knew frighteningly little at the time, their presence constantly looming over their heads.
Of course, senior Kansen like Yorktown and Akagi, being among the first to be summoned, had it pretty rough since they had to fend for themselves between dangerous enemy encounters and distrustful human allies; some more than others, depending on the circumstances of each faction.
Things started getting better during the period of upsurge, after researchers found a way to consistently summon shipgirls from the Cubes at their disposal. It was during that period that their existence became public knowledge, laws in favor of their rights were passed, and the bulk of the current Kansen came to life. An adequate status quo was established, which also coincided with the split of the Crimson Axis from Azur Lane and the beginning of the war between the factions.
By now, the period of upsurge had long since come to an end. Even with the knowledge of the method, bringing new Kansen to life was becoming harder and harder; it wasn't impossible, but it definitely wasn't as common as it was before. The amount of energy and resources necessary to do so seemed to increase exponentially with every attempt, until it became utterly unsustainable for every faction. What did they call it? Law of diminishing returns or something along those lines?
Yorktown let out a wistful breath; she was letting her mind wander. Thinking back to the old days, when she was still capable of using her rigging, it always managed to form a lump in her throat. She had promised that she wouldn't let it discourage her, so she forced herself to banish those thoughts by letting in a deep breath.
"Did you know? Yours and Aquila's hulls share the same design," she put on another smile as they watched the Sardinian carrier pull out a handkerchief to wipe away Kurama's blood from his temple. "I bet that if you helped her with your experience and expertise, she'd make a lot of progress in no time. You'd definitely be a better suited teacher than me," she added, unable to hide the self-deprecating tone in her voice.
"Well, if you put it that way, I can't help but agree with you," said the Sakura carrier with a lofty smile coming to adorn her lips. Then her eyes narrowed onto Yorktown upon seeing the sullen look on her face. "But only if you participate too."
"Eh? M-me?" The American stammered in surprise.
"Do you see another crippled carrier around?" Akagi retorted sharply.
Yorktown winced at her words and looked down at her feet in anguish. "But I haven't been able to control my aircraft properly since… well, you know. I'll only end up slowing you down."
"One more reason for you to start putting in some real work," Akagi clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Besides, I couldn't possibly pass up the chance to personally whip into shape one of the Yorktown sisters," she added with a more mischievous grin.
Yorktown sheepishly chuckled under her breath. She wasn't sure about it, but rejecting her offer after all that would be rude, especially since she was the one who made the suggestion first, so she had to accept. "Fine. Please don't be too harsh on me, Akagi-sensei."
"Oh, I like the sound of that," Akagi snickered, bringing a hand up to her chin.
"A-Akagi? Of the peerless First Carrier Division?" Aquila's voice caught their attention as the shipgirl, having finished apologizing for interrupting the others' sparring session, came to a stop right in front of them, mouth agape in surprise. "I-It's an honor to meet you!" She let off as she vehemently performed a typical Japanese style bow in greeting.
"Ara, what a well-mannered and cultured fledgling you are," Akagi smirked, more than pleased with the awe-inspired gaze and respect Aquila was showing her.
"I already met Miss Kaga earlier, but I didn't know you were also here," Aquila said with a radiant smile on her lips. She already believed herself lucky enough to have met Yorktown, her sisters, and all the other veteran carriers stationed at Azur Lane; meeting the two foxes was like the icing on the cake. "Oh, I'm feeling so pumped right now. Miss Yorktown, I bet I could finally manage that joint takeoff this time."
"Oh, why don't you show me what you are truly capable of then?" Akagi interjected with a lofty smile.
"Gladly!" Aquila beamed in delight; the pressure and the embarrassment were now completely overshadowed by her enthusiasm.
When Kaga and Kurama finished arguing, the morning training session came to an end, and the Kansen parted from the training grounds to go attend to their own duties; only Akagi, Aquila, and Yorktown decided to remain there a little longer.
South Dakota and her sisters were scheduled for patrol duty, so Massachusetts opted to escort Freedom back to his room, where he could rest up a bit more before she took to the sea. Kawakaze and Zuikaku bowed to Kurama in appreciation and dismissed themselves, the former having to go wake up Nagato for breakfast. Enterprise had her duty as acting representative of the Eagle Union, and Kaga simply decided to visit the onsen to wash away the fatigue of their sparring session.
Upon her mentioning the hot springs, Kurama couldn't help the images of the snow-white fox soaking in the onsen from appearing in his mind, and he found himself following her every step with his eyes as she sauntered away.
He shook his head and banished those thoughts from his mind. He needed a cold shower, and then, back into his room, where Emperor and Leviathan were catching up on some sleep. The meeting between the factions was around the corner, and the shipboys still needed to discuss how much they had already disclosed to their new allies… and how much more they were willing to.
Zuikaku stepped into the apartment she shared with her sister, taking off her shoes and leaving them at the entrance to the lodging. She was trying not to make too much noise since it was still early in the morning and not everyone in the Sakura dorm was an early bird like her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft, familiar voice coming from the small living room. "Shoukaku-nee, are you awake?"
Zuikaku paused in her tracks upon entering the room. Sitting cross-legged at the small dining table were the Commander and her sister.
"Good morning, Zuikaku. I already prepared breakfast; come take a seat," Shoukaku beckoned her.
"Hey, Zuikaku, working hard first thing in the morning as always, right?" Ryan greeted her with a smile.
Her gaze fell to the low table. It was laid out with bowls and plates filled with delicacies: steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish... The sight was enough to make her mouth water, but that wasn't what made her pause; rather, it was Shoukaku. She was kneeling right next to the Commander, openly leaning into his side. Not only that, but his arm had been resting around her waist until the moment she appeared in the room. Ryan thought she hadn't noticed, but Zuikaku had clearly seen him subtly retracting his hand from her hips.
"Good morning, Shikikan, Shoukaku-nee," she cleared her throat, and her cheeks reddened slightly as she greeted them back. She went to take a seat at the table, kneeling right in front of them, and after a quick prayer of gratitude, started eating her own portion.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, broken only by the clattering of chopsticks on the plates, Shoukaku felt the need to speak up.
"Uhm, Zuikaku… I- We just wanted to say… We are sorry for keeping our relationship a secret from you," the white-haired carrier said to her sister.
Zuikaku paused her chopsticks in midair. "N-No, it's alright. I understand why you did it," she waved off her sister's concern.
Zuikaku wasn't lying. True, she was a bit upset at her sister for keeping something so important from her, but she also understood the reason behind all the secrecy, especially after seeing the reaction of all the other shipgirls to the news the previous day. After the initial shock at the sudden revelation, she not only had come to accept the fact, but she was genuinely happy for them, even if it would still take a while for her to get used to when they canoodled like that.
"So… you approve of us?" Ryan tentatively asked her.
"Of course I do… Wait, did it seem like I didn't?" Zuikaku was incredulous.
"Well, you seemed a bit upset about it; we were afraid you were against it," Shoukaku revealed.
"N-No, that's not it. I'm genuinely happy for you, I promise! I didn't want to… Mou, I don't know what to say in such a situation!" Zuikaku had to force herself to calm down by exhaling a deep breath, and once she got her composure back, she found the proper words. "Shikikan, take care of my sister from now on, please," she bowed her head over the table to him with a suddenly serious tone.
With a soft smile and a nod, Ryan returned the bow. "Of course I will, Zuikaku; thank you."
With that said, the mood took a sudden turn for the better, and the three kept eating their breakfast and making small talk until it was time for Ryan to go back to work. The man left the room with a quick kiss to his girlfriend, which promptly caused her sister to blush and avert her gaze in embarrassment.
Once he was gone, Zuikaku leaned over the table in a flash. "Shoukaku-nee, so it's true?"
"What are you talking about, Zuikaku?" Shoukaku asked her, genuinely perplexed by the question.
"Did you two already... well, you know… did you already do it?" Zuikaku spoke in a hushed tone, as if she feared someone would be listening in on them.
Shoukaku blushed a bit and brought a hand to her lips to hide an embarrassed smile as she averted her gaze.
"Do you want to know about it?" Her embarrassment soon turned into a knowing smirk.
Cheeks flushed red and eyes wide open, Zuikaku's attention was all on her sister as she swallowed a lump and asked, "H-how did it feel?"
"Oh, Zuikaku, it felt so good~"
After another day of following the bulins around to supervise the repairs and inspecting the base, the port seemed to be almost back to normal.
Later that night, the Commander and the others went to stand on the docks once more, ready to welcome the Northern Parliament and the Dragon Empery delegations.
Finally, it was time for the long-awaited meeting to begin.
AN: It's been seventeen chapters, but the summit can finally begin. It was long overdue, but I consider this the end of the second arc, the first being chapter twelve. Don't think too much about it, this is just me trying to organize the chapters in lots; I haven't been following any rules for the length of the arcs, and I won't be doing so for the next one either.
Next Chapter: Azur Lane, Assemble