Commander's Rounds

Entry 96.5: A Slice of Fame

Kumano and Suzuya had just left the infirmary after seeing Mogami.

Mogami told them about the ambush they had endured when fighting the rebel Kansen, but also a crucial detail- she had been saved because Zuikaku was very quick on the trigger, so the guns that hit her never got a chance for a second attempt. While Kansen were notoriously difficult to overcome and destroy by any means, those were capital Kansen guns, so Zuikaku at the very least made the difference between a shorter recovery and a longer, somewhat more painful one.

So, the pair had much to be thankful for.

And that's when the two of them decided on something.

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Zuikaku clapped her hands together. "Thanks, sis! You really went for it on breakfast today."

Shoukaku giggled. "Well, you outdid yourself recently, so I think it's only fair that I put in some extra effort, too, even if it's only something like breakfast. I bet our senpais are feeling pretty sore that you got selected over them, but I don't see that as much of a problem~"

Zuikaku sighed a little. "Sis..."

The white-haired crane leaned on the table. "Still, even if nothing big comes of it now, you've done something that has caused people to take notice. Maybe you'll have enough attention to keep your mind on what you're doing and off of what's going on with you. Even if you don't believe it now, just think about it, okay?"

"I know..." Zuikaku put her hands behind her head. "But it's not like people are beating down our door just to be seen with me."

There was soon a loud knocking at the crane sisters' door.

Shoukaku tilted her head a little. "Would you get that to see if the world has decided to prove you wrong?"

"Fiiiiine." Zuikaku stood up from her east on the floor and walked over to answer the door, and soon found something purple and garish thrust into her hands. Apparently it was a "Free pass for one totally awesome day with the best oni sisters around. <3" Zuikaku looked up from the entirely unsubtle invitation put into her hands to see that Kumano and Suzuya were there, arms around each other's waists, each of them wearing a smile- Though Kumano's was the bigger one. Zuikaku looked back at the invitation, then to her guests. "...May I help you?"

Suzuya spoke first. "This visit is really all because you already have."

Kumano giggled. "Oh, yeah, this is totes because you did us a big favor by bringing our sister back in one piece, so we thought we'd just give you a little invitation. Besides, now that you did the big thing, it's normal to want to know more about you, right?*

Zuikaku looked back at her older sister, who was only giving the biggest smile. She turned her attention back to the sisters in front of her. "But... We've served together for a couple of years?"

Kumano picked up the thread from there. "Yeah, but, like, we've never really had that chance to really just have a close encounter with you before. You normally hang around with Myoukou and Nachi, so..."

Suzuya completed the thought. "The fact of the matter is, we're really close with our sisters, and it doesn't seem right to not want to connect with someone who helped Mogami come back in one piece. So, Kumano made the invitation."

Zuikaku was now dealing with an outside context experience. She understood fame in the abstract, but now that she had fans literally on her doorstep, offering her what might actually be a date? That... Was different. "Thanks and all, but, I mean, I was just doing the job the commander asked."

Suzuya insisted. "By doing it well enough, you helped our oldest sister. Hehe... It's not something you can escape~"

Kumano continued. "And besides, we mean like, the whole day, too, which covers from about now-ish to sleepover. We don't kid around with this stuff, you know!"