Our Bonds

Zuihou weaved through the crowd and stopped in front of a restaurant.

"Wow! It's a big crab! It's moving too!" (Zuihou)

"Wait! Don't run too far off!"

I finally caught up to her. She was fascinated by the signature crab sign belonging to Kani Doraku. In fact, she is fascinated by almost everything she has seen so far.

I finally used one of the many leaves I had saved up. As promised, I went out with to buy a new model plane kit. Of course, Rondo will be paying for 75% of its cost. It was his idea in the first place. We could have gone to her usual shop in Kyoto, but Zuihou insisted on getting one form Nipponbashi, which is all the way in Osaka.

After a two hour train ride, we reached Osaka Station and change trains to Namba. We have the whole day to explore Osaka, so our first step is Dotonbori for an early lunch.

"You want to eat here?"

"Erm... Gh! 2700yen for a set lunch?! That's so expensive." (Zuihou)

"Of course it is. It's like the one we had at Kinosaki."

"But it looks so delicious." (Zuihou)

Looking at her, I know she wants to eat here, but the price is making her hesitate.

Oh fine. It's been a while anyway since we are on a date. I can splurge a little.

I walked up to the female restaurant receptionist.

"Table for 2 please."

"Eh?" (Zuihou)

"Please follow me. 2 customers, coming in!" (receptionist)

'Wait, Admiral. Here is too..."

"It's fine. It's been a while since we went on a date together."

Zuihou's face flushed as she heard what I just said. I will never get enough of that look.

We each ordered the Aya lunch set, which comes with a lot of crab dishes. Boiled crab, grilled snow crab, snow crab tempura and other dishes. It was delicious. It was easy to break off the shell as well.

"Fuaah~ That was delicious." (Zuihou)

"Now then, shall we go get what we came here for?"

"Mm! Let's go!" (Zuihou)

Nipponbashi is just a short walk from Dotonbori. Just pass through the nearby Namba Walk shopping district and we reached our destination, Nipponbashi Electric Den Den Town. It's a little similar to Tokyo's Akihabara.

"Wow! There's so many people!" (Zuihou)

"It's the weekend after all."

We explored the area for a while. There are plenty of Anime shops and maid cafes scattered around the place. Since she hasn't been here before, she was like a child, getting fascinated by everything she sees.

"Hmm? Is that Akigumo-chan?" (Zuihou)

Zuihou pointed at a bespectacled girl with long brown hair. She was wearing a green turtleneck and orange skirt and carrying a brown handbag. That's Akigumo all right. That's the outfit she wears whenever she goes for a doujinshi convention. Oh yeah, apart from us Admiral's and the entirety of Sasebo District, the other shipgirls don't know that Akigumo is a doujinshi artist. I bought some of her works before. They were pretty good, to be honest. Her works usually centre on the girls in Sasebo.

"It is Akigumo-chan. Is she on a break as well? Let's follow her." (Zuihou)

Before I could say anything, Zuihou went ahead into the building which Akigumo entered. This will not end up well.

There is a Melonbooks store in the building she just entered. That's where Akigumo probably went.

"Wh-what is this?!" (Zuihou)

"You are too loud!"

I expected this much. We followed Akigumo all the way to the 4th floor and were greeted by the e.r.o.t.i.c doujinshis on display.

"This much..." (Zuihou)

"I thought what was all that noise about. If it isn't the Admiral of Maizuru and his girlfriend. Fancy meeting you two here." (Akigumo)

Akigumo stood in front of us. Zuihou is still trying to process her thoughts. Wait, did she just said 'girlfriend'?

"Yo, Akigumo."

"Hello. Are you here to support my works?" (Akigumo)

"Your works? Wait, Akigumo-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Huh? Oh right. You girls don't know yet. I'm a doujinshi artist. I'm just here to collect my royalties." (Akigumo)

"Royalties? What do you mean?" (Zuihou)

"Can't they transfer it to your account?"

"I prefer to collect it personally. Since you are here, want to buy one of my books? I can get the store to give you a discount." (Akigumo)

I thought about it for a moment. Zuihou is still confused. Yeah, the answer is obvious.

"I will buy some."

"Wha- Admiral?" (Zuihou)

"This is normal here."

"Is it?" (Zuihou)

"Hehe. I'll be waiting at the counter, don't take too long." (Akigumo)

"You can pick one if you want, Zuihou."

"Eh? I don't know anything about this stuff." (Zuihou)

"It's the about the same as what we do."

"Don't say that in public!" (Zuihou)

"Admiral-san, can you give me the details later? If you do, I will give you my next book for free." (Akigumo)

"Deal."

"Akigumo-chan, stay out of this! And Admiral, what are you saying?" (Zuihou)

In the end, she even bought one for herself. We left while Akigumo discussed with the shopkeeper about her royalties.

"I can't believe I actually bought one. Is this even allowed?" (Zuihou)

"I allow it."

Reality in my district can be whatever I want.

After exploring around for a while more, visiting various anime stores and even visiting a maid cafe, we head over to our orignal target, a store named Volks.

"Wow~!" (Zuihou)

Zuihou's eyes gleamed at the sight of all the plastic model kits on displayed.

"Can I pick any one, right?" (Zuihou)

"Yep."

"Can I choose two? Please~" (Zuihou)

I thought for a moment. White Day is coming soon, so...

"Fine. The second one would be repayment for your valentine gift."

Her face flushed again.

"Th-thank you..." (Zuihou)

I waited at one corner while Zuihou went around looking at the display sets and choosing her kits. It took quite a while, with her deciding which planes are cuter. In the end, she chose a Kawasaki Toryu Ka Ko/Hei and a blue Shinden. The Shinden looks unusual though. It features a rather old anime on its box cover. '2nd edition Ah My Goddess'?

"Why did you choose this?"

"It's the first time I have seen a blue Shinden. I read that it comes with extra parts. The cover is nice too. And the Toryu is a new one. I always wanted to have one. This is the short-nose type and it's armed with a-"

I quickly paid for the two kits before Zuihou fully goes into 'plane expert mode'.

"Now then, do you want to eat here? Or return home for dinner?"

Zuihou just smiled blissfully as she hugged her new toys. Looks like I won't be getting much of an answer for a while.

"Should we just walk around for a little while more?"

"mmh." (Zuihou)

Since we ate at the maid cafe a while ago, we decide to have a late dinner instead. We ended up exploring Osaka station and bought souvenirs for the girls back home. Today was pretty fun.