Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"The answer, Minister, is still no."

Wide eyed, Fudge looked at the man at the other side of his desk. The Egyptian diplomat to the British Ministry normally had a face as if it was carved from the stone. Very, very few saw his jovial side. Albus Dumbledore was one, Arthur Weasley, despite their disagreements on his eldest son's career path was another. Perhaps Amelia Bones could maybe be counted among them as well. But Cornelius Fudge? He was most certainly not one of those.

What made it worse was the fact that the normally calm diplomat looked enraged. Blustering a bit, Fudge shook his head. "You must understand, my friend that-"

His eyes narrowed, the man growled. "I am no friend of yours."

But Cornelius continued without pause. "The goblins, they are getting rather... angry with things. After what happened down in Egypt they are out for blood and making quite the amount of noise regarding this. They want something done about these sunshipgirls and done soon. Especially as they have been finally found and are no longer in hiding! Surely you can spare some Auror's to help bring them to justice! Why, they have even been breaking the Statute if reports are to be believed!"

There was silence as the man softly whispered. "Justice, you say..."

Figuring that the Egyptian was finally looking at it the same way he did, Cornelius smiled not sensing the danger. "Yes, yes. Quite horrible the amounts of death that happened. A number of good wizards and witches lost their lives to them after all, as did some goblins. And Gringotts wants justice for what happened, which is understandable considering what had happened to them. Why, if they do not soon then we may be looking at another rebellion! Something that we all can ill afford at this time due to how shaky the Statute currently is. Especially after all their help in Egypt with your economy-"

It was then that Fudge noticed the look on the Diplomat's face had by now passed enraged entirely right before he hissed. "Help you say... is that what one calls what they have done, Cornelius? What one calls them raiding our nation of our treasures?! Of our very heritage?! All to fuel their GREED?! Raiding our tombs of our ancestors for their gold and gems?! Destroying history simply because they want the wealth!? Is that what you call help, Minister!?"

Fudge, if he knew the muggle saying, would have stated he had stepped on a landmine and was now trying to back off it before it detonated on him. "Y-yes, well, I can understand your emotions regarding such matters and-"

However, the Diplomat roared back at him. "UNDERSTAND?!" Growling, he got up and smashed his palms onto the desk which made Fudge lean back some. "Justice! You speak those words without knowing what they mean! To you are they are simply empty words! Good wizards and witches? Is that what you call those grave robbers! And that is exactly what they are! No more and no less! When the Abyssals attacked, where were they, Cornelius?! When the Abyssals came up the waterways of the Delta seeking to kill and slaughter those before them, where were they?!"

Unable to help himself, Fudge began to stutter. "I-I-I.... do not know. I am certain that they were around..."

Sneering the Diplomat stared down at him. "Do you wish to know where they were? I can tell you right now. In the desert, continuing their plundering of the tombs of my ancestors. It was not their duty, we were told after we requested their help. It was not the job of Gringotts to help us! We lost many, many good wizards and witches that day, Minister! Far better ones then the grave robbers of Gringotts! They died alongside our non-magical brothers and sisters!"

Quickly swallowing, Cornelius nodded some. "Yes, yes, they were quite good. Magnificent really, but-"

Raising a finger, the Diplomat continued. "When the Battle of Aswan Dam occurred, where were they? When the Abyssals sent their bombers to attack the dam, to destroy it. And in so doing, kill untold numbers of my countrymen, magical and otherwise, where were they? We were told that it was none of Gringotts business and it was not their duty to sacrifice themselves. Three, that was it that showed up that day. Three brave souls! And so many of my country's Aurors died that day. My son was one of those who gave their lives. He flew his carpet into a group of falling bombs and used a shield spell to set them off and defect the explosion away from the dam as much as he could! All so the dam would be protected!" Shaking, the Egyptian had tears in his eyes. "I have never been so proud of my son in all my years. Or my daughters, who died at the Battle of the Delta. Something that the Muggles will never know due to the Statute you want me to protect. I have but one child left, one! And she is already joining up to protect Egypt as so many of her siblings already have."

As he grimaced at the reminder, Fudge took a deep breath. "I said it before, a true tragedy for your country and yourself. And my deepest condolences for your losses, but still. You need to understand what is at stake here!"

Only stating at Fudge, the Diplomat scoffed. "I will not send my last child to her death for nonsense and to protect grave robbers, Cornelius Fudge. For something that is in the end a fool's errand and nothing less then that. And that is what to fight the Sunshipgirls would be. Especially when we barely have enough to handle the collapse of Libya and the magical repercussions of that and other things, especially in the desert. There are reports of actual Efreet being sighted on the Sinai Peninsula while on the move, something that frightens everyone. We will not risk angering that which we have no need to and opening an issue that we do not have the capability to handle. Not now, Cornelius. This is the last, final statement from my nation on this. If Gringotts attempts to try and protest it, my government's position is thus... it is not our job to protect Gringotts interests as it was not theirs to protect ours. They will find no aid from us as they gave us none. Not in lives, and not in healers. If they try for their justice, they will do so on their own dime and blood. The sword will fall upon their heads alone for challenging such ancient powers. Ones that they have scoffed at up to this time." Turning, he walked out. "A good day, Cornelius."

Once the door was closed, Cornelius slumped in his chair. Slowly shaking his had, he held his face in his hands. "This is a disaster..."

Suddenly, the only other person in the room spoke up. "Hem, hem." When Fudge turned to Umbridge, she frowned and looked like she had bit into a lemon. "As much as I would hate to agree with the Wog, he does have a rather good point. Gringotts should listen to us, and not the other way around. After all, they are nothing more then grubby goblins."

Rubbing the side of his head, Fudge tried to fight off the headache. "Delores, whether or not he has a point is beside the matter. So far Egypt is no longer listening to us, and Gringotts is threatening a rebellion if we do not solve this. And I certainly do not have enough Aurors for such issues. Not with what is happening in Ireland which is what we need to be concentrating on before it blows up in all our faces."

Simply huffing a bit, Umbridge shook her head. "And I keep telling you, Bones is dragging her feet. She should just grab one of those we already know to be responsible and just throw them in Azkaban! An Ministry Branch office in Ireland! Destroyed! No one was killed, but still! The Irish need to be taught a lesson, especially the muggleborns who are at the core of the problem. They seem to think that we are as weak as the muggle government and will give up Ireland! Allow them to rule themselves when they are obviously not capable of doing such with how much trouble they cause."

Yet again, Fudge had to remind himself that he had signed on for this. "We both know that Madam Bones will not do such a thing, Delores. And with good reason as even Lucius supports her in this. No, no, we cannot simply arrest without cause. Not now."

Beady little eyes staring at him, Delores frowned a bit. "Perhaps... there is another way. To punish these terrorists. Just give me the word, Cornelius. I can have some proper hit wizards and witches trained. Ones who will be able to put down these... separatists. And not afraid to do so either unlike some of Bones' people." Fudge blinked and rolled the idea around in his head. Pros and cons were put against each other. It was tempting, oh so very much so. "They can't be Aurors though, no, they need to be outside the Ministry and not influenced by Bones."

Almost five minutes passed as the Minister thought it over rather hard. But finally, he sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not, Delores. It would be ill advised at this moment and there is no need of such actions. We'll keep up what we have been doing and the Irish will settle down soon enough. They always have before after all. Doing what you suggest has far too high a chance of backfiring on us. In fact, they might well cause the situation to explode into a war like we are trying to avoid if we get caught at it."

Briefly scowling, Delores still nodded while she simpered. "Of course, Cornelius. Now, I have some business to attend to."

Just waving her off, Cornelius nodded some. "Yes, yes, I suppose that you would. Hopefully the day will turn out better. Best be off then." Once she was out the door, he sighed and wondered again about his Undersecretary. Spending a few moments, Cornelius shook his head pulled out a drawer in his desk. A bottle of very strong, very expensive alcohol was placed on the desk followed by a tumbler. Pouring a measure, he knocked it back.

Then after some thought, knocked back at least another shot... or two... or three. Being a Minister of Magic was very stressful after all. And with how things had gone, he needed some comfort did he not?

Meanwhile, Delores stormed through the hallways. Internally, she was growling, but showed none of that on her face. No, Umbridge had come to her own decision. While Cornelius had given her his answer, she knew what she had to do. It would not be the first time she defended the Ministry from those who would harm it. No, she was able and willing to do what was necessary, unlike others.

And right now, Delores Umbridge had some people to talk to...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking down the cobblestone path, Harry glanced at Marie who was beside him. For some odd reason, she had asked him to accompany her down into the small village just outside the property. Not that he came alone with her through. A glance to his other side found Natsumi there and just behind him, both RO and Hanna walked. While they walked, Harry glanced here and there. Along one side of the path, or street rather, houses in various states of repair stood.

Much to his surprise, he found out that all of them had suffered some sort of damage due to the attack by Grindlewald. Most of those were repaired by his followers and used for living quarters. Others were left though as they stood with some of those having what repairs Johann and Marie could do done to them. But since their arrival, Johann had gotten some unexpected help. Even from where they were, Harry could hear the sound of fairies hard at work inside some of the more repairable homes.

It went without saying that Johann had been surprised at his first sight of the Fairies until he shrugged it off and got to work.

Harry had been told though by Graf that apparently some of the other shipgirls would come with more repair materials when the German military sent in a force to clear out the old manufacturing base. Apparently, there was something of a fight as a number of the German shipgirls wanted to participate. Then there was the planning and such for a secret operation as no one wanted the magical side of things to catch wind just yet. No one trusted them not to vanish any evidence that could be found inside the base before it could be collected. Add in the question of perhaps purifying and laying to rest any restless spirits... It would be some time before anything happened on that front. Though Marie and Johann already stated that they had no problem if they were to set up an operations base there until it was done.

Turning away from one of the houses, Harry glanced to the side where the water from the spring bubbled past and then looked at Marie. "So, um... What exactly do you need to show me?"

Lips twitching, Marie leaned towards him with a small chuckle. "Not so much something, as someone. It is a good thing that you were not going to leave today, Junger Herr. A very good thing as it turns out as this is someone that you would want to meet."

Several moments passed before Harry's eyes widened and he stared at Marie. "Wait, is it..." At her nod, he could only shake his head. "Oh wow..."

Confused, Natsumi looked from Harry to Marie and then back. "Um, Harry-Chan? What's going on? Do you know who we're meeting?"

After a few seconds, Harry shook his head with a small frown, but then chuckled as he placed his hands behind his head. When he turned to look at her, Natsumi could see a twinkle in his eyes. "Well, not exactly... But I think that I know something as Marie mentioned them before." Walking past a bush, his eyes widened a bit, but then he nodded. "And it looks like that I'm right."

Blinking, Natsumi frowned as she looked in the same direction and furrowed her eyebrows. At a bend in the small stream from the spring, there was a single swan in the water. Oddly, Natsumi could swear that it looked surprised to see them, but then her attention was grabbed by what looked like a knapsack on it's back. "I don't..." Suddenly, it clicked in her mind as she remembered what she had been told. "Wait... is that one of those Swanmaidens?"

The swan focused on her sharply at that before before tilting it's head to the side. Then it looked at Marie who nodded as they came to a stop. "Gisela, it is good to see you. And do not worry, they are friends." Placing a hand on Harry's shoulder, she smiled. "This is Junger Herr, Harry Potter. He is from Britain, but you can trust him."

For what seemed like hours, the swan stared at Harry as if it was weighing his very soul. Nothing was said, but then Harry bowed some. "Frau Gisela, you have my word that I am no threat to you or yours. With me are my close friends, Hanna Hipper, RO, and Natsumi Ono."

Glancing at not just Natsumi, but also Hanna and RO, the swan seemed to consider the words before swimming towards the shore. As the swan reached the shallows, it blurred and shifted. Where there was once a swan was a beautiful young woman with a robe, or perhaps a cloak, made of swan feathers. Long, blone hair fell from her head as she more closely examined the group with keen eyes. However, Natsumi twitched as she realized something else.

Mainly that under the being's cloak, she was completely and utterly naked.

Not noticing the kitsune's annoyance, the swan maiden looked over Harry before smiling and giving a bow herself. "Thank you for giving me your word, it means quite a bit. And if Frau Marie trusts you, then I would be remiss not to do the same with the long friendship she has had with my flock." She then turned her gaze towards the rest of the group and smiled. "Especially with such an interesting group." There was an amused twinkle in her eye as she looked at Natsumi. "Is there an issue?"

Taking a deep breath, Natsumi let it out and frowned. "Nothing really, just wondering if you would put on some clothes is all."

Eyes twinkling madly, the swan maiden's feathers then changed again, this time to a white dress. Granted, said dress diaphanous in nature which was not too much better, though it did preserve her modesty. Crouching down, she gave Harry a small smile. "It has been ever so long since I have seen a Potter in this place. Mein aunt was quite close to one and other members have been as well from time to time."

Meanwhile, Natsumi's eyebrow twitched as internally she growled at the look that the swan maiden was giving Harry. 'Oh, hells no! Uh-uh, no freaking way!'

Unseen by Natsumi, RO was rather amused while Hanna developed a tick to her own eyebrow. Then the swan maiden gave Harry an odd smile before standing up and removing the knapsack from her back. "Frau Marie, I have brought the supplies as agreed upon. I do hope that they are enough for you and your Bruder as well as any guests."

Gently taking it, Marie tilted her head a bit before smiling. "It would be more then enough, Danke." She then nodded towards Harry. "As an aside, with Junger Herr here, if you so wish then you may ask him his permission."
Confused, Harry looked from one to the other. "Permission? Permission for what?"

In reply, Gisela crouched down until she was at his level. "Long ago, one of your ancestors met one of mein flock. She had been injured badly and would have died if not for being found by a Potter. Instead of killing what he thought was a mere swan, he brought her back here to heal. And, in time, she did. Once she was healed, he let her go on her way. Some years later, she was bathing in a spring when they met again. Now, he could have taken her cloak, and thus bind her. But... he did not. Instead, he guarded her as her and her siblings bathed. More then once they came there to do so, and more then once he guarded her."

Highly interested, Harry continued to listen in. "So what happened? Did they know that he was guarding them?"

Laughing lightly, Gisela shook her head. "Nein, not at first. It was not until they found footprints that they realized someone was watching. But whoever it was did not take their feathers. Finally, they laid a trap and caught him at it and, when they asked, he stated that he felt it wrong to do such a thing to them. And mein flock member recognized him as the boy who had saved her. A friendship was then struck between mein flock and the Potters. We could spend time here, protected. But we would need the permission of the current head to do so. Permission was always granted but..."

All Harry did was nod some. "But then what happened with Grindlewald did." At her nod, he only smiled. "Well... I don't see any real reason not to grant permission." Then the black haired wizard blinked a bit. "Though there's going to be some people coming and going, so..."

Moments later, Harry blinked as she kissed him on the cheek and then smiled. "Danke." Stepping out of the water, she smiled down at him. "But I think that I would like to hear more of this..."

Only shrugging, Harry began walking back to the house, not noticing Natsumi taking deep breaths. And it was not helped when the swan maiden paused in her conversation with Marie and Harry to wink at her. 'Oh, I got my eyes on you...'

Unknown to her though were the thoughts in Gisela's mind. 'Ah, foxes. So easy to tease...'
________________________________________________________________________

Walking into Rose's section of the docks, Haruna came to a stop and blinked. Just a few hours ago, she had arrived back in Yokosuka after escorting a convoy. Part of her was saddened though due to the fact that she had missed her and Rose's one year anniversary because of the convoy escort. Something that the tsukumogami had told her was perfectly okay more then once when they talked via satellite phone when Haruna took breaks. Despite the reason why, it warmed Haruna to hear Rose forgive her.

However, Haruna had come home to a note in the quarters that she shared with her sisters when they were all in Yokosuka. Said note was from Rose and asked for her to come down to her area of the docks. As well, the note said to dress nicely when coming. It went without saying that it had confused Haruna when she had read it in Rose's neat handwriting and said that they were going for a dinner and a show. But the Fast Battleship had mentally shrugged and picked out some of the nicer clothing she had from her closet and headed down. Perhaps Rose had wanted to go out and celebrate their anniversary?

But it seems that Haruna was somewhat off the mark though as upon arrival, she found a table there with a lovely lace table cloth. And on said table, was Rose's tea set, the light reflecting off it. That said light mostly came from candles made Haruna's eyebrows raise. Slowly walking towards the table, Haruna noticed another note and read it. "Rose-Chan wants Haruna to sit down?" Glancing around and not seeing any sign of the tsukumogami, Haruna frowned a bit but did as asked. 'Haruna wonders where Rose-Chan is...'

The sound of footsteps made Haruna turn a bit with a smile to greet Rose. But any such greeting died in her throat upon her eyes falling on her girlfriend. The British tea spirit stood there with a smile as she gazed down at the Kongou with a twinkle in her eye. "Hello, Haruna."

For her part though, Haruna was struck dumb at the sight of Rose in a sleeveless, silver dress right out of the 1940s, No one would ever call Rose busty to say the least, but said dress fit her extremely well and showed off what she did have to offer. Such as how it stopped at her knees and revealed pale skinned legs which made the shipgirl's mouth go dry. As she stood there, Rose watched as Haruna's wide eyes trailed up and down her. Eventually though, Haruna managed to work her mouth as she noticed the blush on Rose's cheeks. "H-hello, Rose-Chan... W-what..."

Simply walking over with a sashsay that made Haruna's mind seize up, Rose brought one hand to Haruna's cheek. "It's our anniversary, Haruna. I... thought that I would do something to make it memorable..."

Once more looking her over, Haruna slowly nodded. "W-well, Haruna has to say that it is that... But where..."

Twirling bit, Rose smiled down at her. "I made it myself, Haruna. Just for us... now sit back and enjoy the show..."

All Haruna had time for was to wonder a bit. 'Show? What show?'

Music of a band the started up and Haruna looked to the side to see what looked like some of Kongou's own fairies were there playing instruments. Hand still against Haruna's cheek, Rose began to sing.

"Oh, Honey
Picture me, upon your knee.
With tea for two, and two for tea.
Just me for you, and you for me."

Pulling away some, though not before giving Haruna's knee a gentle squeeze, Rose then began to pour some tea into the two cups there. Not once did she take her eyes from Haruna, who gulped at the look in them. Of course, the shipgirl also noticed the glimpses that she got as Rose bent over and continued to dance. Which made it hard for Haruna to chose one place to keep her eyes.

"Nobody near us to see us or hear us.
No friends or relations on weekend vacations.
We won't have it known, Dear
That we own a telephone, Dear.

Day will break and I'll awake
And start to bake a sugar cake
For you to take, for all the shipgirls to see.
Oh Darling..."

Rose's next words caused Haruna's eyes to widen at the images they put into her head. Said images were not helped by the sheer promise, and meaning, that were in the tsukumogami's eyes as she sang.

"We will raise a family
A ship for you and a girl for me.
Can't you see how happy we will be?"

As she continued to hum, Rose stood up and sashayed her way to the counter where normally she served treats to others. Then, she easily brought over a small meal which she placed in front of Haruna. A meal that, sure enough, had a sugar cake for dessert.

Then with her next words, Rose slid onto Haruna's lap, one arm around the shipgirl's neck.

"Picture me, upon your knee
Tea for two, and two for tea
Me for you, and you for me alone.

Nobody near us to see us or hear us
No friends or relations on weekend vacations
We won't have it be known, Dear
That we own a telephone, Dear."

Reaching up, she leaned in close enough for Haruna to feel her warm breath against her lips as one hand cupped her cheek.

"Day will break and I'm gonna wake
And start to bake a sugar cake
For you to take, for all the shipgirls to see."

Unconsciously, Haruna reached up and placed her arms around Rose's waist as the tsukumogami leaned in even closer. Inside her hull, the Battleship could feel her boilers pounding away as Rose's voice went soft, but still audible.

"We will raise a family
A ship for you and a girl for me
Oh, can't you see how happy we will be?
How happy we will be..."

Softly smiling, Rose touched her lips to Haruna's and the two stayed like that for a time before pulling away. A blush on her cheeks, Rose hummed a bit. "Happy Anniversary, Haruna."

Just swallowing dryly, while also making sure to fix what happened in her memories, Haruna smiled right back. "Happy Anniversary, Rose-Chan."

Then tilting her head, she leaned in and once more kissed her girlfriend while holding her close, their lips curling into a smile.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Shifting the backpack he had, Harry smiled over at Marie and Bartholomew while the group were standing near the edge of the wards. For her part, Marie had her hands clasped in front of her dress with a smile. "Now then, I made you some foods that should do you for your journey to your destination. I do hope that you enjoy them."

His smile growing a bit, Harry nodded. "I'm sure that we will enjoy them. Your cooking's been great! And danke for the breakfast."

Marie blushed some and chuckled. "Danke. It makes me rather happy that you did enjoy breakfast, all of you."

Licking her lips, Natsumi gave her a grin which reminded everyone of a fox. "Well, breakfast was great... Though I am going to miss your rabbit sausages. Those are so goood!"

Only snickering at his friends, Harry shook his head before turning back to Marie. "Um, you are going to be okay, right? I mean... We won't be back for a while after all..."

For several moments, Marie looked at him before she chuckled. "We shall be fine, Junger Herr. After all, we have been fine for over half a century." Catching the flinch, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Now, none of that was your fault. And as you told us, you only found out about this place recently."

A grimace on his face, Harry shrugged a bit. "I guess... But if I had thought of it earlier..."

However, Bartholomew shook his head with a small chuckle. "We all have regrets, Junger Herr. All of us. But we live with them and move on."

Soft laughter caused Harry to turn to where Gisela was giving him an interested look. "I must admit, Herr Potter, it does me good to see you caring so much about those here. As much as could be hoped for, and better then expected." She then gestured to Marie, Bartholomew, and then Johann. "As to them, do not worry. Just as they have said, there is nothing to worry about. And I shall make sure of such."

Relaxing a bit, Harry slowly nodded before a throat clearing made him turn to find Graf there. Said Carrier then gave him a small smile. "As well, since this place is so close to the facility, I will be back in a week or two with some others. When we do come back, we shall bring plenty of supplies with us." She gave a small nod at the surprise on the inhabitants' faces. "It will take some time to made records of everything that we might find."

Eugen then smiled as she nodded some. "Not to mention that some of us German shipgirls may come from time to time. It is..." She looked around and then took a deep breath. "It is very peaceful here. A good place to rest away from the war where is has not yet touched the land. I think that große Schwester might like to spend some time here as well. Everyone will be asked though to bring some supplies when they do come."

Hands clapping together, Marie gave a smile. "Well, if you bring certain ones then the next time I will make sure that I shall bake a Black Forest Cake." Her expression became one of fond remembrance. "I remember that a number enjoyed it when I made it after I learned the recipe in... 1922, I think it was. It was after the Herr ate some in Berlin and wished for some here."

Brightly smiling, Eugen nodded. "Then I shall make sure that you got the supplies!"

With a small nod, Marie then turned towards her silent brother. "And you, Johann? Did you make sure that all the supplies are ready?"

Said person blinked for several moments before he caught onto her real meaning. In other words, the glass bottles currently inside of Graf's and Eugen's backpacks he had given to them secretly. Coughing as he tried to ignore how said shipgirls were not looking at him, he nodded. "Ja, all the supplies are ready. And I will see you tonight, Marie once I return after they reach the edge of the woods."

Only sharply nodding, Marie hummed. "I see, well that is good then." A tap made her look to where Harry was now standing in front of her. "Yes, Junger Herr? Is something wrong?"

In reply, Harry shook his head before taking a deep breath. "No, nothing is wrong." Before Marie could say anything though, he hugged her around the waist. "Just... take care of yourself."

Eyes wide, Marie looked at him before her expression softened and she returned the hug warmly. Part of her was reminded of earlier days, before Grindlewald. "Ja, you can be sure of that. When you come back, we shall be here and there will always be a hearth to warm yourself by when you do."

Nodding, Harry gave her a small squeeze before pulling away. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn to find Gisela there with her own arms open. "While we have not known each other long, where is mein hug?"

Simply chuckling, Harry took the offer and hugged her. "Danke, Frau Gisela. I'll see you again some time."

Moments later, he blinked as she kissed him on the cheek and nodded. "Ja, I am certain of that." At the twitching eyebrows on Natsumi's face, she internally smirked. "Now, the day will not wait for no one and you do not want to be in the forest after dark if you can. There are things stirring now."

Confused a bit at what she said, Harry only nodded some while Graf, Aquila, and Eugen as well as Hanna gave the Swan Maiden looks. But she said nothing and only waved as Harry gave a final goodbye and soon the black haired boy and the others were gone. Staring at where they could last be seen, Marie shook her head. "And now they are gone."

Glancing at her, Gisela sadly smiled before pulling out a hankerchief. "Here, use this. And please do not cry, Marie."

With a hum, Marie dabbed at her eyes a bit. "Ja, ja, I know. But still, I cannot help it." She then turned and gave her old friend a look. "Though I do wish that you would not tease like you were. Some of them were looking put off by it!"

That only made the Swan Maiden laugh. "Ah! But that is why I did it. That fox with the young Junger Herr especially, such fun to tease her." Tilting her head to the side, she hummed a bit. "I do wonder about that though, Wherever did he find her?"

All Marie did was shake her head as she turned around and begin to walk back to the fortified house. "Now that, I do not know except they met in Japan. Still, she cares for him and that is enough..."

Still chatting, the three of them walked back through the village as the sun continued to rise.
______________________________________________________________________

Collingwood leaned back some in her chair as she glanced at the time on the clock in the room put aside for negotiations. Then she turned towards where a Wanko was sipping some tea and looking over some notes. For an Abyssal with such huge claws on her hand, she actually had normal looking handwriting and normal sized as well. In fact, Collingwood was somewhat jealous of how neat said writing was.

Not that she would ever say that.

Beside Wanko, Revina had grabbed two donuts and placed them over her eyes. Shenanigans stopped a moment later as the Abyssal Princess reached over and chopped her in the head with one hand. "Stop that."

Only grinning, Revina gave her a sloppy salute. "Sure thing, Boss Lady! Hey, is Hagrid going to come over today? Because man, you really look relaxed after he visited yesterday."

Much to Collingwood's amusement, and that of various other humans there, Wanko blushed deeply. While everyone was surprised when the massive man had shown up, they were more amused at how Wanko reacted around him. No one took her for the shy type, but there you had it. Even more amusing was the reactions to him from Wandering Princess' fleet. All of them had been in awe of such a massive human. Then their awe changed to happiness as Hagrid gave them all his rock cakes.

Of course, after trying one, Scapa Flow herself asked him to teach her the recipe. After all, any shipgirls and Allied Abyssals could use such a treat! Something that he spent the day doing with Wanko. And now the Mess had them for shipgirls.

Reaching up, Collingwood remembered the one and only time she tried one. She swore that she cracked a tooth on it. Even now, seeing shipgirls and Abyssals eating those creations made her jaw ache just at the sight. Soon though, Collingwood looked at the clock again before turning back to Wanko. "Miss Wanko, you would not happen to know when Miss Wandering would be arriving?"

Now glancing at the clock herself, Wanko frowned. "I... do not know. She should be... here soon though... Unless..."

At her last words, one of the aids looked up. Seeing the nod from Collingwood, he cleared his throat. "Unless what, Ma'am? If I may ask?"

Frowning, Wanko tapped one claw against her chin. "I assigned her... some reading... to do." She spotted the expressions of surprise and shook her head. "I am having... her read some... books on... history. An some... magazines as... well. It is... my hope... that doing so... will help her... understand humans."

Eyebrow raising up, Collingwood became interested. "You're having her read some books on history? To help her?" At Wanko's nod, she slowly considered what she had been told. "Did you do the same? Read history books and the like?"

Slowly blinking, Wanko tilted her head to the side. "Yes, I read... history books... people threw out. Other books... as well. Magazines... and newspapers I... also read. Because of that... I know humans... a little."

That made Collingwood nod and she was sure that MI-6, who were around somewhere, had taken that down. While open, not many understood a lot about the Abyssal across from her. Even though it was known she read a lot, no one really realized how much she had read or what sort of thing. And looking back, the human Admiral now had her own suspicions regarding Wanko's actions over the years. 'Now doesn't that answer a few questions...'

Before she could continue the conversation, the door opened and she spotted one of the guards there. He gave her a nod before Wandering Princess walked in quickly. At Wanko's look, the smaller Princess practically scurried over and got into a seat. Much to Collingwood's confusion, she had a thick file folder which she sat down. Then Wandering gave an unsure smile to Wanko before thanking one of the other aides who poured her some hot chocolate.

Apparently, the Princess had really become fond of the stuff at some point over her stay in Scapa Flow.

Putting down her mug, Wandering gave them all a bashful smile. "Sorry about the wait, I was looking over some items and lost track of time. Especially due to my research from what Lady Wanko gave me! Now I understand what you may want."

For some odd reason, Collingwood felt a small shiver run down her spine. And from Wanko's expression, said Princess was already feeling a headache come on. Granted, Wanko had been getting headaches the whole time from Wandering's issues with understanding things. Not to mention Revina's usual antics and doing things like popping out of planters she should not have been able to fit into, or out of vents.

Poor, poor Curlew had went and nailed planks over the vent in her quarters after that one time... And then taped the freezer shut two days later after finding Revina there.

Collingwood preferred not to ask how the Re had gotten in there or even fit.

Slowly, the human Admiral turned to Wandering and cleared her throat before smiling a bit. Especially as she was sure that the other shoe was about to drop. "Well now, that is a good bit of news, I will say. It helps out quite a bit that you can understand a bit better."

Even as Wanko nodded, Wandering smiled brightly. "Yes, well, I do have some questions though." At Collingwood's nod, she continued. "Well... the major one is if I chose which one I shall marry or if you do."

Leaning back, Collingwood just considered those words and nodded. Ah, there was that shoe dropping as expected, my isn't this going to be an interesting conversation. "Marry?"

Rather thoughtful, Wandering nodded. "Well, yes. I read those books that Lady Wanko gave me on meatbag history. And one of them talked about how peace was settled between two warring groups, especially if one did not have money. And, well, I do not have money nor land I'm afraid. So it makes sense that this is what you would want."

Internally, Collinghood noted that Wanko had frozen and blinked. It was almost as if there was a train wreck coming and you were observing things outside your body. How odd? "I see now, you read about such things in the history textbook?"

Only nodding as she opened the folder, Wandering frowned some. "Yes, in the books it mentioned that the weaker of the two groups would have their leader or one of their daughters married to a highly ranked member. Usually royalty. Now, I am not about to put Retribution through such a thing, so it then falls to me. And from my research, you do have a number of Princesses." Collingwood could see various pictures of the Royal Family in said folder, printed from the internet. "While strange to me, I suppose that I will have to make do with such and I think that some I might be able to get along with. Though you also have male Princesses you call Princes? Not sure about-Lady Wanko? Is something the matter?"

All that could be heard in the now silent room was the scrape of a chair against the tiled floor as Wanko stood up. As she walked past Revina, who looked completely stunned as well, Wanko took a piece of paper the Re-Class handed out. Walking over to the wall, she slapped it to the wall. Seconds later, the paper was taped and Collingwood could see a circle and what looked instructions.

Then Wanko began to bang her head into the paper, which tore. Her head then began to break the concrete while she continued to smash her forehead into the wall while a confused Wandering looked on. Meanwhile, Collingwood simply sipped her tea while still trying to figure out how to reply to what has just happened.

It was rather good tea this morning... though it could use a splash of some alcohol.

Or perhaps a full bottle.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Fiddling a bit with two cameras, Supprin then clicked on an icon and smiled at the faces of Ooyodo and Percy on separate screens. "And there we go! Can you see everything on your ends?"

Even though he was somewhat curious at the reason behind this, Percy nodded. "Yes? Everything seems to check out anyways. How about you, Ooyodo?"

Said shipgirl raised an eyebrow before putting down her massive mug. "My end is working as well, Surin. Now what seems to have you so excited."

Blushing a little at the name given to her in private, Supprin smiled some. To both Percy and Ooyodo, it was actually rather cute with how she seemed to be vibrating. Finally, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Actually, I wished to show you the newest member of my fleet! And it is all thanks to you both that I managed it. Withou you, it would have taken me much longer to do so."

When she pulled to the side, Ooyodo and Percy blinked at the Tsu clas that was there. As she waved to them, Percy waved back with a bemused smile. "Good day, Tsuzie."

On what little was visible of the Abyssal's face there was a blush there. While Supprin only had a small fleet, mostly Destroyers and PT Imps, there was one Light Cruiser among them that she had found and taken in. Said Light Cruiser had reached Elite and, while still unsure about her Princess' two friends, accepted them. Shyly, the Tsu class shifted a bit. "A g-good day to you as well, Lord Percy, Lady Ooyodo."

For a moment, Supprin coughed before tilting her head to the side. After a second or two, Tsuzie clued in and hopped out of view. Utter silence met Supprin as she looked at the two on the screens. Eyebrows furrowing, Percy glanced at Ooyodo before turning back to the massive oblong object in front of them. "It looks like... an egg?"

Simply looking at Percy, Ooyodo slowly nodded. "Yes, it does look like an egg.." Internally, she completed the thought. 'If an egg had a shell made of what looks like leather with parts of it made from spikey black coral? Or the size of an elephant.'

Raising a finger, the red headed young man frowned. "Where did it come from though?"

More then a little proud, Supprin pushed out her chest and laid one hand there. "Where? Why from me!" At their silence, she opened one eye and blinked as the wizard and shipgirl looked from the massive egg to Supprin and then back. "Is something wrong?"

Quickly coughing, Ooyodo shook her head. "No, no, nothing is wrong at all. Just... did not expect that."

Just as she was about to ask, there was a crack sound and everyone turned to the egg which was now shaking. Clapping her hands together in glee, Supprin walked over. "Ah! It's nearly ready!" Reaching out, she placed one hand on the shell as it pulsed. "Come on, you can do it..."

Leaning towards their screens, Ooyodo and Percy watched as the egg rocked and more cracking sounds were heard. Finally, from near the top, a pale hand burst out, black finger nails glinting in the light of the room. It was soon joined by another hand and then a black haired head burst out with part of an upper torso. The new Abyssal was over Supprin's head height and was coughing as it seemed to hang forward. Both it's red eyes snapped open as it threw back it's head and let out a loud scream which made both Ooyodo and Percy flinch, though that could have also been due to the fact that they could see sharp teeth inside the Abyssal's mouth.

Various fluids dripped from it and part of Percy noted that it had on an almost leather vest upon it's torso and not much else. But the rest was still inside the egg which now started to burst in other places. Eyes widening, the two watching could only watch as the Abyssal lunged forward, smashing the rest of the egg and revealing itself for the first time fully. Above the waist, it looked human to an extent.

But below was another matter.

From from below the waist was what looked like someone had taken an Abyssal Destroyer and shrunk it down to the size of a horse and then flattened somewhat. From points in a almost turtle like shell, strong flippers extended with claws at their ends. Thankfully, it's lower modesty where the upper body met the lower was preserved by a hunk of leather that was chained into place. Reaching up, Supprin cupped the new born Abyssal's chin and smiled. "My word... you're beautiful..."

Turning to look at Supprin, the Abyssal blinked before happily smiling. "Mommy?"

Gleeful giggles coming from her, Supprin nodded. "That's right my child. I am Supply Depot Princess of the Timor Fleet and you! You are my daughter." Turning, Supprin gave the stunned Ooyodo and Percy a proud look. "What do you think? I will call them the Oku Class!"

With a cough, Ooyodo shook off her stunned disbelief at having just witnessed how Abyssals were born. Sure, Supprin and Wanko had described the process but to see it... Taking a deep breath, Ooyodo let it out. "Oku-class? Hmm... impressive?"

Very gently, Supprin stroked the hair of the newest member of her fleet which preened under the attention. It watched with wide eyes as Supprin nodded. "Really impressive! I designed them due to the issues with the... Wa class." She paused briefly at the sour look that crossed over Ooyodo's face before the Light Cruiser went back to interested. Tapping the shell, the Abyssal Princess continued. "Her and her sisters will operate as cargo vessels. Inside here is the holds which are... hmm, about twice the compacity of the Wa class."

Deftly, Supprin pressed a part of the shell and a slice rose upwards between where two ribs would be. Holding up a mirror, she showed the interior hold was composed of black, Abyssal metal rather then flesh like they had expected. Leaning forward, Ooyodo considered what she was seeing before noticing that Tsuzie had returned with a cart full of various forms of food and raw materials. "Do you want me to make a report about what I saw here?"

Closing the hatch, Supprin gave a small nod. "That is my hope as a matter of fact. If only so that once she goes through her testing, she won't frighten anyone if she shows up in port. Same with her sisters." Even as Ooyodo nodded, Supprin gestured towards the food. "You must be hungry, so go ahead and eat."

Brightly smiling, the Oku class nodded and then walked towards the table with her flippers easily supporting her body. Glancing at the sight, Ooyodo then turned back to Supprin. "I will admit, I think that the Admiralty will breath a sigh of relief at this. For reasons we both know."

Also watching, though confused at what the two girls were talking about, Percy merely considered what he had just seen. In all likelihood, he was the first wizard ever to see such an event... and at least live. Clearing his throat, he waited until Ooyodo and Supprin were turned towards him. "I will admit to be curious about one thing..." Gesturing with one hand, the red headed wizard frowned. "How did we help you with her?"

Eyes widening as she had nearly forgotten that, Ooyodo turned back to Supprin who blinked. "Ah? Oh!" Coughing into her hand, she gave them both a smile as she sat down. "Well, I've been working on my own cargo vessels for years now. Never really got the time to actually sit down and work hard on them until Lady Wanko... took me in. But there was still issues as the holds were much bigger and unfortunately... the Wa class was close to what was needed. Until! The Christmas we met, Percy. You mentioned something to me and I wanted to learn more..."

It took a moment, but Percy's eyebrows raised as he realized what she meant. "Centaurs... We started talking about centaurs and you wanted to learn more. So I sent you books and such which included anatomy."

Nodding, Supprin smiled. "Those books were very helpful actually in me getting everything right." She then turned towards Ooyodo who looked very interested. "And you took me to that museum place. The one with the dinosaurs and such."

With a glance at the newborn Abyssal, "Her lower body, it reminds me of a Plesiosaur. Is that where you got it?"

Happily, Supprin nodded some. "As a matter of fact, that is in fact where I got the idea. It worked out far better then I thought..." Turning, she watched her newest Abyssal practically demolish what was on the table. "And I can be no happier."

Considering that, Ooyodo could only nod for her friend. After some time, Ooyodo then turned to the screen which had Percy's face and watched as he conversed with Supprin. A smile crossed her face before she perked up some at something he said. "You found a place to put the new Vanishing Cabinets?"

Slowly nodding, Percy's lips curled upwards a bit. "I did actually, it's an old Victorian style home. To be honest, it's actually rather nice inside and I think that both of you might enjoy it. In fact, it even has a small parlour which would be great to relax in..." Realizing how it could sound, he coughed. "I mean, if we hold discussions and such."

Despite the heat in her cheeks, and the blush that she could see in Supprin's, Ooyodo gave him a small smile. "It sounds lovely, Percy. And I am sure that Supprin agrees with me.

As Supprin nodded, Percy let out a sigh of relief. "The price was actually pretty good for what I needed to pay. Apparently, the area... you know, so people left. I just need to use some spells to make some minor repairs and it should be ready." Frowning, he leaned back some. "Mum was a bit put out about it though. Until I told her it had to do with a job that I have lined up, and Warspite confirmed it. She keeps giving me these odd looks... Oh! And she wants to know if the next time that either of you are in Britain and I'm not at school, if you would mind coming over for dinner."

Her eyebrow raising, Ooyodo clued in with Supprin a moment later. Sharing a look, they then turned back to Percy with Supprin answering for them both. "I don't think that either of us will have any issue with that..."

With another nod and smile between them, their conversation soon turned to other matters. None of them noticing the thoughtful look on the newly born Abyssal's face as she looked between Supprin, Ooyodo, and Percy.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting on a bench, Harry stared out at the North Sea only to blink and turn as someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Hmm? RO-Chan?"

A smile on her face, said Submarine nodded some. "Ja, it's me." She then tilted her head towards the bench. "Would it be okay if I took a seat?"

To her amusement, Harry grinned and then moved over some. "Sure, go right on ahead. After all, the more the merrier!"

Once she sat down though, the Uboat looked around and frowned a bit. "Huh... You know, Harry-Chan, I would have thought that Natsumi-Chan would have been here. Or Regina or perhaps Hanna..."

With a shrug, Harry leaned back some. "Well... I'm sure that they would have, but Hanna got asked to head out somewhere. And then Regina went with her and so did Natsumi-Chan. Something about one of the old, abandoned buildings near one of the truck yards."

RO blinked at that before frowning as she looked up. "Huh... Never took Hanna for an urban explorer." Then she smiled some. "But I am sure that they are having great fun! Exploring such places normally is!"

Elsewhere in Wilhelmshaven, there was a squeal before something shot through the air and hit a wall with the sound of flesh impacting it. Flicking some blood off her dagger, Natsumi grimaced as she looked over at Hanna. "You know, this is not the sort of thing that I expected when you asked me if I had experience in the supernatural as a Miko!"

Grabbing something that looked sort of like a goblin from a fantasy novel, Hanna shrugged before dropkicking it. "What did you expect? And I thought that you were a Miko in training?"

Her eyebrow twitching, Natsumi dodged one of the creatures that was swinging a hammer at her leg before twisting around. Moments later, she flung a burst of foxfire into it's face making it squeal. "Don't you start as well! And as to what I expected, excuse me what I did not expect tiny Oni!"

Only blinking, Hanna shook her head as the bat in her head swung out and caved the head of one of the creatures in. "Nein, these are not Oni. These are Erklings!"

Simply giving her a look, the kitsune transformed into her fox state and pounced on one. "Erklings?" Crushing the throat in her jaws, Natsumi leapt off as another tried to stab her with a rusty screwdriver. Moments later, said Erkling flew through the air as Hanna smacked it aside. For her part though, Natsumi hacked some at the taste in her mouth. "Gah! Nasty!"

Nodding, Hanna frowned a bit. "Ja, they are nasty creatures. They are elves of a sort which lurk in the forest and lure Kinder, children, to them. Then they kill and eat them. Usually though they are in either the Black Forest or Bavaria."

With a blink, Natsumi transformed back into her usual human form and then spat out what was in her mouth. "No wonder they taste so nasty! At least I won't feel bad about killing them." Then she frowned some and looked over at Hanna. "Wait, the Black Forest? Bavaria? We're a distance away aren't we?"

Hanna sighed a bit and pointed. "In that direction is one of the truck yards. I think that they hopped onto a trailer and came here... One of the Kinder on base reported them trying to lure them."

Moments later, a scowl crossed Natsumi's face. "They were not getting any mercy from me before hearing that." Coming back to back with Hanna, the two looked over the open area of the warehouse. "Any idea where Regina-San is though?"

Just as Hanna was about to say something, there was a crash as Regina came barreling into view with fire axes. "Thank you for bringing me here, Hanna! I'm enjoying myself!"

Sharing a look with Hanna, Natsumi cleared her throat. "Regina? Did you hear what Hanna-San just said?" When a confused Abyssal shook her head, Natsumi smirked. "These things apparently hunt and harm children."

For a brief moment, everything stilled and all the Erklings froze as they felt something pass over them. Something that felt like death. Nearly as one, they turned to Regina who was now glaring at them with flames coming from her eyes. "... Children."

Eyebrow raising, Hanna sighed as she caught on. "Ja, they harm Kinder. Killing and eating them after they lure them away... Like how they tried with some of those on the base."

Whimpers slowly came from the Erklings as they slowly backed away. Sure, with the German Ministry of Magic so busy, their numbers were increasing, which meant they could finally claim new hunting grounds. And they were very angry with the interlopers and wanted nothing more then to kill them. But perhaps they made a mistake when they got off one of those metal beasts used by the non-magicals.

Needless to say, when the angry Regina turned into a dervish of violence seconds later, they decided that they did, indeed, make a mistake. A very big one at that and one that they likely would not have the time to regret.

Meanwhile, back at the naval base, Harry slowly nodded as he thought over what RO had said. "Yeah, you're probably right." Turning to the Submarine, he regarded her for a moment. "Speaking of having fun, what about you?"

Eyes twinkling, RO hummed a little bit. "What about me?"

Softly snorting, Harry shook his head. "Are you having fun? You've seemed to be enjoying yourself since we got here after all..."

Her expression one of gentleness, RO nodded as she turned her full attention onto the black haired boy beside her. "Ja, I am. Especially as I get to show you around some." Much to Harry's confusion, she leaned over until her head was against his shoulder. "Being back in Germany is wunderbar. But being here with you and having you experience the country I was launched in is even better."

Rapidly blinking, Harry looked at her. "Really? You mean that?"

Turning her head some, RO smiled brightly at him. "Ja." She then shifted more into him and sighed as he wrapped one arm around her waist. "I am thankful for being able to share this with you, Harry-Chan. To share such a time with one of mein closest friends." Eyes closing, the Uboat hummed gently. "Times like this are made to be enjoyed and cherished."

For a few moments, Harry considered that before slowly nodding. "I guess so." Lips twitching as he looked at her, the wizard had to chuckle a bit. "Comfy?"

One eye cracking open to look at him, RO smiled before giggling. "Ja, very comfy."

When she closed said eye and wrapped her own arm around Harry's waist, the black haired boy smiled a bit. Oddly, he couldn't help but feel extremely comfortable with her there. Once, many years before when he first arrived at Yokosuka? It was very likely that he would have flinched at her being so close as he was not used to it. But after all this time, Harry not only was used to it, he loved the feeling. "Are you going to miss it when we leave in two days?"

Humming, RO did not answer at first. But when she did, she let out a sigh. "I will not lie, Harry-Chan. I miss Germany and will do so, it was where I was born after all. But!" Opening her eyes, she looked up at Harry. Blue eyes meeting emerald. "But! Mein home is where I chose it. And I know where I would chose to have it, with those I care for." Moving quickly, RO kissed him on the cheek. "Like you."

Much to her amusement, Harry was blushing deeply when she pulled away. However, seconds later he returned the favor by kissing her on the cheek and making her eyes fly open. "Well, I think that my home is with you and the others as well."

Despite being flustered, RO only smiled as she leaned into him. "Ja, I think that you are right about that, Harry-Chan. Your home is with us and our home is with you."

Something about that made Harry furrow his eyebrows some. As if there was far more to that statement then he could know, but at the moment Harry put it aside. There would be time to wonder about what she just said later. For right now, the twelve year old decided to follow her advice and enjoy their time and charish it. And he was certain that RO was from the almost purr that seemed to come from her as they sat there. The sounds of the North Sea drifting over them.

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

Enterprise wandered over to the living room of the apartment she, Yamato, and their escorts shared for the night. Somewhat bemusedly the American carrier witnessed Yamato, with Isokaze and Hamakaze glued to her sides, all watching what appeared to be a Japanese war film.

She then blinked, when the scene registered: a bunch of people who were clearly Japanese officers were listening to a speech. A speech she knew by heart. ..."were attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

As the scene continued it became clear to Enterprise that she was watching the reaction of the Japanese naval officers to the speech. In the middle of it all was an older man who, while not quite identical, clearly resembled a man Enterprise once knew. And hated.

Still, curious to see what, exactly, the three members of her fleet were doing, she sat down, and gave the trio a sidelong glance. Enterprise then gestured at the screen. "So the old guy, is he…?"

Yamato gave a terse nod. "Uh-huh."

Enterprise gestured at the screen again. "And thats when he heard…?"

"Uh-huh."

"Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan. Now hush, this is the best part!" The normally placid battleship's was unusually sharp.

Enterprise rolled her eyes. "Figures you'd like the only part where you actually won," she muttered to herself.

"Hush, now!"

* * *

"Admiraaaaall!!" Yamato bawled and noisly blew her nose. She then gave the tissue to Hamakaze, who efficiently disposed it while Isokaze gave the battleship a new tissue. Which she then proceeded to immediately soak.

Enterprise didn't really know what to do with the battleship. Normally her relationship with her closest Japanese counterpart was simple: they didn't like being pushed together, but had long since learned to live with each other. Which also included knowing how far to push their constant oneupmanship without the working relationship suffering from it.

While Enterprise had long since seen that behind the tranquil mask Yamato put out there was a rather emotional woman, never had she seen Yamato in this state. Honestly, it made it somewhat difficult for Enterprise to enjoy the climax of the movie, as the the Japanese admiral's Betty fell down towards the jungles of Bougainville. Still, old habits were hard to break, and Enterprise opened her mouth to give Yamato a sarcastic comment.

Then she noticed the look on Hamakaze's face, and decided that she would perhaps tease her most definitely not friend sometime later.

"Admiral Yamamotoooooo!!!"

Still, it wasn't every day that Enterprise got to see Yamamoto dying, so she let the battleship have her overblown outburst and focused back on the movie just as Yamamoto's Betty blew up in a fireball. The movie hadn't been halway bad, really, even if it was pretty pompous in her opinion.

* * *

"So, what was the name of this movie again?" Akagi asked while pouring the last few bags of popcorn to the literal tub she had appropriated for the occasion.

"Pearl Harbor!" the orange cruiser chirped and put the DVD into the player. "I thought I'd want to hear your opinions on it, given how you were there and all. Though it's an American movie, so don't expect too much, okay?"

Kaga gave the chipper cruiser a serious nod. "I will do my best to note just how badly it diverges from the actual events."

* * *

"Naka, are you certain this movie is about the battle of Pearl Harbor?" Kaga asked some half an hour later. "Because the plot so far does not, exactly, seem like it."

Akagi nodded and quickly swallowed her latest fistful of popcorn. "Could we not watch Tora, tora tora, Naka-chan? I've heard it's supposed to be about Pearl, actually."

Naka flashed the two carriers a grin. "We'll get to Pearl. Eventually."

Kaga let out a long sigh. "How long was this movie again?"

"This is the director's cut, so we have about… two hours more," Naka smiled, causing Kaga to let out another sigh and turn towards her fleet mate.

"Akagi-san, are we honestly going to continue watching this… thing?"

For a few seconds Akagi looked at Kaga, her mouth full of popcorn. She then looked at the tub, which was still mostly full. And then back to Kaga.

"Very well, Akagi-san," Kaga said and turned back to continue watching.

* * *

Half an hour later Kaga was more glaring at Naka than watching the movie. "Honestly, Naka-san..."

Naka let out a giggle. "Not long anymore, Kaga-san. A few minutes more and they attack."

"I sincerely hope so, we've been watching this… sub-par war romance long enough, already."

The carrier then blinked, as the scene changed. For the next few minutes the carrier could do nothing but stare at the screen.

"That was definitely the most incoherent depiction of the launch of the Pearl Harbor raid I could ever imagine," she said in complete deadpan.

"Well, I guess now we get to the good part?" Akagi offered her friend.

"After that, I sincerely doubt there will be a good part."

* * *

"Akagi-san, do you remember the American ships being covered in something that turned them into giant fireballs at the slightest provocation?"

Once again, it took Akagi a few moments to clear her mouth of excess popcorn. "Well, I think Saratoga-san once boasted the late-war American anti-air as something like that. But not at Pearl, no."

Kaga nodded, and continued in emotionless voice. "Thought so. It is unfortunate they were not like that, back then. It would have helped us immensely to be able to utterly annihilate the whole US battleline and supporting elements, and not just sink a few battleships in shallow water."

"Well, I think in the end it worked out better this way," Naka commented.

For a few seconds, Kaga just stared at the cruiser.

"I mean, when we look at the whole Japanese history from forty-one to here..." Naka continued in a more uncertain voice.

Slowly, Kaga turned to face the screen.

"Perhaps."

* * *

"Naka-san," Kaga said once the movie had ended, in the same emotionless tone she had used since about five minutes into the film.

"Ah, yes, Kaga-san," cruiser nervously replied.

"One day I will end you. Not today, nor tomorrow. But one day. The surprise I will achieve will be such that it will overshadow the legacy of the Pearl Harbor raid forever."

Slowly, Kaga turned to emotionlessly look at the cruiser. "Do you understand me, Naka-san?"

Hesitantly, Naka nodded. Beads of sweat were falling down the back of her neck. Still worth it, she very carefully did not say.

* * *

"So, what are we going to watch this time?" Imuya asked, as she put the large bowl of chips on the table.

"Hopefully something lighter this time," Ro said and snatched a few of the treats. "Das Boot was very good, but..."

The rest of the gathered submarines grimaced at the mention of the previous movie they had watched.
"No worries about that, my good comrades!" HMS Upright bellowed. "For this time I and my valiant co-host have selected an all-time American submarine classic!"

Triumphantly, the British submarine held up a battered DVD case. "Behold, my courageous comrades, for I have the one, the only, OPERATION PETTICOAT! Starring Carrry Grant and Tonnny Curtis! Huzzah!"

The Americans and British, as well as some of the Germans among gathered submarines cheered, while the rest mostly gave the Brit confused looks."

"You'll all love it, trust me," Harder grinned and snatched the case from Upright.

Balao buried her head in her hands. "Oh god, no."

* * *

"Did they have shamans like that in the Philippines?" Goya wondered.

"Beats me," Nimu commented, before letting out a delighted laugh. "But does that really matter?"

"Hell no!" Harder shouted from the other end of the room. "Now shut up so we can watch the movie!"

* * *

"Do you really have that kind of showers on board?" Imuya whispered to Albacore.

"Nnnope," the American answered.

"I would have killed for showers like that, back then," Imuya continued.

"Yyyep."

"Or bathrobe."

"Yyyep."

"Or that much room."

"Yyyep."

"Oh shut up! Or we can switch back to Das Boot if you want realism!" Harder shouted.

* * *

"Hey, is that…?"

"Indeed it is," Harder grinned. "That, ladies, is our very own USS Balao. In pink!"

"Pink!" Nimu screamed in delight.

"Verily! This part always kills me!" Upright bellowed, throwing her hands up in the air.

Balao buried her head in her hands. "Oh god, no."

* * *

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, I finished with exams yesterday. Today, I was wondering how Revina might get along with Renata, considering that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are good buddies. I then noticed the above, where Revina gets a lot of comparisons to Abridged!Alucard. This brought me to the somewhat odd conclusion that Revina and Renata would probably end up similar to Abridged!Alucard and Abridged!Anderson working for the same guys. Alternatively, you might get something like this:
-----

"Hee~eey!"

Renata, who had been sitting at a booth in the base canteen, cracked one eye open. It was odd—the two times she had come by, no one was in here at this time of day. It was one of the reasons she'd chosen it as a place to nap. Who would possibly…

Another Re-class grinned down at her. Like, really seriously grinned. Renata wracked her brain for the name she'd been given for a "friendly and goofy" Abyssal who liked to hang around Nagato's kid and his friends.

"Reggie, right?" she said flippantly, pushing herself up on her elbows. "I got something you want?"

"Revina, and maybe," Revina chirped, sliding into the booth across from Renata. "I haven't seen you before. What's your name?"

Renata considered her options a moment. Though the Twins allying was all but a done deal, they hadn't signed the contract yet. It was possible that the to Res would end up fighting alongside each other, but until it was set in stone, maybe she should be kind of careful.

On the other hand, what would it matter?

"I'm Renata," she explained, turning in her seat and moving into a sitting position. "Came here with a friend, got ditched, came here." There was a touch more to it than that—it was her job to stick by Nemo and make sure nothing horrible happened to her, but whenever she was with her boyfriend, Akagi would show up and evict Renata from the premises. Last time, Nagato's son had shown up and helped her. She had raced with the little destroyer girl in the questionable clothing previously, but she was out on maneuvers or something. Thus, nap.

"Sounds boring," Revina said, leaning forward and squishing her cheeks between her arms.

"Oh, really?" Renata shot back snidely.

"Yeah, real boring," Revina confirmed, rocking her head back and forth. "Do you wanna do something fun instead?"

Renata raised an eyebrow. "Depends on how you define 'fun,'" she replied.
-----

Harry looked up from the letter that Ron had sent him. On the couch beside him, Natsume and Hoppou gave him puzzled looks. "Where did Revina go?" he asked, looking up. Leaning over the back of the couch looking down at the letter, Regina straightened quickly, crossing her arms over her breasts and stammering.

"Revina? I-I don't think-I mean—" She slowed, inhaling deeply. "I don't know, she left about fifteen minutes ago to find something to do." Harry nodded, as if some deep suspicion had been confirmed.

"I see," he replied, reaching down to grab the remote. Looking up at the television, he turned it on. A giant mecha show played across the screen for a brief second before he switched the channel to the news. It picked up in the middle of a scorched lawn outside a two-story house. The house was on fire, and the newscaster was befuddled and slightly scorched herself.

"--ago, two Abyssals entered the house behind me, now known to be the secret headquarters of an Abyssal worshiping cult with a gorilla stolen from the Tokyo zoo."

There was a loud whoop and the camera panned up briefly. Revina and… that new Re-class, Renata, were hopping up and down, laughing and apparently celebrating. At their side, hooting like a truck on the highway, a silverback gorilla wearing a yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Ebisu" hopped around in a circle.

"What happened in the house is unknown, but we believe that they are indeed Allied Abyssals. The cultists are being arrested as we speak, and—"

Harry switched off the television. The four sat there, looking at the blank screen for a few seconds, then Hoppou raised her hand, palm up. Harry and Natsume began digging in their pockets for five hundred yen.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

It was Harry's last evening in Germany and he was looking around with something of a smile. Mainly because for his last evening, a number of those involved had decided to throw together a small party for them. Or... at least that had been the plan. As it turned out though, the party was a bit bigger then they had expected.

Glancing between Harry, Natsumi, Hanna, and a somewhat buzzed Eugen, Max raised an eyebrow. "So you have been keeping up with your studies then at this school? Such as sciences?"

Harry only nodded some as he sipped at his drink. "Well, I kind of have to if I am to become an Admiral? And Hogwarts allows for correspondence courses with non-magical schools... Or at least they do now. I guess that they didn't have them up to just a few years ago."

A frown on her face, Max furrowed her eyebrows. "They did not? No maths? No sciences?" At the shake of his head, she frowned even more. "However did they get things done then?"

Simply shrugging, Harry sighed a bit. "No real clue, though I suppose that some of the subjects are kind of like that? Apparently Arthimancy deals with numbers and math to some extent. And Potions is sort of like chemistry as is Alchemy..." Then the black haired boy got a twinkle in his eye and turned towards Eugen. "Hey, Eugen... by the way, you ever hear of the recycling triplets?"

Blinking, the Heavy Cruiser considered the question and looked through her logbooks. "The Recycling Triplets? Nein, I... don't know anyone with that title."

Eyebrow raising, Harry shook his head some. "So you don't know about Polly, Ethal, and Ian? Really?" He then sighed. "A shame I guess."

For several moments, Eugen frowned deeply as she went through her logbooks again, but there was no shipgirls of that name. It was only when she ran the names again through her head that she caught on and gave Harry a bemused look. "Polyethylene? Really, Harry? Even for you that was bad."

Shrugging, Harry grinned some. "Well, then this one will get you. Want to hear a Potassium joke?"

Only humming, Eugen raised an eyebrow and then sipped her drink. As she lowered it, she nodded. "K."

At Harry's expression of dismay, Hanna thought it over and then facepalmed. "Really?"

In reply, Eugen smirked some. "Ja, really." She then turned to Harry and her smirk grew some. "That is a really old joke, Harry." Turning her eyes to the ceiling, Eugen hummed a bit. "Once, I asked South Dakota if she had Sodium Hypobromite. She turned to me and said NaBro."

Grinning, Harry snickered some at that even as Hanna groaned along with Max. "Okay, that was a good one. Hey! Did you hear? Potassium went on a date with Oxygen."

Eugen glanced at her sister who had dismay and internally grinned. "How did it go?"

Unable to help himself, Harry's eyes sparkled in glee. "It went OK."

Both him and Eugen nearly cracked up at the reactions they got. Humming, Eugen then smirked. "What do you do with a sick chemist, Harry?"

Raising an eyebrow, Harry leaned in. "No idea, what do you do with a sick chemist?"

The Heavy Cruiser took a sip of her drink and waited a few seconds before nodding. "Quite simple really, mein friend." Waving her arm around, she nodded. "If you can't helium, and can't curium, then you might as well barium."

Hanna had her face in her hands as Harry laughed at that before she groaned. "Please... stop. These are worse then usual."

Patting her on the shoulder, Harry nodded with a serious look on his face. "Fine, I'll stop with the chemistry jokes." As Hanna gave him a thankful look along with Natsumi, he then turned to Eugen. "By the way, I was reading in a magazine about this microbiologist. Guy was pretty cool as he knew six languages."

Eyebrow raising, Eugen blinked. "Really? Impressive."

Chuckling, Harry smiled at her. "Yeah, he is a man of many cultures."

It was only as she was taking a sip of her punch that Natsumi figured out what her friend had just done and sputtered some. "HARRY-CHAN! WHAT THE HECK!?"

All she got though was snickers from Eugen and laughs from Harry. Laughs that continued even as she gave him a smack to the shoulder. Harry was still snickering when Eugen wandered off to the snack table, which was when RO came over with a grin. "Hey, Harry-Chan, how are things going?"

However, it was Natsumi who answered as she rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. "Good, as long as Harry-Chan and Eugen-San stop trading bad jokes. I don't think that I can take much more of their humor."

Only grinning, Harry snickered some. "What? We got a skeleton of them, and they're pretty humerus."

That got him an amused look from RO before the Submarine shook her head. Harry's love of puns and really bad wordplay jokes was well known. "Anyways, Harry-Chan, you would not believe who showed up!" At his look, she grinned. "U-889!"

Blinking, Harry frowned as he tried to place the name. He was certain that he had heard it from somewhere, but where... Snapping his fingers, he nodded some. "That's one of the Uboats serving in the Royal Canadian Navy, right?"

Slowly, RO nodded some with a small smile. "Ja, when they came back, they asked for a transfer as the Canadians needed some Submarines, she went to Canada like I came to Japan. 190 though got summoned over in Canada with a shipgirl who's hull she had sank though..." RO considered that for a moment and then shrugged it off. "889 came over with a convoy though and brought a drink that she thought that we should try. Apparently it is popular with the Canadian Corvettes, Frigates, and Destroyers."

Interested, Harry turned his attention fully on her and he was not the only one as Max also did so. The German Destroyer raised her eyebrows and frowned some. "A drink that their Destroyers like? What sort of drink?"

Looking one way, and then the other, RO pulled out an orange carton and shook it some. All of them could hear the liquid sloshing around inside as the Submarine grinned. "It apparently took her some doing getting us some. But she said that it is quite good and before you ask, kids can drink it. Ja, she even brought enough for everyone!"

Now really interested, Harry drained the rest of his drink and then held out his cup, as both Hanna and Natsumi did the same. "Huh, guess that I'll try some then." As the orange liquid was poured, he frowned some. 'Wonder what is with that chick on the carton though...' Out of the corner of his eye, he could also see Regina getting some as well.

Elsewhere on the base, Hartmann was walking along when he came to a sudden stop. After a few moments, he shivered visibly and then looked around in worry. 'What was that? And why do I feel as if there is about to be a great disaster?'

He was not the only one to shiver either at a bad feeling that came over them. Various others on the base, mostly those who lead Destroyers and the like also had worried looks come over their faces as they looked around. It was if a hundred voices shouted out in glee before silencing themselves. But they couldn't see anything wrong. Though why did they feel as if something horrible was about to befall them?

As it turned out, they really should have listened to their instincts.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Personally, I imagine Harry kabedoning held in the air purely by sugar-fueled hyperactivity. In other news:
Quiet Rage

-----

The lights were low. The sun peeked out from under the horizon, bathing the city in a last few rays. The people of the city chose to send off the dying day as they often did—with drink.

The bar was lively, tables crowded with clusters of drinking, sometimes celebrating office workers. The bartender stood ready to lend an ear or another pint, whichever his customers asked for first. The girl, one of his few employees, ran to and from tables, bussing and serving. And almost in the middle of the room, amidst the dim yellow glow of the lights and the quiet music playing on the loudspeaker, a slender man with short, messy brown hair sat nursing a shot alone at his chosen table.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" a girl's voice asked, and he looked up.

"It ain't even closing time, Satsuki what—you aren't Satsuki," he said, switching gears as soon as he saw the girl. She was small, probably didn't even come up to his chest when standing. "Are you even old enough to be in here?"

"I'm plenty old enough, Haneoka-san," she replied, choosing to interpret his response to her as a 'yes' apparently, sliding a seat out and wait a second. "That is your name, right? Haneoka Yosuke? I had to call in a few connections to track you down, I'd hate to have gotten the wrong person."

"How do you know my name?" Yosuke demanded quietly. He'd been having a good, quiet day, and now all of a sudden, he was having an encounter right out of a manga. Hopefully this wasn't some kind of origin story.

"A common acquaintance," she said, leaning forward. "By the name of Ashida Yae."

Oh. Ooooh. This wasn't an origin story. This was so much worse than an origin story.

"She's been having a hard time of things, you know," the girl continued, "losing someone so important at such a time." Yosuke's heart twinged, and he beat it back. This girl was just fishing for a reaction, so he couldn't give it to her. What did she even want? The girl looked at him like he was a pet that had crapped on the family's expensive carpet.

"She needed you, and you just…" the girl caressed her temples. "And then… I just…" Her hands slapped the tabletop, a thunderclap that cut through the conversation like an o-katana. Rows upon rows of heads turned to regard the two just a moment, then returned to their own chats, quieter now.

The girl leaned forward, glaring directly into his eyes.

"Why?"

Why? She was asking him… Yosuke sighed and leaned back, scratching his left ear. For all that the girl said she was old enough to be here, she still didn't seem to understand the way of the world. He didn't want to be the one to take away anyone's innocence, but it seemed to fall to him here.

"Look, kid," he said, "You think I wanted to leave Yae like that? I didn't—she's a good girl, and if I could have stayed, I would have. But chaining yourself down so early in life? That gets you labeled. You get labels like a young idiot, a love freak, and people don't take you seriously anymore. And in this world, if people don't think you're worth listening to? You get steamrolled."

The girl watched him impassively. "Hey!" Yosuke snapped, pounding the table. "Are you listening to me? There's a lot this world has to offer! I can't have that if I'm stuck at home with a kid!"

The girl continued looking at him, with a piercing gaze that Yosuke felt was burning into him. "I-I'm not ready to be tied down! I've got—I've got places to go, successes to make, I've—"

"You're scared," the girl replied, her voice flat as the tabletop. "Pathetic."

"Wh-what?"

The girl stood, pushing her chair back in. "Good for you, Haneoka-san. I'm honestly wondering why I wasted so much time tracking you down." She turned away, walking towards the door, only to slow and stop after a few steps.

"You know," she said, looking down at her feet, "It's stupid but… I'm actually kind of glad you ran. Yae deserves so much more than you."

And then she was gone.
-----

"Wow, sis," Akebono admitted as Ushio stepped out the doors of the bar, "you went through that without stuttering once. I'm impressed." Ushio looked up and greeted her with a tired smile.

"You wouldn't want to know what I was running off of in there," she replied, wrapping her arms across her chest in an almost half-hugging motion. Akebono shrugged.

"I have a general idea," she said noncommittally. There was a brief silence between the two. "You gonna call off the Tin Cans?" Ushio shrugged.

"We all have to work through our disgust in our own ways," she replied, beginning to walk.
-----

Saki hadn't really been expecting Namiko to be leaning against her door when she got home from work. But there she was, holding a small colorful box.

"Hey, Saki," she said, holding the box out, "You still like taiyaki?"

Saki regarded her with a careful eye. "You don't look to be in a good way," she noted, unlocking her door. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No," Namiko said, stepping into the apartment, "I'm fine, just a little bit… drained."

"Now that I can see."

With the soft noise of cardboard against wood, Namiko put the box of taiyaki on the small corner table of Saki's apartment. "I went and saw Haneoka."

"Oh," Saki replied quietly. That… That did sound pretty strenuous.

"I just…" Namiko grit her teeth, sobbing, "I wanted to know why he would do something like that. Like abandoning Yae when she had never done wrong by him. And he…" she turned to face Saki, tears brimming in her eyes. "He was scared, Saki. That was it. He was scared of… of Yae, of the baby, of the consequences, and he ran." The air caught in her throat and she sobbed. "I just… I can't…"

"Shh," Saki said, leaning forward and pulling her into a hug. "It's okay, I got you." She heard Namiko continue sobbing, felt her blouse begin to grow moist.

"I had to leave," she whimpered, and Saki pulled her tighter, "I was just so disgusted, I couldn't—"

"I get it," she said, pushing Namiko away gently and looking down into her eyes, "Believe me, I get it. I've had to deal with some pretty lousy guys in college. You wouldn't believe some of the men there."

"I… I can guess," Namiko replied, wiping at the corners of her eyes, "It's just that… I've never felt like this before. It's... I don't like it."

Saki sighed, lowering herself down to sit on the floor. "Hey," she said, crossing her arms under her breasts, "Isn't this something you should talk about with Umi?"

"Thought about it," Namiko replied, sitting beside her, "but… I don't think she would understand. She's—well, she's direct. In a way I was never really good at being."

Saki shrugged. "You're gonna have to talk to her eventually," she pointed out. "Hey, tell you what. Let's get started on that taiyaki, and I'll help you put your thoughts together. That sound good?"

Namiko sniffled, but nodded. "Yeah," she said, smiling hesitantly. "That'll do."
-----

(sighs) I wasn't sure about this one, but it wanted to be written.

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

K9Thefirst1

All right, next installment of Abyssal Empire Builder - Schemer Edition. I'd like to thank Harry for being patient enough to field my thoughts, ideas, and plans for Ancient Atlantic Gate Princess, and her goals for the Abyssals in the Atlantic, and for making sure what original concepts I insert makes since with what he has plotted out. Please enjoy:
Oil Is King

Palace of the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess

Ocean Liner Demon was silent as she and the Princess made for the surface that morning. It had been weeks since Reivana had made contact with the British government. And other than the Re-Class mentioning "a gift" of frozen Basilisk meat from Scotland waiting for a method of transport without having to rely on the humans, there did not seem to be much in the way of progress. The Abyssal Demon was unsurprised. As she understood the political situation, the United Kingdom was a member of an alliance of equals, so any alliance with Man's enemies would require a committee's worth of diplomats. The Princess no doubt was aware of that on some level. But as the days of silence ticked on, it was clear to her second-in-command that she was getting anxious. Though what she was plotting that required the two of them to venture to the surface, alone, baffled the corrupted liner. But the explanations would come in time, so Demon held her tongue until after they breached and had purged their bodies of sea water. The perpetual storm that was maintained over their home was presently somewhat light, being only a sturdy gust and heavy rain, rather than a howling continuous force of wind and torrential rain.

"So. Mind telling me what this is about, your highness?"

The Ancient Gate Princess kept her peace for a few moments to take in and release a calming breath before turning to her second.

"Regardless of Reivana's mission, the time is at hand that I must divulge in certain secrets. Secrets that I have kept close to the chest so that rival fleets from the tribes of Petty Princesses will not learn of what I have built. Should something happen to me, I need you to be able to either carry out my dream, or provide for my peasants long enough to fly for waters safe from our enemies. That first thing will regard our fuel stores. Then we will discuss the means I have been building our numbers, and finally the Grand Strategy."

Without another word, the Princess turned North-East. To a human, or even a shipgirl, it would look bizarre, as the Ancient Gate Princess looked for the world like an ordinary – if fully-figured, paste pale, and horned – human woman, and part-glided and part jogged on the water. Ocean shrugged and pursued. Without her throne rigging – presently partially dismantled – her travel was a comparative crawl, so it stood to reason they were not going far.

Though one could forgive her for starting when the storm suddenly fell to nothing, with the sun shining pleasantly above… Oh, and there was an island a few hundred yards off that had her navigation Imps scrambling in panic over the fact that it should not be there.

Ancient Gate turned to Ocean Liner Demon, with an amused smirk on her face. Judging by the way she shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms under her bust, it was readily apparent that she was greatly entertained by her stoic second's surprise. Her helm may have hidden her expression, but there was no hiding the stunned slump of her shoulders. In time she took pity on the demon and answered the unasked question, making a sweeping gesture.

"Welcome, Demon, to the Hidden Island of Antillia, the Isle of Seven Cities. Forty kilometers by fifteen, with the perfect natural harbor at the eastern end, and the site of my oil production, and last bastion, should the worst come to pass."

Still recovering from the sudden appearance of an island that should not have existed, the only action the Abyssal Demon took was to turn her head to face her sovereign, and to move her arm to vaguely point at the offending landmass.

"The nearness of the Meteor Seamount made them the ideal location to relocate." The Princess said, as she began moving for the surf ringing the island, her demon in tow, "The presence of a Phantom Island, where I could hide my oil synthesis plants and stores without being spied by humans or rivals? That made them perfect."

Ocean Liner Demon recovered enough to maintain her footing as she and her Princess beached themselves and walked up to where the sand turned to normal terrain. In the distance, the corrupted liner could make out the ruins of a Medieval city, the steeple of it's cathedral most prominent. As they walked, the Princess continued to speak, practically preening in pride at her secret.

"The island was settled by Visigoth Christians fleeing the Muslims in their conquest of Iberia. And by all accounts they were quite prosperous. The earth is fertile, the climate is perfect for crops and animal husbandry. And their magic folk made the place invisible so they were safe from pursuit."

"Then why is this place abandoned?"

"From what I've read in their archives, with the Reconquest the people started leaving for first the continent, then the New World. The last Bishop and his flock moved for Spain sometime in the early eighteenth century."

Ocean stared at her princess. "And how do you know the contents of their Archives?"

The Princess' smile merely grew.

"I orchestrated the patrol routes myself Demon. Do you really think I cannot sneak out on my own for solitude without being detected if I wanted?" The silence was answer enough.

"You are free to explore the island as you wish Demon. Just keep this island secret until I grant leave to disclose it. Though I would suggest you avoid the church yards and cemeteries. Heat blisters on your feet are not fun to deal with."

The pair fell into a companionable silence as they walked over hills and fields, grown wild after centuries without farmers to tend them, herds of feral cattle and horses grazed upon the grasslands, and packs of pseudo-wolves descended from stray dogs preyed upon them, and all grown unaccustomed to humans after centuries abandoned, but instinct keeping them far away from the two Abyssals. At around noon, they crested a ridge, and Demon had to stop short at what she found in the lowlands beyond.

"Huh. So that's where those bits went."

In the vast field, in what had once been fertile farmland, now stood – like a monolith – a tall structure of pipes and tanks, the portion of Ancient Gateway Princess' throne rigging that dealt with the production, storage, and distribution of fuel oil. It had disappeared after the fleet had relocated to the Meteors. How the Princess managed to lug it halfway across an island without anyone noticing her gone was a mystery, but hardly one Ocean felt the need to fret over. Radiating from the throne fragment via long and winding hoses was three rings of… some sort of furnace, judging by the smoke rising out from the score or so of chimneys. And on the outter side of those, vast tracts of land had been swamped and the stagnant waters covered in…

"Is that algae?"

"It is!" The Princess proclaimed, barely holding back from a fit of girlish giddiness that would be more becoming of their ambassadress than the Queenly Princess the rest of the fleet was familiar with. "Yes, that is algae, and that is what is making our oil!"

"…Our fuel is plant juice." Ocean deadpanned while she and the Princess made it down the hill.

"Yes, Humans haven't quite cracked it, and since I've all but perfected the process and made it efficient, that means I have a monopoly on the technology! Once a harvest has matured, it is dried and then roasted to extract the oil, that oil is then collected and at this site at least refined into the various component products and stored."

"…'This site at least'?"

"Well of course," the princess said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "You didn't think I'd be fool enough to concentrate the full production potential in one spot, did you? I have nigh on a dozen such installations all over the island, and one off of the north coast. Though those only concern themselves with the production and storage of crude. It's what we need the most of after all."

By this point the pair had made it to the bottom of the valley and were walking amongst the machines of industry. Now the demon could see scores of tiny imps clambering over pipes, tanks, algae paddies and valves and roasters. Said imps appeared to be grouped up into teams under the command of a boss supervising their work. Seeing it all up-close was actually rather impressive. Most impressive.

"So. How much fuel do we have in storage? And what's our production? Considering how closely you miser our consumption to the point of cycling ships through mothballs it can't be much."

"A fair question." Ancient Gate replied, before turning to an Imp that was quite gaudily dressed. "Guildmeister?"

"Nazg?"

"Could you please tell us of how much fuel we have, and our quarterly production?"

"Nazg? Nazg!"

In a series of "nazgs," the tiny imp gave the pair a number. Ocean Liner Demon might have blinked at the number, but it was hard to tell with her helm.

"…I'm sorry?"

The imp repeated the number.

"One more time…?"

And again he repeated himself, this time with much more irritation. There was a moment of silence. Then Demon metaphorically exploded.

"WHAT?!" she bellowed, before turning to the Princess in a controlled rage. "What the Actual Hell is wrong with you woman!"

Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess continued to look extremely amused, which only served to further enrage the demon, causing her to shake her Sovereign by the shoulders.

"We could field a fleet twice our number on a war footing with those stores for six months! We could drive back the Humans and win the war! Why are you sitting on your ass with this!"

The princess merely tittered a small laugh behind her hand, like a doting parent would upon their child that made a great to-do over some trivial matter. That done, she placed a comforting hand to the cheek of her demon's helm.

"Oh Demon, sweet child. You actually bought into the propaganda my fellow Elder Princesses preached at the start of this business. How droll! Sad, but droll."

Ocean Liner Demon took calming breaths. It was an instinctive outburst on her part. Now that the blood had cooled she reminded herself of how the Princess worked: If you know you cannot win, why bother to begin? By the time she was ready to listen to her Princess' reasoning, said monarch's face had taken an almost melancholic character as she looked over what she had wrought upon the island.

"If we were ever going to win against the Humans Demon, it would have been in the first week of this war. We had every advantage then. But after that our victories were less one-sided, then were draws. And then we started taking defeats. Then the shipgirls appeared. And one by one, the other eight Elder Princesses died, leaving the fleet disorganized, and confused. Until, seven months in, I was the only one left, with the rest of our race divided amongst upstart Petty Princesses."

Ocean nodded at that, solemnly. She knew the story. She had been by Ancient Gate's side from just before the very start of the war.

"And now look at us…." The Princess muttered, more to herself than to anyone, her eyes looking somewhere far off. "Divided into degenerate tribes, barbarians playing at significance. And one by one, we fall back to the Abyss from whence we came. We were mighty… Once. Now we squabble over scraps of resources, and dream of doing what was impossible even at our height…"

She shook her head, then turned back to her lieutenant.

"This oil will fuel our conquests, yes, but it will also be a cornerstone for the peace with the humans that needs to come after. If we cannot make peace that will last with the Humans, then we are, all of us, doomed to genocide. Our own. And no one will mourn our fall."

With a suddenness that startled the corrupted liner, the Princess slapped an empty storage tank, it's echo resounding across the valley and back.

"That is why this oil is so important! Trade! Commerce! We have nothing to replenish Angband's planes with! And the planes she has are practically antiques! We need bauxite if I am to have an aircraft carrier, have air superiority! Woe-Bringer, Woe-Slayer, Warrant and Morgothim may have freely given their lives for the St. Brendan's ruse to rid me of that useless daughter and the incompetent, bloodthirsty, and disloyal of my fleet. But even if they had remained I could not use them because, unlike the rest of my fleet, an old model of aircraft carrier is of no use against more modern ones!

"Manganese nodules, suspended gold particles, methane deposits. These are all of worth to the Humans, but oil is King. Oil that they cannot get enough of, and are willing to tolerate that which their home ideologies loath if it means they can have it. And as the ancient wells dry up, I can lease and license this process to the Humans, and collect royalty payments from it. After which time, with a little luck, we will have made a place in this world. Tolerated, if not accepted, or loved. With a culture of our own, and a civilian population of our own to cultivate it."

There was a long silence, with the Princess indulging in a moment to show weakness to one most important to her, and Ocean to take it in, and to give her sovereign her time to recollect herself.

"Will that be enough though?" she inquired, her voice soft.

"It will have to be," the Princess said with a sigh, "Though I suspect it will help if I back our eventual currency with oil."

The demon turned her head to the princess with a jerk.

"Is that wise? Unit by unit, there wouldn't be much worth to it. Not to mention…"

"What, that our production would be the throttle that controlled its value? While also being influenced by global availability? To say nothing of the fact that our monetary backing also serves as our energy source and food?"

The demon nodded. And the Princess gave a small smile.

"In such a case, waging an offensive war ever again would ruin us economically, to the comfort of the Humans. Besides, Gold is scarce at sea, and I cannot trust this modern economical sorcery where money's value is determined by rainbows and children's dreams."

The pair walked back to the beach, and sailed back into the perpetual storm. The rage of the weather had picked up, so it was only by chance that either of them noticed a lone Abyssal Carrier, conducting storm flight training. To the uneducated, she was a normal WO-Class carrier. But thy trained eye picked up many differences. Such as the thicker muscles on her slender frame, the armor plates hanging from her hips, and the hanger, armored and angled against incoming projectiles and to deflect radar sweeps. A rare breed this one, an Ag-Class aircraft carrier. And the color of her complexion and fiery red hair denoted her as rarer still. The carrier did not notice her direct superior or her sovereign, and so the pair turned and descended to the abyss unnoticed.

"One must admire Angband for her dedication."

"Yes Demon… The girl is indeed all I had hoped that her useless sister was… Save for the divine right to rule… Now come, next we must discuss my shipbuilding policy."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Wilhelmshaven was in chaos. Not from an Abyssal attack this time thankfully, though perhaps less damage would have resulted then. Nor was it like the one time that Ark Royal had snuck in to prank Bismarck and instead gotten Tirpitz. Granted, that was one of the few times that anyone had seen the "Lonely Queen of the North" flustered. Bismarck would not stop laughing for weeks after that.

No, what was going on was worse then that. Far, far worse. So much so that it was certain that more then a few people were going to be needing at least some medication in the morning.

Mainly due to how the party that was going on had become yet more chaotic.

Standing in front of his office window and looking out at the massive bonfire, Hartmann raised an eyebrow. "Hmm." With a sip of his coffee, he looked away from the various smaller Submarines and Destroyers dancing around it to look at Graf. "So you say that all this is due to some drink?"

Very slowly, Graf nodded with a grimace. "Ja, from what I overheard, 889 snuck it in from Canada. Something called Beep?"

Once more looking out, Hartmann hummed again. "Yes, I know of it." Taking another sip of his coffee, he frowned some. "In fact, we were warned in regards about it."

Frowning, Graf looked first at him and then outside. The younger shipgirls were all dancing around the massive bonfire out in the main parking lot. Something about it was hypnotic... "GRAF! HEEEEEELLLLP!"

Then the Aircraft Carrier blinked as she noticed Aquila being paraded around tied to a telepone pole. For some odd reason it reminded her of a virgin sacrifice from one of those old movies. After several seconds as the Destroyers carried her past, still shouting for Graf to help her, Hartmann sipped his coffee. "She tried to stop it, didn't she?"

Only sighing, Graf nodded some. "Ja, she tried." When Aquila's voice rang out again, Graf turned and walked away. "Excuse me, I must rescue her before they do something like attempt to sacrifice her to Woden... or some other Pagan god or goddess."

Humming, Hartmann leaned a bit forward for a better view. "I really should not allow for Tirpitz to bring along the Vikings that often. This seems to happen far too often." His frown then deepened. "Though it looks like they are bringing her to Natsumi?"

"Oooga chaka! Oooga-oooga! Oooga chaka!"

Eyes widening, Graf rushed out the door with a curse. Why, oh why did Aquila always end up being tied up in cases like this? Every damn time... And then Graf had to come and rescue the Italian like an adventurer in some pulp story rescuing the damsel in distress. Of course, sometimes she wondered about the expression on Aquila's face when she did so, but always shrugged it off.

It's not like Aquila got in those situations on purpose, right?

Meanwhile, Hartmann stood there watching the chaos before checking his watch. 'Hmm... perhaps two more hours. And then they crash." Bringing his coffee back to his lips, he did wonder for a moment. Would anyone notice if he brought out his Katyusha? 'Now how to do that...'

At the same time in the cafeteria, Regina was blushing hard. Part of it was due to the sugar even now running through her veins. Despite looking old enough, like Shinano, Regina had never drunk much, if any, alcohol. But that did not mean that she had not had sugar rushes. In fact, the last time that she had been at Yokosuka had also seen her undergo a sugar rush with Shinano at her side. Both of them getting into some trouble together while running high on sugar. Right now though? At this very moment?

The normal chaos that she would cause was not going to happen.

Some of that had to do with how she drank less Beep for her body weight then the various other shipgirls around. It meant that while she was having a sugar rush, it was not yet to the point where it could cause her a lot of problems. No, her current issue had to deal with something with the capital "H" in the word. Slowly, Regina backed up to the wall and swallowed as she looked into two green, clear eyes. "H-Harry?"

Grinning, Harry slammed a hand onto the wall beside her head. "Yes, Regina? What seems to be the problem?"

With a swallow, Regina glanced at him. "W-well, I, um... It's just... That is..."

Harry leaned in some and smirked at her though he had a dusting of red upon his cheeks. "Hmm? Oh, I think that I know what you mean now."

Confused, Regina looked at him directly. "W-wait, you do? Really, Harry?"

Simply smirking, Harry reached over and brushed some hair from her forehead. "Yeah, I think that I do." Then he reached up and rapped his knuckles on the wall above her head. "I forgot to do this..."

Now really blushing, Regina looked away before looking back at him with some shyness. "I-I-I..." Poking her fingers together, she glanced back at Harry and then chewed her lip some. "Um..."

The whole time, Harry just continued to sit where he was on top of Regina's tail's head. After all, it was enjoying itself greatly. Especially with how the party had gone and was now enjoying it even more then it had been. And so what if Regina herself blushing mightilly at what was going on. Going by the smile on her face she did not really mind all that much.

And her tail did know the sort of images that ran through her mind after all.

Before things could get much further though, Harry blinked as felt Shioi practically jump onto the tail and press her cheek into his. "Haarrrry-Chan! Haarrrry-Chan! You should drink more!"

Giggling, Maruyu appeared on his other side and did much the same, pressing her cheek as well into Harry's as she held up a cup. "Shioi-Chan's right, Harry-Chan! Drink up! Drink up!"

All Harry did though was smile and nod before kissing both Submarines on the cheek "Sure! But I got something to do first!" Turning back to a smiling Regina, Harry grinned before shooting forward and giving her a peck on the lips. For several moments, Regina had a smile on her face before she went red and steam came out of her ears. Hopping off her tail, which he also gave a peck to and also began to vent steam, Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her along at high speed.

Moments later though, the three Akizuki sisters rushed into view, grabbed him, and then ran off. Once they realized what happened, Regina as well as the two Submarines were fast in pursuit of the giggling trio. "WE GOT HARRY-CHAN! WE GOT HARRY-CHAN! WE GOT HARRY-CHAN!"

From where she was leaning against one wall, Eugen hummed in thought and considered the chaos going on. 'Now what will this rank as...' Sipping some of her own drink, she tilted her head first this way and then that before nodding as crashes and the like could be heard. 'Ja, this is about a seven then.'

Her smile widened though as she spotted Hanna now having joined the chase going on. "GIVE ME THE HARRY! GIVE ME THE HARRY!"

It was a balm on her heart to hear her sister laughing and playing with the others. Especially with all that she had gone through when she was younger and before she had met Eugen this life. So to the Heavy Cruiser? These sort of times were to be enjoyed... and recorded for later embarrassment. Such as what had just happened with Regina.

Especially the coming sugar crash and what was going to result from that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The first thing that Hanna felt as she slowly woke was the feeling of bodies on top and around her. Of course, the second thing was the various aftereffects of having had far too much sugar the night before. Such as how her mouth felt like something had gone and died in it. There was also an tiredness that she also knew was from all the running and such that they had all done the night before.

And when she cracked open her eyes, she was not surprised to find that Harry was on top of her and using her chest as a pair of pillows. Despite the blush on her face at that, she simply smiled and watched him mumble something in his sleep. Whatever it was, Natsumi, who was laying as much on Hanna as possible, muttered back. On Harry's other side was Hachi who was clutching him pretty closely. Hanna would have reached over and stroked his hair if she was able to, but her arms were currently pinned down by the rest of the cuddle pile and so she simply glanced around.

Her eyebrows did raise a little as she realized that they were all in the quarters of the Hipper Sisters. Not quite sure how or why they got there. And her memories did not help either as it was a blur of running around, shenanigans, and the like until they hit the sugar crash. Deciding to dismiss any attempt to make sense of what happened the night before until later, Hanna turned her attention to other matters.

Such as enjoying what time she still had with her friend.

While she did so though, part of Hanna's mind drifted back over the years since she was rescued, and that was what she considered it, from her uncle by Eugen. It was also the reason why out of the others, Hanna was closest to Eugen which was helped as the older Hipper was very protective of her siblings. It was just a few weeks after having settled into Wilhelmshaven that Hanna was introduced to Harry via video call. Hanna could remember her confusion in regards to why Eugen suggested that this younger, black haired boy would understand her. How could he?

It was not until three weeks later that the topic of family came up.

Easy to talk about, it was not. But eventually the two did slowly get the others story and was surprised. Especially with how similar their stories were, such as living with family of their mother who hated them for reasons outside of their control. Unlike what some might think, neither thought that the other had it easier then they had. Nor did they think that the other really had it harder then they had. The one time that they had been asked about that, their answer was that while similar, they were not about to get into a contest of "Who was bloody well hated by fate worse" between them.

They did agree on some things though. Mainly that their remaining blood relatives were complete bastards, though Hanna used worse insults for her uncle while Harry was more inventive to get around his adoptive mother's rules about swearing. The other was that they never wanted to see their relatives again as long as either of them lived. And the final bit was that they didn't want anyone to go after them as they were now in the past and that was where they belonged.

Oddly, despite the distance and how little the two saw each other in real life, they were pretty close. Part of it was that their pasts were so similar that they knew the other understood things in ways that others didn't. They could simply talk about what had happened and knew that the other would not pity them, but understand where they were coming from. When Hanna talked about the cold basement room she had, the small cot and threadbare sheets, while Harry got angry for her he also gave her understanding and acceptance. Same when he discussed his cupboard with her, she returned the same feelings.

Harry, she knew, also understood some of the same fears she had and shared them. The idea that one day their current families might tire of them or get angry before sending them back to their personal hells. Sure, they knew that it would never happen, but the small bit of fear was always there. The Natural Born could remember the one time that Eugen overheard them discussing it, the other Hipper had grabbed her and pulled her into one of the tightest hugs that she ever had, but also the warmest. All the while Eugen swore on her builders and designers that she would never, ever do such a thing.

That day, Hanna was not afraid to admit, she had cried.

Later on, she found out from Harry that Nagato had cuddled him for several hours and let him know much the same thing that Eugen told her. They thought that Eugen had contacted Nagato over the issue. And while it helped, the fear was still there, deep down. A fear that both of them knew would be with them for a long time to come.

Speaking of fear, another one that they shared about had to also deal with the future. Mainly in regards to what sort of parents they would be. Both of them were afraid that if they ever had children, they would be awful parents. That any children they had would go through the same thing that they had, but at their own hands. It was one of their more buried fears though and one known only by the other for the most part. Stuff like that made them close despite the physical distances between them. As well, it helped that they found the other was someone that they could easily talk to, which lead to them bonding.

Was it strange at all that due to that Hanna developed feelings for her fellow orphan?

Once she realized it after a dream where she was with an older Harry, and various children with features from both of them, Hanna had denied it. He was far too young for such thoughts, the age difference. And many more things. Not to mention that she knew from various sources that others were also interested in him, and she could not help but wonder if he would even be interested in her.

Looking down at Harry with those thoughts, she was reminded of a conversation a week before he had even arrived between her and Eugen...
_______________________________________________________________________

Head tilting to the side as she watched her sister lay her head down, Eugen raised an eyebrow. "What seems to be the problem, Hanna? I would have thought that you would be excited that Harry was coming here for a week that you could spend with him."

Eyes wide, Hanna snapped her head up and turned to Eugen. "I... I am excited to spend time with Harry, große Schwester! Just..." Trailing off, she shook her head. "It's nothing."

If anything though, that made Eugen narrow her eyes before she placed Matilda down and made her way over to where Hanna was looking away. "Nein, it does not seem like it is nothing, Hanna." Sitting down, she gave her only Natural Born sister a gentle look before placing her hand over the fifteen year old's hand. "Now, why don't you explain the problem?"

Red dusting her cheeks, Hanna gave her a small smile. "It's not a problem at all."

Humming, Eugen raised an eyebrow before closing one eye and smiling. "Oh? And I do not suppose that the 'Not-Problem' has to deal with a certain boy? One who has taken my Schwester's heart?"

Now really blushing, Hanna looked away. "I... That is..." Then she sighed and hung her head some. "Is it really that obvious?"

Lightly laughing, Eugen shifted a bit closer. "Nein, not to everyone. But to one who knows you as well as I do? Ja, it is somewhat obvious."

With her eyes trailing down to their hands, Hanna was silent for a few moments before nodding. "... Ja, I was thinking about Harry." Frowning, she turned her head to a wall. "And thinking about my feelings for him."

Slowly, Eugen tilted her head. "Ah! So it is the fact that you feel more then friendship for the future Admiral, hmm? But why would such thoughts bother you?"

Puffing out her cheeks some, Hanna did not answer right away. But eventually she did. "It's... not right." At the raised eyebrow, she gestured at herself. "I am nearly sixteen, he is but twelve!"

Bemused, Eugen shook her head some. "And? That is but three years, perhaps four. A small difference made even smaller by him being a wizard and you to be a shipgirl. He will live for a very long time and so will you, to such a point that such differences are miniscule."

A grimace on her face, Hanna shook her head. "But that is another issue! When I become a shipgirl, I may... I may outlive him by a large margin. I have heard some of the stories, about how shipgirls do not age too far."

Expression becoming melancholy, Eugen stared off into the distance herself. "Hmm... that is a good point. But!" Turning a smile, she gave her sister's hand a gentle squeeze. "But, such things do not matter."

Turning her head, Hanna boggled at the other Hipper. "Does not matter? How can you say that!?"

Not phased, Eugen focused on her sister. "I may look young, mein Schwester. But I lived through the war, I had all my comrades gone..." Her eyes misting some, Eugen took Hanna's hands fully in hers. "I lost all of my Schwestern. But now, I have a new life, one with all of you. I know the pain of losing those close to you, do not doubt that. Even now, I can sometimes feel when one who served on mein hull return to me. To be a shipgirl makes us close to humanity, but apart at the same time."

All Hanna did was look down at the hands holding hers. "Some call us angels, Eugen. Or gods."

Softly smiling, Eugen shook her head. "I do not know if either are true, Schwester. And I do not think that I need to know, it does not matter in the end. We are the guardians of humanity though, that does matter. It is our duty and our honor to place ourselves before those who would harm the defenceless. To shed blood so that they will not have the need to. Once, I heard one declare us the sword and the shield of humanity, and perhaps there is some truth."

Looking up, Hanna gazed into Eugen's eyes and swallowed. "But that still does not solve the problem. I will outlive him one day."

Only nodding, Eugen sighed. "Ja, that is true. That is unfortunate, but true. One day, we shall have to say goodbye to all those humans who have touched our hearts... or do we?" At the confusion on Hanna's face, she sadly smiled before taking Hanna's hand and placing it on her chest. "Our souls, our very beings are forged from the memories of our crews, those who built us. Those that loved us. Upon every inch is written their stories and our memories, they are part of what we are."

Confused at where this was going, Hanna simply frowned. "Okay..."

Reaching up, Eugen cupped Hanna's cheek with one hand. "What I am saying, Hanna, is that Harry will never leave you. As a shipgirl, you will carry the memories that you forge, the friendship, and yes, even the love between the two of you onwards through the sea of eternity, for however long this journey lasts. It will never leave you and be part of you. Ja, humans sometimes say such for them, but for us shipgirls? It is literal." Dropping her hand from Hanna's cheek, she placed it on Hanna's chest, right above where her heart is. "It will hurt, I will not deny that. But do not let your fear rule you for in the end he will remain with you, always. A form of immortality that one can never take from him, not even death."

Hanna looked down at the hand on her chest and then nodded. "I won't say that you are wrong, but what about everything else? I am not the most good looking girl of those pursuing him."

This time, the look at Eugen gave her was one was both exaspirated in the way that only an older sister could be, and also somewhat disappointed. Internally, Eugen was cursing, and not for the first time, Hanna's uncle for what he had put her through. Externally, she merely moved until she was behind Hanna. Then she pulled the fifteen year old teen into her lap and placed her chin upon Hanna's head. "Now, you listen to me, Hanna. And you listen good."

As the tone was one of utter seriousness, Hanna gulped a bit and turned her head to regard Eugen. On the Heavy Cruiser's face was an expression of sternness, though there was still warmth there. "J-ja?"

With a deep breath, Eugen brought her face close to Hanna's and stared her in the eye. "You are a beautiful young woman. Do not let that beast who called himself family make you think otherwise. Anyone out there would be blessed from the Heavens themselves for the mere chance to have your heart. You are wunderbar. You are mein Schwester, so believe me when I say such. When you say such things, I weep that you may think so. I weep for you, that you have been hurt such."

Sniffling a bit, Hanna turned in Eugen's lap and buried her face in the crook of her sister's neck. "I wish that I could believe that."

Eugen simply reached up and used her thumb to wipe away some of the tears on Hanna's cheeks. "Ja, and so do I. And one day, I am certain, you will believe so as well. But until that day comes, I will make sure that you know it from mein own lips, the truth of the matter."

Only closing her eyes, Hanna sighed some as she felt her sister hold her. Something that she always enjoyed. "But there is also the others after him, what about them?"

Closing her own eyes as she placed her chin on Hanna's head. Eugen rocked back and forth a bit before she answered. "There are many possibilities. Perhaps he will choose you, or perhaps he will chose another. But there is also the chance he will chose someone other then any of you or..."

Her eye opening a crack, Hanna stared up at her. "Or...?"

Opening her own eyes, Eugen stared down at her with a small upturn of the lips. "Or, perhaps you will go with another solution. A solution that may make all happy."

It took several moments before Hanna blushed as she clued in. 'She can't mean...' At the small smile, her blush deepened. "B-but that's not right!"

Chuckling, Eugen shook her head some. "Nein, it may be so to some. But us shipgirls do have different views." Gaze becoming far off, she hummed some. "It may be due to how ships can have many Captains or serve under different Admirals in their time. Or perhaps it is because we understand that a Captain or Admiral do not belong to a single ship. But some of us will admit that while we may wish for our Heart's Captain to belong to us alone, it does not bother us if they may belong to others as well." Shaking her head, Eugen gently stroked Hanna's hair. "But however he as well as you and the others may decide, such worries are for the future which may come. Not for now. For now, enjoy what time you have, young Harry has many years ahead before such decisions need to be made..."
________________________________________________________________________________

Even just the memory still brought a blush to Hanna's cheeks. It also brought a warmth to her chest as well. 'I suppose that große Schwester is right.' Closing her eyes, Hanna leaned back and smiled as she enjoyed the feeling of Harry by her as well as other friends around them. 'Perhaps I should not worry so much and only enjoy the time that we do have before such decisions need to be made.'

Slowly, she dozed there with a small smile. Various day dreams in her head as she did so. There was time enough in the world to worry, now was not one of those.

There was more then time enough for later.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 67: NotHimAgain

And Life Keeps Going

-----

None of them were entirely sure where the oil tanker had come from. It had drifted nearby their island one day, an immense hulk of rusted steel, unmanned in its entirety. No one in the fleet was entirely sure of its origin, but the silently proposed and accepted theory named it a grim reminder of what the humans called "Blood Week." The Black Princess had considered it needless, but the White Princess had intervened "because you never know when you'll need a big freaking ship," and the tanker had been driven aground on the northern half of the island as best they were able. It sat there like a giant mutant sloth, and Rumi had been trying to make it able to not sink to the bottom in a comedic burst of bubbles in her spare time.

And low and behold, now they need a big freaking ship.

"… We still need something to substitute for an anchor, though," Rumi says, looking up at her handiwork. Shi-Chi has to admire her work. The giant, red rust bucket that doesn't look like it should be able to float now looked like a patchwork of rust and whatever scrap metal Rumi was able to find lying around (mainly because that is what it was), but it still floats.

"You weren't able to replace it?" she asks. Rumi sighs, planting one of her hands squarely against her hip.

"Not just the anchor. The chain is rusted all the way through," she adds. "And besides that, some of the younger ones seem to think it's some kind of playground. Can make working on it difficult from time to time."

"We have anchors, don't we?" Shi-Chi asks.

"Yeah, but that means that someone's gonna have to be sitting there, anchoring the ship in place for however long the talks go. That could be…"

"You could do it in shifts," she suggests. "Switch out every few hours. Wouldn't be all that different from guard duty." Rumi purses her lips, crosses her arms. She examines at her handiwork thoughtfully, looking up and down the hull.

"Now there is a thought," she admits. "Still not entirely sure it's the best idea… Maybe one of the things we should ask for is a new anchor and chain for this thing." Shi-Chi snorts.

"Oh yes," she grins, "I can just imagine it. Mister Admiral, we respectfully request the following: that our borders be respected, that our Abyssals not be attacked, and an anchor and chain."

"Speaking of which," Rumi hums. "You gonna set things up so that Nemo can visit her boyfriend easier?" Shi-Chi smirks.

"Well it's because of her that we're holding negotiations in the first place, isn't it?" she replies. "Let's just think of it as a special present."
-----

Sakurada cocks her head to one side. "She's not coming? Why's that?"

Haruka shrugs, trying to maintain a veneer of calm. "I don't know," she replies honestly. "When I asked her, she just looked at me and said 'I'm sick, maybe next time.'" And she wasn't sick at all, Haruka has known her since elementary school and she knows what sick Yuzuki looks like. Normally she would be trying to understand what made her so upset as to not go out with her friends. Today, though, at this hour, she was screaming inside her own mind and her stomach was flip-flopping fast enough to power Tokyo for a week. Sakurada was standing next to her in a yellow sundress, and wow.

"Is she lying?" Sakurada asks, and Haruka is definitely impressed with how astute she is, not the way she screws up her lip and pouts as she thinks. "But why would she be so upset to lie about something like that?"

"Not sure," Haruka says, "I haven't seen her like this since—"

And then the thought hits her like a cold rain. Suddenly, she isn't thinking about Sakurada. Suddenly, she's thinking about Yuzuki and how she responds to things like lies with cold rage and refusing to speak to people for days on end.

"Since when?" Sakurada says, skipping around to face Haruka. "Did something happen to Uzukawa?" Haruka shakes her head.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she says. "Nothing that I can talk about. It was a bunch of mistakes, and everyone made some kind of bad decision, and it's too personal to Yuzuki for me to talk about it."

Sakurada looks down, and Haruka feels like she's done something wrong. "Oh well, I guess we can't do anything about it now. Right? Let's get to the movie. It's one of those American super hero movies I've been telling you about, remember? I think you'll like it."

Normally, Haruka would say something along the lines of 'who wears a sundress when she goes to the movies?' Today, she says something a little more along the lines of "uh-hurk."
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Still tired from the long night before, as well as the sugar rush, Harry let out a loud yawn as they stumbled out into the sunlight and squinted his eyes. 'Too bright... Why does the Sun need to be so high already?'

Beside him, Hanna chuckled a bit before catching him as he stumbled a bit. "Easy there, Harry. Don't want to trip." A small blush appeared on her cheeks as he leaned into her embrace with a grumble. "Still tired?"

Yawning again, Harry nodded some as he snuggled into her side. "A little bit anyways..." With another yawn, the whisper he let out caused Hanna's blush to deepen some. "Soft..."

Hanna glanced to the side and found Eugen giving her a small smirk before the Heavy Cruiser turned away. Even as she attempted to ignore her sister's obvious amusement, Hanna glanced back to Harry and blinked at the expression on his face. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

After a few moments, Harry shook his head. "No, there's no problem, Hanna. Just thinking about something..." When she shrugged and turned as Natsumi asked her something, Harry frowned some as he furrowed his eyebrows. From where his ear was pressed up against Hanna, he could easily hear her heart beating in her chest. But, at the same time, he could just hear something else.

The soft, barely audible rumble of a turbine.

Glancing at Hanna, he internally shook his head. 'I know that Hanna said that she would be awakening soon, but I did not expect that. Wonder if she knows...'

Meanwhile, Natsumi was squinting a bit as she nodded at Hanna's reply to her. Of course, that was when she noticed something on a newspaper and frowned a bit. "Uh... is that the Admiral's car on the front page?"

Both Hanna and Eugen turned and blinked. Leaning then, the two could only boggle at the fact that the Admiral's car was indeed on the front page.

In Berlin.

Somehow on top of the Reichstag Building.

For several moments there was silence before Eugen and Hanna turned to each other and then back at the page. After the silence passed, Hanna looked back at Eugen. "Blame Hipper?"

Eugen nodded some and made a praying motion. "Ja, blame Hipper. I am sure that she would understand."

Bemused, Harry looked at Eugen and snorted. "How did you get there and back? Let alone getting it on top of the building?"

Coughing, Eugen looked away. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Harry. But anyone could have done it with German driving." She then clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "Now, let us go and have a good breakfast, hmm?"

It went without saying that they did not get far before they came across a tired looking Graf and Aquila. However, what they did not expect was how the Italian reacted, which was to hide behind Graf. "Graf! Save me! I don't want to be sacrificed to the Goddess of Foxiness!"

Almost as one, everyone turned to the blushing Natsumi with Harry raising his eyebrow and clearing his throat. "The... Goddess of Foxiness? Is there... something that you want to tell us?"

Face nearly completely red, Natsumi scowled. "No! There is nothing that happened and... Wait, what are you showing him, RO-Chan!?"

Everyone turned and blinked at the sight of Harry caught between coughing and laughing his head off. Mainly because there was a picture of Natsumi in various robes, on a throne being carried by various Destroyers. If one looked closely, they could see a paper mache fox hat on her head as well as she held up a sceptre with a fox on it. RO meanwhile just smiled at the fuming Natsumi. "Nothing much..." Putting the phone away, she smirked a bit as she sent the picture to Harry's email address.

She knew that he would enjoy it.

Meanwhile, Harry just laughed at the others as Natsumi was yelling at the now grinning Submarine. Sure, in a few hours he would be gone along with the others, but that did not mean that they could not enjoy the time that they had left. Rather, it meant that they should do so.

Which is exactly what they did.
________________________________________________________________

Gently stirring her tea, Kongou enjoyed the sights and sounds of Yokosuka having returned just a few hours before. It was something of a long trip, but while she enjoyed her time with Kirishima, the Fast Battleship was happy to be home. Granted, she was extremely amused by what was going on between Wash, Gale, and Kirishima. She did wish them all the best on however it turned out though.

Sipping her tea, she let out a soft sigh and leaned back on the window seat of her quarters while watching several Destroyers out on the early spring day. It did her good to see them enjoying life. And she was looking forward to enjoying life later that night as well. Especially since Goto had something planned for just the two of them.

When she placed her tea down though, she turned her attention fully onto Haruna. "You wanted to talk with me, Haruna?"

Only nodding, Haruna stared down at her own cup of tea before giving Kongou a smile. "Hai, Haruna wanted to talk to Onee-Sama about something. But first... how is Kirishima-Onee-San?"

Head tilting to the side, Kongou smiled a bit at her youngest sister. "Ah! Our little Kirishima-Chan is certainly trying to figure out the ins and outs of Burning Love. And I have hope that she does so." Briefly taking another sip, Kongou hummed a bit. "I think though that Miss Gale and Miss Washington may have a surprise or two in regards to Kirishima no matter how things turn out."

Blinking, Haruna considered that. "They do? What sort of surprise?"

Lips curling up, Kongou chuckled. "Well, they asked my opinion on some thoughts while I was there in America. For example, I am sure that you know how Miss Wash and Miss Gale are both pregnant?" When Haruna nodded, she continued. "Well... they asked me some questions in regards to godmothers..."

Eyes widening, Haruna stared at her before smiling and looking out the window. "Godmothers, Haruna thinks that is very interesting. And is Haruna right when she guesses that..."

Slowly, the older of the two nodded. "Dess! Which brings Kirishima even closer. And I know that she will be utterly in love with the idea." Humming, Kongou shook her head. "No matter what happens next, she will be part of their little family. And Kirishima will understand what it means, that they would trust her so much if something was to happen to them."

Haruna frowned a little at the thought and then shook her head. "Well, Haruna certainly hopes not."

All Kongou did to that was nod before sighing. "I would hope not as well. But they, like us are military and so understand the risks." Suddenly, she smirked. "Of course, this means that we should be ready for when they're born. After all, they will be family."

That brought a smile to Haruna's face as the Battleship nodded. "Haruna agrees! And Haruna already has some ideas."

With a smile, Kongou sipped her tea some and then hummed. "Though that is not all that I think that you wanted to speak to me about, Haruna-Chan. What seems to bother you so? Onee-Sama is here for you after all." When Haruna looked down at her own tea with a small dusting of red, Kongou's smile widened some. "Would it have to do with Rose-Chan?" When her sister nodded, the former Battlecruiser reached over and patted the youngest Kongou's knee. "Well?"

Biting her lip, Haruna took a deep breath before looking up. "Haruna... Haruna really loves Rose-Chan, Onee-Sama. Haruna loves her so very much..."

Not wanting to stop her from letting out what was bothering her, Kongou only nodded. "Dess, this I know, It's easy to tell that the two of you have true burning love for each other."

Just taking a deep breath, Haruna swallowed before nodding. "H-hai. That is why Haruna is asking if Onee-Sama... If Onee-Sama would give up her place among us in regards to..."

Eyebrow quirking, Kongou looked at her and hummed. 'I see, this is serious.' Turning in her seat, she placed her chin on her hands and regarded Haruna closely. "Hmm... My place, dess? Like I did so for Mutsu-Chan?"

Deeply bowing, Haruna nodded. "H-hai!"

Finger running along the rim of her cup, Kongou was silent as she gathered her thoughts before taking another sip of tea. "I see. There might be those against such a thing, Haruna-Chan. And with how things are..."

Once more, Haruna took a deep breath. "H-Haruna knows this. But Haruna does not care!" She looked up into Kongou's eyes and the oldest could see the steel there. An iron will that carried Haruna where she needed to go. Unknown to Haruna, that was all that Kongou needed to know, but she allowed for her little sister to continue. "Haruna will do so and has a plan."

Moving, Kongou placed the tea cup to the side and then slid until she was in front of Haruna and placed her hand on her knee. The British born returnee's eyes were sparkling some as she smiled. "Then the question is... have you decided on a date, place, or ring?"

Now blushing some, Haruna stared at her hands. "Y-you do not mind, Onee-Sama?"

Lightly laughing, Kongou reached up and cupped Haruna's cheek with a smile. "Mind? Perish the thought, Haruna. I assure you, it's quite the opposite! I am behind you as much as you need it, Dess! And know that the others will be as well."

Tears dripping away from her eyes, Haruna gave her a brilliant smile. "T-thank you, Onee-Sama... thank you."

Simply dabbing at Haruna's cheeks with a handkerchief, Kongou then smiled and hugged her. "In fact, right now I am full of happiness! I cannot wait for it to happen..." Pulling away, Kongou then tapped her on the head. "And you still have not answered the question, Haruna-Chan."

Blushing some more, Haruna chewed her lip. "Haruna... has not, though Haruna knows where she wants it. Some place that no one will be able to have a say but Haruna... And Haruna needs to talk to Haru-San about the ring as Haruna has an idea..."

When she got a few more details, Kongou just hugged her sister. Internally, her boilers were nearly bursting with happiness. But more then that? Her mind was already running a mile a minute. Not just with happy thoughts, but also plans. As an older sister, it was her duty to make sure that her sister was happy and she would allow for nothing to prevent that.

It was time to make a few comments and perhaps call in a favor or two...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Stretching some, Harry let out a small sigh as he looked around after the debriefing. "It's good to be home again."

Bemused, Natsumi looked at him and tilted her head some. "Home? So you think of Yokosuka as home?"

All Harry did though was raise an eyebrow and look at her. "I mean, yes? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy going to Britain, it was where I was born. And I enjoyed the time in Germany, but... Yokosuka is more home to me then those places."

There was a blush on Natsumi's face as she looked away. "That's... actually good to hear, Harry-Chan. Really good to hear." She then quickly gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek right at the corner of his lips before running off and waving back. "See you later, Harry-Chan! I got to go and check in with Oba-Chan!"

Unknown to her, Harry had frozen some and had his hand where she had kissed. His face slowly turned a bright red as he realized what she had done and scratched the back of his head. "Um..."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he blinked some at Hachi smiling at him. "Don't worry about it too much, Harry-Chan. Now, we got to go and check in with some people, but we'll be there for your welcome home party."

Before he could say anything, she kissed him on the cheek as well, followed by Shioi, Maruyu, and RO before all the Submarines headed off. Akizuki and her sisters gave him a tight hug and also left for what they were supposed to do. Finally, Harry was standing there in some shock before he looked up at Regina and smiled. "Um, right... so anything that you want to do, Regina-Chan?"

Confused at what had just happened, Regina only shook her head some. Then she poked her fingers together some. "Um, not really? Anything that you might want to do, I wouldn't mind..."

Head tilted to the side, Harry considered that for a few moments before slowly nodding. "Well... I don't really have much plans. I already said hi to Mum and some of the others. Then there's the party tonight where I can meet more."

Just as Harry was about to say something else though, there was a shout and a white missile shot through the air at him. "BIG BROTHER! BIG BROTHER! BIG BROTHER IS BACK!"

Eyes widening, Harry threw up his hands and then caught Hoppou with a laugh. Twirling as to bleed off some of the momentum, the black haired boy only nodded some. "Yes, I'm home Little Sister. And I'll be home for about two weeks."

All Hoppou did in reply was tightly hug him. "Hoppou is really happy to hear that Big Brother will not be going anywhere for a while. And Hoppou really missed Big Brother lots." Looking over to Regina, the Abyssal blinked and then looked around. "Where is Big Sister? Regina is here so Big Sister should be too!"

Lightly laughing, Harry patted his adoptive sister on the head. "Big Sis is back in Britain, they needed her help with some things. So she gave me Regina as something of a guard until she's ready to take her back." Turning his head some, he gave a smile to Regina. "And I've been pretty happy with the job that she's done."

Hoppou only blinked before she nodded. "Regina is really strong! And Hoppou is glad that she is looking out for Big Brother." She then began to wave at something. "Blackie Smokie! Blackie Smokie! Come over here! Big Brother is back!"

Walking over, Aeroprin blinked and looked him over. "Are you okay, Uncle Harry? Are you okay? Mommy said that you got hurt really bad, but are all better now?"

Only chuckling, Harry reached up best that he could and patted her on the head. "Yeah, I'm alright. And while I was hurt pretty bad, I'm better now. It's going to take a lot more then a big snake to bring me down."

Much to his amusement, Aeroprin nodded at that. "Of course! Because Uncle Harry is really strong, just like Mommy is." Then she reached down and hugged the black haired boy tightly, but not enough to hurt. "But I'm glad that Uncle Harry is alright. And I know that Wokyuu will be too."

Smiling, Harry ruffled her hair much to her enjoyment. It amused him that he was one of the very few who were allowed to do so as she sometimes acted like a classic tsundere. "Thanks, that actually makes me pretty happy to hear." Seconds later, Aeroprin blushed and looked away. Feeling a tug, Harry turned to Hoppou who was looking up at him. "Yes?"

There was a twinkle in Hoppou's eyes as she smiled at him. "Is Big Brother doing anything?" When Harry shook his head, her smile brightened and she grabbed his hand before dragging the black haired boy behind her. "Hoppou has something to show Big Brother! Something that Hoppou has been working on!"

Harry allowed himself to be dragged along through the base. Every once in a while he waved at someone passing by, often with them waving back at him. It did not take him long to figure out where they were going and, soon enough, reached a warehouse somewhat isolated from the rest of the base. Not too far away, Harry could see what he recognized as a JGSDF operated M110. And he mainly recognized them because a number were stationed around Yokosuka as shore batteries. It did not take a genius to guess why they were still there, though the fact that there was only one said loads about what they thought of the matter.

So too, did the two "Guards" outside the main door which Harry waved to. "Azuma-San! Hirado-San!"

With a blink, the blonde haired one he knew as Azuma turned and gave him a small smile. "Harry-Chan! We did not expect you to show up today..." She then frowned and looked around with narrowed eyes. "Are any of those Limey wannabes around, Mon Ami?"

Rather bemused at how she referred to both Mikasa and Kongou, mainly due to her having been built in France with them from Britain. Shaking his head, Harry snickered some. "No, Mikasa-Obaa and Kongou-Oba are not around." He then tilted his head to the side. "Huh, I didn't think that they would have either of you here to do guard work..."

Sighing, Hirado blew a strand of black hair from her face. "It's not like we do that much work considering our ages, Harry-Chan." Then she gave him a wink. "Besides, it's much better then some of the other options. I'd much rather be doing guard work then sitting behind a desk or training a bunch of snot nosed kids how to handle shipgirls."

Eyebrow raising, Harry snorted some. Due to being around his mother, he had heard that the those graduating into the Shipgirl Program from the Academy were starting out by commanding pre-WWI shipgirls like the two in front of him and some smaller ones such as Patrol Ships. Unknown to them, said shipgirls were also evaluating them. "What about me? Am I snot nosed kid?"

Leaning down, Hirado considered him for a moment before snorting. "Nah, not that the moment anyways. But I've seen you with a cold." At a huff from Hoppou, she turned to the small Abyssal. "Here to show your brother some stuff, huh?"

All Hoppou did was nod at that. "Hoppou wants to show Big Brother Puppies and what Hoppou has done! Hoppou will also show Regina too so that she can let Big Sister know."

Both older shipgirls regarded the Re-Class for several moments before Hirado leaned back against the wall. "Go on ahead then I guess. We're not about to stop you." Reaching for the door, she opened it up and let them through. "Have fun and be safe in there."

Walking in, Harry looked around the cavernous space he found himself in. Above, there were lights that shone down while sunlight came through various high windows. Off to one side, Harry could see a couch with a fold out bed as well as several chairs and a one of those desks people drew schematics at, complete with a lamp. He did find himself smiling as there was a recent picture of himself taped to said desk out of the way.

A sound of something big moving though brought him back to where he was and he turned to find one of Aeroprin's Destroyers there. By the shape of the hull, Harry recognized it and smiled as he patted it gently. "Hello there, Nighty Moon."

For several moments, she pushed back against the hand and let out a loud purr which caused Harry's very bones to vibrate from the strength. Then she pulled away to let another one of her sisters come over and nuzzle their "Great-Uncle" of sorts. Aeroprin just smiled and nodded some. "They really like you, they really like you."

Humming, Harry continued to rub at the Abyssal Destroyer in front of him as he looked over his shoulder. "Well, that makes me pretty happy." He then turned to Hoppou and raised an eyebrow as he spotted her showing some plans to Regina. Ones which made the Re-Class' jaw drop as she looked from the Destroyer to the plans. Interested, Harry cleared his throat. "What's going on, Hoppou?"

With a smile on her face, Hoppou practically bounced over and came to a stop by Harry. "Hoppou noticed how sad Puppies were at times. Especially when Destroyers went inside places for ice cream! So Hoppou came up with way for Puppies to join them!"

Confused, Harry opened his mouth and was about to say something when a hacking made him turn. One by one, each of the Destroyers were making the same sound as if they were coughing up something and Harry looked back and forth. "Hoppou? What's going on?"

All that Hoppou did though was point. "Watch Big Brother! Watch!"

Turning back, Harry spotted Nighty Honey give one more cough when two pale legs slipped out from her mouth. Soon, they touched down and the rest of a body that belonged to a fifteen year old came out. Granted, her hair was pale white and she had blue glowing eyes set in a face with nearly milky white skin. Other then that, she wore a sailor's top that was far too short as it reached just below her chest and her modesty was covered by a skirt that even Shimakaze would give a look at. "Uh..."

It was then that he noticed her take a step forward on wobbly legs as the other Destroyers also coughed up similar beings. But it was what else he saw that caught this attention. Mainly from a black chocker, a long, thick wire extended from them back and inside the mouths of the Destroyers. Head tilting to the side, the one attached to Nighty Moon smiled and then walked forward, the cord behind her extending. Upon reaching Harry, she threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. "Uncle... Harry..."

Blinking, Harry turned to Hoppou as the others also began to hug him tightly. Said Abyssal Princess only smiled beside a happy Aeroprin. "Hoppou work really hard! Now they can go places without squishing things!"

Just staring for a moment, Harry shook his head and hugged the Destroyer's humanoid avatars back. It helped that he could see Hirado give him a thumbs up from the door before she ducked back behind it. He did wonder though how Goto and the others reacted to it...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Arms crossed, Kawa frowned as she looked towards Kure before sighing. It had been nearly four months since she Awoke as a shipgirl and began training. And finally, finally, she was nearly done. In the next week she was to be fully certified as a shipgirl and assigned somewhere.

Somewhere that she had been heavily hinted to was with Yamato.

Currently though, she was cruising the waters not far from Kure itself looking for one of the "Missing Isles" that had caused so much trouble. Frowning, she looked at the Carrier beside her. "Um, Shoukaku-San? Have you found anything?"

Looking up at the sky where her airplanes were flying, Shoukaku frowned some and shook her head. "Nothing yet..." Eyebrows furrowing, she turned back to Kawa and smiled a bit. As it was her last training mission, it had fallen to the Light Cruiser to lead it. "Was the island in this area. Yahagi-San?"

There was a frown on Kawa's face as she looked around. "According to the notes found at that island up near Yokosuka, there was an island fort built outside of Kure." Frowning deeper, Kawa glanced through the logbook on her bridge, still not quite used to it, before she came back to reality. "It was mostly built on an islet and used Battleship guns."

Only nodding, Shoukaku was about to say something when she gave a squawk and vanished. Eyes widening, Kawa made her way over rapidly and then blinked as there was a shimmering effect and she found herself looking at a concrete ediface. Coming to a stop, she was about to ask Shoukaku where she was when she spotted the Carrier in question and winced.

Which was mainly due to said shipgirl currently embedded somewhat in the concrete.

It took some tries, but eventually Kawa pulled Shoukaku free and looked her over. "Um, are you okay, Shoukaku-San? We could head back..."

All Shoukaku did though was smile and shake her head. "No, I'm okay. Just a little accident is all." Turning back, she blinked at the sight of the concrete that had been built on top of the islet that had originally been there. "That's... somewhat impressive."

Just giving her a look, Kawa slowly nodded. "That's... one way of putting it." She then pointed at one spot with a frown. "There's one of the Battleship turrets used for a battery, but..."

Having noticed the frown, Shoukaku turned and regarded the turret herself. "Those look too big to be from Nagato-San or her sister... But those are the only ones that big that I can think of." Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned to Kawa. "Unless... did Yamato-San have two gun turrets, Yahagi-San?"

With a glance towards her, Kawa shook her head. "No, she never had..." Trailing off, she gave the guns another look over from where they were circling the island. "No, she never did. But... Project A-150, the Super Yamatos did."

Eyebrows raising in surprise, Shoukaku turned back to the turrets. "B-but the A-150s were never built! Everyone knows that!"

Kawa only nodded before grimacing. "No, they were not built, but from memory two of what was to be their guns were built and tested, right here in Kure. And why would one let those go to waste? Especially when they needed guns for this place..."

Looking in the direction of Kyushu, Shoukaku shook her head. "It would have made a nasty surprise for any American ships attempting to invade from Kyushu... They could have shot any transports from here. Though I doubt that was what they were thinking when they built this place..."

Once they were on the small fortification, Kawa noted that Shoukaku had a thoughtful look on her face. Though there was also some confusion there as she walked up to one of the turrets and looked it over. After a few seconds, she looked around which made Kawa blink at her. "Is something wrong?"

Simply rapping her knuckles on the turret, Shoukaku narrowed her eyes some. "I'm just wondering why they built these here. It makes no sense..."

Now confused herself, Kawa gestured around them. "Like you said, they were built to protect Kure. Most likely against anything coming through the Hōyo Strait. It's perfect for that."

Shoukaku though shook her head with a small frown. "No... I don't think that it was for that." Pointing at what looked like a 4.7 inch gun, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Kure is too far to be covered by the smaller guns effectively. And then there's the shape... It's a long island, so you would think that the length of the island would be in front of Kure, but it's not, it's at an angle..."

Her eyes widening, Kawa looked around and then frowned some. "Wait, you think that it was protecting something else, something other then Kure? But... what?"

A frown on her face, Shoukaku looked out onto the Inland Sea with a look of consideration on her face. "That would be the question now... wouldn't it, Yahagi-San? And a rather good one..."
______________________________________________________________

"Um, are you excited, Harry-Chan?"

Blinking as he turned to Shinano, Harry tilted his head some. "About what, Shinano-Chan? The party?"

To his surprise though, she shook her head. "No, not the party though..." She looked around and smiled some before adjusting her glasses. "It's pretty good as well." With a shake of her head, the Yamato turned back to Harry and smiled. "I meant about Hanami."

Eyes widening, Harry rapidly nodded his head. "Hai! I'm really excited about that." Stretching some, he sighed a bit. "I'm going to be making all sorts of treats to take with us when we go. I know that Regina was excited when we told her."

Shinano rapidly nodded with a bright smile. "I know, she was telling me all about it." Their conversation then fell into silence as the Carrier considered another thing that Regina had told her with the Abyssal flustered and confused. Biting her lip some, she turned to Harry and let out a deep breath. "Um, Harry-Chan? Regina-Chan told me about something that you did at the party in Germany..."

Confused for a moment, Harry thought for several moments. "Um... can you be more specific? I mean, I did a lot of things..." Wincing a bit, he shook his head. "A lot of things..."

Head tilting to the side as she considered that, Shinano eventually put it to the side. "Um, with Regina-Chan I mean... You know, when you were on her tail...?"

It took a second or two, but Harry figured out what she meant. "Oooh! You mean the whole kabedon thing?" When Shinano shyly nodded, he scratched the side of his head. "What about it?"

Poking her fingers together, Shinano looked away. "Oh, um... Just wondering if you would be doing that to anyone else? I mean... if you wanted to..."

Once more, Harry thought it over and then shrugged as he placed his hands behind his head. "Don't know, really. I mean, unless the girl wanted it?" Shinano blinked some and blushed. "But other then that... no. Besides, I was not exactly thinking things over because of the sugar, you know?"

As Harry turned to grab some food, Shinano looked down at her punch in deep thought before slugging it back. Then, blushing, she handed the empty cup to Harry. "Um, can you get me some more, Harry-Chan?"

With a blink, Harry nodded some and got her another cup full of the punch before handing it over. "Here you go, Shinano-Chan." As she sipped it, he frowned a bit. "Um, you've been drinking a lot of that tonight..."

Looking over at him, Shinano felt a blush come to her face before chewing her lip. "I-it's just really good punch. A-and I am really thirsty."

Harry blinked for a moment and then nodded as he sipped his own. "Yeah, it's pretty good punch..." Suddenly, he snapped his fingers together. "Oh! Did Mum tell you what happened the other day?"

Curious, Shinano turned towards him, though she spotted Louisiana with Natsumi out of the corner of her vision. "No? What happened?"

Not saying anything, Harry looked first one way and then another before he leaned in. "Mum was strolling along when she came to one of those lottery booths. The man who was there called Mum over and had her do a shot, and when she did she won this trip to a place in the mountains."

Eyebrows raising, Shinano stared at her. "Really? A trip to the mountains?"

Slowly nodding, Harry grinned. "Apparently it was the only one. Anyways, Mum checked and it's some inn up there out of the way. It used to service this old mining town until it shut down after World War Two. An amusement park opened nearby in the 1980s, but also closed down... Mum thinks that they're trying to attract visitors via word of mouth."

Becoming thoughtful, Shinano tilted her head back some. "Huh... That sounds a bit nice." Then she smiled some. "Take a lot of pictures to bring back, okay?" When Harry nodded, Shinano took a deep breath. 'Okay... you're a Yamato! Time to, um, act like one.' Turning back to the black haired boy, Shinano steeled her nerves. "Harry-Chan? It's getting a bit warm in here and... Could we go outside for a bit and talk?"

For his part, Harry only shrugged and nodded. It was gettng warm in the area with everyone around. Slowly, the two made their way outside into the evening air which was still chilly. Yawning, Harry shook it off and turned to Shinano who was looking down at him. "Sorry, Shinano-Chan. A bit tired from jet lag and stuff I guess."

Much to his confusion, Shinano only nodded as she looked around. "Oh, that makes sense." Before Harry could say anything though, she gestured at an area to sit down. "Could we sit down over there, Harry-Chan?"

Agreeing, Harry walked over to the spot with Shinano following. Unknown to him, her courage began to leave her with every step even as she kept a look out. Sitting down, Harry sighed a bit. Looking over at her, he frowned a bit as she was twiddling her fingers. "Shinano-Chan? Is something wrong?"

It looked like she was about to say something when she paused at his face. Before his eyes, Shinano's expression steeled itself even as her face went red. Then she leaned down close to his face and the next thing that Harry felt was warmth against his face that was there and gone. Rapidly blinking, he turned to see Shinano with her face in her hands and steam coming from her ears. If anything though, the steam increased at his next words. "Wow..."

Slowly, Shinano moved two of her fingers to find Harry staring at her in awe. "Um... S-sorry, Harry-Chan. B-but I wanted to after hearing from Regina-Chan..."

For a few moments Harry stared at her before smiling. Then getting up into a kneeling position, he gently moved Shinano's hands away from her blushing face. "I don't mind, it was really nice and I liked it."

Her engines pounding away, Shinano's voice was soft, but could be heard by Harry easily. "You did? It was?"

A smile on his face, Harry nodded. "Hai, it was. And, um, Shinano-Chan?" She was about to say something when he pecked her lips. "All you had to do was just ask."

Needless to say, for the rest of the night the Carrier was on cloud nine with a smile on her face that nothing could take away. Of course, Natsumi was giving Harry thoughtful looks as were some of the others, not that he noticed. And neither did Shinano.

The night was perfect as it was.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

I'm not sure if this is an omake or an actual snippet, but here you go.

.....


Goto sighs. The morning after a party is never anyone's favorite—not because of the cleanup, not because of the possibility of hangovers, and not even because it means being taken away from Kongou. You see, parties are generally harmless. Every so often, though, they lead to… he supposes the best word would be shenanigans. And with Shipgirls involved, shenanigans tend to be far less credible than you might think. And he can't help but think that Kaga standing in front of him has something to do with shenanigans.

"Yes," he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck where he thinks that a crick is starting to develop. Kaga removes a parcel from under her arm, and places before him on his desk. She then unfolds it lengthwise. Then by width. Then lengthwise again. By the time she is done, Goto can see that it is a substantial piece of wallpaper, that has been defiled in what is either finger paint or congealed ketchup. Whatever devious scribe so defaced an innocent wall wrote clumsily, punctuated with little cartoons connected here and there in a massive diagram. Said scribe had begun to write in English at the top of the whole affair, but it seemed that they had forgotten what they meant to say towards the end, resulting in the entire piece being titled "Perfecshbluh." Goto examines the bizarre art piece a minute longer, then turns his gaze up towards Kaga once more.

"I think," she says as stoically as ever, "that Akagi may have gotten into the 'good stuff.'" Goto makes a mental note to check his liquor stash.

"I see," he replied. "Just… what is this meant to be, anyways?" he gestures to the bizarre tableau. "Is this meant to be Harry in a baboon costume?"

Kaga leans in towards the pictogram he is referencing, and her eyes light up in recognition. Then she straightens, stern and strong once more. "Sir," she answers dutifully, "I believe that this is a plan to abduct Inoue Takumi and the Abyssal Nemo in order them to go on a proper date, or a secret agent adventure that ends with Mali exploding. Considering my partner, it could be both."

Goto nods. "Of course," he replies. "I'll have to ask someone to go pick her up from wherever she's passed out." He pauses. "Incidentally, why did you see fit to tear out so much wall paper?"

"It made sense at the time, sir," Kaga says obstinately.

Goto prays that there isn't a line outside his office.

-----

When Takumi opens his door, ready to set out for school, he nearly runs headlong into Nagato, who is holding Akagi over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. Akagi is clutching her head and groaning. Takumi quietly debates whether or not closing the door and opening it again will cause them to disappear, but he figures it would be rude to do so.

Really, at this point in his life? There's a lot out there that makes a lot more sense than he's ever thought it should.

-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

jhosmer1 Omake: "A day of remembrance"

(After delving into their history, I had to write this... hopefully Harry Leferts won't mind)

OMAKE – Remembrance Day

September 1, 20XX

(Before the events of Summoning the Forgotten - Year 1 Christmas)

Akagi stepped inside Haru's Shrine at Yokosuka and was not surprised to see her fellow First CarDiv mate leaning against a wall.

"Akagi-san," Kaga said, curtly.

"Kaga-san," she said, simply. She then strode through the shrine, with Kaga falling into formation behind her. For a moment, both of them remembered steel hulls sweeping through the seas, planes full of young men who would never see their homes or families again, and the drone of American bombers.

The moment passed, and they approached the Temizu basin. Each took one of the dippers and in their right hands, poured some water on their left, and then repeated the action for the other hand. Each then approached the honden, which housed the kami. Each rang the bell, deposited a donation, bowed twice, clapped, and then clapped again, holding their hands together in front of their hearts as they bowed a final time.

"Good morning, Akagi-san, Kaga-san," Haru's voice came from the side after they had straightened up.

"Good morning, Haru-san," Akagi said, smiling at the four-tailed kitsune miko.

"Remembering the quake?"

"Yes," Kaga said briefly.

"I have some tea, if you would like," Haru said, motioning them outside. The two carriers followed her and soon sat beside the koi pond, sipping excellent green tea. Haru spoke first. "I was in Tokyo in 1923. It was such an… energetic time. The nation seemed to be on the march, and it was hard not to get swept up in it. New fashions, new thoughts, new people. I was enjoying myself."

"We were both in shipyards," Akagi said, and Kaga grunted in affirmation. "I was in Kure, Kaga was in Kobe. Our sisters… Amagi was at Yokosuka, and Tosa…"

"At Nagasaki," Kaga said, her eyes looking down. "She was afloat, but just a hull."

"The quake… it was so violent," Haru said, her eyes going distant. "Buildings collapsed or caught fire… so many screams."

Kaga's free hand reached up to clutch at her chest, and she closed her eyes. Akagi reached out and laid a gentle hand on her partner's shoulder.

"Did you lose anyone… close, Haru-san?" Kaga asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"Yes," the kitsune said simply.

"Does the pain stop?" A tear fell down the stoic carrier's cheek.

"No… but it gets bearable."

The three sipped their tea and thought of lost family.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

A soft sigh escaped Harry as he glanced around the area of the kitchen that he was in. There was something unidentifiably his about it. Part of him still remembered when he was a small boy and was given this section to cook in. Nothing much, just a small corner. But to him? At the time?

It was everything.

Shaking off the nostalgia though, Harry hummed some as he prepared for the day ahead. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him glance towards the front of the kitchen though and smile. Lips still twitching, he set up some plastic cups in front of him and then got to work. With practiced ease, his hands moved as the food in front of him took shape. About two hours later though, he looked up as his name was called. "Harry-Chan!"

With a chuckle, Harry turned and grinned at Inazuma and the rest of DesDiv6 who were there. "Hey, Inazuma-Chan! Ikazuchi-Chan! Akatsuki-Chan! Hibiki-Chan! Good morning."

There was a small smile on Verniy's face as she walked over and gave him a hug. "Good morning to you as well, Harry-Chan."

Before Harry could do anything, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. With a blink as he smiled, Harry shook his head and returned the peck much to the other members of the Matsuda household's amusement. Even though he didn't quite understand why all the girls had decided to start kissing him on the cheek, or closer, Harry had accepted it and returned the favor. After all, it did feel pretty nice. "So what are you all doing here?"

Ikazuchi gave him a grin as she jerked her thumb at herself. "What else? We heard that you were making stuff for Hanami and decided to come and give you a hand!"

As he nodded, Akatsuki noticed something and blinked before leaning in towards Harry. "Um, Harry-Chan?" Getting a hum, she continued. "Did you notice..."

Slowly, Harry snickered some before he gave her a small bob of the head as he whispered back. "I noticed them a bit ago, but every time I go and look, they duck out of view." When he looked up at one of the pans, which was angled just right to see the front counter, everyone could see what he meant. "It's actually kind of cute."

Following his gaze, DesDiv6 could see the humanoid avatars of the Abyssal Destroyers, and Aeroprin herself, peeking over the countertop and watching Harry. Their glowing eyes were just over the lip of the counter and they followed his every movement. And, just to show them what he meant, Harry turned to look and they could see the Abyssals duck out of sight. When he turned away, they could see the Abyssals slowly rise back into view and blink nearly as one as they watched. Glancing at Harry, Inazuma stared a bit. 'Cute? I... guess?'

Meanwhile, Harry opened the oven and nodded some as he took out some Danishes and placed them on the counter to cool. "So you guys want to help me make some stuff for Hanami? Because I could use some help."

Brightly smiling, Ikazuchi nodded. "That's what we said! And don't worry, you can rely on us some more!"

Right beside her twin, Inazuma nodded some. "Hwawawa! We're happy to help make stuff for Hanami, Nanodesu!" Placing a finger on her chin, she furrowed her eyebrows some. "So what are we making?"

Chuckling, Harry shook his head some. "Well... I was thinking that besides the normal stuff we might try something a bit different?" At their looks, the black haired boy continued. "Last summer I found this recipe that I wanted to try. Cherry blossom cheesecake!"

Eyes widening, Akatsuki stared at him before clapping her hands. "Cherry blossom cheesecake? That sounds so elephant and lady-like!"

There was a small frown on Inazuma's face though as she considered it. "We'll probably have it with some tea then. You don't want to eat it with some juice." Grimacing, she shook her head. "Aki-Chan once had some with apple juice when we were younger and... well, it went bad in her stomach and she ran for the toilet."

Scowling as everyone looked at her, Ikazuchi glared at her twin. "Did you need to bring that up again, Ami-Chan? I said that I was sorry! How was I supposed to know that apple juice would curdle it?"

Just listening to the two bicker a little bit, Harry shared a look and a smile with Verniy. Said Destroyer then walked over to the sink and began to wash her hands underneath it. "Cherry blossom cheese cake sounds very khorosho. So what should we do first?"

With a look of consideration on his face, Harry hummed before snapping his fingers. "Actually, I need the base to be crushed up. That way we can get started on the rest as soon as that is done and out it into the fridge for tomorrow." He then glanced towards the counter and spotted his observers ducking down before heading to the fridge. "While you guys do that, I got something else to take care of..."

Just beneath the other side of the counter, Nighty Moon glanced at her sisters and then at Aeroprin with a small frown. That morning, Aeroprin had declared that today, they were going to use their avatars to get more used to them. None of them had any issue with that, and Nighty Moon especially was looking forward to it. She was the future Flagship for the Destroyers serving their Princess after all! So this sort of thing had to be learned. And human food somehow was better when they ate in their avatars. At the moment though, the Abyssal Destroyer had another concern. "Um, is Uncle Harry still looking? Because I want to watch..."

Frowning, Aeroprin listened closely. "Hmm... Perhaps he has turned around? Perhaps he has turned around?" She then turned to the Destroyer beside her, the cord from her neck running along the floor and out the door. "Bright Eyes? Have a look."

Stunned, the now named Bright Eyes stared at her Princess and gulped some. "Me? But what if Uncle Harry is looking? He nearly caught me last time."

Aeroprin considered this before nodding. "Hmm... that is a good point." Several moments of thought later, she nodded. "We all look at once then."

There were shared nods from the other Abyssal Destroyers, none of them noticing an amused Yonehara and Ashigara at a nearby table watching them as they had a breakfast date. Leaning towards her boyfriend, the Heavy Cruiser shook her head. "Is it just me, or is that sort of... cute?"

Glancing at her, Yonehara sighed some but nodded. "I suppose so in a... really weird sort of way. Though... that is sort of odd in it's own way. And I never considered using that word for Abyssal Destroyers..."

Meanwhile, Aeroprin frowned as she raised one hand. "Okay, at the count of one, we all look over the counter to see if Uncle Harry is still there. To see if Uncle Harry is still there."

She got various nods and she slowly counted down on her claws. When they all reached one, they popped their heads over the counter and froze as two green eyes were mere inches from their own. The owner of said eyes had a smile on his face that they could all see clear as day. "Hello you bunch, want something to eat?"

Nearly as one, all the Abyssals ducked back behind the counter. Much to Harry's amusement, they made the same sound. "Eep!"

With a chuckle, Harry leaned forward and looked down at the embarrassed Abyssal Princess and her fleet of Destroyers. Raising an eyebrow, he cleared his throat. "So... do you want something to eat?" Looking at each other, they nodded which made Harry smile at them. "Well, stand up then. I made you all some stuff."

Once they did so, their eyes all widened at the sight of the pastries that were there on plates as well as cheesecake parfaits. Looking from the food to Harry, Bright Eyes pointed at herself. "A-are these for us, Uncle Harry? Really?"

Humming, Harry nodded. "That's right, these are all for you to have for breakfast." As he glanced at the food, he frowned and tapped his chin. "I wasn't sure what sort of things are your favorite, so I thought that I should make a couple that I knew that others liked. That okay?"

More then a little stunned, Aeroprin shared a look with her Destroyers and nodded. "That will be better then fine, Uncle Harry. Better then fine. Thank you!"

All Harry did was reach up the best that he could and pat her on the head, which brought a flush and pleased smile to Aeroprin's face. Something that continued with each of the Destroyers as Harry did the same with them. Still smiling, he gestured at a nearby table. "Now then, go ahead and have a seat." Pointing, Harry grinned at their surprised looks as they realized that there were cups of hot chocolate there. "Relax and have some food. Once you're done though, you can continue to watch me, I don't mind at all. So no needing to hide, alright?"

To emphasise that, Harry reached out and tapped Aeroprin on the nose which made her scrunch it cutely. However, she nodded rapidly and took her tray as well as one of the hot chocolates before thanking him again. Then she walked over to the table and sat down. She was soon followed by the others and not long after, all of them were enjoying breakfast as Harry shook his head. Giving them one final wave, he walked back over to where DesDiv6 were working and quickly washed his hands again. As he did so, Verniy looked over at him and gave him a smile. "You're a good uncle, Harry-Chan."

Blushing some, Harry shrugged a bit. "Well, um... I never expected to be one. And when I wonder what I'm supposed to do, I ask myself... What would Vernon do?" At their looks, he continued with a snort. "Then I do the exact opposite."

Inazuma considered that and then nodded with a small giggle. "That's a good way of doing it, Nanodesu. But you still make a great uncle and any one would be lucky to have you as one."

Unknown to Harry, the last bit was said as Inazuma was looking at Verniy, who flushed a bit. It went without saying what Inazuma meant by that. Something that the white haired Destroyer who was her sister was embarrassed a bit about. Then clearing her throat, Verniy turned back to their work. "Okay, Harry-Chan, we got the base all crushed and ready..."

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

So, finally wrote that other snip idea I had floating around.

Ron and Warspite 7: First flight
----------------------------------

Warspite looked down, watching as the pristine countryside rolled away beneath her. Trees, grass, and the massive lake all passing by her eyes faster than she'd ever experienced on her own. She'd been nervous at first, when Ron asked her if she wanted to fly but now she thought it was actually pretty nice.

Turning her gaze back up to the redhead in question, Warspite found a moment where he was looking away to watch him. He looked so calm and focused as he steered the broom he'd borrowed from his brothers, much different than he'd looked earlier when he'd nervously asked her if she'd like to go with him. She didn't mind admitting to herself that she liked the look on his face and the firm handed way he steered the broom through the clouds.

Sitting side saddle as she was due to her skirt gave her the perfect reason to press herself close to him, her arms wrapped around his waist. The feeling of his warm back against her front was comforting and she could only imagine the day when that back was broader than her own and the firm hand was on her ships wheel instead of the little broom.

There was no need to rush though, everything had a time and a place and right now she was enjoying a peaceful day with one of her favorite people in the entire world.

Leaning up to his ear to speak over the blowing wind, Warspite managed as close as she could to a whisper as she spoke.

"This is beautiful," she said, "Thank you for bringing me up here."

Ron smiled back at her, having to holler a little bit to be heard.

"I'm glad you like it," he said, "I don't get to fly as much as I'd like but it's always fun." There was a pause and then he blushed just a little bit. "It's more fun with you up here."

Warspite felt her chest warm, her arms wrapping tighter around Ron as he began a bank turn towards some clouds. Such words could easily be said but Ron was not the type to lie or one to face embarrassment all that willingly. That only made the words even sweeter to her.

As they brushed the top of the clouds, wisps of condensed water curling around the both of them Warspite suddenly realized something. Ron's birthday was March 1st, a week before her commissioning date on the 8th.

"Ron," she said, suddenly upset at herself for forgetting, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Ron looked back at her, confusion on his face. "Say anything about what?"

"Your birthday," she said, "I completely forgot about it and…"

"Oh," said Ron, tilting his head, "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" said Warspite, "It was your birthday and I completely forgot! Especially after you made that commissioning gift for me, I feel terrible."

"You were on patrol," he said, giving her a bit of a smile as they drifted lower through the clouds, trees getting larger, "And you were busy dealing with a bunch of stuff for the admiralty at the time."

"Still, I shouldn't have forgotten," she said, "At least a call or a letter or something."

"You came to see me now right?" said Ron with a smile, "And you remembered by yourself, so you didn't completely forget."

Warspite huffed a bit as Ron continued to try and deflect the matter. She should have remembered, she really should have and it rankled her that she hadn't. Even if she had been drowning in reports, meetings and actually fighting a few abyssals at the time.

"I still should've gotten you something," she said, backing down a little bit.

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something," he said as they circled down into a clearing in the forest.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want?" she asked as they touched down, her arms briefly disconnecting from Ron as she took her feet.

As Ron settled to his own feet and let go of the broom, he shook his head. "No, not right now at least," he said, tugging her over to a fallen tree so they could both sit, "Right now I just want to enjoy our time together."

Warspite wasn't sure how he was doing it, how Ron could act so calm around her and not want anything like most kids his age. It made her boilers and her heart flutter. As they sat down next to each other, Ron leaned into her shoulder as they looked out on a calm vista, the first few brave flowers attempting to peak out of the ground.

"Warspite," Ron asked, "Do… do you like me?"

Warspite blinked, looking down at Ron. "Of course I like you Ron, why would you ask that?"

"I know you like me," said Ron, the boy blushing a bit more, "What I mean is… do you… like like me."

Warspite flushed herself as she realized what Ron was asking her.

"What brought this on Ron?" she asked, trying to stall for time.

"Harry," said the redhead, "He's… well you've seen him. There's a bunch of them that like him and a few that really like him… and I don't think he realizes it yet. Either that or he's pretending really well." He paused there for a moment. "So… it made me think about stuff and I thought about you and me and… everything. That's when I decided… I like you like that. So I was wondering what you thought about me."

Warspite bit her lip as Ron spoke, her thoughts racing. She did like Ron like that and she knew it, as well as a few others. Ron… Ron couldn't be sure and that was why he was asking. A young boy with his first love, uncertain if it was love or Love and asking for clarification. She wasn't sure how she should respond given the perceived age difference… until she saw the way he was looking at her.

His eyes were focused on her and she could tell that all he wanted was an answer, a truthful one. He just wanted to know so he could deal with what were probably a crazy number of thoughts running through his head, the first stages of puberty rushing over him. They were too close for him to take a rejection hard… but she wasn't sure she would get another chance like this either.

A brief fight between ingrained propriety and her own desires was waged, with propriety being quickly sucker punched and stuffed in a closet.

"I like you too Ron," she said, "I like you like that too." Her arms pulled the boy close to her, their foreheads touching as she smiled at him.

Ron flushed slightly but he smiled more, his eyes on her. "I… I thought so but I wasn't sure."

"How could I not?" she said, "After all you've done?"

"I…I dunno," he said, "You're just..."

"Shh..." she said, placing a finger on his lips, "I think I figured out your birthday present."

Ron's eyes widened just in time to see Warspite's close.

She'd never done it before but he never had either, the soft touch of skin against skin different when both were wet and tasted like the other person. It wasn't very long, maybe a few seconds and only an inch or two from where she'd kissed him earlier but somehow it was much more special.

Warspite pulled back from the kiss, hand tugging her hair back over her ear.

Ron seemed stunned, his eyes staying closed for a few seconds before he turned as red as she'd ever seen him.

"I hope you liked it," she said, her eyes moist with love and affection.

"Yeah… yeah I did," he said, looking up at her in the same manner.

"Good," she said, pulling him up against her once more, "I think that might happen more in the future."

Ron just smiled as the two snuggled close again with the sound of birds and the wind in the trees as their only companions.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The horizon was just beginning to lighten as night started to become day. And on Ōkamashima, the Hitobashira were at a spot on the outside of portion of the island to greet the day. The ledge that the two currently were seated at looked out on the ocean before them. For most people, the view alone was rather breathtaking.

But that was not the only reason why the two of them were there.

Rather, it was because the ledge had several trees covered in cherry blossoms which continued up the small valley in the side of the mountain behind them. Both of them could remember when the first ones were planted back in the 1930s, not long after they became Hitobashira. Mainly as a place for the original workers and such to go when Hanami came along. All the better for secrecy. It was also a place where the twins found solance during the dark days that soon occurred.

When MACUSA attacked though, one of the things that had happened was magical fire that had swept the valley clean of life during a battle. For a few years after, the Twins had wept at one of the few good places on the island having been ruined by war. Then, one day, Ume had noticed a small sprout coming from a burned stump and the two had searched.

And they had found another. Then another further up the valley. Slowly, over the next few years, the trees came back to life. Eventually, they once more carpeted the valley when they came into bloom. During those days, the two would spend hours under the blossoms, simply smiling and taking joy in the beauty of one of the things the two were named for. More recently, they were even happier as they had good reason to be. Part of that was because now they had friends, close ones, who cared for them. Other reasons though...

Chuckles made the two turn to find several of the American ghosts behind them. The leader being the giant of a man who had helped them against the funayūrei. Getting up, both of them bowed to him. "Ah! Good day, John-San."

On the ghost's face was a small smile as he nodded some. "And a good day to you too, Little Ladies." Looking around at the small valley, he slowly nodded. "Always did wonder where the two of you disappeared off to around this time of year. Guess that we know now..."

Blushing some, Sakura only smiled. "Hai, this is where we go during Hanami" Eyes closing, she took a deep breath before opening them again. "I am named after these blossoms. This place though... it is so peaceful."
There was a considering look on John's face before he slowly nodded. "Guess so, it is at that. Good view of the sunrise as well."

From where she stood beside her sister, Ume let out a small sigh. "It is. We enjoy coming here, especially for Hanami." A frown on her face, she looked at Sakura. "I do wish that there was some trees with ume blossoms on them."

Suddenly smiling, Sakura held a sleeve before her mouth. "Perhaps we should ask Harry-San the next time we see him? He may plant some for us after all, then we can enjoy both the sakura and ume."

Just shaking his head, John gave a grin to the two. Sure, at one time he might have despised them, but the years had slowly mellowed them out. Add in the conversations him and the others had heard... Well, he not longer felt hate for the two. Rather he felt more pity for what they had gone through. "Well, that's if the two of you are still here. From what I and the other guys feel, we'll be free soon and moving on to the afterlife. Sure, you might be able to see from the other side, but..."

He trailed off at the odd smiles on the two girls' faces. Something about them niggled at him before Sakura spoke. "Hai, it is something that both Ume-Chan and I am happy about. You and the others will be able to move on."

The frown on John's face became more pronounced and he also noticed that the other ghosts with him had quietened down. All of them focused on the two girls in front of them just watching the horizon. Eventually though, John cleared his throat, or at least made the sound of such being as he was a ghost. "You're talking as if you're not going to be free of this place and heading to whatever is after."

All the American ghosts were struck by the smiles on the Hitobashira's faces. It was both happy and yet sad at the same time as they nodded and spoke as one. "That is because we shall not be joining you."

Utter silence fell over them while all the Americans stared at her. Finally, one of the others spoke up. "The heck? We swore that those guys said those paper things would let all of us, even the Japs leave this place. Heck, once the stuff keeping us here is gone, we'll be moving on."

Only turning, Sakura and Ume nodded at them with smiles on their faces. "And they are right. When those bindings are snapped, you and the others will be able to move on. We shall be happy to see you finally able to do so along with the others."

Raising a hand at the mutters to quieten them, John narrowed his eyes. "Yeah... that stuff that you're saying? Why aren't you going to be moving on with us?"

Confused, Sakura glanced at her sister who frowned back at her. Then she turned to the group of ghosts. "Because we will be unable to move on." Gesturing at her sister, the Hitobashira continued. "Due to being Hitobashira, we are bound to this place. There shall be no leaving here for us unlike you."

For several moments, John worked his mouth trying to say something to that. One of his fellow Americans gave a croak though. "What!?"

Heads tilting to the side, the two Hitobashira blinked with Ume nodding. "Why yes, that is how things go with Hitobashira. Becoming one makes you bound to that place and so make us unable to move on until everything that we were to protect is long gone due to time."

Staring at them, John shook his head in disbelief at what he was hearing. "But that might take hundreds of years. You two little ladies would be here for hundreds of years with no one here! That's..."

Ume nodded at that with a sigh. "That is what shall happen to us, yes. But as long as you are able to move on, we can meet that time with a smile knowing that it shall be our own penance for our part in what happened. We chose this after all, unlike you."

Near the back, one of the American ghosts crossed himself and muttered a bit. Meanwhile, John was twitching madly. He wanted to hiss at them and grab the two to give them a shake. All the while shouting that it was not right! It was not right that him and his crew would be able to move on, and would, but that they could not. That the two girls in front of him, who were fifteen at their deaths, would suffer. Sure, he disliked them, but even at the worst point he would not wish that on them.

Right then and there, he wished that their family, those that chose them for this "Duty" were in front of him. Sure, he was a ghost. And yes, it was very unlikely he could do anything to them. But he did not care, he just wanted something to punch at that moment. This was something that he did not know about and all of a sudden he felt a bit disgusted at himself for being overjoyed at leaving.

Worse yet, he knew that once the bonds snapped he wouldn't really be given the choice of leaving or going.

Despite no longer needing to, John took several deep breaths to try and keep calm. And he knew that the rest of his crew were much the same way. Meanwhile, at the same time he looked for some way to get out of the conversation. If only to go to another part of the island and let loose. Thankfully, his chance came as a white speck appeared and soon resolved into Hedwig who landed in front of Ume and Sakura. Clapping their hands together, the two ghostly girls smiled down at the owl. "Ah! Hedwig-San! Did Harry-San send you to us with something?"

Hedwig barked and gave a bob of the head before pushing forward the package that she carried. A cough though made the two Hitobashira turn to find an uncomfortable looking John there. "Ah, we'll just go and give ya some privacy, okay?"

Slightly confused, the two girls nodded and watched as the other ghosts left amid a lot of muttering and head shaking, Even more confusing was how sometimes one would look at them with disbelief, anger, sadness, or pity. Odd. However, once they were all gone though, Ume turned back to Hedwig with her sister and took the package. When they opened it though, they found a letter from Harry and read it with Ume gasping. "Sakura-Chan! Look, Harry-San sent us some treats for Hanami that he made in Hibiki-San's hull! Just for us!"

There was a bright smile on Sakura's face as she reached in and opened the bento. "Look, Ume-Chan! It even has enough for us both!"

With a shared smile, they thanked Hedwig who gave a bark and then flew over to a nearby tree before closing her eyes. Giggling, the two glanced at each other and sat down beneath the sakura trees as the Sun broke the horizon and began to eat. This was definitely one of the best Hanami since they died all those decades ago.

If not the best.

________________________________________________________________

Yawning, Kiyohime sighed a bit as she opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling. After a few moments she sat up and stretched, Haku's stolen shirt shifting as she did so. If there was one thing that she really enjoyed about the modern day compared to a thousand years before, it was how comfortable things now where. The futon she slept on for example was a lot better then what she had when she was still human.

Also, a thousand years before had no Haku.

Even the thought of the teenager brought a smile to her face. Ever since her awakening in this strange time, he had been there. Not once did he complain when she did something wrong. Of course, due to what happened before she decided to take things a bit slower and give him a few hints.

Which was why she was currently sleeping in one of his shirts. She had overheard some teenaged girls walking past and talking. One of them had commented that a girl using the clothes of a boy she knew while sleeping was attractive. And sent a message to said boy about her seriousness regarding their relationship. So far though, even though Haku had blushed deeply each time he saw her in his clothes, he had only smiled back and asked if she had slept well. Something that Kiyohime had answered back in the positive even though she huffed internally. In reply, she made sure to make it happen more often.

Part of her wondered if he would ever take the hint.

However, this morning Kiyohime felt something in the air which made her frown a bit. The night before, Haku was in the kitchen when the demoness went to bed. When she had asked him, he stated that he was just getting ready for the next day. Something that made Kiyohime suspicious. Especially as he had been heading out at odd times and coming back as if hiding something from her. Despite trying her best to trust him, there was a part of her that had been getting angry as well as suspicious due to what had happened to her a thousand years before. But she tried not to and to trust him...

Unknown to Haku, she had spied on him and noted that he was making bentos. Not one, but two. Something which had made her hiss internally. Was he seeing someone? Is that why he was sneaking about? Last night she had tossed and turned in her futon, not getting much sleep due to her feelings. It was maddening!

Right now though, Kiyohime tried to squash her anger and such down, even as the room became nearly unbearably hot. To distract herself, she went through the various motions of her morning before heading downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen and dining room though, she blinked at the happy Haku placing some breakfast onto the table. Seeing Kiyohime there though in some of his clothes and her hair still somewhat messy from sleep, the teenaged boy blushed. "Um, good morning, Kiyohime... Did you sleep well?"

Frowning a bit, Kiyohime narrowed her eyes as her thoughts went back to the night before. "Well enough, I suppose... You?"

Weakly chuckling, Haku scratched his neck. "Um, kind of? But I was sort of excited for today and didn't sleep the best. But hey, it's not something that you can blame me for."

Eyes narrowing to slits now, Kiyohime let out a hiss. "Oh really? You're excited for today..."

Blinking at her, Haku frowned at the heat he could feel before shaking it off. "Yeah, I am." Moments later, he pointed at one of the chairs. "Anyways, once we have breakfast and stuff, I need you to put that on. We got to get going if we're going to make it."

It went without saying that the wind was taken out of Kiyohime's sails at that and she turned to find what she knew was a hoodie on the chair. "Wait, we're going out? And I need to wear that? I... what do you mean?"

A grin on his face, Haku laughed a bit. "Well, I promised to take you out for Hanami, right?"

Staring at him, Kiyohime looked from him to the sweater and to the two bentos that she could see on the counter. Her mouth worked for several moments before she finally was able to say anything. "H-Hanami? Y-you're taking me out to view the sakura?"

His smile falling, Haku only nodded. "Um, yes? I did promise you after all..." At her shocked look, a frown appeared on his face and he walked over before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

In reply, Kiyohime looked from him to the hoodie and then the bentos before looking back at him. "B-but what about all the sneaking around you've been doing? And... and a hoodie? Where did... How...?"

Gently looking at her, Haku crouched a bit to bring himself to her level. "I've been out looking for a place to take you that's not too far away. But at the same time is sort of out of the way so we don't need to deal with any people from around here. It took me a bit, but I found a place and checked it out." He then pointed at the hoodie and smiled. "And the hoodie is because you can put up the hood and hide your horns easy."

Now looking at him and feeling her eyes moisten, Kiyohime sniffled a bit. "A-and the sneaking around?"

Eyebrow raising, Haku shrugged. "I wanted it to be a surprise, so... Surprise?"

Time stretched on as Kiyohime stared at him before suddenly throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace. Softly sniffling, she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Haku-Kun, you baka! Baka!" Pulling away some, she wiped at her eyes and gave him a smile of pure happiness. "I'd love to go walking among the sakura with you."

Chuckling, he tightened the hug a bit and then stood up. "Well then, eat up. That way we can be heading out soon and find a good spot." As she dug into her food, he shook his head and walked over to his own chair. Unknown to Kiyohime, he was internally sighing. 'Maybe this time I'll finally be able to tell you how I feel... Dammit, but do you feel the same? Would you be able to after what happened to you a thousand years ago.' Shaking off his thoughts, he began to eat. Mainly because he wanted to go out with her on something that could be termed a date, even if she didn't know it. Or even if she didn't think that way.

After all, a guy could dream, right?

 

[darthcourt10]

Maes Omake: "Evil Plans"

RCNAnon said:
Ron and Warspite 7: First flight​

~later~

"I must admit, Ron, I am so very glad you worded your request better than Harry did."

"Hm? Did Harry ask you something?"

"Oh, no, no... I meant... regarding the flight. Do you remember how he asked the shipgirls from Yokosuka if they would be interested?"

"Let's see... it was something about asking them if they would like to ride his brooooo Oh Merlin. No wonder some of them were sputtering."

"Quite. That would have been... somewhat mortifying."

"I'll make sure to remind him of his exact words, in a few years."

"That's evil, Ron. I like it."

 

[darthcourt10]

K9Thefirst1

Gear-2557 said:
maybe latter help with establishing a treaty framework for friendly Abyssals .​

Hmm... A thought of a scene, set a couple years off, when - according to Harry - the Abyssal War heats up again, after Ancient Gate is accepted as allies and at least tolerated:
*-*-*

"Your Highness!"

As one, Ancient Gate, Ocean Liner Demon and the rest of her War Council turned to the door at the other end of the throne room, where a Ri-Class had barged in, one hand still on the open door and the other supporting her weight on the frame. Judging by how the cruiser was gasping for breath, it was clear that she had run some distance.

"Lands End is attacked! Portsmouth is besieged!" She gasped, "Queen Elizabeth has invoked the NATO! Britain calls for aid!"

Ancient Gate was silent, her only action being to turn back to the map, showing the disparate deployment of her fleet. The task forces and divisions spread to the much expanded and expanding borders of her realm pushing against the hordes of barbaric Petty Princesses and installing her order and law upon the sea.

The council stood by, silent, waiting for their Sovereign's order. On one hand, in order to lend aid, their offenses would need to be ended and truces arranged. And after years of campaigning, it was unlikely that they would have the momentum the have been enjoying a second time, not after granting the barbarians time to recover and entrench themselves. But on the other hand... Britain had been the first nation to risk their olive branch. In the end it wasn't a choice. And so their Princess turned back to her council, and gave her response with all the gravitas it deserved.

"And the Abyss shall answer!"

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Remembered something that I wanted to add to the last Ushio snippet.
-----
Aso stalked past Umi, and the officer grit her teeth. She had never truly gotten along with the carrier (like many around her), even though she'd heard that she'd been making an effort to be better as of late. Umi didn't know if it was an issue of ideology or simple personality, but she expected that the two of them would never be friends.

Then she paused. Something one of their hosts over the weekend had mentioned... what was it?

"Carrier," she said outloud, trying not to growl. Behind her, Aso's footsteps slowed and stopped.

"Officer?" she asked in a voice that was one-hundred percent done with Umi's presence.

"Do you know someone by the name of Haneda Tatsuya?" Umi asked slowly, keeping her composure.

At first, she didn't think she had received an answer. Aso seemed silent. Then, like a teakettle, Umi became aware of a low whistling noise steadily rising in pitch and volume. It rose to a steady scream, and then kept going. Umi turned to look, and saw Aso bent double, pulling on her hair in a rage as her voice hit a deafening scream and kept going even further.

"... Never mind," Umi said, walking away. Something told her that the answer to her question wasn't worth the getting.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Much to Harry's surprise, when they arrived at the park for Hanami they were met by Natsumi's family. Glancing at her, he could see some shock on his long time friend's face. "You didn't know that they would be coming here either, Natsumi-Chan?"

Slowly shaking her head, Natsumi turned to him. "No, I didn't... Oba-Chan didn't say a word that they would be meeting us here." When she looked at the older Kitsune, Haru gave her a small wink. "Somehow though, I'm not surprised in the slightest that she didn't."

Reaching over, Harry grasped her hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Hey, you should be happy that they came all this way to see you."

About to say something, Natsumi turned and blinked for a moment in realization at he far off look on Harry's face. Mainly because she remembered something about the black haired boy beside her. Expression softening, Natsumi gave a sigh with a shake of her head. "I guess that you're right, Harry-Chan. I should be happy that they came all this way for me."

Before anything else could be said though, Rei and Asuka dished over and practically tackled Natsumi. It was only because she grabbed hold of Harry as he helped her stay up that she was not knocked off her feet. "ONEE-CHAN!"

Grunting some, Natsumi patted them both on the head with a small smile. "Rei-Chan, Asuka-Chan... it's great to see you as well. But you know better then to tackle someone."

However the two blinked up at her as if confused before grinning and nodding. "Hai!" Then they turned and grabbed Harry into a hug. "Harry-Onii-Chan!"

With a chuckle, he did as Natsumi had and patted them both on the head. "Hey you two, ready to celebrate Hanami with us I see. Hopefully we brought enough with us..."

Only giving the large basket that swung beside Harry a look, followed with a similar one towards the baskets that Nagato, Tenryuu, Taigei, and her own mother were carrying, Natsumi rolled her eyes. "I think that we'll do just fine, Harry-Chan. And-You two stop right there!"

The two younger Kitsune looked up at their older sister as they paused from trying to open the basket that Harry had. Giggling, they smiled innocently and looked up at Harry who seemed amused at their antics. "We just wanted to see what sort of treats that Harry-Onii-Chan had brought! Hoppou-Chan said that he made some great food."

Bemused, Harry looked over at his adoptive sister who was talking with Aeroprin and her Destroyers' avatars. It had taken some convincing, but Goto decided to allow for them to use the avatars off base for this trip. Yokosuka had, after all, become somewhat used to seeing Abyssals walking around. More then that, having them interact with people could only help matters on both sides.

Especially as there was hope that by the time the "Upgrade" spread to other Allied Abyssal fleets that their Destroyers would find people not so creeped out by them.

At the moment though, Harry only shrugged and chuckled at the two Kitsune. "I got a few goodies in my basket." Head tilting to the side, he considered them as he hummed. "Do either of you like cheesecake? Because I made some cherry blossom cheesecake along with Hibiki-Chan, Inazuma-Chan, Ikazuchi-Chan, and Akatsuki-Chan.

Rei and Asuka stared at him in awe before rapidly nodding. A snort though made them turn to find Taichi smirking as he walked up. "You kidding? Those two will eat anything put in front of them. They're like black holes for anything sweet-OW!"

Lips twitching and snickers escaping them, Harry and Natsumi watched as Taichi hopped around on one foot. Mainly due to Asuka stomping on one foot before the Twins gave Harry one last hug and ran off to where Hoppou was. Growling, Taichi glared at them as they grabbed Hoppou's hands and were lead to the other Abyssals. Snorting, Natsumi gave him a small smirk. "You were asking for that one, Onii-Chan."

Only grumbling, Taichi scowled. "Whatever."

Perking up some, Harry gave him a smile. "Oh! Before I forget, congratulations." At Taichi confused blink, he continued. "I heard that Naka-Nee put out the first song of your band last week."

Much to Natsumi's not so secret amusement, her brother blushed some as he tried to play it off. "Yeah, well... that's to be expected. The band put a lot of work into it and have busted off their asses. I mean, this is their first big break."

There was a light teasing tone to Natsumi's voice as she leaned forward. "And yours as well, Onii-Chan. Last I heard, Chichi-ue and Haha-ue are both happy with it and proud."

Shrugging, Taichi smiled a bit. Then he chuckled as he shook his head. "Yeah, they kind of are. Pretty cool, really."

With a wave, he walked over to where DesDiv6 were. As he did so, Harry smiled a bit. "He looks pretty happy with it."

Just snickering, Natsumi nodded. "Hai, I think that Onii-Chan is very happy with how things are working out. In fact, he was talking about a concert in a few weeks or something the last time I talked with him." Looking around, she leaned in some. "I overheard that he was practicing Kaga Misaki."

Eyebrows raising, the black haired twelve year old blinked. "Wait, Kaga Misaki? Kaga-Oba's song?" At Natsumi's nod, he crossed his arms against his chest. "Huh... Wonder how good he is at it."

Natsumi only shook her head and smiled a bit. "From what I overheard? I think that Kaga-SAN will be pretty impressed."

With a final smile, Harry shook his head and watched as Natsumi headed over to her parents. Then they entered the park with the cherry blossoms around them.
_____________________________________

Several hours later, everyone was relaxing as they laid back and enjoyed the flowers on the trees above them. It helped that they had all eaten their fill of various things and had various drinks. For the kids, the drinks were sparkling juice and the tiredness of some was helped out by them playing. Which neatly explained why Rei, Asuka, and Hoppou were all dozing as Aeroprin and her Destroyers kept watch over the three.

No one was going to threaten the three if they had anything to do with it.

The older kids were less tired, but no less relaxed at they looked around . Every once in a while, one of them would grab another piece of food. And the adults were having their own quiet conversations about things with blushes on their cheeks for the alcohol that they had consumed.

Feeling a tap on the shoulder, Nagato turned away from the conversation that she was having with Haru and smiled a bit at Harry. "Yes, Harry? Did you need something?"

Only shaking his head, Harry gestured around them. "Actually... I was wondering if Natsumi-Chan and I could go and walk about." At the raised eyebrow, he chuckled a bit. "Um, we'll be safe? And we have our phones on us just in case."

After a few more moments of thought, Nagato glances at Natsumi's mother. Sakuya then gave a nod and the Battleship turned back to Harry. "Very well, Harry. I trust that you and Natsumi-San will stay safe and out of trouble. Just be ready for us to give you a call if needed." Reaching up, she gave him a smile as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Now, you two go and have some fun. You deserve it after all."

With some final goodbyes, Harry ran over to Natsumi who was waiting. Taking her hand, he then walked away with her. Laying back on her elbows, Sakuya smiled as she watched her daughter before glancing at Nagato beside her. Sighing, she shook her head with a fond expression. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

Just sighing herself, Nagato nodded. "Hai, though i wish that was not true and Harry would have some more time to... just be a child. He missed out on so much before I adopted him and he's not had enough time despite him deserving it. However, it seems that the fates will not give him even that much."

Haru snorted a bit and shook her head. "Unfortunate, though true." Frowning, she looked up at the sakura branches above her. "But then, I suppose that such is how legends look when you are part of them as they are created."

Snorting, Tenryuu poured herself another glass of wine and shook her head. "Legends? Really? You actually believe that? That the Kiddo is going to be some sort of modern day legend?"

Bemused, Haru looked at her and smiled a bit. "Can you say that he has not already?" Raising a hand, she began to tick off on her fingers. "He is the child of what could have been a Kami as his mother was an unawakened Natural Born. As a infant, he survived a curse that no one else ever had, even if his mother was the reason. That does not matter for such things. He lived a hard life until he was rescued and raised among Kami in the form of shipgirls. Some of whom have taught him skills he can use. Currently, he is being taught by Masters of powerful magic in a far off land in a place of mystery and wonder. He has also faced his destined foe not once, but twice so far and defeated him each time. In between such events, he had faced monsters and fought them, with them being defeated." A smirk on her face, Haru raised an eyebrow as Tenryuu blinked. "And that is thus far. Mark my words, Tenryuu-San... one day that young man will be looked at as a legend."

There was a frown on Tenryuu's face before she considered that. Then she shrugged and sipped her wine before putting it down. "You forgot all the girls after him. I think that counts as well I guess, though more for him being a damn real life harem protagonist."

Grinning, the Kitsune waves her off with a chuckle. "That goes without saying, Tenryuu-San. That goes without saying."

On Kensuke's face was a grimace as he grumbled a bit. "I just wish that Natsumi-Chan was not involved in that sort of thing. But I suppose that there is not going to be any real choice by us on that sort of thing on our part."

Reaching over, Sakuya patted her husband on the hand. "Perhaps not, but we can be there to guide her. To help where we can and are able no matter what happens. That much we can do." An amused look then crossed her face as she turned to Nagato. "Though I suppose that some of us will be needing to guide the younger ones in certain ways soon enough. Unless I miss my guess from what I have seen and heard."

The reminder of how she needed to give Harry "The Talk" made Nagato grimace. Her next words came out in a bit of a whine as she gulped down her drink and poured herself another. "Please do not remind me of that. I am not looking forward to that in the slightest. Oh, why he couldn't stay little forever rather then that..." Grinning, the others laughed a bit at her pain and dismay. Nagato then glanced at Haru and decided to change the subject before it got too embarrassing. "So... why were you asking me about any reports regarding Hidaka, Haru-San?"

A large grin on her face at how Nagato was obviously trying to avoid any more talk about what she needed to do and soon, Haru shrugged some. She could be nice after all, and there was later after all. "I've been hearing rumours from certain sources since Blood Week that have piqued my curiosity regarding the town. And I wished to see if there was any reports or information that you could share that you may have." Expression shifting to a thoughtful one, she hummed a bit. "I was thinking about possibly giving Natsumi-Chan another task sometime soon. This one would be to go somewhere and gather information from the source to give her much needed knowledge and experience in such matters..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Her hands in her pockets, Natsumi looked around with a soft smile on her face at all the cherry blossoms that decorated the area. Closing her eyes, she inhaled for a moment with her sensitive nose picking up the soft scents in the air. When she reopened her eyes, she turned her gaze onto Harry who was beside her. "Thanks for letting me take you for a walk, Harry-Chan."

A smile on his face as he tilted his head to the side, Harry just chuckled at her. "Not a problem, Natsumi-Chan. Besides, I like just walking with you."

Cheeks pinking, Natsumi glanced away but the smile on her own lips told the tale. Stretching some, she let out a sigh before grabbing his hand again. "Well, that's good to hear that I'm not boring enough not to like walking with." That got Harry to laugh at the teasing tone in her voice. Then her smile became more thoughtful. "It's nice to spend some time with you, just the two of us."

Frowning, Harry was about to comment when he stopped and considered her words. His eyes widened a bit as he realized something. "That's true, isn't it? We haven't been alone together for the last while." Turning, he gave her a sigh. "Sorry about that, Natsumi-Chan."

Eyes widening, Natsumi got in front of him and grabbed his other hand. "Hey! You got nothing to be sorry about, Harry-Chan! They're my friends as well after all! Besides..." Her expression turned wistful. "We're alone now, aren't we?"

Slowly nodding, Harry relaxed a bit. "I suppose so, Natsumi-Chan." Tilting his head back, Harry hummed a bit before a thought struck him. "Hey, Natsumi-Chan?" When he got a hum in return, the black haired boy continued. "Well... I just realized something."

Blinking, Natsumi turned to her friend in interest. "Really? You did?" At his nod, she frowned slightly. "What did you realize, Harry-Chan?"

Lips twitching, Harry turned towards her. "It's sort of odd, but... Well, I just realized that we both know a lot about my family, right? But I don't know much about yours."

The Kitsune was struck as she realized that was true. Internally, there was a brief conflict about telling him about her family and simply keeping quiet. In the end thing, the Kitsune decided to return the trust shown to her by telling him what she could without revealing their true natures. That much, she could do. "I guess so... The only question is what you want to know?"

Giving the thought some thought, Harry frowned before shrugging. "Um, anything that you could tell me? Or want to tell me that might be interesting?"

In reply, Natsumi made a thoughtful noise as she considered what he had just asked her. "Something, huh? I think that I can tell you some stuff about my family. Like, you know that my family is really old, Harry-Chan? It's very, very old. Older then the Potters in a way I guess."

Eyes widened, Harry stared at her for a moment before he added to her statement internally. 'Because you're a Kitsune and so are your family. I guess that if one's lifespan is centuries, then a family can become really old.'

Meanwhile, Natsumi continued. "Anyways, my family is descended from a noble and his wife centuries ago in what was once the Province of Mino. He met her one day while on horseback and asked her to be his wife, he was so smitten with her. Something that she was more then happy to do as she fallen for him from afar. In time, she bore him two sons. The oldest would take their father's place while my family is descended from the younger. Due to the marriage and it becoming so well known, my family rose in prominence among the group to which we belonged. In time, we grew in both size and power as well as prosperity. Some said that Inari himself blessed us. We were among the highest ranked clan among our people and had gathered many allies."

Harry's eyes widened as he pieces together hat he had just been told by his friend. 'Wait... a marriage to a noble in Mino Province centuries ago? And one that was well known? Natsumi-Chan is not saying... then again with her family name...' Putting those thoughts aside for later, Harry tuned back in to see some sadness on Natsumi's face. "What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Natsumi let it out. She had been told the story before by her grandparents as well as Hoshi and Tsuki. A story that she knew very well, even if she was about to give an abridged version. "As with such things, there were those who became jealous and envious of us, of what my family had. Others hated us because we were above them in rank or because they felt that we had no right to be their equal. And some... just despised us for other reasons or on principal. Unknown to my family, they turned some of our allies against us. Some through trickery and others through greed. A few were promised rewards with our destruction and power. Then there were those with other rewards... One night, they attacked, ambushing my family. We put up a fight and killed many, but they overwhelmed us in the end with only two, a newly wed couple escaping the massacre. They were saved by Hoshi-San's family and, once they recovered, promised them friendship and together they fought back against those who had tried to kill them over many years."

As Natsumi continued her tale, Harry listened while deep in thought. She told him about how her family had continued onwards, slowly rebuilding their prestige. How they among those who convinced the Shogunate to limit contact with the outside world until the 1850s and Commodore Perry. 'This is explaining quite a bit.'

Eventually, Natsumi shrugged. "Despite everything though, we did not make it through the Meiji Restoration unscathed. We were better shape then some. But we did well enough and my family is still highly regarded among certain circles."

Raising an eyebrow, Harry frowned some. "Really?" At her nod, he coughed a bit. "Um, I can sort of see that due to Haru-San, but..."

Much to his surprise, Natsumi began to giggle. "But my Chichi-ue, right?" When he gave a sheepish nod, she let out a barking laugh but nodded just the same. "Hai, he does give that impression. Chichi-ue is not someone to take lightly. He's strong in his own right."

Only nodding at that, and filing the last bit away for much later, Harry chuckled as Natsumi continued to laugh. Once she had calmed down though, the black haired boy shook his head. "So... your family was Samurai then? And Hoshi-San's were Shinobi?"

About to say something, Natsumi opened her mouth. But then the Kitsune paused and thought it over before slowly nodding. "That... is actually not too far off the truth, I suppose. In a way, that might be a good way of looking at it." Snickers escapes from Natsumi as she imagined Hoshi sneaking around in the classical Ninja outfit with a mask. "Though that is pretty hilarious."

Grinning, Harry continued to snicker as, unknown to Natsumi, he had a similar image in his head. Except his version was of a nine tailed fox in such clothing. "Yeah, it is pretty funny to think about." He then hummed a bit. "So... does that mean that your family still live in..."

Hearing the unasked portion of the question in his tone, Natsumi raised her eyebrow and looked at him. "Gifu Prefecture? Hai, we still live there for the most part though we have a place or two elsewhere. Mainly because Haha-ue was in real estate before we were born and owned a property or two elsewhere. I've been to them and they're pretty nice."

Both of them shared a soft smile with each other before falling. Back into a companionable silence. Part of Natsumi was imagining showing Harry those places one day while Harry was happy he knew more about Natsumi and her family then before. It made him feel all the closer to her. And it also made him feel honoured that she trusted him enough with what had given him. After all, it was not hard to piece together more if one had a suspicion. Turning, Harry looked towards Natsumi only to be struck at the sight of her standing there with cherry blossoms blowing around her. "... Pretty."

Confused, Natsumi looked at him and blinked. "Hmm? What was that, Harry-Chan?"

Blushing, the twelve year old looked away. "I..." What it was, Harry didn't know, but something told him to be truthful at that moment. "I was just thinking that seeing you with the cherry blossoms around you was actually... really pretty."

That brought a happy, and pleased, flush to Natsumi's cheeks as she shyly smiled. "Thank you." Natsumi placed some of her hair behind an ear as her and Harry continued to walk along. Glancing at Harry who brushed some petals off himself, the Kitsune was struck as a stray thought reminded her of the meaning of the sakura. Said thought also caused her to remember some of her fears and she turned back to the flowers. "Harry-Chan?" Blinking, he turned toward her more due to the tremble in her voice then anything else. "You know what the sakura represents, right? About life?"

For several seconds, Harry considered the question before slowly nodding. "Mono no aware? How like the sakura, nothing is permanent?"

Both of them continued to walk as Natsumi only tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment. "Hai, that life slowly passes by. And that like the sakura, eventually all things pass, all things fade away... A sort of sadness at that fact, like how one can feel a sadness at watching the beauty of the blossoms slowly fade away as we outlast them."

Looking at the flowers before them, Harry frowned before shaking his head some. "Maybe? But that's not how I see it."

Voice soft, Natsumi turned to him and looked him right in the eyes. "Then how do you see it, Harry-Chan? What meaning do you find in the sakura?"

Part of Harry told him that what he would say next would be important to what may happen. And so he gave it some serious thought as he put it into words, some memories coming to the fore as he did so. "Well... it's a reminder. Sure, eventually everything does go away eventually, but you know what? It also tells us that we should forget about that and live in the here and now as we enjoy what time we do have. Like how we don't spend the time looking at the sakura thinking about how soon they will be gone. And when the blossoms are gone, like good times past, we'll still be able to remember them."

Coming to a stop, Natsumi held out a hand and watched a petal fall into it. Then, slowly, she looked around them at the blossoms on the trees in thought as she remembered when she was told about Harry nearly dying. The fear that she felt at the idea that he could have left her forever. "Harry-Chan... I..." With a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes and let it out. "We're no longer kids, not anymore. Not with..." The twelve year old's voice dropped down to a near whisper, but Harry was still able to hear it. "Not with what happened..." Opening her eyes, Natsumi's amber looked into Harry's emerald and were suspiciously shiny. "Those days are gone now and aren't coming back. You spend most of the year at Hogwarts while I am here and... And you nearly..."

Not saying a word, two arms wrapped themselves around her and Natsumi buried her face in Harry's neck as he hugged her. A hug that she soon returned tightly. Natsumi could feel her eyes begin to moisten as she it really hit her, that she could have lost her best friend and maybe more. Arms around him, she clutched as she thought back into the past. Looking past Harry, she could almost see her and him when they were younger, before Hogwarts, laughing and playing among the sakura. It still amazed her just how big a part of her life he had become in the time that she knew him. When Natsumi had first met him, she was not quite sure what to think of this quiet boy. Yes, she could feel the power just under the surface, just like any yokai who was sensitive enough and had some training could. But...

Her experiences with most other children had not been the best up to that point. Bing a Kitsune, she was a step above other girls in looks which made some of them jealous of her. Some of them could be nasty behind her back even as they tried to pretend to be her friends with her. Mostly due to her popularity. Then there were the boys who sometimes gave her attention that she did not want. Such as one boy back in elementary who thought that because he was the star of the school football team, that meant that she had to like him. Such things though came along with being a Kitsune.

However, even among other Kitsune she was something of an outsider. She was able to pick up on things just that bit faster, just that bit better then other kits. Even for a Kitsune, she had heard that more then some of the Kitsune adults had spoke about how she would be one of the more beautiful ones once she became an adult. Some of the conversations had a bit of a nasty undertone to it and did not help her get any true friends. Thus, she was something of a lonely girl growing up and often played with her brother and one or two others. It made her a tomboy of sorts which did not help matters as her friends were few.

Was it any surprise that she had jumped at the possibility of starting over when her aunt had offered it? Somewhere else where she could maybe be more normal? And all that she had been asked for by her aunt was to try and see if she wanted to befriend a young boy, something that she was happy to do. Never, not once, did she expect the bond between them to have formed as it had. Despite her beauty, Harry had simply accepted it as part of her, like she had accepted his green eyes that stood out as part of him. A simple fact like how the sky was blue, it sometimes rained, and that the sakura would blossom.

Unlike some of the others, he was never jealous of how popular she was and knew that she had never asked for it. He had also listened without comment when she had needed to vent. And in turn she had returned the favor when he needed to talk about his own problems. Such as how being a foreigner had made him stand out from most of the class, though he now called Japan home. And being as he stood out, more then one of the bullies tried to target him.

Granted, whenever she had overheard or seen such things, she made sure to punish them. Nothing too bad, just an abject lesson in how they should not let looks cloud their judgment. It was her duty to do so as a Kitsune after all.

It was only when she had found out that Harry was going to return to Britain for several months of the year though that she had started to realize how much he had meant to her. She missed him and terribly wher, more then once, she found herself tearing up. And at times she just stared at pictures of days they had spent together. His letters had helped of course, his friendship shining through them, but it was just not the same as having him there with her. Not in the slightest.

They were not Harry.

But it had only really hit her the year before that their childhood was over with what happened at the end of Harry's First Year at Hogwarts. No more would the two of them be in their carefree world of being kids, playing games of various sorts. They now had responsibilities that they were growing into and the world was a darker place then the sunny days they had before. Something that the recent month had only hammered home. But...

At the same time though, Natsumi could feel something else happen since then. Feelings blossoming like the sakura around them as time went by. Things that once were simple becoming more and more complicated as they grew. Such as the fact that Natsumi knew what had once been simple affection she had felt for her best friend become something more. Maybe even more then a crush.

To her dismay though, she had also felt stirrings of something more and more often these days. Not just a draw to Harry either. Sometimes there were dreams she had late at night. A number were dreams of the future, when both her and Harry were adults. Such as them getting married, or later when they had children around. Some of whom had messy hair or fur on their heads with startling green eyes from their father. Beautiful kits of her and her best friend. She cherished said dreams.

Of course, there were other dreams of a... different nature. Said dreams caused her to awaken at night with a bright blush on her face and trying to knock them from her head. And, laying awake, she would have a piece of wisdom that her brother once muttered brought to mind.

Puberty really, really sucked eggs at times.

Right now though, seeing the sakura and recent memories going through her head? Natsumi remembered something else. Something that Haru had told her years before with a serious expression. One that even now made her want to cry at the thought.

"As we are Kitsune, Natsumi-Chan, we will live a long time. Harry-Chan, for all that he is a wizard and will have a long life ahead of him, is still but a candle in the wind to us. There will come a time when you will have to say goodbye to him as the shinigami takes him, even from old age. And you will still be young and healthy with many, many centuries left and before you may see him again. Can you take that? Would you be willing to take that risk and feel the pain that will come in the future? Only you can decide in the end."

"Is it worth it, Oba-Chan? To feel such pain though... I..."

"Worth it? To feel the pain of your heart? To feel the gaping wound there, an emptiness where a giant once strode? Each one of us will have a different answer, Natsumi-Chan. And as I said, only you can make that decision. But... for me? I treasure the time I had with my husband. In the end, I think that love makes it worth it, no matter how temporary our time together may be."

Opening her eyes, Natsumi smiled sadly as she blinked and then tilted her head back. "Harry-Chan? Can I ask you something?"

Confused, Harry nodded as he looked down at her. "Sure, Natsumi-Chan. You shouldn't even need to ask that."

Lips curling a bit, Natsumi chuckled. "I know, but just promise me that you won't go for a long time. That you'll stay." Part of Harry understood as he just nodded which made Natsumi's smile widen just a touch. "Thank you."

Then she stood up on her tip toes and touched her lips to his briefly before pulling away. Yes, it was worth it. And yes, like the sakura things would fade. But, Natsumi decided, Harry was right.

It was best to take things as they came and treasure what they had, such as the memories she made with her best friend.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As Rei and Asuka sleepily rubbed at their eyes and the other adults put away various things, Haru looked up before smiling a bit at the sight of Natsumi and Harry walking towards them. Her eyes then pointingly looked at where they were holding hands as they walked, something that made Natsumi blush a bit. But more then that, Natsumi also gave her a bullish look which made her grin. "So, did the two of you enjoy your walk?"

Squeezing Harry's hand, Natsumi nodded some with a deep breath. "Hai, we did." Ignoring the blush on Harry's face, she glanced around let out sigh. "So we're heading home?"

Gently picking up Rei, Kensuke only nodded some as he watched Nagato do the same with Hoppou. "Hai, we're going to be heading back to Haru-Chan's house. After all these sleepy heads need some more rest it seems." Both young Kitsune grumbled and rubbed their eyes. Seeing Natsumi yawn, he raised an eyebrow. "And it seems like they are not the only ones."

Only blushing, Natsumi scratched the back of her head. "Still getting used to the time difference between here and Germany..."

Rather then tease her daughter, Sakuya gave a small nod. "Yes, the time differences would cause a few issues speaking from experience." Head tilting to the side, she gave her husband a look. "I remember a few times myself."

This time, it was Kensuke's turn to blush before he turned back to Natsumi. "Right, so... Um, say goodbye to Harry-San, you'll be able to talk with him later." His expression softened a bit. "Besides, we want to hear all about your trip in person."

Natsumi sighed a bit before she nodded. "Hai, Chichi-ue." She then turned to Harry and gave him a small smile. "I'll talk to you later, okay, Harry-Chan?" When he agreed, the Kitsune moved and kissed him on the cheek. "Chu~ Bye, Harry-Chan!"

Skipping off, she was pleased by the fact that Harry's cheeks were red and knew that her own was much the same even as he called out his own goodbye. Once they were out of hearing range for Harry, Sakuya gave her daughter a sly look. "My, my~ And what did I just see? Am I to guess that the walk went much better then expected?"

Despite the blush, Natsumi gave her a smile much to her surprise. "Hai! It actually went pretty well."

All the adults shared a look at that before Haru gave a smile. "Well now, that is good to hear." Suddenly, she blinked as Natsumi pointed at the bag in her hand. "Hmm? This?"

Smirking, Natsumi nodded at it. "So Nagato-San gave you one of the things from our trip? We got it from the people on European Branch of Harry-Chan's family."

Eyebrow raising, Haru pulled out the bottle and frowned some at the sight of it. "Kirschwasser? A bit of an odd name, though Nagato-San told me that it was some sort of alcohol..."

Hands behind her head, Natsumi nodded. "It's made from sour cherries. Graf-San said that it was really good, so I asked if we could have a bottle. Nagato-San was holding onto it for us." Seeing the looks, she shrugged. "You like your drinks and so does Chichi-ue and Haha-ue."

Now examining the bottle, Haru frowned before nodding. "Well, it is different, I will admit that much. And I will be trying it later I suppose." Getting murmurs of agreement from her sister and brother in law, Haru put it back into the bag. "It'll be interesting to have something a bit different."

Looking up at the sky as they walked, Natsumi frowned a bit before letting out a sigh. "Um, Oba-Chan? About my training..."

Haru now had her full attention on her niece as did Natsumi's parents. "Hai? What about your training? Something wrong?"

After a moment, Natsumi nodded. "Hai... I was wondering if you could give me a lot more training. I want to work even harder at it and learn more."

If she was surprised, Haru did not show it. "You want me to go harder with your training? And to teach you more?" Waiting until she got a nod, she continued. "May I ask why?"

For several moments, Natsumi was quiet before letting out a breath. "... Everything." Getting looks of curiosity, she shook her breath. "After what has happened recently? Not just with Harry-Chan but Peeves? It sort of made me realize that I need to work all the harder if I am going to stand beside him. And I am going to work harder."

Searching her expression, Haru gave her a small, proud look. "Very well, Natsumi-Chan. I hope that you realize that I am not going to go so easy on you like I have. And if anything, I am going to be extremely hard on you."
In reply, Natsumi gave her a steady look back. "I'm counting on that."

Moments later she squawked a bit as Taichi mussed her hair. "Gah! Stop being so serious, Kaiju. It's not you."

Then it was his turn to yelp as Natsumi stomped on his feet. "NOT A KAIJU!"

All three adults shook their heads and shared a look of amusement as the two siblings began to bicker. At least it seemed that some things did not change in the slightest.
__________________________________________________________________________

Walking along under the cherry trees, Haku kept looking at Kiyohime who was beside him. For some odd reason, she barely spoke as they walked around to view the cherry blossoms. Rather then try and draw her into a conversation though, the teenager just spent the time observing the demoness beside him. With her hood drawn up as it was, one was unable to see the horns on her head. A fact which was why he chose it for her.

Oddly though? He found the girl beside him stunning even in the frumpy hoodie. How and why, Haku would never be able to properly explain, but it was there. Not helping was the fact that she was also wearing tight jeans which made sure that one could see her long legs. The sight of which always made Haku blush a bit even as he had a hard time not looking at them.

But it was just one part of what he considered attractive about her.

However, when he glanced at her golden eyes, he spotted the tears gathering in the corner there and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kiyohime? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Sniffling a bit, Kiyohime shook her head. "No, that's not it. There's nothing wrong at all." Quickly wiping at her eyes, she turned a brilliant smile onto the boy next to her. "I... I was just thinking, about the sakura."

Eyebrow raising as he dug out a kleenix and handed it to her, with Kiyohime blowing her nose into it, Haku frowned. "What do you mean?"

With a sigh, Kiyohime's smile became somewhat sad. "I always wanted to see the sakura, Haku-Kun. Way back when... before, you know." When he nodded, she continued. "But it was not something that I could do."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Haku frowned. "What do you mean? You weren't able to see the sakura?"

Lightly laughing, Kiyohime shook her head and turned her golden eyes onto him. "No, that was not for people like me. The viewing of the sakura in blossom was limited for the Imperial Court, they had the time and such for it. I, being the daughter of a village headman, was not among those."

His frown deepening, the sixteen year old hummed. "Really? It was just for the court?" When Kiyohime nodded, he scratched his head. "I... didn't really know that."

Chuckling, Kiyohime smiled at him. "Hai, it was a custom limited to the highest of the nobility." Blushing a bit, she gave him a shy look. "When I... when I was a young girl, I always dreamed of being a Princess. Of walking under the cherry blossoms with my love..." Her gaze saddened some. "But it was not to be at the time."

There was silence for several moments before Haku reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Well... Now you can view the sakura. And I promise that I'll do my best to make sure that you can do so."

Kiyohime came to a stop and turned towards him. "You mean that, Haku-Kun? That... that you you'll do that?" When he nodded, she chewed her lip some and looked up to the trees above them. "I... there is something else that I always dreamed of among the sakura. But..."

Head tilted to the side, Haku raised an eyebrow. "Well, we can do whatever it is that you want to do." Moments later, she blushed some which made him blink. "Kiyohime?"

A shudder ran through Kiyohime as she closed her eyes. The shadow of the past still weighed heavily on her. Mistakes that haunted her even now, which made her afraid to try and do what her heart wanted. Fear that sometimes froze her even now.

Then she opened her eyes and her gaze met Haku's.

It was then that she was reminded of a promise that she made to herself when she woke up just a few years ago. When she found herself in this strange, new world with a boy extending the hand of friendship to her. That she, Kiyohime, would give her second chance her all. It was helped by the fact that the boy, no young man, in front of her did not judge her. Even when she messed up, he was there with a smile and comfort. Not once did he reject her in the slightest, nor did he lie to her.

Moving forward, she swallowed as she stepped nearly close enough that their bodies touched, with him able to feel the heat coming from her. One that he found comfortable "Do... do you mean that, Haku-Kun? That I can live out the dream that I had as a young girl? Even though now I am a demon?"

Haku blinked as there was something there in her eyes, in her voice that was pleading. At the same time, his heart began to pound as if it knew something that he did not. "Hai? If there is something that you want to do under the sakura, then I don't mind doing it. And to me, you're not a demon." A smile then bloomed on his face. "You're my Kiyohime."


Eyes widening, Kiyohime froze at that and boggled. Her instincts told her that he as being utterly truthful with her and it made her chest tighten and hurt. It hurt so much while it also felt like her heart was about to explode. But it was also a good pain, one that she liked. "Haku-Kun... I..."

Tears in her eyes, she moved forward and leaned her face towards his. Then their lips touched the others, gently at first, barely brushing. And then Kiyohime felt Haku wrap his arms around her waist as her own went over his shoulders and their lips now pressed tighter together as did their bodies as the petals of the cherry trees danced around them. Their world shrank to just the two of them as they held each other close.

An eternity and a moment passed at the same time before Kiyohime pulled away. Wetness trailed from her eyes and she laughed. The sound, full of joy and happiness exploded from her and she then began to sob as he gently held her. More sobs and tears came from Kiyohome even as her cheeks hurt from the smile that was there. They didn't stop even as she buried her face into Haku's neck, her whole body shaking as pent up emotions escaped.
Yet another bit of the shadows lifted from her.

Meanwhile, Haku never thought that she looked quite so beautiful as she did at that moment in his arms.

His Kiyohime among the sakura.

Her Haku among the same.

Together.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

New late, late snippet! Merry Christmas, to those of you who celebrate Christmas. And I'm from a very Catholic family that runs in very Catholic circles, so it's a little awkward for me to say happy anything else, but let's see--Happy Hanukkah, and I think Kwanzaa, and whatever the Muslims celebrate right now, I wanna say Rashomon but I'm equally sure that's something else. (sighs) And I'm not really sure if anyone else has a holiday around this time, so... Whatever it is, happy that.

that probably could have been less awkward

Snippet!
Just... Talking

-----

"Hey," Neko says, leaning down over Nemo's shoulder to examine the book she is reading, "What's this?" Nemo lowers the book. She is sitting on the island beach, facing out towards the tanker where the Princesses are negotiating what have you with the Japanese navy, and beyond that… Takumi.

"The Iliad," she says, closing the book that Takumi had actually purchased for her after having found it in a local bookstore. "It's about an ancient Greek hero named Achilles, who argues with the king during a war and refuses to fight for his side until he's given reparation."

"Doesn't sound like that'd end well," Neko says. Nemo shrugs. She's right, in this day and age no soldier would be able to remove themselves from the war effort without consequence. Achilles, though, seems to have the advantage of being both ancient and maybe-kinda-sorta fictional. She doesn't think that she has any right to say something about the subject.

"It doesn't," she says, "His friend gets killed." Neko drops down to sit cross-legged beside her.

"Called it," she says smugly. She remains silent, swaying back and forth and humming to herself. Nemo wonders about what she's doing. In the end, though, it doesn't seem that she's going to hamper her reading in any way, so she opens the book up to Thetis giving Achilles his new armor. As she scans the descriptions of his shield, she begins to feel like someone's eyes are on her. She lowers the book again and looks back at Neko. The younger cruiser is staring at her expectantly.

"Is something the matter?" Nemo asks drily. Neko grins awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Oh, well, you know," she says, "For a few weeks, you were kind of high strung and all weird, but you seem mostly back to normal now."

"They were a slightly stressful few weeks," Nemo replies. They had been a continuous frantic 'what comes next' moment, where she could feel her future in the scales, swaying in the balance restlessly. Looking back, she was behaving slightly silly—it was quickly apparent that not only had everyone figured out that she was seeing her boyfriend, but they didn't particularly care. Maybe she had been worried over nothing. Silly of her.

"Oh yeah," Neko says brightly, "that reminds me! Ruri says the Princesses are gonna get it set up so that you can visit your boyfriend more!"

Ababwa?

Neko vanishes. Maybe she walked away while Nemo was staring vacantly? How long has she been doing that? Is the sun going down? Where did she go? Has Nemo bit sitting here staring vacantly until evening? What just happened?
-----

Takumi steps out of the convenience store with a newly purchased soda. As he starts looking for a good place to sit down and drink, he nearly walks headfirst into Tachibana. They stand face to face a moment, a bit awkward. That one weekend, it seems, has not vanished from either of their memories as easily as they would have expected it to.

"Can we talk?" Tachibana asks abruptly. Takumi blinks. He wasn't quite expecting that.

"What do you need to talk about?" he asks.

"It's about Yuzuki—that's Uzukawa," she replies lamely. Takumi examines the label on his bottle. After everything that happened, Tachibana has been more or less amenable to him, whatever Uzukawa thinks of the fact that his girlfriend is an Abyssal. "It's just… she's been really cranky for a while now, and I'm wondering if you know anything about it since she was still wondering about your girlfriend after all that, and…"

Takumi considers this. His relationship with Nemo might have benefitted somehow from Akagi's aggressive support (which is why he's fairly certain whatever the heck happened the other day has something to do with him and Nemo), but in the case of what happened with Uzukawa he's not sure if she did something or not. In any case, though, she was not happy about Nemo.

"I think I know what happened," he says, "but if I'm right it's part of the, uh… family politics?" He shrugs ineffectually. He should probably go and drink this thing already. Or at least move away from the door. He steps out, to the side. "Sorry if I didn't pick up, it's just… I've never really been big on social interaction."

"You picked up on the chip on my shoulder," Tachibana says, and Takumi imagines that she's half saying it to herself because he doubts she's really comfortable with the subject as of yet.

"You were a little more open about it," he points out, and she flushes and looks away. "Forget it, it's in the past. Uzukawa?"

Tachibana groans. "She's been insufferable," she replies, "when she's not staying home moping in her room over whatever happened." That… does sound bad. And kind of petty. "I just… I'm here, she can talk to me if she needs to. And she won't say anything."

Ah. His theory was correct.

"You know," he says, "last I saw Uzukawa, she was pretty angry with me. Like… I don't know, I didn't want to go further into things about my girlfriend with you and she was upset about that. Do you think that has something to do with it?"

"Probably," Tachibana confirms. "She's… touchy about things. Like… trust, and being able to put faith in others, and that's… kind of the same thing. It's a long story."

"Kind you can't talk about?" Takumi asks. Tachibana waves a hand in a 'what do you do' gesture.

"It's personal, and I'm involved," she explains.

Takumi examines his soda once more and notices how the condensation is pouring down the bottle like sweat drops. Now's as good a time as any, he figures, and he pops the cap open. Gulping down a mouthful (still fairly cold, he inwardly rejoices), he lowers the bottle and realizes that Tachibana is still standing there.

"You know," he says, "If we keep standing here like this, it's going to get kind of awkward." Tachibana blinks twice before slapping her forehead and laughing.

"Oh no, no, no," she says, "I'm waiting here for someone—"

"Tachibana-san!"

Takumi tilts his head and looks over Tachibana's shoulder as her face lights up like a firework festival and she spins. Sakurada is running towards them, waving.

"Guess I should be off," he says to no one, and steps around Tachibana to walk away. As he does, Sakurada's footsteps slow. He pauses, and notices that she's standing still, looking at him.

"Sakurada-san," he says, acknowledging her.

"Inoue-san," she replies, nodding.

And Takumi walks away, leaving the two girls to do whatever they do.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 104: S0ngD0g13

In Kure...
...............................................

There was something going on at Kure, Private First-Class Murphy mused to himself. Over the past week, there had been a lot of people coming through the gates onto base. There were Marines young and old from Third Battalion, Second Marines and Second Law-Enforcement Battalion, civilians from all points of the compass, soldiers young and old from Third of the Three-Twentieth Field Artillery and First of the Seventy-Fifth Rangers; there were Shipgirls coming in as well, Langley from Norfolk and Argus and Hermes from England, and what seemed like every Carrier and Seaplane-Tender in Japan. Something was definitely going on...

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

Everyone was assembled; the gazebo was filled to bursting with men and women in their finest array. A tall, thin man in a gray suit stepped forward, removed a pair of round wire-frame glasses from his pocket, and cleared his throat. White Marine barracks-covers, a variety of cowboy-hats and ball-caps, and berets of Airborne-Red and Ranger-Tan came off of dozens of heads...

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

Three days prior...

James smiled brightly and laughed as he clapped a group of Marines on the back. "Welcome to Kure, Boys!" He turned to Houshou and introduced them. "Houshou, meet Mike Baker, Johnny Sullivan, and Kevin Harris, three living examples of Murphy's Law in-garrison but some o' the best Marines to ever come out of Second LE. Half-Baked, Boxer, Kevlar, meet Houshou."

Baker chuckled. "You say the nicest things, Little Mac..." He extended his hand to Houshou. "It's a pleasure to meet'cha, Ma'am; good to see the Master-Sergeant found someone to keep him straight."

Meanwhile, Kaylee, Jaw, and Mike were chatting with an older gentleman when Zuikaku walked up. "Hey, Zui," said Jaw, "come here a minute; I want you to meet someone." When the Carrier had joined them, Jaw introduced her. "Zuikaku, meet my Great-Uncle Doug Schanks. Uncle Doug, this is my girlfriend, Zuikaku."

"It's an honor to meet you, Sir," Zui said with a slight bow.

Doug smiled and spoke, his voice bearing a Kansas accent. "The honor's all mine, Miss Zuikaku, and please, just call me Doug. I'm not really kin by blood to Jaw, but his granddad, Mike, was my best friend back when we were in the Red Knights together."

Kaylee chuckled. "Best friend, my armor-plated aft, Uncle Doug; to hear the stories told, you were Grandpa Mike's Thousandth Man."

The McAmis family continued greeting their guests, chatting and reconnecting with friends and family. There was Cousin Madison from Greeneville and her older brother Josh, Eryyka Potter, Sam's sister, and her girlfriend Keri. James greeted one of his late brother's former soldiers, Jackson Graves, with an enthusiastic, "Gravedigger; good to see you!" and was introduced to Graves' partner and intended, Samantha Picquery...

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

Sam Potter put his glasses on and cleared his throat. James stood in front of him in his Dress Blues, and at his side were Mike in his own Dress Blues and Jaw in a gray suit; Kaylee stood with them, her kepi and coat left in her Jeep, in her Navy Dress Blues and for once wearing a skirt.

Houshou rounded the corner and started toward them, Admiral Goto walking beside her; behind them in a neat Column-of-Twos came Kaga, Zuikaku, and Hiryuu, escorted by Naganami, Makinami, and Ushio.

As they approached, a drum began to beat and a lone bugle began to play a very familiar tune...

Da-da-dada, da-da-dada...

Sam cleared his throat one last time and gave James a reassuring smile before speaking.

"Dearly Beloved..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Inside the darkened room, there was little light. What light there was, of course, showed the outlines of various people around a table. "So then... is everyone ready and prepared? We have one chance for this."

One of the shadows nodded some. "Hai, we are all ready. Our forces are arrayed exactly how they should be. Surprise is paramount if we are to be successful."

Lips curling upwards, the person at the head of the table chuckled some. "Good, good... and the target? What is word on them?"

Another one of the shadowy figures giggled some. "Unsuspecting of a single thing so far. Our Agent has promised that she will be asleep for a while longer before her alarm goes off. At which point, we will strike decisively."

Laughs escaped one of the figures as they rubbed their hands. "This is going to be so freaking awesome! I can't wait!"

Before their leader could speak though, the door to the room was opened by Ooyodo who blinked at the sight of various people. The light revealing that Harry was the one who was leading the meeting, Kaga was the first one to have spoken up, and Akagi was the second. The last one was Johnston who froze partway through rubbing her hands together in glee. Slowly, Ooyodo raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry. "Should I even ask?"

Glancing at the others, Harry turned back to the Light Cruiser. "Last minute preparations for catching Kongou-Oba off guard and pranking her." Then he tilted his head some. "Speaking of..."

In reply, Ooyodo reached into her shirt and pulled out a vial of potion which she shook. "I have it right here." Putting it back, she smirked a bit. "Just remember... I get the first shot at 'Teitoku'."

All of them let out laughs at the image that went through their heads. Especially at the idea of Ooyodo getting much deserved revenge on one who had gotten her more then once. With a final bow, Ooyodo left and Harry turned back to the others with a grin. "Now... everyone head to your positions. Operation Drive Kongou Bongo Bongo is a go-go!"
____________________________________________________________________

Waking up, Kongou gave a soft sigh as she laid in the bed she had shared with Goto the night before. After glancing around quickly, she let out a small squeal before spreading her arms with a happy smile. Last night was just wonderful, though she was a bit sore, she did not mind in the least.

And she was less sore then she was the first time.

Once she got out of the bed and threw a housecoat around her, she walked out of the bedroom and downstairs. 'Truly, coming back as a woman is worth it for that, if nothing else.' Reaching the kitchen, she soon had herself some breakfast being made when she glanced at the calendar. When she leaned in, Kongou sighed a bit. 'April 1st.'

Part of her was annoyed at it being that day as she reached for a can of tea and looked at it. Rolling her eyes, the Battleship popped off the top and her expression did not change at the fake snakes that popped out. 'Another year and another bunch of pranks trying to catch me off guard. Even you, Teitoku...' Sighing, she shook her head as she grabbed the real can of tea from where she could see it hidden and made herself a cup. 'They never give up...'

Her lips twitched a bit as she thought back and remembered other incidents that had happened. Some of them were funny, even if they were unable to catch her off guard. And others were worth a giggle or two. "I suppose that April 1st is just one of those days." Then the British born returnee grinned. "Though my pranks last year were bloody hilarious."

Breakfast finished, she cleaned up after herself and looked at her phone in thought. Kirishima had returned with her a few days before to spend some time with all her sisters and pulling out her phone, Kongou had sent off a quick message before locking the door as she left Goto's residence.

Kongou pretended that Goto was wrong when he said that her squeal at being given a key had been heard over the base. She was a proper English lady! And proper English ladies do not squeal, thank you! No matter what.
It did not take Kongou long to realize that something was wrong though. Part of that was how the base was far too quiet for a normal day. Eyes narrowing, Kongou kept a look out and so began to turn as Kirishima came into view. Before she could say anything though, the ruffled Kirishima spotted her and froze. Then she gulped a bit. "O-Onee-Sama... I-is that you?"

Now confused, though suspicous, Kongou slowly nodded. "Dess, it's me, Kirishima-Chan. Why?" At seeing the relieved look on Kirishima's face, she took a step forward. "What's wrong, Kirishima-Chan? What happened?"

Swallowing, Kirishima looked around nervously as inside she was cackling at what was about to happen. "I-I... they came out of nowhere, Onee-Sama! A group of them and they grabbed Hiei-Onee-San and Haruna-Onee-Sama! And then Rose-Chan! Th-they tried to fight back, b-but... it was no use! They lost and... and those things got them... It was horrible..."

Worried, Kongou took some more steps. "What? Something happened to Haruna-Chan, Rose-Chan, and Hiei-Chan, Kirishima-Chan? Someone got them? Who?"

Just as Kirishima was about to say something, a distant "Dess" could be heard. That was followed by shouts of "Burning Love" and made Kongou turn in confusion in the direction that they came from. "I... what was that?"
Before she could do anything though, Kirishima pushed her with a panicked look on her face. "Run, Onee-Sama! You got to run or else they'll catch you!"

Utterly confused, Kongou nodded and began to run with Kirishima. Whatever was going on had gotten to her sister and until she knew more, she would make sure that her sister was okay. So focused on her thoughts she was, that she missed the smirk on Kirishima's face before said Battleship tripped. In fact, Kongou was about twenty feet away when she turned back. "Kirishima-Chan? Are you alright?"

Getting to her feet, Kirishima nodded some. "H-hai, I-"

However, before she got any further though, three shapes exploded from behind a bush and Kongou froze. Mainly because each one was identical to her, except for two of them wore Haruna's and Hiei's clothing. The third meanwhile was in Rose's outfit, though it seemed a bit stretched. And then they were on the screaming Kirishima and Kongou could only stare as all three gave the same shout. "BURNING LOVE, DESS!"

Then all she heard was them going "Chu" as they kissed the struggling Kirishima before the struggles stopped. Taking a step forward, Kongou's voice shook. "I-I... Kirishima-Chan?"

And then they parted to reveal a fourth version of Kongou there. Much to Kongou's horror, said clone of her wore Kirishima's clothes and glasses. It then spotted her and pointed with a grin that caused a shiver to go down her back. "Dess~"

It went without saying that Kongou turned and ran as fast as she could. Unseen by her, an invisible Haru was snickering as she recorded the whole thing. With that done, the Kitsune followed Kongou as she had other "Encounters" with other Kongous grabbing victims. For example, she saw Fubuki get swarmed when she froze at seeing the transformed Yuudachi and Mutsuki. What she did not see was how all three Destroyers cracked up laughing once the Battleship was out of hearing range.

But, as it turned out, it was not just Kongou who became a victim of the prank.

New Jersey, having slept in, had been really confused at how quiet the base was. Unknown to her, none of the others had told her anything about the prank. Part of it was that she had arrived just the night before after making a short stop in Kure. Another part was that no one wanted to let her in as, according to Wisky, "Big Sis wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut and would spill the beans accidentally". They had sent her a text message to her. But Jersey being Jersey didn't notice.

Which, as it turned out, meant that Jersey was about to get pranked accidentally.

Coming around a corner, Jersey blinked at the sight of Kongou running with Johnston behind her. "What the fuck... Why would they be-"

Then Johnston turned and threw her arms open. "KEEP RUNNING! I'LL HOLD THESE FUCKERS OFF! TAAAAAFFFFYYYY THREEEEEEE!"

About to say something, Jersey heard Kongou scream for her, Johnston, to run. But then it was too late as multiple other Kongous, as in the nameship, dog piled Johnston who shouted in defiance. Shocked, Jersey only stood there until the pile dispersed to reveal there was no Johnston there, but there was another Kongou in Johnston's clothes. And then, she realized that the other Kongous there also wore the clothes of other shipgirls. She recognized Yamato's and Musashi's. As well, there was also one who wearing Wisky's usual uniform. All of them were saying "Dess" over and over... Well, except for the one in Yuudachi's clothes.

That one was going "Dess-Poi".

Utterly horrified at what just happened, Jersey wanted answers and wanted them now. So she ran in the direction as Kongou from how Johnston was acting. The American Battleship only caught up in time for Kongou to stumble into Enterprise who was staggering around. Coming to a stop, Kongou took a few steps forward. "E-Enterprise-San? I... Are you alright?"

Grimacing, Enterprise let out a grunt. "N-no, not at all."

Only watching as the "Grey Ghost" Walked over to a wall and leaned against it, Kongou took another step forward. "What is going on here, Enterprise-San? I... I woke up and people are turning others into me, Dess!"

Weakly chuckling, Enterprise shook her head. "Ugh... It's some sort of shipgirl virus. Yuubari and Akashi were experimenting last night and... Yeah, they were the first two. They got Shinano, Harry, and the Akatsuki sisters before anyone knew what was going on. Harry got Nagato with Shinano getting her sisters and the Akatsukis getting their mom and aunt... At that point it was too late."

Looking around, Kongou shivered a bit before nodding. "Shit... That's not good..." She then walked towards Enterprise. "We got to get out of here and-"

Enterprise began to bitterly chuckle as she turned away. "Hehehehe... It's too late for me. They got me but... I'm barely holding the transformation back and..." Unseen by either Jersey or Kongou, a straw popped up from Enterprise's shirt and into her mouth before her fairies pumped the potion into her. It was then pulled out and she hacked and gagged. "Ugh... fuck me..." Just as Jersey was about to speak up and let them notice her, Enterprise shuddered and then her form began to change. Over a period of a minute, it transformed to their horror until where Enterprise was, there was now another Kongou who turned and gave them a smile as she spoke in Kongou's voice. "Burning Love, Dess! Come join our Burning Love!"

Their eyes widening, Kongou and Jersey let out a scream and took off in separate directions. Not knowing that Jersey was there, Enterprise turned in her direction and blinked. "What the fuck? Where the heck did she come from?"

As she was wondering about Jersey, Kongou raced through the base. Kongou after Kongou she dodged. Some were wearing JMSDF uniforms, and unknown to her those ones were female sailors who had been roped into the prank. Kongou even went past one who was on a broom and tried to catch her. It did not take her long to reach the main administration building and practically cause the doors to detonate as she plowed through them with a flying kick.

Not stopping, she continued to run through the halls, literally launching herself into the air and kicking off walls at the corners. At one point, she dodged a Kongou who was dressed in Mikasa's clothes. Upon reaching Goto's office, she threw open the door and then slammed it shut. There, in front of her, she could see Goto's chair turned towards the window. "G-Goto-Kun! We... we got to get out of here before anything happens to you, Dess!"

It was then that the chair turned to reveal a Kongou in Goto's clothes there who blinked in confusion as she tilted her head. "Why, Dess?"

Taking a step back, Kongou tried to say something, anything. Which was when she heard footsteps running for the office as someone who sounded just like her shouted. "TEEEEEIIIIITTTTTOOOOKKKUUUU!" The door banged open to reveal a Kongou in Ooyodo's clothes before it leapt into the air and did several summersaults. "BURNING LOVE" As soon as it hit Kongou, the Ooyodo-Kongou began to kiss her head. "Chu! Chu! Chu!" Then she blinked and pulled back. "Wait, it's Kongou-San? Shit!"

All of this was far too much for Kongou and steam shot from her ears as her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. Then she collapsed bonelessly to the floor. After several moments, Harry, still in Kongou's form, poked his head in. "Uh... maybe we overdid it?"

Goto simply shrugged and leaned back in his chair. Being in his girlfriend's body was... something of an experience. "Considering her pranks last year? Doubtful." He then grinned and sipped his coffee. "Besides... It's not often that we catch her off-guard."

There were nods from everyone at that as they waited for their transformations to reverse. And for Kongou to wake up for one reason and one reason alone. No one wanted to miss her face when she realized that she was just pranked and big time.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the base was one of the old bunkers. It had been heavily fortified by Marine fairies and inside, Jersey looked from one dark corner to another as she rocked back and forth. Her rigging out, she continued to mutter to herself. "Can't stop watching... Dessbote will get me... can't stop watching... Dessbote will get me... Don't want to be Dessbote, like being Murican... Can't stop watching... Dessbote will get me..."