Our Bonds

It's been a while since I came to Azur Lane's home base. It's still as lively as ever.

"Wheee! Hahaha!" (AL Mutsuki)

The little mutsuki dangled from my upper arm.

"Hey! Get down. You are being rude to the Admiral." (Edinburgh)

"It's okay. She is really light."

"That's not the issue here." (Edinburgh)

Anyway, I hope Zuihou-chan and Shigure-chan are doing okay. I was told the it was just a scan.

I came to Azur Lane with Zuihou-chan and Shigure-chan because their commander requested for them. They wanted to scan their bodies for any traces of Siren technology. Their Akashi and Vestal cane up with a theory that the Abyssals are being used in Siren experiments. Abyssal Zuihou was the first one. The energy burst and the appearance of a boundary were telltale signs of Siren activity. The fact that Zuihou-chan and Shigure-chan retained their memories of before and after their sinking is an anomaly as well. The two of them are the only ones that appeared at ground zero, so there is a high chance that their bodies contain Siren technology.

Initially, I was against it. Asking my girls to enter a place full of their worst nightmares just to scan them is simply outrageous. These two are still young, physically and mentally. Zuihoi already showed signs of breaking down when she first met Enterprise. I don't want to imagine what would happen to the two of them if they met the ones responsible for sinking them. Surprisingly, Zuihou-chan and Shigure-chan agreed to go for a scan. They understood that this was not supposed to happen and are curious about their bodies. Even though Zuihou and I told them they didn't have to know and they can just continue living like this, they were adamant about it. So, here we are.

Zuihou and I waited at the cafeteria, with Edinburgh as our maid for the day. It didn't take long before we caught the attention of curious shipgirls.

"Eh? The Suzuya at your side is the same as me?" (AL Suzuya)

"A little bit. She is more... playful?" (Zuihou)

"How about the other Kumano? Are we the same too?" (AL Kumano)

"Completely different. In fact, you are closer to our Suzuya." (Zuihou)

"What's in the basket?" (AL Ryuuhou)

"That's for later." (Zuihou)

The little one gathered around me, while a bunch of Sakura Empire girls bombard Zuihou with questions about their IJN counterparts.

"Admiral-san, hug~" (Eldridge)

"Alright. Up you go."

I carried Eldridge up in my arms. She is still the baby I remember.

"We're bac- what is going on?" (Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan and Shigure-chan walked into the cafeteria and were confused by the number of attention we attracted.

"Welcome back. How was it?"

"Tiring..." (Zuihou-chan)

"I didn't know lying down and keeping still can be this tiring." (Shigure-chan)

"That girl... Zuihou-san's little sister? So that's Shouhou?" (Suzuya)

"No no. The other Shouhou is taller and bustier. I wish I was like that as well." (AL Shouhou)

"Then the other girl..." (Kumano)

"Shigure! We meet again." (AL Shigure)

The dog-like Shigure emerged from the crowd and rushed towards Shigure-chan for a hug. Shigure-chan looks so confused. That's expected, since she hasn't met her Azur Lane counterpart before.

"Sorry. Who are you?" (Shigure-chan)

"Eh? Could it be you can't remember me? You took care of me when I got lost and end up in your base. Remember? We spent a lot of time together!" (AL Shigure)

Her tail and ears drooped, signalling that she is depressed.

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. That must be my sister." (AL Shigure)

I explained to her that that is a bigger and older Shigure. The one on front of her is a smaller one that just arrived.

"Oh. Thank goodness. I thought I was forgotten." (AL Shigure)

Shigure-chan came up to me and whispered,

"She is just like Yuudachi." (Shigure-chan)

"Yeah. I thought the same when we first found her."

"What we waiting for now?" (Zuihou)

"Our results. Akashi-chan and Vestal-san said they need some time to analyse the data. After that, we can go home." (Zuihou-chan)

More waiting... Oh well. It's not like I have anything urgent to do.

"In the meantime, how don't we move to a better location? I know of a comfortable spot." (Edinburgh)

"Is that so? Then, lead the way."

The four of us followed the maid to a hill overlooking the entire island. This is a nice place. You can see the entire base and shopping district from here. The trees make for an excellent shade and the wind feels nice.

The other three agree too. Shigure-chan had already begun to make herself comfortable under the shade while the two Zuihous set up a picnic mat... So that's what the basket was for.

"When did you find the time to make that?"

"Erm... I actually thought of having a picnic at the pier... So..." (Zuihou)

She originally planned for it. Though having a picnic here wasn't part of it, it worked in her favour. She took out two pairs of carefully stacked Koraku bento boxes and laid them out on the picnic mat. There is onigiri, maki-zushi, Karaage, grilled mackerel, Noriben, tempura and of course, Tamagoyaki. Seriously, when did she find the time to prepare all this?

"That smells nice." (Edinburgh)

"Edinburgh-san, join us." (Zuihou)

"Can I?" (Edinburgh)

"Of course. The food taste better with more people."

"Thank you so much!" (Edinburgh)

Edinburgh joined us on the mat and we started eating. Eating like this reminds me of the time I went on a picnic with my family.

...I should visit them once in a while... Maybe introduce Zuihou to them...

"-dmiral... Admiral? Are you listening?" (Zuihou-chan)

"Oh. Sorry. I blanked out for a second."

"Weird. More importantly... Here. Open wide." (Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan used a chopstick and held a piece of Karaage to my mouth. She wants to feed me. Unfortunately for her, I don't get embarrassed from being fed anymore.

"Ah... *nom*"

"Ehehe~" (Zuihou-chan)

"No fair! Me too." (Zuihou)

Zuihou picked up a piece of Tamagoyaki and brought it to me.

"Here. Ahh~" (Zuihou)

I just took it into my mouth.

"Here. Ahh~" (Shigure-chan)

Shigure-chan decided to follow them and picked a piece of tempura for me.

"H-here. Open wide..." (Edinburgh)

"No. You don't need to copy them."

Edinburgh, not wanting to be left out, tried to do the same... Now she is sulking in one corner of the mat. The other three stared at me.

"Admiral is a bully." (Zuihou)

"Yeah." (Zuihou-chan)

"Agreed." (Shigure-chan)

"How is that bullying?!"

It wasn't some time after till Belfast came to get us.

"Head maid. What are y-" (Edinburgh)

"Edinburgh, why are you sitting down and not serving our precious guests?" (Belfast)

Belfast was smiling, but it looks like she is just restraining herself. Edinburgh obviously noticed this too and quickly stood at attention,

"I'm so sorry! I-" (Edinburgh)

"Belfast-san, it's okay. We invited her to join us." (Zuihou)

"Zuihou-san~~" (Edinburgh)

Belfast let out an exasperated sigh,

"If Admiral-san says so. Pardon my intrusion, but Master would like to speak with all of you." (Belfast)

"Ehh~ Can we finish our food first?" (Zuihou-chan)

"That's right." (Edinburgh)

"Edinburgh." (Belfast)

She glared at Edinburgh,

"Eek! I'm sorry!" (Edinburgh)

"Understood. I will inform Master and tell him to wait. I apologize for interrupting your meal." (Belfast)

"You don't have to go-"

"Maid-san, join us. We still have a lot." (Shigure-chan)

"You should try the food, Head maid. It's delicious." (Edinburgh)

Belfast paused for a moment, before smiling at us,

"If that's the case, the please let me join in." (Belfast)

The is still quite a lot of food when Belfast joined. We chat, watched the two small girls play around with Edinburgh for a while before cleaning up and rmaking our way to the main office. It was time for the long awaited results.

"Please! Stay here!" (AL Akashi)

The first thing we saw when we opened the office door was Akashi in a dogeza position, begging us to stay.

"Akashi!!!" (Commander & Vestal)

Erm... What?