Chapter 25 - 24

"Admiral... Admiral, it's morning already..."

I awoke to the sound of a girl's voice in my ear.

"Uhmm...? Oh. Morning Shioi. You're dressed already?"

"Of course. We submarines have an early training exercise." (Shioi)

Oh right. The submarine girls are going out with Taigei today.

"Besides..." (Shioi)

Shioi came closer again. I always get thrown off whenever she does that.

"Isn't today a special day for someone?" (Shioi)

A special day? What date is it today?

19th June...

Ah! Zuihou's launch date(Birthday)! It's that day already?

"I got to prepare something then. What should I do?"

"Ehehe. Don't worry. I'm sure she would accept anything you give her. We all will." (Shioi)

"That does make things easier, but it won't be a gift if I don't put some effort into it."

"I knew you would say that. Oh well, I will go off first." (Shioi)

Shioi made her way to the port. Now then, I need to make some preparations. I'm going to need a good distraction and possibly act ignorant about the whole thing. And what could possibly make a good gift for her? She received planes as her present the past couple of years. I want to give her something new this time.

First things first, the preparation for the birthday party.

-------------------------------------

"Today we received an order to patrol the Coastal Refinery Zone. There's been reports that an small Abyssal Carrier Fleet has been spotted there. Locate the enemy and neutralize them. Basically a search-and-destroy mission. The four of you, Zuihou, Suzuya, Murasame and Haruna, will be tasked with this mission. You have until evening to complete it, or until I order a retreat. Understood?"

"Yes!" (Fleet 1)

"Deploy in 30 minutes. Dismissed!"

I was about to leave the briefing room when I felt a tug on my shirt.

"Umm, Admiral. Do you remember what day it is today?" (Zuihou)

"Huh? Was there something special today?"

"Ah. Oh nothing. I will be going now." (Zuihou)

For a moment, I could see the disappointment on her face. Sorry Zuihou! I lied! Even the mission was a lie. I will make it up to you later!

I told the other three girls about my plan and not to tell Zuihou anything. I just need them to stall for time until all the preparations are done.

Where should I hold it? The cafeteria should be big enough for everyone.

------------------------

"A little bit to the the right! Perfect!" (Agano)

"Where are those string things?" (Mutsuki)

"We are out of cream! Someone go get some from the food storage!" (Sazanami)

The whole cafeteria was chaotic. I had some of the girls to help out in the preparations so this amount of noise is expected.

"Admiral-san, is there an festival today?" (Yuudachi)

Yuudachi appeared from behind me, confused as to what is going on. How does she keep sneaking up on me?

"A birthday party. Today is Zuihou's launch day. Want to help?"

"I want to! What should I do?" (Yuudachi)

"Could you help me with the decorations? Maybe cut out some plane patterns out of paper."

"Ok~!" (Yuudachi)

And off she went. At the rate the girls are working, we should be ready by 5pm. For now, the birthday party preparations are moving smoothly, so it can be considered completed. Time for the hard part, thinking of a present.

For the past three years, I have given Zuihou planes as her present. I have given her Suiseis, Tenzens, Reppu kai-ni and more. This year, I want to give her something different. Something which she is sure to like. I tried asking the girls, but they answered with things which they would like. At least I know what to prepare when their birthday comes.

I wonder what would make a good present. A bouquet of flowers is too simple and short-lived. Something she would cherish for a long time...

I got it! It's a little expensive but it should be useful for her. I can ask Akashi to develop it for me.

At 4.30pm, all preparations are finished. The 'patrol fleet' couldn't find anything, of course, so I called them back. Time to lure her here.

Some chatter can be heard outside.

"That was a waste of time!" (Suzuya)

"The Intel's probably wrong." (Haruna)

"Come on, cheer up. I'm sure the Admiral didn't forget on purpose. In fact..." (Murasame)

Now!

The lights flickered on. The sound of party poppers and confetti filled the air.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"

A surprised Zuihou stood at the center, mouth agape.

"He wanted to surprise you." (Murasame)

"Geez, Murasame. I almost thought you would ruined it."

Murasame playfully stick out her tongue. This is another girl who is unpredictable.

"Wait a minute. So that mission... " (Zuihou)

"It was an excuse to bring out for a while do all this can be prepared." (Haruna)

"Sorry. We knew about it too." (Suzuya)

"Then..." (Zuihou)

"I didn't forget. Sorry I lied. How could I forget your birthday and the day we met?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"Admiral you dummy. I should have known..." (Zuihou)

"Here. Your present. I got you something which I think you would like."

I passed her small box. Zuihou opened it to reveal a yugake glove.

"This is..."

"I thought of giving you something new this year. Your glove is getting worn out already right? This one is custom-made and tougher than your old one."

The gloves have a phoenix pattern on it, but before I could get to that part, she jumped on me. Why do these girls love to do that?

"I'm so happy!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!" (Zuihou)

"Alright alright! Your welcome. Now then, shall we start the party then?"

"Yes~~!"

We partied until midnight. Everyone had their share of cake, drinks, and fun. I'm glad that she is happy but what is this feeling welling up inside me?

--------------------------

Zuihou's launch date: 19 June 1936

Happy Birthday my cute CVL!