Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking in with several trunks behind him, Harry looked around the Room of Hidden Things with more then some surprise even though it was not his first time in said room. Granted, from where he was he could see there were more sorted piles of items. One of the piles though caused him to blink in confusion as he did recognize what they were. "Um, hey guys."

Niiyodo's head poked around one of the piles and she gave a wave. "Ohayo, Harry-Chan!" Then her eyes widened as she spotted what he brought with him. "Are those the trunks that we ordered!?"

Just nodding, Harry set them down. "Yup, Hedwig just delivered them. Each one of them has the same amount of space as your average cargo container." He grinned a bit at the smile on Niiyodo's face. "Just as asked."

A smile on her face, the Light Cruiser walked over before opening one of the trunks and letting out a sigh of relief. "This will be a big help, Harry-Chan. That way we can clear this area out of what we've sorted until it's time for you to transfigure the metal." Blushing some, she reached over and gave Harry a hug which he soon returned. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

Sighing into the hug, Harry only hummed a bit before he pulled away. "Well, it's not a big deal anyways. I'm just glad to be able to help you guys since you're doing a lot of work in here."

With a shake of her head, Niiyodo began to giggle some. "Well, at least it's useful work. And from what I can tell, we're going to have all sorts of resources. For example, so far we've gathered about a ton of cast iron alone. Converted to steel? That's about as much as we already have at home, gathered over months! Then you got the copper, the brass, and the like."

Harry meanwhile glanced over at the pile which he did recognize and caused him some confusion. "What about those? Aren't those sherry bottles?"

Glancing over at them, Niiyodo only nodded some in confusion. "They are and we've been finding a lot of them. Since they're just bottles though, Professor Dumbledore doesn't mind us taking them in for recycling and we'll be able to get a nice amount back for them, I think. Natsumi-San is pretty happy with it anyways..." Placing her arm around Harry's shoulders, she began to guide him towards aother section. "Oh! Speaking of, Natsumi-San found something of interest."

More then a little intrigued, Harry nodded as he allowed Niiyodo to bring him wherever. In fact, it was rather nice and he brought his own arm up to wrap around her waist. Something that a part of him noted made her smile grow and a small, pleased flush to gather on her cheeks. Once they were in view, Harry gave a wave towards Natsumi. "Hey, Natsumi-Chan!"

A smile on her face, Natsumi turned and waved back. "Hi, Harry-Chan!" She did have a somewhat odd look when she noticed their arms around each other before rolling her eyes at them. "Really?"

Unseen by Harry, Niiyodo had a sheepish look on her face as he frowned in confusion. "Really what, Natsumi-Chan?"

However, she just waved him off with a sigh. "Nothing really, so you brought the trunks?" She then gestured to some off to the side. "We found some here, mind you, but I want them checked before we do anything with them. That sort of thing can... be messy."

Wincing as he guessed how so, Harry shook it off before looking around. "Um, so Niiyodo-Chan said that you needed me for something? And that you found something?"

If she was in her kitsune form, Natsumi's ears would have perked up. As it was though, her eyebrows climbed before she remembered what Niiyodo was talking about. "Oh yeah... stay right there." Several moments later, she came back with Yukikaze lugging a chest which the Destroyer set down with Natsumi grabbing the lid. "Look at this!"

Opening it, she was pleased to see Harry's jaw drop in surprise. Of course, she understood entirely as it was not every day that someone uncovered a chest filled with glowing gemstones. Staring at them, Harry could only shake his head. "Oh... oh wow... that's..." Turning towards Natsumi, he shook his head in some awe. "Are those real?"

Very slowly, Natsumi nodded some. "They're real alright. I don't know why they were here though."

After a few moments, Harry frowned in thought before narrowing his eyes. "I think that I might." At their looks, he shook his head. "There was a Headmistress for the school. Apparently she was sort of obsessed with gemstones and was rumoured to have stolen a number... Which was why she was killed by the goblins during one rebellion, they wanted to know where they were and she never told anyone."

Looking at the gemstones, Natsumi only shook her head before gesturing at another box, this one made of ivory and smaller. "This one also has stones in it but..." When she opened it, there was only squares in it that were a rusty red. Natsumi handed one to Harry who looked it over. "It smells of blood, but not dark magic. It does contain a lot of magic though, so I'll ask Dumbledore-Sensei to have a look at them."

With a nod, Harry put it back into the box which Natsumi closed and set aside. He then turned his attention towards her. "So, um... is there anything else? Because I want to help, so..."

Softly snickering, Natsumi waved a finger at him before winking."You shouldn't say such things, Harry-Chan. But yeah, there is something." Gesturing at several pieces of broken furniture, Natsumi nodded. "It would be a pretty big help if you could fix these up a bit. We can sell them for a bit of money I think."

Placing his robes over the back of a chair, Harry then pulled out his wand. "Can do!"

By the time that he was done for the day though, he was exhausted. Not magically, but rather mentally as he needed to visualize what he was working on each time he fixed something. That was followed up by transfiguring some of the copper and brass into bars for storage. At one point though, he found himself continually scratching his scar as it began to itch after several hours, almost as if something was gently touching it...

And, once he fell into the embrace of sleep, an old nightmare that he had not had for years reappeared.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It had been a sunny day until just a few minutes over, but it was rapidly clouding over and the black haired boy was nervously making his way home. He had been chased by his cousin, but had gotten away in time. But now he wanted to get home, or what counted as much even if all he could look forward to was more chores. And it was not just because he did not want to get caught in the storm...

There was something about the storm that was now picking up that caused his every instinct to scream that there was something simply wrong about it.

And it was obvious that the boy was not the only one who felt it as various people were trying to get as quickly to their homes as possible. All while trying to make it look like they were not in the slightest bit afraid. However, the boy could see that they were frightened out of their wits. For some odd reason, he remembered something that his uncle had been grumbling about. A number of ships had been lost during freak storms.

Sometimes the large man would glare at him and sneer as if it was somehow his fault.

Despite everything the boy was snapped out of his thoughts while the wind began to pick up by a sneering voice. "BOY! WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE DOING!?" Turning, the boy could only blink against the wind as he saw an middle aged man looking at him as if he was a piece of refuse. "Well!? Answer me right now!"

Nervous due to every instinct telling him to run, he twitched some. "I-I'm just heading home, Sir." Raising his voice to be heard, he continued. "Before the storm hits."

On the man's face was disgust. "Likely story. Probably going to cause some trouble, just like your uncle said. He's an old friend of mine you know!" When the boy turned, the man snapped at him. "Don't walk away from me!"

Even though he knew that he would likely get yelled at by his uncle, the boy shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I got to get going!"

He was about to run when the man jogged up. "YOU TALKING BACK, BOY!? JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL YOUR UNCL-"

Moments later, there was a whistling sound and something impacted nearby. For a brief moment, the boy felt something wet hit him and then he was flying through the air as something roared. Then he slammed into the ground and everything went white before going dark.

Sometime later, the boy became conscious again and groaned. Every part of his body felt like one giant bruise and he had to squint as his glasses were missing. Blinking away spots, he slowly moved to get up only to realize that he there was something sticky covering him. Patting one part, he held up his hand to his eyes to see that whatever it was, it was red.

And had a sharp, metallic scent.

Trembling, it soon clicked and the boy turned and looked in the direction he had been before puking at the sight of a leg near something rather torn up. He knew, just knew that something was the man. Something had torn him apart and splattered him with... with...

Quickly turning, the boy tried to puke again, but there was nothing to bring up.

Gasps escaping him, the boy looked up and found that the nightmare was far from over. The town he lived in, the place he called home... it was either in ruins or on fire. From what he could see there was craters here and there. Just over the sound of the wind of the natural wind, above the fires, he could hear screams and pleading. Stumbling back, he looked from one place to the other, but it was all the same.

It was simply hell.

About to run, he heard the sound of sirens and turned with some relief to see flashing lights of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. Relief bubbled up in him at the sight of such. They would know what to do! Everyone would be able to be saved now! Everything was going to be alright. The first car seemed to spot him and slow down when the boy heard an odd sound before there was a sound like the rain hitting a metal roof.

Moments later, the police car was violently torn apart as bullets rained down from above. They punched through the metal of the car's body and through the windshield, pulping the officers inside. And it was not just their car either as the other emergency vehicles were also brutally destroyed by something in the sky. All the boy could do was stand there in shock as the sound increased and something flew within view.

Something that had glowing eyes and a massive, tooth filled maw as it fired stuff from said mouth into the last fire truck. Then it was gone and all that was left was the blood covered boy in the street just standing. Staring at the what carnage there was. It could have been hours later, or it could have been minutes or less, but the boy found himself in front of his home somehow without realizing how he had even gotten there.

Barely noticing that there was no car in the drive, he stumbled up the walkway to the door and tried the knob. Nothing, it would not turn no matter what. Even banging on the door, pleading, got nothing at all. After all, no one was home. Upon realizing that, the boy fell to his knees.

Gone.

They had gone without him, leaving him alone.

Rain began to fall for all the good it would do. A few hours later, there was the sound of a helicopter and soldiers soon took him to a nearby center, the elementary school he would be going to in a year. Some told him that he was lucky, even more so that his house was still intact with so many destroyed. He would be reunited with his family not long after, though he had been cleaned up. While they acted happy with the soldiers, thanked them for finding their nephew who had gone missing when they evacuated, once they were out of earshot, his uncle grumbled about how sad it was that he had not died like his parents, his aunt silent.

He died a little on that day on the inside.

But he made a promise that day. That if he ever got away from his relatives, if he ever found someone who loved him like a real family? He would do whatever needed to make sure that they would never want to get rid of him. And that he would protect those like him in anyway he could. He would not be like his relatives were.

History books would call what happened as the first day of Blood Week. A time when humanity reeled and people died and lived with a roll of the dice. The small town of Little Whinging in Surrey was hit hard by Abyssal aircraft on their way to other targets. None of that mattered at the time to a little boy named Harry Potter though...
_______________________________________________________________________________

Waking with a start, Harry blinked as he could swear that he could smell the metallic tang of blood and feel sticky. But soon enough, that faded away and Harry could feel himself laying on something that rose up and down. Stomach churning a bit, Harry nonetheless did his best not to wake anyone in the cuddlepile and made his way to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to full blast and cold water.

For the next few minutes he splashed himself with cold water before supporting himself the best that he could with sink when he felt two warm arms wrap themselves around him. "Harry-Chan? Another nightmare?"

Just taking a deep breath, Harry nodded and swallowed some. "Y-yeah, Hacchan. It was another nightmare..."

Behind him, the blonde haired Submarine looked at him with saddened eyes for a moment. She of all people could understand nightmares and closed her eyes as she nuzzled him. Tightening her hug, Hachi sighed softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eyes closed, Harry took some breaths before shuddering. "It... it was another dream about Blood Week, you know? Where I was live was hit and... and I saw people die. Including someone who was a friend of my Uncle and the Principal at the local school. When they found me at my relatives house, I was covered in his blood after a near miss..." Once more he shuddered some. "They were gone, my aunt and uncle. They took off with Dudley right after the initial attack without seeing if I was dead or not. They told the soldiers who found me that I had mental problems and they hadn't been able to find me. And... and when I was reunited with them, as soon as we were alone, Uncle Vernon grumbled about how it was poor luck for them that I didn't die."

Twitching, Hachi fought down the same urge she always felt when hearing this story. One to hunt down the black haired boy's relatives and show them her feelings on the subject. But many years ago, she had promised him to just drop it. Right now though, there was a more important thing for her to do.

And that was to comfort the boy she was holding as he fought off the last grips of the nightmare.

Her cheek against his, Hachi nuzzled him before gently kissing his cheek. "Hacchan is here, Harry-Chan. Hacchan is here and won't leave.

With a sigh, Harry twisted around in her hold before holding her as tightly as she did him. Almost immediately, his last shivers died down as he felt her arms envelope him. Both of them though understood about the past haunting them. When Harry had first come to Yokosuka he had nightmares every so often. He had tried to keep quiet like he had at the Dursleys so he would not get yelled at.

But Nagato had clued in and more then once he had found her in his room, hugging him. And more then once his tears had soaked her clothes as she helped him. They slowly decreased as time went on though, along with other, newer nightmares. When he started hanging out with the Submarines, and staying over, they had understood him. None of them had gotten angry with him if he woke up with a nightmare. Just as he never got angry with Hachi over the same thing. Which also helped him out the nightmare that came from Blood Week faded away even more to the point that it had been more then two years since the last time he had it.

It was also why he never minded when Hachi, on her worst nights dream wise, would sneak into his room and just cuddle him. Mainly because somehow, his presence helped sooth her nightmares and prevent them from returning. None of that mattered at the moment though as he was more concerned with spending time with Hachi and relaxing.

Eventually Harry pulled away from the hug and had to smile at what Hachi was wearing. Unlike what many would have thought, Hachi's sleeping clothes were a button up shirt and shorts. Oddly, in Harry's mind, they suited her. "Thanks, Hachi-Chan."

All the Submarine did though was shake her head with a small smile on her face. "You have nothing to thank me for, Harry-Chan." Turning, she raised her eyebrow some. "Iku-Chan? You can come in."

Moments later, the blue hired shipgirl walked in before pulling Harry into a hug. "Hachi-Chan is right, we're here for you, Harry-Chan. Never forget that."

Only nodding, Harry took a glance at the clock and sighed some. "Might as well stay up then, it's too late to fall back asleep."

Ruffling his hair, Hachi only nodded some as she stood up. "Hai. But maybe the two of us can just go and have a seat on the couch and read some books?" At Harry's bemused look, she blushed some. "Just for old times sake?"

Softly smiling, Harry gave a small nod. "I think that I might like that, Hachi-Chan..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

While originally it was supposed to be just Hachi and Harry reading together, Iku somehow managed to squeeze into the same armchair that the other two were in. Despite what some might think though, it wasn't uncomfortable for the three. Quite the opposite really as after the nightmare Harry enjoyed the closeness of two of his closest friends. And neither of the Submarines minded it either. Not out of lewdness either, but because they simply enjoyed the close presence of those they cared for.

So all three of them were sitting next to each other as they read through some books as the clock ticked onwards. While Iku and Harry were looking through one of their own, Hachi was reading a separate book. Several moments later though Iku as well as Harry looked up when the blonde Submarine sighed and held her book to her chest with a happy look on her face. At seeing them looking at her though, Hachi gained a sheepish expression and a small blush on her face. "Sorry."

Lips twitching, Iku leaned against Harry with a bemused expression on her face. "You enjoying that book, Hachi-Chan?"

Blushing a bit more, Hachi nodded some. "Hai, I am." Gently, she ran a finger along the top of the book with a small smile. "Hacchan found it over in the bookcase and it's... enjoyable."

A smile on his own face, Harry tilted his head to get a better look at the cover. "Really? What's it about?"

If anything, Hachi became embarrassed as she scratched her cheek. "It's um... a historical romance." At the interested looks, she opened the book and leaned to the side to show both Harry and Iku. The fact that it pressed their bodies together was ignored by all three. "See? It's about a Squib in her family's estate and her romance with a non-magical and how he shows her that life without magic isn't horrible."

Only blinking, Harry raised an eyebrow at that. "Huh, that's different. I mean, with how some wizards and witches go on, you would think that it would be the opposite."

Shrugging, Hachi shook her head. "I know, I mean I wasn't about to read it, but..." With a shake of her head, she giggled some. "It's not really that bad."

Iku meanwhile gave her a knowing look before flashing her some signals. {You're imagining you and Harry-Chan in the story, aren't you?}

Cheeks somewhat red, Hachi gave her a look before shyly smiling. {Yes? I mean, can you blame me?}

After a moment as Harry skimmed the page, Iku gave a very slight shake of her head. {No, not really.} To Hachi's amusement, a tinge of red appeared on Iku's cheeks. {And now I am imagining Harry-Chan and I in a situation like that...} Both Submarines shared a look before knowing smiles appeared on their faces with Iku giving a small sigh. {I hope that your plan works, Hachi-Chan.}

Barely noticiable, Hachi gave a slight nod. {Hacchan hopes so too. But it relies on the others agreeing to it...} Realizing that Harry was now turning towards her, she smiled. "Well?"

Giving it some thought, Harry eventually shrugged. "Not really my cup of tea I guess, but it looks good." Suddenly, he gave her a knowing look. "You're imagining yourself in the story, aren't you?"

Needless to say, those words, so similar to Iku's previous ones, caused the red on Hachi's cheeks to darken. And from where she sat, Hachi could see that Iku's own blush had grown. Slowly though, she nodded. "Hai, I guess that I was."

Expression softening, Harry slipped his arm between the chair and Hachi in one to give her a one armed hug. Squeezing her waist, he shook his head some. "There's nothing wrong with that, Hachi-Chan. Besides, I've done the same sometimes with good stories."

Giggling, Hachi nodded some. "I suppose so, but you know that it's different for me." Leaning in, the blonde Submarine placed her head on Harry's shoulder before continuing. "Then again, you know that already, Harry-Chan."

All Harry did was give her a small smile back. He did know why she did it as she liked to forget her own past at times and imagine herself having a different one by placing herself in the story. Giving her waist another squeeze, Harry turned back to the book in interest. "So you were imagining yourself in the story?"

Just nodding, Hachi ran her finger along one of the sentences. For several seconds she was silent before chuckling. "Hai. There's something about stories like this, about a time long past. Hacchan thinks that she would like to stay at an English Country Home one day."

Frowning, Iku shook her head some. "Um, I don't know if there's many of those? Because I remember Kongou telling Ashigara that sadly when they were discussing honeymoons." At the looks from Harry and Hachi, she shrugged. "Ashigara stated that she wanted to stay at a English Country Manor as her idea of a perfect honeymoon thanks to some book she liked. She seemed really depressed."

While Hachi sighed sadly, Harry frowned some in thought. "You know..." Both Submarines turned to look at him in confusion. "That might be true on the non-magical side of things, but not so much on the magical."

Eyebrows raising, Hachi shared a look with Iku before blinking. "Really?"

Slowly, Harry nodded some with a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah... You know how Mum has been researching my family?" When they nodded, he continued. "One of my relatives made a living buying country homes from non-magicals. They would then place spells on them to make people think that they were demolished before fixing them up with magic and selling them to various families. Mostly Purebloods though some wealthy Halfbloods also bought them to try and show off and try and get married into Pureblood families. He passed it on to his son, Charlus, who continued doing that."

Interested, Iku placed a finger against her chin. "I wonder if you have any of those under the Potter name?"

However, Harry shook his head. "I don't think that I do, or at least Mum hasn't found out. Anyways... there's been ads in the Daily Prophet selling them." Seeing the looks, the black haired boy shrugged. "While some got destroyed, others weren't with just the inhabitants either fleeing into hiding where they died, or just disappearing. If there's no family left, the Ministry takes control and is apparently trying to sell a number. Neville mentioned that some families who have a lack of funds have been selling some of their excess properties as well. I'm pretty sure that Hood bought one. Same with the Orion Sisters, though I think that they bought them under aliases."

Now that caused both Submarines to blink in surprise as they had not heard this before. Iku then turned towards Hachi with a small frown. "How many do you think that shipgirls have bought?"

Snorting, Hachi's lips curled upwards a bit. "Probably a number, especially Grand Fleet members." She then tapped the side of her head. "After all, it would remind them of when they were first built."

That only got nods from Harry and Iku. A few minutes later though, Harry had turned back to his own book while the two Submarines were having a silent conversation before they went back to what they had been doing, simply enjoying each other's company.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, Regina looked up and down it with a curious look before focusing in on Maruyu. Mainly on the fact that the Submarine was spreading something on some toast with a look of joy on her face. "Um... Maruyu..." When the little shipgirl looked up, Regina shifted a bit. "Can I ask you something?"

Only taking a bite from her toast, Maruyu chewed and then swallowed some. "Sure, you can. So go on and ask whatever you want!"

Whatever the question was, it was certainly not what she got. Pointing at Maruyu's toast, the Abyssal frowned. "What is that you're eating? I mean, um, not the toast but..."

Blinking for a moment, Maruyu glanced at Harry who also seemed confused before she turned back to Regina. "You mean... the honey?"

Head tilting to the side, Regina blinked and brought her finger to her chin. "Hon-ey. Honey..." Then she nodded. "Yes, honey."

Simply shrugging, Maruyu took another bite of her breakfast before frowning. "Well... it's made by bees in their hives and is pretty good. Especially on stuff like toast and such, because it's sweet."

Leaning in, Regina's eyes went from the jar of honey with a honey dipper in it to Maruyu's toast and then back. "Bees make it? And you and humans eat it on toast?"

It was then that Harry piped up some. "Well, not just toast." When Regina turned to him, he continued while gesturing with one hand. "You can put it on normal bread, in oatmeal, on pancakes... On all sorts of things, heck sometimes I add it to tea."

Eyes wide, Regina turned back to the golden liquid with a thoughtful look. "That's... rather interesting."

Maruyu then shrugged some and shook her head. "I know that I like it when I can get some." She then huffed a bit and puffed out her cheeks. "Which is about whenever I am in Yokosuka or Sasebo. Because Kuma is always eating all the honey... and the salmon."

Pausing some, Regina thought back to earlier that year and slowly nodded. "Uh, now that you mention it, I remember her eating a jar while we were out on patrol for the wedding... or was it five jars?" The sound of metal on wood caused her to look over to where Kaylee was currently banging her head on the table with a groan. "Are you okay?"

With a sigh, the Natural Born nodded some. "Aye, I'm okay, Regina. Just... thought of something."

Just as Regina was about to say something, she found a piece of toast in front of her. Following the hand holding it, she blinked at the sight of Harry with a smile before gently taking the offered toast. Seeing her hesitate, he gestured at it. "Go ahead, try it."

Regina though examined it a bit closer and then sniffed it before cocking her head to the side. Then, under Harry's amused gaze, she took a bite and blinked. 'This is...' Slowly, she chewed the piece of toast in her mouth before boggling. "It's good..."

Smiling, Harry put his hands behind his head and grinned some. "Told you, Regina? Do you want some-" Before he got any further, she practically inhaled her piece of toast and then got another, smearing some honey cross it and gulping it down. Chuckling some, Harry shook his head in amusement. "Guess that answers that question then."

All the happily smiling Regina did was smile brightly at him as she chewed, even sharing a slice with her tail. Meanwhile, Niiyodo was frowning some as she considered the honey. "You know, Harry-Chan, Junyou-San handed in a form recently. Apparently she wishes to try some beekeeping."

That made Harry blink and furrow his eyebrows as he looked towards Niiyodo in confusion. "Beekeeping? Why would Junyou-Oba want to try out beekeeping?"

Needless to say, the answer that Harry got just made him sigh and hang his head as he realized that he should have guessed. "Well... I think that Junyou-San wants to try and make some mead."

Only shaking his head, Harry smiled a little bit at that. "Because of course she would." Spotting a thoughtful looking Yukikaze, Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "Something wrong, Yukikaze-Chan?"

Said Destroyer jumped a bit before blushing at the attention. Then she chewed her lip before shaking her head. "Um, actually? I was just thinking that it might be a good idea to have some hives." At their confusion, she waved her hand. "I mean, in the gardens, you know? To pollinate... though the giant wasps might be an issue."

Ron paused in his eating and turned towards Harry with a wide eyed look. "Giant wasps, Mate? How big and... why would they be a problem?"

In reply, Harry held his finger and thumb a distance apart and grimaced. "About this big. And they're a problem because they eat honey bees and like hanging outside the hives. You can guess how big an issue that is."

However, Neville then chose to pipe up then. "Actually... I think that I know how to solve that issue." Once everyone turned to him, he shrugged. "I got some plants back home that repel wasps, but don't bother honey bees. I use them because a few years back some wasps tried to make a nest in one of my greenhouses and I got badly stung."

Perking up, Niiyodo gave him a smile. "Wait, you got plants that do that? And won't harm the bees?" When Neville nodded, her smile brightened. "Is there anyway that we can get some? And is there ways of increasing yields since you're an expert?"

A blush on his cheek, Neville gave a small smile. "Well... there's some? I created some clover last year that seems to really do good at making the soil more fertile. And then there's dragon dung. I mean, that stuff will really make plants grow even if you use only a bit of it."

Quickly turning to Harry, Niiyodo was met by him shrugging. "Well, we can check it out later and if you want, I can put it on the tab for what we're getting. You'll need to set it up though... though it might be best to get it from any dragon reservations in Japan..."

When Harry looked at him, Neville nodded some. "I can see what I can do. My family has some connections and it's not like they really want the stuff."

Off to one side, Iku had a raised eyebrow as she brought up a finger. "Can we talk about this later? Iku is trying to eat right now."

She got various sheepish looks before everyone turned back to their breakfast. Granted, that was when they noticed that Regina was now eating oatmeal that she was adding honey to much to everyone's amusement.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 81: S0ngD0g13

Kaylee let her voice ring out from the depths of the Room of Hidden Things, singing as she carried a dozen cauldrons out on a staff across her shoulders.

"Once I had a Yankee Girl;
She was Fat and Lazy!
Way, Haul Away,
Well, Haul Away Joe!

Then I had an Irish Girl;
She damn-near drove me Crazy!
Way, Haul Away,
Well, Haul Away Joe!"

She deposited the potion-pots with Niiyodo and headed back in for more as Louisiana sang out the refrain...

"Way, Haul Away;
We're bound for better weather;
Way, Haul Away,
Well, Haul Away Joe!"

Kaylee continued the sea-shanty.

"Once I knew a Southern Girl,
Sweet as Sugar-Candy!
Way, Haul Away,
Well, Haul Away Joe!

She left me for a Wizard-Boy,
Who dressed just like a Dandy!
Way, Haul Aw--Fuck!"

The girls were startled as Kaylee's singing cut off with an expletive, a crash of dropped cauldrons, and the rapid popping of a Colt being fan-fired. When Louisiana, Niiyodo, and Natsumi rounded the corner, they found Kaylee laying on her back with one of her revolvers still aimed at a colossal taxidermied dragon-head that had apparently startled her by falling on her. Louisiana couldn't help but laugh. "I b'lieve it's dead, mon ami."

"I believe it scared ten years off me, is what I believe," said Kaylee from inside its jaws before she levered it off of herself and stood. "I drew and fired by reflex."

She picked up the staff she'd been using and smiled. "Of course, there's some cool stuff in here too. This staff, for example." She spun the staff in her hands carefully but quickly to show its balance. "Who else but Wizards would have a gold-capped black-iron staff that can shrink and grow at the wielder's whim? Hell, when I found it, it was twenty-foot long and big-around as a barrel."

Kaylee gathered up the dropped cauldrons and sighed. "I'm gettin' a bit peckish, though; y'all reckon it's about time for a chow-break?" She shrank the staff to the size of a needle and tucked it behind her ear, never noticing Natsumi looking like she was about to swallow her tongue as she went hunting for some food...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

All of a sudden, Harry perked up some and turned towards Regina who was devouring her oatmeal. "Oh! Before I forget, Regina?" When she stopped and looked at him, he continued. "Um, I got an idea for something for you to do today."

Blinking, Regina swallowed what food was in her mouth before tilting her head. "Something to do? Besides guard you?"

To her surprise though, Harry shook his head and grinned sheepishly. "Actually... Isokaze is going to be guarding me today. But that's because I had an idea for you." Confused, the Abyssal gave a small nod. "Since Big Sis stated that I am resposible for you, I was thinking that maybe we could get some training in some stuff that you could use."

Now confused, though somewhat happy that Harry was considering getting training for her, Regina blushed. "O-oh... Um, what sort of training?"

Harry then gestued at Maruyu who was beside her. "Well, Maruyu-Chan is going to teach you some fighting stuff. You know, hand to hand."

Eyebrows furrowing, Regina looked from Harry to Maruyu and back. "Hand to hand? But I'm quite good at that already." For the first time, Harry watched as she proudly straightened her back. "Lady Wanko has stated that I am one of the best at such things."

Sharing a look with Maruyu, Harry frowned some. "Really? I didn't know that. I mean, not too many shipgirls go hand to hand after all if they help it."

Only shaking her head, Regina looked at her breakfast and licked her lips. "Um, it's the same with Abyssals. Not many of them know how to fight in such ways... But when I'm fighting I just... er, let loose?"

With a very slow nod, the small Submarine glanced at her watch before suddenly pausing. Maruyu then turned towards Regina. "When you fight, how do you do so?"

Confused as to where this was going, Regina had to think back to the fights she had been in before chewing her lip. "I sort of rip and tear my way. Lady Wanko approves of it when I do so and sometimes I'll take my enemies limbs, rip them off, and beat them with them. One time, I took another Re-Class' leg and shoved it through their chest!"

It was probably a good thing that due to the chatter, and how low Regina's voice was, no one heard her except for Harry and the shipgirls outside of Ron and Neville. Both boys looked somewhat unnerved by what they had heard. Meanwhile, Harry only nodded some as he thought it over before frowning. "But what if Big Sis wants you to capture someone? Or you need to restrain someone?"

For a moment, Regina opened her mouth before pausing and thinking it over. In her head, she went over her logs to consider and mentally blinked. 'Huh...' Turning back to Harry, Regina blushed some. "Um, that's never happened. Lady Wanko usually doesn't have us capture others though now with us Allied, we might?"

Maruyu slowly nodded before reaching over and patting Regina's hand. "That's what Harry-Chan wanted me to do. Just teach some simple methods to help you if you need to restrain someone without hurting them too much. I mean, I've seen some shipgirls get drunk and lash out at other shipgirls... And both Harry-Chan and I would hate if that happened to you and you got hurt because you didn't know how to restrain them without either of you getting hurt. Not to mention it can work with normal humans as well."

Tapping her chin in thought, Regina frowned before slowly nodding. "That... would be nice, I suppose. And, um, I suppose that would make me more useful to Lady Wanko..."

Brightly smiling, Harry gave her a nod. "And maybe Maruyu-Chan can teach you some of her awesome moves." At the look Regina gave him, he gestured at the small Submarine who was blushing lightly. "She's really, really good at fighting. Once, I saw her flip Yuudachi-Nee over her during a match."

Her eyes widening, Regina turned to Maruyu who was scratching her cheek sheepishly. "Um, in Yuudachi-San's defense, she did not expect that. Though once I threw a Tsu-Class who snuck up on me."

Unknown to Maruyu, that if anything made Regina's respect for her rise as she tried to figure out how such a small shipgirl was able to do that to an Abyssal who outmassed her by quite a bit. However, it did catch her attention and interest. "That would be... very useful to know. Is it hard to learn?"

Shaking her head, Maruyu gave her a smile. "Not that hard to learn. I mean, I can teach you the basics while we're here at Hogwarts and maybe some more whenever you're in Japan."

Off to the side, Imuya nodded rapidly before reaching over and ruffling Maruyu's hair and getting a squawk from her. "She's really, really good at that sort of thing. Maruyu-Chan taught all us Submarines how to fight underwater and it's come in really handy!"

Hachi also nodded in agreement. "Remember that time that Ka-class grabbed you out of nowhere, Iku-Chan?"

Beside her, Iku gave a shudder before grimacing. "Iku remembers that. She was hiding in an old shipwreck and grabbed me." Then she grinned, and not in a nice way. "Then I used what Maruyu-Chan taught me and kicked her stern."

At this point, Maruyu was blushing pretty heavily while Iku, Hachi, and Imuya all traded stories of stuff they learned from her and how it helped. At the end of it though, Regina just smiled at her. The Re-Class knew that she would be lying if she was not somewhat excited to learn from the much smaller shipgirl.

Though she did wonder what Wanko would think of Harry having her learn it...
________________________________________________________________________

Walking into Akashi's workshop, Tenryuu frowned some as she looked around. Behind her, the rest of DesDiv6 and Tatsuta filed in. Only sighing, the eyepatch wearing Light Cruiser called out. "Oi! Akashi-San! You asked for us to show up?" Not getting a response, Tenryuu grumbled as she scratched her head in annoyance. "Where is that girl?"

Suddenly, Akashi appeared in front of them hanging upside down which caused them all to leap back in surprise. "Hmm?" Pulling up the goggles she was wearing, the Repair Ship let go and performed a flip to the floor. "About time you showed up, been waiting for a while."

Just blinking, Inazuma looked at her and then up at the ceiling in confusion. "Um, what were you doing up there, Nanodesu?"

Akashi just laughed some as she reached into a drawer and pulled out several rolls of paper. "Not much really, just doing some rewiring that I've been meaning to get at since I was waiting. Hope that I didn't scare any of you."
Crossing her arms against her chest, Tenryuu scowled and turned her head some. "Maybe this bunch, but I wasn't scared at all. I'm too awesome to get scared like that after all."

Lips twitching, Akashi only nodded some. "Right... Anyways, I wanted you all to come in as I got something for you." At their looks, she gestured for them to come closer and pointed at the papers in front of her as she unrolled them. "Have a look here."

Moving forward, the group looked at the papers before Akatsuki's eyebrows rose upwards. "T-these are our plans! But they look different..."

With a snort, Akashi nodded some, but then grinned. "Well of course they are! They're part of your next bunch of upgrades after all. Kai Ni for Inazuma-Chan and Ikazuchi-Chan and Kai San for Akatsuki-Chan."

All their heads snapped up at that with the Destroyers jaws dropping. It was Ikazuchi who managed to speak out of all of them though. "K-Kai Ni and Kai San!? Seriously?!"

Her expression becoming even more mischievous, Akashi nodded. "Yup! Though I guess that if you want to get down to basics" She turned towards Akatsuki. "Teitoku might call them your Kai Ni A or something. And you got Verniy-Chan here to thank for them."

Verniy meanwhile pointed at herself in confusion as everyone turned to her. "Wait, me?"

Slowly, Akashi gave a nod. "Yes, you. Remember how when you got your rebuild you came back with stuff that was not fitted on you, but could have been?" Nodding, Verniy was about to say something when she froze and her eyes widened. "Exactly. For the past few months I've been looking at your Rebuild and modifying it so that the rest of your class can have better Anti-Air and Anti-Submarine aspects."

Making her way over, Tenryuu glanced over the plans in thought as did the others. "What sort of differences did you add to them? And how does it improve them?"

As she hummed, Akashi grabbed a cup of coffee from the nearby machine and sipped it. "Well... for Akatsuki-Chan, she's going to be given an improved 10 cm/65 Type 98 guns that Inazuma-Chan and Ikazuchi-Chan will also get. After that, they all basically get the same stuff. We're replacing their 25mm with the 4 cm/60 Type 5s now that we can reliably reproduce them thanks to Verniy-Chan, which will increase their Anti-Air capabilities. We're also installing Hedgehogs on you all as well for Anti-Submarine work along with the best sonar and radar available for the end of the war, you'll be getting Torpedo bulges like Verniy-Chan, but that's not a major issue."

Eyes trailing across the papers, Tenryuu frowned some in thought before turning to the Repair Ship. "'Improved Type 98s?' What do you mean by that?"

Frowning, Akashi hummed for a moment before shaking her head. "Improved in two ways really. One is that all the shells now have proximity fuses for use against aircraft." When they turned to her stunned, she smirked. "There was a reason why the British and the Americans went out of their way to prevent any capture. South Dakota sent the information with Yuubari and I working on it for the past two years." The Repair Ship waved a hand. "The second modification is that we've added what the Americans called 'Swedish Additive' to the powder. Titanium oxide and wax, which was the easy thing to figure out... Extends the wear and tear of the barrels pretty far and we'll be rolling it out for all of them. Should last for a major battle anyways or group there of until you get to the repair baths. Should help until I manage to build the 10cm Type 5s in the next few years, now those are going to be damn effective."

Tatsuta considered that before nodding. "Yes, I can see how that would make them all much more effective."

With a chuckle, Akashi wagged a finger at her. "Like you would not believe." Then shrugging, she shook her head. "Teitoku wants them to be the test cases for it though as they are most similar to Verniy-Chan. If it works, then we can start rolling out similar for both the Fubuki and Ayanami classes." A smirk on her face, the Repair Ship grinned at Tenryuu and Tatsuta. "Of course, you two are getting some 4 cm/60 Type 5s as well and maybe some hedgehogs for your Kai Ni..."

Smile on her face, Inazuma gave her mother a flying hug. "Hwawawawa! We're all getting our Kai Ni's! All of us and Akatsuki-Chan is also getting improvements!"

A smile on her face, Tenryuu ruffled her hair. "Guess so..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 82: S0ngD0g13

The Hogwarts Grounds rang loud with the crash of steel-on-steel as Queen Anne's Revenge and Virginia circled one another, their cutlasses flashing bright in the rising sun...

"Ye're a dab hand wit' a sword, Tin-Boat," quipped the pirate ship, "compared to my rawest fore-mast sailors." She looped a cut at the ironclad's shoulder.

Kaylee blocked the blow and rode it down and aside before stepping in and driving her pommel at Anne's face. "You're a good teacher, for a leaky old dyer's tub." Anne sidestepped the pommel-strike and parried the follow-up cut before forcing Kaylee back with a thrust.

"Aye, I am, I am, but the student hasn't surpassed the master just yet." The two met again and with a deft twist Virginia was disarmed and staring down a pistol barrel.

"Cheater."

"Pirate."

The pair laughed and sheathed their blades. "Good match, Anne. Thanks for helping me practice."

...........................................

In Kure, Jaw, however, was much less relaxed. "Say, Zui? I kinda need a favor."

"Oh?" said Zuikaku. "What do you need my help with?"

"I entered an RC-Dogfight tournament, but partofit'sfeet-wetandIhavenoideahowtodocarrierlandings..." In his blushing embarrassment James Aubrey Wilson McAmis babbled the last of his sentence in one semicoherent rush.

Zui's eye twitched. "Say again your last? Slowly, please."

"Part of the tournament is a feet-wet portion, over Tokyo Bay, but I don't know how to take off or land from a carrier. Can you help me? Please?"

Zuikaku looked her boyfriend in the eye, savoring the rare moment when he was actually acknowledging himself to be at a loss. "I believe that's doable. So, whose deck are you flying off of, and at what scale?"

"Giant-scale, and the carriers are all replicas of American and Japanese Flat-tops. Each plane takes off from its own stationary carrier, and each plane has a specific target among the other carriers. Sink your target, get a fresh target, land to 'rearm', rinse, repeat."

Zuikaku nodded. "Which plane are you flying?"

Jaw grinned. "I'm flying the Devil's Due." He nodded toward the garage and the freshly-fuelled model F4U Corsair that sat in the open door.

Zuikaku smiled. "Get your FPV goggles; I'll see if I can find a spare runway and some chalk..."

 

[darthcourt10]

UCCMaster

Great snippets!

Sadly, my muse concerning Hoppou is over. I'll get back to her someday.

Considering I'm one of those rare guys who came to this forum from the Kancolle side rather than the HP side (still have never read the books/watched the movies), it's obvious that I have still no clue how much the canon universe works, beyond reading crossover fanfiction. I'll try to accommodate with my knowledge of Tv tropes and MSSB.

---

Ron stared at Warspite at disbelief. "So you're saying that people have written about putting shipgirls in different worlds and realms to see what kind of reactions they might have?"

Warspite nodded. "That's right. Most of the fandom is based off a video game that came out a while back in Japan, which was based off Jane's book. But I find it intriguing to see where human minds can take us when they have truly no knowledge of us beyond what they find on the internet. If you'd like, I can show some of the more interesting ones."

"Nope!" Ron furiously shook his head, shivering nervously. "Internet's a dark place. People put things there that is weird. Harry's been there and you've seen how he turned out."

Warspite sighed, "What did he do to you?"

Ron shivered, shaking uncontrollably as his pupils shrunk. "It was dark, but that was okay. No nightlight because Ron is a big boy, that's what mother said. And then, he comes out from the dark and tells me not to be afraid. To cheer me up, he shows me what he does to keep calm…then he did the most horrifying, mind racking ritual…" He gripped the battleship's arms tightly. "Please, you've got to help me! We aren't safe as long as that…thing is out there!"

Warspite watched in confusion, trying to figure out how the conversation had jumped from chess, to alternate realities, to…well…this. "Calm down, nobody is going to hurt you." She chided, patting the boy's head.

"Japan, that's got to be it!" Ron cackled, his eyes that of a madman's as he continued to shake. "That's where he became like this. No ordinary wizard would resort to such insanity! It has to be that…what's it called…otaku thingy! That's what made my friend this way. That has to be it! Once I cleanse him of this taint, then we'll all be free…yes! I can see it now!"

"Ron, Warspite, is everything alright?" the certain messy haired boy peered in. "I thought I heard a madman."

Ron shrieked, clinging onto his battleship for dear life, his face going pale as his pointed a crooked finger at the Boy who lived. "There he is! He's the one who has let loose a horror that must not be named!"

Warspite blushed lightly, patting the boy's head. "Harry, do you any idea what's gotten into him?"

Harry shook his head. "No idea. Look, Ron, if this is about my puns, then…"

But to both of their shock, the other boy shook his head furiously. "No, it's not your puns. It's…that thing you do…when you're trying to keep us calm!" He stammered.

Harry tilted his head, "Poi? Oh, you mean this?"

He turned around as the air grew still, then spun around his hands making weird cultish figures. "Harry-Harry-Hii! I'll Harry-Harry-Hii your heart! I'm Nagato Harry-Harry and I'll put a smile on your heart! Remember, I'm Harry-Hii, and I love-Harry you!"

Ron shrieked before burying his head in Warspite's bosom, "Save me, protect me from the horrors!" He cried. Warspite was shellshocked, staring at the…whatever he was…her mouth agape.

"Or is it this one?" He turned around, before spinning around once more. "I'm Harry-chan, of the Hogwarts Fleet! Harry-chan, Idol of the Fleet, will keep you calm Dess!"

"Argh!" This time, Warspite joined in with the screaming, causing both Boy and Warship to tip over the poor wheelchair as Ron attempted to drag the multi-ton battleship to port, away from the hurricanes of Dess that they had just faced. Moments later, the door slammed behind Harry as the hallways of Hogwarts were filled with the shrieks and cries of agony and horror.

Harry watched the door before tilting his head once more. "Poi?" he asked in confusion to the audience. When he got response, for even the readers had fled in terror, he sighed, made a note to fix the broken wall, and walked away. "Poi…"

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 83: S0ngD0g13

Music: a Magic Like no Other...
...........................................

There was a strange (or perhaps not-so-strange thing, given the tendency of certain Girls-who-are-Ships to break the monotony this way) phenomenon occurring in Hogwarts. The stone halls were alive with song, and in Common Rooms and corridors, from the towers to the dungeons, there were people singing...

.......................................

A group of Seventh-Years came stomping into the Hufflepuff Common-Room, dripping and soaked from the rain they'd been in. "Merlin, Morgana, and Maeve, I feel cold to my bones, boys," said Jack McMillan as he and his friends crowded around the fireplace to warm up.

George Purcell laughed. "I know, Jack, but think on this; a few more weeks and we're free. And I'm going someplace a lot warmer than Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts. I've got a cousin in America who promised to show me Hawaii. Old Maui, here I come..."

Jack nodded. "Hell, I heard one of the Firsties singing about that, going to Maui." He grinned. "A little adjustment on the lyrics and it could well be us in that song...

"Oh it's a damned-tough life,
Full of toil and strife
We Seventh-Years undergo;
But we don't give a damn
when the NEWTs are done
How hard Ol' Snape did blow;
For we're homeward-bound
From the Hogwarts Ground
With our spirits taut and free,
And we don't give a damn
When we drink our rum
With the girls of Old Maui!"

By the end of the song, every Seventh-Year in the Common-Room joined in the chorus...

"Rollin' down to Old Maui, me boys;
Rollin' down to Old Maui!
We're homeward-bound
From the Hogwarts Ground
Rollin' down to Old Maui!"

...............................................

Several floors above the Hufflepuff Dorms, a group of House Elves scrubbed a corridor, timing their work to the call-and-response of a song, learned from 'Miss Gray-Coat Gin'...

"Soon we'z be ready to clean up the Dorm!"

"Way, Hey, Mop and Glow!"

"The Castle be Sparklin' when House Elves is done!"

"T' me Hard-Working Handy Dandy-Oh!"

............................................

Rubeus Hagrid came up the road from Hogsmeade after a night at the Hog's Head, his voice echoing across the grounds as he leaned on the shoulder of Golden Hind.

"Help me, Bob;
I'm bully in th' alley;
Way, Hey, bully in th' alley...
Help me, Bob;
I'm bully in th' alley;
Bully down in Shinbone Al..."

Golden Hind shifted the half-giant higher on her shoulder and sang back.

"Our ship made port in an English town;
Way Hey, Bully in the Alley!
I started drinkin' when the sun went down;
Bully down in Shinbone Al!"

...............................................

Down in the Dungeons Severus Snape didn't sing as he graded essays. Gryffindor First-Years' Potions essays were bad enough singing...

But he did hum the tune Skye Boat Song, which had been a favorite of Lily's...

...................................................

Kaylee played her harmonica as Harry, on a dare, stood in the Gryffindor Common-Room and sang.

"The Farmer's heart with Joy is filled,
When his Crops are good and sound;
But who can tell the Wild Delight
Of a Sailor Homeward-Bound?
For ten long months have passed away,
Since we left Freedom's Shore;
That wished-for time has come at last;
We're Homeward-Bound once more!

Where the Sky is clear as a Maiden's eye,
Who longs for our Return;
To the Land where Milk and Honey flows
And Liberty, it was Born;
So fill our Sails with the Favoring Gales
And good Shipmates all around,
And give three cheers for our Starry Flag;
Into Jamestown Homeward-Bound!"

After the song ended, Kaylee lifted her own voice, not in a shanty, but in a song from Tolkien...

"There was an Inn, a Merry old Inn,
Beneath an old gray hill,
An' there they'd brew a beer so brown,
That th' Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill!

The Hostler had a Tipsy Cat
That played a five-string fiddle..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking along with her hands in her pockets, Imuya gave a glance at the black haired boy beside her. Like the others, she could remember when she came back as a shipgirl and how they were often not given much attention. Their battles were not the flashy battles between Battleships, nor the long distance warfare of the Carriers. Neither were they like the close range brawls between Destroyers and Cruisers on both sides. For the Submarines, their battles were much different.

They were nervewrecking at the best of times as they had to sneak in to do their work. A game of cat and mouse above and below the waves in the unforgiving sea. Above the waves, Abyssal Destroyers and other escorts hunted them, waiting for one single mistake on the part of the Submarines before they sent out depth charges, hedgehogs, and other Submarine killing weapons. Unlike even a Destroyer, a single direct hit would kill one of the Submarines with ease, punching through their hull and forcing them to either sink, or surface directly into the lines of Abyssal guns. Even travel was dangerous as they would need to surface to recharge their batteries and help get fresh air. And even though they did so at night, there were times that they had to do so in the day, making them vulnerable to the aircraft from Carriers with sometimes the first warning being the drone of engines.

Not to mention when those with Floatplanes had to surface to launch them and to recover them for recon while waiting.

Even when they were inside the escort lines, it was no less hard. Lining up their shots for the Abyssal targets that they were aiming for. Inside their hulls, every fairy waiting, listening for that smallest sign that their parascope had been sightened. For that split second that was the difference between life and death, for the time they would need to crash dive. Seconds would become minutes, and then sometimes stretch into hours as they waited beneath the surface. Targetting solutions coming up with and then dismissed as they waited. Waiting for that one. Perfect. Shot.

If everything went correctly, then the first sign that the Abyssals would have of Submarines in the area might be the torpedoes detonating as they hit their target. But more often then not, everything did not go perfectly. But even if they did, then there was still the issue of trying to escape escorts and the like hunting for them. The pulse pounding run to get out before being hit. Sometimes their persuers would be extremely dogged.

Once in a while, Imuya still woke in a cold sweat remembering the one time Abyssal Destroyers had depth charged her for nearly thirteen hours straight trying to kill her. And she knew that the others had times when it was similarly long periods, such as once when Iku herself had Abyssal escorts trying to kill her for nearly thirty hours, depth charges exploding all around her in the water. It was not easy being a Submarine and well behind enemy lines.

There was a very good reason why Imuya called herself and the others the "Snipers of the Seas" after all.

But when they came home, they would give their reports to their superiors and get maybe a nod and an acknowledgement before being dismissed. More then once, they were sent right back out afterwards. Even the other shipgirls often barely paid them much, if any mind. During their first lives, Submarines were considered postings below even Destroyers in the IJN. It did not help matters that said shipgirls just couldn't understand what the Submarines went through. Not to mention those who died at the torpedoes of Submarines, those ones often tried to stay away from Submarines and some were even outright hostile. Even their human superiors and comrades would just give them at most the same amount of attention that they might a unharmed Destroyer when they returned from a mission. After all, Subs were supposed to run silent and deep.

And from what Imuya and the others had gotten from their fellow Submarines in other navies, the situation was not much different for them either. Perhaps it was why Submarines were often the quirkiest of all the shipgirls. They wanted and needed attention from others outside their group. For the former IJN Submarines, this meant acting lewd. Sure, it was bad attention but it was still attention being given them. Not that they had ever gone further then simply acting, much to the annoyance of those who thought that they were serious and had tried to bed them. "Tease" was one of the less nasty things that they got called. Imuya would admit though that at least Goto came down hard on those who did that.

However, it was attention, right?

Just the same though, it gave them the sort of reputation among both humans and shipgirls. And not the good sort of reputation either. Thus things continued onwards for Imuya and the Yokosuka Subgirls until one day the Abyssals managed to get in close and launch an air raid on Yokosuka Base and the surrounding town. When Iku had saved Nagato's adopted son and brought him into the Sub Pens, reinforced as they were the pens were practically invulnerable to the Abyssal bombs and could take even one or two hits from Battleships before being damaged. He was in there for the whole attack and a bit afterwards. Much to their surprise, Nagato trusted them enough with that and had actually thanked them profusely. Of course, she had been confused with how embarrassed the Submarines had become or why they were acting surprised and unnerved. The fact that was a large amount of positive attention never crossed her mind for weeks.

What they had expected to happen after Harry thanked them was for him to just walk away. Needless to their shock and surprise, a few days lter Harry showed up with his wagon full of baked treats. Treats that he had made just for them to thank them. Even then, they had not expected him to keep coming back. But he had, time after time. Often they would come back from reporting in to find Harry waiting for them. Even when he didn't get to see them due to them coming late at night for example, they would find treats waiting for them in their fridge. It had warmed them that someone actually not only cared so much, but paid them that amount of attention.

It went without saying that none of them ever acted lewd towards him as they did not want to drive him off.

One knock on effect was that Nagato grew to trust them with her son and their pens soon became a spot where Harry hung out at when his mother was busy at nights. In fact, the only other place was Tenryuu's place. Which eventually lead to Harry staying over for sleepovers or to watch movies and play games. At first, all that attention had both confused them even as they were overjoyed. Eventually, they found out about Harry's past and they were both dismayed and angered by it. Which caused Harry to have them promise not to go any further in regards to that.

Years passed though and they had become closer to Harry. Which meant that as they got more used to being girls, they had gotten feelings for the young boy. And while Imuya would admit to not being as close as Iku or Hachi were, more then once she had awoke from a dream with a red face. Said dreams involving an older Harry as her Captain or Admiral and doing... things. Imuya also knew that RO and Shioi were not much different then her. But while they had their own hopes in regards to Hachi and her plan...

Right now, they were more concerned with simply spending time with Harry, the person they hoped would become their Admiral in the future.

A throat being cleared caused Imuya to snap back to the present to see Harry looking at her, On his face there was a rather odd expression before he frowned. "Um, Imuya-Chan? Is there something wrong? Because you've been staring at me with a smile on your face..."

Blushing as she felt her diesels speed up, Imuya coughed and looked away. "No, nothing is wrong, Harry-Chan. I was just... thinking, that's all."

Even though he wasn't quite sure himself, Harry only shrugged. "Okay then, just wondering."

Quickly, Imuya decided to change the subject. "Soo... speaking of wondering." When Harry looked towards her, she continued. "I've been wondering why we're heading out here? I mean, you mentioned spell practice, but you could use one of the classrooms for that."

Harry scratched one cheek as he chuckled weakly. "Well... I could, but this isn't exactly a spell to practice inside." At her raised eyebrow, he flushed a bit. "It's not super dangerous or anything but..."

Crossing her arms across her chest, Imuya hummed some. "Not super dangerous, huh? Then why come outside to practice it? And what sort of spell are we talking about?"

With a frown, Harry glanced around before leaning in and getting a small snicker from the red haired Submarine. "It's more a distraction spell that my Mum, my biological Mum, came up with. And it's just really, really annoying if cast inside to other people." Shuffling a bit and not noticing Imuya's eyes softening, Harry continued. "After what happened in the Chamber, I think that I need more spells. Especially ones that could help."

Unknown to Harry, Imuya's breath caught a bit as that came up. She could still remember the chill and horror that her and the other Submarines had felt at hearing Harry was dying and that they were not there. Imuya would not be afraid of saying that it was one of the most painful things to hear. Nor would she deny the relief that her and the others had felt at hearing that he was okay. They had even cried in pure joy at that, and even the memory brought up prickling at the corners of her eyes. Shaking off such things though, she frowned. "Would there be any spells that could have helped you though?"

Chewing his lip, Harry considered the question for several moments. "Um... maybe? Not to fight the Basilisk, but ones that could have helped anyways, such as to get away?"

That got him a nod from Imuya and for her to ruffle his hair. "Oh? So your not dismissing our advice?"

His thoughts going back to a conversation he had with the Submarines and several other shipgirls after his First Year, which amounted to that his best bet would be to run from Voldemort if confronted and he had the chance. And while he was annoyed that it was compared to a PT boat facing a Battleship, he had taken in what they said. "Well, yeah? I mean you guys all had a point. I wouldn't be able to beat him in a straight up fight, so just do what I can to get away."

Slowly, Imuya gave a slight tilt of her head. "Exactly. He's got both power and experience on you, so unless you got no way out or need to fight him you should run. And if you need to make a stand..."

Expression becoming serious, Harry looked her in the eye. "If I need to make a stand, try my best to get home alive by using everything that I know in every way possible, even if other people would consider it insane while running at the first chance to do so. And if I am going down, to do as much damage as possible."

Flinching a bit at the last bit, Imuya nodded. After all, being a shipgirl she knew more then anyone that not everyone made it home and better to make sure that the opponent was hurt bad enough that they could not go after your friends in such a case. Then she let out a breath. "But still do your best to get out of there, Harry-Chan. Me and the others? Even if you came back scarred and with missing limbs, we would still want that." Placing her hand on his shoulder, she gave him a smile. "And in such a case, we would still take care of you."

In reply, Harry reached up and grasped her hand. "I know."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 84: S0ngD0g13

The submarine lay on the surface, hidden in the shadows, and peered carefully across the moonlit water toward the eldritch thing that rode at anchor just out of range... At least with her guns all shooting, the crew should be properly distracted...

Her screw began to turn, slowly, quietly, as the sub-turned-girl began her approach, slipping lower into the water to hide herself... Carefully, boys; let's not give ourselves away now, she thought to her crew. As she came closer to her target, she submerged entirely so as not to show in the glare of muzzle-flashes. The rudder; I might not kill this bitch, but I'll for damned-sure lame her...

A buzzing sound from above stopped her short; aircraft! The submarine remembered seeing them at work earlier in the day, and had no desire to tangle with the bomb-carrying flyers. The sub flooded her ballast-tanks a bit more and descended lower before continuing her approach to the Abyssal she'd chosen as prey...

The Destroyer Water-Demon (former Ha-Class) Hag gleefully continued shelling the harbor and the Shipgirls who sortied to defend it from her and her Princess's Fleet; she laughed out loud when she saw shells from one of the Ru-Classes, Ruination, shatter the bastions of one of the harbor-fortresses...

The submarine was in postition and well within range... I have you now...

Hag felt her left leg suddenly lift from the water and explode in pain as the (strangely-weak) torpedo blasted away her rudder and bent her screws. Before she could react, the Abyssal felt her hair being grabbed and her head was jerked backward; she saw the slim, Destroyer-young girl who'd lamed her holding her hair, took in the old-style clothing...

...just before the submarine snaked her arms around the Abyssal's neck and wrenched, snapping it with a crack like breaking driftwood...

The Shipgirls of Charleston, South Carolina, noticed a sudden slackening of fire from the Abyssal left-flank, and two blue flares rose over the wreckage of Fort Sumpter...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Moments later, Imuya shook her head and decided that the mood needed lightening. Which is what lead her to move until she was behind Harry. Even as he looked over his shoulder, she was already acting and leapt on his back. "HA!"

Stumbling at the sudden weight, Harry looked up at her in surprise. "Imuya-Chan! What the heck?!"

Only grinning down at him, she snickered while placing her arms over his shoulders. "What? Things were getting to serious, Harry-Chan."

For a second, Harry was stunned before sighing. "And so you jumped onto my back, Imuya-Chan? Really?"

All she did though was shrug and grin down at him. "Yes, really, Harry-Chan." Her smile softening, the Submarine shook her head before practically draping herself over him. "Besides, you owe me for the scare that you put us through. So this is the least that you can do for me."

With a sigh, Harry shook his head. "So basically, I need to give you and the others a ride on me?"

Imuya gave a sharp nod. "Yup! We each get to ride you!" Then her mind caught up with what both her and Harry had just said. Result? Her face rapidly became nearly as red as her hair. "I-I-I mean... Um... that is... piggyback rides."

Confused as to why she had stuttered and her blushing, Harry only shrugged. "Sure, I guess." He then grabbed her legs and shifted her a bit. Unnoticed by him, the action of his hands grabbed her thighs caused Imuya's blush to deepen some with a whisp of steam coming from her ears. "Anyways, it's not far anyways."

Finally calming down a bit, Imuya kept quiet as they trudged along. Part of her was still amazed at the fact that Harry could even carry her along. Granted, she was only physically appearing to be three years older, but still. Her and the others though just shrugged it off as he was pretty physically active. Or maybe he was using his magic somehow to lighten them? Then Imuya dismissed it in her head. Whatever the reason, she was not about to not enjoy a piggyback from her friend. "Heh."

Glancing up at her, Harry raised an eyebrow at her as he felt the Submarine lean more onto him. In particular, her chest was now against his head. "Enjoying yourself, Imuya-Chan?"

A smile tugging at her lips, Imuya gave a chuckle. "Why wouldn't I enjoy it, Harry-Chan? Stuff like this? Just the two of us enjoying things? Those times are precious and should be enjoyed to the fullest."

Head tilting back to look Imuya in the eye, Harry smiled back at her and chuckled. "I guess so actually. At least I enjoy them."

Needless to say, Imuya smiled back at him before shaking her head. Eventually, they reached a small hollow. Looking around, she raised an eyebrow before looking down at Harry. "Don't want anyone to see?"

Only sighing, Harry gave a small nod before grimacing. "After last year and what some of the Slytherins with Death Eater relatives said... It might be best not to let on what I know."

Nodding with a hum, Imuya became thoughtful. "You do have a point. Any of them could pass on intelligence and if Voldemort comes back, then chances are their relatives would rejoin his forces. And that means that he might know some of what you're capable of... Yeah, best to keep that sort of knowledge secret from those not in the know."

Several seconds passed before Harry looked up at her. "Um, Imuya-Chan? Can I ask you something?"

With a nod, she nodded with a twinkle in her eyes. "Of course you can."

Just sighing, Harry gave her a raised eyebrow. "Anything?" At her nod, he rolled his eyes. "So why are you still on my back?"

Tapping her chin, Imuya gave a hum before smirking. "Well, for one thing you're still holding onto my legs. And for another..."

Eyebrow raising further, Harry tried to keep back snickers. "And for another? Another what, Imuya-Chan?"

The Submarine let out a sigh and then snuggled best that she could into Harry and made him stumble. "I'm really comfy here." She then nuzzled his hair. "Really, really comfy."

Feeling himself blush, Harry tried his best to keep a stutter from his voice. "Oh, well then I-"

However, something else happened that made Imuya blink and then stare at him. 'Did he...' Lips twitching some, she barely kept from giggling some. "D-did your voice just crack, Harry-Chan?"

Cheeks burning, Harry scowled. "No..." At her look though, he sighed some. "Okay, yes. But it's not funny!"

Even as her lips still twitched, the red haired Submarine only nodded. "No, it's not that funny I guess." Tapping his arms. she waited until he let go before slipping off. Before he could do anything else though, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Besides, it's sort of cute since it means that you're growing up."

If anything though, that made Harry's cheeks redden further. Stuttering a bit, he began to dig in his pocket. "R-right then. Give me a second to find the notes I took."

Unseen by him, Imuya had a pleased look on her face. 'Yet again, the Sniper of the Seas makes a direct strike!' She then reached into her own pocket and pulled out something. Thus when Harry turned, he found her sitting in a folding chair she had placed into her hull with Imuya giving him a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Sighing, Harry gave her a look that she smirked at. "Never mind." Turning to the paper in his hand, he looked it over with a small frown. "Hmm..."

More then a little interested in what he was doing, Imuya leaned forward. "So what sort of spell is it, Harry-Chan? You didn't say much about that."

With a glance back to her, Harry nodded before pulling out his wand. "It's... something that Mum came up with to help cover retreats from Death Eaters." Making several movements with his wand, he then jabbed it forward. "Volumina Fumi!"

All Imuya could do though was blink as a small stream of smoke like that from a cigarette came out. "Um..." Glancing at Harry, she raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to happen?"

Head hanging, Harry grumbled a bit. "No, there was a lot more smoke supposed to come out." Staightening his back, he nodded. "Okay, let's try this again."

It was not until about thirty minutes later that Harry finally got something and Imuya's eyebrows raised as pitch black smoke shot out from Harry's wand. Mentally, she compared it to a smokescreen thrown up by a Destroyer. "That's... impressive."

Moving back some even as he cut off the spell, Harry nodded some. "Really, really impressive." He glanced down at his wand which still had some smoke on it. "Though Mum said that a good Bubblehead Charm would stop it from affecting breathing."

To his surprise though, Imuya moved forward until she reached the smoke and raised her eyebrows. "It's not moving in the breeze much and..." Reaching in, the Submarine pulled out her hand seconds later with the smoke seemingly clinging to it. "And it's sticky? No, not sticky, more... I don't know, clingy?"

Beside her, Harry nodded some even as he breathed deeply and then coughed as a whisp of smoke went down his throat. Moments later, Imuya was patting him on the back. "Um, yeah, I guess."

Once more reaching into her pocket, Imuya pulled out a cup of green tea that she handed him. "Here, drink some of this." As he did so, she turned back to the smoke which she now noticed was dissappating. But it was doing it much more slowly then even it being in a sheltered hollow should have meant. "How long should it take to disappear?"

Pulling the cup away from his lips, Harry wiped his mouth before frowning. "Um, a bit? At her look, he shook his head. "Mum's notes were not exactly specific then stating that it would stick around for a time. Apparently the magic in the spell helps some with keeping it togther for a time anyways."

A frown on her face, Imuya tilted her head some. "I see..."

Then without saying anything else, she stepped into the cloud and soon vanished. All Harry could do was blink and stare. Several minutes passed before Imuya finally stepped out from inside the cloud with a small grin as it began to lighten. "Okay, call me impressed. That would definitely help with getting away from someone. Especially if they breath it in."

Raising his eyebrow as some tendrils of smoke stubbornly clung to Imuya, Harry shook his head some. "Yeah, but Mum's notes stated that a Bubblehead charm would stop it from affecting their breathing. And that's apparently something a lot of people know."

However, Imuya only shook her head as she glanced back at the cloud of smoke that was now able to be barely seen through. "Yes, and? They'll need to cast it inside the cloud. The whole time they're sucking in smoke and coughing and choking on it. Trust me, that would not be something that you would want to happen to you."

With a small thoughtful look on his face, Harry gave her the point with a tilt of the head. "I guess so. How bad was it...?"

Glancing at him, Imuya crossed her arms. "You mean inside?" When he nodded, she tilted her head to the side and considered it. "Not so bad for me, but then I'm a Submarine so I'm used to darkness. Most though would find it really hard to make their way through it. Kind of like a Destroyer's smokescreen really. Like I said, impressive."

There was a smile on Harry's face as he turned back to see the cloud finally break apart and dissapate fully. "Cool. And yeah, see why I couldn't cast it inside?"

Softly snorting, Imuya nodded. "Yeah, I can see why. A lot of people would have had a lot of problems with you casting it indoors." Her gaze trailing along where the last few stubborn whisps were, she shook her head. "Still, that would be a pretty useful spell to use."

Pulling out the notes, Harry looked them over and frowned. "I think that the variants might be more useful. But they'll be tougher for me to use."

Intrigued, Imuya leaned over to have a better look. "Oh? How so?"

Only glancing at her, Harry tapped one of them. "Well... the smoke takes on various attributes. Like this one right here adds a smell to the smoke... Really, really bad one that causes normal people to feel ill and ones with higher then normal senses to puke their guts out."

Looking over what was there, Imuya felt her eyebrows raise upwards as she spotted one. "This one is really, really nasty..." At Harry's look, she shuddered a bit. "Makes the smoke super hot, like the hot air in a house that's on fire. I... really do not want to think what that might do to someone's lungs."

A shudder passing through him, Harry shook his head. "Neither do I, but my biological Mum did come up with it. This one though is cool though."

Head tilting to the side, Imuya snorted at what she read. "A illuminous cloud? Really?" Turning, she gave Harry a grin. "Was your Mum a horror movie fan?"

Unable to help himself, Harry snickered some. "I don't know but maybe." He then pointed at another. "This one though has the smoke made out of coal dust though. I am definitely not trying that one for a long time until I can be sure that I can use it."

Eyebrows furrowing, Imuya frowned. "Why no..." Then one of her crew let her know and she gave a low whistle. "Okay... that? That is nasty. And no, you are not trying that anytime soon."

Harry only nodded at that. "Yeah, there was a lot of warnings there. Though I think that the Exploding Toilet Curse is worse." At Imuya's confusion, he shrugged. "If it hit them, it wouldn't do anything, or to appearences anyways. Until they went to the washroom and sat down on the toilet..."

It took a few seconds before Imuya partially gagged and partially laughed. "Oh Kami, that is beyond nasty. And your Mum knew that spell?! Seriously!?"

Slowly, the black haired wizard nodded with a grin on his face. "Yeah, she knew it. Apparently though my Great-Aunt Dorea created it though. The notes said that the spell was created after she was really, really annoyed with someone."

After a few moments of consideration, Imuya shook it off. Not really all that important after all. Then she turned towards Harry with a thoughtful look. "Any other spells that you need to practice out here?"

Harry was about to say something when he paused and gave it some thought. "Actually..." Looking around the hollow, he slowly nodded. The hollow, more a dell then anything else, had high sides. More then that, there was the remains of a wall along one side at the top which meant the whole place was now in the shade and slowly darkening in the late, March afternoon. "When I asked Percy for some spells that could distract, he gave me some."

That caused Imuya to blink and look at him. "Really? Percy?" At Harry's nod, she scratched her head. "Huh. So what sort of spells did he suggest."

Quickly flipping through his notebook, Harry came to a spot and nodded. "Mostly just variants of Lumos."

Eyebrow raising, Imuya frowned some. "That spell that lights up your wand? That one?" When Harry nodded, she scratched her chin in thought. "Okay, I can see how that might be useful in and of itself... but why?"

A frown on his face, Harry placed the notes back into his pocket. "Some of them are more useful then others... One moment." Making some motions with his wand, he pointed it. "Lumos Solem!"

Suddenly, a beam shot from Harry's wand forward, visible in the gathering shadows. Reaching forward, Imuya glanced at Harry who nodded before placing her hand into the beam. Somewhat intrigued, the Submarine wiggled her fingers in the light. "Feels... warm? Like when you lie in the Sun."

On Harry's face there was a smile as he cut off the spell. "It should, the spell makes pure sunlight." Seeing the confusion on Imuya's face, he grinned some. "Let's just say it is very, very distracting against vampires and other creatures of the dark that Voldemort used..."

It took a few moments, but Imuya slowly grinned. "Oh, I can imagine." Her attention caught, she then blinked. "Wait, is this one of the spells that you're able to use during the summer?"

The black haired boy nodded. "Any Lumos spell or derivative is able to be used during the summer. Apparently the Ministry doesn't really care all that much about it." His eyes fell on another. "Um, I might need some help with this one, a target..."

Imuya only shrugged. "Not a problem, I trust you, Harry-Chan."

With a shrug, Harry turned toward where she was standing and began to try out the spell. Roughly a ten minutes later, Harry was looking down at a rapidly blinking Imuya. "Um, are you okay, Imuya-Chan?"

Rubbing her eyes, the Submarine nodded with a grunt. "Yeah, I'm okay, Harry-Chan. Just feels like someone switched one of those high powered flashlights on in my face is all." Hands pulling away, she blinked. "Kami, I am still seeing spots."

On Harry's face was a blush as he reached down and helped pull her to her feet. "Sorry about that, Imuya-Chan... I didn't mean to hurt you."

However, the Submarine only waved him off with a snort. "You've no need to feel sorry, Harry-Chan. Besides, I'm not hurt at all, just a bit disorientated is all." With a grunt, she got to her feet and was still blinking a bit before smiling at a still concerned Harry. "Still, pretty useful to have, Harry-Chan. And now we know you can use it though you should practice some."

Scratching his neck, Harry chuckled some. "Um... maybe? I mean, I need someone as a target for it though..." Looking at the notes, he nodded. "Apparently even turning away won't help as the light will seek out the eyes?"

Mouth opening, Imuya was about to say something when she paused and then closed it. "Right, magic. Anyways, we'll come up with something for you to practice it. Any others?"

With a look at his watch, Harry shook his head. "Getting a bit late though... but, um, there is one that I've been practicing with?" Bringing up his wand, he made several motions. "Lumos exspiravit."

Flinching a bit, Imuya was surprised to see that Harry's wand only lit up like a normal Lumos. But then he made a flicking motion and the light leapt off it. The light floated there before Harry made another motion and the light began to bob along. 'Why would that be...' Her eyes widening, Imuya snapped her finger. "I get it, if anyone was to see that in the dark then that is where they would think that you were. Especially in a smoke screen like your biological Okaa-San's spell."

Somewhat proud, Harry only nodded. "Yup! It's pretty useful for stuff like that apparently, though usually thieves use it to throw off the Aurors." He then turned to the notes. "Now, about Lumos Maxima..."

Needless to say, roughly fifteen minutes later, both Harry and Imuya were blinking away spots in their vision. Grumbling, she rubbed at her eyes some. "Let's not do that again when our eyes are adjusted for low light..."

All Harry did was nod in agreement.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Laying back on the couch having finished his homework, Harry glanced to where Natsumi was also lightly dozing. A small smile crossed his face as he watched the disguised kitsune simply resting. Though most of those in the Gryffindor Common Room knew better then to bother her, but not for pranks performed on them. Rather because every time someone tried, Harry would simply give them a look that froze them before they walked off. No one could figure out quite how he managed it.

Except for the shipgirls, mainly because they realized it was a glare like the sort Nagato would use to freeze misbehaving shipgirls.

However, the peace was not to last as the Fat Lady's painting swung open and Louisiana strode in. But what caught Harry's attention was the sheer happiness on her face before she noticed him and Natsumi. Eyebrow raising as she strode across the room, Harry cleared his throat. "Louisiana? What's going on-"

Before he could finish though, he was swept up into a tight hug as the Battleship laughed gaily. His face smooshed into her chest, all Harry could do was watch as Louisiana then swept up a shocked awake Natsumi into her embrace as well. "Mon chéri! Ma chérie! The most wonderful thing has happened!"

With his face now buried in her chest, Harry could only blink and look up at her. One thing that was obvious was that Louisiana was overcome with sheer joy. Various Gryffindors were looking on in both amusement and curiosity, but it was Neville who tapped her on the arm. "Um, Miss Louisiana? What happened?"

Still holding Harry and Natsumi close, Louisiana's eyes practically shone with unshed tears. "I just got word from some people." More then one person translated that to "Shipgirls" in their heads. "My sister, Maine was just summoned!"

More then a little confused as to why that was a big deal, or why Harry's eyes widened, Neville frowned some. "Maine?"

Nodding with a brilliant smile on her face, Louisiana sniffled a bit. "Yes, Maine. BB-68 and the third of us Montanas. She... She's been summoned and now is with us."

Unknown to her, Harry blinked as for some reason his mind flashed back to a dream he had recently. Yet again, he had found himself in a void with golden threads when one of the bigger ones had snapped along with two of the smaller ones with them vanishing. 'I wonder...'

Katie meanwhile walked up and conjured a handkerchief that she handed Louisana who had tears running down her cheeks. "Um, congratulations?"

Taking it, Lousiana swallowed thickly. "Thank you, my friend. I... I am just so happy."

Lips twitching, Katie chuckled a bit and glanced at Harry before turning back to Louisiana. "Well, she is you... sister?" At the nod, the Gryffindor nodded. "Your sister. So why wouldn't you be happy?"

However, Louisiana shook her head as she dabbed her cheeks. "Non, there is more to it then that. Maine..."

From where he was sitting, Ron's eyes widened. "Wait... that's right! The Montanas were never built which means..."

Needless to say the smile on Louisiana's face was wide enough to hurt as she nodded. "Oui, Ronald. None of us should have gotten the lives that we have and now we have. All that is left is Ohio and... and then we'll be together."

Confused, Katie looked from Louisiana to Ron with her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, they were never built?" Getting nods, she frowned. "But... if they were never built, then how did they come back?"

Louisiana chewed her lip for a few moments before glancing at Ron. "We do not know, Miz Katie. But whatever has happened, I am thankful to for giving me the chance that I have been given." A tap on the arm caused her to look over at Isokaze who seemed greatly amused about something. "Yes, Isokaze?"

The Destroyer let out a snicker before pointing at Harry and Natsumi, the female of the two seeming to be resigned to what was happening. "Perhaps you should let them breath? I think that they might be needing some air you know?"

Blinking, Louisiana looked down and then blushed as she realized that the two couldn't even talk. Sheepishly and gently, Louisiana set them down. "I am sorry, Mon chéri... Ma chérie... I was..." At the tug on her sleeve, the Battleship crouched down. "Yes? What-"

Moments later, Louisiana froze as both Harry and Natsumi threw their arms around her neck and she could feel her boilers heat up as Harry spoke. "That's great to hear, Louisiana!"

On the other side from Harry, Natsumi nodded and softly nuzzled the Battleship. "What Harry-Chan said! That's great news and hopefully Ohio-San also gets summoned real soon."

Flustered, Louisiana only nodded before closing her eyes with a smile. "Merci bien, my friends. Merci." Still more then a little emotional, Louisiana allowed herself to be guided over to the couch that Harry had been sitting on by Natsumi before being sat down. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Minagato being spoken to by Harry before she nodded and ran off. 'I wonder what that was about...'

Pats on her hand caused her to turn and see Natsumi smiling up at her. "How are you feeling... Louisiana-Chan?"

Blushing at the honorific, Louisiana smiled down at her and gently clasped the kitsune's hand in her own. "I'm... happy. So very happy, as if my boilers are about to burst from this... this miracle from above. We'll all be able to be together now if it works out and they can enjoy the same life as I am, a chance that we never got." Dabbing at her eyes, she gave a sniffle. "I am just emotional right now."

Two arms wrapped around her best that they could from one side and she turned to see Harry hugging her. "It's okay, Louisiana." Looking up at her bluish eyes, his green meeting them, Harry smiled. "No one will have a problem with you crying from being happy that your sister's back."

Louisiana stared at him and then Natsumi who hugged her other side before relaxing. "I know that, Mon chéri. Especially not with you or Ma chérie here."

Over the next half hour, various Gryffindors came up and congratulated the Battleship on the arrival of her sister. Eventually though, Harry spotted Minagato on the staircase giving him a thumb's up before he turned and tapped Louisiana on the shoulder. "It's getting a bit late, so maybe we should head up to bed."

Confused, Louisiana glanced at the clock and frowned. 'It's only twenty-thirty though?' Shaking that off, she stood up with Natsumi and Harry following her and the others behind them. "Sure, lead the way."

As they headed up the stairs, Cormac McLaggen scowled some. "Bloody hell, what does that kid have that I don't. Seriously, they should be all over me..."

Not even looking as she passed him by, Angelina snorted and whacked him in the back of the head. "Do you need a list, McLaggen? Because we could be here all night in that case."

Scowling, the Third Year grunted before walking off to eyerolls. Upstairs meanwhile, Lousiana was just smiling as Harry lead her into the Headboy's/Headgirl's Common Room and came to a stop. Standing on the table was Minagato, but it was what was with her that caused the Battleship to freeze. Mainly, there was a cake there along with several treats and tankards of drinks. Slowly, Louisiana turned to Harry who grinned and threw his hands into the air. "PANPAKAPAN! It's time to celebrate!"

Once more, Louisiana found tears prickling at the corners of her eyes before turning to Natsumi who gave her a gentle push. "Come on then, get in there so that we can have a party. That stuff is not going to eat itself after all!"

For several seconds, Lousiana was silent before pulling the two into a tight hug. "Merci, you two." All she got was faces grinning up at her before she kissed them each on the head. "Merci."

Just shrugging as she let them out of the hug and then pulled them into the room, Harry chuckled. "It's not that big of a deal, Louisiana. Besides, you're worth it."

Nodding, Lousiana walked over to where there was a phonograph and blinked at the vinyls that were beside it. She gave a raised eyebrow to Minagato who crossed her arms and stared back before shaking her head. Choosing one of them, Louisiana put it on and closed her eyes as the sound of smooth jazz filled the room and slowly dancing in place. When she turned around and opened her eyes, she smiled at the sight of Natsumi and Harry watching her. Moving forwards, she grasped their hands. "Ma chérie? Mon chéri? Would you have this dance with me?'

With a blink, Natsumi pointed at herself. "A dance with you? Both of us at once?"

A smile on her face, Lousiana hummed with a twinkle in her eye. "Oui, that is correct. All three of us." Leaning in, she stage whispered to them even as the others began to grab snacks and such. "After all, we need to work up an appitite after all, non?"

Sharing a look with Natsumi, Harry shrugged some and placed one hand on Louisiana's hip. On his other side, Natsumi rolled her eyes before doing the same and then placing one on Harry's back with him doing the same as all three began to sway to the music. It looked awkward. It was awkward as they tried to figure it out.

And to Louisiana, it was perfect and the best way to end one of her best days since being freed from her coffin.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 85: S0ngD0g13

Kaylee smiled as Louisiana danced with Harry and Natsumi. The Ironclad had gotten word from her uncle, who'd had it from the Tin-Cans via Jaw, about Maine's Summoning, and she was honestly happy for the Battleship.

Kaylee had another reason to be happy, as well; James and Houshou were in the final stages of planning their wedding. There was sadness in her, missing Polly, but it was a dull pain, faded from agony to ache.

The song on the phonograph changed and the first strains of the Tennessee Waltz began to play, and Kaylee flinched and reached over to turn the record-player off. "Not that song, please; it's pretty-enough but too damn sad for a celebration."

"What's sad about it?" asked Natsumi. "I hadn't heard it before."

Kaylee sang it gently, a cappella.

"I was waltzing
With my Darling,
To the Tennessee Waltz,
When an Old Friend
I happened to see;
Introduced him
To my Loved One,
And they started waltzing,
And my Friend stole
My Sweetheart from Me..."

"Like I said, too sad." She pulled her harmonica out and smiled. "How 'bout some Cajun music instead?"

Kaylee started playing a fast zydeco tune and the dancers smiled as they whirled around the floor. In between songs Kaylee would wet her throat with a sip of Butterbeer, and at one point she and Louisiana sang a duet of Chris LeDoux and Jo-El Sonnier's Pass my Hat, that had the others laughing, especially when the Montana-Class pecked Kaylee on the cheek at the lyric 'Kiss me quick then pass my hat'...

............................................

After the party had ended, Kaylee was down in the Common Room, nursing a cup of coffee dosed with rum, when Louisiana came down. "You alright, mon ami?"

"Oui. Je bien."

"Didn't know you spoke French, Kaylee."

"A little. Big family and some kin o' mine live in New Iberia. Hey, in case I forgot earlier, congrats on Maine coming back; I'm happy for you." Kaylee smiled and sipped her drink.

"How's Monitor doing?" asked Louisiana as she sat down.

"She's doing good. Patrols have been quiet lately. Charlotte's growing like a weed and almost ready to be certified. Jaw and Zui ain't killed one another or laid any keels yet. My uncle Joe's been having money troubles, which gives me a warm-fuzzy. Not that I'll ever admit that; he's an ass but he's kin, you know?"

The pair sat and talked a while longer, until Kaylee fell asleep in her chair by the fire...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore watched Victory as she attempted to spread some jam onto some toast with one hand. Scowling, she eventually just had one of her fairies do it before turning and giving the Headmaster a glare. "And what, exactly, do you find funny, Bumblebee?"

A smirk on his face, Dumbledore only hummed. "Oh, nothing, Vicky." He then made a pointed look at the breakfast that she was demolishing. "Hopefully you're enjoying your breakfast?"

Softly snorting, the old sailshipgirl shook her head. "Of course I am you senile old man. Hogwarts breakfasts are quite good after all."

Only nodding, Dumbledore chuckled some. "I'll pass that on to the elves, they do like it when people appreciate their food."

Chewing a mouthful of eggs, Victory soon swallowed and took a swig of tea. "You do that, Bumblebee." Then placing the tea to the side, a frown crossed her face. "So then, what exactly has happened now?"

His eyebrow raising, Dumbledore took a sip of his own tea. "Happened? You believe that something has happened, Vicky?"

In reply, Victory stared at him for several moments before she finally sighed. "Yes, because I know you too well, Albus Dumbledore. You invited me here for a reason after all. Now... spill, as they say."

With a sigh, Dumbledore looked out his window at the slowly lightening grounds. It was something that he never got tired of seeing and he always made sure to burn it into his memories, especially in the here and now. Glancing over at Victory who was waiting expectedly, Dumbledore gave a small sigh. "Are you sure that you want to do this? Business before pleasure?"

That got him a scoff from Victory before she rolled her eye. "Aye, Bumblebee. You know me too well by this point. So then, what's happened."

Closing his eyes, Dumbledore gathered his thoughts for several moments before finally speaking up. "Tell me something, Victory. Have you heard about extremely odd weather, recently? And I do mean odd."

Victory didn't speak up for several moments as she considered her response. "You'll have to be a mite more specific then that, Bumblebee. The weather now can be odd at times, global warming I think some call it."

Lips twitching, Dumbledore shook his head. "Well, specifically then I mean in the desert."

It took a few moments, but the shipgirl's eyes narrowed. "Desert you say? And odd weather?" At his nod, she became thoughtful. "You wouldn't happen to mean the recent thunderstorms that have been popping up in the Sahara, would you? The ones in a corner of Egypt?"

Slowly, Dumbledore nodded. "The very same as a matter of fact."

Eye narrowed to a slit, Victory finally let out a hiss. "I suppose then that it has something to do with them? The so called sunshipgirls that drove Gringotts out of Egypt?"

Once more, the Headmaster gave a small nod. "Indeed, those ones. It seems that they are making their presence known."

Rubbing the side of her head, Victory took a savage bite of a sausage before chewing and swallowing. "You'll have to excuse me Albus, but what does thunderstorms have to do with them? And if it is them, then what could they possibly be doing there?"

Not saying anything at first, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and sighed. "As you know, shortly after they kicked the goblins out, they all seemed to disappear in the desert. There's been sightings, of course, but not much else. At least until last summer when several large sandstorms were seen in the area where they were suspected to be. Massive ones."

As she thought back, Victory slowly nodded. "I remember reading about that in the newspapers. It caused a lot of headscratches to say the least as it was both local and very powerful. Quite a bit of sand was moved..." Scratching her cheek, she frowned. "Magic did that?"

Chuckling, Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, it pretty much set off quite a few magical sensors in Egypt when it happened. And before you ask, the Ancient Egyptians were said to be able to use spells that created massive sandstorms. One of which was rather infamous in that an entire Persian army vanished into it. In fact..." Reaching into his desk, he then pulled out a map and unrolled it. "It was also in the same rough area."

That made Victory raise her eyebrow some before glancing at Dumbledore. "I take it that since magic was involved, that is why no one ever found the location of where they laid?" When he nodded, she pinched her nose. "May I ask why?"

In reply, Dumbledore simply shrugged. "Mainly because the location is not too far from a magical town there in the Sahara which now lies abandoned. It was thought that there was a chance that if they found the remains of the army, that muggles might also stumble across the town."

Moments later, Victory sighed and pinched her nose as several pieces fell into place. "Let me guess... the Lost Oasis of Zerzura. No wonder no one ever found the place! You wizards bloody well hid it!"

Slowly, Dumbledore nodded. "Quite, though it has been abandoned for the past few centuries, the magic is still powerful there. During one of the magical wars that sometimes swept through the area, the oasis there was buried for the most part. The area is also the place where the last holdouts of the Ancient Egyptian magical culture still hold sway. The last few times that the magical government in Cairo has attempted to exert control on them it... has not ended well. And so it was decided to leave them be."

Her eye trailing across the map, Victory only grunted. "In other words, they kicked their asses when they tried to control them. Not unexpected really." Sighing, she leaned back and gave Dumbledore a look. "You think that the sandstorms were them uncovering the city and the thunderstorms are to replenish the oasis there, don't you?"

Dumbledore only smiled a bit before sipping his tea. "I do expect that, yes. The ICW has also noted that the locals have not been seen for some time, though there has been rumblings..." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I suspect that the thunderstorms are from a ritual used in ancient times. Apparently the Pharoahs used it to create oasis in the desert with a group of wizards casting it. It is not surprising that the Sunshipgirls, as people have taken to calling them, know said spell."

Closing her eye, Victory sighed as she felt a headache come on. "Lovely. A city in the middle of the Sahara with remnants of the Ancient Egyptians there. I can see various people in the Egyptian government reacting real well... As if Northern Africa does not have enough problems as it is." Sighing, she groaned some. "At least we now have an idea as to where they might be..."
___________________________________________________________

Just whistling, Kiso came walking over the dock before waving to some personnel on a ship. "Ahoy you bunch! Is this here the new tender that came in?"

One of the people on board nodded with a small grin. "That's right, Kiso. Say hello to the USS Polly, SGPT-04."

That caused the Light Cruiser to raise an eyebrow as she blinked. "SGPT-04? What in th' name of Davy Jones' underpants is that supposed ta stand for?"

Snickering, another of the Polly's crew, this one a woman shook her head. "Shipgirl Patrol Tender, Capt'n! What else?"

With a scoff, Kiso crossed her arms against her chest and gave a sniff. "Knew that, jus' seeing if you Scallywags did as well. Good job." Making her way to the gangplank, Kiso looked up at the group of crew. "Permission ta come aboard an' have a look around?"

Lightly laughing, the same female sailor as before only nodded. "Permission granted!"

Coming on board, Kiso looked around and gave a small nod as she walked along the deck. "Seems like she's a good ship, Polly." Glancing at one of the heavy machine guns, she shook her head with a small frown. "A bit lightly armed though for my tastes.."

Her lips curling upwards, the sailor from before only shook her head. "Well, she's a tender, Kiso. If we get in a fight then something has gone horrible wrong somewhere." Patting the railing, she gave the ship a nod. "Besides, we'll not be going to far out anyways."

Kiso gave her a glance before nodding some as she continued to walk, though she paused for a moment and took a sniff. After a few seconds though, she shook it off and continued to walk along. "Aye, tha's what I be hearing anyways. She's for the smaller ones, right?"

One of the male sailors who was doing some minor work nodded. "That's right, mainly for the very small girls and such, or the older shipgirls like Virginia."

A smile on her face, the female sailor pointed towards the stern. "You can see the boat launch from here, though it's been modified for shipgirls and such. Since some of the older girls such as the Ironclads are somewhat slow, our job will be to take them out to their patrol areas and drop them off. Once we reach their patrol area, they launch themselves using the boat ramp."

Eyebrow raising, Kiso hummed a bit. "It been tested yet?"

That got her a nod from the sailor with a smile on her face widening some. "Got tested with the other three back Stateside. We're going to head out and give it a go ourselves here though once we're given the go ahead."

Slowly, Kiso only nodded. "Right, right... O' Course."

Walking forward again, she paused and then sniffed deeply which made one of the other sailors blink. "Uh, Ma'am? Something wrong?" When Kiso looked at him, he tapped the side of his nose. "You keep sniffing like your smelling something..."

All Kiso did though was frown and take another sniff. "Nothing bad. Just smelling some kind of flower is all..." Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "Smells like that one flower, uh, honeysuckle I think they're called."

Just sharing looks, the sailors took a deep sniff before shaking their heads, the female one frowning. "I'm not smelling anything and neither are the others, I think. You sure that you're smelling something?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Kiso narrowed her eyes and looked around. "Hmm..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 86: S0ngD0g13

Setting aside the theological debate, here's a little more Charlotte...
............................................

Charlotte was excited. Not just happy, but full-blown, chittering, vibrating-as-if-she'd-mainlined-a-case-of-Rip-It excited. She was ready to be certified as a Working-Spider, and Uncle James got permission from the A'miral to take her to Hogsmeade so Gin-ya could get certified with her!

"Can we go, Uncle James? Can we? Can we?" She was bouncing in place. James just laughed and made sure the gear they needed was secure in its bags and cases.

"Here in a minute, Charlotte. Gotta have all our kit, you know?" He finished threading the rope that was their portkey through the gear-handles, and made it fast to Charlotte's harness. "Ready?" The mastiff-sized Acromantula nodded vigorously. "All right, then." He spoke the activation-phrase, "Go Vols," and felt a hook behind his navel as he, the equipment, and Charlotte, were jerked across two continents to their destination.

...........................................

They landed in a heap just outside the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, and James fought to get his head to quit spinning. "Uncle James...?"

"Yeah, Charlotte?"

"I don't like Port-Keys..."

"Not too fond of'em myself, now that you mention it..."

............................................

After they'd stood, James set the gear by the door and told Charlotte, "Guard the gear while I fetch Kaylee." He went into the tavern and immediately spied his niece. "Lieutenant," he called out to her; this was Business, not Pleasure, so he called her by rank.

She looked up from her glass of tea and smiled. "Master Sergeant," she greeted him by his Marine-Corps rank. "You're here to Proctor my Handler-Certification Exam?"

"Yes, Ma'am, and Charlotte's as well. She's outside right now, watching the equipment."

"Then best we get it done now; then you can both relax for a while."

.................................................

While Kaylee and James spoke, Charlotte stood in front of the equipment out front and watched the street.

"The bloody Hell? Is that an Acromantula?" asked a Wizard who rounded a corner up the street.

Charlotte turned to face him, and lifted a foreleg in greeting. "Greetings and Salutations! I'm Charlotte! Who're you?" She shifted backward far enough to perch on the gear-stack (and thus still be guarding it) while she talked.

The Wizard, taken completely aback by the friendly greeting from the Five-X Dangerous Creature before him, responded by reflex. "Aberforth Dumbledore, at your service. Why are you sitting on that pile of baggage outside the Three Broomsticks, Charlotte?"

"I'm guardin' the gear until Gin-ya and Uncle James come out; Uncle James is testing Gin-ya and me today!"

"Oh?" asked Aberforth in curiosity. "Testing you?"

Charlotte nodded. "Uh-huh! I'm gonna be a US Navy Military Working-Spider, and Gin-ya's my Handler! It's like a Working-Dog, but better, 'cause I'm smarter an' can walk on ceilings and such. What's your job, Aberfour?"

Aberforth chuckled at the mispronounced name, and nodded back toward his pub. "I run a pub here called the Hog's Head."

"Cool... When I get a hog to eat, the head's my favorite part!"

Later, Aberforth would consider friendly discourse with a half-grown Acromantula as Number Thirty or Number Thirty-One on his personal list of Weirdest Things Ever, just behind the 1896 Goat Incident, but just ahead of that time in 1916 with the case of absinthe and the triplets from Aberdeenshire...

...................................................

When Kaylee and James emerged, they found Albus Dumbledore's brother chatting with Charlotte. When the spider saw Kaylee, she stiffened to alertness. "Charlotte, time for our test. On my Left."

Charlotte fell into place by Kaylee's left leg and stood ready.

James nodded to Aberforth. "Sir."

Charlotte waved. "Bye, Aberfour! Have a good day, and wish me luck!"

Aberforth and Kaylee both chuckled, and Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Bye, Charlotte, and Good Luck to you." He waved and walked off.

James tucked part of the gear into a Wizarding Trunk Kaylee'd brought down from the school and pulled out his clipboard. "The first portion is a walk around town, seeing how well Charlotte responds..."

..................................................

Four hours later, Charlotte was a basically-certified MWS, and Lieutenant Kaylee V. McAmis, USNR, was a certified Handler. The three sat outside the Broomsticks and eating an early supper, Irish Stew for James and Kaylee, and a whole yearling wether for Charlotte. "Gin-ya, Uncle James, after we eat can we go see Aberfour? I wanna show him we passed and thank him for wishing me luck."

"Sure, Charlotte. We'll go see him," said Kaylee.

"Y'all can go without me," said James as he stood. I gotta get back to Kure pronto. Still got a wedding to finish planning, and the Minesweeper Rotation to do." He pulled on the rope and said, "Rocky Top," before vanishing back to Japan.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

And then a thing happened! It probably isn't the one you want to happen. Maniacal laugh!
I'm Not Evil

-----

"Uzukawa, wait," Takumi says, nearly stumbling over his words in his hurry. Nemo ducks down behind him, concealing her figure. It's too little too late, though—by the way Uzukawa is flailing on the ground in her failed attempts get to her feet and run, she's already seen enough. Or she might be concussed. It's honestly hard to tell.

"Ububububub ib Abibabiba—" she babbles, scooching backwards away from the two of them. Takumi feels like he should say something.

"Uzukawa," he says slowly, hands raised and splayed in a "not threatening!" position, "This isn't… well, I guess it kind of… What does this look like?" He grimaces inwardly at his failure, but Uzukawa is finally able to get to her feet.

"Th-th-that—" she says, pointing shakily at him. "You-and the th-and the thing—"

"She's not a thing," Takumi rebukes her as gently as possible. "She's friendly."

"She's an ABYSSAL!" Uzukawa shrieks, finally finding her voice. Behind Takumi, Nemo 'eep's and presses into his back. "That's a-a-a-a hate monster! And you were kissing it!"

"Her name," Takumi replies, his voice a bit hotter, "is Nemo." Uzukawa stares at him, her face sad, raging, confused, and she falls back down on her butt.

"Nemo," she says incredulously. "Her name. Yeah. Sure."

"Umm…" Nemo says, peeking around Takumi's arm, "hi?"

"GYAAAAAH!" Uzukawa scrambles away again, and Nemo ducks back into her hiding place. Takumi groans, and holds his arm out behind him. As soon as he does, Nemo's hand is cupped in his own, and he squeezes it briefly.

"This," he says aloud, "Is probably going to take a while."
-----

"So hey," Renata says, skating around the more sedate Rumi, "You gonna be part of the delegation?" Rumi looks up, giving her a tired look as she turns back towards the island.

"Do you want to take my place?" she says dryly. Renata cocks her head back, considering this. It's true, she would appreciate the opportunity to do so much for the family, but on the other hand…

"Sounds nice, but I'm gonna have to say no," she admits, shrugging uncaringly. Rumi gives her an "oh really" look. "Can you honestly imagine me standing still for more than three minutes while people talk?" Rumi thinks a moment, then nods.

"How do you think they're going to get the Admiral there?" she asks. "The Shipgirls have a human admiral, don't they?"

"Nah, they're not gonna risk a human," Renata replies with a dismissive wave of her hand. "They'll probably have him radio instructions through or something."

Then fire rains from the sky and in a scant second, the two are consumed, turned to ash, blown away in the wind. Ku-tan looks around her, at the island melting into slag, and the bodies bobbing to the surface and falling from the sky, and wakes up.

"Ah, Ku-tan! You're up!" Shi-chi exclaims happily. "Really, going to sleep so early! You're such a necro—" she pauses in mid speech, voice trailing off. "No, wait," she mutters, "that's something else. Nec? Nack? Nacker? The thing where they sleep a lot, what was that called?"

"I can't do this," Ku-tan whispers. "We can't do this." Her voice is stronger. "We can't do this. Call it off, we can't."

"It's not a question of can't," Shi-chi counters. By the smile she gives, it does not create the impression of someone who has been countering this argument every two days. "It's a question of have to. Ku-tan—" she cups Ku-tan's cheek in her hand, turning her head to face her. "What do we do if they decide to clear us out? We can't last against the navy. This way, we won't have to. This way, we will keep them safe."

Ku-tan opens her mouth to protest, but closes it. She hangs her head, leans forward, rests her head against Shi-chi's shoulder. "The dreams…" she says, voice breaking, "they're getting worse. They've been worse ever since… ever since…"

Shi-chi nods sagely. "It's the closest we've been to her since this all actually started," she agrees. "But on the other hand… I don't think she'd be allowed to go after our girls if we signed on."

Footsteps ring through the small cave, and Ku-tan pulls away, looking towards the cave opening.

"Bosses! Great!" Renata shouts, holding out a cruiser—Riri, Ku-tan recognizes her, turning a familiar shade of blue. "Riri found another one of those puffer fish!" It's a constant source of frustration. Considering that they are, in fact, freaking Abyssals, they are capable of digesting many things that humans couldn't even imagine. In spite of this, for no apparent reason, Riri is almost fatally allergic to a specific species of puffer fish.

It wouldn't be as much of a problem if said pufferfish was not her favorite snack in the world, bar none.

"Not again," Ku-tan grouses, scooping the choking cruiser up in her arms. The nightmare is gone—banished for the moment. It will come back to her later, when she's alone.
-----

"And how do I believe that story isn't a load of bull," Yuzuki demands. Inoue rubs his face in his hands and looks down at the hate monster that has been staring back and forth between them this entire time.

"Well," he says, "considering that Nemo is right here—"

"That much is obvious." Yuzuki growls, and Inoue subsides. "What I want to know is how much of the 'wanting in on the treaty' crap is for real. So prove it."

"I think there might be some kind of non-disclosure thing going on?" Takumi replies, gesticulating wildly. "They didn't look like they would be too happy with me spreading the news around, alright?"

"And that," she continues, punctuating her words by jabbing her finger at him, "Is very. Convenient."

"Ah," the hate monster interjects, raising her hand, "he's telling the truth. I acted as a messenger, it was the day that we walked around town."

"And why should I believe you?" Yuzuki shoots back.

"Because I'll eat you if you don't?" she says.

"Nemo!"

"I'm panicking!" she protests plaintively. Yuzuki smacks her forehead.

"You're panicking?" she hisses. "You're. Panicking?" The hate monster's head sinks. "Forget this. I'm going home, I'm going to bed, and maybe when I wake up this will all be a bad dream. If it's not, WHO KNOWS!"

And thus, morning finds her at the doorstep, holding it open and looking up at a famous aircraft carrier.

"Crap," she mutters under her breath
-----

"So, Haruka-san," Yakumo says, looking down at her imperiously, "what are you doing here?"

"Please, Yakumo!" Haruka begs, reaching up at her, "I've come here to take you away from this place! I'm here to save you!"

"Save me?" Yakumo laughs haughtily. "As if I needed to be saved! I have everything I need right here! Inoue-san!"

Doors open, windows unlock, and the house is filled to brimming with a legion of Inoue-sans. "Yes, milady?" they thunder all at once.

"Build me a footstool!"

And suddenly, there is a flurry of motion dragging Haruka back and forth, spinning her around, pressing against her chest, squeezing and she wakes up to see a familiar sight—a fur-covered face with two intelligent brown eyes staring down at her.

"You're a dog," she grumbles, "You shouldn't be so big." Yamamoto-san nuzzles her face. "Akk, I'm up, I'm up." She struggles upright, and the mutt leaps down to the floor, barking happily. Haruka looks blearily down at her pillow. She reaches under it, and pulls out a small lavender-colored book.

"Seriously, reading all that Ouran last night… what was I thinking?"
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 87: S0ngD0g13

Kaylee strode up the path to Hogwarts, Charlotte at her side. The Acromantula was chittering happily in between excited comments to the ironclad.

"Remember, Charlotte, you have to be on your best behavior here; folks are gonna be nervous seeing you. You have to stay calm so you don't startle people."

"Okay, Gin-ya. I'll be good."

The first person they crossed paths with, by chance, was Harry, out enjoying the warm weather. "Hi, Kaylee!" he called out as he landed his broom. "And this is Charlotte?" he asked, having heard about but never met the hatchling.

"Yup. Charlotte Arachne McAmis, as of a couple hours ago certified for work with the Navy. Uncle James came in with her from Kure, but he couldn't stay. Say hi to Harry, Charlotte." Kaylee reached down and petted Charlotte gently.

"Hi, Harry. I'm Charlotte," she said, suddenly shy.

Harry started to reach out and pet her, but paused. "Is it okay for me to pet Charlotte? I know when I visited the Kennels the Handlers there had to give permission..."

Kaylee nodded. "If Charlotte lets you, it's good by me. Can Harry pet you, Face-Hugger?"

"Okay... He smells nice."

Harry paused again. "I do?" He lifted one arm and sniffed.

"Uh-huh. You smell like oak-wood, like when Uncle James has a fire in his big grill at the house; and you smell like Miss Houshou's Water-Lily flowers."

Harry laughed and gently patted her head. "I think that's the first time anyone's ever told me I smell nice. And it's kinda cool that I smell like lilies; my birth-mum was named Lily."

Charlotte gave a wide-eyed look. "Wow... I don't know what my birth-mama's name was, but Gin-ya said she was the Queen of Spider Island, and Gin-ya's my 'doptive mama. That's where I hatched! Right there on Spider Island, right in front of her!"

Kaylee smiled, seeing Charlotte so happy. "She certainly did. Came right out of her egg all wet and messy, looked me right in the eyes, and called me 'Mama'. She's a sweetie, my little Face-Hugger."

"So you're a Working-Spider, eh, Charlotte? That's pretty neat; I'm going to be an Admiral when I grow up."

"You're gonna be an A'miral? You should get Gin-ya in your fleet; she's really strong!"

Harry laughed while Kaylee blushed and coughed. "Let's not count our chickens a'fore they hatch, Charlotte; it's still some years yet before Harry's ready for the Fancy Hat."

"Oh, okay, Gin-ya. Hey Harry, do you like anime? I saw one on tv called Inuyasha that's super-cool!"

As Harry and Charlotte talked anime, the trio walked around the grounds, and while others who saw Charlotte were wary, the presence of Kaylee, a Shipgirl, kept them calm.

They paused, hearing a sound behind them. It was high-pitched, like a kettle whistling. They turned, and there stood Ron Weasley, pale as a ghost with wide, panicked eyes.

"Hi, Mister Wizard-Person!" called Charlotte with a wave.

Ron let out what he would later claim was a 'manly exclamation of surprise' and not a 'shriek of terror', and bolted as if all the Hounds of Hell were at his heels...

As Harry and Kaylee winced, Charlotte huffed. "I just said 'Hi'... Why'd he run off like that?"

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

In many places a girl wearing a sleeveless blue vest and a white miniskirt would have been labeled as somebody probably going out to party. In some places a girl in such an outfit would have been labeled as somebody looking for customers.

At the Yokosuka naval base a girl wearing odd clothes typically was a ship girl. Such as Maya, the third of the Takao-class heavy cruisers, who was standing near the base gates, tapping her foot and sending impatient glances towards the residential area of the base.

Then she cracked a grin, as another girl in equally short – although darker – skirt ran to her, waving a hand.

"Heh, how long did you expert this Maya-sama to wait for you, Tenryu-chan?" Maya grinned at the lighter ship.

In response Tenryuu waved her hand in front of her face. "Sorry, sorry, some last minute stuff came up! Couldn't help it!"

"It's cool," the heavy cruiser said, and made a show of looking around Tenryuu. "So, just you?"

Tenryuu ginned and thrust her thumb over her shoulder. "Tatsuta's decided that she's gonna stay home and be ready to pick us upfrom the brig. Said she wanted to spare me from the humiliation of Ooyodo reclaiming me from the MPs."

Maya tilted her head. "So, you planning to go wild enough to end up in the brig, then, Tenryuu-chan?"

"Nah, I'll save my A-game for the Abyssals. You?"

"We'll see," the Heavy cruiser said and shrugged her shoulders. "Have we done enough posturing now, Tenryuu-chan? Ready to hit the town?"

"Fuck yeah! But first, come here!" Quickly Tenryuu dug out her phone and slung an arm over Maya's shoulder. "Give the camera your best grin, Maya-sama!"

For a fraction of a second the heavy cruiser stared at Tenryuu, before quickly striking a pose.

A second later there was the sound of a shutter going off, and Tenryuu quickly presented the picture to her friend. "This cool with you?"

Maya gave a satisfied nod. "A pair of badasses."

Tenryuu nodded, and started fiddling with the phone. Maya's grin quickly turned into a curious look. "What'cha doing now, Tenryuu-chan?"

A moment later Tenryuu again showed the phone to the larger ship. "Just putting our awesomeness for all the world to see."

Ready to hit the town and and show it who's the boss! #tenryuu #maya-sama #girlsnightout #awesomeness​

Maya frowned. "So now it's on that internet-thing for everyone to see?"

Tenryuu grinned in response. "The whole world can now see how fucking awesome we are, Maya!"

The other girl's frown quickly turned back into a grin. "Fuck yeah!"

* * *

Five hours later the pair was yet to encounter any MPs interested in picking them up for a night at the tank, so in Tenryuu's mind the night had been more than successful. Now the two were – slowly and carefully to avoid crashing into pedestrians, bikes, cars, walls, or other fragile obstacles – making their way back towards the base.

Due to the meandering path the pair had taken through the rather sprawling night life of Yokosuka, Tenryuu was not 100% certain where they actually were. So she content to let her navigator fairies to pick the way, and enjoy the night with Maya. The pair had hit the town hard, and showed at least half a dozen bars who was the boss.

Still they couldn't be too far from the base, as the neighborhood the pair were – very carefully – making their way through felt vaguely familiar to Tenryuu. Definitely a place she had visited before.

Probably.

Maybe.

Possibly.

Then Tenryuu's left foot almost betrayed her, forcing the light cruiser to take a few hasty steps to keep from keeling over. Somehow the stagger made her turn halfway around to directly face the front of the low-class dive the pair were just passing by.

Upon laying her eyes on the large, old-fashioned neon sign above the place, Tenryuu immediately froze in place. And the assurance she had felt just two seconds ago was all blown away, as she no longer had no idea how close to the base they were.

Because the neighborhood they had been staggering through didn't seem familiar to her because it was near the base.

It felt familiar because it was a place where, a long, long time ago, Ryoko Matsuda's whole life had been turned upside down. A place where a teenage Ryoko had once come looking for a good time with the foreign sailors.

Now Ryoko's feet did betray her, and she landed on her butt on the pavement, still gaping at the same neon sign she had seen some seventeen years ago.

"The Piggietail connection." Even back then she had realized the name as the nonsense it was, but perhaps that was the reason why it had been so popular with the base's sailors.

Correction, Ryoko thought when her lookouts reported on the number of uniforms they could see through the bar's windows, still was popular with the base's sailors.

"The fuck's happened to you, Tenryuu-chan? Have you drank too much?"

Tenryuu used her hands to push herself back up, and quickly brushed her skirt. "Nah, it's just..."

Unable to form the words, she sent a helpless gesture towards the bar. "That's the place where… I mean, back when I was a kid… The kids!"

"Huh?"

For a few seconds more Tenryuu gazed at the bar's sign, before looking Maya in the eye. "That's the place where I let Nate hit on me seventeen years ago, which led me to getting pregnant with Aki and Ami."

Maya gave the bar a glance. "So that's the place where he…?"

Tenryuu quickly shook her head and waved her hand vaguely to the right. "Nah, there was a love hotel that-a-way."

Maya gave a hesitant nod. "Okay." She then turned her head to look at the bar. "Wanna go in?"

For a long moment Tenryuu looked at the bar's front. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not."

* * *

"So?" Nathan asked in a curious voice. "How was it? Still the same?"

Quickly, Ryoko moved the phone to her left ear and grabbed a Calpis from the fridge. For a few moments she rested the cold can against her aching forehead. "Nate, that was closer to twenty years ago. Of course, the whole place was completely different inside. Except for the sailors, it was still full of them."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 88: S0ngD0g13

Zuikaku growled as she stomped her way back from the Mess Hall; her day had not been a good one...

She'd overslept and had to miss breakfast to be on-time for a briefing...

It seemed like every Destroyer on base was main-lining Monster; the hyper little Tin-Cans were underfoot all damned day, when all Zui wanted was peace and quiet...

She'd had to run a dozen errands all over base, and thus missed both lunch and her fitting for a bridesmaid dress...

The Carrier finally got free of errands and hyper Destroyers, went to have supper at the Mess... And found them out of her favorite food.

Zuikaku was ready to pull her hair out from frustration and swear like New Jersey!

She stormed up to her door and went inside, and froze. There was a smell... Not a bad smell... In fact it smelled like...

She found a Tupperware container on her table filled with the same rich, hearty stew she had been after at the Mess, and a folded note with her name on it in Jaw's scratchy hand. Zui opened it and read...

"Zuikaku,

If I could reach up and grab a Star,
For every time I think of you...
I'd hold the Whole Night Sky in the Palm of my Hand."

 

[darthcourt10]

Maes

~unspecified date~

"... Tatsuta, dear?"

"Yes, sister~?"

"What did you do?"

"Who, me? Why nothing!"

"Bull-shit."

"Besides maybe an evening at that quaint pub in Hogsmeade? The Hog's Head, I think?"

"And nothing unusual happened during that evening?"

"Oh, there may have been some card-playing, and some betting, and copious drinking? That would hardly be unusual in a pub, even a wizarding pub, now would it?"

"And that betting and drinking wouldn't happen to have involved a broommaker, would it?"

*smug* "Now what could possibly make you think such a thing?"

*sigh* "Nothing..."

 

[darthcourt10]

mikelima777

I've been trying to write a long snippet about Maya and Sendai after the battle described here: Jane visits Hogwarts 1
I've got part one ready, so here goes:

Maya and Sendai: WIA
Part I

"Incoming!!!"

Maya heard Sendai's shout a warning as the Abyssals opened fire. In the sky, Maya could see the putrid black smoke trailing the inbound naval shells, arcing down in a ballistic arc. Like everything associated with the Abyssals, even their munitions seemed to be corrupted. Maya's engines were pushed to the max as she tried to swerve, her engineers deciding to push her boilers past their safety limits. One of the shells fell just meters away from Maya, creating a massive waterspout as the shell fragmented. The heavy cruiser winced as fragments lanced out, scratching her bodywork. Maya tried to ignore the new sources of pain, even with her wounds and damage to her rigging. One of her dual 8-inch turrets was little more than wreckage; a shell obliterated the turret roof exposing the remains of the two 20 cm/50 calibre guns inside. Maya was covering her eyes after a shell took out one of her gun directors.

It had started with reports of three fast capital ships attempting to run down their convoy, heading for Pearl Harbour with critical supplies and food. Maya had ordered the destroyers, comprising a half-dozen American "tin cans" as well as Shirayuki and Isonami, to stay alongside the civilian ships as Maya and Sendai went to delay the Abyssals. Joining them were aircraft from the sole escort carrier in the group, the Bogue-class CVE Nassau. In the years following Blood Week, it became common policy among the major navies to have every convoy or fleet formation be protected by some form of air cover.

Maya's remaining eye could see plumes of smoke in the south and the heavy cruiser grinned despite her pain. While escort carriers could only carrier about two dozen aircraft, Nassau was carrying a full complement of 12 F4F Wildcats Fighters and 12 TBF Avenger Torpedo Bombers. And while the Avengers were not as agile as dive bombers, they could carry Torpedos or bombs; unlike the Escort Carriers of Taffy 3 during the Battle of Samar, Nassau's planes were carrying munitions specifically for enemy surface ships and submarines.

"Looks like these Abyssals are accurate copies of Bismarck and the Twin," said Nassau, "Even down to their terrible Anti-Air capabilities." Maya snorted at that despite her injuries. The real Bismarck was still annoyed by the fact her original ship form was crippled by Swordfish biplanes, and Ark Royal used every opportunity to remind the proud German battleship of that. As the Abyssal mockeries slowly closed in, Maya could just see the enemy and growled in anger. There was no mistaking the silhouette of Bismarck, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau, even though Maya knew the real ones were protecting ships in the Atlantic. But even at this range, Maya felt the unease feeling typical of being around Abyssal ships; Maya could also make out the augmentations, such as carapaces, teeth-lined guns, and glowing eyes, that turned the elegant lines of the German ships into ugly abominations

Suddenly, Maya felt a lot of pain as an 11-inch round slammed into her superstructure, knocking out her gun directors and radar. Damage control teams, even with training from the Americans, was facing an uphill battle with all the damage suffered. Over the radio, Sendai also reported a hit, as Nassau pleaded with the two to retreat with the convoy, now getting out of range of the Abyssals.

Maya gave a bitter chuckle as she shook her head, regaining sight in her right eye. With their extensive damage, Maya and Sendai would only slow the convoy down, and make this fight all in vain. Maya and Sendai raced towards the Abyssals, doing their best to avoid the enemy splashes as he closed the distance.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more," Sendai said, even as the enemy fire started to hone in.

Maya smiled sadly as they prepared to make a final charge against impossible odds. She made what she thought would be her last radio call:

"Their's not to reason why,
Their's not to make reply,
Their's but to do and die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred."

The two Japanese cruisers fired their guns, intending to empty their magazines. Their torpedo launchers unleashed volleys of Long Lances, reloading as quickly as possible until everything was expended. Then, the Abyssals struck their propulsion leaving them dead in the water at point blank range. The three Germans formed a semi circle around Maya and Sendai, both struggling to stay standing. Maya and Sendai stared in defiance even as 8 15-inch guns and 18 11-inch guns were aimed towards them in what looked more like a firing squad execution. Maya slowly closed her remaining eye, hoping that the pain would end soon. But that stopped as she heard something unexpected.

"AAAH......AAAH......AAAH....."
Spoiler: Awesomeness


Maya's eye snapped wide as she tried to look around. The Abyssals were distracted, looking around in confusion and panic.

"THUNDER! AAAH....THUNDER!"

Barely heard above the guitar and drums, Nassau was bewildered, "What the Hell?" Then the escort carrier looked up and laughed in surprise, "Shit's going down!"

"THUNDER!...THUNDER!...."

The Abyssals were still looking around, the leading Princess, the fake Bismarck was scowling, "What the fuck is that noise?"

Then came the raspy voice of Brian Johnson, punctuated by the shouts of "Thunder",

"I was caught
In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder)
I looked 'round
And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder)"

Everyone looked up to see a massive plane swoop overhead, briefly blotting out the sun before flying away.

"My mind raced
And I thought, what could I do? (Thunder)
And I knew
There was no help, no help from you (Thunder)"

Then, they heard whistling, or rather the whistling of very heavy objects falling down.

"Sound of the drums
Beating in my heart
The thunder of guns
Tore me apart

You've been..."

Just above the music, Maya barely heard a victorious shout, "MISSOURI MOONSAULT!"

The Princess' eyes suddenly widened, before 65,000 tons of American battleship slammed into her.

"Thunderstruck!"

Over a half-dozen splashes marked where other warships landed. Even as the Abyssalized Twins tried to recover from their shock, they were engulfed in explosions as each received a full broadside of 14-inch rounds, courtesy of Nevada and Mississippi. On top of the fake Bismarck, the battleship Missouri grinned viciously as her 16-inch guns fired into the Abyssal's battered hull.

Maya started to lose consciousness, even as she heard the gunfire die down, and felt herself falling even as the reinforcements went to check on them...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking along the Hogwarts grounds, the predator was looking around. It was on the hunt for prey of a certain kind. Through narrowed eyes, it scanned the surrounding area for the prey it was seeking. Freezing, it dove behind a bush and looked around it. There! There was what it was hunting relentlessly. As it turned out, the prey was yet unaware it was being hunted.

Slowly, steadily, the predator made it's way. Every so often it would use a tree or a bush to hide itself. Other times it dove behind rises and hills. It would also sometimes pause to see if the prey had noticed before moving on. But it still came close and closer to that which it was hunting. Finally though, it was close...

Close enough to taste it.

And then, silently, it leapt... only for the prey to whip around and grab it mid-jump with a small smirk and a giggle. "You'll have to do better then that to catch Iku, Harry-Chan!"

Harry simply pouted as Iku swung him around, though there was a glimmer of amusement in his eye. "Curses! Foiled again!"

Unable to help herself, Iku just giggled before giving a wink to Hachi who nodded. "Yes, foiled. Your ASW is not a match for the Sniper of the Oceans!" Then her eyes narrowed. "And now is the time for the counterattack!"

Eyes widening, Harry barely had time for much more before Iku then pounced on him with her fingers a blur while seeking out his weak points. "No! No! IKU-CHAN NOOOOO!"

More then one students looked over at the laughter carrying in the air before blinking at the odd sight of Iku tickling Harry with a grin on her face. After a few moments though, they just shook their heads and continued on with whatever they were doing on the warm, for March, day. Eventually though, Iku let up and grinned down at Harry. "Heheheh. Better luck next time, Harry-Chan."

Looking up at her with his eyes mere slits, Harry growled some as he panted. "And I know that I will, Iku-Chan. Want to know why?" At the amused shake of her head, he suddenly grinned. "Because you are right where I want you!"

Her eyes widening, Iku went to get up only for Harry to grab her and return the tickling he had just given her. As shrieks drifted over the air, Yukikaze brought her binoculars up and then pointed. "SUBMARINE UNDER TICKLE ATTACK!"

Softly snickering, Louisiana only shook her head and gave the Destroyer a smile. "Let them have their fun, Yukikaze." Letting out a sigh, she stretched out her arms and then laid back on the rock beneath her with a hum. "It is a nice day after all."

Meanwhile, Harry just grinned down at Iku as the Submarine struggled beneath him. Both of them knew that it would be easy for her to throw him off, after all Iku was far stronger then him. In fact, she could likely toss him with just a single finger if she had wanted. However, where was the fun in that? Hence why Iku was laughing as Harry kept tickling her. "Mercy! Iku wants mercy, Harry-Chan!"

Letting up, Harry smiled down at her with a triumphant look on his face. "Good! And now I have taken my revenge."

All Iku did was stare up at him as she breathed heavily from the recent tickling. She never admitted it to him, but times like this was what let her continue on. No fighting, just playing and being ordinary humans. Like most shipgirls, Iku loved times when she could act like a girl of her apparent age. And like most of those back in Yokosuka, Harry was often the perfect excuse for such.

It certainly helped that she never had to go out of her way for attention from the black haired boy, he simply gave it without a thought.

Smiling up at him, Iku giggled away some of the last few aftershocks of her tickling. However that was when she became aware of several facts. One of which was that Harry was currently straddling her in a way which made her go red. This was not helped moments later as Harry suddenly leaned down and placed his hands on her side of her head and had a raised eyebrow on his face. "Something wrong, Iku-Chan?"

Very slowly, Iku's eyes met his before she bit her lip and looked away. 'He's...' Turning back, she found his face just inches from her face. 'Close! Too close!' Feeling her engines start to redline as she was reminded of some dreams due to their positions, especially Harry leaning over her with his hands on either side of her head. With a shuddering breath, she swallowed nervously. "U-um, Harry-Chan? Could you move so that, um... I can get up?"

With a blink, Harry only shrugged some before doing so. He then offered his hand to her with a smile though he looked confused as she had a disappointed look on her face for a moment. "Sure thing, Iku-Chan. Here, let me help you get up."

Grabbing hold of his hand, Iku got to her feet before brushing herself off best that she could. Though a part of her was rather disappointed at how easily he let her up before she squashed that down ruthlessly. She already had one incident where that side of her had nearly threatened their relationship, thank you! Internally shaking that off, Iku turned back to Harry. "Thanks, Harry-Chan." To her surprise though, Harry pulled out his wand from the holster on his arm. Said holster being a rather modified knife one that was given to him to hold it. "Harry-Chan?"

Simply winking, Harry made a motion with it. "Just hold still for a moment."

Iku just stood there as first a warm air blew from his wand drying the few wet spots on her clothing and then another spell and the grass and slight dirt stains vanished. Smiling, she gave him a small smile. "Now that's pretty useful."

Rubbing the back of his head, the black haired boy grinned a bit. "Yeah, for stuff like that anyways." Moments later, he looked down as Iku took his hand and clasped it. Part of Harry noted that there was a small blush on her cheeks as she smiled a bit. "Something wrong?"

However, she just shook her head some. "Nothing's wrong, Harry-Chan. But..." For a brief second, Iku looked lost before shaking it off. "Would it be okay if we spent some time together?"

Only staring at her, Harry finally shrugged some. "Sure! I don't mind spending some time with you, Iku-Chan." Tightening the grip on her hand, he hummed for a moment before beginning to pull her along. "I think that I know just the place to go to even."

A few minutes found them at a familiar tree on the shores of the lake. Sitting down, Harry patted a spot beside him. "Have a seat, Iku-Chan."

Lips twitching, Iku sat down and relaxed as she leaned back against the tree, her arm against Harry's. Glancing around, she noted that while she could see up and down the shore, there was still some privacy due to bushes and such. "I can see why you like it here, Harry-Chan. It's peaceful."

Nodding, Harry only hummed for a moment before he turned and looked at her. "Hai, it reminds me of some of the places back home in Yokosuka. But it's best when I'm here with someone."

Red tinting her cheeks, Iku only smiled at that. "I suppose so." Turning back to the lake, she sighed for a moment and then laid her head on Harry's shoulder. "You know, speaking of Yokosuka, some things have changed there."

Intrested, Harry glanced at her. "Really? What sort of things?"
Glancing at him, she smirked a bit. "You know Onsen Shima? How there were some temporary buildings there so that we could enjoy the hot springs?"


Slowly, Harry nodded. "Of course I remember that island. And the stuff on it was based on the clubhouse I built with Hibiki-Chan, Inazuma-Chan, Ikazuchi-Chan, and Akatsuki-Chan so that everyone could enjoy hotsprings without needing to pay a lot of money for them. What about it?"

A grin on her face, Iku snickered a bit. "Not much, except for Mikasa-Sama and some of the older shipgirls." At his look, she continued. "They've been bored and rebuilt the main building there on the island to traditional style. So we can all go and enjoy it whenever."

That brought a grin to Harry's own face. "Sounds great, Iku-Chan. Heck, maybe I'll check it out when I get home for Spring Break." Sighing, he leaned back some. "A nice hot spring trip sounds good after what's happened here really."

Only nodding, Iku hummed. "Agreed." Then she perked up and frowned. "Oh, and stay away from Yuubari-San for a bit as well."

If anything though, that caused Harry to turn and look at her in confusion. "Uh, why?"

Looking around, Iku snorted some and shook her head. "She got a hold of some toy broomsticks somehow. From what I overheard from a conversation with Akashi? Yuubari used them to create some sort of craft using an old RHIB hull and some pulse jets. She was claiming it was safe and would hide it being magic, but..."

With a shudder running through his body, Harry only nodded. He had seen enough of Yuubari's ideas to get an inkling as to where this one was going. "Right... I'll keep an eye out. And I'll make sure not to get roped into any of her ideas."

Simply nodding, Iku glanced around again before chuckling. "That's good, no sense in you getting hurt after all." Closing her eyes, she softly smiled as she felt Harry reach up and gently scratch her scalp. No could understand why, but shipgirls enjoyed it. Especially when it was someone that they cared about doing so. And so, Iku decided to simply enjoy the company.

And it was a rather nice day to do so anyways.
__________________________________________________________________________

Pressed up against Harry's back, Iku watched as the black haired boy worked at what was simmering in the cauldron in front of him. Not saying anything, she just observed him with a small smile on her face as he worked. 'He's concentrating pretty hard...'

With that observation, she smiled and simply enjoyed being close to him. Meanwhile, Hachi was off to the side watching him before adjusting her glasses. "Harry-Chan?" Getting a hum from him as he used a motar and pestil to crush some ingredients, the blonde haired Submarine frowned some. "What is it that you're making there?"

Lips twitching, Harry hummed for a moment. "A potion."

Eyes rolling, Iku sighed a bit and tapped him on the head. "We kind of figured that out, Harry-Chan. But what we were wondering was what sort of potion is it? More of that Burn Cream?"

Slowly, Harry shook his head as he added the crushed ingredients and then stirred it first one way, and then another. "Nope! I'm waiting on what I got through the mail order to make more of that. This is bruise healing cream."

As Iku and Hachi watched, Harry took it off the flame of the fireplace and then set it onto a stand to cool. Slowly, the potion that was inside began to congeal. Head tilting to the side, Hachi blinked some and craned her neck to better see. "Bruise healing cream? Really?" At Harry's nod, she frowned some. "How good is it?"

There was a small grin on Harry's face as he looked over his shoulder. "Pretty good actually." He then gestured at himself. "I've used it sometimes myself and it's healed all my bruises within a few minutes."

On Iku's face there was a frown as she looked at the notebook in front of Harry with a confused look in her eye. "But which book did you get it from, Harry-Chan?"

Looking over his shoulder, Harry shook his head. "No books, Iku-Chan. It's something that Fred and George came up with." At their looks, he snorted some. "It's safe, the two of them have tested it and so have I... and they also had Madame Pomfrey test it and she stated that if they ever want someone as a customer, she would be willing. They've even given it to the rest of the Quidditch team to use after hard games or practices."

Eyebrows raising in some surprise, Iku tried to combine the idea of the two well known pranksters with people who came up with something like it. Then she slowly nodded as she realized that it made a certain amount of sense as they did try not to get anyone hurt. So the Twins coming out with something to heal someone who got hurt? She could see that. "Huh. Well that's pretty useful."

Several minutes later, Harry held out his hand to her. "Um, Iku-Chan? Could you grab some of those ointment tins for me? It's done perfectly so I need to put it away now... The tins should be right beside you."

With a quick look around, Iku nodded and grabbed said tins before handing them to Harry and watching as he placed the paste inside of them. It did not smell the best, but the Submarine figured that being medicine that was perfectly normal. "So who is this for? Teitoku? Akashi-San?"

Harry glanced at her as he filled a second, having paused only to seal the first and then add a label to it. "Some of it will be going to them." Finished with the second tin, he nodded and labeled it before handing it to Iku. "Here, this one's for you, Iku-Chan. And this one..." Taking another, he tossed it to Hachi who caught it despite her surprise. "This one is for you, Hachi-Chan."

Their eyes wide, they looked from the tins in their hands and then to Harry. It took a few seconds before Iku swallowed some. "These are for us? Really?"

Just looking over his shoulder, Harry simply nodded some. "Well, yeah? I'm going to give Imuya-Chan and Maruyu-Chan their own." At the looks of confusion, he shook his head. "You guys get bruises from Abyssal depth charges instead of normal cuts and stuff, right? Unless it's right on top of you?"

Iku's jaw dropped some. "So this stuff..."

All Harry did was smile a bit. "Heal those injuries while you're out on patrol? Yup! I'm giving a lot to Taigei-Chan as well, but it should help you a lot. But you should still see Akashi-Oba when you get back to Yokosuka after using it, it's more a temporary thing..."

Slipping the tin into her pocket, and feeling her crew put it away, Hachi got up and then walked over to Harry before hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

Both Hachi and Iku shared a look before smiling. And then, before Harry could do anything else, they leaned forward and each one of them kissed him on the cheek while thanking him again. Much to Harry's confusion, Maruyu and Imuya also did the same thing when he gave them their tins.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

The past few days have been slightly melancholy for me, but I feel like things are starting to look up. Here's a snippet.
Small Talk

-----

Ichika leaned down over her bowl of ramen, inhaling the scent deeply. She sighed, looking like she was feeling much better. "Tohda," she said, turning and looking into the kitchen, "you're a saint."

"Am I now?" Saki replied absently, peeling an egg for Namiko's own ramen. "You'd think that you would know about that sort of thing. Seo and Hikawa are supposed to come by sometime soon, right?"

"Said they'd be here for dinner," Ichika confirmed, leaning back in her seat and stretching. "Course, everyone in this house is everywhere right now except for here." Saki shrugged, the carefree smirk of an older sister ready to pull one over on her brothers and sisters drifting onto her face.

"Don't worry," she said comfortingly, "Growing up in a house full of kids means you grow up with a powerful set of lungs." Standing up straight, holding the bowl of ramen, she cast around the room. If there were any better time to discuss this… "Say, Hebihara."

"I can talk about it. Some," Ichika replied tersely. "Thanks for asking. Some people don't." Saki turned her gaze to the ramen.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to step on a nerve."

"It's okay, really." Ichika pulled her knees in, and shuffled around on the chair. Hooking her legs around the back, she rested her arms over the back of the chair. "I was a mess, now I'm less of a mess. Most people are screwballs, I just know it. Get what I'm saying?"

"A little bit," Saki admitted. The conversation had taken a turn for the weirder, and she needed to steer it away. "It was just kind of shocking, you know? You were always the one that people said was going to go somewhere, otaku or not."

"Was never an otaku," Ichika insisted. "Otaku are greasy slackers who are obsessed with stuff. I was a clean, industrious girl who pursued a hobby. But…" She hooked her chin over the back of the chair. Her eyes turned down, reflective, regretful, annoyed. "… You know, I think that's why it happened."

"Am I going to regret asking this question?" Saki asked, setting Namiko's bowl down on the corner of the table and looking over the eleven other bowls sitting clustered over the small surface. They were going to need more table.

"Well, you get a kid who's good enough, parents are gonna want more than good enough," Ichika said morosely, as if they were fourteen years old once more and hanging out in the clubroom on a long, hot summer's afternoon. "So they push, and they push, and they get you into cram schools and crap. But there's still a limit on what's too far. And… sometimes, when it's really late and I'm trying to get to sleep, I end up wondering where she came up with the idea. Like if she was genuinely looking out for me, or if she had just mapped my life out and thought 'wait a minute, what if she dies before she gets married at twenty-two?'"

"It sounds like you've been wanting to talk about all this," Saki said flatly. Ichika shrugged, smiling sarcastically as Saki had seen earlier in the day several times. It was still a little unnerving to see her that way, to be honest.

"Maybe I have," she said. "Rin's a great roomie—heck, she's the one who stopped me going over the fence in the first place, but I don't think she's ever really been ready to talk about it herself. Kind of wish she was. She saved my life, I'd like to be able to talk to her right."

"Have you ever told her you're ready to?" Saki replied. "Sometimes people need to be told where the boundaries lie."

"Hmmm," Saki mumbled around pursed lips, and that was that.
-----

Ushio cast about the dojo—empty. The students had all gone home, so she and Umi had the place to themselves. Umi was looking down at her with a look that could almost be a glare, except she couldn't quite manage it.

"You wanted to say something to me?" Ushio asked calmly. Umi grimaced.

"Did you bring the Tin Can Mafia into this," she asked. Ushio felt a flutter of panic settle in her stomach. The problem between them was exactly what she'd thought it would be.

"Are you saying I shouldn't have?" she said. "That—that person hurt her, Umi. She needed him, and he abandoned her. And—and he planned it out, too! Two months later? That's not spur of the moment! He thought about it, he planned it out! He—"

Umi's hands came to rest on her shoulders, squeezing slightly.

"You care about your friends, Namiko," she said in a voice that was a slashed hand away from pained. "You protect your friends. God knows it's one of the best things about you. But this? Yae doesn't need some kind of revenge, that's not why Miya called us. She called us because she needed support, support we gave her."

"It's not about revenge," Ushio growled darkly. Umi's hands gripped harder, startling her awake from the shadows that had begun to flit through her head.

"Then what is it?" she demanded. "Shotgun wedding? I think Haneoka-san has proven how well that will work in the long run. The damage he did is done, it's not what she need!"

"You already said that."

"Because it's true!"

The two stood there like that, one leaning heavily onto the other. Then Ushio smiled, emotionally worn out. "It's been a while since we fought," she admitted. Umi chuckled mirthlessly. "What I did… It wasn't about revenge. I just… I had to do something, and that was all that I could."

Umi opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a mighty shout of "DINNER'S READY!" She sighed, and pushed off of Ushio's shoulders.

"Just be careful of where that kind of thing takes you," she said warningly but gently. "And I'm still going to be grumpy with you for at least another day."

-----

"You feeling better?" Mamiya asked, looking down into Yae's face and blocking the light from her eyes. She sighed. After Nagawa had made her offer, she had gotten so overcome with emotion that Mamiya had to help her to her room in order for her to lie down and recover.

"I'm fine," Yae replied, lightly smacking her friend with a pillow. "You didn't need to drag me up here, you know."

"Of course I know," Mamiya said humorously. "It's just that I also know you appreciated it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go eat."
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking down at the small chest in front of him, Albus reached in and picked up one of the reddish stones inside. Closely examining it, he turned it over in his hands several times. "Extraordinary. I don't think that I have seen a collection of Alchemical Bloodstones of this size before."

More then a little confused, Natsumi frowned from where she sat in a rather comfortable chair. "Bloodstones, Dumbledore-Sensei? Do you mean the gemstone?"

With a glance at her, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a bit before he shook his head. "Not quite, I'm afraid." Rubbing his thumb along the stone, he chuckled some. "While there is a natural rock known as Bloodstone, which is rather useful for hiding places, Alchemical Bloodstones are rather different. You see, they're formed from actual blood and through an alchemical process are turned into gems."

Eyes widening, Natsumi leaned back and she glanced to see that Isokaze and Louisiana also looked rather disturbed. "Wait... those are made with actual blood. From living things..."

Humming and turning over the stone, which was about the size of a single dice, the Headmaster gave a small nod. "Quite. And yes, it does take quite a bit of blood to create them. In this case, most likely about a litre to form it. As to what they used... it could be many creatures. The blood of magical humans being the most effective though unless you use dragon blood or similar strength creatures."

By this point really creeped out, Isokaze glanced at the stone and shuddered some. "Right... probably illegal..." At the shake of Dumbledore's head though, her eyes widened. "It's not? Seriously?"

Only chuckling, Dumbledore shook his head in amusement. "No, such items are not illegal at all. Frowned upon, oh yes! But not illegal as of yet. In fact, the creation of one is what the NEWT for Alchemy involves.

Despite being disturbed, Natsumi was also curious and leaned forward some. "What are they used for then, Dumbledore-Sensei? I mean, they got to have some use..."

Slowly, the elderly wizard nodded with a hum. "Oh yes, they have a number of uses. As I am sure that you know, blood can be a powerful substance when used in various kinds of magic. For example, in alchemy one can use human blood as well as ashes of a basilisk, copper, and vinegar to create Spanish gold. Made into a bloodstone, such abilities are concentrated much the same. In fact, they're usually used in rituals either ground up or used as a sacrifice. Of course, with the fact that there are not many alchemists around, such things are rather rare nowadays."

Blinking, Natsumi tilted her head some in curiosity. "Huh... that's actually kind of neat."

Gently, Dumbledore placed the stone back into the small chest and then closed it. "Indeed, Miss Ono. And something that may be of use in the times ahead." Leaning back in his chair, he glanced over a list in front of him before taking out a quill and making some marks. "As to the books that you have gathered, the ones that I have marked down are the ones that I would rather not let out of sight of the school."

There was a frown on Louisiana's face before she stood up and then nodded. "Oui, considering some of those titles I do not think that any of us would have much issue with such." A shudder passed through her looking at one of the titles as it described the method of making a Hand of Glory. "Some of those should not see the light of day."

Watching as the other two nodded, the Headmaster then hummed some. "Not all of them are bad, some are just rather rare. However, in regards to the other books, I am going to assume that you wish to keep them perhaps?"

Only nodding, Natsumi frowned some as she looked over the list. "Um, yes? I mean, they're mostly old textbooks and the like..."

As he chuckled, Dumbledore folded his hands onto his desk. "I see no problem with that, though I do wonder what you may do with them. While useful for references, some of them are quite out of date."

Sharing a look with Louisiana and Isokaze, Natsumi shrugged. "We found some expanded trunks. Um, we were considering placing bookshelves in them and using them mainly for a small magical library?"

Brightly smiling, the elderly wizard nodded. "Ah, that's a rather lovely idea, yes." Stroking his beard, he shook his head in amusement. "So many people throw out such books once they're done school. No, I've found that a nice, small library is best for when you need to do research." A sigh of remembrance escaped Dumbledore. "I remember going through used bookstores when I was much younger. One would be surprised what could be found in them after all."

Somewhat confused, the three girls only shared looks and shrugs among themselves.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Happily humming, Niiyodo adjusted her glasses as she continued to make notes before smiling. 'I think that Onee-Sama will be so happy with this!' Pausing for a moment, her smile softened a bit. 'I wonder if Harry-Chan will be as well...'

Seconds later, she felt a weight on her back and turned in surprise only to find the green eyes of the boy that she was just thinking about inches from her own. "Hey, Niiyodo-Chan! What are you working on?"

It went without saying that Niiyodo found herself blushing a bit before looking away. "U-um, do you remember the issue of supplies? Especially since we're doing the Easter Egg Hunt again this year?"

Placing his arms over her shoulders, Harry leaned in to see better. "Yes? I mean, Ooyodo-Oba already mentioned that you did everything needed for it. From what she sent me, it looks like it's going to be even better then it was last year!"

Rather enjoying the fact that Harry was embracing her from behind, Niiyodo's expression brightened quite a bit at his compliment. "Really? You think so?"

With a snort, Harry shook his head. "I don't think so, I know so. Besides..." Eyebrow raising, the black haired boy gave her a grin. "You work hard as it is so why wouldn't it be?"

Looking away, Niiyodo tried to ignore the heat in her cheeks, but there was a small upturn of her lips that showed how happy she was with the compliment. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

A smile of his own on his face, Harry only shrugged some as he was rather happy with how Niiyodo was smiling now. "So... What exactly are you working on now? And what does that have to do with the Easter Egg Hunt?"

Blinking, Niiyodo straightened a bit. "Ah, right!" Taking her notes, she handed them to Harry. "I made a deal with Honeydukes down in Hogsmeade today actually. They agreed to supply me with the big prizes this year."

Interested, Harry chuckled a bit as he leaned more into her. "Oh? I know that Miss Gale stated that there were issues with the usual ones."

Slowly, Niiyodo nodded with frown while sighing. "Unfortunately they won't be in Japan in time this year." Her expression then turned serious. "But now with Honeydukes, I managed to make it work! Though they were, um, somewhat surprised with my order..." Chewing her lip, she looked at Harry directly. "I went for the largest chocolate rabbits they had along with eggs..."

Frowning, Harry furrowed his eyebrows some. "Really? How big are we talking?"

Weakly chuckling, Niiyodo gave him a nervous look. "Well... eight pound rabbits and five pound eggs?" At Harry's surprise, she shrugged. "Apparently it's not a huge issue for them?"

After a few moments though, Harry relaxed. "Well, at least we'll have the prizes for this year anyways. So great job, Niiyodo-Chan!" Remembering the previous year, he reached over and gave her a head pat which made her brightly smile. "And it's an even better prize then last year's too!"

Her eyes closed as she hummed, Niiyodo sighed. "Thank you, Harry-Chan." Once he stopped though, she pulled out another sheet. "Also, I sort of talked with them in regards to something else after something occurred to me..."

Taking the sheet, Harry looked it over in curiosity before blinking. "This is an outline for them to supply candy in bulk to the shipgirl bases back home?" A thoughtful look on his face, the wizard's eyes trailed across the page. "Huh... this is actually pretty cheap."

Only nodding, Niiyodo pointed at one spot. "Well, um... the setup isn't quite that cheap. See, I'd need to order an owl box like your own, though larger. However, if we sell the copper from the cauldrons, my calculations show that we can make it cost almost nothing on our side. I got Percy to agree to being the one to have it at this end though if we do this, which he seemed happy about. There's also several trunks that with expanded insides that can be used to transport the treats... It would normally be yearly, unless I have backing from someone."

Somewhat amused as he could understand what she had left unsaid, Harry gave her a smile. "I'd be happy to help, Niiyodo-Chan. So if I back you, then what?"

In reply, the Light Cruiser pointed at a separate portion. "They made mention that the deal can be made for five years. And the price is fair I think... especially when you consider that the amount of sweets would mean more for the rest of the country." At his look, Niiyodo blushed some. "Well... if something was to happen and the convoys got into more trouble, I mean."

To her confusion, Harry reached over and rapped his hands on the floor. "Knock on wood."

Just blinking, Niiyodo then shrugged it off. "Anyways... even without the rationing, it gives us some more room supply wise. I, um, I think that Onee-Sama would be happy with that."

Chuckling, the black haired boy gave a small nod at that. "Yeah, Ooyodo-Oba would be happy..." A thought then occurred to Harry and he looked towards Niiyodo. "I just thought of something, Niiyodo-Chan! If you have Percy handling it, then what about sending fruit from my family's orchard through the owl box as well? We'd have to have someone harvesting them, but..."

Niiyodo paused for a moment and considered the question before slowly nodding while her eyes widened. "That... would be a big help in some ways." Quickly, she made a note and then smiled at her friend. "Thanks, Harry-Chan!"

With a soft chuckle, Harry rubbed the back of his head. "You're very welcome, Niiyodo-Chan. Besides, I talked with Mum about some way of getting fruit from there anyways, but..."

Tapping her chin, Niiyodo nodded. "If we piggyback both things on each other, then it becomes a much more attractive actually.... Teitoku might be more willing to go for it in that case."

Only smiling at her, Harry turned back to the paper before frowning. "But who would handle it on the Yokosuka side? I mean, you would need someone there to take care of it unless you're going to do it..."

Much to his surprise though, Niiyodo shook her head. "Not me, but I did have a thought about that. You were there when Kitakami-Maru was summoned up in Kure, right?" At his slow nod, she continued. "Well, considering that during the War her job was to transport perishable foodstuffs, I was thinking that we could assign her to this. Sweets and such would be easy and from what I know of she hasn't been doing much..."

Eyes closed, Harry considered that before slowly nodding. "I guess that works if she's not doing much..." Opening them, he turned to Niiyodo with a considering look. "But what about the other bases? How are you going to handle them?"

Placing her pen between her lips, Niiyodo tilted her head. "Hmm... I suppose that we could use normal distribution methods? But that might cut into other supplies as well. In any case though we would need to juggle around how what we transport a bit."

Suddenly, Harry snapped his fingers. "What about the Transport Submarines? The Ha-101s that got summoned recently. You could use them to get the various things between the bases. And it was what they were designed to do as well after all." Seeing the surprise in Niiyodo's face, Harry shrugged, "I know that Maruyu-Chan transports things between the bases."

Her pen tapping against her lips as she rolled the thought around in her head, Niiyodo made another note. "That would help out a lot with distribution actually. I'd have to talk with Captain Yonehara since they are technically under his command I think, but I don't think that will be much of an issue." Pulling another sheet over, she began to write out the new proposal with a smile. "It might need some more work, but I'll send this to Onee-Sama tonight and get her opinion on it."

Nodding along, Harry placed his chin on her shoulder as he watched. "I'll get Hedwig to take it once you're done."

With a glance at him, Niiyodo giggled some. "Hai, I'm looking forward to it." Just then, she realized something and turned to him. "Oh! Um, did you want something, Harry-Chan? Or did you just want to talk?"

Rapidly blinking, Harry finally shrugged some. "I just wanted to talk with you some, I mean, it's not like I've spent a lot of time with you since we've both been busy." Needless to say, the Light Cruiser blushed some at that. Then she blinked as he now placed his arms around her middle. "Besides, this is actually kind of nice."

For several seconds, Niiyodo looked at him as she considered something. Then she turned her head and gave him a kiss on the cheek before pulling away. "Thank you, Harry-Chan. Both for your help and for wanting to spend some time with me." Giggles then escaped her as she realized that this time, Harry was the one who was blushing. 'Kawaii.'

Shrugging, Harry gave her a sheepish grin. "You're welcome."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting beside the running water, the young boy sighed as he tilted his head back with a frown. "Okaa-San and Otou-San are having Obaa-San watch over me again, Kiyohime. I mean, I understand that they got their jobs and such, but would it kill them to stay around for more then a few days?" Placing his chin on his knees, the boy just looked out at the waters of the Hidaka River, just flowing past. But as per usual, he got no response. "And then there's school..."

A scowl on his face, he glared down at where the water met the shore. "The kids there are always mean to me. Yesterday, Kira pushed me into a puddle and called me 'Demon Lover'. All because I said that I felt sorry for what happened to you. Is it really that hard? I mean... Anchin did lie to you and run off when he promised not to. You had reasons to be angry!"
Yet again, there was no response from anything. "And then they started making fun of my name stating that it made sense that I would love a snake. But that's not what you are..."

For the next hour, the boy simply sat there as the Sun sank towards the horizon, just talking to the river as if it would talk back. Eventually, a chuckle made him turn his head to find an elderly woman. "Ah, talking to Kiyohime again, are we Haku-Chan?"

Blushing, the boy turned and nodded. "Hai, Obaa-San."

Only shaking her head, the old woman came to stand beside her grandson as both of them looked out onto the waters of the river. "I suppose that I should be happy that I at least know where you are. Though you shouldn't be so close to the water's edge, child. You don't want to slip in after all."

Needless to say, the boy sank his head a bit more at the mild scolding. "Hai... sorry about that." Staring out at the water, the boy shifted a bit. "You... you don't mind me talking to her, do you, Obaa-San?"

Humming, the woman also stared out at the river before placing her hands into her pockets. "I suppose not, Haku-Chan. While it's a bit odd to be talking to Kiyohime considering what she did, I suppose that you have a point. In a way the story was a tragedy." Turning, she regarded her grandson with a raised eyebrow. "Do you think that she hears you?"

The boy only shrugged some. "I think so... I mean, I know that the story says that she threw herself into the river and drowned. But I think that she was just so hurt by what happened she fell asleep and is still down there, somewhere..." Standing up, the boy smiled. "And I talk to her so that she knows that someone cares enough to do so... That someone cares."

At the end, Haku's voice became nearly a whisper and his grandmother's expression became saddened. She knew what his parents almost never being around did to him. And it did not help matters that the other children often picked on him for that fact. Reaching out, she patted him on the shoulders with a small smile. "Well, that's true enough, Haku-Chan. Now, say goodnight to your Kiyohime and come on home. I need to make you some nice dinner after all."

Face red, the boy whipped around and gave his smirking grandmother a glare. "OBAA-SAN!"

Just the same though, she just laughed at him.

Everything blurred until it once more resolved. This time, the boy was older, though still a child. But now he was in the river as he was swept away from the bridge he had been on, not crumbled into the river. Around him, the city burned and he could hear explosions, gunfire, and the screams of the dying. He had been running home from school when he cut across one of the bridges while storm clouds gathered overhead. There was an odd sound above him before a sudden explosion ripped the bridge apart and flung him into the water along with other people.

Seeing one of those people nearby, Haku could only watch as bullets tore a line across the water before ripping the man apart followed by others. Coughs escaped him along with sputters as he tried to keep his head above the water, struggling. "HELP! HELP ME! SOMEONE, PLEASE!"

Hearing another sound, he looked over his shoulder best that he could and could not help the gasp from him as well as the choking from inhaling a bunch of water. There, coming up from the ocean was what looked like the corpses of infants, except upon their heads were black helmets with eldritch flames coming from the eyeholes. Even as he watched, they were firing guns into the buildings closest to the river. One of the paused though and somehow bodily lifted a screaming woman from the river before twisting her head off like it was the cap on a bottle.

It was then that they spotted him and began to head towards him slowly. They knew as well as he did that he was dead, his body just had not realized this fact. Still, he struggled even as his head kept slipping under the surface despite his best efforts. "P-lease... Help! So-someone... help..." Seeing that the demons, for that was what they must be, had almost reached him, he felt the world start to slip away. Part of him recognized the area as where he always came down to speak to the one person he felt would always listen.

Which was why that name passed his lips as he slipped under. "Kiyohime... help..."

Under the water, his vision slowly faded away but he could almost swear that the bottom of the river heaved upwards before something grabbed him and brought him above the surface and he rose into the air. There was a screech of rage and hate echoing in his ears as he watched the demons freeze before bringing up their guns... and being promptly immolated. "THOU SHALL NOT TOUCH HIM!"

Then his vision faded away as his ears were filled with a different screeching...
__________________________________________________________________

Jerking awake, the now sixteen year old Haku groaned before looking at the clock. "What in the world... it's too early for my..." Upon realizing that it was not his alarm clock, but rather the fire alarm and he could smell smoke, Haku leapt from his bed. "SHIT!"

Practically leaping from his bed, he didn't bother putting on anything besides his boxers as he threw his door open and ran through the home that had belonged to his grandmother. Two years before, she passed on and left it to him as his parents still did not come around very often, which meant that there was only one possibility. Running into the kitchen gasping, he stopped at the corner and blinked as he met said possibility.

Mainly that of a woman freaking out as she was swinging around a pan that was now on fire. "GAH! STOP THAT! STOP THAT INFERNAL NOISE RIGHT THIS MOMENT!"

Unable to help himself, Haku facepalmed and sighed. "Really? I mean, really?" Walking over to the table, he pulled out a chair and then got up onto it. Seconds later, the alarm stopped as he turned the fire alarm off before getting down and walking over to the woman who was now blushing as she looked at him. Grabbing the pan, he pulled it and the hand over to the sink and turned it on, putting out the fire. There was some amusement though on his face. "I thought that you learned your lesson the last time, Kiyohime."

Face flushed, Kiyohime crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away. "I was just trying to be nice and make you some breakfast, Haku-Kun."

Lips twitching, Haku looked at the... thing... that was in the pan and chuckled, which deepened Kiyohime's blush. "Yes, I can see that." Reaching over, he patted her on the head. "But it's the thought that matters."

Her face now a deep red, Kiyohime smacked his hand away and puffed her cheeks out. "Don't patronize me, Haku-Kun! See if I'll be nice to you again!"

Chuckling, Haku tilted his head some before shaking it. "You know, when you act like that you're pretty adorable." By this point, Kiyohime had gone past red and smoke was issuing from her ears while Haku felt the temperature in the house rise. However, all he did was point at the chair and smile. "Now, have a seat and I'll make breakfast and some lunch for later since I got to go to cram school."

Grumbles escaped from the "Demoness" as she walked over and plopped herself down. The whole time she was glaring at the boy who only went about his business. "Sometimes, I don't know why I put up with you."

If she expected him to do anything though, it was not to just shrug it off. "Mainly because I'm the only one you really know who can help you? I mean, you did wake up in the twenty first century after all when you were last awake a thousand years ago."

Now pouting, Kiyohime sneered a bit. "It's not my fault that everything has changed so much! Everything is different and then you have these infernal machines! Sometimes I wish that I was still asleep at the bottom of the river."

Only shaking his head, Haku snorted some. "No you don't, Kiyohime. Admit it, you like being awake now..." His voice lowering, he looked own at the breakfast he was now cooking. "I know that I do."

Moments later, he felt two arms wrap around him and Kiyohime lean her head on his back from where he could feel her horns. "I suppose so, at least the company is good." As Haku tried to ignore her body pressed into him, she placed her chin on his shoulder. "Do you need to go to Cram school?"

Slowly, Haku nodded some and looked over his shoulder at her. "I wish that I didn't, but unfortunately if I want to get a good job then I need to. But nowadays you neeed to get a lot of schooling each day if you want to get anywhere."

There was a scowl on Kiyohime's face as she grumbled. "I just hate being alone. And sometimes I can't help but think that you're going to run off or something."

As he softly smiled, Haku reached over and cupped her cheek feeling like she had a fever though he knew it was her normal temperature. "And I promised you that I wouldn't. Even if I did run off, I would bring you along with me if I did. So don't worry so much."

Leaning into his hand, Kiyohime closed her eyes and enjoyed it for several seconds before opening them again. "I suppose so. Still... I don't like it much."

With a soft laugh, Haku shook his head. "Same here, if I had my choice? I would spend the day here with you." Seeing her blush and look away, he laughed again. "You really are cute at times."

Blushing even more, she scowled a bit though it was ruined as she also wanted to smile. "Stop saying such things. I am not."

His lips twitching, Haku turned back to the breakfast. "You are and I will keep saying such things as much as I want to. Mainly because it's true." Reaching for something, he hummed a bit. "At least we got you to stop speaking in an old fashioned way even though that made you cuter."

Now Kiyohime buried her face in her hands to hide it, though Haku could tell she was smiling. "S-shut up, you baka. And that was more your Obaa-San's doing then yours."

Pausing, Haku turned towards the picture and nodded with a sad smile on his face. "It was, I suppose. Hopefully she rests peacefully."

Once more leaning against him, Kiyohime only nodded. "I am sure that she does. She helped me when you woke me up. And when you offered your home, she agreed with you. I can never repay her for that."

After a moment, Haku's hand covered hers and gave it a small squeeze. "Neither can I. Though she would say you owe her nothing as you saved my life and the town when you drove off the Abyssals." Both of them shared a sad smile in memory of the elderly woman before Haku turned back to cooking their meal. It was several minutes later while eating that Haku brought up a thought he had been rolling around in his head. "You know, I've been thinking... Do you want to go to Hanami with me this year?"

Frozen in place as the words penetrated into her head, Kiyohime looked up at him and swallowed nervously. "Ha-Hanami? You want me to go to Hanami with you?"

Simply swallowing the food in his mouth, Haku nodded. "That's right. It's in a few weeks after all."

Kiyohime allowed herself a moment of imagining the two of them walking among the cherry blossoms before shaking her head. "I... I would love to, but we can't."

Confused, Haku frowned at her. "Why not? I'll pack us some lunch and drinks before we head out. Heck, we can get ready the night before." In reply, Kiyohime sighed and pointed at her horns which made Haku blink. "Uh..."

Rolling her eyes, the former human sighed. "My horns, baka. Not to mention my eyes and everything else! I can't go out."

Only chewing his food, Haku raised an eyebrow at her. "So? Just wear a hat."

Disbelieving what he had said, she stared at him. "What."

Softly snorting, Haku pointed at his head. "Wear a hat over your horns, of course. Or maybe we'll say that you're some kind of cosplayer, no one will care."

Unable to help herself, Kiyohime only looked at him. "Cosplayer... as in those people who dress up as characters from stories?" At his nod, she buried her face in her hands. "No."

However, Haku only shrugged. "Then I'll think of something else so you can come to Hanami."

Peeking through her fingers, she boggled at him. "You're serious... you're actually serious about this." When he nodded, she finally sighed and looked away. "Baka."

Lips twitching, Haku pointed at her. "My, my, Kiyohime. So tsundere..."

With a glare on her face, Kiyohime turned around and huffed at him. "I am not... tsundere! I'm not!" Then looking away again, she sighed. "But... if you find a way, then I suppose..."

Victorious, Haku patted her on the head which made her snort small flames from her nose. Once he was gone though, Kiyohime sighed as her she laid back, her legs transforming into a body of a serpent with spines running down it. Reaching up, she ran a finger along her horns and frowned. 'Baka.' Staring up at ceiling, but unseeing, she thought back.

After killing Anchin, she threw herself into the river to drown. But instead of dying, she settled down at the bottom. From where she had been, Kiyohime could hear what people were saying and it tore at her. Even her own family saw her as pure evil. So it was with heartache that she closed her eyes and wished for the world to go away. And it did so as she slipped into a deep slumber.

Time passed and she heard a voice talking to her. It was one belonging to some young boy and she could feel his loneliness. But still, she stayed asleep at the bottom of the river. Perhaps she was dead, and she passed away in her slumber. However, time and again the boy's voice returned and spoke to her even though she never answered back. It did make her feel warm though that someone cared...

Sadly, all too soon for her she felt wrongness nearby. A wrongness that covered the area where she slept and then she could hear screams and shouts along with other sounds. But above it all was the voice of the boy, pleading for help. Slowly, for him, she woke up until she felt the life slipping from him as he said her name.

And then, for the first time in a thousand years, she was free of the river bed and grabbed the boy before breaking the surface to find what she now knew were Abyssal PT Imps. They had tried to kill him, kill the boy who had spoken to her with kindness in her sleep. Yet they were still threatening them, so she did the one thing to make sure that he was safe.

Which was to slaughter each and ever one of those creatures, those Abyssals, in the area. She knew that people had seen her do so, and did not care what they thought. All she cared about was protecting the young boy who she had dropped off on the river bank. Eventually, all that was left was the burning corpses of the attackers and she returned to find the boy conscious. She expected him to scream, to call her a monster, a demon.

Instead, he hugged her and thanked her.

Then he invited her to his home to stay now that she was awake, and the expression on his grandmother's face still made her snicker to this day. Kiyohime could well imagine how it looked, a young, soaked boy holding the hand of a woman who was part dragon and breathing out flames. But once she got the story, the grandmother accepted her into the home.

Especially as she defended the town time and again from the Abyssals over the next few months, immolating them while avoiding magicals who kept trying to capture her. Until the shipgirls arrived and drove the sea grudges back.

Meanwhile... The two humans slowly taught her how to live in this strange, almost alien modern time. And when the elderly woman passed on, she left the home to her grandson so that they could stay together. At first they were just friends, but now...

Sighing, Kiyohime blinked away the happy tears in her eyes. "I wonder if he feels the same... Still, to whatever Kami let this happen, thank you. I will not waste this second chance and will make amends for what I did. I shall protect him and this town from those Abyssals or any others who threaten it..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 89: S0ngDog13: "A Bad Dream"

Severus Snape was enjoying a late-night snack in the Great Hall alongside Kaylee and Queen Anne's Revenge, and all was quiet and peaceful...

"Hey, Tin-Boat, whereabouts is your wee weaver?" inquired the former pirate-ship.

"Last I saw her, she was up in the Lion Tower sleeping off the goat Davis and Greengrass gave her during our meeting earlier."

"Ah; she's usually right off your port beam, is all; not seein' her at her station had me wondering."

Any further conversation was stalled by the sound of a heavy object impacting the Hall doors, a whistling of fast-moving metal and the squelch of steel parting flesh, all-too familiar to all three, and a high, feminine scream of agony that failed to drown out the sound of manic cackling...

Kaylee was out of her seat like a shot and crashed out into the corridor, Anne on her heels and Severus only a few steps behind. Kaylee's revolvers were in her hands like lightning and spoke thunder as she emptied both at Peeves, who faded back through a wall until only his head showed.

"Sad little Pistol-Boat wants to be a critter-healer? Ol' Peevsie gives her her first patient!" He vanished into the wall as Kaylee froze.

"Gi- Gin-ya?"

Kaylee wheeled and saw Charlotte, bleeding from a pair of long slashes on her head and crumpled against the doors where she'd been thrown, a spear from one of the suits of armor discarded nearby. The ironclad was at her side in an instant, caressing her gently as she checked the wounds. "I'm here, Charlotte, I'm here, Face-Hugger." Kaylee tore a bandana from her pocket and dabbed away the ichor. "I'm here, so's Queen Annie and Professor Snake; we're here, we'll get ya fixed up right-quick, just you see."

"Can't, Gin-ya. I can't see; it hurts, Gin-ya, it hurts..." Charlotte was shivering in pain and her voice was sobbing.

Virginia saw the wounds, now clean of ichor; they were shallow, but scored across and destroyed all of the Acromantula's eyes. Peeves had blinded Charlotte...

"Severus, can you get her help? Get her to a Vet, or a Doc? Please, Severus, help her." Kaylee asked in a tight voice, her eyes wet. When he nodded, Kaylee leaned down to Charlotte. "Charlotte, Professor Snake's gonna get you to a Doc, get you patched up. I'll be along shortly to stay with ya, but I gotta talk to Annie for a minute first. I promise, I'll catch right up, okay?"

As Severus helped the spiderling onto a conjured stretcher and levitated it toward the Hospital Wing, Virginia faced Queen Anne's Revenge, all the humanity draining out of her face.

"Anne? Wake Dumbledore. Wake Victory. Wake Natsumi, wake whoever you need to, call whoever you need to. Peeves just blinded Charlotte, who's more than a pet or a partner to me; she's family. I'm going to see to Charlotte, and afterward I'm going after Peeves. And I swear by all the Gods and on my Family Name, I'm going to see him banished or sealed away forever, if I have to raze this castle stone-by-stone to do it."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Isokaze was leaning forward watching both Louisiana and Yukikaze play around with something that they had found in the Room of Hidden Things in a box. Suddenly though, she felt a weight beside her and gave a smile to the black haired boy that was now sitting there. "Hey, Harry-Chan. What's up?"

All Harry did though was shrug with a smile of his own. "Not too much really, just relaxing after the whole meeting with Daphne and Tracy." He then turned and blinked as one of the marble like objects being used hit another. Moments later, Yukikaze fell back laughing as her marble squirted something into Louisiana's face. "Huh... where did they get the gobstones?"

Turning to look at him, Isokaze shrugged some as she held back snickers as a scowling Louisiana was wiping her face. "Found them in a wooden box in that room we've been working on. Heck, Louisiana thought that they were marbles until we brought them to Professor Dumbledore." A grin then crossed her face as she gestured as Louisiana went back to the game. "Short lesson later..."

Just snickering himself, Harry gave her an amused nod. "And Louisiana and Yukikaze start playing. I got you."

Only shrugging, Isokaze hummed a bit. "Why not? It's a game and gives us something to do anyways. Besides... it's hilarious when you fail."

Head tilted to the side, Harry considered it before nodding. "I suppose so, no worse then marbles and apparently it's based on a very old wizard game." Seeing the interested look, the black haired boy shrugged. "I've played a bit of it here actually. But then it's not super popular around here."

That caused Isokaze to blink at him in confusion. "Wait, seriously?" When Harry nodded, she scratched her head. "Huh... I thought that marbles was still popular. Heck, some of the American Destroyers are always playing it and I know that England-San is head of the Puget Sound League."

Blinking, Harry considered that before remembering that there was several threads for "Marble Championships" among the American Destroyers, Destroyer-Escorts, and so on. There was even video of them with the match between Hoel and Johnston getting very nasty comments wise. "Forgot about that... You think that they might be interested in them?"

Arms crossed under her chest, Isokaze considered it before finally shrugging. "Who knows? I can see some of them wanting to go for it though." Shaking that off, she glanced towards Harry. "So why wouldn't it be too popular here anyways?"

Harry only shrugged at that. "You got me, Isokaze-Chan. I don't really get it, but some of the older students state that you grow out of it in time and move on to real sports like Quidditch." Frowning, he tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. "Got rather nasty as there are some really hardcore players here. Some of them were rather cheesed off at the idea that their favorite game was considered 'Childish' by the others."

Softly snorting, Isokaze shook her head in bemusement. "Right, childish."

Another shout caused them to look over to see that now Yukikaze was rubbing a liquid off her face. "Ugh! Yukikaze will not lose!"

Bemused, Isokaze shook her head before turning back to Harry who was now watching the match. As she did so, she considered the boy in front of her. Having known him for more then two years, sometimes he still surprised her. But despite that, the Destroyer was rather certain that she knew him pretty well at this point. More then enough to call him a close friend.

It certainly helped her view of him that the boy was the one who summoned her and Hamakaze, all for the express purpose of protecting Shinano. He may not know it, but that made them both like him. And their observations of how he interacted with Shinano? It solidified their loyalty to him at seeing him care for the giant Carrier. Both her and her sister often talked with Shinano in those early days. Most of it was trying to figure out what was going on now and catching up on events.

However, time and time again the conversation turned to the youngest Yamato's friend.

Now, Isokaze and Hamakaze were unsure in those days about the feelings the two could see between Shinano and Harry. In fact, a part of them wanted to protect Shinano from being possibly hurt. They decided though to just watch and wait to see with them both testing him from time to time. Nothing big, just doing things to gauge his reactions.

One example being when he taught Hamakaze how to make brownies. Later that night, Isokaze had talked with Hamakaze about him. And her sister had told her quite a bit about what had happened. Hamakaze had actually moved her body in a way that she had seen catch the attention of various male personnel, and some females, which made them pay close attention to her. There was also what she remembered from her own crew.

And yet, Harry did not react in the slightest besides being kind and friendly towards her, helping her as needed. Both Destroyers were rather happy with that fact. Another example was the times that Isokaze had him try and teach her how to cook. Mainly to test his patience with her. Oh, she knew that she was awful at cooking and never denied it. But he did help her manage some things much to her surprise. There was a part of Isokaze after that which admitted that she hoped that they would stay close with him. Something that they could see happening if he became Shinano's Admiral as they both expected him to be.

There were times, late at night, when Isokaze would dream. In those dreams the war was over and sometimes they were living in close by houses. Other times they all lived in one giant house. In any case, it usually had an older Harry in Admiral uniform with Shinano. Sometimes just Shinano and sometimes with other girls. But in both cases, there were also various children around them, including ones that were Shinano's with Harry.

She could easily tell due to the green eyes and how they looked only half-Japanese with messy hair.

In her dreams though, her Hamakaze, Yukikaze, and Urakaze would often care for the kids to give Harry and Shinano time alone. All of them would have a load of fun with each other and laugh, with the kids sometimes calling them "Oba-Chan" or "Nee-Chan". There were times though that sometimes they also called them Mama, but those were rare and Isokaze shook off those thoughts as well as others.

To the Destroyer, there were times that having come back as a teenaged girl, with everything that involved, really sucked.

However, Isokaze shook off those thoughts as she noticed that Harry was looking at her curiously. "Something wrong, Harry-Chan?"

Lips twitching, Harry looked around and then leaned in. "Not so much wrong, no. But I was wondering something, Isokaze-Chan..."
Eyebrow quirking as she had a feeling that he was going to ask her something that would cause her to laugh, the Destroyer nodded. "You were wondering something? Well, wonder no more, Harry-Chan. Ask away!"

A grin on his face, Harry snickered softly. "Well... I was wondering if you would be willing to help me test out something. It's for a prank on Kongou-Oba..."

Her eyes widening, Isokaze leaned in even more. "Kongou-Sama? You want to prank her?" At his nod, she shook her head. "You live dangerously, Harry-Chan. No one's ever managed to prank Kongou-Sama, no one."

Just smirking, Harry chuckled a bit. "Well, no one had magic that they could use before, did they?" When Isokaze nodded with a smirk of her own, Harry took a deep breath. "Anyways, I want to test it out since we're at Hogwarts. Just in case anything went wrong, though nothing should."

Slowly, Isokaze nodded at that. "That sounds... like a good idea. So what do you need?"

Much to her confusion, Harry chewed his lip. "Well... first, do you trust me? I mean, really trust me? Because I just want to test this out and nothing else... And, well... some girls might not react well..."

Now really curious, Isokaze only nodded. "Sure, of course I do. After all, you've never given me any reason not to."

All Harry did was nod at that before letting out a breath as he prepared to tell her what he had planned. "Well..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 90: S0ngD0g13

Moving past my last snippet, which even I, who wrote it, consider non-canon...
............................................

The morning after the meeting with Daphne and Tracey, Kaylee was sitting on the front steps of Hogwarts, shivering. Fuck me, that was a nightmare... She thought, remembering the horrific dream of Charlotte being blinded by Peeves and how she'd woken up in tears. I need to get my legs back under me, get on an even keel...

"You okay, Gin-ya?" asked Charlotte.

"I'm good, Charlotte. Just, didn't sleep well, is all. Say, we ain't had us a good woods-run in a while; wanna go huntin', Face-Hugger?"

Charlotte perked up at the mention of hunting; she and James or Jaw, or Kaylee, often took trips into the woods on and around Kure hunting or fishing, partly to supplement Charlotte's diet. They never took much, and by strictest-definition they were poaching, but what they took, they ate, or donated to food-banks. "Can we?"

Kaylee grinned. "Let's go, Charlotte."

.......................................................

Charlotte froze in place an hour later, facing a clump of briars. Kaylee fitted an arrow to her bowstring and whistled softly. Charlotte made a short charge forward and flushed the pair of pheasants within; Kaylee drew and shot, dropping the male before launching a second arrow to take the female.

As Kaylee retrieved the birds, Charlotte made her way down to a small creek nearby. The spiderling watched the minnows in the shallows and then sighted movement on the opposite shore. Whatever it was, it wasn't very big...

Charlotte went up a nearby willow and across on a long branch, dropping lightly on the opposite shore, and moved slowly and carefully up to the bushes where her mysterious quarry was moving. The creature emerged into a sunbeam...

"Where'd you come from?"

...............................................

"Charlotte? Where'd you wander off to, Face-Hugger?" asked Kaylee as Charlotte waddled up the trail toward her twenty minutes later, before freezing at the sight that greeted her. The Acromantula was wearing a spidersilk pad on her head, and sitting on that pad, its feet trailing silk jesses, was a pre-fledging Goshawk chick, which glared at the shipgirl balefully. "Charlotte you have a hawk on your head."

"Uh-huh! I found him down by the creek, Gin-ya; I followed his tracks back and his nest was all busted-up and there was webs that weren't mine all around. I think he's an orphan like me... Can I keep him? Please?"

Kaylee steeled herself. She hardened her heart, stiffened her lip... And caved within ten seconds of seeing the Spider-Puppy Eyes. "Sure, but let me check the chick out real quick. How'd you get it so calm, Charlotte?" Kaylee asked as she knelt and carefully moved the bird onto her hand.

"He was makin' noise like he was hungry, like on Animal Planet, so I caught bugs and minnows and fed him."

"Her, actually. Congratulations, Charlotte; it's a girl, a female Goshawk. She looks healthy, but we'll get a vet to look her over when we get back."

Charlotte looked at the chick. "What's 'Goshawk' mean, Gin-ya?"

Kaylee popped a piece of beef jerky into her mouth and chewed. "It means 'Goose-Hawk'; old-time falconers used to use them huntin' geese."

"Oh... I see." Charlotte clicked her fangs once, sharply, and drew the chick's attention. Imitating James' training-voice, Charlotte clicked her fangs again and said, "Gosling, eyes on me." When it looked to her, Charlotte praised the newly-named Gosling and gave her a cricket. "Good girl!"

Kaylee watched and laughed as Charlotte and Gosling bonded. "I can see the letter to Admiral Shimada now... 'Dear Admiral, I now know how you felt when I brought Charlotte back to Kure. Also, what kinda paperwork's required to bring a hawk into Japan? Signed, Kaylee'. This'll be fun, I reckon...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Eyebrow raising, Isokaze had an bemused smile on her face as she stared at Harry. "Well, what? Come on then."

With another glance around, Harry shook his head. "Um, it's sort of embarrassing, so can we do this somewhere else?" At the intrigued look on the Destroyer's face, he scratched his neck. "Please?"

Simply chuckling, Isokaze stood up and grabbed his hand. "Sure, we can talk about this over in our rooms." Minutes later, Isokaze nodded as she closed the door and turned to Harry. "Okay, now you really got me interested. What's so big a problem that you need to talk to me in private?"

Taking a deep breath, the wizard let it out before walking over to his trunk and opening it. Retrieving a vial from it, he held it up to Isokaze. "You know what this is?"

Now frowning thoughtfully, Isokaze took the vial and examined it before slowly nodding. "This is that Polyjuice potion stuff, right? Which can..." For a few brief seconds, she fell silent as she connected the dots. And then she gave Harry a grin. "Which can transform one into someone else! Is that how you're going to prank her?"

Harry relaxed a bit and gave her a grin of his own. "Yup! In fact..."

Leaning in, he whispered into her ear with the Destroyer nodding. "Uh-huh. Right, okay... Really?" Briefly pulling back, she watched as he nodded before her grin widened and leaning back in. "Okay, that would be pretty damn awesome and I want to see Kongou-Sama's face during it. And afterwards as well as it should be hilarious if we can pull it off."

All Harry did though was shrug and shake his head. "We should be able to, I mean... there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to."

Silently, Isokaze considered what she had been told before nodding. "That's true enough, I suppose." Rubbing her chin, she hummed a bit. "In fact, I can't see Kongou-Sama seeing it coming, which makes it all the better come to think of it."

Unable to help himself, Harry grinned widely. "Exactly! For once, Kongou-Oba will be the one getting pranked and not the other way around! It's going to be awesome."

Of course, that was when Isokaze cleared her throat and then turned to him with a quirked eyebrow. "That said... Why the secrecy?" At his blush though, she blinked. "Something I said?"

However, Harry shook his head and then took a deep breath. "Not really? I mean... it's..." Pausing, he gathered his thoughts and then charged forwards. "I need to test it out first. Hermione and Aunt Myrtle said that it would not be any issue, but..."

It clicking in her head, Isokaze barely held back from bursting out in laughter. "I suppose that you would need to make sure. And since Pomfrey-Shishou was able to heal Hermione of her issue, she could do the same for you as well." Frowning suddenly though, she shook her head. "Are you sure though that you want to do this? And why me?"

Chewing his lip, Harry shifted a bit before letting out a sigh. "Because I trust you? I mean, you're not going to make fun of me if I mess up somehow-" Seeing her open her mouth to say something, he cut her off. "Well, not much. And not over something simple anyways." Rubbing his neck, he let out a breath. "Not to mention, you've known me for a while so..."

Much to his surprise, Isokaze placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to give him a small smile, expression gentle. "I know what you mean, Harry-Chan. As a matter of fact, I don't really mind all that much as I trust you right back and I can imagine that this might be... embarrassing."

With a sheepish smile, Harry only nodded. "Um, thanks."

Simply nodding, Isokaze hummed as she looked him over for several moments before frowning and gesturing at him. "You might want to wear something a bit different, Harry-Chan." Her eyes twinkling as her lips twitching, she tilted her head. "I'm rather sure that my body would not fit in those clothes of yours."

Blushing, Harry realized that despite the growing he had done, Isokaze was still taller then him besides everything else. "Right... But what?"

After a few more moments, Isokaze walked over to the duffle bag she used and dug around in it. Pulling out a bathrobe, she tossed it to Harry. "Here, put this on after I turn around. Don't tie it too tightly though."

That done, she did as she stated and turned around and waited. From where she stood, she could hear the rustle of clothing until Harry cleared his throat. "Er... I'm done so you can turn around."

Doing so, Isokaze just managed not to giggle at the sight of Harry in the oversized bathrobe. Head tilting to the side as she examined him, she nodded some. "So... all I do is give you a hair, right? That's it?" At his nod, she reached up and with a small flinch, plucked a hair and gave it to him. "Well, here you go then."

With a deep breath, Harry uncorked the vial and then dropped the hair inside of it before corking it and shaking it around. Then he popped off the top and gave her a small, shy smile. "Well, bottom's up..."

Isokaze leaned back some and watched as Harry swallowed it all with a small grimace on his face. When he commented though that at least it tasted better this time, she let out a bit of a chuckle. "Well, that's something then." After a second or two though, she frowned. "Um, is something-" Then the Destroyer was cut off as Harry let out a gasp and bent forwards while clutching his midsection. Rushing over, Isokaze looked him over. "Harry-Chan, are you okay?"

Slowly, Harry nodded and Isokaze's eyes widened as his hair began to lengthen. "Y-yeah, it's not exactly comfortable..."

Eyes wide, Isokaze watched as the boy's features shifted before her very eyes, almost as if they were being molded while they turned Japanese and very familiar. As he sucked in a breath, his body actually grew several inches and then then his face became softer. Within less then a minute though, Isokaze found herself staring at what might as well have been a reflection, with the last bit to vanish being Harry's startling green eyes becoming the same red ones she often saw in the mirror, the color changing right in front of her. When her copy stood up, Isokaze had to swallow a bit. "Harry-Chan?"

When Harry spoke though, it was with Isokaze's voice which made her jaw drop as she noticed he had his usual lopsided grin on his, her, face. Something that caused her to boggle. "Yes, Isokaze-Chan? Something wrong?"

Mouth working, Isokaze eventually shook her head. "That? Now that is rather freaky, Harry-Chan." Leaning in, she closely examined the face before her in disbelief. "You look exactly like me, Harry-Chan. In practically every way, it's... well, kind of disturbing."

That caused Harry to blink a bit. "Disturbing? Really?"

A frown on her face, the Destroyer walked around him in a circle as she nodded. "Yeah, it sort of is. I mean, a reflection is one thing, but this?" Coming to a stop in front of him, her face was inches from his own. "This is entirely different..." With her hand shaking, Isokaze reached out and cupped Harry's transformed cheek, her thumb rubbing his skin. "Really different."

Heat rising in his cheeks, Harry coughed a bit. "R-right."

Bemused, Isokaze pulled back as he licked suddenly dry lips. Thoughtful, she looked him over with a frown. "You know, I think that I know why it's disturbing. You look exactly like me, but there's an... offness. I think it's how you behave and such." She then waved a hand around. "You're still acting like yourself and it's really wrong to see myself acting like that. Kind of cool, but also creepy." Eyes narrowing, Isokaze's eyebrows then shot up. "And I can't see a hull around you either!"

Looking at her, Harry boggled a bit. "Wait, you can't? Really?"

Intrigued, Isokaze nodded some as she examined him. "No, I can't see any hull around you at all. Which means that your transformation is only physical and not anything metaphysical. Huh... Though I don't think that anyone will really notice it in all honesty." It was then that a thought occurred to her which made her frown. "I... guess that this is how it would look to one of us if I was fully human."

Just looking himself over, or as much as he could see without the bathrobe, Harry frowned himself. "Huh, that's sort of neat."

Small chuckles escaping from her, Isokaze nodded a bit. "I suppose so, it is actually kind of neat." After a few moments, the Destroyer shook that off. "Anyways, go ahead and let's see how you walk."

Somewhat confused, Harry finally shrugged some and then took a step. But when he took another though, he stumbled a bit and Isokaze reached out to steady him. "Sorry about that. I'm taller and..." A frown crossed his face. "My balance seems to be off."

Much to his confusion, Isokaze snickered a bit. "Well, that's not surprising that your balance is off. After all, you're a woman, which means..." The Destroyer made a motion at her chest with her hands. "These make it different from a man's. If the longer limbs and such throw it off, that could be a problem with the prank... or it could help, I suppose." Humming, Isokaze then motioned at him. "Anyways, we should see how long it takes for you to get used to being like this. It's sort of interesting..."

As it turned out, it did not take Harry long at all to get used to walking and even less time to get used to sitting. Having noticed Isokaze staring at him, Harry chuckled weakly. "Um... is something wrong?"

To his confusion though, a smile appeared on her face. "Oh, nothing's wrong at all, Harry-Chan. Not in the slightest. By the way, how long will this last?"

Despite wanting to know what was going on, Harry shrugged it off and went back to getting used to walk around or what have you. "About a half hour or so. Why?" However, all Isokaze did was wave him off. Ignoring that, Harry decided to get back to working at moving around and such. And when he turned back, Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "There. that's better."

Oddly though, Isokaze had a twinkle in her eye when he did turn back. For some odd reason, her expression made him think that he had passed some sort of test he did not know was happening. But that was rather silly, what sort of test could she have been giving him? It was just his imagination...

Right?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 91: S0ngD0g13

James ran a finger under the collar of his Dress Blues and picked up his white cover. "Ready, Darlin'?" he asked over his shoulder to Houshou.

"Almost, James; could you be a dear and zip me?" James kissed the back of his wife's neck as he zipped up the blue dress she was wearing, the same Forties-style dress she'd worn on their first date. She swatted him lightly, giggling. "Down, boy! You're certainly frisky tonight!"

James laughed happily, saying, "What do you expect; it's my second birthday, after all, and I get to take a queen to the Ball."

"Keep talking and we'll never make it there, Hedge-Knight..."

................................................

The extended McAmis family exited Kaylee's Jeep in front of the Kure Base Conven and paired off; James in his Dress Blues with Houshou on his arm; Jaw, dressed in a tasteful suit with Zuikaku beside him in a similar dress to Houshou, done in green; Kaylee in her Navy Full-Dress Blues with Ginny Weasley at her side in a dress of Gryffindor Red-and-Gold, her hair over her shoulders in fiery curls.

They walked inside, James and Kaylee reflexively removing their covers, and found their table. As they started mingling, Ginny asked Kaylee, "All these folks are Marines like your uncle?"

Kaylee nodded. "Or family, or Navy who served with Marine units like Chaplains or Corpsmen. Some retired, some who finished out their contracts and went back to civilian life. But the Marines here? They're all Marines, never 'former-', never 'ex-'. Once a Marine, always a Marine."

"I see. Oh, is that a photo of New Jersey over the bar?" Ginny and Kaylee walked over and saw that it was, the grinning faces of all four Iowa sisters looking down from over the back-bar.

Kaylee nodded to the photo and asked the bartender, "Nice photo; they donated, like I heard Uncle James say they might?"

The bartender nodded. "They sure did; donated all the booze for the bar, and the glassware from their own Wardrooms and Flag-Messes. Those girls are a real treat."

Kaylee laughed and smiled. "Well, they always did love their Marines. Two fingers of that Corazon de Oro, neat, please. And whatever my lady-friend here takes a shine to."

Ginny asked for the same, and soon the pair were sipping glasses of sweet, golden mead as they walked around, pausing to speak with this person or that couple. Ginny's dress was complimented by Major Payne's wife, and Kaylee chuckled to see her date blush so; Master-Guns Beckett and Kaylee talked a while about fishing, and then made their way back to the table as the ceremonies began; the Commandant's Message was played, and Commandant John Lejeune's Birthday Message of 1921 read, and then the cake was wheeled in to be cut.

"It's a symbol," said Kaylee quietly to Ginny. "The first piece is passed from the oldest Marine present, to the youngest, just like the traditions and history and honor of the Corps are passed down to each new generation of Marines from their forebears."

As the Hymn began to play, Marines old and new, veterans of the Abyssal War, and the wars before that, stood and sang, their voices and the voices and spirits of their predecessors through the previous 238 years, ringing out loudly, proudly, and strong...

"From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the Shores of Tripoli..."

Even Ginny joined in, and at the end...

"... If the Army and the Navy,
Ever look on Heaven's Scenes,
They will find the Streets are Guarded
By United States Marines!"

"OOH-RAH!"

.................................................

The 2013 Commandant's Message:


Commandant Lejeune's Message:


The 2017 Commandant's Message:


Happy Second-Birthday to all my Marine-Corps Brothers and Sisters, and Happy 242nd Birthday to the United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi!

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 92: S0ngD0g13

Kaylee stood on a hilltop overlooking the Inland Sea; on either side of her stood Monitor and Kotetsu. "Veterans' Day. Remembrance Day. A proud day, and a hard one, too..."

Monitor nodded. "I read the history books; lotta boys who didn't come home. Makes a body wonder what they were really fightin' about..."

Kotetsu shrugged. "Politics, land, sovereignty, survival... States' Rights," she jabbed at the Union ironclad. "In the end, I can't honestly say it made much difference what the Cause was; they still believed in it. We still believe in it. Virginia, what was that quote about 'It's good that war's terrible'?"

"It is well that War is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." She cleared her throat. "Robert E. Lee, at Fredericksburg. Here's a better one, or at least a more-modern one..."

"When I go home people'll ask me, 'Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?' You know what I'll say? I won't say a goddamn word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is."

Kotetsu chuckled. "Seriously, Virginia? Quoting Hoot from Blackhawk Down?"

"What can I say, the Delta-Boy knew how to shuck it right down to the cob. Point remains."

Monitor and Kotetsu nodded, and Monitor spoke. "Dulce et Decorum est, pro Patria Mori."

"Bullshit," said Virginia. "Dyin's dyin'; ain't nothing 'sweet' or 'proper' bout it."

She pressed 'play' on her phone's YouTube App, and the trio stood silent as Friends by Owlflight played. After it ended, each raised a glass and toasted, "Absent Friends," and drained the raw 140-proof moonshine within.

At their feet, their Fairies raised rifles and aimed out to sea, and three volleys rang out...