Chapter 127 - 114

"Report. Our comrades have eliminated an Abyssal fleet spotted near the base." (Gangut)

"I see. Good work on that. And... Umm..."

"What is it?" (Gangut)

"You are too close."

Gangut stood right at the opposite end of the table and leaned towards me, as if inspecting every inch of my body. All this while, she has been glaring at me.

"Is that so? Sorry, I just have to see what our Admiral is like. I have heard stories, you see." (Gangut)

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Mind if I ask what are some of the stories you heard?"

"Comrade Pamiat told me that you were what they call a 'lolicon'. And that you you all sorts of lewd stuff even during office hours." (Gangut)

I almost fell off my chair when she said that. Dammit Pamiat! I told you not to tell anyone!

"But you don't look like such a person. The others told me how kind and caring you are. You seem like a capable commander based on your subordinate's performance. It's hard to think that you are a lolicon and that you frequently engaged in such acts." (Gangut)

Sorry to burst you bubble, but that kind of true. In fact, it was about to take place before you came in.

I glanced at the pervert hiding under the table. Good. She isn't doing anything at the moment.

"Ahaha. That's an exaggeration. The girls are the one trying their hardest. I just give orders."

"The commander's orders are the ones that determine the fate of his subordinates. The fact that only two shipgirls sunk under your command since you took charge is a feat itself. You should be pr-" (Gangut)

"Gangut!"

Gangut flinched a little.

"Please. Do not talk about that incident."

"I-I understand. Please pardon me for running my mouth." (Gangut)

The atmosphere became weird all of a sudden. I took a deep breath,

"It's okay. You didn't know after all. Again, thank you for the report."

"I'll take my leave then." (Gangut)

With that, Gangut walked out of the office.

Ahhh... I messed up! When she mentioned that incident, I can't help but feel angry about it. I shouldn't have lost my composure. It has been years since that fateful day. Although Zuihou and Shigure came back, I still regret causing them to sink in the first place. I can't believe she went ahead and dug up my old records though. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known.

I felt a tap on my knee.

"Admiral, are you okay?" (Zuihou)

Zuihou peeked out from under the desk. Contrary to what Gangut just said, we were about to have some fun before she the battleship came in to give her report. Instinctively, Zuihou quickly hid under the table. Looks like while we were talking, Zuihou took the time to fix her clothes. Not like I'm in the mood anymore.

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

Zuihou crawled out from under the table and sat on my lap. She placed both hands on my cheek and looked at me straight in the eyes.

"Really? You don't look fine to me. I can tell, you know." (Zuihou)

"I told you, I'm fine."

"It's about me and Shigure again?" (Zuihou)

"What are y-"

"I know. You always have this worried look on your face whenever we sortie. And Gangut-san mentioned that two shipgirls actually sunk. Tell me. Those two shipgirls that sunk back then... Was it me and Shigure?" (Zuihou)

This is bad! I was trying to hide that fact from them. Zuihou is on to me.

"Please. Tell me the truth. This is not my first time meeting Admiral, right?" (Zuihou)

I need to talk my way out of... No. I can't. Not when she is giving me that pained expression... This is so unfair...

"Got it. Try to stay calm."

She will definitely react badly to this,

"When you came to this base, it was my second time meeting you. Four years ago, you sunk and returned."

Suddenly, I felt her grip tightened a little. Her hands also started to shake a bit.

Tears fliwed down her cheeks. Her voice quivered as she spoke,

"I knew it... So.. rry. I just... *sniff* I don't know... Why am I... *hic* Admiral..." (Zuihou)

This is why I didn't want to tell them.

I gently stroked her head until she calmed down.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sor- *sniff* -ry. I suddenly felt scared and depressed all of a sudden." (Zuihou)

"That's okay. It's normal to feel that way."

"I see. So it's true. That explains why everything was so familiar when I woke up that day. Even though it was supposed to be my first time. And you said you don't want to lose us again before." (Zuihou)

"Sorry for hiding it."

Zuihou shook her head.

"It's fine. It's not like telling me about it will help with anything. Its just that... Whenever I thought about sinking... I get so scared. At the same time, I can't help but think about what the other Zuihou felt. How it must have felt to be swallowed up by the ocean... The memories she lost... What could have happened if she didn't sink..." (Zuihou)

The waterworks are starting again.

"It's like... I stole her life! The other Zuihou would have been Admiral's girlfriend by now! If she was still here..." (Zuihou)

This is one of the reasons why I didn't want to tell them about their sinking. They become sensitive and get all sorts of weird negative ideas. I can understand that it can come as a shock, knowing that there was another version of you in the past and all things that could have happened, but...

I embraced her again,

"Stupid... You are thinking too much..."

"But... *hic* I'm... The other..." (Zuihou)

"Calm down. First take a deep breath."

Zuihou did as I told. The quivering voice and sniffling from before began to disappear.

"Now, do you love me?"

"Yes. I love Admiral." (Zuihou)

"Do you care for everyone in this base?"

"Yes. They are all my precious friends." (Zuihou)

"Then, that's all that matters."

I gently pushed her shoulders and touched her cheek,

"You are you. The past version of you doesn't matter. Sure, the previous Zuihou and I may have been lovers, but maybe we didn't. We became a couple because of your current actions. You were the one that told me that you love me. So, you don't need to feel like you stole someone's life."

"Is it really okay? I'm not the first Zuihou." (Zuihou)

Zuihou looks like she still has some doubts in her. I wiped a tear from her eye.

"But you are the one I love. That's an indisputable fact."

I kissed her deeply. Her tense body soon relaxed. After a while, she broke away to catch her breath.

"I love you, Zuihou."

"Me too. I love you, Admiral." (Zuihou)

Suddenly, there was shouting coming from outside,

"What are you two doing poi? Yuudachi wants join poi!" (yuudachi)

"Wait! Yuudachi! Sutoppu! Waah!" (Suzuya)

"Waah!" (Agano)

The door swung open as Yuudachi, Agano and Suzuya came crashing onto the floor.

"Oww... Ehehe... Kirari~n!" (Agano)

"Ahahaha. 'Sup!" (Suzuya)

"How long have you been there?" (Zuihou)

"Um... From 'I love Admiral' onwards." (Suzuya)

"I didn't know you can be that passionate, Admiral." (Agano)

So around the second half of our talk. Why do these girls always like to eavesdrop? Zuihou's face turned beet-red.

"Ahh! Not fair poi! Yuudachi also wants to hug Admiral poi!" (Yuudachi)

Yuudachi skipped over to us. At least she doesn't know what we were doing before. How innocent.

Zuihou moved away as Yuudachi lunged at me... Again. I gave her a pat on the head. Meanwhile, the other two sandwiched Zuihou.

"Agano? Suzuya? What are you-?" (Zuihou)

"Zuihou is Zuihou. There are no past or future ones." (Suzuya)

"That's right. You will always be our friend and our flagship." (Agano)

Tears welled up in Zuihou's eyes. This time, it wasn't the sad type.