"Alright then, I'll be heading off now."

"Have a safe trip commander!"

Atsuki then got into the car and soon took off to the distance. He was called to HQ to attend a meeting a few days after returning to his position. Apparently, they will be holding a friendly fleet exercise in the coming week to strengthen the fleets power and the bond between the bases stationed here. As she watched the car slowly disappear as it was getting further away, Haruna pondered at what the fleet exercise will be like but her thought process was soon interrupted when Kongou called her.

"Hey Haruna. Has the commander left already?" Haruna nodded in response and asked what was she doing near the gate. Kongou responded saying that she was just taking a stroll around base and just so happened to see Atsuki walking towards the gate so she followed him here. After a bit of talking, they both went back to the main building where they were greeted by Eiji.

"Ah, hello lieutenant Eiji. What are you doing here?" Haruna asked. He said that he was looking for Kongou. He had some things he wanted to talk with her so she went with Eiji. Before leaving, Kongou asked if Haruna was going to participate in the training exercises. She and Kongou were one of the few that were chosen by Atsuki to participate in the fleet exercise so they have to prepare. She replied saying that she has some stuff that needs finishing first and once they're done, she will join up with the others. After both of them left, Haruna went back to the office to finish up today's work.

At the office...

When she arrived, she instinctively said 'hello commander' but then realized that he was still at HQ, maybe still on the way there. 'I forgot... He's not here at the moment...' she thought as she showed a little sadness on her face. With a sigh, she went to her desk and began working on the last of the documents for the day.

A few hours later...

"And that's the last one. Thank goodness that there wasn't a lot of paperwork today." She looked at the clock and noticed that there was quite a bit of time until training was held. She got up from her desk and stretched for a bit before going out to take a stroll. . She then decided to take a seat on the bench and enjoyed the scenery. She then remembered that she hasn't written anything in her diary today so she took it out along with a pen and began writing down what happened today. 'Today, I finished work alone since the commander was away on a meeting. I actually greeted him when he wasn't there. I kind of feel lonely when he's not around...' Realizing what she was writing, her face turned red out of embarrassment. 'At least no one saw what I wrote...' She quickly closed the book and checked her phone. It was past the time for the training session. She then quickly got up and went to the docks to gear up.

After equipping her gear, she went to the waters where most of the Kansen do their training. After arriving, she saw Kongou and the others who were waiting for her.

"Haruna! Where have you been? We've been waiting quite a while y'know."

"I'm sorry. I was taking a walk and got caught up in it..."

With a sigh, Kongou told her sister to try not to be late again and turned to check if everyone was there. Once she confirmed that no one was absent, she began explaining the rules of the exercise. "It'll be just like a normal exercise but there are a few things to note. Each fleet can only consist of 7 Kansen, 3 main fleet ships and 4 escorts. The fleet who wins the round will advance to the next phase until the winner is determined. There is also a time limit to ensure that the exercise won't take too long. When the time limit is reached, both fleets are ordered to face each other in a full-on battle. The rest are all the same. So, any questions?"

Fubuki raised her hand and asked who were they going up against in the first round. Kongou replied saying that it hasn't been determined yet.

"Alright then. Are there any more questions? If not, then let's start training!"

This is the team composition for Atsuki's fleet:

Main fleet

Akagi (Carrier)

Kongou (Battleship)

Haruna (Battleship)

Escort fleet:

Fubuki (Destroyer)

Yuudachi (Destroyer)

Mutsuki (Destroyer)

Jinstu (Light Cruiser)

A few hours later...

After the training was over, Kongou treated everyone at Mamiya's café. The destroyers ordered a huge parfait which they shared while Akagi almost ordered everything on the menu but was stopped by Haruna. They were having a good time, chatting away until it was getting dark. After everyone left, Haruna and Kongou stayed behind to help clean up.

"You really don't have to do this you two. I can handle it by myself." Mamiya said, trying to convince them but they continued to help, saying that it was the least they could do. With a smile, Mamiya continued washing the dishes while Kongou and Haruna cleaned the tables. Once they were done, the two sisters said goodbye to Mamiya and went to their rooms.

*sob* "There goes all of my savings..."

"Akagi sure did order a lot of food..." Haruna said as she remembered trying to stop her from ordering out the whole menu.

As they were walking towards their room, Kongou suddenly asked Haruna if she knew who Atsuki likes. Haruna thought for a bit but couldn't find an answer. She then asked why her sister mentioned the commander all of a sudden to which she replied that it was spontaneous. They stayed silent for a bit until Kongou spoke up again.

"Actually... I guess it's because I like him."

"Eh?"

Before she could ask any further, they arrived in front of the dormitories. Kongou then said that Haruna should forget what she just said and went inside. Haruna, who was still shocked at her sisters' statement, stood there for a while until out of nowhere, someone tapped her shoulder.

"Haruna? Why are you just standing here? Did something happen?"

She turned around to see Atsuki, looking a bit worried. She quickly shook her head and said that she was fine and was just contemplating on something but the worried look on Atsuki's face didn't go away. He noticed that she was showing a pained expression on her face when she was standing there so he asked her again if something was bothering her. Haruna noticed that he was genuinely worried about her so she grabbed his hand and with a smile reassured him that she was fine and there was no need to worry. Hearing her soft voice, Atsuki finally gave up and left it at that. Haruna then asked him why he was at the dormitories and he replied that he was looking for her. Surprised and confused, she asked him to be more specific. Atsuki scratched his head and asked her if she was doing anything after this. She thought for a bit and said that she wasn't doing anything in particular. He then asked if she would like to spend some time with him to which she agreed almost immediately. But then a particular question came to Atsuki's head, where should they spend their time together and how. He didn't come up with any plan before asking Haruna out so he began to panic. Suddenly, he remembered something that they could do.

"There's going to be a fireworks show at the beach near here. Do you want to go?"

"Of course! That sounds like a wonderful idea."

And with that, the two went to the location where the show was going to be held.

When they arrived, they saw a huge crowd of people waiting for the fireworks show to begin.

"There's a lot of people here... Haruna, why don't we go check out the stands first while we wait for the show to begin?"

Haruna nodded in response and the two of them began exploring the venue. Even though it's not as huge as a summer festival, the atmosphere was just as lively. They visited a few stalls that were selling a few things ranging from food to accessories. They continued walking until suddenly, Haruna stopped in front of a stand that was selling some accessories. Her eyes were caught on a particular item which was a flower hairpiece. Atsuki noticed it and without any hesitation, asked the price for the hairpin. Haruna tried to stop him, saying that he doesn't need to buy it for her but for some odd reason, he was being more stubborn than usual. After paying for it, he got up to Haruna and pinned it on her hair.

"Mhm! It looks great on you!"

"Th-thank you Atsuki..."

Her cheeks were a tint of red after hearing his compliment. Seeing her all bashful made Atsuki smile.

Suddenly, they heard a voice coming from the speakers that the fireworks will begin in a few minutes. The two went back to the fireworks venue to watch the show but they were having a bit of trouble on their way back. As they tried to walk back to the location, Haruna tripped and almost fell but Atsuki caught her just in time.

"Careful, you almost fell. It's really crowded here. Here, hold my hand so we don't get separated."

Haruna grabbed his hand and soon, they began walking again. As soon as they arrived, they heard the sound of people counting down and after they finished, a bunch of fireworks shoot up into the sky. As they went off, it created a beautiful sight, amazing all the people there. Haruna watched the fireworks but for Atsuki, his attention was somewhere else. His eyes were fixated on Haruna who was smiling happily as she admired the show. He slightly smiled at her and soon joined her to enjoy the show.

After the show was over, they both went back to base and after saying goodnight to each other, went back to their own rooms. When Haruna arrived at the dorms, she saw Kirishima in the living room.

"Ah, there you are Haruna. Where have you been?" she asked her sister.

"Uhh, I nowhere in particular. I was just taking care of some stuff."

"Oh, alright then." She then noticed that her sister was wearing a new hairpin so she asked where did she get it. Haruna replied saying that it was a gift. Hearing this made her curious and she asked who was it from. Haruna quickly tried to avoid the topic saying that it was from a friend. Seeing that her sister didn't want to tell her, she decided to leave it at that and went to her room but before she went inside, she reminded Haruna of the upcoming fleet exercise in two weeks' time and said that they should prepare for it.

In her room, she placed her diary on the table along with the hairpin. As she laid on her bed, she remembered back to the fireworks show with Atsuki. As she drifted to sleep, she smiled slightly remembering the times she had with him. Not long after that, she fell asleep.

To be continued...