Commander's Rounds

Entry 13: Lonely Phoenix

The commander had stopped by the Sakura dorms in order to speak to Nagato on a few matters, and also to talk to Yuubari about the research he had asked her to do. She quietly gave him a note, knowing that he preferred this matter to be a secret. He had concluded his business with relative ease, seeing as Nagato was understanding of his own struggles for reasons he decided not to inquire about- they both respected each other's private thoughts. After dealing with that, it was time for him to head back to his home.

Or it would be, if the weather was cooperative.

This wasn't even the kind of weather he might accept a soak from, no, there was a time he'd be willing to grit his teeth and throw everything in the dryer after he got home. The rain outside was... You just opened a door and there was... water. Just water. He checked his phone and saw that the storm was going to be around for a while, and so he was stuck inside the Sakura dorms until the whole thing passed.

It's not like there weren't things he could do while waiting for the storm to pass, though he didn't want to particularly loiter in their housing- it wasn't his intention to be a creep. He mainly busied himself with checking up on people he had dealings with before, such as making sure Niizuki was okay, as well as making sure that Mutsuki and her sisters hadn't been bothered by any strange people, and so on up the line of the various ship classes on hand. Many of them were busy with their own fun or work, so he didn't impose.

When he was wandering around, he encountered someone who had no problem with being soaked, and was currently dripping water all over the floor without any care at all. And he should have guessed that sort of person would be a submarine. Albacore was standing outside the door to Taihou's room, standing on her tiptoes to see if she could take a peek through the peephole. Albacore's relationship with Taihou was a bit strange, considering their past- she never actually pranked Taihou, and seemed to want to be the carrier's friend.

The feeling was not entirely mutual.

Albacore knocked on the door a bit, and got no answer, and from the look of things, this wasn't the first or tenth time. The diminutive, barely-dressed blonde looked like she was about to call for Taihou before she noticed commander. "Ah! Commander! Everything's soaked outside, it's great!"

"At ease." She looked between Albacore and the door. "Going to see if you can try to hang out with Taihou again?"

She nodded quickly. "Mhm! She lives alone, so, sometimes I come by here myself to see if she'll hang out. Sometimes she even does it!"

Well, how about that. "All right, so there you go. And she's not responding this time?"

She shook her head. "Nuh! She's just sitting in her room or something. And... Well, besides, wanting to hang out, I just want to check on her to see how she's feeling."

That wasn't a bad idea. Taihou was not known for being the most level-headed sort on the roster, and she did live alone for various reasons, so checking up on her was something that just should be done. Whether Albacore was the correct one to do it was a bit questionable, considering. "So, you're worried if she's okay."

"Yep!" She looked back to the door. "I mean, I know that this kind of weather can give some people a case of the blahs, but Taihou usually has something to say."

The commander considered that she might say "go away.", but he wasn't usually around Albacore during her visits. As for Taihou, he knew firsthand that the woman could have some powerful moods. "...You know, if you're having trouble, I think I'll check up on Taihou today."

Albacore just stared at the commander. "Are you really sure that's something you want to do? I mean, she only ever really listens to you and maybe Nagato sometimes."