The Betrayed Commander and The Abandoned Tsundere (Azur Lane: Origins 1)

Chapter 17: Storm

Admiral Hipper was shaken awake early in the morning by Bismarck. This would have been true if it wasn't 10:00am. 'Come on, wake up.'

'Ugh.' Hipper opened her eyes and looked out her room's window. 'But it's still really early...'

'No it's not.' Bismarck took off the watch she was wearing and shoved it in Hipper's face.

'Yeah, see? It's just past midnight.' Bismarck blushed slightly out of embarrassment and turned the watch the right way around. Hipper's eyes widened and she sat up so quickly that her head almost had a fight with Bismarck's.

'Go wake Sora up. He's still asleep.'

Now Hipper blushed. 'B-b-but-'

'Just do it.'

'Is that supposed to be a meme reference?'

'No. But I can make it one.'

'Yes please.'

Bismarck proceeded to turn it into a meme reference. 'Just do it! Don't let your dreams be dreams. Yesterday, you said tomorrow-'

CUT!

Now Hipper blushed. 'B-b-but-'

'Just do it.'

Deciding to just go with it, Hipper rose out of her bed.

'Wake up! C'mon, wake up!'

Sora was violently shaken awake. Upon opening his eyes, he saw Hipper leaning over him. He assumed she had just woken up as she was still wearing her pyjamas.

'Let me sleep. It's still early- It's already 10! How?'

'It looks like a storm's approaching.' Hipper sat in the chair located in the corner of the commander's room. Sora barely had a chance to sit up before lighting flashed outside the window. The crack of the thunder followed within seconds. This caused Admiral Hipper to, in one smooth motion, dive under the blankets on Sora's bed.

Lifting the blanket, Sora could see Hipper curled up in a ball, shaking under said blanket. The commander pulled the blanket off the bed and sat next to Hipper. She unfurled and, literally, fell onto Sora, who hugged her. Admiral Hipper cried into his shirt.

Knowing that his question was pretty blunt, Sora asked anyway. 'Do you want to tell me why you're so scared of lightning? You don't have to if you don't want to.' The commander didn't know his voice could be so soft and gentle.

Hipper nodded and spoke, muffled by Sora's shirt. 'A couple of years ago, I was on commission. A storm appeared out of nowhere. We nearly made it out when I was struck by lightning. Despite the efforts of the ships I was on commission with, I was burning for several minutes. Somehow, I made it out alive with extreme burns. The scar of one is still on my forearm.' She rolled up her right sleeve. Sora's eyes widened slightly. Half of Hipper's forearm was covered in scar tissue.

Sora hugged Admiral Hipper again. He could only imagine the amount of pain she must have been in. 'I'm sorry.' A tear trickled down his cheek. The guilt for asking the question and sorrow for Hipper overwhelmed him and he lost his composure. 'I know this might sound like the generic response, but I am so, so sorry. I feel so bad for you.' Sora's voice cracked on the last word.

A/N: No cover image 'cuz I'm lazy- er, really tired.