Our Bonds

It has been more than a week since Zuihou-chan confessed and got rejected by me. Things have been... extremely awkward between us. Whenever we bump into each other, she would turn around and run away before I can say anything. When I try to talk to her after morning roll call, she would mix with the light cruisers and the destroyers and pretend she didn't hear me. When I try to talk to her in her room, she wouldn't want to see me. No need to mention Shouhou and Zuihou, even the Agano sisters and Shiratsuyu sisters have already picked up that something must have happened between us.

This morning, I saw Zuihou-chan along the corridor again. She was chatting with Shimakaze. When I called out to her,

"Um... Zuihou-cha-"

"Speaking of which, I heard Mamiya-san has a new sweets menus. Let's check it out." (Zuihou-chan)

"Eh? Admiral is ca-" (Shimakaze)

"Let's go. I will race you there." (Zuihou-chan)

"I won't lose!" (Shimakaze)

And she ran away again. Even though I said I can understand if she hates me, this is too much for my heart.

"That's why I need your advice..."

You two summoned me all the way from Brunei just for this?!" (Brunei Anchorage)

"Come on. You are the only one with the current record of marrying twenty shipgirls." (Rondo)

"And you openly cheat in front of others."

"Don't say it like I'm some womanizing piece of crap. I have my own way of showing sincerity!" (Brunei Anchorage)

The three of us gulped down an entire cup of beer, before ordering another and continuing our discussion,

"Alright. Let's all calm down for a sec. You called me over to this bar for some relationship advice. Am I right? If advice is all you need, the other Admirals and Commanders should suffice. I'm not the only one with a harem. The guy over at Kure has one too." (Brunei Anchorage)

"Yeah. But he is only married to his Yukikaze and Haruna. You, on the other hand, have twenty girls. You even managed to court the new girl, South Dakota."

"Don't look at me. I can't give any advice. I swore to remain loyal to Houshou. I'm just here to listen to his rambling." (Rondo)

"Oh come on!" (Brunei Anchorage)

He gulped down another glass of beer,

"Fine! I'll see what I can do. Tell me, what is the problem?" (Brunei Anchorage)

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Something is wrong. The air around Admiral and my little sister is cold. Zuihou-chan is acting strange. Usually, she clings onto my Admiral whenever she gets the chance. Now, she is obviously avoiding him, going as fast as to ignore his words and running off. What happened that night? Don't tell me... Admiral forced himself on my little sister?!

No. That's not right. Admiral may be a pervert, but he can control himself. No way he would force himself on my sister. If he was like that, we would have done it way earlier. And I would hate him for doing that as well. Something else must have happened. I doubt she would just talk about it straight up. I need something to steer the conversation.

"Mmm! Delicious! Nothing beats Yakimo in autumn poi!" (Yuudachi)

"Yuudachi, you got some on your cheek." (Shigure)

Shigure and Yuudachi walked by, holding a Yakimo in their hands. That's it!

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"Onee-chan... What is this?" (Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan held on to the rake I gave her, unsure on what to make of it. I found Zuihou-chan eating sweets with Shimakaze at Mamiya-san's shop. So I dragged her with me to the Carrier dormitory. With all the fallen leaves piling up, this place is perfect.

"Let's make Yakimo together! I got the sweet potatoes and foil from Mamiya. Now all we got to do is take the leaves and cook them ourselves."

"But we could just buy one from Mamiya-san. It's easier." (Zuihou-chan)

"Come on. Just play along with me. Food is tastier when you work for it. Besides, Admiral suddenly applied for leave and went somewhere without me. So it's just us sisters today."

"...." (Zuihou-chan)

I knew it. She flinched when I mentioned Admiral. Something definitely happened between them.

"Fine. I will go start taking the leaves." (Zuihou-chan)

"Yeah. We will gather as much as we can and pile it over here."

I marked a big 'X'on the ground and went to take some leaves. Now, I just need to find a way to let her speak to me about the problem.

After gathering all the leaves we can find in one place, I realised we didn't need a mountain of leaves to bake a few sweet potatoes. I separated a small portion of leaves from the like and set it on fire. Once the fire is big enough, I placed our ingredients on the flame to cook for a while. Zuihou-chan didn't speak the entire time, not did she have her usual look of excitement. She just stared blankly at the fire. I'm worried. There isn't any life in her eyes.

"They should be done by now."

I used the tongs to take the potatoes out of the fire and broke them into half.

"Ow. Hot."

I passed one half to Zuihou-chan,

"Careful. It's very hot."

"..." (Zuihou-chan)

The flavor of the sweet potato burst in my mouth as I bit into it. The sweetness, the texture...

"No better than Yakimo in the autumn. Right, Zuihou-cha-"

Tears flowed down her cheek as took a bite from the snack.

"Zuihou-chan, what's wrong? Did you burn your tongue? Was it not to your liking?"

She suddenly started crying. What happened?

"Admiral... *hic* Why..." (Zuihou-chan)

Eh? Eh? What do I do?

Zuihou-chan started bawling, attracting the attention of others.

"Wha? What's going here?" (Ryuujou)

"What's happening?" (Gambier Bay)

"Zuihou, did you bully your sister?" (Hiryuu)

"I did not. She just started crying all of a sudden. Calm down. It's alright."

"Uweeehhh~! Waaaahhh~!" (Zuihou-chan)

Seriously, I should I do? Her crying is getting louder and we are attracting a lot of attention. Even the girls from other dorms are coming over.

"Ara ara... What's going on?" (Arashio)

"Did she hurt herself?" (Pamiat Merkuva)

Suddenly, scenes flashed through my head. Another one of these. I can see Admiral. A confession, and then,

"I'm sorry... I'm willing to do anything for you, but I can't give you my heart..." (Admiral)

Admiral's rejection...

Now I see... So that's what happened... If that happened to me, I would cry... too... We really are the same...people... This is...

"Wha-?! Why da heck are da both of ya cryin' now?!" (Ryuujou)