Chapter 77: A Short Walk
I stood outside the curtain while Akashi examines Shigure on the other side.
"Alright. The scar is already gone. Your skin is as smooth as before. You're not experiencing any more pain, right?" (Akashi)
"Yes. It has been a two days since." (Shigure)
"That's great. You can put your bra and shirt back on now. If the pain returns, come and see me immediately." (Akashi)
Looks like she has fully recovered.
"Yes. Thank you very much." (Shigure)
The curtains were drawn and Shigure emerged.
"All good?"
"Yes. The scar and pain are gone." (Shigure)
"That's great. Akashi, thanks."
"No problem. I will bill you later." (Akashi)
"Got it. I will take it out of your pay."
"Hey!" (Akashi)
Shigure tugged on my sleeve. She looks worried.
"Admiral, you are getting charged because of me?" (Shigure)
"Oh. No no no. it's just a joke we do once in a while."
"Yep. Besides, I'm a repair ship, not a doctor. So, relax. No one's getting charged for anything." (Akashi)
"Is that so? That's great..." (Shigure)
I pet her head,
"Don't worry. If anything, I can simply deduct it from Akashi's pay."
"Oi!" (Akashi)
"I'm just kidding. More importantly, warehouse 5 needs some preventive maintenance. The support beam seems to be a little unstable."
"Got it. I will look into it later." (Akashi)
Shigure and I left the infirmary and walked along the open corridor back to the main building. Damn. It's cold.
It has been a week since Shigure woke up with that huge scar on her chest. I can tell Shigure was in pain for the first few days, since she would clutch her chest and her breathing became rugged. The pain was so bad that it would wake her up in the middle of the night. She also suffered from a fever at the same time. I have anchored her in base as she recovered. Shigure would take a dip in the medical bath for thirty minutes everyday, before applying some kind of ointment prescribed by Akashi.
And of course, Shigure slept on my bed as I took care of her.
"Admiral," (Shigure)
"Yeah?"
"Will I be able to sortie again now that I have recovered?" (Shigure)
These girls really love to sortie even though it puts them at risk... But... They see that as their life purpose...
"Sure you can. But take it easy and no more trying to sacrificing yourself again. Please. You already said you won't do such a thing before."
The previous Shigure sank trying to protect Yamashiro... Although I'm grateful to Shigure for covering Zuihou, I do not want to lose her or anyone else ever again.
"Yes... Sorry..." (Shigure)
"Meow..." (???)
A grey kitten trotted towards us and rubbed herself against Shigure's leg.
"Tina-chan, good afternoon." (Shigure)
Shigure crouched down and held her hand towards Tina-chan. Tina-chan placed her little paw on Shigure's hand and shook it.
"Here to greet me? Good girl." (Shigure)
Shigure pet Tina-chan's head and the kitten purred softly. It laid on it's back and purred, as if inviting Shigure to rub it's belly.
Don't cats hate getting their belly rubbed???
Shigure rubbed Tina-chan's belly as the kitten fought her hand playfully. I crouched beside Shigure,
"Admiral, want to try petting her?" (Shigure)
"Sure."
I reached out to rub Tina-chan's belly. Before my hand could touch her fur, Tina-chan suddenly snarled and swiped her claws at me. A sharp stinging sensation appeared on my palm and I quickly pulled it back.
That little monster scratched me!!!
"Ow! Oi!"
Tsk! That damn cat darted off.
"Admiral, are you all right?! You're bleeding!" (Shigure)
It hurts little, but that's it.
"It's just a scratch. Nothing a little ointment can't fix."
Shigure grabbed my hand and stared it.
"Shigure? What are you- !!!!"
Shigure closed her eyes and started licking the small wound that damn cat gave me on the palm. It was hot and ticklish, but not unpleasant.
Eh? Why is she doing this?
"Erm... Shigure?"
Shigure's eyes flung open and she quickly retreated a few steps back,
"S-sorry. I-I... Ah! That's right! I just wanted to disinfect it. That's all!" (Shigure)
She was blushing hard and her eyes darted about as she gave an obvious lie.
No no no. That's not feel or look like you are disinfecting it. But let's leave it at that to save her the embarrassment. Sometimes, these girls behave weirdly. I mean, just look at Tenryuu, Yuudachi, and maybe Zuihou when she tries to 'connect' with her planes. I have seen it a few times before. Zuihou would press a plane right against her face and make a 'Hooo~' sound. The others would simply talk to the fairies piloting the planes.
"I-I see... Thanks, I guess?"
Shigure placed her hands in font of her body,
"Yo-you're welcome..." (Shigure)
...
This silence is awkward...
"Let's head ba-"
"Ah. There she is. Shigure!" (Zuihou)
I turned to my left to see Zuihou and Yuudachi running towards us.
"Hey."
"Admiral-san!" (Yuudachi)
"Oh boy..."
I got into a stance and braced myself as Yuudachi lunged at me. I managed to catch the human-sized puppy and still had to take a few steps back to stop myself from falling.
"Poi!" (Yuudachi)
"Woah. You really love jumping onto people."
I placed her back on the ground. Why do I feel like someone is glaring intensely at me?
"Shigure, let's go play some M*riPa" (Zuihou)
"Ah. Um... I'm on secretarial duty today." (Shigure)
"It's alright. There isn't much to do today."
"See? Admiral-san gave us permission poi. Let's go party!" (Yuudachi)
"Ah. Unn. Okay. See you, Admiral." (Shigure)
"Let's go, Shigure. Later, Admiral." (Zuihou)
Zuihou held Shigure's hand and pulled her along while Yuudachi ran ahead as usual. Zuihou's and Shigure's relationship has became stronger ever since the latter woke up. Zuihou thanked Shigure for saving her and even helped take care of her when I was busy. She would also hang out and cook some Tamagoyaki for the Destroyer.
Now then, let's head bac- Huh?
I felt a vibration in my pocket. It was my phone, and it just received a message. It was from Yuito.
"Where are you? The meeting has started. Hm?"
Meeting? Oh shit! I forgot about the meeting!
I rushed back to my office and turned on my laptop. Of course. Whenever I'm in a rush, this thing will decide to turn on slowly and load my programs at a snail's pace. Don't worry. Take your time. I can wait.
No I can't! Hurry up you stupid square cookie!
When the laptop finally loaded my programs, I launched the meeting application and entered the designated meeting room.
"Oh look who finally decided to join us." (Admiral Yuito)
"Oh shut up. I'm here now, aren't I?"
"You're still late." (Admiral Akiyama)
"Akiyama was the earliest. He was in the meeting room fifteen minutes before our scheduled time." (Admiral Aimi)
"Oi. You don't have to tell 'em that!" (Admiral Akiyama)
"Looks like someone is getting a little more fearless after her promotion. How is Zain? I mean, Grand Admiral Zain." (Admiral Kotobuki)
"He is on paternity leave now. His wife, Fletcher, just gave birth. So I will be standing in for him." (Admiral Aimi)
"Wow. I will send him a congratulatory message later."
"Yes. Please do. We are already behind time, so let's get started. We will now formally begin the first meeting for Operation Buin Defense." (Grand Admiral Rondo)
"Yes."
"Yes!" (All)
After the behemoth of a ship self-destructed, Azur Lane sent a separate fleet to investigate the area. While they discovered high levels of siren activity and that the citizens and the government of the Solomon Islands were completely unaware of the obvious siren activity happening in their backyard, due to some kind of perception blocker courtesy of the Sirens, or so they theorised, there was also a drastic increase in Abyssal activity. Azur Lane informed us that a crimson ocean has formed and the Abyssals appeared en mass around the Central Solomon Islands. That's where we come in. Our task is to wipe out the Abyssal threat before they completely destroy the Solomon Islands.
"Do we have any intel on bosses?"
"Recon planes from Hiyou and Junyou have spotted four high ranking Abyssals so far. But nothing suggests that they are bosses. Expect more intel on that these coming days. The Abyssals have yet to launch an assault on the Solomon islands but they have already taken over some of the smaller uninhabited islands that are rich in resources." (Grand Admiral Rondo)
"So there is a Transport mission." (Admiral Kotobuki)
"At least one. We have yet to confirm which one we are targeting. Azur Lane agreed to buy us some time. They have set up defensive positions around the area to deal with any Abyssals who got too close to the islands. Obviously, we can't just leave the whole operation to them. It's our duty to handle the Abyssals." (Grand Admiral Rondo)
The meeting continued for a few more painful hours as we discussed the initial operation plan and our back-ups. Intel is still being collected and transmitted back to HQ so nothing is set in stone yet.
Due to the urgency and potential risks the Abyssals will bring to citizens, one thing that has been set is the operation date. The operation will commence on 22nd November, just four days later.