Beloved Commander [Azur Lane]

SCHULE III

Author's note
Short chapter. Not proofread. Written in an hour. Wanted a chapter out quick to mark my return. Longer note at the end of the chapter.

AS RAINDROPS HITS the car roof like beats of a melody, Ulrich watches the branches of trees disappearing and the open land fill the whole area around them.

Resting her head against her knees, Ulrich's glance shift towards the driver and the passager next to him. The despised Kommandat. Prinz Eugen next to him. She wonder how the two are in the same car since Ulrich knows the Ship Girl's deepen hate towards the human.

But, Ulrich kept her mouth shut. She do not the have energy to ask after she used her remaining social battery to escape the embarrassment from her fellow classmate, Kent.

"Hey Ulrich." Both Ship Girls glare the human with sharp eyes. His voice is combination of every obnoxious human. The sweet tone is his deadliest weapon, the Ship Girls acknowledge.

"Yes, Herr Kommandat?"

"Oh, don't Herr Kommandat me, Ulrich. I'm just freeloader here at Iron Blood."

"Y/N." Prinz Eugen grit her teeth after the word is let out of her mouth. She send Ulrich a sideways glance to ignore the driver, but the younger Ship Girl fix her posture and lean forward from the backseat.

"I wonder, do you have any friends? Normally people in your age, hang out with others after school."

"I'm not a normal teenager."

Her words quickly shut Y/N up. Prinz Eugen snorts at Ulrich's dry response and rest of the ride reaches it's endpoint as small cat officers open the gate to the Iron Blood base. Y/N drives through the base and reaches the huge building at the hill. The mother of the base greets the trio with warm hug respectively.

Friedrich smiles to her younger Ship Girl like a doting mother. "Sorry for wait, we had a loose mech dragon." Ulrich glance back and finally notices Y/N's black eye and few destroyed trees around the house.

"Bismarck used the distraction to punch him."

Ulrich looks at Prinz Eugen's explanation and glance back to Friedrich, who sighs with a weak nod. Then to the injured human and Y/N just raise a thumbs up like a fool.

———
Despised Commander
———

THE YEARLY PLAY of the school slowly creeps around the corner. The teachers feel the lightweight atmosphere. Students starts preparing of the theater play. Some hopeful to be chosen as the main characters. Others just wanting to show their skills.

Ulrich watches the line of people signing for the play. The line is longer than last year. However, what catches her attention is not the line itself, but the most likely the candidate to the main role of the theater play, Kent. The British boy finish signing for a role on the school's petition board.

Their eyes meet. Ulrich immediately pull her hood and raise the volume in her earphones to mute the sounds in the hallway. The dirty blond walks towards her direction. The Ship Girl still remember yesterday's embarrassment from shouting that she wanted to experience school.

Her steps clicks the hallway. Pacing past the white walls and dozen of students. Then a sensation on her shoulder. Ulrich hold her breath and turn around to meet Kent's carefree smile.

"Ulrich."

The Ship Girl lower her hood and earphones like she did not try to avoid him. Smiling sideways with an acknowledged nod to Kent's presence.

"Are you not interested at the theater play?"

"Well..." Ulrich wanted to say she would rather have Sirens gouge her eyes out with a scalp than playing a role on a stage in front of others.

"I don't think I fit at any role."

Her answer made Kent chuckle and he gesture towards the wall next to them. Pointing at the poster with huge artistic letters like a kindergarten kid wrote it.

MISFIT TO BELOVED

Ulrich's eyes turn to Kent. Her unamused expression fill the silence. The boy realizes his actions may or may not feel an unfortunate way to convey his gesture.

"Are you calling me a misfit?"

Kent closes his eyes with a regretting look. Ulrich cross her arms and wait for answer. The transfered student uses his last two braincells to get a response to save him from getting a ship cannon up to his ass.

"Others maybe think that, but I just see a girl who waiting to be beloved by others."

The Ship Girl chuckle. Glancing back to the poster and then to Kent. The classmate's smile become more and more awkward by every second. Then the girl slowly nod to Kent, before walking away. Leaving a relieved boy in the school's long hallway.

———

SUPPLY CRETES ENTER the Iron Blood's warehouses. Mainz look at her clipboard. Checking the items and having sharp attention to the supply of coffe beans. Then Meowofficer shrieks from nearby forklift. Summoning her riggings, her cannons already lock the on the rapidly mech dragons.

"Seems the laboratory let too many out."

The small cat officers flee the area. Manjuus hide behind the Mainz and two rowdy mech dragons growl at the Ship Girl. But before the climax reaches the point of no return, the freeloader jumps between them.

"WAIT!"

Y/N raise his palms out. The mech dragons keeps growling and go to hunting position while Mainz almost fired her cannons. Thinking taking another headache out, but remember the firm warning from Friedrich and Tiplitz.

"Come to papa." Y/N shifts his attention to the mech dragons like a dog owner. One of the dragon softened their red eyes and return to their natural stance, but the other mech dragon keeps growling at the human.

"Easy girl." Y/N tries to pet the mech dragon, however, the tension is cut short as Graf Zeppelin accidentally hit the mech dragon. Smashing the iron creature and Y/N into the nearest warehouse building and damaging the car's hood.

"Shit. I hit acceleration and not the brake pad."

Mainz unsummon her riggings and give unamused look at the Ship Girl with crossed arms. Manjuus and the other mech dragon rush over to the warehouse building to check on the injured pair.

"Well, I guess the human can't pick Ulrich at the school today." The grey haired woman shamelessly walk away to inform the change of drive schedule.

Author's note
Comeback update after almost two years. Short chapter to getting use to write again. Hopefully you guys haven't waited too long now for update. Next chapter will be longer.

If you want to, you can always put a comment, message board or dm, if you want to fill the two years gap of Azur Lane lore. Haven't played the game or followed it for past two years. It could possibly help me getting into the grind again.

But thanks for reading this short chapter again. I hope it can make your day bit better now.

Mwah~