The next morning, Zuihou and I went to the address Makina-san gave. As usual, Zuihou's outfit is catching the attention of other people.
"Didn't you bring normal clothes?"
"I did. But Suisei-san told me to come wearing this." (Zuihou)
She did? I didn't know that.
"This is the place?"
The address led us to some kind of underground club or live house. You know, the ones small high school bands choose to have a live performance in.
"Isn't this a club?"
"Laki Mode. Looks like this is it." (Zuihou)
"This doesn't look like any studio I'm familiar with."
"Have you been in one before?" (Zuihou)
"Only to collect my graduation gown years ago."
A sign stood in front of the staircase entrance, with 'Closed for a Private Event' written on it. Suisei-san said we could just enter and give the receptionist the codeword.
"We should go in?" (Zuihou)
"Let's go."
We walked down the stairs and entered the place. Contrary to its bland exterior, the reception area is bright and colorful. Pictures of what I'm assuming are models are plastered along the walls. Ah. Even Suisei-san's picture is up there. I went up to the lady manning the reception desk.
"Welcome. Our sincere apologies. We are closed for a private event today." (Receptionist)
"We are for Project Amo... How do you pronounce this? Amore? We are here for Project Amore."
"Ah. Project Amore. Understood. Please follow me." (Receptionist)
The receptionist took out a bunch of keys and led us to the elevator. This studio is much bigger than I thought. There are another two levels down. With her foot blocking the elevator door, the receptionist inserted the key and opened up a hidden latch just below the control panel. They have a secret level too?! She pushed the sole button and quickly stepped outside. The receptionist bowed as the door closed and the elevator begin descending. The door then opened and we stepped out into a spacious hall and a lot of people.
"Move the screen a little to left." (???)
"Are the others here yet?" (???)
A young guy flipped through his list,
"We are still waiting on 2 more models. One of the special guests and Raden-san." (???)
I'm guessing she was referring to us.
"Excuse me. We are here for the modelling job."
The guy who was looking through a list approached us. Is he a student? He is just slightly taller than Zuihou.
"Tokomaki Keita-san and Zuihou-san, right?" (???)
"Yeah."
"Yes." (Zuihou)
"My name is Kasami Ryo. Thank you for coming on such a short notice. I apologize for our director's whim." (Kasami-san)
"No no. It is an honor to be invited by Suisei-san." (Zuihou)
A smile formed on Kasami-san's face,
"True. It is an honor working with such a wonderful and talented person." (Kasami-san)
It looks and sounds like he really respects Suisei-san.
"Come with me. I will bring you to the dressing room. Suisei-sama is waiting for you." (Kasami-san)
Sama?
Kasami-san led us to a door and gave it a knock,
"Suisei-sama, I have brought, Zuihou-san and Tokomaki-san." (Kasami-san)
The door swung inwards, and Suisei-san showed up.
"Ah ha. You are here. Thank you, Ryo-kun." (Suisei-san)
She gave the young boy a pat on the head. He looks really happy.
"Good morning, Suisei-san." (Zuihou)
"Good morning. Come on in." (Suisei-san)
We entered the dressing room. Ah.
"Sorry. Is it okay for me to be here?"
"Hm? Oh. Don't worry. The other models are in another room. This room is specifically for the four of you." (Suisei-san)
"That's... great and all. But-"
I glance to the other two girls sitting at the dressing table. Both of them have purple hair tied into twintails. But that's where their similarity ends. The taller one, who is facing us, has twintails with pink locks in the inner side. Her eyes are green, and she wore a black strap crop top with white lines and a big circular zipper. On top of it, she has a white crop top jacket with a violet inside and a big triangular zipper. The sleeves have gray and black parallel lines. She has black shorts with a white belt, two heart shaped tattoos on her left thigh and fishnets on her right leg.
The other one who seems to be actively trying to avoid us has purple hair with twin spiral ponytails decorated with navy-blue ribbons. She wore a black hat and a baggy grey hoodie. The back of her head reminds me of a red onion...
"What about them?"
"Come on. Introduce yourselves." (Suisei-san)
The first girl stood up and posed with a hand on her hips.
"Konyappi~ My name is Takanami Towa-sama~ I will be her outfit coordinator today~" (Towa-san)
"Come on, Aqua. You managed to do it earlier." (Suisei-san)
The onion girl flinched as her name was called. She slowly turned around and get off the chair. She is still looking down and avoiding eye contact. Just how shy is she?
"H-hello... I'm Mi-Mizuki Aqua... I'm your makeup artist..." (Aqua-san)
As she spoke, she inched slowly towards Suisei-san and ended up hiding behind her towards the end of her introduction. Her voice was so soft that I could barely make out what she was saying. She is shorter than Zuihou.
She is like a scared little kitten...
"Geez. You are just as shy as ever." (Towa-san)
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Zuihou. I will be in your care." (Zuihou)
"Oh my. You're cute. Are you sure you and Zuikaku-chan aren't sisters?"" (Takanami-san)
Zuihou shook her head,
"No. Zuikaku-san and I are of different class and type." (Zuihou)
Oh. Speak of the devil.
A pair of hands covered Zuihou's eyes.
"Fueh?" (Zuihou)
"Guess who~" (Zuikaku)
"Zuikaku-san?" (Zuihou)
"Heehee. Yep." (Zuikaku)
Suddenly, all I could see is darkness.
"Guess who¬¬?" (???)
Holy shit! Those words just sent a shiver down my spine! I quickly slapped those hands that were covering my eyes and put some distance between myself and Yuito.
"Yuito, I swear to God! Do that again and I will punch you till you're unrecognizable."
"Woah! Dude, chill." (Yuito)
"Wow! What a cute outfit!" (Zuihou)
I looked at the taller Zui. She is wearing a white sweater dress, coupled with a dark green coat that has a fur collar and black scarf. Her twin tails are with two white ribbons. Black thigh highs covered her legs, and those brown boots must have been a pain to tie up. This new look gives Zuikaku a rather fresh and fashionable look. She looks like an ordinary high school girl.
"That looks good on you, Zuikaku."
"Heehee. Thanks." (Zuikaku)
"Oi!" (Yuito)
"What? I can't praise her outfit?"
"Hmm... Hold still for a bit." (Towa-san)
Towa-san loosened the scarf around Zuikaku's neck. She circled around Zuikaku like an eagle eyeing its prey before clapping her hands and smiling,
"Perfect! I'm such a genius." (Towa-san)
"As expected of my fashion designer. Your estimations are spot on. She looks better than I thought." (Suisei-san)
"Hold on. How did you get her size?"
"I didn't. I based it on that PV of yours. I have a talent for that." (Towa-san)
That's... actually impressive.
"Akutan, you're up." (Towa-san)
"Eh?! Already? I haven't prepared my heart yet!" (Aqua-san)
"I'm in your care, Mizuki-san." (Zuikaku)
"~~~ O-okay. C-come over here, Zuikaku-san." (Aqua-san)
"Now then, while Akutan handles Zuikaku's makeup, Zuihou-chan, it's your turn." (Suisei-san)
"O-okay." (Zuihou)
Zuihou followed Towasan into another section of the room and the curtains were drawn, blocking us from seeing the other side.
"Now we wait." (Yuito)
"Speaking of which, where did you come from?"
How did he managed to sneak up on me?
"Hm? Oh. I was in there. Zuikaku wanted me to see her new outfit first." (Yuito)
Yuito pointed at the curtains.
"She was so cute trying to show off her charms." (Yuito)
"Wai- Idiot! Don't say that!" (Zuikaku)
"Waah! Zuikaku-san, no sudden movements! Please!" (Aqua-san)
Yuito and I sat on the stools just next to the door.
"So, what's the situation back home?"
I made sure to keep my volume down.
"Azusa works fast. She is sending a Surface Task Force out today to kill Warusame-chan." (Yuito)
"Warusame? Oh. So, it's a Destroyer Princess responsible for this mess."
"That thing was hiding just outside our radar and sending her forces in. Can't believe none of us thought to check outside the territory." (Yuito)
"Well, at least you managed to locate it now. Once your girls killed it, you guys can take a break."
"What about you? I heard that every base was involved in something." (Yuito)
"Aside from training some new cadets, my girls were sent all over the place to deal with the Abyssals sudden world tour. Then there was that incident where I Oominato was under threat, and we sort of stumbled upon an Azur Lane rescue op. Though, unlike you guys, our side wasn't under constant Abyssal threat. After that Oominato case, things were back to normal. I'm surprised you even had time to collate and submit those PR photos and videos."
"That was all Azusa's work. She did all the photo-taking and video compiling. It's nice to have a second-in-command to share the workload." (Yuito)
We waited for our girlfriends to be done. After a while, there was a knock on the door.
"Sui-chan. Ise-san is here to see you." (???)
"Okie~ Come on in." (Suisei-san)
Ise entered the room. She wore a black, long-sleeved turtle-neck sweater and blue jeans. I've seen wear in such an outfit before. It's fresh look.
"Hello, Ise-san."
"Hello. This is a really a big project, isn't it?" (Ise)
"Not really. In fact, this is one of my smaller ones." (Suisei-san)
This is small?
"You are going to pick Misaki-chan from school?"
"Not yet. There is still time. I decided to drop by before I shop for dinner." (Ise)
Suisei-san passed Ise-san an envelope.
"Sorry for making you come all the way here for this. I could have it delivered to the base by courier." (Suisei-san)
Ise shook her head,
"No. In fact, I'm sorry for troubling you to prepare this so quickly." (Ise)
"This is simply a small token." (Suisei-san)
"Yo. Ise-san." (Zuikaku)
"Hello, Zuikaku. Wow. That's a cool outfit." (Ise)
"Heehee. All thanks to Suisei-san and her team." (Zuikaku)
"Where's Zuihou?" (Ise)
"In there. She is getting changed into the outfit they had planned for her."
Behind the curtain, I can hear some squealing. They are having fun.
"I hope it's a cute one." (Ise)
"It is a cute one. Why don't you stay for a little a while? Just to see both of their outfits." (Suisei-san)
"Will I be troubling you?" (Ise)
"Not at all. Come on. Just stay for a little while." (Suisei-san)
"Then, I'll take you up on the offer." (Ise)
Suisei-san and Ise chatted while Yuito and I simply waited for our girlfriends to be done. After a little longer, Towa-san re-emerged from behind the curtains.
"Perfect as always. Boyfriend-san, you can have the first look." (Towa-san)
"Okay."
I stepped up to curtain-
Wait... Did she just-?!
I turned to see the outfit coordinator giving me a devilish grin,
"I knew it~" (Towa-san)
"You-"
"Keita, you sly dog! You're dating Zuihou?" (Yuito)
"Huh?! You are dating Zuihou?! Since when?!" (Zuikaku)
Oh shit.
"I-I will tell you later."
"Hey! Don't run!" (Zuikaku)
I retreat behind the curtain. Did Zuihou tell her? Nah. Towa-san probably baited me into admitting that.
"What happened? You told them about us?" (Zuihou)
"N-no, I didn't... Well, kinda, I think. We might need to explai-"
When I turned to face my girlfriend and was stunned.
Zuihou is already extreme cute, but this version of her is even better that.
She is wearing a white hoodie with a dark green jacket. I can catch a glimpse of the black undershirt beneath the hoodie. The green pleated skirt compliments her outfit. Zuihou in a skirt is an SSR character in and of itself. Her signature ponytail is tied with a white ribbon. White socks and brown lace-up boots covered her feet.
Has an angel descended???
"H-how do I look?" (Zuihou)
...
"Admiral?" (Zuihou)
I took out my phone and opened the camera function.
"Eh? Wait! Admiral! Geez!" (Zuihou)
I can only hear my phone camera's shutter noise as Zuihou protested.
"Come on! Cut it out!" (Zuihou)
"One more. Just one more."
'You've already taken enough!" (Zuihou)
I avoided Zuihou's attempts to snatch the phone away. I raised my phone up high in the air and Zuihou tried to jump for it.
"Give that to me! Wah!" (Zuihou)
"Woah!"
The next thing I knew, I was lying on the cold hard floor. I guess I lost my balance while Zuihou was pushing against me. There is a dull throbbing pain on my back.
"Ow..."
"See? This happened because you were messing around too much." (Zuihou)
Zuihou laid on my chest, pinning me down.
"I can't help it. You are too cute."
If only I can turn this into her usual outfit. No. It will be bad if it gets damaged when she goes on sorties. No. Hold on. I can just not sortie her.
Still on top of me, Zuihou sat up. Her face is beet red. I can tell she is both happy and embarrassed.
"Jeez! There you again! Calling me cute..." (Zuihou)
"But you are cute. My cute, perfect girlfriend."
"~~~" (Zuihou)
"Sorry to interrupt but I would appreciate if you don't do those kinds of things here. Especially not in that new outfit I just gave you. You can have your sexy time in private." (Towa-san)
"Oh my." (Suisei-san)
I turned towards the curtains, and I can feel my face heating up. Standing there was Towa-san and Suisei-san.
"Wh-when did you-?"
"Su-Su-Suisei-san..." (Zuihou)
I was holding back on the thought, but this position looks like... Well, you know what it looks like.
"We heard a loud crash and was wondering what you two were doing. I didn't know you were this daring. Looks can be deceiving after all." (Towa-san)
She flashed that devilish smile again.
"N-no! You got it all wrong!" (Zuihou)
Zuihou hastily got off me and stood back up. She flailed her arms rapidly as she denied Towa-san's accusations.
"Er-Erm... I'm ready to do Zuihou-san's makeup now." (Aqua-san)
The petite girl peeked behind the other two.
"What are you doing?" (Aqua-san)
After Towa-san dusted off and neatening Zuihou's outfit, Aqua-san proceeded to work on her makeup. Meanwhile, I'm being interrogated by the Sasebo couple. I had no choice but to spill the beans.
"A secret relationship. I see." (Zuikaku)
"So it's just like us back then." (Yuito)
"When did you make yours public?"
"A little while after Shoukaku-nee became this guy's 2nd girlfriend." (Zuikaku)
"We... had a big fight when that happened." (Yuito)
Yikes.
"Duh. Don't you know how I felt back then?! One day, you just told me that you wanted to date Shoukaku-nee all of a sudden! Of course I would be shocked and pissed off" (Zuikaku)
"Ow! Ow! Ow! You're gonna pull my ear off!" (Yuito)
There was a knock on the door, before it swung open,
"HELLO~~!!!" (???)
A spunky little girl with long blonde hair barged into the dressing room. A small part of her hair is tied into a side ponytail with a red ribbon. She is wearing a white jacket that has stripes and frills at the hem over a beige dress which is styled like sailor uniform. Her footwear consists of a simple pair of light vanilla flats with bows on them. She is only slightly taller than Zuihou.
What is a child doing here?!
"Hwello~~!!" (???)
Another girl with a lisp joined the kid. This one has short blonde hair with streaks of lilac and two small pigtails. Her outfit consist of an oversized lilac jacket, white shirt and shorts. Galaxy patterns are strategically pasted on her outfit A pretty simple yet stylish outfit.
"Hey. Kanade-chan, Hajime-chan, don't just barge in like that." (Susei-san)
"Geez. You two. Don't cause trouble for Suisei-san." (???)
A taller lady walked in. She has long faded orange hair that ends in reddish highlights. This one seems more matured. She wears a peach-colored blouse secured with a blue belt to a purple pencil skirt with arrow stripes.
"Heehee~ Sorry~" (Kid in lilac outfit)
"Ooh. Are these our part-time models?" (Kid with long blonde hair)
"Yep. This is Zuikaku. And the one Akutan is doing makeup for is Zuihou." (Suisei-san)
"Yo. I'm Zuikaku." (Zuikaku)
"Hwello. I'm Tokonatsu Hajime. Nice to meet chu." (Hajime-san)
"Otomune Kande here~ Please to meet you. Hey. Are you really a shipgirl?" (Kanade-san)
"Yep. Zuihou over there is one as well." (Zuikaku)
"Sorry about these two. They are excited to work with Suisei-san and you two. I'm Ichigo Ririka. A pleasure to meet you." (Ririka-san)
So, the first kid that showed up is Otomune Kande. The one with a lisp is Tokonatsu Hajime. And the tall lady is Ichigo Ririka.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tokomaki Keita. I'm Zuihou's companion."
"Hirasawa Yuito. I'm Zuikaku's partner." (Yuito)
"Ririka~ Kanade~ Hajime~ Where are you?" (???)
I can hear a low voice calling out from the corridor. The girl named Hajime skipped to the door and stuck her head out,
"Ao-kun! Ova here!" (Hajime-san)
Ao-kun? A boy?
Just then a tall, slender... Well, this is a modelling job for a fashion company. Of course a male model will be included. Damn, this guy is tall and slender, and his face is pretty sharp. He is as tall as me and Yuito. A bonafide hot guy.
His outfit is like a business attire. Long, black jeans, a dark blue shirt with a light blue collar, and a grey striped jacket. His dark blue hair with light blue highlights is a little long, up to his neck.
"Woah." (Yuito)
"Ao-kun, that looks good on you." (Towa-san)
"It's all thanks to you, my lady." (Ao-kun)
"Kyaah~ So cool!" (Towa-san)
Ao-kun stroked Takanami-san's cheek as he said that. That line and action is something straight out of a host club, like the ones typically seen in manga.
"Where is Raden-chan?" (Suisei-san)
"She went to the choiret earlier." (Hajime-san)
The what?
"Since our preparations are done, we were going to the main hall." (Kanade-san)
"That was until these two decided to barge in here." (Ririka-san)
Rirka-san lightly tapped the heads of the two shorter girls while they playfully stuck out their tongues.
"I'm ready." (Zuihou)
Looks like Aqua-san is done with Zuihou's makeup. My girlfriend skipped her way towards us.
She is looking at me, as if expecting something. Ah.
"You look pretty, Zuihou."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled gleefully. I got it right!
Honestly, aside from the obvious eye shadow and less-than-obvious blush on her cheeks, I can't notice any difference. Makeup or no makeup, she is already pretty as she is.
"Oh. Now I remember. You two are from that viral PV." (Ririka-san)
"Yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Zuihou, 2nd ship of the Shouhou class." (Zuihou)
As the girls exchanged greetings, I notice something creeping behind the four models. Is that a giant Shitake mushroom?
"What are you doing?" (???)
Ah. It wasn't a giant mushroom, but another girl. The black and beige streaks on her hime cut hairstyle resembles the markings on a shitake mushroom. Now that I look closer, her hair is dark purple, not black. She is rocking a ruffly black and dark greenish gothic lolita style dress with a large black bow and a capelet.
"Raden-chan, welcome back." (Hajime-san)
"Are they our new rookies?" (Raden-san)
"Special guests. Get along with one another. Okay?" (Suisei-san)
"Okay~" (All)
"I'm Jinnouchi Raden. Nice to meet you." (Raden-san)
"Hello there, Zuikaku-san." (Ao-kun)
"Yes?" (Zuikaku)
Ao-kun suddenly place his hand on Zuikaku's shoulder,
"It's lovely to meet you,
"Eh?" (Zuikaku)
"Huh?!" (Yuito)
"She ish at it again..." (Hajime-san)
"Zuihou-san," (Ao-kun)
"Hm?" (Zuihou)
Oi Oi Oi! Don't just lift her chin up like that!
"I'm so happy to encounter such a cute little bird." (Ao-kun)
"..." (Zuihou)
I smacked his hand away and pulled Zuihou towards me, hugging her tightly,
"Back off!"
"Ah." (Ao-kun)
"Oh no. He is angry." (Raden-san)
"Ah. It's alright. It's alright. Ao-kuyu says that to every girl she meets." (Ririka-san)
"That's even worse. She is not... Wait. 'She'? You're not a guy?"
"Aahahaha..." (Ao-san)
Ao-san gave me a nervous laugh.
"That's what I thought as well." (Zuikaku)
What?
"Yeah. Hideyoshi-san is a girl, Admiral." (Zuihou)
Really? How did you two know? I couldn't tell at all!
"Geez! Look what you just did!" (Kanade-san)
Ao-san sheepishly scratched her cheek. She did a 90-degree bow,
"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that." (Ao-san)
"N--no no no. Me too. I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I'm sorry."
I noticed Zuihou giving me a smug look
"What?"
"Nothing~" (Zuihou)
This girl... What is she up to now?
Suisei-san clapped her hands,
"Alright. It's almost time. Let's go to the main hall and get ready for the real thing." (Suisei-san)
"Yes." (All)
Yuito and I followed the girls as we made our way to the main hall.
Otomune-san suddenly broke off from the group and decided to join us,
"Hey hey, Old man." (Kanade-san)
"Old- Hey! I'm still in my twenties."
"Yeah yeah. Say, are you two and Zuihou-san dating?" (Kanade-san)
Kkhhh. I was kind of expecting this question.
Oh right. Play it cool.
"Nope."
"Heehhh~" (Kanade-san)
Why do I feel that this brat is somehow mocking me?
"If that's the case, I wonder why you had that reaction when Ao tried to seduce Zuihou-san~" (Kanade-san)
"That's..."
Damn. What should I- Alright. I got it.
"I treat me shipgirls like my own daughters. As a father figure, of course I don't want my daughter to get roped in with a suspicious man."
"Pfft!" (Kanade-san)
This little shit!
"And I thought Ao's flowery language was gross. You got potential, old man." (Kanade-san)
"You little..."
She is seriously mocking me! So irritating!
"What chu doing?" (Hajime-san)
What are you saying?!