After morning roll call, I followed Akashi to the factory. Inside, she passed me a black box,
"Here. Take a look and tell me if any adjustments need to be done." (Akashi)
I opened the box to check the item inside. It looks perfect. The size, the color, the pattern, everything.
"I knew I can count on you. It's gorgeous."
"That's great to hear. I was worried it wasn't up to your standards." (Akashi)
"It's perfect. Thank you. Now we are just left with the party preparations."
"Call me when you start. I have to do some maintenance on a few guns." (Akashi)
"Will do. See you later."
I left the factory with the small box in hand. Today is a big day for a certain Light Aircraft Carrier. I thought long and hard about this gift. Hopefully she likes it.
I head back to my office. I will need to wrap this.
"Ah. Admiral, 'sup." (Suzuya)
"Suzuya. Yo."
I immediately hid the box in my pocket. Damn it, girl. Bad time to run into you four right now. That JK is with the birthday girl now. Suzuya, Prinz Eugen, Shouhou and Zuihou are all dressed up and ready to go to town.
"Taa-daa! How is she? I did the coordination." (Suzuya)
Zuihou wore a short white dress which shows off her legs, on top of a dark green T-shirt. She paired the set with the dark green jacket she bought last month in Shin-Yokohama, albeit with the sleeves folded up. Her shoes are a darker shade of brown and her hair is tied in a side ponytail. She looks so cute and pretty.
Wow. She is gorgeous...
"Admiral?" (Zuihou)
"Ah. Umm... It really fits you."
"T-thank you." (Admiral)
"Hey hey. Is that all? I know you have more to say, right? Ow ow ow. Sorry~" (Suzuya)
I grabbed her cheeks to shut her up.
Suzuya wore a white off-shoulder, puffy sleeve blouse with black shorts and purple shoes. Shouhou's outfit is a white sleeveless blouse, a black and red skirt decorated with a ribbon and brown shoes. Prinz Eugen is wearing a pleated schoolgirl outfit with an underbust overall corset, shoulder cutouts, black tights, and black shoes.
The three of them are pretty but they still got a long way to beat Zuihou in terms of cuteness.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with?" (Agano)
"Sorry. I still got a bit of work to do. It's easy but there's tons of them."
"Then, let me help you." (Zuihou)
"No no. You go out with the others. It's your birthday today. You should take the day off to relax and enjoy."
"But..." (Zuihou)
Zuihou looks disappointed. Honestly, I want to follow her but I need to clear today's reports and oversee the party set-up.
"Tell you what. I will bring you out again some other time. Just the two of us. Okay?"
"Promise?" (Zuihou)
"Promise."
I stick out my pinky and she wrapped hers around mine. We both chant the phase,
"Pinky swear, ten thousand punches, whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles."
"If you lie, I will shoot you, okay?" (Zuihou)
"How scary. Don't worry. I don't lie about such things."
"Ehehe~" (Zuihou)
A sweet smile appeared on her face.
"Wooo! Good for you, Zuihou! A date with Admiral!" (Agano)
"Come on. Get going. You need to be back here by 7pm."
"I can't wait to see what you came up with this year." (Zuihou)
"Don't get your hopes up. Have a safe trip. See you later."
"We are off!" (Zuihou, Prinz Eugen, Suzuya, Shouhou)
I watched their backs as the walked towards the gate, chatting and laughing along the way. This scene is so nostalgic...
"All right. I better head back and rush those reports."
-------------------------------
"A little to the left. Yep yep yep! That's perfect." (Agano)
Noshiro secured the deco with tape and jumped off the ladder.
"Hey, careful."
"Where are the string things?" (Mutsuki)
"We have some more in the store room, I think. I'll go get them!" (Shiratsuyu)
"Kyaa! Noo~ It's in my hair!" (Kisaragi)
"I'm so sorry!" (Samidare)
In true Samidare fashion, the clumsy Destroyer tripped over nothing again and spilled a bowl of takoyaki batter onto Kiasaragi.
"Hey, Yuudachi! What did I say about sneaking a bite?" (Mamiya)
"Poi~~!" (Yuudachi)
In the evening, the mess hall is in chaos as the girls do their best to set up the party. We have been doing this for months and years and it's still the same chaotic scene. This is oddly pleasing, knowing that they haven't changed.
"Kisaragi, hurry up and get that all that batter out of your hair. It's going to dry and stick if you don't wash it out immediately. Mamiya, just focus on the cake. Yuudachi and I will handle the batter mix. Shigure, Murasame, help me pump and scatter the balloons. Yuubari, get more helium tanks. Samidare, go help Shiratsuyu find more decorations."
I went to help mix the batter while the others did the tasks assigned to them. It was chaotic but we managed to prep everything before the birthday girl came back.
"Suzuya says they are just outside." (Kumano)
"Alright, you all know what to do."
"C'mon. Let's go in!" (Suzuya)
"Wait. Suzuya. Don't push me." (Zuihou)
As soon as the door opens, the confetti starts flying and the party poppers start popping,
""HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" (Everyone)
"Wow! Thank you!" (Zuihou)
Yuudachi grabbed Zuihou's hand and pulled her in,
"Come on in! We have cake poi!" (Yuudachi)
"You just want to eat the cake, don't you?" (Asashio)
After singing the birthday song and blowing out of the candles, it was present giving time. As per traditional, I went first,
"Here. Happy birthday."
I passed her the small box. Zuihou had this puzzled look on her face. I expected and was hoping for such a reaction, since I usually give her plane models. Zuihou unwrapped and opened it to reveal a brown yugake glove.
"This is..." (Zuihou)
"I thought of giving you something new this year. Your glove is getting worn out already right? I got Akashi to create it for me. It should be tougher than your old one."
"I just sewed and put it together. Admiral is the one who provided the design and materials."
The glove has a small phoenix pattern on it, but before I could get to that part, she jumped on me.
"I'm so happy!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!" (Zuihou)
I hugged her tightly,
"Your welcome. Glad you like it."
"Unn! I love it!" (Zuihou)
After me, it was the others. The girls gave their well-wishes and presents. Everyone was enjoying the cake and all the other food that was prepared. The older girls drank and made merry. The celebration lasted till 10.30pm, when everyone needs to go to bed. The younger Destroyers wanted to stay behind to help with the clean up but I got most of them to go to bed first. Mamiya, Fusou, Yamashiro, Shouhou, Kumano and Shimakaze stayed behind to clean up with me. Shimakaze was bouncing around so hopefully getting her to clean will burn off some of that excess energy.
I tied the last bag of rubbish and placed it at our dump.
"And we are done. Thanks, guys."
"Don't mention it. Anyway, we are doing this two days later again." (Yamashiro)
"That's why I left the decorations up. Yuudachi's birthday is always louder than Zuihou's."
"She is a bundle of energy after all. I'm going to bed first. Good night." (Kumano)
Kumano yawned as she headed back to the dormitories.
"Good night."
"Me too. Zuihou is waiting for me." (Shouhou)
"Good night. See you tomorrow." (Fusou)
"What about you two?"
"Nee-san and I will stay awake for a while more." (Yamashiro)
"For some reason, I feel like drinking." (Fusou)
"Okay. Don't overdo it and get a hangover like last time."
"We made sure to order proper sake this time, not that whiskey stuff." (Fusou)
The two sisters and I part ways. I went back to my office to grab some things. The day is not over for me.
I grabbed a tote bag and placed a box and two hankerchiefs inside. I took out the small shoulder lamp from my drawer and attached it onto my uniform. Next stop, back to the mess hall. I hurriedly grabbed a bottle of Sake, three Sake cups, and a food container before Mamiya closed the place. I also took two bottles of water and some small towels with me
"Thank you as always, Mamiya."
"Don't mention it. It's what I do and love. Don't stay up too late, Admiral." (Mamiya)
"I will pay for this bottle tomorrow."
I made my way up a hill just at the corner of my base, overlooking both the base and the sea. After a short 15 minute climb, I reached the top,
"Good evening, you two. I'm here again."
Sitting on the top of the hill are two stacks of cairns. Both of them are built using stones and pebbles I managed to find along the beach, starting with the largest one at the base. The names 'Zuihou' and 'Shigure' are carved on the fourth last stone rock of each pile.
This is their grave.
No. Since there isn't a body buried, a memorial would be a more fitting name.
I make it a point to come here at least once a month. Just to inform them about what's happening at the base and how their friends are doing. On their birthdays, I give them gifts as well. Zuihou's section is filled with unopened boxes of model planes while Shigure has a soft toy, which is now dirty, a pillow and some other trinkets. All of which are just sitting there, collecting I never managed to figure out what Shigure likes so her gifts are pretty random at this point.
I slowly poured the bottles of water onto each stack. This is my way of washing them. I used one towel to carefully dab and dry them. Using the remaining water in the bottle, I wiped the gifts that have been sitting there, just collecting dirt. I also did a bit of weeding, just to make sure the plant life doesn't cover them entirely.
With that done, I set down a hankerchief in each section and opened the food container to take out two plates of cake. I placed them in each of their sections and placed another model plane in Zuihou's section,
"Happy birthday. I managed to get my hands on a Ryuusei model this year. You will definitely like it."
I poured the sake in each cup. One for Zuihou, one for Shigure, and one for me.
"Cheers."
The bittersweet taste of Sake filled my mouth.
"Everyone is alive and doing well. Today, it happened again. Samidare tripped over the air and spilled a bowl of Takoyaki batter onto Kiasaragi. Last month, she dropped the entire bowl of cake mix on Shiratsuyu. She is such a klutz."
I poured myself another cup and drank,
"The Abyssals are growing more unpredictable each day. Now, there is a skirmish between Abyssal forces and Siren forces smack right in the middle of our Northern Rat Transport route. Azur Lane says they will deal with it but the Sirens just keep spawning. Next week we have a joint operation to get rid of those two. Sasebo and Yokosuka will be joining us."
The stars tonight are really pretty. The ocean glimmers under the starry sky and the waning gibbous moon. Not a cloud in sight to ruin the view.
"Everyday, Zuihou and Shigure are growing stronger and prettier. Just like the two of you back then."
I stroked the rock with Zuihou's name,
"I know you can't hear me, but I will keep saying this. I love you. I shouldn't have waited till you were gone. Till it was too late. I know you two are the same, but you're not the same person. I miss you."
Suddenly, there was rustling behind me. I immediately turned around and shone my light at the bushes, where the noise came from. What was that? Is someone there? No one else should know about this place apart from me.
"Who is there?"
The air was silent and tense.
"Mew~" (???)
Eh?
A small creature cautiously crawled out from the bushes. Its tiny, beady eyes reflected the light, giving it an eerie white glow.
"Oh. It's just a cat."
What is a kitten doing here?
I crouched down and stuck my palm out towards the small creature,
"Come here. What are you doing here?"
The cat slowly approached my hand and gave a whiff. It stroked its body across my palm. I guess I have been accepted?
"Are you alone?"
"Mew." (Kitten)
"I will take that as a yes. Sorry. I don't have any food to give you."
The kitten purred as it walked around me, rubbing itself against my legs before crouching next to me.
"Keeping me company? Alright."
The two of us sat on the grass and watched the glittering ocean.