Our Bonds

Zuihou-chan's Abyssal fighter flew high up into the air, circled around a few times, before bursting into flames and falling into the ocean. It's just a disposable aircraft, but there is something mesmerizing about it's destruction. The way it shines so brightly even in the afternoon sun.

"Aww. Missed one." (Avrora)

"Being able destroy most of them is already impressive enough, comrade. Now then, who is next?" (Gangut)

"Gangut, that's enough. Zuihou-chan is tired."

Zuihou-chan rest her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily. I think she is a little overheated. Smoke is literally coming out of her. Her face is red and it looks as though she will topple over anytime soon.

For the past two hours, she has been generating squadrons for the North Union shipgirls to practice their anti-aircraft defense. Each of them will take turns to shoot down the Abyssal aircrafts within a set time limit, before the aircrafts self-destructs. Zuihou-chan can now create a squadron of 24 Abyssal Aircrafts, which are now being used as practice targets. Although this helps to save some cost on creating dummy planes, it takes a lot out of her.

"Hmm... Can't be helped. Comrades, we shall end it here today. Remember to train on your own. Be ready for anything on the battlefield." (Gangut)

I have been watching them practice this whole time, so I will give the girls my thoughts and observations later. As Gangut gives a closing address, I gestured Zuihou-chan to come to me. She slowly made her way to the side of the pier I'm sitting on,

"Good work. Now, let's cool you off."

I pointed the nozzle at her and squeezed. Steam emitted from her body as I shower her with water. I had attached a hose to the nearby water valve.

"Hauu~ That feels good~" (Zuihou-chan)

Once the amount of steam has decreased, I splashed her with the cooler box of ice-cold water I had prepared beforehand. Using the mental cube inside her generates a lot of heat. To make sure she doesn't get sick because of the sudden temperature change, I need to slowly cool her down to an acceptable temperature before I can use the cold water. This isn't the first time I'm doing this.

"So cold~~" (Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan has been helping the North Union girls in their anti-air defense practice for auite a while now. At first, she got so overheated that she collapsed onto the surface. I didn't know about her involvement until Akashi told me. Since then, I would always observe their practise and devised a cooling regime for Zuihou-chan. Of course, Rei should be the one monitoring them, but she has her own set of doc.u.ments to clear. Doing this is also an excuse for me to slack off.

"You feeling okay?"

"Unn~ I feel alive again." Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan shook her head to get rid of some water in her hair, before pulling herself up onto the pier next to me. She untied her muneate and placed it beside the rest of her equipment. She took off the white kimono top, leaving only the red kimono top she usually wears underneath. Now, she is just letting the ocean breeze cool her off.

"You have improved quite a bit."

"Really?" (Zuihou-chan)

Zuihou-chan drank from a can of fuel I brought with me I have a picnic basket full of fuel cans, enough for everyone.

"Yeah. The other day, you collapsed only after an hour. That scared me. Now, you can keep going at full force for three hours."

"It's all thanks to Gangut-san and Rossiya-san. If I hadn't practiced with them, I don't think I will be able to do all this." (Zuihou-chan)

"Maybe. But..."

I pet her head,

"This is all part of your effort as well."

Zuihou-chan snuggled against my shoulder,

"Ehehe~ I got praised by Admiral~" (Zuihou-chan)

This cute creature...

"Umm... Comrade Admiral, I know you are having a moment here but..." (Sovetskaya Rossiya)

Without me noticing, the North Union girls were in front of us.

"Erm... What did I... Oh, that's right. Firstly, I would like to praise Gangut and Rossiya for destroying all the planes every single round. That was an impressive showcase of your prowess."

"Thank you!" (Gangut & Rossiya)

"However, that were some things I want to point out. Gangut, you always take too long to adjust the angle of your cannons. You already know how high the planes are, so you should have prepared beforehand. Then, all you need to do is aim and fire. Rossiya, youu will always miss the first two shots.I don't expect you to be a hundred percent accurate, but this is a pattern I have been noticing. Try to work on it."

"I understand." (Gangut)

"Roger." (Sovetskaya Rossiya)

" Chapeyev, great job on hitting most of them. Keep it up. I want to see you hit all of them next time."

"Thank you, Admiral. I won't fail you next time." (Chapeyev)

"Avrora, you are progressively getting better each round. You are shooting down more than you did the previous round. This is great. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, Admiral! I will continue to do my best!" (Avrora)

That's the biggest smile I have ever seen from her.

"Pamiat Merkuvia, you will need some improvements. Your shots are all over the place. But still, good job on destroying at least half of them."

"Ahahaha... I will improve." (Pamiat Merkuvia)

"Grozny, I'm happy with your performance. Your shots and number of kills are pretty much consistent everytime. A bit more and you should be able to destroy all of them. Tashkent, you did a fine job taking most of them out in the last few rounds, but try to be more consistent next time. Your kill count should only be increasing, not decreasing. Last but not least, Minsk, are you okay? You did pretty bad this time. You barely destroyed half of them and you wete basically spraying and praying."

"I'm so sorry, Comrade Admiral. The truth is, I didn't sleep last night." (Minsk)

"And why?"

"I had a burst of inspiration. So much so that I spent the whole night writing it down and working on it." (Minsk)

This girl is always like this. She would randomly come up with new ideas everytime. Some are great and can be used as tactics, but the rest are mostly random.

"Gangut,"

"Yes, Comrade?" (Gangut)

"Watch over her for me. Make sure she doesn't repeat this."

"Got it, comrade. I will help take care of her." (Gangut)

"C-comrade Gangut, y-you don't have to do this. I can take care of myself." (Minsk)

Minsk looks and sounds a little nervous. Oh, right. Rei did mention that Minsk is a little scared of Gangut. Maybe this is not a good idea. I don't want to hamper Minsk too much, but I need someone to keep her in check. I will discuss this with Rei later.

"Anyway, that's all for today. There will be another session three days later. Same time as usual. I want to see some improvements during that sessions. Dismiss."

After exchanging salute, the North Union girls ended their practice. I gave each of them a can of fuel.

Gangut gulped down a can of fuel,

"Ahh... That's good fuel. Now I'm craving for some vodka." (Gangut)

"Woo. Fine idea, Comrade. Let's have a drinking party later one. Comrade Admiral, Comrade Zuihou-chan, care to join us?" (Sovetskaya Rossiya)

"I appreciate the invitation, but Vodka is too strong for me. And remember what I said before? The girls here can't handle vodka."

Maybe some of them can. But I don't want to turn the infirmary into a sauna again.

"Oh. That's a shame. Vodka is great." (Sovetskaya Rossiya)

"Oh right, before I forget, we are going to need to expand your dormitory."

"Eh? Why?" (Chapeyev)

"More of your comrades are going to be transferred over from Azur Lane. Comrade Rossiya, your sister is coming over as well."

It was decided that it's not a good idea to separate the factions. Since the North Union is here, might as well send the rest of the North Union over.

"That's great news!" (Sovetskaya Rossiya)

"I'm getting a burst of inspiration! I can feel it! I will handle the design of the new dormitory." (Minsk)

"This is exciting." (Avrora)

"I'm not sure when will they arrive. I will keep you girls in the loop once I get more information. Oh, and keep to down."

I pointed at my lap, where Zuihou-chan is now sleeping on.

"When did she-?" (Tashkent)

"She looks like a кролик<rabbit> (Grozny)

"For a while now. She is exhausted. I'm going to bring her back to bed. Once you are done, help me clean up the place. Just give them to Akashi in the Arsenal. She knows what to do."

"Got it, Comrade Admiral. Leave this place to us." (Pamiat Merkuvia)

"Yeah. Help us thank her later. Comrade Zuihou-chan has been a great help in our practice." (Gangut)

"I will. I'm sure she would be happy to hear that."

I gently lifted Zuihou-chan in my arms. Looks like I'll have to princess carry her back to my room. I also need to change her out of those wet clothes too. Do I have an extra set of her underwear in my wardrobe? I'll just have to find it later.