Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The only sound that could be heard in the carriage was the sound of its movement as it went along the road, pulled by threstrals. Not that it was the only one as the group was big enough to need more than one vehicle to take them to Hogsmeade. Inside the carriage, Regalia was looking out the window in curiosity as they passed through the cast iron gates of the school. Blinking, she turned towards Harry with her head tilted to the side, "Uncle Harry? How long before we get to Hogsmeade?"

Humming, an amused Harry leaned forward some as he thought about it, "Not too long, maybe fifteen minutes? If that, to be honest." Seeing the Re-Class vibrate, he had to bite back a small laugh. Regalia was, for once, acting her age ironically enough, "Someone is excited."

Cheeks flushing in some embarrassment, Regalia bit her lip, "Sorry, Uncle Harry. Just... excited, you know? I mean, a magical village?" Bashfully smiling, she twiddled her thumbs, "This whole trip has been something else."

Simply reaching over, her uncle patted her hand, "It isn't that big of an issue, Regalia. Besides which, I'm glad that all of you are enjoying yourselves." A slight glint of amusement entered his eyes, "And your Mum is excited as well."

With a blink, Regalia turned to Tanith who had a small blush on her cheeks, "Mother has told us stories of this place, Uncle Harry. And... well, we have all enjoyed the treats that you sent back."

Now it was Harry's turn to have a small blush on his face as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I hoped that you would anyways, so that is good to hear." Then he shook his head, "Though I think that you are more excited by the idea of clothes that fit."

Utterly nonchalant, Tanith gave a shrug, "Yes, that is something that I am looking forward to..."

It was not too longer afterwards that the carriages came to a stop and they all got out. Looking around, Sunny crossed her arms with a slight smile on her face, "Huh, this is pretty nice. Sort of reminds me of the smaller communities back up in the Aleutians."

Glancing up, Nuri gave a snort, "Less seagulls though."

Finger raising, her older sister nodded with a smile, "That is true." Sunny gave a mock shudder, "Those things are vicious."

That got her snickers and the like, none of them noticing that a number of people were staring at them. Most though also noticed Harry so their nervousness was replaced by confusion. Due, mainly, to the fact that a young human boy in a Hogwarts uniform was showing them around. Upon seeing that though, they decided to go about their business though they did keep a slightly weary eye out. Other than that, there wasn't much of a reaction to them walking around.

Making their way down the main street, Sonata's head was turning this way and that. Looking towards Harry, she leaned down some, "So where are we going first, Uncle Harry?"

Harry gave a small hum at that as he became thoughtful, "Well, that depends on where you want to go. There's a number of stores here after all that we can visit."

It was then that Regalia spoke up, "Is there an art store in the village?" At the looks, she straightened a bit, "I... was thinking that we could pick up some art supplies, for Aunt Renita."

Softly smiling, Tanith placed one hand on her daughter's shoulder, "That is a wonderful idea, Regalia. Thank you for reminding us."

About to say something, the thirteen year old wizard was interrupted by a finger tapping him on the shoulder. Turning, Harry blinked at the sight of Yoko pointing, "Um, Uncle Harry? What is that guy doing with those big pots?"

Blinking, Harry turned himself and felt an eyebrow raise at the sight of a wizard hauling out several cauldrons that he tossed into what looked like a non-magical truck from the back door of what he recognized as Ceridwen's Cauldrons, "Huh... I don't actually know."

With a grumble, Jackson, who worked at the store tossed another cauldron in. He glared at the object as it easily dented from the impact, "Damn stupid thing... bloody fuck."

He paused though as a young voice spoke up, "Um, Sir? Why are you tossing those cauldrons around?"

Sighing, Jackson ran a hand through his hair with a grunt, "Because I have to get rid of all of them. They're all defective and the bottoms are too damn thin. Shoddy Eastern European crap, they are. Put them on the fire for too long and what's in them starts leaking out!" Disgusted, he began to turn, "Now I lose all that... money..."

The wizard froze in some horror as he was confronted by a group of Abyssals. Powerful ones too unless he missed his guess... which was unlikely though most of his mind was curled up in the corner of his brain gibbering with terror. Then the voice spoke again and he realized that there was a young teen boy standing with the Abyssals, "Wait, you need to get rid of them? All of them?"

Uncomprehending, Jackson stared at the odd sight in front of him. A thirteen year old boy and a number of Abyssals, one of whom called said boy 'Uncle' right in front of him while asking what was wrong with him. Thus, his mind decided to focus on what it believed to be the most important fact, "Shouldn't you be up at the school since it's not a Hogsmeade Weekend?"

At that, the boy seemed inordinately amused with a large grin on his face, "Why, yes, yes I should be." Seeing the confusion, he then chuckled and gestured at the Abyssals, "Consider it something of a... diplomatic outing."

Utterly lost, Jackson was about to continue when the wind brushed past and revealed a lightning bolt scar on the boy's forehead. Eyes widening, the wizard stared before shaking off his shock, though he was already mentally taking notes. There was gossip to be had with this, and perhaps a bit of gold from the media, "Right... what was the question that you asked?"

With a glance at the cauldrons, Harry gave a nod, "I was asking why you had to get rid of them."

Grimacing, the other wizard scowled, "Well, like I said, the bottoms are too thin, same with the sides. That makes them too weak to be used as proper potion cauldrons. Not the first bunch like this either. Problem is that they come from Eastern Europe and made wholesale from different metalworkers there. Sometimes you get a batch like this one where someone decided to be right bloody cheap about it. There's spells where you cast it on raw material, like cast iron, and it makes copies of an object out of it. Said spells continue until the caster reaches a point that they think they made enough. But that comes in danger like this where too many are made for the amount of material, spreading thin."

With a frown, Ruadri leaned down and flicked a cauldron. Even she winced at how her finger went through easily despite not pushing much strength into it, "Um, sorry?"

All Jackson did though was wave her off, "Don't worry about it too much. Like I said, I'm getting rid of them all anyways and no one will care if they're damaged."

Frowning, Harry looked at the cauldrons and then back to the other wizard, "What are you doing with them anyways?"

Only sighing, Jackson scratched his head, "Not much that I can do with them other then send them back. And all that means is that I get a small refund that barely covers the cost of having shipped them here and then doing the same back. Pretty much a loss."

Becoming thoughtful, Harry suddenly smirked. "What if I was to take them off your hands? Not at full cost of course, but..."

Intrigued, the shop owner frowned, "I would be open to it..." Frowning, he gave Harry a raised eyebrow, "They ain't much good for potions or cooking though you know."

Much to his confusion, the black haired wizard grinned, "Not a problem for what I have in mind."

Deciding to put that aside, Jackson hummed and scratched his chin, "Well, no business of mine. Of course... considering things, I can let them go for... twelve galleons since they're cast iron."

Just scoffing, Harry gestured at the cauldrons, "Twelve Galleons? After you told me that they were defective? That's highway robbery that is! In fact, I could buy a good pewter cauldron for that price! Three Galleons for each!"

Jackson winced, "Ah, can't do that. I mean, considering the cost and such..." Rubbing his chin, he sucked his teeth, "I can do you nine though..."

Bemused, the Princesses and Demons of the Fleet of Laughter watched alongside Regalia and Ruadri, who were also amused, as their uncle argued with the shopkeeper over price. Back and forth it went between them for several minutes before finally Harry threw up his hands theatrically, "Make it six Galleons each! That is as high as I am willing to go, take it or leave it."

Head tilted to the side, Jackson squinted at him, "I need to make a living you know, being a poor shopkeeper and all." Seeing Harry cross his arms and give him a raised eyebrow, he finally shrugged and held out his hand, "Ah, what the bloody hell, right? You got yourself a deal."

Shaking the offered hand, Harry smiled, "Good doing business with you..." With a look into the trailer, he hummed, "Is this all?"

A chuckle escaped from Jackson and he shook his head, "Not at all as a matter of fact. Anyways, I'll bring out the last of them and you pay inside..." Roughly eight minutes later, the wizard was looking over the pile of cast iron cauldrons. While he sold them for a lot less than he had wanted to when he ordered them, it still gave him a slight edge of profit compared to the loss otherwise. Head tilted to the side, he gave Harry a smirk, "Just a question, Mister Potter... but this isn't the first time I've had this happen... and I know some of the other cauldron shops are much the same."

There was a similar smirk on Harry's face, "Of course... just get me in touch with them and that's all." Smirk becoming a smile, he turned to his somewhat lost, though amused neices, "Tanith? Can you go and put these into your hold?"

With a blink, the Abyssal in question looked at the large pile of cauldrons before shrugging, "Very well, Uncle Harry."

Moments later, Jackson was treated to the odd sight of the cauldrons disappearing under the fur cloak that the massive woman wore. Granted, he could not see much, but what he could see was more than enough for him that his wife would be complimentary when he arrived home that night. Only shaking his head as the last cauldron disappeared, he held out his hand, "Good doing business with you, Mister Potter."

Just shaking the offered hand, Harry gave a slight smile, "Same with you, Mister Jackson."

Once they were far enough away, Nuri scratched her head and turned to Harry with confusion, "Uncle Harry? What was that about? And why did you want Tanith to take them?"

Lips twitching, there was a twinkle in the teen's eyes as he answered, "Well... didn't you mention issues with resources? And how you needed some raw materials...?"

Eyes widened in surprise as they all realized what he had done. Doing some quick calculations in her head, Tanith let out a breath, "This... would help out quite a bit. We can make more then one Oku-Class now..."

Frowning, Ritou shook her head and gestured with her hand, "Yeah... though I would like some of the materials as well. I mean, I've been gathering what I can for a project of my own. What about you, Yoko? You mentioned a project of your own as well."

Now with attention on her, the former Yo-Class flushed some before looking at Tanith, "If Mother clears it... I would like some as well."

Curious, Harry looked from one to the other before blinking, "Projects? Really?"

Turning to him, Ritou glanced around before nodding, "Both Yoko and I have been working on some new Abyssal designs. Nothing spectacular really to be honest, they weren't made for warfare. We got started on them before the Great Scattering happened and I sort of continued to fiddle with mine when I was bored as there was no reason. Yoko though? She worked hard on hers." Giving a shrug, she continued, "In my case? I've been working on a Abyssal Tugboat. Back then, you would not believe how many times we had to go out and pull someone back under tow."

Sunny shook her head with a groan, "Don't remind me, Ritou. Usually they were fishing boats with engine trouble or something."

Her sister gave a nod at that before chuckling, "Anyways, Mom had us already working pretty hard with design work and stuff, so I started working on a Tug Boat because being warships, while we can bring a vessel under tow, we're not the best. Pretty sure that Mom had an idea that I was working on something anyways at the time and I had plenty of pictures and the like to work off of in the library for design work. After the Great Scattering though... there was not much reason for me to do much with the schematics that I had, though I worked on them when I was bored. They're about as complete as they could be though, so I've been thinking of running them past Mom."

Nodding herself, Yoko spoke up and caught their attention, "In my case, well... the Great Scattering only made me work harder on my project." Hand clenching, she let out a breath, "I was working on a type of Repair Ship. They would not be able to do much, but they could do moderate work until we could get someone to Mom or help lighten our workloads. If... if I was done before we were attacked maybe... maybe some of our sisters could be still with us. They would have been able to stabilize them..."

Gently, Harry took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, "Hey, it is not your fault and I know that ship design is really hard, Yoko. The fact that you managed it is something to be proud of! Besides... this really shows that you and Ritou are Hoppou's daughters in this case."

With a sniffle, the Anchorage Princess wiped at her face, "Yeah... but there is always that what-if in the back of my mind. Since Renita though, I've been hard at work finishing what is needed and I think that I'm done. Just need Mom to look over my work first and I should be able to roll out the first unit." She then smiled, "They would be like the nurses to our doctors."

That... gave Harry a very odd image.

Soon enough though, the group entered Gladrags and Harry noticed a witch walking up who stopped. Meanwhile, the wizard smiled and waved, "Abigail!"

Blinking, the witch looked at him and then at the Abyssals before back to him, "Er... Harry? What..."

Harry snickered a bit before gesturing at Tanith, "Abigail, these are my nieces though my Little Sister..." After introducing them, he gave a slight smile, "They need some clothes as you can see."

Now frowning, the witch walked around the Northern Water Princess with a small nod, "Yes, I can see that. Hmm... I have a few ideas that could work with... Miss Tanith, was it?" When she nodded, Abigail gave a slight smile, "I can work with this..." Turning to the others, she raised an eyebrow, "Any ideas for yourselves?"

A frown, Ritou gestured at herself, "As long as I can breathe? I'll take it. And Uncle Harry also said that you could probably come up with something for me to make this less stuffy." At the confused look, she shrugged, "It's... kind of a uniform, let's just say."

Simply shrugging, Abigail shook her head, "If you say so."

Walking past them, she paused and looked Regalia up and down with a thoughtful look. Unsure, the Re-Class glanced at her mother and Harry who shrugged. Turning back, she bit her lip, "Um... is something wrong?"

The witch jerked a bit as she was pulled from her thoughts, "Hmm? Oh, just thinking of some clothes for you. Even with that tail, I think that I can do something. Pretty sure that we have some muggle style jeans around here and they're all the rage with the younger crowd. And honey, you would freaking look killer in some jeans with that arse and pair of legs you got..."

As Regalia flushed at that, Harry had an image in his head of Regina wearing a pair of tight jeans in his head. An image that made himself flush as well as he imagined it, 'Er... I wonder if Regina would come here...'

It would be over an hour before they left the store, a number of them with new clothes. Ritou in particular was very happy with how her clothes were now enchanted to let her breathe and were no longer so stuffy while Tanith was pleased with her skirt and sleeveless shirt that self-buttoned itself. Even Regalia was happy with what she got. Soon though, the Abyssals visited the other shops and got things for those back at the island.

Needless to say, it was a very pleased group of Abyssals who went back to Hogwarts.

 

[darthcourt10]

Lord K

A.N./ I think it says something that heading off to the back-o-beyond of the pacific for the next few weeks, where the Internet is sporadic, may soon potentially increase my available time to write. Or it might not. We'll see.
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Sitting in her apartment and contemplatively snacking on a candy bar as a late night treat to celebrate her return from Kannazuki, Jin takes a moment to consider the oddity of the situation. For while she is in her home, indulging her sweet tooth at far past the appropriate hour, she is also four stories below and about fifty odd meters to the east.

For as she examines the remainder of her candy bar and wonders weather or not to be a greedy-guts, she also sees through a second pair of eyes that rise up out of water and stone. Looking herself over as she steps onto the dry ground of the park, and simultaneously takes another bite of chocolate, the mizuchi jointly considers her current state with both a far off gaze as she absently chews, and a curious once-over self inspection.

The her in the park, drips with both water and sludge, already in a semi-transformed state despite her calmness. Scales, open wounds, and drenched hair and clothes, make her look like she either just crawled out of a well (technically a pond) or like so kind of modern leather-clad take on a dark god.

Which technically, she supposed she is. The one spot of color, is the lily pad growing out of her head. One that has curiously been joined by two more, with a second atop her noggin, and a third 'breaking the surface' at her shoulder.

A flicker of color, as a headlight from the road on the other side of the fence plays through that gaps and ripples over the park in waves, then draws her attention away from herself and toward some new oddity. Something that isn't just one strange new addition to the park, but a multitude of them that have appeared in her absence. At first she grumbles that it is far too early for Christmas, as she disparages the small variety of shapes that seem to have been hung upon the branches of the still juvenile sakaki trees Shiromizy helped plant around her pond.

Then as she gets closer, Jin-in-her-apartment briefly chokes on her chocolate as Jin-in-the-park realizes that what she's looking at are ema.

Wishing plaques. Little pieces of paper, cardboard and even a few legitimate wooden ones, hang from the branches of the Christmas tree sized shrubs. Curious, the mizuchi moves to investigate.

Obviously, the vast majority of the little wishing plaques are the work of her Abyssal congregation (and isn't that something she's still trying to wrap her head around and view in a serious light), but some of the others draw her interest. Idly approaching, she then turns over and inspects a few of the more rare but sturdily made and traditional examples that hang upon the branches. While the hand writing is often similarly awkward or messily scrawled, it isn't so much due to the awkwardness of trying to write with over-sized or armored hands on improvised materials like many of the Abyssals' are.

She recognizes some of the names. They are some of the younger children who live with the war-refugee and reserve-escapee families, that are part of one of the current groups halfway-housing in her apartment building. People in need of a place to stay and recover, or temporary homes as they learn how to integrate and hide in the nomaj world, as well as transients in limbo, waiting until JNHRO members like Kiba and Gosetsu can fabricate records and find more permanent homes and jobs for them elsewhere.

Curious, she flicks through the some of the plaques, noting the sad simplicity of some of the things the kids wish for. New shoes. A hole in a favorite kimono to be mended. Jobs for mom and dad. Yearnings to go back to old homes she'd bet are no longer there. Childish wishes to see friends not seen since lives were upended. Hopes that family members which were left behind in a reserve will be okay.

Jin then pauses though, when she comes across another ema, somewhat different from the rest of the children's plaques thanks to it's far cleaner hand writing. Hand writing that Jin recognizes. Humming thoughtfully, the mizuchi then returns the little wooden tablet back to the branch it was hung from, and returns to the pond in which that part of her is enshrined. As the-Jin-in-the-park dissolves and flows back into the waters surrounding the hidden rocky heart, the-Jin-in-her-apartment contemplatively tosses her now empty candy bar wrapper into a bin as she stands.

Mind slightly elsewhere, the mizuchi then heads to the door of her apartment, taking a moment to pull out her keys and pick out one key in particular. A green one, that to casual observation, is practically identical to the normal brass one beside it. Practically that is, until the moment she inserts it into the door's lock, and a pulse of magic runs through the frame. With a click, the door then unlocks and Jin turns the handle.

What is revealed on the other side however, is not the main hall of her apartment building.

There are no doors and walls fashioned in 80s decor directly opposite her, but instead the red painted railing of a lengthy communal balcony, separated from another by a scant gap the width of a small alleyway. Above is not the harsh white of florescent light bulbs and cheap ceiling, but instead the soft glow of floating paper lanterns. Hovering below a roof be-spelled to show the admittedly unimpressive haze of the light-pollution filled Tokyo night sky, and the state of the weather outside the actual apartment building. Meanwhile from below, comes the sound of people and community. Thought stairs and bridges link either side of the 'backstreet within a building', the ground floor is not apartments, but instead small shops and stalls.

The end result is an effect best described as a traditional Japanese street repeatedly built on top of itself, or a side alley from the old Walled City of Kowloon meets a favela and then Ghibli-fied.
Spoiler

Learning on the banister, the mizuchi then takes a moment to contentedly take in everything before her and breath deeply. At this time of the evening, the night market is now active. From four stories below, she can hear the murmur of people selling, hawking, and trading goods, combined with the scents that wafts up of not just fresh produce, dried goods and street food stalls, but also from the izakaya that occasionally fill spots on the lower floors. Adding to the aroma is also how many families leave their 'front doors' and windows open, primarily to watch over the children or converse with neighbors on the balconies and walkways outside, which as a side effect adds to the fragrance of foods and dinners wafting up from below. Elsewhere, she can hear a wizarding wireless playing the evening news through the open window, while the walls of another house mutedly rumble from the dull rumble of teens playing some kind of modern rap music too loud.

As she looks out over it all though, it is the center of one particular group of children on one of the lower levels that draws Jin's attention in particular. Taking the opportunity for a casual and languid stroll through her domain, by the time the mizuchi reaches her target, the children are already claiming their prizes and taking off.

"Thank you Miss Oroki!" shout the group of kids as with sweets in hand, they all rush off in search of their next adventure or goal.

Though her back is turned to the mizuchi, Jin can easily imagine the warm smile on the sickly uwabami's face. "Be good okay! Don't eat thossse sweetsss before dinner!" hisses the currently human looking figure.

The kids simply laugh as they disappear down the stairs, and Jin knows that the shapeshifted serpent has too much of a soft spot for children to chide them. Instead, the great snake yokai sighs fondly and can only shake her head, before reaching into the sleeves of her kimono and pulling out a ledger. Looking out over the community below, the uwabami gives a contented smile as she then opens up the book and begins absently scribbling down notes.

Which is of course when Jin finally chooses to make herself known, both loudly and with a clap on the shoulder. "Heya Oro-chan! How's it hanging?!"

"AAaiiee!!!" Despite her thin and sickly appearance, the terrified uwabami practically leaps into the air and clumsily has to fumble for her ledger, very nearly knocking it over the railing in her clumsily awkward attempts to grab it before the grinning Jin finally catches it.

"D-Don't do that!" hisses the shapeshifting snake as she holds a hand to her chest. "That'sss going to give me a heart attack one of thessse daysss!"

Jin merely grins unrepentantly as she hands back the black accounting ledger, "but then who'd keep you on your toes?"

"Technically I don't have toesss, remember?" Doing her best to straighten up her kimono and frizzled hair, the uwabami nevertheless gives Jin a warm smile of friendship. One that also reveals how her 'hiss' is born not from any kind of thematic quirk, but the fact that one of her fangs is missing. "It'sss good to sssee you."

"Hah! I knew you'd miss me."

Oroki chuckles. "How wasss Kannazuki thisss year?"

The great and more draconic of the two water serpents gives a languid shrug. "Meh, same-old, same-old when you get down to it. People posturing, staking claims, or earning the graces and fealty of what's new and on the up before other can. Playing nice is still the flavor of the day, and thank fuck for that." Raising a hand, Jin then waggles it in a so-so gesture. "Could have been better, could have been worse, but then there always gonna be people turning up that want to play stupid games and win stupid prizes each year. Thankfully for Shiromizu, things were on the better side of the spectrum, though they did get a bit heavy toward the end."

The uwabami nervously raises a curious eyebrow. "SSSomething to keep an eye on then?"

Jin shrugs, even as she can't help a mild grimace. "Maybe not for the Watch. It's a bit beyond our scope or resources here. I might have to talk to Koga at some point and see about booking a visit to his library for Shiro. I dunno, something to think about I guess."

"I sssee...." says the sickly serpent uncertainly. "At leassst there wasssn't too much notable happening on our end while you were gone. Porkchop and the othersss mossstly managed to keep the peaccce while you were gone."

"What about off the streets?" asks Jin with a gesture at the hidden world around them. "How are we doing in here?"

"Well- ah, sssorry-" taking a moment to fish around inside one of her sleeves, Oroki then pulls out a set of glasses that she then awkwardly puts on her nose before opening up her ledger. "Thingsss have generally been by the numbersss while you were away. Kurosssawa dropped off another group of sssix on the 20th as expected, sssince Goessstsu and Kiba managed to houssse those two familiesss in Apartments 21 and 33."

"I'm sensing a but here," observes the mizuchi. "What's that bad news?"

The uwbami nods as she leafs through some of her papers. "You're not wrong," she hisses. SSSome of Suigetsu'sss people got in touch with me. Medicinesss and potionsss are going up again."

"What?!" clamping down on her outrage, Jin pinches the bridge of her nose and reigns in her annoyance at what are likely just the messengers and her poor assistant manger. "That's just great."

Oroki nods with equal sadness. "Flu ssseason is starting to hit, and it's suposssed to be particularly bad in the reservesss. I think the ressst of the JNHRO were wanting to talk to you about it once you turned back up. Kiba called a few daysss ago and asked me to let you know once I sssaw you. From the soundsss of thingsss, the price of ditany hasss gone up again, along with a bunch of other ssstuff. It'sss driving up local suppliesss now, not just importsss."

"Well that's fucking grand," observes the mizuchi.

"Suigetsssu at least managed to ssswing our last delivery at the old rate as a favour," adds in Oroki hopefully."But he sssaid the next ssshipment of mediciness and potionsss will have to be at the new pricesss."

Glancing down, the uwabami then looks to the numbers in her ledger nervously. "Thessse price hikes are getting ridiculousss.... It'sss not even like the black market is priccce gouging. It'sss like we're headed toward another bout of inflation." Biting her lip, she looks back to Jin worriedly. "I can't imagine how hard it must be to find, let alone afford sssome of thessse ingrediantsss and potions in the ressserve. If this keepsss up.... sssoon it might be the sssame for usss outside asss well...."

Jin lays a hand on the other snake's shoulder. "Things won't get that bad. All going well, someone will inevitably pull the Diet's head out of it's ass, if only to remain in power a little longer. Either that, or it'll be the final straw that'll let the change over to Kyoto happen. Worst comes to worst, I can sort something out with the JNHRO to supplement us for a few months."

"Hopefully it doesss not have to come to that," says Oroki quietly. "Asss I can only worry how much worssse off it would mean everyone not asss lucky asss usss would be."

Looking down at her ledger, the sickly serpent then shuts it, before removing her glasses and shaking her head. "But that'sss enough of that depresssssing topic for now. How about we talk about sssomething posssitive!" The transformed snake then offers her best single-fanged smile. "You debuted one of the firssst young mizuchi in agesss before the kami! SSSurely there mussst have been sssomething fun and interesssting that happened."

"Well," says Jin thoughtfully. "You know that whole things about playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes?"

"Yesss?"

"Well, through a sequence of events involving prideful human stupidity, and then prideful oni stupidity, Shiro-chan ended up fighting an oni."

Oroki gasps, clapping her hands over her mouth worriedly. "SSShe fought an oni?"

With smug satisfaction, a grin breaks out across Jin's face. "Correction, she beat an oni." The mizuchi then preens with second hand pride. "As befitting a student of Jin no Hisakawa."

Oroki's response is to lightly thump her friend's shoulder. "Don't do that to me!" she whines.

The dragon merely cackles. "Anyway, the rest of the trip was pretty fun. Did a lot more schoozing than I 'd usually give a fuck about, since there was a lot of 'foot-in-the-door'ing I was doing for the kid. Also a few mildly more serious flavors of shindig as I mentioned. Oh, but there was one kinda interesting thing I stumbled across while I was there," adds on the mizuchi casually.

"What wasss that?" asks the frail serpent curiously.

"Well," says Jin as if idly commenting on the weather. "Apparently all those nutty Abyssals that are always camping outside and terrified of me ever getting my murder-face on, who I've been laughing at all this time, actually do count as my followers."

If the Uwabami had been drinking anything, it's very likely she would have done a spittake. "WHAT?!?"

"Yeeep," says Jin. "And you know what else I found out when I had that bombshell dropped on me?"

"I don't know?" Oroki shifts anxiously. "What did you find?"

"Weeelll, wouldn't you know it, but apparently in a few of the courts of the kami and in the eyes of the celestial bureaucracy, it seems the some people are under the impression that all this-" Jin gestures grandly at the small, vertically stacked enclave hidden inside the building around them, "Is a demesne of mine, with the Watch apparently classified as a loyal retinue for some baffling reason. Which is strange, since I'm pretty sure nobody here is crazy enough to put me of all people up on a pedestal worthy of worship. Heck, I'd also call it a bit of the stretch labling the Watch a retinue, considering this is afterall, a neighborhood watch, and not a personal guard or collection of retainers."

The sickly snake meanwhile, somehow seems to both nervously pale and awkwardly blush at the same time, utterly failing in her attempt to then come off as poker-faced and casual. "Aheh.. heh... y-yeah. Worssshiping yoooou. H-How crazy."

"And then as if that wasn't weird enough, I then come back here, and somebody's started hanging ema on the sakaki trees."

"Th-That'sss certainly ssstrange..." offers the uwabami with a condemning failure in nonchalance. "Oh those crazy abyssalsss."

"Yeah. Abyssals," says Jin dryly. "Would you believe that one of them even wished 'that the Dark One might protect and care for those children and the lost, who lack the protection and care of others that might help and guide them'?"

Oroki looks torn between embarrassment, mortification, and shame. "Y-You actually heard it-?"

"No. I was just reading some of the things out of curiosity and recognized your hand writing." Looking at her longtime asisstant with an unreadable look, Jin finally gives the sickly serpent a curious frown. "Really though, is all seriousness- are you... actually worshiping me or something?"

Awkwardly, Oroki shifts and fidgets. "I... I'm sssorry. Is this a trick quessstion?" Nervously, she tries not to wilt before the mizuchi. "I-Is 'no' the right anssswer? Becaussse I wouldn't really sssay I worssship you but..."

Seeing how shapeshifting snake trails off uncertainly, Jin takes pity on her and sighs. "It's fine Oroki. I'm not... mad or looking for any kind of answer or something in particular. I'm just... I guess, more confused more than anything else. Why me of all people or things? I've barely even counted as a kami for most of the time you've known me, and even before then, I was a terrible font of unhelpfully self-centered and highly unwise decision making. Besides, these Abyssals worship me as a vengeful variety of deity, even if they do think I'm some kind of protector of the helpless and downtrodden."

"B-But that'sss just it!" exclaims Oroki with a sudden passion that briefly seems to catch her off guard almost as much as it does Jin. Quietening slightly, she then looks down. "You are a protector, and you do look after the helplessss and the downtrodden." Absently, one of her hands drifts to the crook of the opposite elbow, hidden beneath her kimono's long sleeves, as a pained and haunted shadow briefly flickers behind her eyes. "I'd be thirty yearsss dead if it wasssn't for you. As would Nimura and ssso many of the othersss too," hisses the frail uwabami. "You sssaved more than jussst this community from a death ssspiral. You sssaved usss too."

For a moment, Jin opens her mouth to rebuke with a jest, but memories and knowledge of the exact graveness and tragedy that first spawned the Adachi Neighborhood Watch, stays her tongue. "I still think it's a bit much to worship me, just for being a good person unwilling to just stand by and do nothing," she finally says. "I'm only doing what's right and being a decent human being.... er, mizuchi... undead-kami-dragon thing. You get what I mean. I'm not perfect or infallible. Insert great power and great responsibility yadda-yadda though, and that's why I at least try."

Oroki chuckles and grins. "And that'sss why you are dessserving of what you are to usss. Maybe not a kami to be outright worshiped, we know you far too well for that."

"Hey!" exclaims the mizuchi with faux offense, causing the sickly snake to giggle.

"I am not exaggerating though," she says, as she once more turns awkwardly quiet and serious. "You are our friend, and that'sss never changed, but.... For many of usss.... you are more than jussst a leader..... you protected usss- sssaved usss. And for that? We at leassst owe you our dedication, asss well asss our loyalty, and I mean that in more than jussst the bosssozoku-leader way, even if it isssn't true worssship or actual faith. Heck, the older veteransss of the Watch have generally given that ressspect and loyalty to you for agesss anyway."

For a long moment, Jin silent, considering the uwabami's words. Quietly, she then eyes up her long time assistant. "Is that really how you feel?"

Oroki shifts, cheeks tinged by a faint flush of embarrassment. "At leassst on my part, yesss."

Looking up at Jin, she does her best to straighten up and not look so nervous. "Now and forever... I feel that my loyalty and ssservice will only ever be a fraction of how much I feel I am indebted to you."

For a long moment, Jin stares. Finally though, she offers a soft smile and places a hand on the sickly serpent's shoulder. "Thanks Oro-chan.... Why is it always you making me notice the shit I've been too caught up in other crap to notice."

With a wobbly grin that only serves to highlight her missing fang, Oroki can't help but shake her head. "Maybe it'sss a gift?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Tackweld

I wont say who is coming back----that would be a Spoiler!
Here's part 2
---------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in Poland..........

Adm. Kazimierz Wawrzaszek was having a trying day. He sat in his office, overlooking Gdyna harbor and the point where ORP Błyskawica was tied up before Blood Week.

The Sejm was pressuring him for information. They demanded to know why Poland had not successfully summoned any Shipgirls. He glared at a angry letter from the representative of the Gdyna region, in particular a line that read

" If no Shipgirls from the Second Republic return, I will find a way to have you removed!"

Prevously, the Sejm had pressured him to move Błyskawica to somewhere safe. After the destruction of Blood Week, that somehow did not affect Gdyna, the Polish people were unwilling to risk a national icon. Adm. Wawrzaszek wondered if this was the reason for their lack of success in summoning Shipgirls. He had heard from the then newly promoted Adm. Goto that Shipgirls operated and ran on MSSB. The quirkiness of MSSB could lead to just about anything happening.

Were the Shipgirls angry with them? Or were they stuck in line?

He then dismissed that line of thought and returned to a letter from the British Admiralty. The letter described, in excruciating detail, down to the last millimeter, how the summoning chamber at Scapa Flow was constructed.

They had to be doing something wrong. That was the only thing it could be.

He then compared them to the measurements of the summoning chamber at Gdyna- EVERYTHING absolutely EVERYTHING matched.

Adm. Wawrzaszek felt like screaming, but instead he opened the bottom right drawer of his walnut desk and removed a bottle of American Whiskey.

He took a long pull, right from the bottle, recapped it and returned it to its drawer.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Opening the door, Harry walked in with a small smile on his face, "And this is the Room of Requirement, the Room of Many Things."

Somewhat bemused, Ritou walked in behind him, "Really..." Trailing off, she looked around, "Okay... maybe you got a reason to call it that..."

Behind her, her sisters nodded as they stepped inside with stunned looks at the piles of items. Shaking her head, Sunny had to give a quip, "Might be the biggest understatement that I've heard anyways."

Amused by their reactions, Harry glanced around and chuckled, "Maybe. But this is what you end up with after a thousand years or so. It is also where I found the beds and such." Then he motioned for them to follow, "Anyways, I'll show you my workspace."

Curious, the group followed him as he walked between the various massive piles of items. A large number of the items were furniture from what they could see. Desks, chairs, dressers, tables and the like, all in styles going back a thousand years. It is as obvious that some of them were not all that damaged and had likely been tossed into this place simply because they were out of style.

A fact that annoyed the Abyssals as their mother taught them to reuse everything possible, something that their time in hiding had only pounded into them.

Eventually, they reached their uncle's apparent workspace. That there was all that much to it. One thing that stood out was a massive table and a coatrack where he would obviously place his robe. Another thing that stood out was that the place was clean and tidy, organized which made the Princesses and Demons nod and smile. The only things that looked out of place was a group of trunks that sat off to the side with locks on them. Walking over, Nuri examined them more closely, "Uncle Harry? What are these for?"

Coming up beside her, Harry pulled out a small pocket knife and flicked it open before making a small slice in his thumb. He then wiped it on the lock and it clicked open, followed by him doing the same with a number of others. The black haired wizard ignored the winces from the Abyssals as he healed his thumb with a quick tap of his wand and a muttered spell. "These are where I keep the raw materials that I've gathered." Seeing them glance at his thumb, he gave it a wiggle, "A little blood spell that keeps them locked unless I place some blood on them. It is not illegal, but not many use it anyways and it keeps them safe."

When he opened the trunks, they all leaned over his shoulder and blinked. Regalia in particular recognized the metals in two of them, "That is gold and the other is copper, right?"

Harry gave her a nod at that, "Correct, the other chests contain silver, brass, and pewter. Not sure what I am going to do with the pewter, though I can sell it I guess. Same with the brass and copper. As for the gold and silver..." He gave a shrug, "I can exchange them for money, a lot of it."

Tilting her head, Yoko took one of the gold bars and tilted it this way and that with curiosity on her face, "Is this really worth that much, Uncle Harry? I mean... it is a big bar of metal, but..."

Lips twitching, the wizard chuckled some, "Oh, they're worth quite a bit though I've been making them into twenty pound bars even though most of the cauldrons that they're made from are much more than that in weight. From what I know, that puts each one nearly a million dollars American or some such." Each one of his nieces jerked at that and stared at the bar of metal that Yoko was holding, "And there was a lot of that. The silver ones are about the same as a matter of fact."

Mouth dry, Tanith stared into the trunk in disbelief, "Why is there so much...?"

Scratching his chin, Harry did not say anything right away before shrugging, "Well... there was a lot of gold and silver cauldrons in her as well as various old potion making tools also made from silver. It confused me... until I noticed the dates stamped into some of them." Seeing the curiosity, he gave a shrug, "Most of them were from the late fifteenth until well into the sixteenth centuries. Right around the time when large amounts of gold and silver were shipped from the Americas to Europe. Apparently there was a flood of silver and gold cauldrons because the price dropped big time so a lot of people could afford them. Found one destroyed gold cauldron in here that had to be about a hundred pounds, easy."

Finger raising, Sunny paused and took that in before frowning. After a few moments, she furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the trunk, "So what are you doing with all of it? Just selling?"

With a hum, the thirteen year old tilted his head, "Haven't decided all that much. I mean, I've given several bars to Professor Dumbledore of both silver and gold which he told me he was going to place into an account for use by the school once the Statute falls. Ooyodo-Oba took about a hundred pounds which she's placed into a slush fund for the base, and I sent some to Uncle John for his base. Still leaves me with a huge amount left over..." Tilting his head, he gestured at them, "You can take some of them if you want to give you guys some money, I don't mind. Especially with the amount of gold and silver I've found." Shaking his head, Harry snorted, "Apparently a number of people have hid treasure of one sort of another in here."

As he walked towards a wooden box, Ritou frowned, "Treasure? Really?"

Opening the box in much the same way, Harry gave a nod after healing his thumb and reaching inside, "That's what I said."

He then picked something out and with a slight smirk tossed at Ruadri who caught it and blinked as she examined it. It was some sort of stone roughly the size of an egg that was blue with a starburst pattern. Turning it over in her hand, the Ru-Class looked over at Harry with confusion, "It is a very pretty stone?"

Just chuckling, he shook his head, "It is... in fact that is a starburst sapphire and probably worth a couple dozen million." Harry's amusement rose as Ruadri froze and looked down at it as did her sisters with all of them boggling, "Apparently during one of the Goblin rebellions, someone grabbed gemstones from the goblins and shoved them in here to hide. We're pretty sure that they got themselves killed or some such which is why they never retrieved them. Or they might have created a Mineral Stone, which is like the Philosopher's Stone in that it transmutes less precious materials into more, such as stones and semi-precious stones into precious ones. There's a few alchemists who have worked at Hogwarts over the years who might have made one." With a shrug, he continued, "Some were handed over to Professor Dumbledore for the school, and others I gave to Ooyodo-Oba. The rest... not sure what I am going to do though I got a few ideas."

Curious, Tanith looked over at him, "Really, Uncle Harry? Such as?"

Giving a hum, Harry scratched his chin, "Well... according to Mum, I am never going to need to worry about working a day in my life no matter how long it will be as it is. Some of it I'll be giving you all access to just in case-" He held up his hands to cut them off, "Your my family and I will take care of you. If nothing else, it will provide you with something until you get things up and running. Some of it I'm going to give to Misa-San as she wants to build a residence for Shiromizu in her village. Not sure what it's going to look like, but that's their business... the rest? Probably either buy a shipgirl tender, probably a bit one in which case I'll name it Taigei. Or just donate it to charities or some such, and I got a few ideas there. I don't need it..." A frown on his face, he became thoughtful, "Especially if the rumours of my family having buried gold and silver bullion in different places on my family property is right..." Then the teen shrugged, "In any case, I'm just going to sell it off bit by bit."

Simply shaking their heads, his nieces gave him a bemused look. Sonata then looked into the chest with the ingots of cast iron in it, "What are you going to do with the rest, Uncle Harry?"

That made him tilt his head in thought before he gave a small shrug, "Well, the cast iron I transfigure with some soot into steel for summoning, which it is really good at. Not sure what I am going to do with the brass, copper and pewter, but... something tells me that I need them for something so I am going to keep them for the most part." He then gestured at a chair that sat repaired, "Besides that, I am going through the furniture and repairing them for sale. Its not hard work... but gratifying. And both Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall have been giving me points in their classes as the work I do here helps out a lot with practicing what I learn..."

Later that night while they settled into a cuddlepile, Patty yawned as she cuddled into the back of her uncle from where they were on top of Tanith, Regalia on the other side, "This has been a very nice trip, Uncle Harry. Thanks for showing as around."

A smile on his face, Harry twisted around and gave her a pat on the head which made her very happy, "You're welcome, Patty. And that goes for the rest of you as well, I enjoyed spending time with each of you."

Needless to say, they all had smiles on their faces as they gave their own thanks to him. And they were still smiling the next morning as they said goodbyes to their Uncle, happy and glad that they were safe while promising to visit. Something that made Dumbledore's eyes twinkle in amusement even as Minerva sighed and pinched her brows together. Part of the reason being some of the whispers she could hear with her enhanced hearing from the various male students...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Slowly coming awake, the first thing that Gale was aware of was a weight on her chest. That was followed by the fact that it was not one weight, but two. It said something about how her life that while confused by that, it was not something that rang to her mind... That was until one of the weights moved and she felt something that made her come wide awake.

Just staring at the ceiling, the Warrant Officer blinked rapidly before flushing deeply, "What the fuck are you doing, Kirishima?! And you as well, Wash?" Closing her eyes, she grimaced, "Don't get me wrong, I like a wake up call as much as the next gal, but... Why the fuck are you both playing with my tits?"

A mumble beside her made her eyes snap open as she could hear Kirishima's sleepy voice, "Playing with your tits? I wish I could... but you won't let me." Very slowly, Gale turned her head to find that the Japanese Fast Battleship was beside her, head on the pillow rubbing her eyes only to freeze when she realized what she had said and flush, "I... am sorry, Gale-Chan? I..."

Just blinking, the human woman stared at the Battleship. Ever since her and Wash had entered their final months, Kirishima had basically moved in with them. More often than not, Gale would wake up to find the side opposite of Wash occupied by Kirishima who slipped in at some point during the night. Not that she minded too much despite her protestations to the opposite. Even Gale would admit that the shipgirl in question was warm and soft, despite the muscles under her skin, as well as beautiful. Not helping was how Washington didn't seem to have very much of an issue with it. Nor did it help that when she was a teen, the young woman had dreamed of situations involving her in a bed with two beautiful women.

So sue her.

However, that was not the issue here. An issue that was compounded as the bed on her other side shifted and she could feel the very pregnant form of her wife, as her mother would not let any grandchild be born a "Bastard", they had married in a small ceremony. No, the issue was not that there were two women in her bed...

The issue was that the two women were on either side of her while she could feel two weights on her chest... doing things. Things that were making her blush. Within moments, Kirishima sat up some and blinked, "Gale-Chan? What seems to be the problem?"

Voice strained, Gale stared down at where here chest was covered and could see something, or some things, moving, "Kiri... if you're there... and Wash over there... then who the fuck is on my chest?"

It took a few moments for that to filter through the two shipgirl's heads and Kirishima turned on the lap as Wash lifted up the blankers. All three of them stared at the sight before them before the American Battleship cooed, "Aw, they're adorable."

With a deep breath, Gale hissed through her teeth, "Yes, they are. But there is a problem..." Both Battleships turned to her as she continued, "And that problem is what the fuck they are doing there..."

Reaching behind her and picking up her glasses, the Japanese shipgirl hummed some, "It would appear that they are currently nursing. Most likely because they are hungry."

Eyes closed, Gale, not for the first time, repeated a mantra inside of her head. Once she felt calm enough, she opened her eyes and felt her eyebrow twitch as Wash gently stroked one of the infants' heads while cooing, Kirishima doing the same to the other, "Yes, but what I meant was where did they come from."

Now it was Washinton's turn to give her a very odd look, "Um, Gale? I thought that you knew where babies came from." There was another eyebrow twitch from the human Officer, "After all, that was one of the things that you explained to me..."

Adjusting her glasses with one hand, Kirishima frowned, "Yes, I am also wondering how you do not know unless..." Eyes narrowing, she scanned the room suspiciously, "You somehow forgot."

Once more, the Warrant Officer closed her eyes and pretended that she was not getting frustrated. Not helping matters was when one of the two infants shifted a bit and made her twitch, "That is not what I meant, Kiri. In fact, I do know exactly where babies come from but I do not know where these two came from."

Realization dawned on Kirishima's face before she nodded, "Ah!" Then she blinked and shared a confused look with Wash before both of them turned back to the two nursing infants, "Where did they come from..." Her eyebrows furrowed still more and her next question made the woman between the Battleships freeze, "And why does the bed feel wet by my legs?"

Mouth working, Gale moved one of her arms slowly and moved the blankets away entirely. Said arm came up automatically to support the infants as she shifted a bit into a more seated position and stared. For several minutes, her mind worked and each time it came to the same conclusion, it rebooted itself. By the time her brain decided that enough was enough, and what was there in front of her was not some sort of weird prank or illusion, Wash's and Kirishima's doctors had already cut the umbilical cords and were cleaning up the best that they could. Barely noticing at the two shipgirls proceeded to swaddle the infants, Gale let out a keening noise, "I... I..."

Brightly smiling, Kirishima nodded, "Congratulations, Gale-Chan! You just gave birth to two lovely daughters." Then she frowned a bit as Gale didn't give her a response, "Is... something wrong?"

Face in her hands, Gale muttered loud enough that they could hear her and the hopeless tone in her voice, "Do you mean to tell me... that not only did I just give birth to twins... but also that I slept through the whole thing?"

Unsure what the issue was, the other American gave a small nod, "I guess so." Looking down at the one in her arm, she smiled, "Such an adorable Submarine."

That made Gale blink and stare at the sleepy newborn in confusion before she shook it off, "Uh, right..." Going back to holding her face in her hands, she groaned, "What the fuck... seriously, what the fuck."

She didn't notice how both shipgirls gave each other confused looks and shrugged before Kirishima grimaced at the state of the bed, "Hopefully logistics will be able to give us another bed. This one is unfortunately ruined, I think..." Frowning, she shook her head, "No, it is ruined."

Gale just gave an odd giggle snort before holding out her hand, "Kiri?" Ignoring the medical fairies from both shipgirls giving her a look over, she quickly dialed a number and waited until it was answered, "Ma? Sorry for waking you-"

On the other end a woman's suddenly started voice spoke up, "{Is it the babies, Gale? Oh God, which one of you is it!? I'll be right at the base hospital!}"

Eyes widening, Gale waved a hand, "Ma! Its okay, everything is okay... It is about the babies and, um, well..."

Her mother's voice became all business, "{What is happening, Gale? What happened to my grandchildren?}"

Wincing, the American, and new mother, weakly chuckled, "Well.... funny story... I sort of gave birth. Just now, I think."

Utter silence met her for several seconds before her mother's voice spoke. And the tone of said voice was flatter than the plains, "{What.}"

Instincts yelling at her for some reason, Gale felt dread bubble up, "I... sort of just woke up, and there they were nursing. And, um... my bed is ruined. I... didn't even realize until the two of them started nursing."

Yet another silence met that for a couple of moments. Her mother then spoke with a voice that an undercurrent of something. "{Gale, honey. Do you mean to tell me that you slept entirely through the process of birth. Not just to one, but to twins? Is that what you are telling me?}"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Gale nodded even though her mother could not see it, "I.... Yes? That is what I am telling you?"

On the other end of the line there was the sound of a deep breath being taken, then exhaled. A second one soon followed the first. When the response came though, Gale blinked, "{You lucky bitch.}"

Gale yanked the phone away from her ear and stared at in in complete shock before putting it back, "Ma? Did you just say-"

Cutting her daughter off, the middle aged woman spoke, "{That you were a lucky bitch? Yes, I did, and yes, you are.}" There was another silence before her mother continued as Gale continued to stare, "{I'll meet you at the base hospital, dear. Just to make sure that my grandchildren are alright. See you there, oh! And bring the afterbirth as well so that they can check.}"

Moments later, Gale's mother hung up and the Officer frowned as she scratched her head in confusion, "Wonder what that was about..." Quickly wiping herself down, as well as Wash and Kirishima, Gale took her daughters, still slightly in shock, and looked down at them before everything melted away, "Kiri's right though... you are beautiful."

Looking over on of Gale's shoulders, the Kongou gave a nod, "I told you, Gale-Chan."

On the other side, Wash gave a nod of her own.

Not long after, they arrived at the hospital to a medical staff that was completely lost. Though Gale did wonder why she kept on getting mutters and shakes of head. Or glares from some of the women there...

 

[darthcourt10]

Tackweld

Part 3: In Which The CDV Plans Things..
____________
Cpt. Ewart left Mayor Bren's office with a smile on his face. He had gotten the mayor to approve the summoning attempt, on the condition that he got the Royal Navy's approval.

That was going to be the hard part. Neither Cpt. Ewart nor Mayor Bren were freinds with anyone in the Navy.

Cpt. Ewart went home to think on the matter.
__________________________
The next day, CDV Cowes met at St. Mary's Church, and before the day's tasks were laid out, Cpt. Ewart made an announcement.

"Lads, I have the approval of the Lord Mayor for us to arrange and attempt a summoning."

at this point he was cut off by the happy shouts of the members of the platoon.

"BUT!" he shouted and the platoon became quiet once more.

"But, what? Sir? Asked Jones.

" In order for the Mayor to make his approval official, we also need the approval of the Royal Navy."

This announcement was met with general grumbling and discontent.

Pvt. Eustace Ball, one of the elder members of the platoon at sixty years, spoke up.

He said, mostly as a joke "Well, with a war on and all that, they dont just talk to anyone. Anyone have family or freinds in the Navy?"

Everyone turned to look at Pvt. Ball. His sudden bit of accidental and profound wisdom left everyone, including Cpt. Ewart in a state of shock. Someone from third squad said. " I didn't realize Ball was that clever".

A few akwardly quiet moments passed.

"Well.. " said Cpt Ewart after he recovered from the shock. " That could work. That shall be te first order of busness in, shall we say, three days?"

This was met with general happy squaddie noises.

"In the meantime," Cpt Ewart continued " we will need supplies for the summoning. Some of the things we cannot do without are: a sizeable quanity of steel, several drums of fuel oil and a quantity of ammunition. We will need sorces for these arranged before we can even start planning the summoning. Now, on to today's tasks........."

The rest of the meeting and day passed as normal for CDV Cowes, but each member thought about how they were going to get the Navy's approval to attempt a summoning, and from where they were going to obtain the supplies to attempt the summoning.



____________________
What do you think?
As always, feedback is appreciated.

And that 10 foot pole joke earlier, I seriously cannot believe I missed that

.

 

[darthcourt10]

Fallenworldful

More content. I come to post this and realized I made a few mistakes that I'll have to fix later. Don't want to fall too far behind the main plot again haha.

October 31st, 2013
Shanghai, China

Ping Zhonghua let her feet dangle over the edge of the Shanghai Tower as she rested, attention turned to the cityscape beyond. The massive building, one of the tallest in the world, had a sparsely lit roof with only a single camera monitoring the single entrance and exit. That suited her purposes just fine. 632 meters was enough to mute the sounds of traffic at ground level, letting her hear the soft rasp of stone sliding over stone and the little pops of bones cracking. She checked her watch. 23:21. Her serpent would be done soon.

A party celebrating the official public opening was well underway, blissfully unaware of the brief struggle that had occurred above their heads. The construction moguls and party officials weren't particularly interesting conversation partners, but they made an adequate excuse to be here, and seizing the artifact

It was a miracle that there were enough people in the city to host these kinds of gatherings, even with the steady wind down in the Abyssal war these past years. Of all the areas hit by Blood Week, few were as devastated as the Yangtze River Delta. The delta once comprised 20% of China's GDP, an international hub of trade and manufacturing that saw hundreds of millions of tons of goods shipped around the globe. The skyscrapers of Lujiazui were a shining symbol of China's growing strength and new place in the world, towering over the buildings of the Bund that dated back to the Unequal Treaties.

The Yangtze River Delta was flat, wide, navigable, and calm, traits that made it an excellent site for ports and cities. Those very same traits made it all but impossible to defend from an unexpected, sudden assault from the sea. As China's beating economic heart, it was the focus of Blood Week's largest, most total attack.

Sure, Guangzhou was similarly exposed, but the Abyssals in the south had turned their attention on Hainan Island before attacking the city for some undeterminable reason. Blunted by the frantic defense organized around the Qiongzhou Strait, the follow up strike on Guangzhou had been dulled before it could punch too far inland, buying time for an evacuation. She had been there, trying to coordinate defensive efforts with the Southern Government, when the invasion force arrived.

Cities around the Yangtze had to bear the entirety of the attack. Ningbo and Hangzhou were shelled for by thousands of Abyssals, from little imps to an Armored Carrier Princess steamed north towards Shanghai. Upon landfall on the southern banks of the city, Abyssal land forces and lighter ships pushed northward, spreading out as they did to cause maximum destruction. Larger units continued around Pudong and down the Yangtze proper, flatting everything in gun range unhindered by terrain. If the fighting was anything like what it was in Guangzhou, soldiers would've endured constant bombardment from the sea while trying to stem what seemed like an endless tide of chitin, black metal, and corrupted flesh.

The zombie-like foot soldiers were fodder for most militaries. They carted around corrupted versions of old bolt-actions and wore no armor, and the few crab-tanks they possessed were outmatched. On the other hand, landed Abyssal ships were a nightmare. Even the smallest had the durability of a sturdy boat, impossible to put down with small arms alone, and could lay down autocannon fire like any IFV, all in a package not much larger than a human. Larger vessels could bulldoze buildings through brute force alone, without even firing their guns.

After three days of chaos, the Abyssals pushed further inland. They left Shanghai in ruins after a systematic extermination campaign with a death toll too staggering to even consider. Facing furious counterattacks by PLA units, the Abyssals eventually dug in at Nanjing, flattening a city that once housed almost six million people. A princess rose from the ruins, its strength nearly letting the Abyssals break out further downstream.

The risk of the Abyssals reaching as far as the Three Gorges Dam was too great. In an act of desperation, army leadership opened the gates of hell and unleashed nuclear weapons on Chinese soil. Four stars ignited in the skies over Nanjing on the 31st of August, completing the destruction the Abyssals visited on the city but ending the threat. By sheer blind luck the fallout had been carried to the northeast, missing the majority of the evacuees from the cities along the coast and leaving the destroyed cityscapes uncontaminated.

That had allowed people to return to the shattered husk of a city and if not rebuild, then at least rehabilitate. This very building, celebrating its public opening today, was a symbol of unity and resistance in the face of a threat that had come so close to shattering the nation.

She brought her mind back to the present as silence once again descended on the roof, and climbed back onto the concrete slabs. Her serpent had finished its work, leaving only the chunks caught in its teeth and the drying red puddle as signs of any foul play. Zhonghua set to prising out and the mix of bone slivers and gore. As she laid out the pieces on the ground, the ornate traditional qipao and scowling mask she was wearing shimmered and collapsed into a silvery belt of mercury orbiting around her. A thought and a flick of her yew wand sent it flowing down, picking up and absorbing everything left behind. It returned to her, melding itself to her skin and forming a perfect facsimile of the witch she had killed. The rest shaped itself into a modern evening dress, and she prepared to rejoin the party that was her cover for tonight's activities.

Her desperate hope had made her unacceptably sloppy earlier, and now her former colleagues were after her. It wouldn't do, to have any chance of seeing her husband and daughter torn away by carelessness. Stealing the magical mercury from Qin Shihuang's mausoleum right underneath the noses of the Central Government had been a risky move, but a worthwhile one. Not only had it given her cover, it had put the Northern and Central Governments at each other's throats once again.

She used the satisfaction of a job well done to school her borrowed face into a demure smile and added a touch of sultry energy to her walk in place of the military precision of her previous steps, and apparated down to a camera blindspot that she had taken great care to direct her victim to earlier tonight. No one noticed when she reappeared, and she was free to gaze upon her true target without suspicion, what she had spent the better part of five years hunting.

A paper fan, decorated with images of a fantastical landscape full of roiling fog and temples atop mountains. The fan of Zhongli Quan, a magical artifact of such great strength that a swish could create gold and silver, and even bring the dead back to life.

+=====+

Zhonghua played along with the crowd, murmuring in shock as the fire that ravaged the upper floors of the tower suddenly redoubled in strength. She even managed to get tears and sobs out. Of course, those were joyous tears and choked back laughter. Hook, line, and sinker, magical and nomaj authorities alike had bought the story of an improperly installed wire starting an electrical fire and lighting up decorations that were clearly against code. Not a single auror remained on site, and they didn't even spare her a glance! The fan had been safely shrunken and stowed away, and the CCTV footage of her entering the building was going up in flames with the security center.

The police only gave her a few cursory questions before dismissing her to help the firefighters rush equipment up to the top of the building. Then the crowd was screaming and fleeing as some of the one-way glass used to shield the lights inside the building from observation by any hostile forces blew out and rained to the ground. She took the chance to slip away, disappearing into the streets of the new Shanghai.

While she kept her mask of slight distress up, inside her heart was soaring. Everything was falling into place. Before the end of the year, she'd be able to hold Leyu's hand again, and listen to Xima's heartbeat. There was just one last thing to retrieve, and she'd have everything to beat death into surrender.

Leyu's jade band, blessed by a Yellow Dragon, the mightiest of them all. After years of struggling for a child, she had spared no expense in ensuring her safety. The band should've protected her against everything. What had possessed her to remove it in a combat zone, Zhonghua didn't know. Once she got it back, though, she could find out.

Zhonghua pulled a tiny scroll from her necklace and let it expand back to its full size.

The shipgirl who Leyu had lost her life saving wore her daughter's band. An insult she couldn't bear. She'd already driven the thieving whore half mad with nightmares and forced the tight-knit military to separate her from the others. Zhonghua was under no illusions about her ability to take on even a single shipgirl in direct combat, but alone, other tricks could even the playing field.

She crumpled the picture.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing in a room, the JGSDF Captain continued to glance around with bemused interest. The room that he was currently in looked like something from a WWII movie with people milling around with notes or fiddling with radios. In the center of the room sat a large table with a map that was displayed of the surrounding area that they were in with small models on the map itself. And along one wall, there was a massive map of Japan, with smaller maps showing each major island.

Of course, that was where the similarity ended.

The most minor of the differences was that those at work were a mixed group of males and females. Another was that the models on the large, central map on the table moved around at the direction of those gathered around it without needing to be touched. Simply direct them and they went there. Elsewhere, paper notes in the shape of origami cranes flew this way and that, landing and unfolding, or folding into cranes and flying off to various destinations. That was not the biggest difference...

No, the biggest difference was that most of those there were not human, but Yokai of various sorts. Even as the JGSDF Officer watched, a Kitsune ducked and weaved towards the central table with a carafe of coffee to refill the mugs there. Miura, Tanuki, Inaba, Oni, and many more went from place to place. All of them were wearing cloaks with "Yokai Self-Defense Force" on the back, cloaks which he had seen could become colored like camouflage at a moment's notice. Shaking his head, the Captain sighed, "Like something from one of those fantasy Light Novels..."

Catching his eye, the leader of the "Yokai Self-Defense Forces" gave a nod and said something to the others before walking over. Once she reached him, the Captain had to give a small nod as he looked up due to her height, though he noted that she wore what looked like a steel cuirass as armor and smaller bits on her legs and arms, though he knew from earlier examinations that said armor was about an inch thick and the smaller ones weighed over ten pounds, "Not quite what you were expecting?"

With a soft snort, the JGSDF Officer shook his head, "Honestly? I was not sure what I was expecting. Not this for sure."

A rumble escaped from the taller Oni's chest before she adjusted the steel helmet on her head, shaped much like a traditional Japanese helm. Grabbing some coffee from a passing aide, she gestured towards the door, "Come on, let's head outside so that we can actually hear ourselves."

Nodding, the two walked out through the door and the Captain had to glance back at the armored cube van that they had exited. Said vehicle having been modified with steel sheets to armour it while various antenna and radio repeaters could be seen. Fingering the small medallion on his chest, he frowned, "Still not used to having to wear one of these to observe..."

The Oni gave a shrug, "Yeah, but what can you do? The wards here wouldn't let you, or your guys, come here to observe." Shoving her hands into her pockets, she scoffed a bit, "Besides which, it keeps those fuckers in the Diet from busting our asses while we're doing exercises."

Now looking out onto the field, the JGSDF Officer could see some of his other men observing and making notes while various Yokai and magicals were playing war games in the field. As he watched, a group of Kamaitachi showed up and sliced apart fake trees to reveal the "Abyssals", really various Yokai in disguise, to the others who began to fire on them with paintball guns. "That is true enough."

Following his gaze, the Oni sighed and scratched her neck, "I know, pretty damn bad. Our trainers were rusty and forgot a bit."

Just shaking his head, the Captain chuckled, "Actually, Tsubaki-San, it is not nearly that bad. In fact it is a lot better than what any of us were really expecting."

Rapidly blinking, the now named Tsubaki turned to him, "Really?"

Turning away from where an armored dump trunk appeared and various Oni leapt out of the back, a smaller Toyata with a covered back pulling up and having smaller Yokai do the same, the Captain gave her a serious look, "Trust me, it is a lot better. Besides which, you guys held the damn line." He then frowned some and crossed his arms, "Speaking of... you mentioned trainers?"

A grin on her face, Tsubaki shook her head, "Mostly people like me who were vets from the Pacific War and were willing to leap in so that Japan would be defended, fuck the Diet and ICW." Seeing his eyes widen, she shrugged, "Surprised, Itami-San?"

Despite his slight scowl at the code name he was given, the Captain nodded, "Not as much as I should in regards to your age. Yokai were supposed to live a long time, but... more that back then they let a woman fight, no offense."

Instead of being insulted, the Oni laughed, "None taken. But they only had me fight because of who my fucking parents were." Turning to the side, she spat at the ground before wiping her lips, "And that was the only reason."

Confused, Itami was about to comment when he paused and blinked. Giving her a small frown, he narrowed his eyes some, "Wait, your parents? So that rumour-"

Grimacing, Tsubaki shook her head with a scowl, "My parents were Shuten Dōji and Ibaraki Dōji. Needless to say, there are very few Oni who don't listen to what I say. And unlike my Baka of an Onii-San, I actually think before I jump. Honestly... killing a cow and wearing its body. What fucking reason did he have to think that would work to let him get close enough to those Samurai to kill them."

Simply deciding to ignore that, and how the Yokai beside him was around before even his great grandparents were a twinkle in someone's eye, Itami pulled up some binoculars to see where the "Armor" was. Something that he had to shake his head at the sight of what were effectively mini-tanks complete with turrets tearing their way across the ground. "So you used small bulldozers to make those?"

With a hum, and somewhat thankful to be snapped out of her musing, the Oni nodded, "At least the engines and tracks and stuff. Had to make a lot of modifications, but they got enough armor to shrug off heavy crewed weapons that Abyssal ground troops used and have the firepower to give a hand."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Itami shook his head, "I can't identify the cannons that they're using."

That got a laugh from Tsubaki and she gave him a grin, "Those are shotguns." At the disbelieving look, her grin widened, "Seriously, they are. We just used some magic to make them, and the shells they use, bigger. Like those punt guns or whatever, but easier to get ammo for. And trust me, it is just beautiful seeing oversized buckshot tear groups of Abyssal infantry to shreds. Besides which, we had to use what we had available."

Glancing at the Oni who were using modified .50 Caliber heavy machine guns as assault rifles alongside others using outright artillery pieces like they were recoiless rifles, the various civilian vehicles that had been armoured up, the JGSDF Officer shook his head, "Well, you did the best that you could. Which is plenty impressive if I have to say it."

Arms crossed, Tsubaki sighed, "Yeah... and it gave us some victories when we needed it." Seeing the look, she shook her head, "Just... remembering lost comrades. We really pulled some shit in the early days of the war."

Head tilted to the side, Itami frowned, "Oh?"

For several moments, the Oni was quiet, but when she spoke it was with a voice full of pain, "During Blood Week, there was an island in the Bonins, it was an old decommissioned reserve. Every magical, human or Yokai, fled there and basically brought the old wards as high as possible in order to hide until relief forces could come. Issue was... the Abyssals cut them off, no one could get close to the island and the Abyssals were knocking on the doors. The Magical Diet basically wrote them off."

Itami grimaced as he guessed where this story was going, "Which you and the other Yokai didn't."

Giving a small nod, Tsubaki continued staring at the field, but not seeing it, "Yeah, we were going to get them out. No matter what... one good thing was that some of us had time turners and we were able to use them to put together a plan within two months as well as practice. We had some boats, the fast ferry used to get cargo out to Mahoutokoro, and the like. But the issue was still the Abyssal... until one of the Kappa with us revealed he knew where there was a stash of old WWII equipment that MACUSA missed, magically modified in the later parts of the war. Type 4 Ka-Tsus were among those, modified to be a lot larger on the inside then the outside. Other spells too in order to handle the extra weight and ballast. We filled those fuckers with every powerful volunteer we could and had water Yokai tow us to the island with the evacuation fleet behind. We hit the beach and hit it hard. Don't know who was more surprised, the defenders or the Abyssal Infantry who were left behind to wear them down."

Thoughtful, the JGSDF Officer frowned, "What happened?"

A grimace on her face, Tsubaki shook her head, "We managed to break through the Abyssal lines and kill as many of the fuckers as we could. Then started getting as many people to the boats using brooms and the like as we could even as said ships got closer. Had more survivors than we thought, especially smaller Yokai. Eventually we had to use the Type 4s as well to carry some of those there... And soon there was no room even with us tossing every bit of gear we could onto the island. Some of the guys... some of them gave up their spots and stayed behind in order to get as many people off the island as possible. Two dozen of them, volunteers all who fought in the last war, stood on that beach and watched as we headed off. None of them bothered to hide, but began to fire the artillery and the like we left behind due to lack of room at the approaching Abyssals to distract them and buy us time. Even then, we lost two boats to Submarines before we managed to hit Izu Oshima. Over two thousand souls we got off that island... in exchange for two hundred and twenty. Those fuckers in the Magical Diet attempted to arrest us, but the wizards and such we got off that island stood in their way until we got away."

Expression one of stone, Itami gave a nod, "Do you have their names?" At the blink, he continued, "The names of the ones who stayed behind, and those that died rescuing the people there?"

Blinking, the Oni nodded with a small frown, "Yeah? Of course I do, but why-"

He cut her off and gave her a look, "I want those names, to see them properly honoured for what they did."

Tsubaki's eyes widened a bit and she stared him in the eyes before slowly giving a nod, voice thick with emotion, "I'll make sure that you get them."

All the Officer did was nod at that and turn back to the exercises that he was observing. Later, he whispered what he had been told and none of those who had accompanied him looked at the Yokai with anything but respect.

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

"You can stop now..." Renita pulled her knees up to her chest. "I… I've heard enough."

Fluffy looked over to her flagship with concern. "Are you sure? You really don't want to hear the rest? It sounded like you had a good life."

"…I did." The Re-class shook her head slowly. "But I know how this story ends."

Sitting on the countertop nearby, Sunny sighed. "She's right, Fluffy. It wasn't too long after that, when she sortied for the first time… and was forced to kill another Abyssal in a border dispute. She looked practically euphoric in her first combat high—and once the adrenaline wore off, she crashed hard. Locked herself in her room for almost three days, while she tried to come to grips with the fact that, despite everything she'd been taught, everything she stood for… she'd enjoyed killing that Abyssal. She was disgusted with herself for that fact alone—and she refused to ever let herself be drawn into another such conflict."

"That marked the beginning of her decline," Tanith continued. "She developed a hair-trigger temper. Started to isolate herself for increasing lengths of time. What few drawings she continued to make were… influenced by her sickness. She tried to turn to Mother for help… but the one thing Mother cannot repair, is the mind."

"And then, finally… I ran away." Renita finished, her expression turning bitter. "I lost myself to the Hate. Became one of the vicious, twisted things I'd wanted so dearly to prove we could rise above."

Patty frowned in concern, reaching out and resting a hand on Renita's knee. "It's okay, sis… it's over, now. You won't ever be forced to suffer like that again."

The Re-class, however, simply curled further inward. "…I don't have to; the damage is already done. All the awful things I did… all my pain… I can never go back to being that girl."

"And nobody is asking you to, Renita," Tanith said. "It is enough to simply have you back, safe with us. We cannot undo what has been done to you… but we just hope that, in time, your scars can begin to fade. That you can try to start living again."

Renita was quiet for a long time. Eventually, her gaze slowly rose to the others. "And just how long… do you think that will take?" she asked.

"Who knows? Maybe months… maybe years…" Sunny admitted. She pushed off the counter and stepped over to Renita, taking one of her hands and squeezing it. "But the important thing is that you're not doing it alone."

Sunny's hand was joined by Patty's. "She's right, sis. You spent three years looking for us. And now that you've finally returned home, we're not just going to let you crawl in a hole and try to piece yourself together on your lonesome!"

"Whether you like it or not, we are here to help you heal." Tanith leaned beside the couch, next to Renita. "Besides… after all you and Fluffy have been through together… you would actually consider leaving her by herself, as she starts to learn what the world beyond the sea is really like?"

The Re-class glanced to her Princess follower, who fidgeted bashfully. "I've… never actually seen a live town, or city… any human settlement, really," She said. "But I'd like to, eventually. I'd like to see all the amazing stuff Uncle Harry talked about… to stop simply surviving, and start enjoying this new life… and I'd like to be able to do it with you, my flagship. In a way, we would be making up for all those years we spent wandering through ghost towns. Wouldn't that be nice?"

For a long time Renita was silent, looking between Fluffy and the others. Finally, though… she smiled. It was a small, brittle smile, paired with eyes full of uncertainty… but for the first time in as long as Fluffy had known her, it seemed genuine.

"…y-yeah. I think I'd like that."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Finally…" Regalia plopped herself down on the dirt, breathing a sigh of relief. "That's everything."

All around her, the fruits of the Re-class's labor were evident: where there was once a tangled, overgrown mess of a crop field—and briefly afterward, a field of ashes—there was now bare soil, freshly tilled with the seeds of her next harvest sown.

A Ne-class came to a stop next to her and dropped flat onto her face. "Oh, thank God…" Nero grumbled through the dirt. "Again, I'm really sorry about burning everything down, Regalia. I usually have better impulse control than that.

Regalia chuckled. "Hey, you don't see me complaining, do you? You did me a huge favor—not only did the fire kill the weeds and clear out the dead stuff, you drove off all the pests… at least, for now." Glancing off in the distance, she observed the wild wheat stalks dotting the field nearby. "But it's a good thing it didn't get to the grain. I need to start cultivating that stuff… we can use it for stuff like bread and feeding our future livestock."

Nero rolled over and sat up. "We can do that later, right? Mixing all the ashes into the dirt, plowing the rows, planting the seeds… after all that stuff, I'm beat."

"Hehe… yeah, I think we're good for today."

Unfortunately, as they got up and prepared to leave, Regalia froze as she heard a sound that haunted her dreams: the snorting and grunting of wild hogs, come to inspect/raid her crop fields.

"Oh, HELL no!"

Nero could only watch, stunned, as the Re-class pivoted and took off on all fours into the woods, her tail letting out an earth-shaking roar all the while. As the sounds of surprised and terrified animals emanated from among the trees, the Ne-class pulled her own piglet from her hold and held him up to eye-level. "Let that be an example to you, Grunt. Never threaten Regalia's crops, okay?"

*oink*

"Good boy."

XXXXXXXXXX

"…Alright, we've worked out as much as we could with just ourselves. Would you girls agree?" There were various sounds in the affirmative across the rest of the table. Rivet looked over the list in front of her, thinking. "Not much to work with, here... do any of you think we should present this list to the others, see what they think?"

The gathering of sisters had spent the past hour throwing out suggestions on what to name the island—their new home. In doing so, they'd discovered an unfortunate fact: coming up with a name was a lot harder when you didn't have naming conventions or behavioral quirks to provide some sort of guideline. Some names had to be discarded for being too long-winded, others for being too obscure or unoriginal, and others still for various different reasons (touching as it would be, they doubted Mother would be overly thrilled if they named the island after her). At this point, they only had a few particularly good candidates, and now they couldn't really decide between any of them. What to do, what to do…

Occupied by their internal debating, Rivet and several others were slightly startled when the doors to the throne chamber creaked open, admitting Tanith, Sunny and Patty. "…honestly, Sis, I think at this point we should just re-label this chamber as a conference room, given how much time you actually spend on your throne," the Demon was arguing.

Tanith wasn't thrilled by the suggestion. "My presence, or lack thereof, in my own throne plays no part in its importance. I may be a more hands-on Princess, but if matters pertaining to the future of this island, our family, must be discussed, it will be done here."

"That's almost exactly what a conference room is for."

A pause.

"…i-it's my throne room!" Tanith's cheeks puffed up in an oddly-adorable pout. "What I do with it is none of your business!" Sighing, the Princess looked back to the Abyssals seated at the table. "Anyway… how goes the discussion for naming our new home?"

Rivet shook her head. "Honestly, we've hit a deadlock. I was just considering whether we should take the few names we've got left and put it to a fleet-wide vote." Rising from her seat, the Ri-class held out the list. "Unless you'd like to see for yourself? Considering you were the one who decided to settle here first, you've got a pretty big say in this, too."

Tanith shrugged. "I don't see the harm in that." Stepping over, she took the paper and sat herself down at the table. "Alright, what do we have…"

The first entry was 'Isle of Laughter'. A simple name, and not that bad, to be fair. But they had to consider what possibilities the future might hold—if they wound up someday being seen as a legitimate state by governments of the world, they would need a more… distinctive name. It would make a nice nickname for their home, but likely no more than that.

The next was 'New Hope Island'. With the Canadians (and several of the Wardens) finally able to return to their homeland, the island that had served as their hiding spot over the past few years was now unoccupied—which, Tanith supposed, meant the name was freed up for some other place. It was a decent choice; she'd put that one down as a Maybe.

Tanith paused at the third option: 'Abyssinia'. It was an interesting title, no doubt—distinctive, reflective of their nature as Abyssals. But something about the name felt… not-right to her. As if she was stepping on someone's toes just by thinking of it. Opting to trust her gut, she ruled that name out altogether.

So, that left one Maybe. Note much to put a vote to. Perhaps they needed to pull a few more heads into this discussion, see what they could come up with by majority opinion…

"Oh, so you had your own idea?"

Tanith blinked, confused by Rivet's sudden question. Looking down, she was mildly surprised to see a pen in her hand and a new word on the page:

Аврора

"Ab-popa?" Sunny said aloud, eyebrow raised as she peered over Tanith's shoulders. "What kind of name is that? Did you forget how to English or something?"

"This isn't English…" Tanith corrected her. "It's Cyrillic. Russian." Inwardly, she was quite confused as to why she'd written in Cyrillic without even being aware of it.

"Oh." Sunny tilted her head. "Then, what does it actually say?"

Sighing, Tanith wracked her brain for what innate knowledge of Russian language her evolution had given to her.

"It says… 'Avrora'."

There was a brief pause in the room as the others took that in.

"Avrora." Sunny rocked her head side to side, a thoughtful look on her face. "…I like it."

"Me too…" Rivet added. "I mean, we ruled out 'Aurora' before… but this one feels different." Her approval was met by nods and happy sounds from the other Abyssals. Something about the word just felt right to them all. Fitting.

"...well, I guess we're in consensus, then..." Tanith smiled slightly as she circled the word she'd unconsciously put down. "Avrora it is."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The Sun nearly beneath the horizon, evening had arrived to the waters of the Pacific to the east of Japan. Staring towards the horizon, Kaga's face was expressionless as she continued to stare out to sea with Akagi beside her as their sisters outside of Kana kept formation around them. However, the two Carrier's eyes were glazed, looking as if they were blind to those unfamiliar with such things. But to those who were, it was obvious that they were experiencing things through their pilots.

Frowning, Kaga blinked some, "Akagi-San? There is a Ta-Class at..." Rattling off the position, she frowned, "My own pilots are focused on the Wo Flagship."

With a nod, Akagi tilted her head some, "Hai, Kaga-San, I have my pilots heading for them." Less then a minute later, she smiled some, "And scratch one Ta-Class."

Lips curling into a small smile, the other Carrier gave a nod, "Indeed, and the same with the Wo." She then frowned some, "Though her pilots were rather impressive."

Grimacing, Akagi gave a slight nod, "Hai, and isn't that troubling? Some of those airplanes she was using were jet powered..." Eyes narrowing, she shook her head before pressing her fingers to the side of her head, "Idol?"
Some distance ahead, Naka gave a small nod, "Hai, Red Castle? Idol here."

Moments later, the Carrier's voice came through and she frowned, {I need you to make speed for...} Quickly, Akagi gave the coordinates for the battle, {We need you to pick up any Abyssal aircraft wreckage that you might find. We need to confirm that Squid are involved. Boogies running for the hills.}

At that, Naka's eyes narrowed some, 'Jet aircraft? What the hell...' Shaking that off, she nodded though the other shipgirls could not see it, "Understood, Red Castle." The Light Cruiser then looked to either side to the two shipgirls a few hundred feet away and spoke, both of them able to hear despite the distance due to Naka using signal flags, "Okay you two, we need to up the pace some and get there before any of it sinks too much."

Both Akigumo and Maikaze nodded at that and the three pushed themselves to go as fast as they could. Meanwhile, back with Akagi, she gave a small sigh and shook her head, "If those are jet aircraft..."

Kaga slowly nodded at that, "Yes, if those were jet aircraft then soon we shall be left behind, Akagi-San." Lips twitching, she glanced to the sky as the last of her planes landed, "How odd..."

To her side, the Amagi class Battlecruiser, Takao frowned and shook her head, "What do you mean by that, Kaga-San? Left behind?"

It was Akagi who answered her though as she shook her head, "What Kaga-San means is that we will be left behind by technology, Takao-Chan. Neither her nor I can use jet aircraft after all, though out propeller planes will be useful for some time yet. But the result is still the same as we will likely be placed towards more secondary duties and patrols. Perhaps escorting convoys instead of leading strikes."

Arms crossed, the other Carrier sighed, "Though that is the way of things is it not? But I shall be able to rest knowing that the next generation will be able to handle themselves." Scratching her chin, she hummed, "Perhaps... fifteen years, Akagi-San?"

Chuckling, Akagi shook her head, "No, I think more twenty years perhaps, Kaga-San. After all, the Americans used their Bearcats until the 1960s, did they not? So we will be useful for some time yet before we need to retire, I think." Then she smiled some, "However, that is in the future. Right now though, the most powerful of the Abyssal force remaining are two heavily damaged Ne-Class with five He-Class and at least a dozen Destroyers."

With a smile of her own, Amagi clenched her fists, "And night will fall soon, which means that it shall be our turn. I am looking forward to the type of battle that we were made for."

Sharing a look with Kaga, the red clad Carrier chuckled once more before turning and giving a nod towards the Light Cruiser to the side, "Then I shall leave them in your capable hands, Ayase-San."

Quickly, the Sendai gave a salute, "Thank you, Akagi-Sama! We shall make sure that they are well protected in this night battle!" She then turned towards Akizuki, Teruzuki, and Hatsuzuki before nodding, "Ready?"

Each of the Destroyers gave a nod before Akizuki gave a thumbs up, "Hai!"

Then, with a final nod, they headed off with the three Battlecruisers as they moved to cut off the Abyssals. Watching them, Akagi hummed some as she tapped her fingers on one thigh. Beside her, Kaga glanced at her and patted her shoulder, "They shall be fine, Akagi-San. Ayase-San will do her best in order to make sure that they are not harmed. Especially as she is excited for this weekend."

Giggling, Akagi gave a slight grin, "Ah, yes. Harry-Chan will be coming back for the ceremony to hand over Honjo Masamune to the Tokugawa. Yes, I suppose that she is excited for that."

With a glance between them, Tosa gave a small cough, "If I may..." At their nods, she continued with a small frown, "From my understanding, Ayase-San is... wanting Potter-San to be her Admiral in the future, is she not? And holds a great fondness for him as well?"

For once, it was not Akagi who laughed. No, it was Kaga who gave a light laugh, "Yes, Ayase-San has a good fondness for Harry-Chan as it seems he is the reason why she even exists from what I know. But do not take that fondness in the same way it is for others, in her case she wishes to serve and protect him in much the same way as the ancient Samurai did their Lords. There is affection, yes, as it would be hard for their not to be, but..."

Akagi then spoke up, "It is more a friendly one... as much as I wish otherwise." Clapping her hands, she gave a smile, "But Harry-Chan already provides me with enough shipping."

Only shaking her head, the blue clad Carrier chuckled slightly, "Yes, though as it is, I fear for his hips once he becomes old enough as well as being in danger of dehydration."

Needless to say, a blush sprang up on Kaga's older sister at that. Suddenly, Tosa remembered something and gave her sister a sly smirk, "Perhaps he is not the only one in danger of such things..."

Unfortunately, that only made her younger sister smirk as did Akagi, the converted Battlecruiser giggling, "Oh, I think so~" Twirling a finger in her hair, she hummed, "Especially with the plans we have for when we return to Yokosuka in two days."

Her arms crossed, Kaga's smirk became smug, "Just remember, Akagi-San, that I am the first one to go out on a date with him. In fact, I already have my dress prepared for such."

Tilting her head to the side, the Carrier shook her head, "Hmm, that is true, though my dress shall also be as devastating as a strike to the magazines. But I cannot wait for the both of us to begin to take him out at the same time."

With a sound of agreement, Kaga nodded as her older sister just shook her head. At the same time, Tosa was torn between pitying the guy or not... while also considering her own prospects.
________________________________________________________

In Yokosuka, at the same time, Hoppou stepped away from a tub with a small nod, "There, Hoppou is all done."

Head cocked to the side, Akashi hummed some as she blinked, "Huh, you do good work, Hoppou-Chan. She looks a lot better."

Glancing at the Repair Ship, the Abyssal Princess just nodded as she gathered up her notes and schematics, "Of course, Hoppou made sure to make very careful and detailed examination of Abysseragi-Chan." That nickname brought a shake of the head from Akashi, "Hoppou did not want anything to go wrong during fixing."

About to comment, Akashi paused as there was a soft groan and the Abyssal Kiseragi stirred, Opening her eyes, the War Demon blinked them before sitting up, "Are... are you all done, Hoppou-Chan? I-"

She placed a hand to her forehead and paused before pulling it away to look at it in awe. For her part, Hoppou had a slightly smug smile on her face, the smile of someone who knows that they have done a very good job, "Hoppou is done, and Hoppou would like Abysseragi-Chan to know that she should run a lot better." A scowl then crossed the little Abyssal's face and the other two felt a shiver run down their spines, "Though the one that did this should hope that Hoppou never gets her hands on her. Because Hoppou... would make sure that big meanie regrets it. Again."

Deciding it would be best to ignore that, Abyssaragi stood up and looked around shakingly, "Is... is there a mirror somewhere? I need to see..."

Just nodding, Akashi pointed to the side, "Right over there."

A somewhat fearful look on her face, the Destroyer War Demon got out of the tub and closed her eyes before walking over. Upon reaching it, she opened her eyes and gasped, "I... wow..." With a blink, she leaned in and examined herself as she took in the changes, though they were cosmetic for the most part. Her eyes, which were once with one red and one brown, now were both a brownish red that softly glowed.

But the other thing that caught her eye was her skin.

Before, her skin was patchy with some being normal, human like with the odd patch of Abyssal skin. But most of it had been a purplish grey and badly cracked. Something that certainly had not done her self image problems any help. Now though? Her entire skin was the pale white of normal Abyssals, soft and silky. Holding up her hands, she flexed them and each finger individually as now the nails were also jet black, like with normal Abyssals. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and then opened them before pulling her shirt away from her chest and looking down it, relaxing moments later. Wiping her eyes, she smiled some before turning and bowing to Hoppou, "Thank you, Hoppou-Chan."

Rather amused, Hoppou waved her off some, "Hoppou is just happy that she managed to fix you. And Hoppou even did a few tune ups as well to make sure that all systems are functioning as they should." Then she frowned in thought, "Though this was first time that Hoppou ever examined a War Demon."

That made Akashi blink and turn to her, "You know, I have been wondering that. War Demons are just more powerful Demons, right?"

Much to her surprise, Hoppou shook her head, "Hoppou is not sure how to explain it, but War Demons are more than just very powerful Demons. They are... different, from Demons. Like..." Pausing, she looked away, "Like how certain Princesses are different from the majority."

Narrowing her eyes, the Repair Ship made sure to note that and give it over to Goto when she had the chance. There were a few thoughts regarding Hoppou, but others regarding some of what they learned as well. Shaking her head, she turned to the Abyssal Kisaragi and smiled, "Well, I think that you should head out as some are waiting for you."

Lightly blushing, Abyssaragi headed for the door with a final thank you and stepped into the waiting room. The first thing she saw was Lycoris look up before the Abyssal Princess' expression brightened. Within moments, she found herself swept up into a hug by the other Destroyer, "You're alright..."

Cheeks flushed, the War Demon nodded, "Hai, I am." When the other Abyssal pulled away, she smiled bashfully and did a small spin, "How do I look?"

Awed, Lycoris shook her head in disbelief, "You look... beautiful." Once more pulling her into a hug, the other Abyssal gently kissed her girlfriend on the lips and pulled back, "Not that you were not already, Kisa-Chan."

If anything, that caused the Abyssal Kisaragi's blush to deepen.

Giggles made her turn to where the shipgirl Kisaragi was watching with a smile before said shipgirl winked. Then she was all business as she looked her Abyssal twin over and gave a small nod, "She is right though, you are looking much better now. No more cracked skin or anything."

Smiling, Abyssaragi gave a nod, "I know, its great! I feel a lot better, Hoppou-Chan really does do great work."

Beside her, Lycoris examined her arm and nodded herself. Once, it was monstrous, but now looked normal though covered in the same blackened carapace. It was simple for Hoppou to figure out a way apparently for her to switch between the more monstrous arm and a more normal looking one, "She really does."

Yuudachi then leapt on them from behind with a large grin, "You know what this means, Poi?" At the shakes of their heads, her grin widened and she threw up her arms, "A celebration, Poi!"

Only shaking her head with a fond smile, Fubuki looked between them, "You know, the ice cream shop is still open. And I already talked with them keeping it open late for us if we arrive at a certain time..."

Eyes widened, both Yuudachi's and Kisaragi's faces then softened before they kissed Fubuki on her cheeks and each grabbed an arm. Thrusting a hand into her hair, Yuudachi nodded, "Then that is where we shall go! Let's grab Mutsuki-Chan as well as Kana-Chan!"

All of them smiling, they headed out with giggles and the like.

 

[darthcourt10]

Weaver

Thursday, 14th November 2013

Waking up on the anniversary of the on which she was completed, Awa Maru's gaze fell on the parcel on the chair opposite her bed, the outer layer of brown paper it had come in having been removed to reveal the colourful wrapping paper underneath.

The email she'd got from Dan on Monday telling her that he was sending her something for her completion day had been a surprise. Getting one from Rose Potter saying that she had the package in question had been a bigger one.

The explanation she'd got as to where the package had come from and how it had got to Japan when she'd gone to pick it up that afternoon had likewise been a major surprise, although not as much as it would have been if one of her crew hadn't had the grandparents that he'd had. Still, an unexpected brush with the magical was still unexpected. All said and done, the fact that Dan had sent her a gift hadn't really been much of a surprise comparatively speaking, although it was by far the most welcome one.

Getting up, she showered and dressed before picking up the package. On top was an envelope with "To Awa Maru. Open your present first" written on it. She did as instructed and tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a wooden picture frame a little bigger than the size of a reporter's notebook. What got her attention though was the picture in it, which she looked at for a long moment, a small smile on her face, before moving on to the card.

The card itself was a very generic one, no words on the front just a picture of a cherry tree in blossom on the front. Inside however was a fair bit of handwriting.

Hello Awa Maru. Hope you like the present, I wasn't sure what to get you but since Zetland has a bunch of pictures of her crew in her room I thought you might like one too, even if they are currently running around your decks speaking in fairyese. The picture was taken in front of a local hotel (that unfortunately doesn't exist anymore because someone knocked it down in the nineties) after you had your mishap on the rocks. Have to say that they don't look very happy but given the circumstances I can't blame them.

As for how I got this to you, it's a long story that's probably best explained via something other than a greetings card. Until then I'll just say that someone has done be a really big favour.

Happy Completion Day

Love, Dan xxx

Unaware of the faint blush on her cheeks, Awa Maru examined the card and gift for a little longer before setting both up on a mostly empty shelf. After spending a few moments admiring and adjusting them, she went to get her breakfast, a smile on her lips as she thought about what she'd say in the e-mail she was planning to send Dan.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Spoiler: The Picture In Question



Possibly better quality since it was a proper copy rather than a scanned one.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Flying Out

-----

"So, this is a thing that happens to you a lot?" Reiko asked, leaning forward and cradling her chin in her hands. "You get some kind of mysterious vacation or something, that inevitably turns out to be an evil plot, and you end up foiling it?"

"Fascinating," Tonbo mused from her place directly next to her. She had her chair leaned back, head lolling back slightly, and the only thing that made it apparent that she wasn't asleep was her speech. "It's almost as if she explained this to you not one minute ago."

Reiko gave her a dirty look. "Yes," she said in a sing-song sort of sarcastic tone, "but I like to think that I explained it just a little more artfully. Tonbo snickered under her breath, and the jorogumo returned her attention to Benio.

"There's just one problem," she admitted. "Why… am I on the plane with you?"

The hanyou leaned back, stroking her chin. This was a good question, wasn't it? She hummed thoughtfully, before finally perking up and snapping her fingers.

"To get a leg up on Miyuki-chan!" she announced, pointing at the ceiling. Reiko sputtered, Tonbo burst out laughing, and Benio considered her work complete.

"H-hey!" Reiko complained. "That's not something you should joke about! You're just taunting me with your childhood friend status!" Benio began giggling herself. "Wait, what about Miyuki? What do you mean by that!"
-----

"You know," Ruri said, watching as Miyuki sniffled and rubbed her hands clean on her handkerchief, "I hear that when you sneeze, it means that someone is thinking of you. That's kind of romantic, isn't it?"

Miyuki and Nemo gave her blank looks. "You don't get to go for lines like that," the Shipgirl replied.

"Not with your nose bleeding from your little encounter with Musashi-san," Nemo added.
-----

"If you'll quiet down," Tatsuya cut in, climbing up and turning to look over the back of his seat, "I'd like to get a little bit of rest possibly the only time that it's available to me. If that's not to hard for you girls to do?" He sank back down, vanishing from view, and Benio allowed herself a fond chuckle.

"But seriously," she said, allowing a grim note to leak into her voice, "We're going to be on the lookout for that old mad wizard guy, and your charms are going to be one of the biggest parts of insuring that he doesn't just teleport away again. Even if we call in Tonbo's sisters and all their friends, it means nothing if he just runs away again."

Reiko blinked, her own expression becoming more serious. "You really think we'll meet him that fast?" she asked. Nervous? It kind of made sense, now that Benio thought of it. Reiko hadn't been in the group that went after Todoh in the first place, she'd only heard about it second hand from the party members who had gone in. Hearing of anyone willing and able do anything like she had been told? It unnerved Benio, just a little, and Reiko was still on her fifth or sixth case with the team.

"It's a possibility we can't ignore," Benio replied. "Just the way things happen around us. You'll get used to it eventually." Reiko nodded, and she turned her attention to the other one hundred percent non-human in the group. "So, how's Nameless doing?"
-----

"… but I kind of like the colors, you know—oh hey, the Anime channel! Can we watch this?"

"Nameless" smiled. "Ah," she said, running her brush through Kyoshu's hair.

"Oh, great! I really like this…"

The amnesiac blade continued to smile, reflecting back. "Ah" for "Yes" and "Mm" for "No" weren't the Japanese language by any stretch of the imagination, but now she could get some minor approximation of a conversation going, so long as the other person asked specifically "Yes-No" questions the whole time.

It was a source of great amusement for her and bemusement for the other Muramasas that the Legendary Goldfish had been the first to catch on.

… It actually felt kind of nice.

After she had gotten used to the idea that Kyoshu wasn't going to mindrape her, Nameless had almost fallen into place with the Muramasa. Somehow, this level of contact, slightly guiding, on some level caring, felt… right to her. Secure. Something about their interactions resonated with her.

… Perhaps something from her past?

"Oh wow, the Anime channel's on! Can we watch, please?"

She smiled again. "Ah."
-----

"That's wonderful," Reiko exclaimed. Tonbo shrugged, leaning back in her seat again.

"Guess so," she said. "Hmm… I think I'll get a little shut-eye too. Just one more thing…"

"Huh?" Benio asked. The Muramasa smirked and cleared her throat.

"Well," she said, each word pounding greater dread into Benio's heart, "this is a well-made plane with a trained crew and flight staff, and the model has a fantastic flight record. I'm sure that our landing will be perfectly safe."
-----

Tatsuya looked out across the tarmac at the absolute mess that their wonderfully comfortable jetliner had left in its wake. He turned to examine his entourage, who were staring out at the scene with the kind of calm stoicism you'd expect from those who'd seen it all a hundred times before—except for Reiko. She was huddled in the fetal position, gibbering nervously to herself. The other passengers were (to a man, thankfully) somewhere between the two, bearing varying levels of shock and horror on their faces. He hoped that everyone was ensured—there were a lot of personal items on that plane that no one had been quick enough to grab.

"And that, for the record," he said, turning back to the girls, "is why we don't invoke the laws of fate and irony until after the plane has touched down. Because that way, we don't sacrifice the left engine to them. Clear?"
-----

Remember, kids, being genre savvy is important, but if you're not careful with it you could cost the people around you their lives.

Well, what do you think sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Eyebrows furrowing, Asuka looked up at the small repair shop and then over at Natsumi, "Is... this really the place?"

A grin on her face, the Kitsune gave a small nod as she continued to walk towards the door, "Hai, in fact this is the best place to get computers repaired at. Sam really knows his stuff when it comes to computers and other electronics. Give him an hour or two and he'll have yours up and running."

Raising her eyebrow, Asuka frowned a bit, "And if he doesn't?"

Natsumi gave a small shrug at that, "Usually, that means that he's got to order parts or something. That said, he usually has a lot of parts already there and ready to be used for repairs. Even does some modifications for gaming rigs and the like if one has enough money. I know that he actually built some of the arcade machines that are in the gaming rooms back on the base."

Blinking, Asuka adjusted her backpack some, "Huh..." With another glance around the base, she frowned some. Earlier, she had mentioned to her friend that her computer was a bit damaged because someone had spilled something on it and messed up the keyboards by accident. Which lead to Natsumi suggesting that she come to the base where she knew where there was a good repairman. It was either that or get a new laptop, and Asuka was saving up, "Well... hopefully his prices are not too bad."

Her grin widening, Natsumi shook her head, "Trust me, Sam wouldn't cheat you and his prices are reasonable." Reaching the door, a bell rang as Natsumi walked in, "Sam? I got a job for you!"

Moments later, a young man in his early twenties came out from a backroom with a raised eyebrow. He was a non-descript guy and at seeing Asuka, he raised an eyebrow, "Evening, Natsumi-San and..."

Quickly, Asuka gave a bow, "I am Miku Asuka."

Bowing back, Sam smiled, "Miku-San, welcome to my shop. As Natsumi-San mentioned, my name is Sam, though my last name is Adams. So... how can I help?"

With a glance to Natsumi, the Tengu pulled off her backpack and opened it to reveal a laptop. Pulling it out, she showed it to Sam who took it and opened it, "Um, some people spilled a drink on it. And, well..."

Only nodding, the young man frowned, "Not working properly, huh? Well, I can fix it and it would be likely cheaper then buying new..." Walking over to the desk, Sam reached over and pulled out a piece of paper that he handed to the teens, "I'll have to open it up to get a better look, mind you, but those are general prices."

Eyes trailing along the page, Asuka blinked, "These... are not as bad as I thought." Then she frowned and gave him a look, "But why..."

Lips twitching, Sam chuckled and crossed his arms, "Why do I have a list of prices and the like?" At her nod, he shook his head with his tone becoming dry, "Mainly because I live and work on a military base. Trust me, you would need to work pretty hard for me not to have seen a way to damage electronics before." With a nod, he placed the laptop onto the desk and opened it, "Anyways, give me a few moments and... yeah, some of the components are fried and others are damaged. I got some parts in for this sort of thing if you'll give me a few minutes."

As he went into the back, the fourteen year old Yokai turned to Natsumi who was examining some pieces of electronics. Mostly old ones that no one had much use for, though there were a few there of interest. For example, what looked like a small arcade machine that had been built using what looked like a tablet computer and a few other components. Leaning towards Natsumi, Asuka frowned, "He's kidding, right?"

Softly snorting, Natsumi shook her head, "No, he really isn't, Asuka-San. You would be amazed at some of the stupidity that bored military personnel will get up to. Especially the US Marines that are on the base."

Just as she was about to comment, Asuka jumped a bit as Sam spoke up from behind her, "Oh, trust me, I know. Being a military brat means that I am not surprised very often at all."

That made the Tengu become curious, "Wait, you're a military brat? Really?"

Grinning, he gave her a small nod, "I am, in fact I've lived in Japan for, oh... since I was ten at least." A frown on his face, Sam shook his head, "Yeah, that sounds about right. In fact, I was here during Blood Week and got stuck in Japan because of how the Abyssals cut us off from the world."

Briefly, Asuka chewed her lip, unsure with asking her next question, "Did you..."

However, Sam shook his head, "No, I didn't lose anyone thankfully. Not that it was much fun to be honest, especially as I was, well... something of an outcast."

Confused by that, Asuka glanced at Natsumi who gave a small smile, "She's safe."

If anything, her confusion only increased as the American raised an eyebrow before nodding, "Ah, that makes a lot of sense. As to being an outcast... I was, and still am a geek. Not that my wife minds all that much as that was how we met." Seeing the curiosity, he smirked, "See, one of the things that I was known for was loving horror films and the like. Needless to say, that did not make me popular among the various cliques. Nor did the fact that I was something of an electrical genius. Well, one day, these guys gave me this weird video tape and I watched it. At first I thought it was a copy of The Ring, you know? But..."

As he continued, Asuka had a number of different expressions on her face. Disbelief was one of them, and that only grew as he continued. Once he was done, she snickered, "Do you really want me to believe that Sadako, or something like her, came out of your computer screen to kill you... and you stopped her by kissing her?"

With a shrug, Sam chuckled, "I know, it is pretty unbelievable, but it happened. She came back a bit later and I kissed her again. Before you knew it... I had a hot, supernatural girlfriend. I mean, I was a horny teen after all and she was just a few years older then I was, or looked it anyways, so you couldn't exactly blame me. Let us just say that the bullies went away, though she didn't kill anyone."

Feeling goosebumps, the teenaged Yokai rubbed at her arms before glancing at Natsumi who gave a small shrug, "Oba-Chan thinks that she's some new Yokai species. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time that one popped up out of nowhere based on a human fear. Not as strong as the one in the movie though, thankfully..."

Rather sure that both of them were pulling her leg, the Tengu shook her head, "Uh-huh."

Sam and Natsumi shared an amused look and shrugged. After another hour, the American nodded some and stretched, "There we go, all done." Glancing outside, he frowned some as night had fallen, "You girls got a ride?"

Lips curling upwards, the Kitsune nodded and pointed, "Hai, I called Louisiana-Chan and she's right outside." She pointed to where a car was waiting, "She'll drive Asuka-San home and make sure that she gets there."

Blinking, Asuka looked outside and found her eyebrows raising, "Wait a second..." Quickly, she poked her head outside and her jaw dropped before she turned back to Natsumi, "I recognize that car! It's the Renault that Kiba was selling at auction!"

Her own eyebrows raising, Natsumi blinked, "It is? I mean, Louisiana-Chan did say that she got it at an auction... though she had something of a bidding war with some Otaku." At the looks, she rolled her eyes, "They wanted to gut it and replace the engine with an electric one to show off at some anime café that they worked at or something."

Even Sam cringed at that and shook his head, "That is just plain wrong..." With a sigh, he handed over the laptop and Asuka placed it back into her backpack, "Anyways, just let me ring you up."

While he did so, the teenaged Tengu noticed that one of the television screens had gone right fuzzy and she frowned before various images appeared on it. Very familiar ones with the final one being of a young woman whose face was covered with wet hair as a white, wet dress clung to her body as she crawled towards the screen. Internally, she snorted, 'Are they really trying to scare me-'

Suddenly, her thoughts froze as did her body as the Sadako look-a-like reached the screen and began to come through it. Neither Natsumi nor Sam seemed to pay it much mind though the ghostly being glanced at Asuka and tilted her head at an unnatural angle. Deciding to ignore that, she embraced Sam and kissed him on the cheek, "Almost done, Sam-Kun?"

Giving her a kiss back, the American nodded, "I am, just finishing up cost tally."

With a hum, he gave said cost and Asuka quickly paid it before heading out the door, pulling a bemused Natsumi along with her, "Thanks, Sam-San!"

Rapidly blinking, Sam looked down at the money in front of him and frowned. Meanwhile, Asuka practically leapt into the car and stared at the shipgirl there with wide eyes, "Drive... quick!"

Pulling out of the parking lot, Louisiana gave her an raised eyebrow, "Is something wrong, Miz Asuka?"

Snickers from the passenger front seat made her look to see an amused Natsumi. The Kitsune just gave her a grin, "She met Sam-San's wife."

After a moment, Louisiana gave a nod of understanding and chuckled, "Ah, I see then."

By the time that they reached Zuchi, Asuka had recovered some from her fright. Weakly smiling, she got out and waved, "T-thanks, Lousiana-San... I appreciate the drive."

The Battleship just nodded and told her that she was welcome while Natsumi said goodbye and soon they were gone. Looking around, Asuka gulped some and hurried inside the house and relaxed only when Jin poked her head around the corner, "Hey there, Asuka." Seeing the pale face, she frowned, "What's wrong with you?"

Glancing around, Asuka gulped, "Jin? I... you're a powerful Grudge, right?"

More than a little bemused, the undead Mizuchi nodded with a chuckle, "Yeah, I am. Why?"

Still looking around as she reached the living room, she chewed her lip as she noticed Ai, Kiba, and Koga there along with Chisuheri as Kyoshu and Nameless were watching television. She relaxed more as Mary was also there and giving her a raised eyebrow, "Because, um... you could beat Sadako? Right? I mean, your Grudge is more powerful...?"

Arms crossed and somewhat lost, Jin cocked an eyebrow, "Sadako? Uh, sure, I guess? Though she doesn't exist, you know that right, Kiddo?"

Asuka rapidly shook her head at that, "She does exist! I saw her tonight at the computer repair shop and... and... You can beat her, right!"

Facepalming, Kiba shook his head as an annoyed Ai turned towards her Mizuchi friend with a scowl on her, "I told you not to let her watch those movies, Jin! I told you!"

Meanwhile, Mary pinched her nose and shook her head, "Molly..."

Rapidly looking from one to the other, the Mizuchi shook her head and held up her hands, "Whoa there! T-this isn't my fault at all! It was just a movie after all, she can't believe that Sadako actually exists!" Turning, she gave a pleading look to Asuka, "Right? I mean, you don't think that she exists in real life?"

Eyes wide, Asuka nodded her head, "She does exist! I saw her just a few hours ago!" Looking from one disbelieving adult to another, she waved her arms, "You have to believe me!"

Now Kiba was giving Jin a look and soon the adults were arguing with the Mizuchi attempting to defend herself. At the same time, the teen was trying to get them to believe her when she suddenly froze. None of them noticed that except for Kogamaru who blinked in confusion, 'What is wrong with her?'

Seconds later though, Kyoshu gave a huff, "Aw, I was watching that! And what show is this, Nameless?"

Koga noticed that Asuka's color went pale and her eyes widened, as well as the scent of fear coming from her. Furrowing his eyebrows, he turned and blinked at a bit at the sight of what looked like Sadako on the television screen. Confused, the wolf looked back and forth between Asuka and the screen as the ghost on it got close to the other side, "Wait... who was-"

Then it was his turn to freeze as the ghost began to reach through the screen.

Feeling a finger tapping on her shoulder, Jin brushed it off, "Dammit, Koga! I don't care what problems you have and-No! I swear that this is not my fault, Ai!"

Eyes wide, Koga grabbed her shoulder as the ghost came entirely through the screen and slowly stood up, one hand on his sword, "JIN! TURN AROUND RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

With a sigh, Jin did so, "What the fuck is it..." Staring at the Sadako-like being, she blinked, "Uh..."

Slowly, the ghost set several bills and coins down on the table as well as a piece of paper, "You forgot your change and your receipt..."

Giving a small nod, the ghost then turned and climbed back into the television before all their eyes. Once fully in, she turned and tilted her head with the television shutting off with only a small ring in the middle that faded away.

For a short time, there was nothing but silence in the entire room as everyone stared at the television. Then Kyoshu frowned and looked around, "Mou... why is the television off?" Grabbing the remote, she turned it back on and cheered at the anime, "Yay! Anime!"

Finger raised, Jin opened and closed her mouth several times before managing a reply, "What. The. Fuck..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

"Um… guys?"

There was a brief pause before Fluffy's radio crackled. {Yeah, Fluffy? What's up?} Rivet asked.

The young Princess gazed around her, taking in the sight of trees in every direction. "…I think I might be lost."

Accepting Tanith's suggestion to survey the nearby forest was starting to look like a less-than-stellar idea, in hindsight. Forest terrain was one of the few environments she wasn't accustomed to navigating—it wasn't easy to maneuver carefully through trees, back when she was the size of a whale. On the other hand, it had been noted that many of the wild animals that attacked their crops came from this general region. She'd be doing the fleet, and Regalia in particular, a big favor if she could locate their nest while she was out here. But if she didn't work out just where she'd gotten herself, she'd have no choice but to just pick a direction and walk until she got out of the forest, then make her way back to the settlement from there—a detour that would take potentially hours.

Which would cut deeply into her reading lessons with Renita.

{Just send a plane up over the treetops, let it give you a bird's eye view of your surroundings. You've got those now, don't you?}

"Oh… right." She'd been a carrier for nearly a month now… how did she keep forgetting that fact? "Sorry."

{It's no problem,} Rivet reassured her. {You're far from the first to make that mistake. Hell, I've done it myself a couple times.}

"Hm." Crouching down, Fluffy manifested the little creature that embodied her rigging. "You think we can get a plane up out here?"

In response to her question, the beast made a couple of circles in place, examining everything around it. Eventually, however, it plopped down on its haunches with a restless grumble, looking up at her. A forest this dense, with pilots as green as hers? That was an accident waiting to happen.

Fluffy sighed. "Plane's not an option. I don't think my pilots can get around the trees well enough to get into the air."

{…ah, that's an issue, yeah.} The radio was quiet for several seconds as Rivet pondered the issue. {I think you may need to do it yourself.}

"Myself? What do you mean?"

{Well, this option may not be too appealing for you, but… you could climb one of the trees, get eyes-on.}

Fluffy hesitantly looked up, unable to stop herself from gawking at just how high the trees seemed to reach, now that she was paying attention. "C-climb…?" The idea just felt wrong in all sorts of ways to the young Princess, who had spent her life on the ground and among the waves.

{Don't worry, it's actually not as scary as it seems,} Rivet reassured her. {Leveraging your horsepower a little should help you hold on pretty tight, and we're a fair bit sturdier than humans anyways—a fall will still hurt, yes, but as long as you don't land on something hard or impact the ground face-first, you'll more than likely walk away from it.}

"…the ground is hard…" Fluffy pointed out. That said, the Ri-class had a point; even when she'd had a building dropped on top of her, when she was still a feeble destroyer, all it had managed to do was crack her carapace slightly.

{You're free to take the long way around if you prefer. But I'm just making a suggestion. If you decide to give it a shot, and something happens, I'll take the heat for it, alright? It's your decision.}

With that, the radio went silent. For a while Fluffy sat in place, pondering her choice. Just because she could handle a fall, didn't mean she wanted to; really, who did? Still, though… she'd hate to miss her opportunity to relax with Renita, as she taught the formerly-feral Princess how to read.

Perhaps… she could give it a try. Climb up a bit to start, see if she could handle it, and come back down if not.

Sighing, Fluffy stood up. She craned her neck upwards, examining the trees around her. If she was going to do this, she needed a big tree. Big enough to stand above the others, if only just. The tree also needed to have plenty of branches for her to stop and rest, decide her next move (and as much as she didn't want to think of it, slow a potential fall). Stepping over to a nearby redwood, the Princess pressed against it, testing its sturdiness. The tree held fast to the ground, barely creaking or swaying, even when she began to exert some of the inhuman force at her disposal. She wasn't exactly a judge of such things… but this tree seemed good enough for her needs.

Fluffy took several deep breaths to calm her nerves, bracing herself for what was to come, before positioning herself under the nearest thick branch. She crouched down, the muscles in her legs tensing, prepared to call on her Abyssal power.

And she jumped.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Okay, Aunt Renita, that row should be long enough!"

Renita came to a stop, lifting her tail's chin off the ground. She turned around to examine the trench she'd dug in the soil—more or less straight, thank heavens. "I-is it too shallow? Too deep?" she asked.

The younger Re-class drew closer, walking along the length of the trench. "…nope, it looks good," she eventually said with a smile. "We just need to do that about a dozen more times, and we'll be through."

Renita nodded slowly. "Okay. I can do that." Stepping a few feet to the side, enough to walk between rows, she flicked her tail to bury its chin in the ground once more. She took slow, measured steps forward, careful to remain parallel with the trench beside her as she dug the next row.

Regalia quickly pulled up alongside Renita, carving her own row in the same manner, albeit with a much more practiced ease. "You know, Aunt Renita, nobody's forcing you to work. If you want to just take things easy, you can…"

The older Re-class shook her head. "N-no. I want to help. To be part of… making something new, again… lifts my heart a little. Plus, it keeps my thoughts off of… bad things."

Regalia pursed her lips. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't mildly concerned for her aunt, given that… well, none of them knew what trauma might lay beneath her quiet, nervous exterior. Sure, she seemed… not okay, but better, right now… but who knew what small thing might make her freak out? And with Fluffy, the one girl among them Renita was completely comfortable around, out doing her own thing for the fleet, who would be able to pacify the other Re-class in her absence?

Renita suddenly paused in her plowing, perking up. Regalia glanced back to her. "Is something wrong?"

"…did you hear that?" Renita asked.

Regalia tilted her head. "Heard what?"

Renita glanced over her shoulder, to the trees in the distance. "From the forest. I-it sounded like… a crash."

XXXXXXXXXX

…she may have put a little too much force into that jump.

The most obvious sign of that, was when the branch she'd targeted shattered on impact.

Fluffy quickly pulled her arms back, trying to shield her face and eyes from the wood splinters. By the time she cleared the debris, reached the apex of her jump, she'd realized her grievous error: she now had nothing to grab, to hold on to. More importantly… she was now starting to fall, and she had no way to stop it.

Fluffy was frozen in horrified realization for only a heartbeat… the next, she was in all-out panic mode. She began to flail wildly, yelping in terror as she twisted and toppled in the air. Several times her limbs struck the trunk of the tree, leaving scrapes and gouges in the bark, but doing nothing to slow her descent. Inside her head, her thoughts were racing. She shouldn't have done this, this was a horrible idea, she'd only barely gotten used to her new body in day-to-day life, what was she thinking trying to manipulate her hull like this—

CRACK!

There was a flare of pain in Fluffy's right arm as it was nearly wrenched from its socket. The pain was the farthest thing from her mind, though—all she could focus on was the fact that her fall had suddenly come to an abrupt halt, leaving her dangling by one arm. Looking up, what she saw was more than a little surprising: the fingers of her right hand, buried up to the knuckles in the trunk of the tree. She hadn't even noticed it happen.

Nervously, Fluffy's gaze drifted downward. The spot from which she'd jumped was easy to single out by the miniature crater, the soil beneath compacted by the weight of a warship pressing off against it. She had to be at least eight feet off the ground—far from a fatal fall, but she very much doubted she'd be able to land on her feet and just walk it off, all the way back to the town. Never mind that she still didn't know her exact position on the island.

On the other hand… she now had a proven means for hanging on to the tree.

Flexing her free hand into claws, Fluffy twisted around to face the tree and slapped it with as much strength as she dared; she was relieved to hear the crunch of wood, as she brute-forced herself another handhold. Fluffy spent the next couple minutes working her way slowly up the tree, one improvised grip at a time. It was slow going, with the Princess needing to stop at every step to let the growing pain in her hands fade… but eventually, she was within reach of another branch, this one intact. Her next strike went further to the right, pulling her closer; with one more heave, Fluffy pulled herself up into a sitting position at the base of the branch.

She didn't know quite how long she just sat there, trying to calm her pounding heart as she flapped her scraped, bruised hands. But looking around… to the light streaming in through the leaves just over her head, to the forest floor far below… she couldn't help but admit that, as terrifying as that start had been, the view from up here was actually quite nice.

All the while, an unexpected thought slowly rose in her mind:

That was… actually kinda fun.

 

[darthcourt10]

Tackweld

Part 4. In Which A Poster is Made.
_______________________________
Three days later CDV Cowes met again.

The members of the platoon wandered into the church hall with forlorn expressions on their faces. They milled about aimlessly, discussing minor news and comparing notes from their search for a way to contact the Navy.

A few minutes after Jones, the last member to arrive, showed up, Cpt. Ewart strode in. He went to check the announcment board to see if anything new had been posted. While he was doing this, the organist, Mrs. Pertwee, walked through to the organ.

"So, Any luck on contacting the Navy?" he asked.

This, to his suprise was met with downcast looks. The members of the platoon looked at each other. Apparently getting the hint, Jones spoke for the platoon "No, sir, none of us had any luck."
Mrs. Pertwee had collected her song sheets and left the hall soon after Jones had spoke.

"Well, then, on to other matters. I have spoke with Marcus McCabe of McCabe salvage and he would be willing to give us the steel at slightly less than cost. For the quanity of the grade we will need, it still will be no small sum." Cpt Ewart said. "anyone have any ideas on how to obtain such a sum? And no, Franklin, we will not be doing it your way. We cannot have that reflect on our platoon."

Pvt. Franklin wilted slightly at that slightly insensitive comment regarding his method of supplying essential supplies.

"Ey! I was thinkin we should ask Jonsey, I rekon he would have seen ways of rasing such amounts of cash from when he was with Wellington at Waterloo." Franklin, a cockney, replied.

Jones looked hurt. "I am not that old! And it was Montgomery, in Berlin! Though I do have an idea. How about a poster with someone important's picture on it and a phase like "I need YOU to donate to the Cowes summoning fund."

An argument soon erupted to whom should be of the poster. One camp, of about half the members of the platoon, thought Jones should be on the poster. With the other camp being for Ewart.
The argument grew more heated and Ewart feared the Reverend would hear them. He let it carry on for a few more moments regardless. He then shouted "Silence!"

Quiet quickly returned.

"Since you seemingly cannot agree, I have decided that this picture will be on the poster." He held up his smartphone, displaying his chosen picture. He continued "For the caption, I am going to modify Jones's idea, if there are no objections?"

No objections were had.

"Ball, you once mentioned that your grandson is good at computer art?" Asked Ewart.

"Yes sir" Ball responded. "Do you want me to ask if he could draw up the poster?"

"Of course, Ball, if it is not a problem." Ewart replied. "Be certain to ask him how much he wants to be paid for doing so."

With that, the meeting turned to the pressing matter of how to keep mice out of the air raid shelters.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Leaning back in his chair, Wilhelm smiled as Gwen placed a cup of coffee in front of him, "Danke, Gwen."

Her lips curling as she watched him gently blow on the brown liquid before taking a sip, she laughed lightly, "You're welcome, Wilhelm. How is it?"

With a hum, the wizard placed his cup down with a twinkle in his eye, "It is almost perfect."

Eyebrow raised, Gwen frowned though she narrowed her eyes, "Oh? Almost perfect? And what is missing from it?"

Moments later an squeal escaped her as his arms went around her waist and then pulled her into his lap, "Ja, now it is perfect."

Lightly whacking him, Gwen gave a small huff and crossed her arms with a glare on her face, "Dammit, Wilhelm." That said, there was a sparkle of amusement in her eyes and she wiggled herself a bit, "Must you?"

One hand going to the curve of her hip, his other took one of hers and pulled it to his lips, "Ja, I must." Letting go of the hand, Wilhelm tightened his hold and hummed as he kissed the nape of her neck, "It is impossible to beat perfection, after all."

Softly giggling, Gwen shook her head even as she sat in her husband's lap. After all, this sort of thing was something that they had been doing for well over a century now. Her lips curled into a smile, she took her own cup of coffee and sipped it before wiggling a bit, "Perhaps you are onto something in regards to this being perfection." Twisting a bit, she leaned down and kissed her husband of decades before pulling away, "Yes, perfection."

Taking his own cup, Wilhelm took a sip though there was amusement on his face, "Ja, as I said." Only getting a shake of the head, he chuckled, "So, are you enjoying yourself, Gwen?"

Expression softening, the witch understood the unsaid portion, "I am, Wilhelm. It has been far too long since I have been able to teach the younger generation. And I missed it far too much."

Nodding, Wilhelm turned thoughtful, "And it is much the same to me." Hands, callused from years of laboratory work, he gave a hum, "Ja, teaching young minds is something that I have truly missed. And, perhaps, we shall be able to do it for as long as we would like. Though, hopefully, the Statute falling will not interrupt us."

With a hum, Gwen frowned, "I do not see why it would. Though perhaps we will see many come and ask for us, especially mundane scientists and the like interested in magical alchemy. Far too many of them disparage it after all for my liking."

Simply tapping a finger, the wizard smiled, "Then that is what we must do when we are able. Lift the veil and allow them to see that our work is as worthy as any one else's." Leaning to the side, he captured Gwen's lips with his own before pulling back, "Yes, we shall."

Feeling his hand shift away from her hip to her stomach and begin to slowly drift higher, Gwen leaned over and grinned, "Let's finish our coffee first, Wilhelm. Then onto more... fun forms of discussion." Her expression then became downright lascivious, "As much as it increases Professor McGonagall's blood pressure."

That make Wilhelm laugh aloud in amusement before his lips met hers again, "Ja, and I love you, Gwen."

Cheeks red, she shook her head, "As I love you, Wilhelm." The two enjoyed their coffee for several minutes until a knock at the door caught their attention. While others would have been annoyed, neither Gwen nor her husband were and so she cleared her throat, "Yes? You can come in."

Wilhelm then piped up as the door began to open, "We are quite decent."

The door paused at that with Gwen whacking her chuckling husband before shaking her head, "Do not mind my husband, come, come, you want to see us... Mister Potter?"

Now opening the door to reveal a bemused Harry, the black haired student raised an eyebrow, though part of it was due to how the female teacher was seated in her husband's lap, "How did you know it was me?"

Unable to help herself, Gwen smiled, "It is an old trick, mainly in the form of an identification ward upon the door. It gives us a simple name for who might be there. Now... you want to ask us something, I assume?"

Walking inside, the thirteen year old glanced around the office as he nodded. Everywhere he looked, there was some display or such regarding alchemy or potions, "Um, yes? It has to do with something that I received in my First Year..."

Just nodding, Wilhelm turned thoughtful, "Yes, young Albus actually told us about that. How he set up an obstacle course to get those of your generation interested in alchemy. Not quite how I would have gone about it, but I cannot complain as it did as it was supposed to." Stroking his chin, he turned his attention to Harry, "But you mentioned receiving something?"

Having reached the desk, Harry rubbed the back of his neck, "Well... some stuff happened and I got a hold of the fake stone that was being used." At their interested looks, he pulled a small vial out from his clothes that contained a small, red shard of crystal, "This is a piece of it."

An intrigued expression on his face, Wilhelm took the vial and then opened it before depositing the shard into his palm. Picking it up, he examined it closely with Gwen before nodding and handing it to her. The Professor then turned back to Harry, "I assume that you wish to know what it is then, Mister Potter?"

With a nod, the messy haired teen sat down in a chair in front of the Professor's desk as he watched Gwen return the shard to the vial and then recork it, "Um, I was, as well as how hard it is to make it..."

Leaning against his closed fist, Wilhelm hummed a bit before shaking his head, "It would be too difficult for you to produce for some years yet, I am afraid." As Harry nodded, he continued, "As to what it is? Do you remember the lesson some time ago when we turned gold into a vapor?"

It did not take long for Harry to connect the doors and he looked at the vial with a surprised expression, "It's gold chlorate?"

Still in Wilhelm's lap, Gwen chuckled, "Not quite, or at least anymore. It is gold chlorate that has been magically transmuted through several processes until it becomes a stabilized crystal. Many centuries ago, it was thought that was the third of many steps to producing a Philosopher's Stone. But it was not to be... but the final compound, combined with a few other materials, produced the type of crystal that you showed us. One that readily absorbs magic and can hold a large amount... and can be used in transmutations and rituals."

Glancing at Harry, Gwen raised an eyebrow as something occurred to her, "Perhaps... including rituals that summon shipgirls then?" At his slow nod, she smiled and turned to Wilhelm, "Now that is not something that we ever considered." Turning back to Harry, the shipgirl tapped her chin, "How effective?"

The teen looked from one to the other before remembering that Dumbledore stated to trust them, as did Victory, "Very effective. And, well..."

Somewhat amused, the male Alchemist shook his head, "And you wish for more of the crystal then?" At Harry's nod, he chuckled, "Well, I do not see much of an issue with it. And both Gwen and myself do wish to help out in our own ways regarding the war. However... there does need to be an exchange of sorts."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Harry was suddenly unsure, "What sort of exchange?"

Lips twitching, Wilhelm waved him off, "Simply that if we are to produce it, you shall help. The final steps do require quite a bit of magic, but you will not do anything that would be dangerous as Gwen and myself perform the true work. But there would be things that you could do."

Eyes narrowing, Gwen smiled a bit, "Are you willing to do this, Mister Potter?"

Harry frowned at this and considered his options, "You say that I would not be doing any of the truly dangerous work?"

The female of the two adults nodded, "No, we would not risk such, Mister Potter. Most of what we would ask is for you to help set up the apparatus when needed, nothing more or less. That, and watch as we work."

Chewing his lip, Harry frowned even more before glancing at each of them, "Would it be okay if I was to think it over for a few days first? Just so that I don't rush into this?"

If anything, that seemed to please the two with Wilhelm nodding, "Of course, take your time to come to a decision." Handing back the vial, he smiled, "And our doors are always open, Mister Potter."

With a final nod and goodbye, Harry left with his thoughts awhirl. Though he was thankful that it was a Friday and he was going to be heading home to hand over Honjo to the Tokugawa the next day...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

About the only sound in the Gryffindor Common Room was the crackling of the flames in the fireplace, the ticking of the clock, and the sound of pages turning alongside a pen on paper. Sitting in one of the large, squishy armchairs with a large book, Hermione sighed and stretched. Joints popping, she let out a soft sigh of relief before looking at the teapot on a tray beside her. It was one of the things she bought in Hogsmeade as it kept tea nice and warm, something she needed on late nights. Besides it, on the table there were a small tray of biscuits as well. Pouring out the tea into two cups, she chuckled some, "You can come out, Upholder."

For several moments there was nothing before suddenly said Submarine popped out from beside the chair, "HUZZAH! LADY-" At Hermione's glare, as well as the Light Cruiser pointing at the clock, Upholder toned it down sheepishly, "Huzzah, Lady Hermione, most Beautiful since Troy! Your intelligence is greater then the greatest of thinkers and truly you are observant to have noticed I, one of the Knights of the Undersea!"

One eyebrow raised, Hermione stared at the bouncing Submarine, though her eyes noticed something else before looking away with a slight blush. That said, there was an upturn of her lips, "It was not that hard, Upholder." She then shot the other shipgirl an amused look as she pointed, "After all, Gryffindor should not have a potted palm tree."

Turning, Upholder looked at her hiding place before smiling, "Ah! But few are capable of piercing through the disguises of masters such as us, the Knights of the Undersea!"

Simply shaking her head, the witch chuckled much to the confusion of the other girl. Then she raised an eyebrow with a slight twinkle to her eye, "Or perhaps I am simply catching on." At the shrug from the Subgirl which did... interesting things, Hermione shook her head as her expression softened, "Though I have noticed signs of you being around among others, Upholder. Is this about the Dementors? Because I can take care of myself, you know."

Expression turning serious, Upholder leaned down with her hands on the chair's arm, "Be that as it may, Lady Hermione, for truly you are more than able to do such. What happened should not have occurred for you were in danger. And it would blow your cover if you had to truly protect yourself!" She then gave a sharp nod and placed her hand on her chest, "And it is a Knight's duty to protect her Lady!"

Her eyebrow raising slightly further, there was an amused look on Hermione's face. Amusement that only increased as Upholder realized what she had said and flushed, "I am your Lady, hmm?"

Despite the fact that her engine was pounding in her chest, the Subgirl swallowed and nodded, "But of course!" Seeing the amusement, she flushed further before coughing, "T-that said, let us not bode long on such things as what happened, for it would do no good! Instead..." Looking around, Upholder caught sight of the notepad and paper, as well as the large book, "Perhaps you may tell me what has caught the attention of you, Lady Hermione, whose mind is without peer as is your beauty!"

Now it was Hermione's turn to flush some, 'One of these days, I might get a swelled head.' Placing that thought aside, among others, the shipgirl witch glanced at the book when an idea occurred to her. One that brought a sly smirk to her face as she got up, "Have a seat, Upholder, and I'll tell you."

Confused, Upholder walked around the chair and sat down. Nodding some at how comfy it was, she looked up at a still smirking Hermione, "There, I have seated myself-"

Before she could get much further though, Hermione turned and then sat in her lap and caused the Subgirl to freeze in place, "Good, nice and comfy." Much to her amusement, and something that she was internally laughing at, was how Upholder had gone completely red with wisps of steam coming from her ears. More than that, the other shipgirl was flailing around her arms as if not sure what to do, "Something wrong, Upholder?"

Mouth working for several moments, an odd keening sound came from the Knight of the Undersea before she finally managed to get some words out, "N-no, nothing is wrong, Lady Hermione!"

Innocently blinking, Hermione continued to cackle internally, "Really? Because you are acting rather oddly."

Looking in one direction and then the other, Upholder swallowed, "I-I assure you, nothing is wrong. Hopefully, you are comfy."

With a chuckle, the Light Cruiser nodded, "Oh, very much so." Leaning back, she hummed as she shifted while pretending not to see the Subgirl go even more red in the face, "Very comfy."

Unable to look at her, Upholder coughed, "I see... that is good to know. S-so what is it that you are working on?"

Part of Hermione wanted to continue to fluster the Subgirl, there was something... something... cute, about it. Said thought barely had time to pass through the shipgirl's mind before she blinked, 'Cute? Did I actually just call Upholder... cute?' Shaking that off, as well as the slight amount of heat in her cheeks, Hermione leaned back some more and hummed as she opened her book, "It is really a fascinating read and was written by a halfblood wizard by the name of Richard Yore." Pausing for a moment, she frowned, "Have you and the other Submarines investigated any of the places in that book of sunken locations, Upholder?"

Slightly thrown by the change in conversation, it took the Subgirl a few moments to come up with a response, "The quests? Why yes, we have investigated them. While there are few signs for some, a few still have semi-intact buildings. Though I suppose that in such cases they are intact through some form of ancient magic."

Nodding, Hermione hummed at that, "Sounds about right. And that is what ties into the book, you see. Richard Yore was interested in why there are so many demihuman species here in Europe. Some are rare, and nearly extinct such as the giants. So he went around and collected their tales, their myths, and the like. Some, he was able to point to their origins being fairly recent. Others though..." Opening the book, she pretended not to notice Upholder's arms go around her waist as the Submarine looked over her shoulder in interest at the picture of a centaur, "Others seemed to be far older. For example, the Centaurs are well known for their hatred for any form of 'servitude' placed upon them."

A frown on her face, Upholder could remember that coming up before, "Yes, you've mentioned that before. Where they will react even violently in regards to anything like that, not just the ones in Britain, but elsewhere in Europe."

Hermione frowned as well, "Yes, which is somewhat interesting as it is a wide ranging cultural belief. The question is... why? And an answer that Yore found out. See, unlike many, he did not stop with one tribe, but also visited others as well to gather their folklore and came to an odd conclusion. Despite the differences and distances, all the stories are rather alike in a number of ways. Long ago, in a far off land, the Centaurs were created by powerful beings. Beings that then proceeded to use them as... not even slaves, really, but beasts of burden. But something happened, some cataclysm and the Centaurs threw down their former masters and swore never to be enslaved again."

Thoughtful, the Submarine gave a small nod, "That... is interesting. I suppose that the author believed that it was some kind of oral history?"

With a nod and thoughtful look herself, Hermione made a sound of agreement, "Yes. But it was when he started to compare the Centaur legends to others that it really started to get strange. The dwarves had similar legends as do the goblins, where they were used to mine the earth by their masters, with the dwarves claiming that they were shaped in the same way one shapes clay, hinting that they were not always like that. Mermaids, too, claimed the same thing, that they were created by long ago masters to bring the riches of the sea to the land. Then... you had beings such as the Veela and a few others. According to them, they too were created as servants though, um, not for the fields but the bedroom. He even checked old records written hundreds of years before to find similar stories told to wizards and witches."

Cheeks flushed, Upholder cleared her throat and looked away, "Ah, I see. That... is quite horrible."

Shaking her head, the Light Cruiser's expression was thunderous, "No, it is sickening and disgusting. According to some of their oldest tales, they were created as bedwarmers. But that was the thing that caught Yore's imagination as well, all the tales were very similar to one another, the question is... why? His explanation was that was because they had the same origin, or close enough. Making note that with magic, modern wizards and witches can create life or even hybridize different species..."

Eyes widening, Upholder connected the dots and sucked in a breath, "He thought that magicals created them long ago..."

Hermione nodded at that, "Just after the Ice Age, but before records were written down. Back then, the best tools most people had were stone, or at most perhaps copper and such. Compared to that, magic was far easier to develop and advance. Not to mention, that those with magic would be at an advantage compared to those without. After all, magic allows for one to reshape the world around them. Not to mention creating various beings... makes for a sickening amount of sense."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Upholder tilted her head, "How?"

Just grimacing, the witch sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, "Horses make agriculture easier, after all they can pull a plow. But a horse that can direct itself without the master being there all the time? That would be far more valuable. Within the mines at the time, being shorter, and much more durable, would be a major advantage. Having something able to breath underwater to gather food and treasure from under the sea is another. Beings such as Veela and the like? They would serve their master, or mistress, in the bedroom. Each one created, for lack of better words, for a specific purpose. Of course, as he notes, something happened to those nations long ago. Most of the legends describe them as sinking beneath the sea."

Briefly, Upholder's eyes widened before turning thoughtful, "Atlantis then? Because that is how it sounds."

Much to her surprise though, Hermione shook her head and chuckled, "Actually, Yore was dismissive of the idea of Atlantis. His theory about that was that like him, Plato might have overheard old stories and took the idea from them. No, Yore's belief was that there was several such civilizations in different places in Europe, but that they sank beneath the waves. After all, as you have seen, there were a number more recently that have."

Not saying anything, the Subgirl leaned forward and thought. Something that made Hermione blink a bit before she smiled. After a few minutes, Upholder furrowed her eyebrows, "Perhaps they were inundated after the Ice Age when sea levels rose? Such as how the Black Sea was flooded?"

Slowly, Hermione nodded at that, "There is also Doggerland in the North Sea as that sank beneath the waves a few thousand years ago. Not to mention that the Baltic was also land once. Glacial floods were another, so assuming that they were hit by those, it would cause the inhabitants to scatter." Spreading her hands, she shook her head, "We'll likely never really know the truth. Besides which, it does not explain everything. While centaurs with the bodies of horses are common, there are also ones who have instead the bodies of deer or goats and while goats would make sense... deer wouldn't. It is an interesting theory though just the same."

Upholder gave a hum before shaking her head, "Perhaps, or it could be him being biased towards wizards and witches, that they had to have created them."

Lips curling, Hermione giggled some which made Upholder blink in confusion before she launched into a debate with the Subgirl for the next hour. As the clock struck two in the morning though, she placed the now empty pot of tea to the side and closed both her notebook and research book. Getting up out of Upholder's lap, she smiled down at the Submarine, "Thank you, Upholder."

All Upholder did was smile back and bow best that she could, "You are very welcome, Lady Hermione, most beautiful since Helen of Troy herself!"

Moments later though, she blinked as Hermione kissed her cheek, "Good night, Upholder."

Voice shaking, the Subgirl nodded with wide eyes, "G-good n-night, Lady Her-Hermione..."

Walking to the stairs, Hermione glanced back in time to see Upholder bonelessly slide from the chair and shook her head with amusement before continuing on to bed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shinr

On the dust-brown surface of the "Red Planet" Mars, there was a region named Cydonia that according to Viking 1 orbiter footage, contained pyramids and something that resembled a human face, which was a source of all kinds of speculation.

Later observation with higher definition equipment would make it clear what the more level-headed people already knew, that these were only optical illusions, and the pyramids and the face were just hills.

Unknown to those on Earth, the Face and the Pyramids were actually real, and were covered by vision-altering technology erected after the arrival of Viking 1.

And amid these ancient structures there was a whirlpool of activity, as tall, green humanoid beings were continuously hauling material from underground to the several large grey-colored spacecraft that bared some resemblance to classical UFO look.

In the Underground facility proper, small grey beings were operating terminals, scrubbing anything that hinted at their presence here, while others were setting up explosive charges at key structural points, all under the watchful gazes of the floating, cloaked figures.

And overseeing them all was a large brain-like organism, safely nested on some kind of floating contraption. Hours prior it was embedded to a "pedestal"-like machine that allowed it to better co-ordinate operations in this solar system, but with the evacuation imminent it changed "bodies" ahead of time for convenience.

With time, as matters required less direct supervision, its mind began to wander.

It along with slaved forces arrived in the Solar System sometime 50,000 years ago, finding these ancient ruins on the fourth planet. It did not knew and did not care who built them, but It took advantage of the already existing underground network of artificial caverns and tunnels to build its base of operations, so that it could conduct the mission as ordered by the Ethereal Empire: To Harvest the Third Planet of both its natural and organic resources and to observe and retrieve the crashed Colony Ship T'Leth when the Harvest time comes, preventing its re-activation if necessary.

T'Leth belonged to a truly ancient Inter-Universal Civilization, their seemingly impossible capabilities were the stuff of legends. How and Why they disappeared baffled all, but the few things they left behind were powerful enough to enable backwater races to achieve greatness. Even their lesser creations, like the small, greenish-blue aquatic servitors that the Ethereals took and modified for space habitation (which also made them grey), were a boon for whoever discovered them.

According to certain data, this Civilization could take an ordinary lobster and make a towering supersoldier out of it that could take on entire squad of heavily armed mutons.

And so the Organism waited for dozens of millennia, observing the Third Planet until a sufficient amount of suitable organic mass will arise for a proper Harvest, when irregularities started to appear about three millennia before the scheduled harvest.

Pale, towering beings came from the waters, and they conquered all that stood before them. The Organism at first though that they came from T'Leth, but scans indicated that it remained inactive. Upon further inspection, the best explanation he could make about these beings was that they were psychic manifestations of sunken, native sea-borne vessels, and they were a match for the Organism's forces.

Still, these beings' power and influence faded with time and soon they disappeared, dragging their subjects into a societal collapse. And with that there were no irregularities since then.

Until decades before the Harvest.

These pale beings returned, starting with small probing attacks against the organic natives. In response, Psychic natives either confronted them, or let the non-psychic ones confront them. Either way, the Psychic ones then concealed the evidence of the pale ones.

The pale beings over time ramped up their raids and probes, and the psychics continued to conceal the evidence of their existence. The increasing amount of firepower displayed by the pale ones concerned the Organism, so it decided to post-pone the Harvest to re-evaluate the situation.

Then five years after the Harvest was supposed to start, the pale ones launched a massive assault on the natives.

This only confirmed the Organism's predictions that the amount of resources, being- and fire-power needed for a successful harvest was beyond his means. And when the OTHER, non-Pale Psychic Manifestations of the Sea-Borne Vessels begun to appear to battle against the pale ones, It officially wrote the mission off as untenable.

The presence of at least one ship from other galactic powers that was likely there to observe the War on the Third Planet only convinced the Organism to leave as soon as possible. The Ethereal Empire might be called an Empire, but in reality it is now only a shadow of its former self, forced to subterfuge to gain resources and conduct harvests in secret away from prying eyes, when in the glory days they could have simply take over the planet from the beginning, force breed the native population to sufficient numbers while openly harvesting them.

Briefly, it wondered what would happen if the natives stumbled upon T'Leth, but then it decided that it was someone else's problem now.

Soon, the evacuation procedures were complete, and the Organism and its retinue quietly left the System, their departure now completely preventing a timeline in which their activities would lead to the formation of X-COM, the resulting technological ascension via Elerium, the Organism's final "screw you" via waking the T'Leth and the toxification of Earth's ecosystem that the Colony Ship's destruction would cause.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Adjusting the clothes that he was wearing, Harry looked at himself in the mirror. One hand went up to touch his hair before pausing just a few inches above and moving away. It had taken a lot of work on his part in order to actually get his hair semi-tame. Well, that and magical styling products, which also helped. And being as there was going to be press there for the hand over of Honjo to her original family, Harry actually knew that he had to look as good as possible.

Granted, the political bit of it all did make him grimace some.

His grimace vanished though as he remembered something that Nagato had made sure he understood. Mainly that if he was to become an Admiral, politics was something that he would need to understand and be able to use. No one got to high positions, or kept them, without being able to handle politics. Hence why the media was going to be at the hand over as were a number of politicians.

The door opening though snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over to find that Nagato was there with a slight smile. Something that made him tilt his head some, "Mum? Something wrong?"

Only shaking her head, Nagato walked in and examined him before straightening his tie some, "No, just thought that I should check in on you." Placing her hands on his shoulders, she looked her adoptive son over and gave a nod, "You look so handsome, Harry."

Brightly smiling, the thirteen year old blushed some, "Thank you, Mum."

Chuckling, Nagato kissed his cheek and shook her head as his smile impossibly brightened more. From what she had heard, most teenaged boys would be fussy about their mothers kissing their cheeks. But she was glad that her son was not one of those as he still soaked up any and all affection that she could give him, "You are very welcome, Harry."

As she was looking him over, Harry was doing much the same and internally nodding. Currently, the shipgirl was wearing her JMSDF uniform complete with the salad bar and various medals she had earned over the course of the war. Like with Fubuki's uniform, they were not all Japanese either as there were American, British, Italian, and others as well. Part of Harry remembered why his mother chose to wear medals she had been given by other nations' armed forces, mainly to make a statement by not wearing Japanese ones alone. It was something followed by a number of other Japanese shipgirls as well.

The reactions from various Ultranationalists when Kaga and Akagi had shown up wearing American medals for their part in the Central Pacific Route Campaign to a PR event still caused Harry to snicker.

With a frown, Nagato looked around the room and furrowed her eyebrows, "Harry? Where is Honjo, Juuchi, and Tsukiakari? They're not here..."

Harry blinked and bit his lip some, "I, uh, put them into Hoppou's room." Seeing the confusion on his adoptive mother's face, he continued, "So that the three of them could say their goodbyes to each other."

Expression softening, the Battleship placed one hand on his shoulder and nodded, "That was very kind of you, Harry. I am sure that the three of them appreciate it greatly." Checking her internal clock, she did one final check of herself and nodded, "We should be going if we do not want to chance being late to the event."

Simply nodding, Harry walked out of the room and knocked on Hoppou's door with his knuckles, "Guys? Its time to leave." Waiting a few moments, he opened the doors to find that the three swords were on a desk and there were some damp tissues in the garbage can. Sadly smiling, he shook his head before walking to the desk. Taking Juuchi, he frowned at her, "Can I trust you to behave here?" At the rattle she gave, his frown deepened, "Juuchi, I am being serious. Considering what is going on there, this is important. From what Mum tells me, this also might affect me becoming a Japanese citizen and stuff like me becoming an Admiral. Do you promise that you will behave?"

For several moments there was silence and Harry felt like Juuchi was all business and she gave a small rattle.

Bowing slightly, he smiled, "Thank you." Placing her at his side after tying a peace cord, which made Juuchi rather smug, Harry took Tsukiakari, "You're going to be with Mum, Tsukiakari, hope that is alright with you." Said sword gave a rattle that made him smile as he somehow knew that not only did she not mind, but was all for it. Handing the sword to Nagato, who placed it at her own side, Harry took a deep breath and then picked up Honjo, "Ready?"

All he got was the impression that if she could, Honjo would be raising her chin in the air as if to say she was forged ready. Not helping was how he could swear that Juuchi was rolling her eyes at the other sword despite not having any currently. With a final nod, he walked out of the room and the apartment, waiting until Nagato locked the door. Soon enough, the two of them were walking down the hallway and then the stairs. Reaching the bottom, Harry paused as Shinano turned and the Carrier's expression brightened, "Harry-Chan."

The teen blushed lightly as he saw Shinano in her own uniform. While the shipgirl did not have nearly the same amount of medals as his adoptive mother, she did have enough. More than that though was the fact that part of him whispered in his mind about how she certainly filled out her uniform. Shoving that thought well back into the recesses of his mind, Harry returned her smile with one of his own, "Shinano-Chan."

On Shinano's face was the slightest bit of a blush as well and she bit her lip as she looked him over, "Um, you look very nice, Harry-Chan. Distinguished."

If anything that made Harry's blush deepen some, "Thanks, Shinano-Chan. And you look very beautiful."

Now it was the Carrier's turn to have a face like a tomato at the compliment, 'Harry-Chan said that I look... beautiful, in my uniform.'

Suddenly, White Plains was there with a large grin, her own uniform on with a plethora of medals and such, "Okay! Now that we're all here..." Pulling out her phone, she stuck out her tongue a little, "Shinano? Get beside Harry so that I can take a picture of the two of you!"

Embarrassed, Shinano almost scuffed her foot on the ground before remembering she was wearing her good shoes which she had polished the night before, "Kaa-San..." Only getting a grin, she was about to say more when Harry's arm snaked around her waist, "Ha-Harry-Chan?"

Looking up at her, he only smiled some, "It's fine, Shinano-Chan. Besides... a picture does sound nice."

Just blinking for a few moments, Shinano gave a nod and a smile of her own before standing up straight and placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. Much to White Plain's amusement though, the two of them leaned towards one another. Not commenting on it though, she took the picture and nodded, "And there we go."

Nagato then leaned towards her, "Mind sending me that picture?" At her nod, the Battleship smiled before clearing her throat, "Now then, I would like a picture of myself with Harry."

A few minutes later, and a number of pictures, the group entered a limo and were soon off to where the event was going to occur. Upon their arrival, Harry felt his eyebrows raise upwards at the people who were there. Just from where he was, besides the media he could see the current Prime Minister and a few officials from his cabinet, at least one representative of the Imperial Household, and a number of others. As they walked further in, Harry paused some and blinked.

Mainly because off to one side, he could see that woman he had sometimes seen at Zuchi, Mary, who he had been told was Jin's mother at the edge of the crowd. Currently, she was talking with what looked like a Japanese woman of mixed ancestry. Part of him wondered why she was there, though she spotted him and gave a small nod before some people stepped between them and Mary was gone.

Something that made his eyes widen some in surprise.

However, Harry decided that it was best not to question it and continued scanning the room between greetings and handshakes. There was a large amount of security from what he could see. Whether that was due to the fact that the Prime Minister was there or members of the Imperial Household as well as the Tokugawa or if it was due to recent events involving another Masamune though he did not know. Soon enough though, he reached the destination and bowed deeply to the current head of the Tokugawa Clan, Tsunenari. Much to his surprise, the older man bowed nearly as deeply with a smile before he greeted the teen warmly.

After the greeting, he produced Honjo and handed her over, the moment having flashes of cameras going off as various video cameras were recording the event. With that done, Honjo was placed on display for everyone to come and have a look at her. Meanwhile, Harry and the others chatted with various people, with the black haired wizard being curious about the shipgirl that had accompanied the Head of the Tokugawa. Bowing, he smiled at the shipgirl who was a sailing ship of some kind, "Hello."

The shipgirl smiled a bit and bowed back, "Hello, Potter-San." Understanding part of the reason that he had wanted to talk with her, her smile widened a bit, "I am the Tokugawa warship, Asahi Maru."

It took a few moments for him to place the name and he blinked, "The one build in the 1850s?"

Eyes widening slightly, Asahi Maru was somewhat surprised by that, but bowed, "That is correct, Potter-San." There was a slight questioning look on her face before she shook her head, "And in this life, as in my last, I serve the Tokugawa."

That only made Harry nod as it did make sense, and some things slid into place, "To help in case of, ah, issues from certain quarters?"

Glancing around, the shipgirl's voice dropped down so that only the two of them could hear, "Hai, that is correct. As you know, being around someone makes it... harder for them to forget."

Harry could only nod at that, "Which is understandable."

Simply nodding, Asahi paused only to take a drink offered to her before turning back to the conversation as the waiter continued their journey, "Hai." Taking a sip, she hummed, "From what I have heard you shall be at the ceremony opening the Summoning Pool in Hirado?"

With a nod of his own, the thirteen year old tilted his head, "That is correct, Asashi-San. We're also going to attempt to summon some older ships as well while we are there. Just in case."

Understanding what was not said, the two turned their conversations to other things and, soon enough, she was watching as he drifted off into the crowd with a small sigh while part of her resolved to keep an eye on him. There was something that told her that the young teen would go far in the future, 'If only he was not spoken for, I am sure that we could have found someone from the household for him...'

Before they left, Harry had a small chat with the Tokugawa and left them rather amused with the small factoid that Honjo's spirit liked eating apples, Fuji apples especially. And, it also amused Juuchi to no end and he could swear that there was a small amount of embarrassment coming from Honjo at that as well.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

OMAKE-The Sloop Jackie F(ox) Finale
Yacht SS Horizon Bringer
Offshore of Tijuana, Mexico, 1969

Day Seven:
Spoiler: Theme for the Butterknife Bastard vacation

"This mess was all your fault!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!!"

"...Hggrk...someone kill me now...."

"If ye had not started that riot, I would not have half me Acapulco Gold sitting on the dock when I had to made sail! I paid top dollar for that!!"

"If you hadn't ran off to do a 'business deal' we could have kept Colombe out of the wrestling ri---...wait WHAT!!! JACKIE!!! You were smuggling drugs?!?"

"Well, duh, Del!! Cap'n Fox, Terror of the Sargasso Sea has tae keep her tail in with some acts of larceny on the high seas!"

"...please stop shouting....Mon Dieu just kill me and get it over with....my head...."

"Drinks, Lady De Breuil, Captain Fox, Mistress Colombe? Something called a 'hurricane' to celebrate the radio reports of heavy weather heading our way, perhaps?"

"Aye! A run before a nice storm gale always is more fun with rum in ye! Tae piracy and a following wind, Delilah!"

"I need to wake up and find myself home in bed! Ow, ow, don't slap me on the bruises, Jackie!!"

"...merde....the deck is heaving again....gaaah...."

"SIS!!! You just threw up again all over me!!!"

"And me!! Colombe, how could you!"

"Mistress Colombe, I will get some metal polish to see if I cannot get that green pallor off your face."

".....this is the worst trip that I have ever been on...never again."
Spoiler: Photo of hungover Colombe

 

[darthcourt10]

mikelima777

HMCS Shannon, Off Nova Scotia

As Commander Greengrass ate lunch, music began playing from the ship's speakers. The officer's wardroom was filled with snickers and chuckling as the Commander leaned in to speak with his boss.

"She's bored again, isn't she?"

The Captain rolled his eyes in resigned amusement as "Bohemian Rhapsody" blared on the ship's PA system.

***

Anmore, British Columbia, Canada

If someone asked you to guess where a Nine-Tailed Kitsune, and daughter of one of the most infamous figures in Japanese and Chinese Mythology, would live, it is very unlikely that you would point to the sleepy village of Anmore, British Columbia. Named after the wife and daughter of a local homesteader, Anmore was home to less than 3,000 residents. Its most notable attraction was Buntzen Lake and the park surrounding it. Used to supply water to two hydroelectric power stations, the lake was frequented by hikers using the adjacent trails as well as film crews working on their projects.

A short distance away from the lake was a small cottage. Any visitors would have been surprised by how spartan the interior appeared, especially if they knew about one of the occupants of the home. Currently, though, the male occupant of the home was standing in front of his bed after brushing his teeth.

"It's time to wake up, Tsuki." The man's voice warmly chided.

At the head of the queen-sized bed, a pair of fox ears peeked out from the blanket. The current occupant of the bed started to whine.

"But I don't wanna wake up!"

The man sighed in amusement as he looked at his fiancee, and he pondered the events since 2005, all of which had led to him becoming engaged to Tsuki Maeda.

The Greater Vancouver area had not been spared by Blood Week, though Vancouver Island and Washington State bore the brunt of Abyssal attacks in the Pacific Northwest. The death toll was estimated in the thousands, with the cities of Richmond, Delta, and Surrey suffering the most. The City of Vancouver was also struck, with the downtown core seeing a number of buildings damaged beyond repair.

Some residents had moved up the Fraser Valley, while others headed further east. Demand for waterfront properties had decreased over fears of future abyssal attacks, even though most of Canada's coastline was secured. Still, many remained in the Lower Mainland, and most did their best to continue their lives. Despite some debate in the late 2000s, Vancouver and Whistler ultimately stayed as hosts of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Part of the costs for the games was spent on reconstruction and development of areas badly damaged in 2005. However, security concerns led to the Canadian and American deploying troops and aircraft to British Columbia, as well as aggressively patrol the waters off British Columbia and Washington State to avoid any unwelcome interruptions.

As for the man, he worked at an engineering firm that helped rebuild areas of the city damaged on Blood Week. The company was also involved in the expansion of HMCS Discovery, the shore installation off Stanley Park, with an annexe in North Van built as an overflow to the repaired CFB Esquimalt. Local shipyards were also upgraded and busy building more vessels for the RCN and Canadian Coast Guard, as well as merchant shipping.

He actually met Tsuki during an anime/sci-fi convention of all things, though he still insisted he was only there to chaperone his otaku younger sister and friends. After somehow losing his sister's group, he met the Kitsune. Amusingly, she was in a Ninetails cosplay and won that day's costume competition thanks to her very realistic tails. They struck up a conversation and found themselves geeking out. After his sister and friends found him, Tsuki gave him her number. Following a few dates, they decided to get serious, though Tsuki was always a bit hesitant. The reason for that came out rather quickly. During a weekend camping trip in Golden Ears Park, Tsuki had decided to confess.

He was asked to stay up, as Tsuki had something important to tell him. He watched with surprise as fox ears appeared and the tails he thought were part of a realistic costume turned out to be very real. Afraid, she rapidly told him she was a Kyuubi, and in fact a daughter of the most infamous Kitsune of them all. Not to mention the fact that her youthful appearance hid the fact she was over a millennia old. She then bluntly said through tears that she would accept if he was afraid of her and ended the relationship. Instead, the Kyuubi was surprised as his lips covered hers as he mumbled, "doesn't matter." She was mortified though when he mentioned, "so that's why we keep getting hairballs in the shower drain." But after much cuddling, they went back to the tent, with Tsuki wrapping her tails around him.

One thing he found out quickly while dating Tsuki was how little she valued material wealth. Instead, they often spent dates hiking around the trails across the lower mainland, including the infamous Grouse Grind. Tsuki had a fondness of Peanut Butter, but also Nutella, both of which were soon stockpiled in the home they purchased. Tsuki also revealed the existence of magic, and the fact there was another part of Canada hidden from the rest of the country.

Tsuki, had a number of odd jobs, such as acting as a translator, seamstress, working in an immigration support organization for Magical Canada, as well as recurring work as a consultant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Magical Aurors, the Wizarding counterpart of the RCMP.

***

The man chuckled at he looked at his fiancee's guilty expression. Which was not helped by all of the nutella smeared over her lips and cheeks like a kid.

"Well at least it wasn't the maple syrup this time."

He laughed as Tsuki whined, "It was one time!"

She lightly smacked his shoulder.

"Mou, stop being so mean!!! I know you enjoyed it as well."

Hugging his fiancee, he grabbed a paper towel and began to wipe it off, only to chuckle as she started to lick the hazelnut spread.

"True. Anyways, you got another letter from the RCMMA."

The nine-tailed kitsune sighed. "Again? Please don't tell me another stick-waving dumbass pulled something stupid, again. Or some lost hiker managed to find one of the Sasquatch settlements. Or one of those MACUSA Aurors overstepping their authority. Heck, why do they always call me for this stuff? I'm just a consultant."

"Hey don't look at me. I'm technically not supposed to be aware of magic. Besides, you're kind of on their payroll."

"Bah, Humbug!"

She opened the letter and frowned as she read the contents.

"Tsuki?"

"Hmmm, there are noise complaints regarding a house belonging to a Nisei family. Near Revelstoke apparently. The Aurors think it may be newly awakened Tsukumokamis."

"Those are objects that become sentient after a hundred years, right? Like that tea set that married that Japanese battleship."

"Hai. It happens from time to time. Remember when one Oni somehow escaped Japan and got smuggled into Canada in a Toyota SUV?"

"Yeah, you said the RCMMA hired the poor guy for riot control, after ignoring demands from the Tokyo government to extradite him. And you've told me the horror stories about the Tokyo government and MACUSA plenty of times."

"That recent riot also didn't help. Bloody idiots," she growled. "My Auror contact told me that applications for refugee status in Canada were rising up. Not to mention that group of abyssals that brought back HMCS Regina are reportedly in talks with the nomaj government."

"Still can't believe those folks survived all those years in the Aleutians."

"But anyways, we need to get ready for work."

***

Yokosuka, Japan

The Chief Engineer stood patiently as Captain(N) Wilson carefully read through his report on the repairs, who looked relieved at what he was reading. The Engineer felt pride in his people, as they appeared to once again perform a miracle on a ship that time and time again overcame the overwhelming odds. None of the builders of the Halifax-class frigates could have imagined what HMCS Regina had endured.

"We got the diesel engine running again?"

"Aye, sir. The spare parts we received worked as hoped. Gotta thank the Japanese and Koreans for finding compatible parts. I'm still concerned if we try to use full power, but I think we can do at least 10 knots, maybe more."

A convoy from Vancouver had arrived a few days ago carrying grain, natural gas, and other goods. It was escorted by the newly built destroyer HMCS British Columbia and frigates HMCS Vancouver, HMCS Calgary, and HMCS Kelowna, as well as the USS Ralph Johnson. Also arriving were the Canadian shipgirls Ontario, Nootka, and Algonquin, plus a trio of Fletcher-class shipgirls.

The hope was to have the Regina ready to sail with a convoy heading back to North America, and the battered frigate would be escorted by Canadian and American shipgirls, as well as the Wardens that accepted permanent residency in Canada.

Speaking of which, Tandy Ferguson had been dealing with some sort of minor headaches and an odd growth on her forehead. But when Hoppou, the Northern Ocean Princess, examined her, the deceptively small abyssal simply said that Tandy "was catching up with the others."

 

[darthcourt10]

WickedestCard

So, getting this out since the cuteness and fluffy helped me get my mind off of today. Mom had a car accident earlier though luckily she's fine though her car may be a total loss. Prelim police report is favoring my mom so we should be okay insurance and money-wise. Been meaning to finish this a lot earlier but had a bit of writer block. Either way hopefully this is nice and good and can help lift someone's spirits.
------

A Smol's Relationship: An Upgrade!?


MiniGato sighed contently as she snuggled up to her fairy companion on top of the carriage roof as they rode back to Hogwarts. She and Alli had spent the day along with Harry and the others at Hogsmeade having a good time and enjoying the sights. Both of them enjoyed having lunch outside and had to hold themselves in when they went into the candy shop. Most of all, she greatly enjoyed the quiet time she had with Alli walking through the picturesque magical town.


The Smol gave a small smile as she remembered how a couple days Alli came up to her asking her to go with her to visit the town during the student's weekend visit to which she agreed to go with. Both of them tried in vain to ignore and hide the red tint on their cheeks after that and the excitement they felt in the lead up to the weekend. Then MiniGato couldn't do much to hide the full on blush she had when she saw Alli earlier that morning.


Dressed in vibrant fall orange and yellow, the nature fairy had constructed a dress out of plants to fit the season they were in and the Smol Battleship couldn't help but think of just how cute her friend was as she fluttered back and forth nervously. She herself was dressed very smartly however they were clothes that she had secretly ordered off of a doll accessory store and thus felt a little bad about how much comparative effort was put in.


"Pip? Pip pip," Alli spoke up, breaking their comfortable silence as she pointed out the setting sun. It was a blossom of red, yellow and oranges to help cap off a lovely day that was had. As MiniGato took in the sight her eyes widen a bit as Alli rubbed her cheek against her.


"Gato?" MiniGato asked as she turned to look at the surprisingly forward fairy.


"Pip pip pip. Pip?" Alli gave a questioning response. When MiniGato gave a small but solid nod Alli steeled herself and summoned the bravery back from the party last year.


"Chu~"


-


"Morning MiniGato, how are you doing?" Harry asked as he noticed the small weight on the side of his bed. Suddenly he was very awake as the Smol jumped onto him with a lot more energy than either she or Nagato showed so early in the morning. Sitting up he took a look at his Smol assistant.


"Huh...is that your Kai form? How'd that happen?"


"GATO! GATO~" MiniGato declared smugly.
---------

It's not a very long snip but yeah, it's now official though not much else happened when they got to Alli's room. Just a lot of cute cuddling and innocent hand-holding. Other fairies, ship fairies and Smols are quite jealous of both of them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Shinr said:
At first I automatically assumed that the woman was that Soon-to-be-Father Cute Spy Kouhai, but what if that was actually Delilah who with the official business as an excuse decided to go to Japan (The Prophecy is fulfilled by now) to attend a Sword-focused function with hopes of finding "Daddy" there?​

Which reminds me, I should introduce them so that other authors can use the Butterknife Bastards if and how they want to now. With that in mind, with this snippet, they are now loosed 'into the wild' so other authors can use them as they see fit for their parts of HatSG.

The Hunt for Norimune (Prelude)

TRANSCRIPT OF A VOIP CONVERSATION ON PIRATE BIBLIOTHECA ADMINISTRATOR FORUM

<DoveBlade>: "Bonjour, Jackie, what had you call me in a rush to get me in here?"

<CapnVixxen>: "Del will explain when she arrives. She's the one who asked me to call you."

<DoveBlade>: "Oh. Well. So, Jackie. What's up?"

<CapnVixxen>: "Same old, same old. Your scan of the Bái Zé Tú manuscript is generating a lot of attention, though. Two folks I am certain are museum curators have been begging me to thank you for the scans since apparently it was a lost text. Before Blood Week even. Where the hell did you find it?"

<DoveBlade>: ".... I didn't realize that it was so rare. Library of the Summer Palace outside Beijing in 1860 if I remember right. Got there before the flames reached it and shrunk and stuffed what I could grab that looked nice into my magically expanded rucksack. Same place I got my Ming vase collection in the upstairs foyer along with that gold leaf on black wall screen in my bedroom with the legend of Niulang and Zhinü. Oui, it was one of the scrolls that I unpacked from the same pack as my Mings."

<CapnVixxen>: "Have to love a lucky prize like that. Reminds me of the time I captured a brigantine in 1803 and found that she had part of the viceroy's shipment from New Spain getting sent back to Madrid. That's where I picked up that silver and emerald necklace with matching earrings I was wearing when I visited you in 1990 to celebrate Christmas. Mine by right of piracy, mmmm..."

<DoveBlade>: "Preach it, sister. That's a nice piece of jewelry. I would have loved to have it myself."

<RevolverOcelot>: "Hey guys, what's up?"

<CapnVixxen>: "Not a lot, Del. Just talking old scores where we hit the jackpot in here while we waited for you to show."

<DoveBlade>: "What Jackie said. So what has your cylinders out of alignment to call us here, Delilah?"

<RevolverOcelot>: "Just this which crossed my desk this morning."

<RevolverOcelot>: uploaded www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/with-historic-handshake-abyssal-treaty-negotiations-conclude-c38f367da

<RevolverOcelot>: "Tada! Front page of the nomaj papers no less. Clever of them to keep the whole treaty negotiations under wraps until they could hammer it out and call the journalists to photograph the signing ceremony."

<CapnVixxen>: whistles "Scupper my bilges, this Portia's a real looker. She's going to get frostbitten running around in the starkers like that, might need to heat her up in the bedroom, heh, heh."

<RevolverOcelot>: sound of hand hitting face "Jackie! I swear, I can't take you anywhere! Can you keep it in your skirt for one hour?"

<CapnVixxen>: "Nope! And you love me for it, Del!" saucy laugh

<RevolverOcelot>: long-suffering sigh

<RevolverOcelot>: "Anyway, if you can get your mind out of the gutter, you know what this means. We can finally hunt down Norimune so Colombe can have that 'chat' she has been planning for three centuries. Mère is making arrangements to join us once we locate Norimune so she can talk as well. She wants to apologize to Norimune for what happened."

<CapnVixxen>: "Just let me get her autograph and a few pictures before Colombe shreds her. Big Sister has got a lot of daddy issues built up. Hey wait, where is Colombe?"
Spoiler: Butterknife 2.0 Theme Music
Butterknife Bastards Theme Music Starts to Play

<RevolverOcelot>: ".... FUCK!!! We better Floo over there now to stop her before she goes off half-cocked again!"

<RevolverOcelot>: running footsteps and muffled crash in the background

<CapnVixxen>: "I'll meet you at her place, Del! Gimme a moment to call someone in here to run the site!"

<CapnVixxen>: "Del?"

<CapnVixxen>: " DEL!! You there?"

<CapnVixxen>: "Bugger me with a boarding pike. Both of them went off half-cocked. Oh well, it should be fun." laughter of thirsting gods intensifies

TRANSCRIPT ENDS

 

[darthcourt10]

Lord K

A.N./ *raises a mosquito ridden hand from the grave*

"AT LAST, AFTER TEN THOSAND YEARS I AM FINALLY FREE!!!"/"HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION!"

Urgh, late as ever, but then better late than never. Assume this snippet to take place only a few days after the quidditch match, even if it's been a while since then.

*goes back to dying from the humidity in the Pacific jungle*
----------------------

It was a surprisingly lovely mid-November day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In a rare defiance of the usual dementor-wrought weather that had encircled the castle for so many months, and only grown worse as Autumn gave way to Winter, the sun was shinning. Bright and chasing away the clouds and dampness of the school grounds, it made the day was practically picturesque, as if it were one last hurrah by the clear skies before the worst of the Highlands' Christmas season set in.

What birds that hadn't already migrated, sang and basked in the sun's warmth. The Giant squid cruised lazily on the surface of the lake with a similar idea in mind. Little furry animals frolicked or went about gathering stores for winter. Some of the unicorns even provided a special treat for some of the students, by grazing closer to the edge of the Forbidden Forest than usual and thus being more easily seen.

And then there was Kagotsuruhe.

The shapesgifting nightmare who had decided to make the most of the good weather, by rolling out a picnic blanket on one of the more secluded and out of the way lawns near the Whomping Willow, before promptly upending an entire sack filled with the bleached white bones of almost half a dozen humanoid individuals. With the morbid tablue set up around her, the Blade of Hopelessness then kneels in the center, with her sheathed true form in her lap. Surrounded by the remains of dead dementors, one by one she the then compares the longer of the beached white bones of the incinerated wraiths, with the unwrapped handle of the weapon she actually is.

Gaze sharp and analytical, Kagotsuruhe inspects each of the likely candidate bones with careful consideration. Though the shapes might not be obvious fits, there are always other aspects to consider when keeping in mind that magic was involved in the crafting methods. And that's even before one gets into the fact that Muramasa could regularly be 'off the wall', as well as unrestrained in his ideas sometimes. While logic to a normal person might just dictate that a humerus would be the easiest bone to carve and work with for a hilt, her creator could very well have used spellwork to lengthen and reshape a sternum, out of a desire to capitalize on the added thematic connection and metaphoric weight it would have, being so much closer to a dementor's heart.

Picking up a chain of bones though, Kagotsuruhe ruminates over the possibility of a dementor's spine being used instead. Magic could always fuse the aligned vertebrae into a single long bar. Or maybe he treated the column like a very tall and unsual laminate? And what sections could he have used anyway? The full length of a dementor's spine looked to be rather a few pieces too long to match up one-to-one with the length of her hilt, although that was also before considering how fusing of the material into a contiguous single mass could alter the overall dimensions and shape.

It is in the middle of this car fully considered grim inspection, that a hand then obnoxiously enters her field of vision, thrusting a new bone in front of her face. "Hey, maybe your hilt is made out of this one?" asks Juuchi cheekily.

Kagotsuruhe stares at the bone in question; A coccyx. A vestigal tail bone, from a dementor's already vestigal lower body. A series of partially fused and normally cartilage bound bones attached to the sarcum of the pelivs, that in humans have little to no purpose other than maybe being a secondary support for some tendons and muscles such as the gluteus, as well as the rectum.

In other words, a dementor's ass.

Kagotsuruhe looks to her sister, seeing that the grinning Muramasa has already anticipated her train of thought. "Could you possibly not?" asks the elder of the two emotionlessly.

Juuchi merely cackle in answer, causing Kagotsuruhe to do her best in effecting a disapproving frown. "Don't you have a young master to watch over and protect?"

The Potter family blade simply laughs. "Have you seen the escort he currently has. It's hard enough for even me to shadow him, let alone someone who might actually mean to do him harm. I doubt my absence will make much of a difference when he's wandering a shipgirl patrolled castle with a personal guard of Abyssals."

"So there is nothing more immediately pressing or important to occupy your time then?" queries Kagotsuruhe.

Juuchi offers a faux-pout of disappointment. "Awww, are you saying family time and an opportunity for some pleasant sisterly interaction isn't important to you."

"Juuchi." The older blade stares at her sister dryly. "If there is any one thing I have learned in the last five centuries, it is that there is sometimes a vast difference between what any two of us sisters can consider pleasant."

"Well at least you think this is still important," quips back Juuchi with a grin.

"In your mind maybe," observes Kagotsuruhe flatly.

"Ouch," says the younger Muramasa, jokingly placing a hand over her heart, while her older sister moves her inspection on to a bundle of ribs. "Could you be any colder?"

"I don't know," says Kagotsuruhe. "Could you be anymore hopeless?"

Juuchi snickers at her sister's turning of the conversation into puns born from their names, before pausing- Struck by the oddity of the realization that she is having an honest and comfortable back and forth with a sister she once upon a time only ever regarded as a most terrifying and inhuman foe.

"Is something the matter?" asks Kagotsuruhe, breaking Juuchi from her moment of reflection.

"Sorry," she says shaking her head, "Just thinking."

"Well, you are not Kyoshu," observes Kagotsuruhe, "So I trust you not to hurt yourself."

Juuchi snickers smugly at the thought of the karamatic fate of her old tormentor, before abruptly pausing and stilling.

Sensing that something is awry Kagotsuruhe pauses in her inspection and looks up. "Juuchi? Is something the matter?"

Looking around, the sword spirit sees neither hide nor hair of her younger sister, who has suddenly made herself scarce from the lawn and the elder Muramasa's morbid picnic. What she does see though, is a figure in school robes approaching. A young Ravenclaw with blonde hair and a curious look on her face.

For a brief moment, Kagotsuruhe considers following her surprisingly flighty sister's example, before deciding against the idea. Mentally reaching out, the Muramasa can detect the emotional-component undercurrent of a 'desire to know more', which leaves little doubt when taken in conjuncture with the determination in her stride.

And at the end of the day, Luna is also not just a smart girl, but a rather nice (if odd) one that some part of Kagotsuruhe can't help but feel a little fond of. From what she knows of the girl, and the reasons for her close friendship and emulations of the pirate-kanmusu, avoiding her would only be hurtful to the second year. And to be entirely honest, the Muramasa is loath to deprive the second year of a rare friend.

As an aside, the colder and emotionless part of her also notes that an in with the daughter of a local media source is always an advantageous thing to have, both in terms of one's acting career, and a potential asset for playing spin-doctor with facts should any kind of conflict or incident necessitate it. While Kagotsuruhe didn't care for the dementors and certainly wasn't going to stop her sister's habits any time soon (especially after the quidditch match), inevitably someone was going to notice the growing minor dent she was likely putting in their numbers.

So, as the young Luna Lovegood approaches, Kagotsuruhe instead remains in place, seated in seiza. Reaching the edge of the Muramasa's macabre picnic, the second year then stops. For a long moment, sky azure eyes stare curiously into frigidly glacial blue ones with nothing remembering a soul behind them. Finally though, it is the Ravenclaw that breaks the silence with a question that is as as much a statement, as it also the voicing of the begining of a hypothesis in her mind.

"You aren't human, are you."

"No," answers Kagotsuruhe plainly, while gesturing for Luna to join her and take a seat. With an unusually assessing look for the normally cuckoolander blonde, the second year then complies. Sitting down on the blanket, she awkwardly does her best to mirror the Muramasa's traditional form and poise, before finally giving up when the pose proves uncomfortable on her feet and ankles that immediately begin falling asleep.

"My first thought," postulates Luna absently, "is that you are a shapeshifter is some kind."

Quietly Kagotsuruhe raises a curious eyebrow, detecting the unsaid 'but', in the Ravenclaw's sentence.

"However...." continues Luna, as her gaze now shifts to the one non-skeleton related object on the blanket between them. "That either that sword is always with you, or you are often carrying around objects of similar size or shapes capable of hiding it."

The Ravenclaw hums thoughtfully. "Which leads me to think that what everyone thinks is you and talks to, and what stopped the dementors isn't actually the result of shapeshifting. What 'this' is, is some kind of manifestation or puppet of something else."

Kagotsuruhe listens, as Luna now reaches the conclusion of her theory. "Which leads me to believe that the real you is in fact the sword!" She claims triumphantly.

At last, the Muramasa speaks.

"That," she intones with a bemused smile applied to her face, Kagotsuruhe answers with an injection of 'mildly impressed' into her normally emotionless voice, "is correct. I am surprised. Not many westerners realize so quickly, and often assume my abilities to be borne some kind of empowerment by my true form, or non-human ancestry."

"Like dementors" asks Luna.

"Among others," answers the sword spirit.
Now Luna looks not at 'her', but at the sheathed blade between them in thought.

"After the match, some people were talking about a 'super-dementor'." Thoughtfully she considers the muramasa's previous words. "But copying the abilities of a dementor isn't really what you do. Or at least the only thing."

The second year nods, as the facts and obsevations in her mind begin to line up. "Even leaving aside the fact that you obviously aren't some kind of soul-sucking abomination, since you aren't actively trying to make everyone sad and depressed, and are actually rather nice.... where does the the shapeshifting come from? And what limits it? You obviously needed to be accelerated from where ever you were in the stands to reach us in time, rather than fly under your own power. Speaking of limits, why the ribbons and cloth? You don't strike me as someone who would be overly bothered with a motif by choice, which means it's related to your powers. You also freeze things much faster than a dementor normally should, which combined with the ice you were throwing about, suggests some connection with the cold beyond just 'ice magic' as well."

"A rather numerous number of superficially related, but on closer inspection disparate abilites", agrees Kagotsuruhe.

Luna rests her chin on her hands, adopting an expression of deep thought and consideration. "You shape shift like a boggart. And your clock reminds me of a lethifold from some of the enchanted drawings I've seen. In fact, so does this fabric on your hilt-"

The Ravenclaw blinks, before sitting upright as realization strikes her. Now her eyes scan the hilt of the blade she was previously curiously pondering over, with a new scrutinizing focus. "This fabric on your hilt- It is part of a lethifold, isn't it! And the hilt itself- this white stuff- it's not wood, it's-" gaze shifting to the macabre contents of the picnic around them, Luna then pauses. "You are made of dementors bones?"

"The core of my hilt is," clarifies the Muramasa plainly.

Luna absorbs that fact with an unperturbed nod of understanding. "I see. So then you... are made of the regents gained from creatures to gain their powers?"

Kagotsuruhe nods. "Something like that. However, in layman's terms that is generally a succinct enough broadstrokes explanation."

Luna casually hums contemplatively, as if it were common for recently made friends to reveal they were born of horrific alamagations of dark creatures and unholy things. With all the gravitas of acting as if the Muramasa had just revealed to her that her favourite color was blue (Urabe Michiko had once delcared that the various tints of the color were easy to match and went well with her eyes when after conscripting her into a session of dress up a few hundred years ago), which only barely edged ahead of red (the color of the blood of her enemies), the second year Ravenclaw tilts her head as a new question comes to mind. "Is your name actually Kagome?"

"No," replies the sword spirit with open honesty.

Luna looks at her curiously, no sense of betreal arising as she considers her friend's surprisingly open frankness and respect for the second year's desire ti know more now that the cat is out of the bag. "Well, who are you actually then?" For a moment Kagotsuruhe pauses, considering how best to translate not just her name, but also the titles and epitaphs by which she is most known, acclaimed and feared.

"In Japan, my homeland, I am known as Kagotsuruhe Muramasa. The Sword of Hopelessness. One of the greatest and most terrible of the legendary magical blades of Muramasa. The shatterer of men, minds and armies. Loyal retainer and ancestral blade to the fallen Noble and Most Ancient Urabe Clan. The blade by which their rule was enforced, and with which fear and respect was struck into the hearts of foes and allies."

Even as she finishes though, Kagotsuruhe notices an odd expression cross Luna's face. "Is something amiss? Have I erred or babbled on too long?"

Shaking her head, the Ravenclaw frowns before speaking with confused yet casual observation. "No, it's fine. It's just... that sounded a lot like you were speaking about what you are, rather than who you are. Don't you think so?"

For a moment, Kagotsuruhe pauses, considering the suprising wisdom and insight think the young girl's words. "I think," she then finally says introspectively, "that you might be right. And more than that, I think I do owe you an honest introduction."

Luna smiles while the sword spirit takes a moment to think. "I am Kagotsuruhe no Muramasa, of the Urabe. Daughter of the Muramasa-Tachi, with more siblings than I have time to list. Actress, aunt and elder sister.

With a beaming grin, the blonde Ravenclaw then gives an satisified nod. "And I'm Luna Lovegood."

Shifting her expression, Kagotsuruhe offers the best emulation of a smile and a chuckle that she can. "It's nice to properly meet you Luna."

"And it's good to properly meet you too Kago- er..." awkwardly, Luna tries to stuble her way through the much more complicated sequence of syllables "Kagosoo? Kagosuroo?"

"Tsu-ru-he", sounds out the Muramasa for the student's benefit.

"Ka-go-su-rue-hee?"

"Close. Ka-go-tsu-ru-he"

Luna frowns, likely mildly annoyed with herself. "Maybe I should just keep calling you Kagome for now?"

The Muramasa shrugs. "If it is convenient for you. Admittedly it is not the most simple of names to write or pronounce. My masters as children occasionally used to come out with some interesting mispronounciations or nicknames that their childhood bable could handle. Most of my sisters simply call me 'Kago' for short."

Latching onto one part of that sentence in particular, Luna looks at the sword spirit curiously. "So there are more of you? And you do actually think of them as sisters?" Luna then blinks as a thought strikes her. "Is 'June' actually her sister? And you wouldn't happen to have seen her around since the match have you? I haven't really had a chance to speak to her since then."

Kagotsuruhe does her best to offer a consolatory shrug and gestures at the surrounding area vaguely. "June's... around. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that when things actually do get personal and are outside her convenience or comfort zone, she tries to distance herself from the immediate problem until there's no choice to confront it head on."

"Why do you say that?" asks Luna.

"Because many of us are like that to different degrees," answers Kagotsuruhe. "But more than that, she is indeed my sister. And to a certain degree, we were not lying when we improvised on the fly, that story of her being estranged until recently. Life in England has been good to her, and she is prone to acting zealously to protect it. Sometimes to the mild detriment of herself, others, and common logic, but these are habits and faults born from the experiences and torments of her 'youth' in Japan."

For a long moment Luna stares at her, and it is now the Ravenclaw's turn to be unreadable. "Is it your fault?"

Kagotsuruhe is silent, considering her answer. "Directly? That is hard to say, though I would not be surprised if what rare few meetings we did have left an unfavourable impression and their own unhelpful shadows in her dreams." The Muramasa then purses her lips. "Indirectly? In retrospect, I am possibly far more culpable for my inaction, considering my... repute among certain siblings of ours who had it out for her."

Looking at her long and hard, almost a minute passes, before Luna finally seems to make up her mind regarding whatever she seems to be thinking and how it effects her view of Kagotsuruhe, and maybe her sister.

"I believe you."

The Muramasa blinks in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

Luna merely nods as if she has made a decision that she is confidant in, before explaining her response. "I... don't like bullies. And people who just let it happen as well. But you sound like you didn't really know or understand what was happening, and you obviously regret not helping looking back on it so.... I believe you."

Kagotsuruhe raises a curious eyebrow. "You would take my word after the secrecy, lies of omission, and the revelation of my inhuman and inhumane nature?"

The Ravenclaw smiles and offers a shrug. "I get the feeling that most of you lies have been for June's benefit, and if what you say is true, then June is lying to protect and watch over someone else in turn. Besides, I have a hunch I can trust you. Call it an inherited reporter's intuition."

"You know," comments Kagotsuruhe with a gesture towards her true form. "Most people would say the old adage of 'don't trust something if you can't see where it keeps it's brain', exists for a reason."

"That is true," says the Second Year with an oddly contemplative look on her face. "I had a friend get possessed by a diary last year. But I get the feeling you're a bit like me."

"How so?" asks an intrigued Kagotsuruhe with a small quirk of an eyebrow.

"Well," says Luna, "people call me loony so much I some times almost wonder if I am a little loony." With an look of youthful sage wisdom, the second year looks over the Muramasa and tilts her head thoughtfully. "I wonder what it is that people say about you, that makes you so sure everyone would be wary and terrified of knowing you."

"Many of things," offers Kagotsuruhe with a casual shrug "The vast majority of them justified, for sane and rational reasons that I have done ltitle to dissade."

Luna gives her a sad look. "It must be hard to make friends."

"I manage," offers the sword spirit without concern. "I have my collegues in my theatre group. And my sisters. Although admittedly that is sometimes part of the problem."

The young Ravenclaw however, now smiles as something comes to her mind. "Well then, it is a good thing that associating with and seeking out places, people, and things most other's wouldn't, is an overlap shared between reporters, magi-zoologists, and pirates alike."

"Is that so?" asks Kagotsuruhe.

"Indeed so! So scary, terrifying and dark or not, I'd be a poor magical-creature hunter, pirate, or journalist's daughter if I didn't stick to my guns and stay your friend."

"I see," says the Muramasa with a contemplative hum. After a few moments of thoughtful consideration, she then speaks once more. "Did you know that one of my sisters was once a pirate during the Caribbean Golden Age of Piracy? Or a privateer. She tended to flip-flop between the two."

Immediately, Luna is enraptured. "Really? What was her name?" she asks excitedly, shifting in her seat among the picnic of bones.

"Her actual name, was Masamune no Norimune," reveals the sword spirit, subtly shifting her tone as if readying to tell a story or narate the introductory piece to a theatrical play. "And though she may have been erased from most muggle histories, occasionally you may still find daring tales and folklore of the dread-pirate, Captain Norimune Longblade, of the legendary ship, the Impentient."

Unexpectedly, Luna's eyes light up with recognition. "I know that name! Queen Anne has mentioned her a few times, but she doesn't seem to be back yet!"

"Hmm, well that should make introductions easier," observes the actress thoughtfully. "In which case, how would you like to hear one of her favored stories to retell? The saga of how she met her infamous second in command, who's acclaim with her pistols allowed her to match ever the swiftest of wands; the legendary Sally Grey."

The sword spirit pauses for a moment as something occurs to her. "Albeit, the age appropriate version."

Seeing Luna nod eagerly, Kagotsuruhe offers a storyteller's grin, before launching into the tale.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Stretching some, Harry gave a small sigh before looking over his shoulder at Natsumi and the others as he ignored the early morning chill, "You all ready for today?"

Head cocked to the side, Usagi gave him a small smile, "Hai, I think we are." Looking at a yawning Rika, she snickered, "Some of us more than others though."

All the Nekomata did was snort and give her friend a look, "Its early, alright? I mean, the Sun is barely up."

Tone utterly dry, Kenta smirked some, "Well, it is November..." Moments later, he was punched in the arm by the cat Yokai, "Ow!"

Rolling her eyes, Rika gave a sniff, "Oh come on, that didn't hurt that much."

Despite having hung out with them so often, Asuka was still unsure about how the group of Clan Heirs that she had been pulled into acted towards one another. Though, granted, she had loosened up some since that time. There were times though that she wondered how they got anything done... or got out of the bed in the morning.

Somewhere, Ai sneezed and frowned as she looked around in confusion.

Unknown to Asuka though, Ayaka had noticed her silence and turned to her, "You alright, Asuka-San?"

With a blink and realizing that everyone was now looking at her, the Tengu waved her hands, "I'm okay, just... you know."

Glancing at her, Natsumi smiled a bit, "Let me guess, wondering if this is really worth it?"

Lightly blushing, Asuka gave an unsure shrug, "Maybe? I mean... considering things..."

With a chuckle, Usagi shook her head and gave the other teen a smile, "It is not that bad, after all, this isn't something for the military, not really. It is more a project of the Yokai Clans. About the only bit that the government and military is involved in is helping to smooth things out with the shipgirls from this actually providing help in a different way then is usual."

Confused, the Tengu frowned some, "That is what I don't understand about this whole thing. Why did the Yokai Clans even build a Summoning Pool in Nagasaki? It makes no sense..."

Sharing a look with Harry, Natsumi waited until he nodded before she answered the question, "Well... the answer to that is actually pretty simple." Seeing the confusion of her friend only increase, the Kitsune shook her head, "Being around shipgirls can make someone immune to mind tampering somehow, no one is sure why though. They can also protect politicians and the like from having wizards or witches show up to mess around with things. Especially with the various things that have been happening."

Unbidden, the image of Nameless came floating to the forefront of Asuka's mind and she winced, "That's... true."

A frown on his face, Harry scratched his chin, "As to why in Nagasaki, it has to do with history." Seeing the confusion, he made a gesture with one hand, "The summoning pool is actually located just outside of where Dejima used to be in Nagasaki. Considering what the summoning pool is focused on..."

Eyebrows furrowed, it only took a few moments. Then Asuka's eyes lit up in realization, "Wait, Dejima? As in where the Tokugawa had set up a place for merchants from the outside to trade with Japan?"

Harry gave a nod to that, "Got it in one." Smiling slightly, he tilted his head, "As a matter of fact, we're aiming to summon Red Seal ships at least. Hence why we built it there as Dejima was specifically built for that. Though... there was a bit of a political fight there."

Blinking, that made Ayaka turn to him with a small frown, "I think that Kaa-San mentioned that actually. Though I don't get what the big deal was."

With a sigh, Kenta shook his head in exasperation, "It was actually on both sides of the divide. On the one hand, you had on the Non-magical side an issue where Hirado wanted the Summoning Pool built there, and they did have a point as they have been a center of trade with the outside world for Japan going back to the Nara Period. So it would make sense to build them there for symbolism's sake. There was also some Yokai politics as there was one Miura clan in charge of the Hirado area who wanted it there while the clan in charge of the area where Dejima was, is allied with our clans so they shouted favoritism. Not helping was that the clan from Hirado has had... a problematic relationship with us."

Only rolling her eyes, the Kitsune of the group gave a scoff at that, "Yes, that is putting it rather mildly as we've had actual wars with them."

As Natsumi got nods for that, Asuka frowned and tilted her head, "Wars? And that's still a big deal?"

Lightly laughing, Ayaka grinned while showing her teeth, "Yes, because a number were alive at the time in the 1590s and the like when our groups fought." Then she shrugged some and shook her head, "Some clans though have dropped it, such as mine and Natsumi-San's. We used to fight each other all the damn time."

Thoughtful, Natsumi gave a small nod, "I think that Haha-ue actually nearly killed your Chichi-ue once in a battle now that I think about it..."

While the Inugami made a sound of agreement, the Tengu stared at the two in some shock and amazement before shaking it off. It was then that she spotted someone waiting nearby, "Shiromizu-San!"

Said Mizuchi turned and gave them all a smile and a wave, "Hey!" Once they reached her, Shiromizu fell in with them as they started to walk, with her looking fully human. Noticing the expressions, she cocked her head to the side, "So... what are you all talking about?"

Making a motion with one hand, Natsumi shook her head, "About how the Summoning Pool was built outside of what was Dejima instead of Hirado."

That brought a wince to Shiromizu's face as she remembered, "And that was why we didn't do this in August, as the construction was halted until it was all settled, right?" When they gave her curious glances, she snickered, "Well, that was what I remembered as I overheard talking about it."

Kenta grimaced at that, but nodded, "Hai, that is what happened, though the building itself was all but complete. But there was a benefit to it..." At the looks, he continued, "It gave the chance to set up carvings in the beams and the like to boost the ability to summon as well, with what said carvings dealing with the sea and the like."

After a few moments the others made sounds of agreement. Asuka meanwhile glanced around in curiosity as they got closer and closer to the docks, "How are we getting there anyways? Even if we leave now or get on a train, it will take hours to get there and back."

Lips twitching, Harry jerked his thumb as they came into sight of the docks, "We're going to be flying there." Part of him was amused as the teenaged Tengu's eyes widened at the sight of the seaplane there, though he also noted a number of adults from the various families also getting onboard, "It's both the quickest and easiest way to get all of us there without the Magical Diet realizing it."

Placing her hands behind her head, Natsumi frowned some, "Sort of wish that we could have taken one of the AW609s..."

However, the wizard of the group shook her head, "Those are still in testing, besides which one would not have enough room for all of us. Besides, the one that we're talking about has been modified for passengers, so its pretty comfy." The others gave him unsure glances until they were inside the aircraft, at which their eyes widened as rather then what they were expecting, the inside was not unlike a civilian transport. Harry then gestured for them to follow him, "We should be getting to our seats..."

With a wave towards her mother, who had been sitting down the twins, Natsumi nodded, "Hai." A snicker then escaped her and when the others turned to her, she tilted her head some, "Look over there."

Following the same direction, all the teens had grins on their faces at the sight of Taichi in a seat with Kaga and Akagi on either side of him. Said young adult had a confused expression on his face as he looked from one Carrier to the other. Meanwhile, both members of CarDiv1 had either a smile (Akagi) or a smirk (Kaga) which seemed satisfied about something.

Once they were in the air though, the various people started to do their own thing. For example, Natsumi's mother was smiling as the twins fell asleep, still tired as it was rather early. Asuka, meanwhile, was glancing around in curiosity before she noticed that Harry and Natsumi were reading a magazine. Something that she was not the only one to notice either as Usagi looked over the top of the seat and over their shoulders, "What are you reading about?"

Simply glancing at her, Harry gave a small shrug, "Mostly stuff about new ships that the JMSDF might be putting into service." Finger on the page, he tapped one picture, "Such as the Kanmusu Command and Support Ships that they're considering that are based on a variant of the American's own San Antonio class, but possibly with fusion reactors to power better weapons. Though, uh, it has kind of gotten political..."

Tone dry, Usagi snorted, "When isn't it?" Then she frowned a bit, "But how in this case?"

Natsumi gave a snort and looked up at her, "Several reasons, one is that some politicians have suggested that the name of the first of the class should be Yamato, or possibly Nagato. Names which are, well... rather loaded, to say the least."

Winces came from the teenaged Yokai as they could guess why that would be. Rika grimaced some and shook her head, "Sort of like how it was with the Kaga then?"

Only nodding, Harry glanced towards the shipgirl who shared that name before turning back, "Kind of, yeah. I can sort of see the reasoning behind it, to be honest. I mean, we are talking about ships designed to serve as flagships and to support and command groups of Shipgirls. So the names are suitable... but at the same time, it is likely to cause people to have problems." Turning back to the page, the teen frowned in thought, "Though what I'm reading mentioned the Ryuujou who is going to be the first of her Submarine class."

Chuckling, Natsumi shook her head at the confusion she could see on her friends' faces, "Its the first of a group of UAV carrying Submarines. The second one is going to be launched in a few months."

With a slight nod, Harry turned the page and pointed at another ship design, "Another thing being mentioned is how someone came up with another modification to fishing trawlers, sort of like how they did with the fishing vessels. But this one is to provide food and the like to shipgirls out at sea complete with kitchens and the like. They just come onboard and get fed with some baths to provide a bit of a boost. Like with the Ambulance ships, normal people can help fund them... and I am kind of thinking of doing so."

Head tilted to the side, Usagi blinked some, "Wait, is it possible that you could name it?" At his nod, she tapped her chin in thought before frowning, "In which case, what would you call it if you funded enough for that?"

Smiling, the wizard glanced around, "Actually? If I got to name one then I was going to name it Taigei." As they nodded some, Harry then brightened, "But putting aside ships not built yet, since we're going to be landing in Sasebo we might get to see the Fusou since she's homeported there."

Eyebrows furrowing, Kenta frowned for a moment before snapping his fingers, "The Fusou? That's the third of the Hyuuga class, right?"

At that, Harry hummed, "Hai, she was ordered alongside her sister, Yamashiro as the third and fourth of the Hyuuga class. Because of the war, the government decided to build four instead of the original two of the class." A frown crossed his face, "Though from what I heard Fusou-Oba and Yamashiro-Oba are pretty protective of them."

While the plane continued on, the group of teens continued to chat among themselves.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Stepping off the ramp that lead to the seaplane and onto the dock specifically for it, Harry took a moment to look around as he continued to walk. His eyes widened though at a familiar thirteen year old girl and he waved to her and got one back. Less then a minute later found him hugging Jane with a laugh, "Hey, Jane!"

Just hugging him back, the American also laughed, "Hey there, Cuz!"

When he pulled back though, Harry frowned and tilted his head some in concern, "Jane? Are you okay?" At the look, his frown deepened and he shook his head, "Just wondering because, well... you really look tired."

Lightly laughing, Jane ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head, "Yeah, I kind of am." Giving him a smile, tired as it was, Harry could tell that it was a happy one, "The twins sometimes keeps everyone awake when they need to be fed or changed. Makes me glad for those ear muffs that you got me that filter out sound. Trust me... being awoken by something that sounds as loud as a foghorn is not fun."

Unable to help himself, her adoptive cousin snickered, "I would think not, Jane." Moments later, Harry winced at the punch to the arm, "Oh come on, it is pretty funny."

Rolling her eyes, Jane snorted, "Not that funny." But then her smile returned, "But I am pretty happy with it. I got two adorable little sisters out of it."

More than a little curious, the thirteen year old wizard tilted his head, "Any idea what sort of ships they might be? I remember Mum saying that they are Natural Borns after all."

With a glance towards where the other teenaged Yokai are, Jane shook her head, "Not yet? Well, Mirai we might have an idea, but for Mary? Not really except she kind of, sort of looks like a Yamato? But not a normal one and, well... her turret layout is all wrong. But Dewey thinks that she's based on one of those paper designs. Hiraga, the guy who designed Aunt Nagato and Mutsu-Mama apparently had a couple like that."

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry searched through his memory before giving a small nod, "I think that I remember a few like that. Huh..."

Jane then turned towards the teenaged Yokai who finally walked up and bowed, "Good day, I'm Richardson Jane."

All of them bowed back and introduced themselves, outside of Natsumi who already knew her, with Kaku smiling at her, "Harry-San actually told us a lot about you, Richardson-San. We're pleased to meet his cousin."

Raising one eyebrow, Jane gave Harry an amused look, "Hopefully nothing bad, Kaku-San."

Only chuckling, the Tanuki shook his head with a small grin, "No, nothing bad to be honest. Though he did tell us about two pranks he helped you pull and I was impressed."

That made Jane laugh some, "Thanks, that sort of thing is something that I enjoy doing a lot."

A voice then spoke up that made them turn, "Miss Jane? Who are these?"

Everyone who didn't live as Sasebo blinked at the sight of the two, apparently, shipgirls there. The first thing that came to their mind was "Curvy" which made Harry raise an eyebrow as the two nearly identical girls were shorter than Takao or Atago, and yet would have easily matched them in bust line. Altogether, the two were basically what could be best described as "Hour glass" figures while wearing coats not unlike what Arizona and Pennsylvania did. Meanwhile, Jane simply smiled, "Superior? Sylvania? This is my cousin, Harry Potter. Harry? I would like for you to meet the Sylvania class Battleships, Sylvania and Superior."

Shaking their hands, Harry furrowed his eyebrows and briefly, his eyes glowed as he looked at their hulls. Oddly enough, he could tell that they both had two, two gun sixteen inch turrets. Bemused, the wizard tilted his head to the side, "Sylvania class?"

The cheeks of the girl who first spoke to Jane pinkened a bit, "Well... we couldn't call ourselves the Superior class."

Beside her, the other girl with brown hair shrugged, "I don't see why not." Grinning, she gave Harry a once over, "Anyways, I'm Superior. My sister and myself are, I guess, some sort of study that the USN had into having a 21,500 ton Battleship. We might not be fast or large, but we pack one hell of a punch."

Glancing at an interested Harry, Jane shrugged, "They're one of the paper ships that show up, Cuz. They were summoned about a week ago and Dad thinks that he can make use of them for coastal patrol because, well... they're not as fast as Ari-Mama."

Sylvania gave an unsure nod, "Top speed is eighteen knots. But!" Her smile grew a touch, "Miss Pennsylvania thought that we could work out in a battleline, especially if our sisters show up."

Frowning, Natsumi tapped her chin in thought, "But... Superior? Sylvania?"

That made the two shrug with Superior speaking up, "Those were names given to a proposed US State in what is Upper Michigan. That's pretty much what the USN is going with for us Never Builts in regards to naming schemes, we'll be given the names of US States that were never made official." Checking a watch on her, the Battleship's eyes widened before she grabbed her sister and began to drag her along, "Shit! We're going to be late on our lesson of how to Battleship from Miss Pennsylvania! She's going to kill us!"

All her sister had time for was to wave her hand and then they were gone.

Softly snickering, Jane shook her head before turning to the group, "Anyways... we should get going, Jintsuu-Mama has the vans and the like to take us to Nagasaki for the summoning."

Upon reaching where the vans were, Harry grinned and walked over before hugging the Light Cruiser. "Jintsuu-Oba!"

Hugging him back, the normally orange clad shipgirl just smiled, "Its good to see you, Harry-Chan." When she pulled back some, Jintsuu gave him a look over and shook her head, "You're looking well enough."

With a shrug, he gave her another hug which made her laugh, "Hai!"

Soon enough, the group was at the Summoning Pool in Nagasaki with all of them looking up in awe at the place. It had been built like a miniature version of a Japanese castle. On the very top of the building, Harry and the others could see the metal sachihoko facing each other, their gold scales glistening in the November sunlight. Each part of it looked like it had stepped right out of the Edo Era at the latest. With a small stop at smaller building, where they all got changed, the group made the main building in traditional clothing. At Harry's side was sheathed Juuchi as well as Tsukiakari while Natsumi had Carnwennan at hers.

And she was not the only one as each of the teens had family objects such as Asuka with her Sabura kamon inscribed fan while in the get up of a traditional Tengu. When they entered though, they all gasped at what they were found. Every exposed beam had been carved with exquisite images of various forms of aquatic Yokai, spirits, and gods. Various naval artifacts donated from the clans could be seen at various places around the summoning pool, and when they reached it their eyes widened still further.

The walls of said pool had yet more images carved into them. But it was the bottom of the pool which they could clearly see that caught their attention. Done up in tiles was the image of a massive Japanese dragon, the size of which could be seen compared to the much smaller ship it loomed over, seeming to protect it. Around it, a massive storm raged with lightning and the like. And if they listened, they could almost hear the sounds of a storm tossed sea. It was obvious who the dragon was...

Ryuujin himself, which Shiromizu confirmed with her own whisper moments later.

More than a little stunned by their surroundings, Asuka shook her head, "Oh wow..."

Slowly, Harry gave a slight nod, "Yeah, this is really fine work."

Chuckles made them turn and the Tengu's expression lit up, "Koga!"

In the Okami's eyes was some amusement and Koga gave her a smile and greeted them before giving a look around and nodding, "I must admit, the Clans did a very good job here. This place is a work of art as much as anything else."

With a nod, Asuka brightly smiled, "I know! This place is just amazing..." Trailing, off, she looked around and noticed something, "Um, why is there only one camera? I mean, there's that news crew waiting outside, but I thought..."

Koga gave a small shrug at that, "We're playing it safe." At the confusion from the younger Tengu, he shook his head, "Some of the shipgirls that might get summoned here were likely manned by Yokai. And, well... we're not sure if they will return as Yokai themselves or not. So it is best to be safe and have the media outside so that if needed, we can disguise them."

Arms crossed, Asuka frowned a bit but nodded, "I guess? I mean, Yokai shipgirls are possible so that means we should be careful? At least for now."

One part of that made the head of the Hokubu blink and give her an odd glance, 'Yokai shipgirls? Wait, she sounds like she actually knows some...'

Several minutes later though, they were all gathered and the doors to the outside were shut. Soon enough, the scent of incense was in the air with Haru in her Miko outfit leading Usagi's eldest sisters in the ceremony. Harry's eyes widened a bit at the sight of an old Tanuki in the robes of a Buddhist Priest who then joined in, it was obvious that Shukaku himself was now participating. Then, a number of tsukumogami of traditional Japanese instruments began to play and the air became filled music right out of history.

It did not take long before something began to happen and they could feel the air begin to swirl. The breeze caressed each of them, gentle even as their hair fluttered in it, Around them, the various candles brightened and they could feel a spiritual weight settle down on them. Glancing around, Koga muttered a bit to himself, "Huh... so this is what it feels like."

Feeling a tap, he looked down to find that Asuka was pointing, "Look, the summoning materials..."

With a blink, the wolf Yokai turned and his eyes widened slightly as the offerings began into dissolve into motes of light which flowed through the air and down into the water which was now sloshing around. The movement of said water making it appear as if the image of Ryuujin itself was moving around. Finally, the last of the offerings vanished and the motes of light entered the pool.

Then, the water exploded upwards and when it hit the surface, a number of young women were there. Two of them were rather short and wearing Samurai style armor as they looked around in confusion, at their waists being a number of musket-style handguns. There were younger looking girls, the youngest looking like she was four.

But what caught everyone's attention was that one of the armoured ones had a wolf's ears and tail, while a younger one had a Kitsune's ears and tail. The human looking of the two noticed them and bowed with some suspicion on her face, "A good day, This One's name is Atake-Maru..."

At her side, the wolf featured one also bowed, "And This One is Shuryō-Maru. May I ask where we are and..." Giving herself a once over, she blinked, "Why we look like this?"

Lips twitching, Shukaku bowed to them, "Yes, we have much to speak of and much has changed since last you saw the world..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

After the Summoning, everyone including the newly summoned shipgirls, went to a nearby building and things were explained to the shipgirls. Due to being mostly handled by the adults, Harry and the others were seated off to one side. Not that the teens minded much as they were conversing between themselves as they also listened to the adults explain things to the shipgirls. Lips twitching, Harry barely shook his head as, once more, one of the Atakebune glanced at Jintsuu in confusion and more than a little shock.

Mostly because said shipgirl's steel hull far out massed them in both size and displacement.

Watching as the various shipgirls ate food, traditional Japanese food that they were familiar with which had no meat, Asuka shook her head as she muttered to the others, "I'm still a bit confused at why they're eating just that."

Softly snickering, Natsumi shook her head, "Mainly because of the time that they came from." Seeing the confusion, she smiled a bit, "Back then, it was pretty much against the law to eat meat due to the Buddhist influences at the time. It wasn't until the 1860s that eating meat did not cause one issues when it was seen."

About to say something, Asuka paused and frowned as she thought it over. Closing her mouth, she furrowed her eyebrows, "Wasn't there an incident a couple of months back where an shipgirl from around the 1600s was summoned and made a scene?"

Tone dry, the only wizard among them raised an eyebrow in amusement, "That was almost British."

Lost, Asuka gave him a look, "What do you mean? How was that British?"

Unable to help herself, Natsumi lightly laughed, which drew her some looks, and shook her head, "Harry-Chan means that it was British because it was a big understatement." At the confusion still apparent on the Tengu's face, she shrugged, "It's a British thing about understatement."

His tone still dry, Harry smirked, "Yes, like how we have stated that the Abyssal War is a bit of a bother."

Blinking, the Tengu furrowed her eyebrows before giving him an odd look, "Okay... I guess that's an understatement." A rattle made her look at Juuchi and she frowned, "Is she... laughing at me?"

Without hesitation, Harry flicked the hilt of his sword, "Stop that." Sighing, and ignoring the annoyed feeling from Juuchi, he gave Asuka an apologetic look, "Sorry about that."

As Asuka shrugged, Usagi shook her head, "Anyways, yeah, there was a bit of a scene that happened there. I mean... a local Nationalist politician tried to use them to boost himself and had a news crew there while he gave them a meal... with meat." A smirk then came over the Inaba's face, "It was funny because at being given meat and told that the politician had picked out the choicest parts, they were insulted and declared that they were not Eta like him. Needless to say... it did not go well."

More than a little darkly amused, Harry snorted, "That is putting it mildly considering that his career is sort of dead with that accusation. Though it also helps that they sort of stated that only Eta would eat meat on live television... From what I heard, it caused alotof debate."

There were nods at that from each of the other teens and Asuka gave it some thought. After a few moments, she gave a small nod, "I guess that it made a lot of people question things about that, right?"

Sipping his tea, the lone Tanuki of the group gave a nod, "Hai, it has caused a lot of questions since, well... we're talking ancestors of various people declaring that said descendants must be Eta if they eat meat. I mean, it has calmed down some, but... it made people wonder if it really is that big of a deal."

Head tilted to the side, she had to make a sound of agreement. Then Asuka glanced at where the wolf eared and tailed shipgirl was talking with Kogamaru as well as the Kitsune one talking with Sakuya and her parents, "What about the others though?"

Following her gaze, Ayaka hummed some in thought, "That... well, it is not impossible that they wouldn't mind meat as much. After all, many Yokai ate meat back then even if they did it behind closed doors. They were lucky up in Yamainutaira that they could do it openly as they were so isolated from the rest of Japan, no one really cared all too much if they ate meat." Giving the matter more thought, she frowned, "Though they could just be being polite to the other shipgirls as they don't want to make a big deal of it."

All of them considered this, but before they could say much more, one of the shipgirls got up and walked over. Said shipgirl then bowed some to them after going into the Seiza position like the teens were, "A good day."

Bowing back, there was something about the shipgirl that caused them to frown in confusion. It was Harry who recognized it first and his eyes widened, "You have a British accent!"

That made all their eyes widen as the shipgirl gave a small nod, "Hai, that I do." Head tilted to the side, she narrowed her eyes in curiosity, "As do you... Potter-San, was it not?"

Despite still being shocked at her having a British accent, Harry gave tilt of the head in acknowledgement. Though he noted that her features also had some European in them along with Japanese, "That is correct, though not hard to do." Smiling slightly, he chuckled, "I was born in England and spent a good amount of my childhood there before being adopted by my Mum, the Battleship Nagato."

Mouthing the last two words, the shipgirl frowned in thought before seemingly putting that aside, "Ah, I was wondering about that." Eyes twinkling a bit, she gave a slight bow, "I am known as Sea Adventure."

It took only a few moments for Natsumi to connect the dots and her eyes widened, "You were the ship of Miura Anjin! Or William Adams, were you not?"

Now it was Sea Adventure's turn to be surprised at what was being said and she rapidly blinked, "I... you still know of me? And my Captain?"

Chuckling, Rika shook her head in amusement, "Well, of course we do. I mean, he's famous after all and has all these books and such written about him. And there's a monument to him back in Yokosuka as well as a festival and stuff."

Kenta gave a nod at that, "There was even a television show about it." At their looks, he flushed some, "What? My Onii-San liked it and watched it all the time when I was younger."

Utterly confused, Sea Adventure furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "I... television? What is that?"

Glancing at the Tanuki, the lone wizard smiled, "It is a device that shows moving pictures which tell a story. The show that Kaku-San is talking about is based off what happened with your Captain, though some names have been changed." He then leaned forward slightly, "Could we... meet him? Please?"

Sea Adventure had a small smile on her face as she gave a nod, "I do not see much of an issue with that, Potter-San."

Holding out her hand, there was movement in her Kimono sleeve before a small fairy walked out onto her palm. The small being looked around before looking up at the teens and bowing some, "Desu, desu desu desu desu."

All of them bowed back before sitting back up as they looked down at the form of one of the most famous Englishmen in Japan. Soon enough, they were lost in conversation with him and Sea Adventure, Harry especially as the fairy wanted to know more about England in the present day. William Adams was intrigued by the thought that the shipgirl he was part of the crew of, and through her himself, could once more visit his native land. Something that interested Sea Adventure to no end.

Meanwhile, Natsumi was quiet and looking back and forth between Harry and the fairy in deep thought. After a few minutes though, she softly smiled and internally chuckled before shaking her head.
_______________________________________________________________

Stretching a bit, Harry sighed as they had arrived back in Sasebo and the seaplane was ready to take them home to Yokosuka, "Well, everything turned out well enough there."

Beside him, Natsumi reached out and took his hand in hers before giving it a small squeeze, "Hai, it did. Better, even, then expected."

Eyebrow raised, the Inugami sighed a bit before grimacing, 'Greeeat, Natsumi-San is showing off.' Glancing at Natsumi, Ayaka felt her eyebrow twitch at the slight smirk that the Kitsune shot her, 'Yeah, she's showing off.'

Hands behind her head, Rika frowned some and looked up at the sky above, "Sort of disappointed that we can't stick around longer. I mean, Kaa-San is along with some of the others to help get the shipgirls used to the present day and stuff. But it's so cool talking with them that I want to continue."

Gently patting her on the back, Kaku chuckled, "I know how you feel, Rika-San. But we do have school tomorrow after all. So we can't stick around for very long. Besides..." He then grinned a bit, "At least we got the chance to participate in the first summoning ceremony."

Rika frowned at that before giving a small nod, "I guess there is that."

Turning, Kaku gave a small smile towards Jane, "What about you, Richardson-San? You enjoy the summoning?"

A grin on her face, the American laughed a bit, "Are you kidding? It was pretty cool with everything. And a nice break from, well..." Expression becoming sheepish, she scratched her cheek, "I sort of liked having a small break from everything going on around my little sisters." Sighing, Jane hung her head, "Little sisters are a lot of work..." Then, the thirteen year old held one fist in front of her face, "But so worth it!"

All those with their own younger sisters just gave nods at that.

Suddenly, Shiromizu started a bit and began to dig around in the bag at her side, "Oh shoot! I almost forgot, I have a present for you, Jintsuu-San! It was given to me to pass on to you while I was at Kannazuki!"

Blinking, Harry gave her a look, "Someone at Kami-Con gave it to you to pass onto Jintsuu-Oba?"

For several moments there was quiet as the other teens looked at him, even Jane. Then they blinked and spoke as one, "Kami-Con?"

Not even a few seconds later, Shiromizu snickered a bit and nodded, "Hai, Harry gave it that name to calm me down before I went. Even mentioned it to Amaterasu-Sama and the like..." At their disbelieving looks, she shook her head, "Despite what you might think, she thought it was hilarious. Last day there, she used some sort of magic to have everyone wear a shirt that said 'Kami-Con 2013' on it. Pretty sure that Inari-Sama will try and make it official or some such."

With a sigh, Natsumi facepalmed and shook her head, "Somehow, I am not surprised in the slightest."

That only got nods from the other Yokai though Jintsuu and Jane were somewhat lost about it. Lips twitching in amusement, Shiromizu held out a wooden box when a thought occurred to her. It could be a bit teasing, but... she could not resist. Smiling, she turned to the Light Cruiser, "Um, Jintsuu-San? Would it be possible to give it to you in the presence of your family? It is sort of important."

Confused, Jintsuu checked her internal clock and gave a small nod, "Sure, that is not too much of an issue. The plane isn't going to leave for at least an hour, so we got time. Everyone else is at home so..."

Less than fifteen minutes later found the group in the Richardson Household. After a whispered conversation with Hiei over the phone by the Mizuchi, the Kongou managed to get everyone there in time, somehow. Somewhat suspicious of that, and the grin on Hiei's face, Arizona leaned towards the Japanese Battleship, "What are you up to now...?"

Simply glancing at Jintsuu, Hiei leaned towards her friend with a slight smirk, "Let's just say that I want to see Jintsuu happy... and give a small push."

Eyebrow raised at that, the American waited for a few moments. With no answer forthcoming though, she straightened and frowned some, 'I wonder...'

Meanwhile, Shiromizu was looking around and smiling as she hummed while in her lamia form. Finally noticing that everyone was there, she cleared her throat as she pulled out a wooden box from the small bag at her side, "While I was in Izumo for Kannazuki, I was given a gift for Jintsuu-San from someone who is of some importance. I was informed that he was rather impressed by how she cared for her family and took care of them, hence he felt that she was worthy of such a thing." Moving in front of John, she handed him the box, "I feel though that as it has to deal with your family, you would be best to gift it to her."

Intrigued, Richardson only nodded before walking towards Jintsuu who had a slight blush on her face as she felt her boilers pounding in her chest for some reason she did not quite understand. Holding it out, John smiled, "Here, if what Shiromizu says is right, then this is for you. Though in my opinion, there is nothing that is worth enough to properly thank you for what you have done for our family."

Jintsuu had not thought that it was possible for her face to become any more red, but it seemed that she was wrong in that. Swallowing, she nodded and gently took the box in her hands before John opened it to reveal a sheathed tanto. Eyes wide, the shipgirl picked it up and unsheathed it and felt her boilers juststopat the signature on the blade, "T-this..." Unbelieving of what she was seeing, Jintsuu turned to Shiromizu, "This... is a Masamune blade..."

Slowly, the Mizuchi ignored the shocked looks being given her, "Hai, and the blade's name is Hogosha Odori and according to its creator, it will cut through anything spiritual in nature with as much ease as a normal blade might flesh." A smile on her face, she bowed, "As it turns out, Masamune-Sama and Muramasa-Sama have become Kami and their arts have only gotten greater in the time since their mortal lives."

Her mouth opening and closing, Jintsuu shook her head as she tried to come up with something, anything, to say. Finally, she swallowed, "I-I can't... I'm not worthy of such a fine blade and-"

Moments later, John's finger pressed against her lips and he gave her a stern look, "Jintsuu, look me in the eyes." Once she did so, he continued, "Believe me when I say that you are more than worthy of such a blade. In fact, you are worthy of even more than this with all you have done for my family." Gently, the Admiral set the box on the table before leaning down. Then, he secured the tanto to the belt of the Light Cruiser and pulled back before saluting her, "Wear it with pride."

Rapidly blinking, the Sendai looked first at the tanto and than to the man in front of her. It felt like her boilers were going to explode in her chest before she looked around. Hiei gave her a thumbs up while Arizona nodded. Pennsylvania crossed her arms and gave her a look as if to agree with what was said without saying such herself, while the Submarines were all grinning. Jane, meanwhile, was practically bouncing in place while Mutsu had one cheek cupped in her hand before giving her a knowing wink. It took a few moments for Jintsuu to realize why, and she felt some steam leaking from ears.

With a deep breath though, Jintsuu bowed deeply before standing straight and saluting John with tears in her eyes, "Thank you." Glancing at Mutsu, she got a nod of permission and walked forward before quickly giving him a peck on the cheek, with the surprised Admiral blinking as neither of them noticed Jane give a small squee, "Thank you, John."

Shaking off his confusion, Richardson smiled back, "You are very welcome."

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Edit: The Select segments of this snippet are no longer effective. See HERE for details.

Approaching Setup

-----

Mamiya shivered and adjusted her coat, looking up at the sky. With winter on its way, she was most looking forward to crawling under the kotatsu with a nice bowl of tangerines and a good book, dojo work be damned. In spite of that, though, she had found that there was a certain satisfaction in taking a walk in the brisk autumn air. It was refreshing, she might even say.

That didn't make it any less cold, though.

A group of young teens passed her, a Caucasian boy with several girls gathered around him. Mamiya raised an eyebrow—the boys at his school were probably quite jealous of him. Then she paused, and looked back over her shoulder. Something about him… How had the description she'd heard gone?

"Excuse me," she called, and the boy halted in turn, looking back at her. "Would you happen to be Harry-kun?" The girls shuffled around, a bit defensively the kendo-ka in her noted in the back of her head, and the boy nodded.

"Yes," he said, "I'm Harry Potter-Nagato. Why do you ask?"

Mamiya laughed. "Ah, Tatsuya described you very well," she smiled. "A good thing, too. It would have been embarrassing if I'd gotten it wrong—Ah, my name is Haneda Mamiya. I'm Tatsuya's older sister."

"I hope you've heard good things," Harry replied mischievously.

"Don't worry," she said, "Everything I've heard from Tatsuya and Nagawa-san is definitely praiseworthy."

One of the girls surrounding him blinked in confusion. "Who's Nagawa-san?" she asked.

"That's Ushio, she's a Natural-born."

"Huh? She's friends with Ushio?"

"Classmates, actually," Mamiya replied. "I was actually on the trip with her when she Awakened… Man, she was a lot shyer then."

"She isn't still?" another girl chimed in dubiously.

"Oh, she's been showing her good side a lot more lately. I guess it's because she's bound and determined to help with Yuki-chan."

There was a moment's quiet, as everyone thought this over. Finally, Harry spoke up. "Who's Yuki-chan?" Mamiya fell quiet herself. Did he not know?

"Yae had her baby a day or two before Halloween," she explained. "Did you not hear about that?"

"Really?" The girls perked up at this as well, their interest peaked.

"Yes—hang on, let me get my phone. I've got pictures if you want to see them."
-----

"So, what have we got?" Tatsuya said, flopping back on the hotel bed. It had beenhourssince the crash, and between everything that had come with it, it had been a miracle getting to the hotel in time to check in. Benio sat at a desk to the side of a television, Tonbo leaned against a wall, and Reiko huddled on the other bed sullenly. Her calligraphy set and the paper for her ofuda had survived the crash without even a scratch—the box they were in was something else, Tatsuya supposed—which had in turn lead to some authority or other taking a vested interest in it. She had yet to get it back, much to her frustration.

A problem, considering how some of their plans hinged on Reiko's onmyoujutsu. If worst came to worst, Tatsuya would have to steal it back.

"Well, it's pretty much a normal hotel," Benio said, twirling a pen in her fingers. "If you don't count the fact that they were willing to let a bunch of teenagers with no adult supervision room here without even thinking about it. That's pretty sketchy, isn't it?"

"We're not in Scotland yet, either," Tonbo chimed in. "That's where I was told Hogwarts is." She paused thoughtfully. "I'd like to visit Whitechapel before we leave, too." For a brief moment, her face took on an old, tired air before she shook it away.

"And I lost my ofuda," Reiko grumbled.

"Don't worry about that, actually," the Muramasa cut in again. "You were talking about the fur on the brushes coming from a big white dog, right?" Reiko nodded hesitantly. "I heard some things about big white dogs from my sisters—which reminds me, need to say hi to Kago and Juuchi when I have the chance—if those brushes and things are yours specifically, you're going to get them back." Reiko gave her an unconvinced, if slightly less perturbed, look.

"That's good," Tatsuya said. "And finally, does anyone know what it is we're supposed to be doing here?"
-----

"Beg pardon, young David," the old man said, capturing the wizard's attention from the spell formulae he was drawing out, "I had a few questions for you."

"About Diehl?" he asked, sitting up in his seat. The old man nodded.

"From what I understand," he explained, "she comes from a particularly light-aligned family. Yet, here she is, rubbing shoulders with dark witches and wizards. How did that come to happen?" Was this about what Diehl had asked for earlier today? It seemed that the old man didn't quite trust her based on their interactions.

Rubbing the back of his neck, David called the memories up. "Let's see… Our families were old friends, all things considered. Even back then, Diehl was… unusual. More concerned with books and learning than fun, always asking harder and harder questions… Her parents weren't excited about it, but my father said I should be more like her.

"We were about ten when the war with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was about to come to a close. Diehl's relationship with her parents was always rocky, but about that time she became interested in dark magic. The Unspeakables and the like. Her parents were… opposed to the idea. And then… they died. Murdered in their beds. My father—he was a Death Eater then—wanted to take her to meethim, but she had vanished entirely. I didn't see her again until we started Hogwarts, and by then… she was pretty much gone."

The old man considered the story, then nodded. "Her parents. Did she…"

"That's the rumor—"

"And if you have time to be discussingrumors," Diehl snarled, slapping a new sheaf of papers down in front of David, "you have time to beworking." David turned away—as far as he was concerned, the rage that burned within Diehl at any word of her parents' deaths was as good an admission of guilt as any. Since she was in the same circles as him, he wondered why she didn't come out andsayit, take more pride in her deeds. But he subsided under her glare and returned his attention to the papers.

"Miss Diehl," the old man called, and she paused in the moment that she entered the doorway. "You will receive access to my notes, though only those I allow."

She paused a moment, then nodded. "Thank you," she said and left.

The old man turned back to David. "Now, about Durant…"
-----

"… Oh, I don't know," the Richardson girl shrugged, "as an older sister myself, I'm obligated to maintain that my sisters are far more adorable."

Mamiya shrugged. "That's fair," she said. "I know that… that…" she paused, looking around. "Does anyone else hear a voice?"

The girls and Harry went still as well, everyone straining to hear whatever it was Mamiya had heard. She felt herself begin to go cold. What if it was one of the monsters out there that Tatsuya fought—hadbeen fighting for all of these years? Could she do anything about something like that? The kids—did they know anything about—

"Matooo…"

Harry perked up. "Wait a second." He bolted around a corner, followed momentarily by the girls as they exploded into chatter and warnings. Mamiya gaped—what if it's dangerous? —and ran after them herself.

Then she stopped.

A tiny little Yamato was standing in front of a food stand. Actually, no. She was trying to walk away from it. Struggling, "Mato"-ing in frustration, drooling…

Harry knelt down in front of her. "Hello, Yamapi," he said, glancing back up at the stand. "Would you like some imoyoukan?"

Mamiya caught herself watching the little Yamato for signs that she would grow into real Yamato size, and mentally kicked herself. Darn Yae and her Toku obsession!

"So, what are you doing here?" Harry asked as "Yamapi" dug into her snack. "Aren't you usually with Akechi-san?"

"Yamapi" considered this, then lowered the imoyoukan from her mouth. "Mato," she said, spreading her arms wide and waving them. "Matomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato. Mato." She held out her free hand and gave the thumbs up sign. "Ya!" she cheered, then crammed the imoyoukan back into her mouth.

"Say, cuz…" Richardson said, crouching down beside Harry (who was nodding seriously), "who exactly is Akechi?"

"Oh, right. She's a girl from my old school…"

Mamiya felt the world around her begin to tune out. Just what was going on here?
-----

"Bored," Sam complained, rolling the taxi windows up and down. "The most that's happened is that our landing got delayed and moved around. When do interesting things happen?" Jeffrey groaned.

"I don't know," he replied tersely. "And stop complaining about it. It's good when things aren't going wrong yet, it means that we have time to prepare and to relax. You need to take those chances whenever you can get them, Sam, I…" he trailed off, looking out the window at the smoke rising into the air. "That's…"

Then he slammed the door open and hit the ground at a run, ignoring Sam and the driver calling out after him.

At the base of the smoke cloud, he found a burning hotel and a Japanese kid strangling a man in bell-bottom disco pants.
-----

And thus it begins...

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

So nobody noticed my Carranger shout out? I'm sad.

Edit: The Select segments of this snippet are no longer effective. See HERE for details.
To All a Beginning

Sayaka shrugged on her jacket, pushed the door open, called "I'm going," to her mother, and froze on the doorstep as the door closed behind her.

"Hello, Akechi-san," Potter said, waving cheerily. On his shoulder sat Yamapi, mouth full and visibly straining to swallow down whatever it was that she had been given by Sayaka's former schoolmate.

What was he doing here? Sayaka had decided from the outset to avoid contact with him. Did that mean that Yamapi had ignored her feelings? Or wait, not the feelings that were stirring up, ears flushing slightly, heartbeat increasing, but her wishes? Her explicit decision to deny herself those feelings? Why would she do that?

"Hello, Potter-san," she replied, trying to hide her increasingly trembling tone. "How did you find my house?"

He laughed, reaching up and patting Yamapi on the head. The "smol" finally managed to swallow her mouthful, then grinned in satisfaction. "Actually, Yamapi brought me here," he confirmed, and Sayaka made sure to shoot her little charge a brief glare. "It was impressive—she was even trying to walk away from imoyoukan."

"And?" Sayaka asked, maybe a little too quickly, "Why did she bring you here?"

Potter's vision flickered away briefly, thoughtfully. "Well," he said, "she told me that you were feeling a little down, and she wanted me to help cheer you up somehow."
-----

"That's… not exactly what she said," Jane pointed out, straining her neck as far as she could to look around the hedge. Natsumi grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her back into cover.
-----

Sayaka twitched slightly. "Yeah, well, she's wrong," she snapped back curtly. "I'm just fine, and I don't need cheering up." Deliberately casting her gaze on the ground before her, she stalked down to the sidewalk. She had to go, she had to leave now, just keep walking, walking, walking, she could do this—

"Where are you going?"

Her gaze flickered up. They locked eyes, and she felt her face heat up like a blazing summer's day.

"Th-the-the…" she stammered before her nerve failed her entirely and she turned andran. "SEE YOU LATER!"

She heard Potter call out behind her, but his words were drowned out by the blood pumping through her ears and the desperate agony.

I promised Momo.

I promised Momo.

I promised Momo.
-----

Struggling to his feet, Harry looked down at the spot where his feet had become glued to the ground for a brief moment. Yamapi walked over, dabbing at it slightly before trying to pull up a handful and shove it into her mouth. Puzzled, Harry reached down himself and pulled a piece of the sticky brown substance off to sniff at it.

"Saltwater taffy?" he exclaimed.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Natsumi called as she and the girls ran over, and Harry waved, pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm fine," he replied, waving his sample in the air, "It's just taffy!"

The girls pulled to a halt in front of him. "Taffy?" Jane asked, kneeling down by Yamapi. "How's that?"

"I think I've got a working theory," Harry said. There was more he wanted to say, but Jane cut him off.

"Great!" she replied cheerfully. "We're going to need all the info we can get for Operation Christmas Vacation!"

"Huh?"

"Hey, Akechi-san is a bit of a mess, no two ways about it," Jane pointed out. "That means we've got to do something to help her, right? Come on, it'll be fun."
-----

At the sound of footsteps, Tatsuya looked up from the wizard who had suddenly burst through their window. Slowing to a stop in front of him was a man who, though not dressed like a disco nightmare, he couldn't at the moment afford to give the benefit of the doubt just yet. He pulled the sluggishly flailing wizard upright a little, positioning him between the two. "You with this guy?" he asked, raising his voice.

The man looked back stoically. "I think that depends on you," he replied in a similar tone.

Well wasn't that ominous.

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence," Tatsuya replied, side-stepping and holding the wizard in front of him.

"It wasn't meant to."

The man stepped forward.

Tatsuya shifted his stance andthrewthe wizard at him.

The man rolled, allowing the human projectile to flop over him, and came up aiming a fist directly at Tatsuya's head. Tatsuya leaned out of the way, bringing up his own fist, punching and blinking in surprise as the man's hand came up to catch his fist andtwistit farther than it was supposed to go. He jumped, flipping in the direction the man was twisting, only for the other guy to jump and flip in the same direction, maintaining the pressure that he was now applying withbothhands.

Okay, so this was going to be a problem.

Tatsuya jumped again, and as the other guy—he needed a nickname, some kind of descriptor—"Black" was accurate, but he wasn't quite sure it was allowed—jumped as well, he kicked out, hitting him in the shin.

Hmm. How about Cromartie? That was an anime, wasn't it?

"Cromartie" hit the ground stumbling, releasing his grip on Tatsuya for a split second—all that Tatsuya really needed to twist free, push forward, and shove "Cromartie" back.

Then "Cromartie" ran backwards, pushing himself upright again, and came up arms swinging wide. Tatsuya noticed light reflecting off of something on his wrists and through himself to the ground, allowing the knives to pass over his head. Flipping back to his feet, a hand filled his vision for a brief second before Benio was there, tackling "Cromartie" away.

Tatsuya glanced over his shoulder, noting Tonbo running towards them, followed closely by Reiko. He grinned, charging forward.

"Cromartie" finally kicked Benio away, turning to face Tatsuya again, knife dropping from his sleeve into his hand.

And then, as Tatsuya shifted out of the way, passing through "Cromartie's" guard, he saw a pistol planted against the man's head and felt another against his own.

"Awright ye two," the girl (she looked maybe two or three years older than Tatsuya, two or three younger than "Cromartie") said mockingly, "Keep i' in yer pants, why doon't ye? We'd all hate fer this ta—"

Benio was there in a flash of steel (stolen knife), pointing her weapon at the hollow of the girl's neck and in a flicker of motion, "Cromartie" was holding another to her own neck. Tatsuya's own arm snapped out across the exchange, thumbnail wresting against the carotid, and he could hear Tonbo running in—

"If you'll excuse me," another voice cut in, a woman, exasperated in that "done with your bullshit" sort of tone, "I'd rather you didn't kill each other. The paperwork for aurors accidentally triggering muggle fights to the death is a right pain to fill out."

As much as he could, Tatsuya turned his head to the side, staring at the woman there. She carried herself with an air of authority, had "Disco Dan" by the collar, and was giving the group an irritated glare.

"Besides," she said, gesturing to her side, "I imagine that you're going to make this young lady cry and we wouldn't want that, would we?" There was a girl, younger than him, Tatsuya noted, standing there and bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet.

"Jeff!" she shrieked, running forward.

"Stay back!" "Cromartie" shouted, and she stumbled, stopping. "Cromartie" (or Jeff, he supposed), waited until Tatsuya turned back to face him, before glancing at both of the girls in the lockup. "On three?" he suggested.

Tatsuya and Benio glanced at each other.

Think we can trust him?

Looks like he's willing to risk it, for his sister's sake.

Thereisa family resemblance, isn't there?

Tatsuya then looked at the Scottish girl, who cocked an eyebrow in the most facial demonstration of a shrug that he had ever seen.

"One," he chanted, "Two… Three."

The four broke away simultaneously.

"Well then," the woman replied, satisfied, "I—"

"Mornin' to ye, Ol' Missy!" the Scottish girl chirped happily, waving at her. "What're ye doin' 'ere?"

"Ol' Missy" glanced at her, and her expression turned into that of a cow who had just realized her cud was flavored with machine oil.



"Ah… Miss McKay," she grimaced. "Auror Weller has a long history of causing unnecessary problems, I had hoped coming in person would… impress my displeasure upon him." Auror? "Ol' Missy" was a wizard? Probably some kind of higher up, too… She shook her head. "I guess it figuresyouwould be here too."

"Tha's wizard Cromwell?" McKay grinned, walking over and kneeling to look the captured Disco Maniac in the eye. ""Goddamn it is! Neva took 'im fer th' type!"

"Ol Missy's" grimace deepened.

Something in Tatsuya's stomach told him that McKay was the sort of person who had a whole different type of incident form created specifically for her.

"I'm sorry," he cut in, raising his had like a student (which he was, though not actually in school at the moment), "but is there anything… off happening around here? That tends to be the case whenever I go into a different country."

"Ol' Missy's" grimace actually disappeared at this. She glanced over at him, then at Jeff, then back at McKay, before sweeping around to examine everyone else present.

"It wouldn't surprise me," she grumbled.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Tackweld

Here it is, the first part that has obvious connections to the main story.
I know it is short, but it is a transition of sorts.

Part 5: A Game of Chess
---------------------------------
Francis Ball sat in front of his computer. On one screen was a digitized chessboard and the second screen was occupied with a skype call to a redheaded boy the same age as Francis.

As Francis moved his white bishop to cover his king, he said " Ron, thanks again for helping me improve my game, Espically after beating me so soundly at that tourney."

Ron moved his remaining knight to threaen Francis' white bishop. " Dont worry about it, I'm glad to have someone to play who is always looking to improve. I am grateful that you are willing to put up with my imperfect instruction."

Francis moved his rook to cover his white bishop. " Imperfect instruction? mate, you are good at teaching, you just need to be more confident in your ability."

"Thanks, mate." replied Ron. " You know, Warspite says the same thing."

"It still throws me for a loop to think about, you being close freinds with HMS Warspite- THE HMS Warspite!"


Francis and Ron continued to chat as they finished their game. Ron won, but it was a near thing.

"Ron, what is the record now?" asked Francis.

"I am up two on you" replied Ron.
-------------------------
That evening, after the platoon installed mousetraps in the shelters, Eustace Ball walked home. Normally he would've stoped at the Yachtsman but this evening he hurried home. He needed to talk to his grandson.


_________________
What do you think?