The quartet made their way in the direction Nowaki pointed. So far, the waters are quiet. The radar is not picking anything up, neither are the girls.
Zuihou picked up speed and went beside Zuikaku,
"Are you all right?" (Zuihou)
"Yeah. I'm fine. It just aches a little. Nothing to worry about." (RA Zuikaku)
"Really? Then, that's good. I was worried back there." (Zuihou)
"I can tell you were. You kept pestering your Admiral to let you step in and help." (RA Zuikaku)
"Eh? You heard me?" (Zuihou)
"Of course she did. She wasn't disconnected from the channel in the first place."
"Wait... Eh? No way! Myaah!?" (Zuihou)
Zuikaku ruffled Zuihou's hair,
"Looks like you can be kind of dumb." (RA Zuikaku)
"Tell me about."
"What is that supposed to mean?!" (Zuihou)
"Looks like Admiral and Zuikaku-san are back on good terms~" (Agano)
"You sure about that?" (Ooyodo)
"On that topic, if you're letting them follow me, I take it you are still willing to help me?" (RA Zuikaku)
"I would still very much rather have my girls retreat and leave you to deal with this by yourself. But, I admit, it will be a waste of both our time to retreat when the target is right over there. Besides, you don't have the luxury of a second attempt. So, yeah. My girls will stick with you and see this through the end but I expect you to protect them as much as you can. At least till they find a way to rearm themselves."
"That's... Thank you. I really appreciate it. I will protect them to the best of my abilities. You can count on me for that." (RA Zuikaku)
"Isn't that great, Zuikaku-san?" (Zuihou)
"I sort of realized this when you ferried them back the other two, but you two get on like a house of fire."
"It's as if they are sisters." (Agano)
"Really?" (RA Zuikaku)
Zuikaku seem to beam at Agano's words.
"Yeah. I can totally see you two as sisters." (Agano)
"Over there. Is that the Torii gate Nowaki was talking about?" (Ooyodo)
Ooyodo pointed to the front. Sure enough, a red Torii gate slowly came into view as they got closer. They have gotten this far that I can't even see the entirety of the large Siren vessel anymore, only its bow.
"Seems like it. Should we speed up?" (RA Zuikaku)
The other three girls looked at each other and gave an affirmative nod. If they're okay with it,
"Go ahead. But stop just in front of the gate. We have something to discuss first."
"Roger roger." (RA Zuikaku)
"Understood. Increasing speed." (Ooyodo)
The four girls increased their speed and advanced towards the Torii gate. Within minutes, they are right in front of it.
"No enemies so far. Lucky~!" (Agano)
"This is weird. I expected the entrance to be heavily guarded..."
"Right? Even if Akagi-senpai and Kaga-senpai are a cocky bunch, they wouldn't neglect to defend the base." (RA Zuikaku)
"Unless they are extremely confident we won't be able to stop them." (Ooyodo)
YOU ARE READING
Our Bonds (A Kantai Collection Fanfic) (Remastered)
RomanceBeing an Admiral sounds fun but it is definitely not easy. First there is the war with the mysterious Abyssal Fleet, which have decided to lock down the sea and it's surrounding airspace, indiscriminately shooting at anything they deem a threat. The...
