Our Bonds

"Hmm... What about here?" (Zuihou)

Zuihou pointed at a picture of the Onsen town in Toyooka on her phone as I looked over her shoulder. It was the same one Grand Admiral Akihito dragged me to. The water droplets distorted the parts of the image a little, but I recognized that scenery.

"You want to go to an Onsen town in this season? Isn't Winter a better time to go? How about USJ?"

"We are going there for our retreat during last week of December. HQ already reserved the place for IJN." (Zuihou)

"They did?"

Why wasn't I notified about this?

"You didn't read the newsletter? Of course you didn't." (Zuihou)

Ah, that's why.

"Why did they put such an important event on the newsletter no one reads?"

"You are the only one who doesn't read it. There are some interesting stuff written there." (Zuihou)

Zuihou continued to look for places to go on her phone. Somehow, this irritates me a little. Even though we have the docks to ourselves, she is focused on finding places to go.

"Hmm... Where else is nice?" (Zuihou)

"Come on. Stop looking at your phone already."

"Not until we find a place t- Hyaah!? Wait!" (Zuihou)

I striked at my favorite tiny hilltop, which is conveniently one of her many weak points. She almost dropped her phone in the water. She grabbed onto my hand and tried to brush it away.

"W-wait... Ngh... My phone... Nh!" (Zuihou)

"It's your fault for using your phone even though we have the whole docks to ourselves."

"What the...Nn... Haven't you had enough? How are you still raring to go?" (Zuihou)

Earlier, I was having an intense 'bonding' session with my three girlfriends. To make sure I get enough energy to satisfy all of them, I drank a cup of that energy boosting wine I bought from Mamiya. I meant for it as a joke but I'm surprised she actually brought a few bottles in. The other two got exhausted and went to bed first, leaving only me and Zuihou. So we decided to bath in the now empty docks. In this wee hours of the night, everyone else would be asleep. I only intended for us to bath and spend some time together, but since she is only focusing on her phone instead of me, I have to punish her a little. I know she wants to plan ahead for that vacation I promised her, but I can only take my leave after completing that large scale operation in November. That means we will be having our vacation in December, and to think that soon after it will be a company-wide retreat to USJ. Sounds like December is going to be- oops. Better not jinx it.

"Say... Mn... Let's talk about something else... Okay?" (Zuihou)

"Like?"

"R-Rei... Is Rei doing alright?" (Zuihou)

Though unfortunate, Rei failed her promotion test. Even though I had raised a Code Red: Unforeseen Circumstance, it wasn't sufficient grounds for a pass. According to the reason stated, the method to take out an Abyssal Princess was clearly disseminated to everyone a weeks ago. There is no reason Candidate number 320117, which is Rei's IJN number, wasn't unable to execute the tactic and required the intervention of the Examination officer. Not sure why they had to refer to me as the Examination officer, but it has a nice ring to it. Understandably, she is disheartened by this news. However, she has been requesting access to the Archives and asking for books relating to military tactics recently. Surprisingly, I haven't heard any news from Grand Admiral Akihito himself. I thought he would be the first to intervene and protest her results. Or demand a retest. Either he is keeping mum or whatever he is doing has been overruled.

"She will be fine. She isn't that weak to remain discouraged by such a thing. Give her some time and she will bounce back up."

She is still struggling to get my hand off.

"Why? You like it here, right?"

"N-no... Nn... That's not... true..." (Zuihou)

"Liar. You like it here and here too."

I moved my other hand for her waist to her lower front entrance. She let out a yelp of surprise.

"Admiral... We can't... Not here..." (Zuihou)

"That's true. This is a public area after all. But that's not going to stop me!"

"Ahnn! Admiral, that-" (Zuihou)

There was the sound of the dock's door sliding open, followed by footsteps. The both of us kept quiet. Someone has entered. But who would be taking a bath this late. Could it be Rei? But as far as I know, she has already finished her work and should be asleep by now. Unless she was reading about military tactics and various reports. If it's not her, I can think of another girl on the top of my head. Hold on. There are two of them!

"Brrr... So cold. Maybe it was a bad idea to swim in such cold weather." (???)

"Are Japanese nights this cold? I'm surprised you can go skinny dipping in this cold." (???)

I knew it. The first one is Shioi. I discovered that she often goes out to sea and swims nȧkėd a while back. Makes sense that she would take a hot bath after that. But who is the other one? Her voice sounds familiar. I can see through all this steam.

"Don't say that! It's my routine now. What about you? What are you doing so close to our base?" (Shioi)

"Would you believe me if I said I was doing the same as you?" (???)

"If you hadn't brought along your equipment." (Shioi)

"Figures. I kind of had a fight with Nautilus. Erm... She is a friend of mine. Long story short, I got mad and stormed off in a jiffy. I just kept swimming until I bumped into you." (???)

I can hear the sound of scrubbing. The both of them must be washing each other now. I can make out the shape of Shioi's tanned body. Damn. If not of this damn steam... More importantly, how do you get out of this mess? If we get caught, Shioi will definitely avoid me. I'm not too sure about the other girl but I'm not taking any chances. Thankfully, the shower area is on the other side of the docks. If we are fast enough, we can escape or hide somewhere. Problem is, we are at the furthest end of the pool from the entrance.

"Now that I think of it, I got mad for pretty stupid reason. I wasn't thinking when I said that." (???)

I can hear the sadness in her voice. I wonder what happened.

"Ah." (Zuihou)

She suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"What is it?"

"I forgot my phone." (Zuihou)

"Dummy. Where did you put it?"

"Probably at the edge." (Zuihou)

"We better-"

"Did you hear something?" (???)

"What? I didn't hear anything." (Shioi)

"Is that so?" (???)

"Anyway, you were talking about your friend hiding too much and spying on your Commander." (Shioi)

"I mean... I already knew that she is like this but that habit of hiding and spying on Commander somehow pisses me off so much. I don't know why." (???)

Well, aren't you well-loved by everyone, Ao.

We made our way to the furthest part of the pool and looked for Zuihou's phone.

"Got it. Let's go." (Zuihou)

Zuihou found her phone, which was lying dangerously close to the edge of the pool, and we resumed our exit.

"Nautilus isn't a bad girl. Heck, she is extremely shy. That's why she always stares and follows Commander from the shadows." (???)

"She sounds like our Gambier Bay." (Shioi)

That's what I was thinking as well. This Nautilus girl is almost exactly the same as Gambuer Bay, minus the whole following from the shadows part.

W e finally made it to the exit and slowly closed the door behind us.

Phew. That was scary. At the same time, it was kind of thrilling. I looked at Zuihou to see her expressions.

"Don't even think about it. I have seen those doujins." (Zuihou)

"Believe me. As much as I'm interested in that kind of play, I am not brave enough to go through with it."

"Huh? Why are there footprints here?" (Shioi)

We quickly dressed up and head straight back to our bedroom. The next morning, Shioi told me that Archerfish from Azur Lane came over late last night and slept over.. And for some reason, a rumour about the 'Dock Ghost' begin making it's rounds in my Naval District.