The Crimson Commander

Chapter 5 - Taking The Initiative

A long, agonizing week passed.  It felt like time itself stretched forever for poor Atago, but within that week she had made all the preparations that she considered beforehand.  She figured out where all the stalls were located, she picked out a black-and-white yukata that she stashed away in her room, she even scouted a location that seemed secluded enough when the time came!  There was one destroyer who found her there, but Atago made sure of the fact she wouldn't interfere.  Well, now was the time to let that hard work pay off.

Due to the celebration, the Commander was given extra time off for that day!  Which means that I can invite them out personally.  Nobody would mind if I borrow the Commander for a bit.~  Atago knocked on their door as she asked, "Commander?  Can I come in?"

The Commander's voice sounded on the other side, "Sure come on in.  The door's unlocked."

With their permission Atago opened up the door to see the Commander who was dressed in something besides.  She spoke, "Ara ara, Commander?~ Where are you going tonight?~"

The Commander replied, "I-It's the festival.  Also, you.. look beautiful."

Atago pried with a smile, "Are you going to be alone?"

The Commander answered, "Yeah, I couldn't find anybody to go along with.. want to join me?"

Atago raised a hand over her mouth as she spoke, "The Commander asking me out?  Talk about bold.."

The Commander glanced towards their window and pulled down the shades as they said, "I-It's not like that, I just figured that it would be good to have some company.  Most of the shipgirls go to this event in groups all the time, right?"

Atago nodded and said, "It's best not to go alone."

The Commander smiled as they said, "Then let's do our best!"

They went to their bathroom mirror to straighten out their clothing, holding in the fact that they were nervous about how large the crowd was going to be.  Would they have trouble finding what they needed?  Were they going to attract too much attention?  These concerns plagued the Commander's mind, since they were hoping that they would be able to enjoy the fireworks without too much hassle.

After confirming that they were prepared, the Commander and Atago left the room so that they could participate in the festivities.  The Commander asked to themselves, "Where do I even begin.."

Atago said in a merry tone, "Why don't we start by walking along the pier?  They have some minigames in that area."

The Commander laughed lightheartedly before saying, "You're acting like my secretary outside of work?"

Atago smiled before saying, "You should always be prepared, in fact you should be ashamed for not knowing."

The Commander glanced away but Atago pat their shoulder as she spoke, "Don't worry about it, Commander!  Today's your day off, let Atago handle everything.~"

The evening went pretty much according to her plan.  They had fun with the minigames including shooting galleries, where the Commander managed to get Atago a small teddy bear.  They passed by food stalls where they shared some piping hot takoyaki.

After the fun and games Atago squeezed her Commander's hand gently.  The fireworks were going to start in a matter of minutes, which meant that they had to move to her special place immediately.  With the thought of watching the fireworks many shipgirls flooded areas like the pier and some of the closer streets, allowing for less traffic to obstruct the path to the secluded area.  The Commander mentioned, "The fireworks!  Wait Atago, shouldn't we have gone to where the crowd is building up?"

She winked as she teased, "I know someplace.. private we can visit.~"

With the Commander who's face was a form of Sakura Red she pulled them away from the festivities, taking them up a set of stairs to the vantage point that she had previously scouted.  Of course, to get to this private place they had to go off of the path the staircase connected to and walk through some foresty area.

However, when they got there they were alone.  Just a ship girl and her Commander with an outcropping whose view extended over a lot of the buildings in the Sakura Empire.  They walked over to a longer rock that the two of them could sit on, stretching their legs out in front of them while they waited for the fireworks display to start.

First they were greeted with silence.  However, within a matter of minutes, the first of the fireworks started to ring out.  Bang.  Pop.  The fireworks exploded in the air and fizzled out around them in a spectacular display, starting with red and then shifting to different mixes of the color spectrum.

Atago's eyes sparkled as she looked at the display, but when she looked at the Commander they were having a fun time too.  She spent a couple of minutes simply enjoying the spectacle with them, until she felt that the time was right to make her move.  Atago exclaimed, "Commander!  If you don't mind.."

The Commander asked, "Yes?"

Atago then blurted out, "I would like for you to marry me.~"

The Commander's eyes widened.. more then she expected?  They were looking towards her and seemed to take a moment.  It was like they were seeing a ghost or something!  Being startled they said, "E-Eh??"

Atago said, "I've been thinking about us for a while.  I know that it may be a lot but that is the next step, right?"

The Commander answered quickly, "I can't.."

She said in shock, "..N-No?.."

There was a moment of silence as the heavy cruiser took her turn at trying to understand what it was her dear Commander had just said.  Her eyes widened as they tried to look for an answer from them, but they had turned their gaze to look at the fireworks themselves.  Almost as if they were putting up a shield to keep themselves from breaking their composure.

Atago pleaded, "Commander, please!  I'll do anything for you!"

They replied with regret starting to seep into their voice, "I'm sorry, Atago.."

Atago questioned, "What do you want??  Commander, become mine, don't think about anything else, you only have to listen to me, I'll satisfy all your needs..."

A hint of conflicted emotions showed on the Commander's face as they explained, "Atago..  Y-You don't have to.."

Atago attempted to reason, "Don't have to what?  You tell me no but I know that we're something special."

Their voice started to deteriorate, "I'm.. not ready yet.."

She requested to know, "Then when, Commander?"

The Commander spoke with a broken and weakened voice, "W-When I'm ready for it.."

Atago pulled the Commander's arm to her chest, turning her head to look to the fireworks display as the last of the fireworks were shot into the sky.  Since she was so distraught, surely the Commander wouldn't mind sharing.. but the Commander pulled their arm away moments later.

Normally, Atago was someone who would remain somewhat composed.  Despite her flirty nature she was still a girl.  It was at this moment that she suddenly started to fear what this meant.

Atago attempted to make some explanation, "Commander.. you don't have someone else in mind.. do you?.."

Atago reached for the Commander's sleeve and tugged on it in desperation, earning the gaze of the one that she loved.. only for them to see just how much pain was on her face.  Tears rolled down from both of her eyes and her body visibly shook.  The Commander opened their mouth to speak only for Atago to crawl backwards from the Commander and run off into the distance, clutching onto the teddy bear that she was given.

Because she was so distraught, she failed to notice the pair of red eyes that peeked out from behind bushes.  It was the figure with these red eyes that seemed to emanate a horrific aura.  Eyes that were ready to kill if given the chance.  The Commander shouted, "Happy?!  Huh?!"

The figure that was clouded by shadow didn't say a word, but instead retreated into the bushes.  The Commander was now all alone..

The Commander muttered to themselves, "You demon.."