Our Bonds

"This is it?" (Suzuya)

"Yahagi, are you sure this the one?" (Agano)

"Yeah. This is where I found it." (Yahagi)

"This isn't a rock formation..." (Yamashiro)

"It's a volcano..." (Shigure)

"Admiral, are you seeing this?" (Zuihou)

"Yeah. Can you girls go around it so you can get some visuals?"

Last week, on the day Rei got posted here, Yahagi discovered some rock formations emerging from the ocean along her expedition route. Today, I sent fleet 1 along with Yahagi to investigate. What we found was a volcano smack right in the middle of the route. It's alright with it was just a simple mountain, but that think is spewing out smoke.

"It's so hot." (Suzuya)

"Don't get too close. Any signs that it's going g to erupt?"

"I don't know. How can you tell if a volcano is going to erupt?" (Zuihou)

"Umm..."

Good question. How?

"Do you feel any tremors around the area? Usually, tremors are a sign of imminent eruption." (Ooyodo)

Oh. So that's how to figure it out.

"Erm... I don't feel anything." (Zuihou)

"Me neither." (Shigure)

"The water is bubbling though." (Agano)

"I suppose we can ignore it for the time being. I'll go ahead I draw out a new route. Since you are there, can you girls retrieve some of the resources?"

"Gh! I knew this would happen." (Zuihou)

"Admiral is such a slave-driver!" (Agano)

"Come on. Tomorrow is a holiday for everyone. This is the final job."

Tomorrow, the base will be closed. All of us will be going for the annual Sakura Viewing Festival. This time, the entire IJN will be going to the island near Sasebo. The island is big enough to hold all of us and Sasebo will hosting it this year.

"But we didn't bring any transport barrels." (Yahagi)

"Umm... Zuihou, Suzuya and Shigure. You three will carry as much as you can. The rest of you can act as escorts."

"Fine..." (Zuihou)

"I expect some reward when we get back." (Suzuya)

I expected that much.

"Yeah yeah. One Mamiya ticket for all of you."

"Really? Yay!" (Agano)

This year's festival should be fun. Oh right. I have to bring Rei along too. That might be a problem. I hope I don't get killed by Grand Admiral Akihito...

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As soon as we set down the mats and food, the destroyers and coastal defense girls wasted no time frolicking around the falling Sakura petals. This place is even more beautiful than before. When Rondo and I first came here, there was only green vegetation. Now, the entire island is covered in Sakura trees. This is truly a weird island.

"This island has its own unique seasons. So far, we only witnessed how it changed from Winter to Spring." (Sasebo)

"Huh? So the island is constantly changing?"

"I guess so. Just last month, my girls saw all the plants dying out in a few days. And after that, it took two weeks for all these Sakura trees to grow." (Sasebo)

I find that hard to believe. It's still pretty interesting.

"No wonder you guys decided to host this year. I read reports about this island but this is the first time I've seen it." (Brunei Anchorage)

"Of course. I was the one that helped Grand Admiral Rondo prepare for his expedition." (Sasebo)

That's a lie. Oh. Speaking of Rondo...

"Really? Then let's discuss more about how you helped me that day..." (Rondo)

Rondo placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a rather threatening smile. The proud expression the Admiral of Sasebo had quickly turned to fear as soon as he heard Rondo's voice.

"Yo, Rondo. Glad you can join us."

"Of course I would join. Since Sasebo has been so helpful in my expedition, it would be rude not to turn up for this festival. Right, Admiral of Sasebo?" (Rondo)

He is clearly not going to let that go anytime soon.

"Anyway, I heard Grand Admiral Akihito's daughter transferred to your base." (Kure)

"Argh. Don't ask me about her."

"Admiral~~!" (???)

Oh come on!

Before I can even react, I got tackled by Rei. My face got buried in her chest. As if this whole thing wasn't cliche enough.

" Muan...nan Re...i.... unt... mreaf...." <Lieutenant Rei. Can't breathe>

"Ah. Oops." (Rei)

Even after telling her that I only see her as subordinate, Rei constantly tries to seduce me whenever she had the chance. It's terrifying.

As per every Sakura Viewing Festival, everyone is encouraged to wear their casual clothes. The weather on the island is pretty warm even though it was supposed to be Spring, so everyone is dressed like it's summer. That being said, the girl that is attracting everyone's attention was Rei. She was wearing a crop top and jeans. All the boys from the R&D department and engineering department kept staring at her. Of course, no one dare to approach her while her guardian is watch them closely. Grand Admiral Akihito, Rei's father, is with the other Grand Admiral's and the Yamato sisters, drinking and chatting. Even though he looks like he is chilling, Akihito is busy observing his daughter and whoever approach her. I can feel Grand Admiral Akihito staring me from over there.

"Lieutenant Rei, how are you doing at Maizuru?" (Rondo)

"Grand Admiral Rondo! Thank you for posting me there. It's way more fun than what I was doing back in my camp." (Rei)

"Glad you like it. The Admiral there is a very nice person, right?" (Rondo)

"Of course. He might be a tsundere but I'm sure I can get through his heart."

"Who the hell are you calling a tsundere?! And Rondo, don't encourage her!"

"I take my eyes off you for one moment and you are harassing my man again." (???)

I felt someone's arms wrap around my shoulders and a weight on my head. It was Zuihou. She was wearing a dark blue polo shirt and a matching blue skirt.

"Aren't you gonna join the others?"

"How can I when there's a thieving cat over here?"

Ever since that incident, Zuihou has been rather hostile towards Rei. I understand her feelings but the tension is always high when these two are around.

"Oh I see. You finally got yourself a girlfriend." (Kure)

"You sly dog. How long have you two been together?" (Yokosuka)

"Wait, you guys didn't know?" (Rondo)

"Rondo-san, you knew about them?!" (Yokosuka)

"Of course. They wanted to keep it a secret but this young CVL here got too excited and blurted it out."

"Wai- Grand Admiral Rondo-sama! Don't go tell everyone that!" (Zuihou)

Zuihou's face turned red as soon as Rondo mentioned what happened during the Setsubun festival. That was a mistake on her part.

"That's right, darling. Don't go teasing my daughter like that." (Houshou)

Houshou sat down beside Rondo and leaned against him.

"Mama..." (Zuihou)

Hmm? Zuihou suddenly became quiet as she watched Houhou interact with Rondo. They look like newly-weds. Even though they married 2 years ago. Zuihou looks like she is longing for something.

"What's wrong, Zuihou?" (Houshou)

"..." (Zuihou)

"Oohh. Since she isn't doing anything, Admiral, let's go somewhere quiet and-" (Rei)

"Quiet. I told you many I'm not interested."

And besides, her father would kill me if I lay a hand on her.

"Oh look! A type 99 bomber!"

"Eh?! Where?!" (Zuihou)

Zuihou snapped out of it and tried to search for the non-existant type 99 bomber. She's back.

"Zuihou-chan, are you alright? Your face is a little red." (Rondo)

"He is right. You even blanked out back then." (Kure)

"Maybe she is just overheated. Should I get my engineers to check on you? It's alright. They are mostly females." (Yokosuka)

"N-no. I'm fine. Sorry for making you worry." (Zuihou)

I pulled Zuihou towards me until she is touching my sides. This girl is the real tsundere here.

"Ehh?!" (Zuihou)

"Seriously. If you want something, just say it."

Speaking of which, I can't if she is just embarrassed or really overheated. Her body temperature is rather high.

"Oh so that's it. The little one just wants some love." (Sasebo)

I don't think that's really the case here.

I laid Zuihou's head onto my lap. Now she's getting more fl.u.s.tered. And heated up.

"Houshou-san, can you give me a wet towel and maybe some ice?"

"Eh? Ad.. miral..." (Zuihou)

She is getting hotter. Really? This kind of things can happen too?

"So she really is overheating." (Kure)

"Wait. I'll be right back." (Houshou)

Houshou ran off to get what I asked for.

"Should I call my engineer after all?" (Yokosuka)

"It might be heatstroke. We need to lower her temperature." (Rei)

"This is the first time I see a shipgirl get a heatstroke all of a sudden." (Kure)

"It's not."

"Huh?" (All)

"It's not heatstroke. She is overheating but there are no other symptoms of heat exhaustion."

Houshou came back with an icepack and a wet towel. I placed the ice pack on her head and the wet towel between her head and my lap. This is ridiculous. And painful.

"But how are you sure? Even there are no symptoms, it still might be-" (Rei)

"Are you sure you are a medic? Does this face look like a patient with heatstroke?"

I pointed at Zuihou. She is smiling happily. That's why I said this is ridiculous. It seems that she got embarrassed and overheated herself. Seriously, this girl...

"She will recover soon enough. Her self-repairing system can handle that."

"I understand the ice pack is to help cool her off, but what about the wet towel? And why is it on your leg?" (Brunei Anchorage)

"Because it's hot! She is practically burning me!"

The others started laughing. Damn. I really didn't think this kind of things can happen.

For the rest of the day, we drank and watched the Sakura petals float down like snow. The coastal defense girls got tired and fell asleep near the other Grand Admirals and the Marshal Admiral. The destroyers still had energy to run around. The battlesh.i.p.s and carriers were also drinking merrily. The cruisers were chatting and gossiping. Like I said, Zuihou woke up a few minutes later but she chose to remain on my lap. Looks like she is happy there, but my legs are starting to become numb. As usual, she is arguing with Rei, while lying down.

In the end, another peaceful day passed us by. Tomorrow, it's back to our usual routine.