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Adam was seated on a bench out on one of the island’s parks. He had decided to go off base for a while to clear his head after finishing his second week in classes with an instructor named Bell. The man had been incredibly knowledgeable about diplomatic matters, but he also set the bar incredibly high for anyone he was teaching, so Adam felt like he needed a break.He had just finished a phone call to his parents, relieved to hear they were still doing well and their voices had brought some solace. It had taken a while, but he was finally starting to feel just how remote this island was. There were plenty of civilians living on the island, along with all of the businesses and support that any large military base needed, but they were so far from the continent he had spent his whole life on that the time window in which he could even speak to his parents while they were awake was a challenge.Trying to distract himself from the feeling of isolation, he spent some time on juustagram, a sort of social media that was made exclusively for Azur Lane personnel. Adam had never exactly been one for social media before, barely having any online presence at all, but he felt like he needed to connect more with the people he was around to try and banish his longing for his family.He was mindlessly scrolling through the backlogs when he was brought up short as he saw a picture of himself and New Jersey at the ice cream place she had taken him to. Apparently someone had taken a picture of the two of them when he wasn’t aware. The picture had a caption reading-“Dang NJ! You move fast! Isn’t this the new guy?” A series of responses followed before New Jersey replied.“A dashing man comes to the rescue in just the nick of time, and you think anyone here WOULDN’T get to know him? He’s actually really sweet!”After reading this, Adam couldn’t help but smile. He was really enjoying the compliments he was getting these days, especially those that had nothing to do with the powers the hope cube had given him. Suddenly he was distracted from his phone screen as someone approached him.“Oh my, might you be the one everybody is talking about these days? Adam Ward?” He looked up to see someone who was undoubtedly a kansen approaching him. She was wearing a white long sleeved shirt, black skirt, with leggings and a white ribbon in her hair. Said hair was parted by a pair of fuzzy ears, marking her as a sakuran kansen.“Yes, that’s me. Who might you be?” He asked, as he was still learning the names and faces of the many kansen on the base.“I am Atago, from the Sakura Empire, as I’m sure you can guess.” She said softly with a warm smile. Not wasting any time, she sat down on the bench next to him. “I had been hoping to meet you ever since I heard about what you did for Amagi. I spoke to her recently and she had quite glowing things to say about you, so I couldn’t help but try to find you myself.”“Oh, well it’s nice to meet you Atago. Is there something you need?” Adam asked, not sure what her motivation was yet. She just laughed softly.“The only thing I need is to get to know you. You certainly seem to be getting a lot of attention, but I’m wondering about how you’re holding up under all these changes and events. I’m not a psychologist or anything like Bremerton is, but I have been around long enough to know that the first few months can be really overwhelming for people coming here.”“You also looked a bit lonely, just sitting here alone on the bench, and thought I should offer you a hug, I am a firm believer in their necessity after all!” At that she opened up her arms in a clear invitation for an embrace, and though they had just met, Adam could sense that this girl really didn’t have any ulterior motives. From what he was able to get from her, she really was making a genuine offer.So he nodded, and slid over next to her and accepted her invitation. Without comment she wrapped her arms around him as best as she could while they sat side by side. He had to admit, he was rather stiff at first, but as she quietly held him he started gradually relaxing. There was just something about this kansen that made him feel safe, something he couldn’t put into words.It was as if he had found a port in a storm, and a weight that he hadn’t even realized he was carrying began to gradually fall from his shoulders. The feeling almost brought him to tears and it made him realize just how little of this kind of affection he’d received since leaving home to join the military. Atago let him stay like that for as long as he needed, and only when he indicated he’d had enough did she let him go.“I…didn’t realize how badly I needed that. Thank you…” He said gratefully. She simply continued smiling, her golden eyes focussed on him.“I can usually tell when someone is in need, I go out of my way to be like a big sister to those who need one. You might be surprised how many do.” This made Adam sigh heavily.“I do actually have a big sister but…she made it very clear to me as far back as I can remember that she didn’t want anything to do with me. She didn’t want a brother, and she burned down that bridge every time I tried to build it. I wanted a good healthy sibling relationship with her but she didn’t and…well we haven’t spoken in years.”“Oh, that’s disappointing to hear. I am sorry you were treated so.” Atago consoled, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Well if you ever feel like you need a sister type, you can always come to me. If you need a hug, an ear to listen, a simple chat, or simply need to see a friendly face, just let me know.” Adam looked at her, and from what he could sense from her she was being entirely sincere. He couldn’t find any trace of duplicity, dishonesty, or anything of the kind. Her offer was a genuine one.He thanked her, and the pair sat there talking for a good while, until her phone began to beep an alarm for some part of her schedule and she departed, but not before reaffirming that he could always count on her to help when he needed it. He thought it was somewhat tragic that a woman he had only known for a day was more willing to step up and be like a sister than his own blood relative was, but the interaction had certainly done him some good, and he felt he could tackle the instructors lessons tomorrow that much better.Feeling a good deal better about his situation, Adam decided to take a walk through the park, enjoying some of the island’s natural beauty. Much of the landmass had been turned to military or civilian purposes, but areas like this had been intentionally kept as natural as possible. It was as he was walking that he encountered another person, one he certainly didn’t expect. Commander Anderson was standing by one of the tree’s, gazing up at its branches.“Hello commander, what brings you here?” Adam asked, prompting Anderson to turn his gaze away from the plant as Adam approached.“Ah, hello Adam. Nothing special, Belfast just chased me out of the office for a bit. She has to do that sometimes with me and Enterprise, we both have a tendency to get lost in our work.” Adam couldn’t help but smile, the mental image of the legendary maid chasing the even more legendary commander out of his own office with a feather duster coming to mind. Something of his humor certainly showed on his face because Anderson raised an eyebrow.“Find that funny eh? Well just you wait. Eventually you’re going to have a few of these kansen doing their best to interfere with your self-harming habits whether you want them to or not. It simply isn’t in their nature to leave things alone when they see something that they think isn’t right. Granted for some of them that means that they take it upon themselves to shatter peace and quiet whenever they find it.”“They really aren’t quite like any human woman I have ever met before sir.” Adam commented. “I’m not sure if I have any self-harming habits, at least from their perspective, but a few of them already seem to have taken quite an interest in me.” He then explained to Anderson his interactions with several of the kansen, though he left out his night of intimacy with Amagi. Anderson just laughed and shook his head.“It sounds like it, some chalk it up to the interest people show in a new person, but I can tell ya that for a lot of these girls, that initial interest doesn’t always wind down. Usually new personnel get ‘the talk’ shortly after they arrive on base in an official class but given your unique arrival I guess you slipped through the cracks. So I suppose I'll give you the simple version myself.”Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion, not really sure what the commander was getting at. He had been in lessons for a while now about diplomatic training but he figured that's not what Anderson meant.“Listen, the first thing you have to really get into your head is that while kansen are incredibly similar to us in most ways, they aren’t exactly human. They have many human desires, wants, and needs, but they also have needs that aren’t in line with what any regular human would have. They can be exceedingly…passionate…about these needs.”“Those needs are unique on a case-by-case basis, and you can’t ever think that what works for one woman will work for all of them. Yet there is one thing that every single kansen who has materialized always wants, to some degree or other. Even if how it's shown and dealt with is often different, they all still want it. Can you guess what that is Adam?” He thought for a moment, pondering what women of war might all have in common, and ventured a guess.“They want to win the war?” He asked, to which Anderson simply laughed. Not just some regular laugh of mild amusement, but a full and hearty laugh that Adam figured had a lot of context and background behind it.“No son. The one thing they all want, even if some choose to deny it, or hide it, is love. What form that takes is unique, but it's the driving force that is shared by every kansen I have ever met. That might sound sappy, but take it from a man who's worked with the kansen since the first days of Azur Lane. I know my people, and I see it every single time.” That might explain Amagi and Cheshire’s intense interest in him, Adam thought to himself as he considered Anderson’s words.“Sir, if that were true, then wouldn’t they all be married already? I mean there’s a lot of men on this base, and these women have all been, in their own ways, incredibly beautiful. I'm sure they would have no challenge at all in finding romance.” Yet Anderson simply shook his head.“Some want to wait until the war is over, others are waiting specifically until they find mister right, rather than pick from whose immediately available. Other’s still, already are.” He held up his left hand at that comment, showing a ring on his finger. “You may have heard, but I am married to both Enterprise and Belfast. That’s another thing you need to consider while you’re here.”“I am not telling you to get married, but if you do find yourself in love with one, you need to remember a crucial thing. As I said before, the kansen are not human women. There are a few exceptions, but most kansen…they prefer to be in groups. In almost all things, including romance. ‘Ships belong in fleets’ as I was often told when I explored this line of questioning in my early days. So unless you specifically find one of those exceptions, she’ll probably be more comfortable if she isn’t the only kansen in the relationship.”Adam needed a moment to process this. He had been developing feelings for a few of them, but he had always worked with the mindset that even if romance was permitted, it would need to be monogamous. Never in his life had he considered anything else. Anderson wasn’t yet done with ‘the talk’ though.“You will also need to keep in mind that, with a rare exception here and there, the vast majority of kansen want their romance to revolve around a man. Cleveland and Helena are the only kansen-only couple I can think of who are still alive. Take my situation for example. Both Enterprise and Belfast love each other, and they are devoted to each other, but they treat me as their center in the relationship. Same with every other grouping. Even the PR ships, who don’t have a history of carrying male sailors in their hulls seem to feel this way.”“Sir, are you telling me that the men here at Azur Lane are building harems?” Adam asked, shocked by these revelations. Once more Anderson just laughed.“Hardly son, half the time it's the women who are in charge in the relationships. And usually these groups don’t get all that big. Largest I have seen has only been five people, including the human man. Most are three individuals, like my own situation, sometimes four. Plus, a harem doesn’t let the women decide who becomes a part of it, the kansen absolutely decide whether or not they’re willing to join in a group, or allow a person into their group.”“Furthermore, and this is a common misconception, kansen CAN get pregnant. There’s actually more than a couple dozen children on this island whose mothers are kansen, so wear protection.” Adam went red in the face, grateful that Amagi had procured condoms before their night of intimacy.“You gotta remember though…these women are first and foremost warriors. We are fighting a war here, and sometimes…sometimes the warriors don’t come back.” His mood turned south hard at that, and he let out a huge sigh, doubtless feeling the memories of the dead.“There are a lot of memorials on this island. Not just for the kansen, but the valkyries and the humans too. As I said before, some people want to wait till after the war, because they don’t want to risk the heartbreak of losing a cherished loved one to combat. It’s up to you what you want to do. I just needed to make sure you knew the realities, if you even want to pursue romance.”On that heavy note, Adam excused himself, saying he had been given a lot to think about, and that he badly needed to have some time to process everything he had been told today. If this was the simple version of ‘the talk’, as Anderson had claimed, he dreaded to think what the full version entailed.