It was New Year's Eve, and all was quiet. I had considered this to be nothing less than a minor miracle in and of itself, what with all the Siren attacks, constant sorties and exercises, and the general madness of running the base coming to a sudden halt. It was more than a little jarring, but I realized that it was something I shouldn't let pass by. And so, after stopping in with the ships that drew the short straw for patrol duty that night and promising them that they'd be off next year, along with a more immediate bonus, I decided to go on a walk. No real destination, just a meandering stroll around the base. It had been far too long since I've had a nice, quiet stroll. Not to mention it was snowing, and to me, there's nothing more zen than basking in the stillness of snowfall.

Eventually, I wound up at the drydocks, surveying what appeared to be the remnants of a great snowball battle. While the falling snow had filled in the empty patches scooped up by one shipgirl or another, you could still see the divets they made, as well as the bumps of hurled snowballs, along with one or two stuck to the drydock walls. I smiled, idly wondering who it was who dueled it out here. It was then that my quiet period of reflection was, quite suddenly, interrupted by a noise that pierced the evening's silence.

"COMMANDER! AKAGI WILL SAVE YOU!" I was glad my hands had been tucked in my peacoat, as it prevented my arms from flailing about. The rest of me, however, probably jumped a foot in the air as I spun around to see Akagi bolting towards me at flank speed. I wondered how she managed to move so fast and so freely in such a tight-fitting kimono, but considering this is a girl who can literally walk on water, I decided not to spend too much time thinking about it and instead focus on why she was hurtling towards me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!" I cautioned, freeing my hands from my peacoat to gesture for her to stop. "Save me from what? Is the base under attack? What's going on?"

Akagi practically skidded to a stop just inches in front of me, stopping to catch her breath before she finally answered. "Prinz Eugen said you were being accosted by several of those pests from the Dragon Empery and couldn't get away and...and…" her voice trailed off as she looked around, trying to find any sign of said "pests". When she finally realized that we were alone, she hung her head and glumly stated, "I've been outmaneuvered."

"It would appear so," I conceded, trying my best to keep the grin from my face. It certainly was a good way to get Akagi to get somewhere, I had to give Eugen that much. "But, this is far from a loss," I consoled her, "Would you like to walk with me and enjoy the sights?" I held my arm out and looked up to see her reaction. Her glum expression vanished immediately, replaced by one of sheer joy. She happily linked her arm with mine and pulled me close to her.

"So where are we going, Shikikan-sama?" she purred.

"Oh, just a quiet little spot with a view…"

The spot in question was an overlook atop one of the many hills that surrounded the base, providing a commanding view of said base, the docks, and even parts of the town. While there were plenty of vantage points like this on other hills, this one was distinct in that it was also surrounded by a thicket of trees that hid the overlook from most angles. Only someone in the air, or the base itself(if one knew exactly where to look), could be able to see what was hiding. As we emerged from the thicket, Akagi let out a small gasp, and I looked up to see the smile on her face.

"Not a bad view, huh?" I quipped, following her gaze to the snow-covered roofs of the buildings below.

"It's beautiful! But how did you know this was here?"

"Complete chance. We were doing some surveying of the ridgeline from the base, and I spotted this, made a note of it, and came out here one evening. It's got a nice view, but it's private and quiet. Well, as long as the base is quiet, that is. Probably the best view of the docks, too." I gestured to the massive fleet of ships sitting motionless in the harbor, each one frosted with a new-fallen blanket of snow.

"It does look very impressive from here," Akagi agreed, "Especially those ships right over there." For a second, I was confused as to which ships she was talking about, and then I realized the Sakura Empire ships had all been docked together. From the tall pagoda towers of the battleships to the unique islands of the carriers, I have to admit, they made for an impressive and distinct sight.

"The most impressive group of them all, without a doubt," I grinned, playing along with her. "Although I have to say is that beauty right there is my personal favorite." She followed my gaze to the carrier sitting in the center of the Sakura ships. Moored between her sisters, both adopted and natural, sat the aircraft carrier Akagi.

"Mmm…" she hummed softly as she leaned down and whispered into my ear. Her lips brushed against it, and a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran through me. "...Shikikan-sama, are you keeping Akagi in your most secret thoughts?" I chuckled softly and nodded.

"Of course."

"How delightful."

Without me even noticing she'd done it, she deftly slipped out of my grasp. Striding over to a nearby rock, she quickly dusted it off and sat down. Her fox tails splayed out behind her as she looked back over her shoulder at me, and with a coy smile, patted the spot next to her. "Come, Commander, sit with me and let me warm you up," she beckoned, and I could hardly refuse such a beautiful creature.

Even through the layers of a heavy peacoat, dress jacket, and pants, I could still feel the freezing cold of the rock, and an involuntary shiver ran through me. Akagi scooted next to me, her body pressing against mine, her tails draping over my back, the tips resting on my shoulders. Her umbrella, still held in her other hand, was positioned so it shielded both of us from the falling snow.

"Was this what you had in mind, Commander? Something intimate like this? Just you, Akagi, and no one else?" Her red eyes flashed, still piercing even in the dim light. Those eyes…it's hard to put it into words exactly what it's like to look into her eyes. You can clearly see the love and devotion, the deep affection for you, but there's something else. Her eyes bore into you as if seeing directly into your soul. When she looks at you like that, like she was looking at me right then and there, it becomes impossible to lie, to deflect, to escape. You are hers, and she will get what she wants. It is equal parts intimidating and thrilling. I nodded once. Her smile grew larger, and her arm wrapped around my waist. "The thought of just the two of us, no one else in the world...it does have a certain appeal to it…"

I leaned my head against her shoulder, and she leaned her head atop mine. Together, we watched the snow quietly fall around us, a beautiful night with a beautiful woman. Eventually, Akagi broke the silence.

"Shikikan-sama, did it ever snow where you come from?"

"Quite a bit," I said softly. "Growing up, there wasn't a winter that didn't end up with at least one good blanket of snow. Always loved going out when it was snowing as a kid. I always loved the stillness of it all. The way snow seems to muffle everything. Like it's just you and nobody else. It's very...zen, I guess, for lack of a better word."

"Akagi understands," she said reassuringly, "It's like when the cherry blossoms bloom in the Sakura Empire and begin to fall. Thousands of petals, fluttering on the breeze like snow. It's beautiful and calming...I miss it."

The sadness in her voice tugs at my heart. "It sounds beautiful. Perhaps when this war is over, you can show me? I would love to visit your homeland."

"That would be something Akagi...something I...would like very much."

The conversation lapsed again, the two of us simply enjoying each other's company and the silence of snowfall. I don't know how long we had sat there, but the spell had been broken by the clock tower chiming out that it was eleven.

"Almost time," I remarked.

Akagi nodded. "It is. Did you have any plans for the New Year's Eve celebrations?"

"Not really," I shook my head.

"Do you not celebrate the new year back home?"

"Oh, we do, but I'd miss it due to the time difference."

My somewhat vague answer puzzled her, as I could hear the confusion in her voice. "What...exactly did you do back home?"

"Oh!" I started, realizing I hadn't explained myself. I sat up and turned so I could better describe it to her, and to see her reaction. "My apologies. Well, in New York City, there's a place called Times Square, and every New Year, people flock there to celebrate by lowering this big globe made up of lights, and when it hits the bottom, it's officially the new year, people celebrate. And since they can't possibly fit everyone into Times Square, they televise the whole thing, people have parties to watch the ball drop and ring in the new year. What do you do in the Sakura Empire?"

"It is somewhat more complicated than what you have in your homeland," she began. "The day before the new year, we begin with spring cleaning, which we were in the middle of when I was tricked by Eugen, and set up the decorations and offerings. Then, we-" Akagi let out a sharp gasp and sat upright, her tails sticking straight up in surprise. She glanced over at the clock tower and then looked back to me. "We can still make it if we hurry, Commander. Would you like to see how the Sakura Empire celebrates new years?" She leaped to her feet and faced me, her hand outstretched, and a happy smile on her face. Who was I to say no?

After a brisk walk(again, I don't know how she managed to move that fast in that kimono, but I digress), we found ourselves approaching the Sakura Empire dorms, and already I could smell the aroma of something delicious being cooked up.

"That smells wonderful, but...who's cooking this late at night?"

"Soryu is, of course," Akagi cheerfully replied. "She's making the toshikoshi-soba."

"...does she always make noodles close to midnight?"

Her giggles told me I had asked a silly question. "Just tonight. It's Sakura tradition to eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve for good luck."

The pieces finally fell into place and it clicked. "Ah, so that's what you meant. Now I get it. Aside from eating noodles, what else do you do?"

"We write cards to our friends, set up offerings to the spirits, and think about what our shrine wishes will be."

A stray thought suddenly went through my head and I felt a flash of anxiety. "And I'm not intruding on this, am I?"

Akagi giggled again and pulled me closer to her. "Not at all, Shikikan-sama! I'm sure the others won't mind."

That did little to allay my fears as we approached the door. As Akagi slid it open, the enticing aroma grew even stronger and I could hear Soryu's voice admonishing someone. "Calm down, there's more than enough left."

Akagi closed her umbrella and set it just inside the doorway as she stepped in. I took a deep breath and followed her inside, stopping to brush the last bits of snow off of my jacket. The Sakura dorm was quite lively, with almost everyone in attendance from the Empire there. Nagato was conspicuously absent, which meant Kawakaze would be as well, but it looked like the rest of the Sakura girls had joined in on the celebration. Which only raised my apprehension that I was crashing a private event.

"Akagi's back, and she brought the Commander!" someone yelled, Yuudachi, I think, and all eyes were suddenly on me. I took off my cap and bowed to the assembled group, giving them all the most confident smile I could muster.

"I hope I'm not intruding. Akagi invited me to come."

Kaga spoke up first, moving to stand next to Akagi and me. She was dressed in a fur-lined kimono similar to Akagi's but in her usual shades of white and blue. "Not at all, Commander. This is open to anyone who wishes to join. I believe Laffey and Prinz Eugen were invited as well and are...somewhere...around here."

As Kaga began to look around for either of them, Soryu spoke up, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "Laffey has already passed out, or is close to it, and I think Eugen went to try and refill her cup. Not that she needs any more. And yes, you are most welcome to join us, Commander. Just in time to partake in the toshikoshi-soba, no less."

With the blessings of Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu, my apprehensions had lifted, and my smile felt a lot more genuine this time around. Able to relax again, I got a bowl of soba noodles with Akagi, and we retired to one of the tables that had been set up in the dorm. Inevitably, we were joined by most of the other girls of the First Air Fleet-Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, even Shokaku and Zuikaku sat with us. And eventually, the conversation turned to New Year's celebrations.

"So you guys have parties, but no special foods or prayers or wishes or anything like that?" Hiryu asked, leaning forward intently.

"Not really," I shrugged. "I mean, it's customary to have a drink at a New Year's party, but it's not set in stone and instead of prayers, we have New Year's resolutions, where we resolve to do something different in the new year. 'I'm going to be nicer' or 'I'm going to walk five miles a day', that sort of thing. But nothing like what the Sakura Empire has."

"So what's your resolution going to be, Commander?" Zuikaku asked, and I realized I hadn't picked one yet.

"I, uh, haven't decided yet. In all the excitement of the past year, it's completely slipped my mind."

"Not much time left, better think fast!" Hiryu chimed in. Before anyone could offer any suggestions, another voice interrupted the discussion.

"Oh, but you forgot the best part, Kommandant," the slurred speech of Prinz Eugen cut through the group as she made her way to me. Just from the way she walked, I could see she was already three sheets to the wind and about to join Laffey in a drunken stupor. "You didn't tell them about the New Year's kiss!"

Oh god. I could practically feel Akagi's eyes boring into me with laser focus.

To nobody's great surprise, I'm sure, Akagi took a keen interest in this. "A kiss, you say? What is this kiss all about? And why on New Year's?"

"To celebrate the new year, silly! You see, when the clock strikes midnight, you're supposed to kiss someone to help love bloom in the coming year. It works better if you're into each other. So the real question is, which girl are you going to kiss, Herr Kommandant, hmmm?"

Before I could get any sort of answer or admonishment, Kaga thankfully intervened. "Go home, Eugen, you're drunk. Will you give me a hand, Commander?"

I got to my feet, eager to escape what could have been a very uncomfortable situation. "I'll be back before midnight, I promise," I told Akagi as I draped one of Eugen's arms over my shoulders. She nodded, but still stood up, slipping in front of me with a soft smile on her face.

"You forgot this, Shikikan-sama," she said as she placed my cap back on my head. "And this," Without warning, she leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Hurry back, Commander!" I gave her what I'm sure was a goofy smile and nodded eagerly. I probably would have said something in return, but Eugen decided at that moment to butt in again.

"It's her, isn't it? She's the one. Of course, it's gonna be her."

"Eugen, you are dangerously close to finding yourself reassigned to the Maid Corps for a year if you keep this up. Now, come on, let's get you home and pour you into bed…"

We had gotten about halfway to the Iron Blood dorms when Eugen decided to pipe up again, consequences be damned. "Totally gonna be her. Or one of 'em." When I didn't rise to take the bait, she continued, "C'mon, everybody knows! You had us out there for weeks looking for them. Pacing up and down Yorktown's flight deck so much I thought you'd wear a groove into it. And Mein Gott, you wouldn't shut up about them!" Her head flopped towards Kaga. "Did you know that during the war, the First Carrier Division's dive bombers achieved ninety percent accuracy?" When Kaga didn't answer, Eugen stared blearily at her for several seconds. "Well...you probably did. But I didn't! And I don't care! But he just wouldn't stop! So...so...you..you you better kiss her, Commander!"

"Oh, look. We're here," I announced dryly. We managed to get her tucked into bed without much more fuss or embarrassing stories. Quietly shutting the door behind us, we began to make the quick trek back to the Sakura dorms. It was mercifully silent for most of the way, just the sound of our shoes crunching through the snow. Right before we reached the dorms and the safety of the celebration, Kaga stopped and turned to me.

"What she said, is it true?"

I tried to dodge the question, but I should have known better with someone like Kaga. "Well, I think the number was closer to eighty-seven percent, but I might have been rounding up in my excite-"

"You know what I mean," she cut me off, her tone serious.

I sighed and nodded. "Yes, it's true. I ordered the fleet to stay and search for all four of you. Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi, and yourself. We-no, I- wasn't going to leave until I had recovered all of you. And it took weeks to do it."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want you to feel as though you owed me anything, or that I expected anything out of any of you in return. I never did anything to hide it from you, but I was never going to volunteer that information."

"So...why did you do it, then?"

For a moment, I hesitated, wrestling with how much I should tell her. I could give her the same explanation I gave my superiors when they asked. It was a plausible enough story, and not entirely untrue. It just wasn't the complete picture. In the end, I decided that she deserved to hear the whole truth from me. "You are all special to me. When I was younger, and studying history, I had read up on the First Air Fleet, the peerless First Carrier Division, their exploits at Pearl Harbor, Ceylon, Midway, all of it. What they did...what you did, was extraordinary. It was one of the reasons I joined the Navy. When you were first created, I had even hoped to meet all of you one day, but then, of course, we went to war with the Crimson Axis and I thought that chance was gone. Even so, I admired you from afar. You were my enemy, and a powerful one, but worthy opponents. So when the opportunity came to rescue you, I didn't hesitate for a second. I told High Command you would make useful assets, and you are, but my reasons for rescuing you were much more than that. You are all strong, beautiful, wonderful women and I wouldn't do a single thing different to find you."

Kaga seemed to ruminate on that for a moment, letting it all sink in. "And Akagi?"

The question caught me off guard. "What do you mean? What about Akagi?"

"Your feelings for her." When I didn't answer her immediately, she continued. "Eugen may have been drunk, but she wasn't wrong. While you care for us all, you care for her deeply." There was another pause. "She loves you."

"I know," I quietly answered.

"And what do you feel for her?"

Now it was my turn to think things over, to try and sort out what my feelings for her truly were. Was this just a crush? Maybe it was, at first, but as I looked back over what we've been through, what we've shared together. Meals and laughter and tears and our hopes and dreams, everything that drew us together. I realized I'd known in my heart for some time, but I was simply unable or unwilling to see.

"I...I love her." My confession caught me off guard, the words leaving my lips before I could even realize what I'd said. "I've loved her for a while now, I just...I never realized it."

A small smile played across Kaga's lips. "Perhaps you should tell her. It would be a fitting 'New Year's Resolution', would it not?"

"It would," I grinned back at her, "But I don't want to wait to tell her, not even for a few minutes. She deserves to know as soon as possible."

"Akagi knows." Those words didn't come from Kaga, standing in front of me, but from her sister, somewhere behind me. I whirled around to see Akagi standing in the light of a street lamp, tears welling up in her eyes. "Do you mean it, Shikikan-sama?"

I glanced back over my shoulder at Kaga, whose smirk had become a full-blown grin. Turning my attention back to Akagi, I asked her, "How long were you there?"

"Since Kaga saw me and stopped you to ask the first question," she answered, and I turned back to Kaga. She simply gave me a small bow, still grinning like a fox in the henhouse and said, "I'll give you two some privacy. Commander, dear sister." I watched her go for a second, wondering how much of Eugen's subterfuge had rubbed off on her.

My attention returned to Akagi, who was slowly walking towards me, her movement hesitant, tentative as if she wasn't sure what was happening is real. I certainly understood her feelings at that moment. "Do you mean it?" she repeated.

With my heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to smash its way out of my ribcage, I nodded once. "I mean it. With all my heart, with all my soul, I love you, Akagi."

Akagi let out a noise of unrestrained bliss and pounced, sending us both into a snowdrift that thankfully cushioned our fall. The light of the street lamps went out, and for a second, I wondered what happened until I felt the soft fur brushing against my skin. Then I realized that, once again, she had trapped us in her tails, shutting out the world and leaving just the two of us.

Her lips found mine in a passionate kiss, as though we were trying to make up for all the lost time. When we finally broke for air, we both gasped, and Akagi giggled quietly, continuing to plant kisses all along my face and neck. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure it out," I said softly, planting kisses of my own wherever I could.

"To make it up to me, your New Year's Resolution should be to tell me you love me every morning, noon, and night, Shikikan-sama."

I chuckled softly and nodded in agreement. "I think that's the best resolution I've heard all night." Just then, the peal of the clock tower bells rang throughout the base, announcing that it had struck midnight and that the new year was upon us. "And just in the nick of time, too. Time for the New Year's kiss. Happy New Year, Akagi."

"Happy New Year, Shikikan-sama," she whispered, her lips brushing against mine, "May we be together for this year, and all the ones to come." And with that, we celebrated what was shaping up to be a very happy new year with a kiss.