Commander's Rounds

Gaiden Entry 58.5: Dare to Sleep

Bismarck was interested in a quiet night, which was at odds with whatever Eugen may have been planning to do with the bar. While she didn't have any ideas of her own, what she did have was an outstanding invitation from Hood to arrange a different sort of late-night get-together, so, at last, she decided to give in and give Hood a call to say that she was interested. There was a small amount of hesitation as she did this, as she wasn't entirely sure what Hood might decide would be the tenor of their late-night get-together, but she wasn't going to gain anything by not trying.

As she thought about it, going wasn't actually wasn't a terrible idea, since the guest list that Hood had proposed consisted of people who probably wouldn't go wild at the drop of a hat at an hour of the evening when Bismarck would rather not have to handle that. Marblehead was a fine friend for the daylight, but during the darker hours, she preferred something a bit more sedate, or at least people who would respect her wishes. It's why U-556 was such a good, close friend- that submarine was in tune with what she wanted at each hour- during some late hour spent reading reports, she'd just spontaneously find herself with a mug of hot chocolate and a blanket thrown over her by her submersible benefactor.

For the matter at hand, however, she lacked expertise, so she needed to talk with someone more experienced with these matters, so one day she simply walked up to Z23 and requested that she explain the preparations for sleepovers, seeing as she was someone with far more practical experience with such casually social matters.

Z23 was more than a little surprised, but she explained that it was best to bring some very comfy sleepwear, as it was possible she'd be sharing a bed with one or more of the other participants, but also that the best thing to bring was an open mind. Unlike other kinds of gatherings, these tended to be very private affairs where people might feel freer to talk about more sensitive or personal things with the trust that the others won't tell.

This only made Bismarck curious about what Nimi talked to her own friends about, but she decided that it probably wasn't her business- she trusted the destroyer to tell her anything that was crucial to the welfare of the fleet.

With that in mind, Bismarck packed up an overnight bag, and headed out, making her way over to the Sakura dorm and gaining entrance with ease.

It had been decided on that it would take place at Amagi's, seeing as the Sakura dorm was probably the one that was most quiet during the late hours, plus it had the most room for bed space. Amagi-chan would be staying with Shinano that night, so it was very likely that the smaller fox would be having a comfy sleep and not really be up for scoping out what big Amagi and her friends were up to at whatever odd hours of the evening they stayed up to see.

It was already dark when Bismarck arrived at Amagi's room, and she was let right in- she hung up her hat and took off her boots, and as soon as she looked around, she found out that she was actually the last one to arrive- Hood and Alabama were already sitting around the kotatsu with tea, but a place had been set for Bismarck. The fox smiled at her. "Ah, there you are. Please take a seat. Don't worry, everyone else just arrived early."

That was a relief. She'd have a lot to answer for if she was an Iron Blood who was no good at keeping a schedule. She sat down as Amagi poured her some tea as well, and then Hood spoke up. "I'm glad you decided to take me up on that offer, even if you're the one who suggested it, in a way. I would say that this is just some time to let your hair down, but you seem one step ahead of me."

She got comfortable sitting with the others, and took a drink before saying anything. "...I just wanted to see what it was like, with the four of us getting together without having to do anything related to the fleet or any of that business."