Our Bonds

One word came to mind as I looked at the Russian Destroyer,

"Small."

"Who are you calling small?!" (Zuihou & Zuihou-chan)

"Not you two! I'm talking about Stremitelny."

"That's a rude thing to say. Ugh... Why is it so hot? Even the snowball I was saving to greet you melted." (Stremitelny)

Well, it's mid-March now and Spring is almost here. And you are wearing extremely thick clothing. Wait, what do you mean by greeting me with a snowball?

This little girl in thick winter clothing is one of the new North Union shipgirls assigned to us from Azur Lane, Gnevny-class destroyer Stremitelny. She is Grozny's sisters. Her snow-white hair is long that it's barely touching the ground. She was supposed to show up last week, but with everything going on, her transfer was delayed. She just arrived at the port, so Avrora and I went to greet her. The two twins just decided to tag along to see their new colleague.

Poor girl, she looks like she could collapse any time soon,

"Avrora, I'm entrusting her care to you. Stremitelny, do you have any other lighter clothes with you?"

"Hmm? Umm... I think so." (Stremitelny)

"Alright. Let's get you out of those thick clothes and cool you down. Akashi will modify your clothes to fit Japan's climate so put up with your alternative outfit for a bit."

"Come on, comrade. Let's get your stuff to the dorm." (Avrora)

"Once you are feeling better, come report to me."

"Understood..." (Stremitelny)

While Avrora brings Stremitelny back to their dorm to cool off, the three of us returned to the office, where Shigure is waiting. I will need to finish my work and then take her to the hospital. Grand Admiral Hasake managed to get an ophthalmologist to perform the surgery at night. We wanted to do it during the day but the only availalble time slot for that ophthalmologist was during the night. I don't know why Hasake couldn't just pick another eye surgeon. Either way, Shigure is very excited. She was looking through the blueprints of her new eye before I left to greet Stremitelny.

When we returned to the office, she is still looking through it...

"Shigure, is there a lot of information to take in?"

"..." (Shigure)

"Shigure?"

"Hmm? Ah, Admiral, Zuihou, Zuihou-chan, welcome back." (Shigure)

She was so engrossed that she didn't noticed us at all.

"What are you looking at?" (Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan went over to her and looked at the large sheet of paper,

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

She is visibly confused by all the diagrams and words on it. Even I had trouble understanding it.

"It's a blueprint. I want to know how the new eye is going to work." (Shigure)

"Shouldn't you be taking a nap for now? The operation is going to be late at night. And there is going to be breifing session before that. It's best if you are wide awake for it."

"Wait. Let me figure out how the radar is going to sync with mine." (Shigure)

I went over and scooped Shigure from the chair,

"Eh? Wait, Admiral..." (Shigure)

"Bed. Now. I will wake you up when it's time for dinner."

"O...okay." (Shigure)

"Good girl."

I carried her into my room and tucked her into bed. After holdng her hand and making sure she is asleep, I left the room. Now I have to deal with the two pouting light aircraft carriers.

"No fair. Admiral is so unfair." (Zuihou)

"I want to be carried by Admiral too." (Zuihou-chan)

These two lolis...

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"Erm... Oh well. Lets start from the top. So, I'm Stremitelny of the Gnevny class. You can also call me by my nickname, Snezhok! My friends and I did some escort missions as well as coastal support operations! Commander, if there's anything I can help with, just say the word!" (Stremitelny)

Stremitelny was wearing a white one-piece dress with a brown cardigan. Her outfit looks more like her pajamas instead of a outfit one wears outside.

"Welcome to Maizuru Naval Base. I'm the Admiral, but you can call me Commander or any other name you wish. Just make sure it's not a rude one. I'm not like the Admiral from Sasebo who enjoys being called a 'shitty Admiral' by a certain destroyer."

Stremitelny tilted her head in confusion.

"Ne-never mind. Anyway, for the time being, you will go through training like the others. You will know your training schedule later. Just like your comrades, you will be under Commander Rei's instructions. You can introduce yourself to her later. Let's see... What else is there..."

I hear the door open, and Shigure walked out, rubbing her eye. Her top is a little disheveled and loose, revealing her black bra strap and left shoulder.

"Admiral... Is it time?" (Shigure)

I looked at my watch. It's close to dinner time.

"Yeah. Go eat your dinner first. Make sure you bath using that pink soap Grand Admiral Hasake sent to you. Pack some clothes too. We don't how long you're going to stay there."

"Okay... Ah. Good evening. Pardon me." (Shigure)

Shigure bowed to Stremitelny, before dragging her feet to the bathroom. Stremitelny gave a weird look, as if she just witnessed something weird.

"Ah. In case you're wondering, Shigure got that injury a few months back. Afterwards, I'm bringing her for an operation."

"Oh. I see. Wait, that's not it! Isn't that your room, Commander? What is a destroyer doing in there? And her clothes were all wrinkled and loose. Don't tell me you were doing-" (Stremitelny)

"I'm going to stop you right there. First of all, No. I have not been doing whatever you are thinking to Shigure. Not yet, anyway. Secondly, we are lovers. She and the other two light aircraft carriers you saw just now often sleep on my bed. Nonetheless, if my bed is empty, any shipgirl can sleep on my bed if they wish to."

"I feel like you just said quite a few questionable things. If I still had my snowballs, I would have thrown all of them at you." (Stremitelny)

Well, too bad. All of the snow has melted a long time ago.

"Anyway, on behalf of Maizuru Naval Base, we look forward to working with you."

"Leave it to me. I will sully the name of the North Union!" (Stremitelny)

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-2000hrs- Kyoto University Hospital, Opthalmology department-

Seeing our confused faces, the middle-aged doctor interjected into Grand Admiral Hasake's explanation,

"Basically, once the nerves are attached, the eye will begin to receive electrical signals through the optic nerve and be activated. Shigure-san's self-repair system will handle the regeneration of the extraocular muscles and make the necessary adaptation s if needed. Once that's done, she will be able to see again." (Doctor Eisen)

"Ah. Now I understand."

"Oi. Was my explanation too difficult for you?" (Grand Admiral Hasake)

"A little bit. My apologies."

Grand Admiral Hasake and Doctor Eisen were briefing us about how Shigure's surgery will be carried out. It will be a slightly complicated surgery, as the doctor will need to attach each nerve to the circuits in the bionic eye. I made the huge mistake of asking how the bionic eye works. Hasake started speaking in alien language and I can't make head nor tail of what he just said.

"Hmph! Young people these days don't understand the beauty of the-" (Grand Admiral Hasake)

"If you are ready, please sign here and we will begin the surgery immediately." (Doctor Eisen)

"Eisen here is one of the best surgeons I know. You can trust 'em with the operation. And I will be taking part in it too. I will make sure the implantation is done correctly." (Grand Admiral Hasake)

I looked at Shigure,

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." (Shigure)

An instant answer.

Shigure took the board from Doctor Eisen's hand and sign the contract. I also put down my signature as her guardian. The contract is basically a consent form, allowing Shigure to be operated on.

"Please take care of me." (Shigure)

"You can count on us. Nurse Exia, please prepare her for the surgery. (Doctor Eisen)

"Yes, doctor. Shigure-san, please come this way." (Nurse Amiya)

The nurse with short, maroon hair gestured Shigure to follow her. I wonder if that nurse is a foreigner. Her name doesn't sound Japanese.

Shigure followed nurse Exia to another room, leaving me alone with the two elders.

"I will open the observation deck in case you want to observe." (Doctor Eisen)

"No need. I'm going to trust you, Doctor Eisen. Please, take care of my girl."

I bowed my head.

"We will make sure she gains back her sight." (Doctor Eisen)

"Aye. Of course we will. She is one of us." (Grand Admiral Hasake)

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"No way! Eh?!?!" (Shigure)

A suprised voice woke me up. Ouch. My back.

"This is... not a dream, right? (Shigure)

Shigure was gripping onto a small table mirror. Surprise was written all over her face. She placed a hand over her left eye. After that, she pinched her cheeks.

"Good morning, Shigure."

Shigure slowly turned her head to face me. Tears flowed from her eyes,

"Admiral... My right eye... I can..." (Shigure)

"That's great."

I reached out to touch her face,

"Looks like the bionic eye is working. With this, you can finally rejoin the rest."

"U...uh-huh... I'm... so happy...Waahh~" (Shigure)

Needless to say, the operation was a success. Shigure's body has accepted the bionic eye and is adapting well to it.. Grand Admiral Hasake is a amazing. Without prior knowledge, you wouldn't have known that Shigure's right eye is artificial. I'm a little worried to send her back to the frontlines, but if that is what she wants, the least I can do is support her and keep her safe from behind the scenes. The same thing I have always been doing all these years.