Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

looneytunes91

A/N: Here is part 2 of Remembrance. I got back from a gun show today and I'm posting this at 0122 local time so please let me know if you find any errors in my work as I really want this to work.

Recollection

The day of the sortie we were going on day three of what I now know to be Blood Week but what we only knew as the abyssal's assault against humanity. My squadron had been sitting on either Ready Alert 5 or on CAPs for those three days. We had heard that Unalaska had been taken over by the abyssals yet us pilots also had a gut feeling that you didn't want to strike against humanity. Because every time a strike was vectored against Elmendorf AFB or Anchorage we could drive it off by making one gun pass against the bombers and they would without hesitation drop their payloads. This was contrary to other combatant commands who reported a certain zealousness in the abyssal bombers to cause as much death and destruction as possible.

One such report given on day 2 of Blood Week was of an abyssal dive bomber getting hit by a missile, dropping its bomb on a ship then slamming itself into another. We knew deep in our hearts that you were being forced to fight and we knew you were making as little effort as possible to fight us.

I guess that's why we were so surprised to have to fight so hard on that day to drive off the strike…

+-+-+

Elmendorf Air Force Base

Just North of Anchorage, Alaska

3rd day of Blood Week

Two F-15s sit at the end of the runway, safety pins removed from their weapons but engines off to save time in scrambling while not wasting fuel. The snow falling around the cockpit in a white swirling curtain, Captain Baldwin watches transfixed as the individual flakes falling seem to combine into a seemingly living mass that wraps his Eagle like a loving mother giving her child a hug.

His thoughts are thousands of miles away though as he thinks of his son who is currently deployed to Iraq mercifully far enough inland to not be affected too much right now. Although his supplies might be getting scarce if supply ships cant get through but for now he should be alright. His grandson and his son's wife are thankfully in Fort Campbell, Kentucky far from the now unfriendly oceans.
+-+-+
The sound of a horn honking from a nearby vehicle startles him from his thoughts. Looking over to the breadvan that holds the crew chiefs he sees the crew chief giving him the signal to scramble. Beginning the startup procedures the Eagle slowly wakes from its slumber, ready to begin its deadly trade. As the Eagle finally comes to life his radio comes to life with the sounds of the air traffic control tower directing planes like the spider at the center of a web.

"Elmendorf Ground, Rapier 3-2 and 3-4, requesting takeoff clearance Runway 24." Captain Baldwin calls out over the radio net in a practiced routine that has become all too common over his years of flying.

"Rapier 3-2 takeoff clearance granted! Takeoff as soon as you enter the runway! AWACS Darkstar will brief you as soon as you are in the air!" Taking his que he brings the Eagle's two Pratt & Whitney F-100 turbofan engines to full afterburner as soon as he enters the runway. As he is pushed into his seat from the force of inertia and how quickly he accelerates he watches the HUD and as he sees his speed rise above 250 knots he pulls hard back on the stick and screams into the heavens.

"Elmendorf Ground, Rapier 3-2 takeoff complete. Have a good day sir."

Signing off he quickly switches over to the radio frequency to contact the AWACS.

"Darkstar, Rapier 3-2 I was told you had a brief for us?"

"Rapier 3-2, Darkstar. Here is your brief. Regional Air Operations Command picked up faint radar contacts climbing from a position just south of Unalaska and turning Northeast before the contacts faded. This leads us to believe that the abyssals there have launched another strike against Anchorage or Elmendorf. You are reinforcing Slam 1-1 and 1-3 on CAP 400 miles Southwest of you."

"Copy that Darkstar. We're on our way."

Turning Southwest the F-15s began their trek towards the operational area and Captain Baldwin began the hard part of this job. Waiting.

*-*-*

Oklahoma

Let me tell you Miss Hoppou, knowing you are heading to a fight and having to wait is the worst thing I have ever experienced in my long life. When you wait all your doubts start trying to worm their way into your head. They dull your senses, mute everything but your worries and amplify your shortcomings.
Anyways where was I? ah yes...

Operational area

Approximately 400 miles Southwest of Anchorage, AK

"Rapier 3-2 to Slam 1-1 do you copy?" The words sliced through the air waves as Captain Baldwin called out to the second pair of aircraft in this AO.

"Scooter! We copy. You ready to go to work? I heard our princess has sent some more milk our way." The voice of Captain Baldwins squadronmate called back and a sigh of relief exploded from his gut. At the same time the reminder of his callsign brings a little bit of good natured ribbing between the two pilots and a little bit of regret at letting that story slip at a few too many beers at the bar during flight school.

When he was a kid he didn't crawl like most kids. Instead he would scoot on his butt and thus the nickname of Scooter was coined by his family. And now it was his callsign.... to be fair it could have been much worse. Even if it was embarrassing to him personally.

"I heard Bull! Either way let's not get complacent. We've lost too many friends because of that." And had they ever. From the reports coming in from around the Air Force commands around the world almost 15 percent of the Air Force's fighter pilots had been shot down on the opening day of this eldritch beatdown of humanity.

Of those shot down over 3/4 were able to eject and at least live but that was one ejection out of the allotted three in a pilots career. He had a sinking feeling that in the coming months the Air Force would need all the pilots it could get.

"Right how do we want to do this? Wall or Racetrack search patterns?" The two search patterns were the most widely used in this Theatre of Operations. The wall was just that: the four F-15s would line up side by side and would press into where they thought the enemy would be. Each F-15 would have their radar settings different from the next. That way each Eagle would cover as much sky as they could, hoping to pick up the enemy flights before the abyssals supernatural stealth allowed them to merge with the Eagles without warning.

The Racetrack search pattern gave the initiative to the abyssals but allowed the Eagles to loiter and wait for the abyssals to push into them. It also allowed for a greater chance at detecting the abyssals in that if the Eagle didn't pick up the enemy on the 1st leg then there was a decent chance of picking them up on the return leg. Oftentimes this would put the Eagles behind the enemy and allow them to report the exact position and speed to the massive fighter screen that was being drawn up just in case they got past.

"We'll go Racetrack. Let the abbys push into us. no need to go looking for trouble and missing them if they fly under us. Especially with this storm under us. I don't know if they can fly in it but I don't want to be the first pilot to let Anchorage get bombed. We'll keep in pairs and let the other pair know if they get contact."

"Roger that. See you when the we see you." With that the two pairs of F-15s split off to begin their search patterns.
*-*-*

Oklahoma

We learned early on that your daughter's planes were cold and exceedingly difficult to detect by radar. On top of that we had to deal with the weather of the Bering Sea that quite often was on your side instead of ours. We had multiple instances of the strikes you sent out getting past the CAP and having the relief pick the strike up entirely too close for comfort. And yet…. The moment a single missile or a single shell found its way into any part of the bomber formation they would drop their payloads and scatter like leaves in the wind.

Operational area

Approximately 400 miles Southwest of Anchorage, AK

'It's a good thing we have at least some radar capability,' Scooter thought as he scanned the skies head outside the cockpit, 'otherwise it would be 100% impossible to find anything in this soup.' With the two patrol routes set up the pilots were doing their best to find the enemy in their assigned tasks. When running the Racetrack patrol pattern in pairs one pilot would monitor the radar while the other was using his Mark 1 eyeball to find anything that the other likely missed.
Luckily they had only made that particular mistake once when another pair of Eagles had sortied on the 1st day and got jumped by the escorts of the bomber formation. The only warning those two pilots had was the whip-like cracks as the bullets snapped over their canopies. Needless to say those pilots never made that mistake again and they were wishing they wore their brown pants that day.

It was lucky that Scooter was looking outside his cockpit at that time because what the Eagle's AN/APG-63(V)1 radar was unable to see through the storm and supernatural stealth was the incoming strike. Unlike the past 2 days this was not just a few dive bombers with a number of fighters as escort. This was a full blown alpha strike. The entire air wing of a carrier focusing its unadulterated rage against a single target and damn whatever gets in its path.
*-*-*
Oklahoma

As I looked upon the mass of aircraft that had just emerged from the clouds like a murder of crows I was momentarily struck dumb. This was the largest collection of aircraft I had seen since the Red Flag that I had been to just a few years previous. However this wasn't a war game. This was life or death, a fight to the finish. If we didn't drive this strike off then a lot of people were gonna die. A carrier just doesn't send this amount of planes and drop their bombs in the ocean without facing stiffer resistance than Berlin in WWII or Hanoi in the Vietnam War or Baghdad in 1991. This is gonna be a fight for all the chips.

Post A/N: This was starting to get a little long for my tastes so I decided to cut it off here that way the next scene can recieve my full attention..... and I won't be dead tired while writing it. Have a good night everyone see you in the morning.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Above the door, the small bell there rang as it opened and Harry stepped in. Holding it open, he watched as the four Akizuki sisters walked in and gasped in awe as Honeydukes was revealed to them. Bouncing a bit, Teruzuki held her fists in front of her face, "Honeydukes!"

Hatsuzuki gave a sharp nod as well, "Honeydukes!"

Bemused, Harry snickered some and nodded towards a model of the store made out of sweets, "It's only a model."

Just blinking, Suzutsuki looked towards them as they all grinned or lightly laughed at some joke, "What's so funny?"

Waving her off, Akizuki sighed, "It's nothing, Suzutsuki-Chan. Just something that Harry-Chan showed us once that we thought was funny."

A little lost, the silver haired Destroyer nodded, "I see..." Eyes wide as she took in the rest of the store, Suzutsuki blinked, "This is... impressive." Looking at a aquarium nearby where gummy slugs moved around in it, she raised an eyebrow, "Though somewhat odd."

Glancing in the same direction, Harry gave a small shrug of his own, "Hai, some of the things are sort of strange, to say the least." He then chuckled, "But what can you do?"

Lips curling into a small smile, the silver haired Destroyer nodded, "I suppose that is true enough. After all, if one can do something and it costs nothing while being harmless? I don't see why one shouldn't." Glancing back at the slugs though, she frowned, "Though, uh... in some cases one should ask who would eat them."

Softly snickering, Harry grinned a bit, "One of the my fellow non-magically raised ate one of those... described them as 'Slimy, yet satisfying' as a matter of fact."

Blinking, Suzutsuki gave her sisters a small glance as they began to hum some sort of song with smiles on their faces, "Hmm..." With a chuckle, she shook it off though and began to examine the other candies and such. "Any suggestions, Harry-Chan?"

In reply, he tapped his chin with a slight frown, "There's a number of different things that you could get. Some are better than others really." Giving a small shake of the head, Harry smile came back as he could guess what his next words would get as a reaction, "Of course, you can also buy in bulk and have stasis spells cast on the food you buy."

Eyes wide, Akizuki turned to him, "B-buy in bulk? And with stasis spells to make sure that nothing goes bad? A-are you being serious, Harry-Chan?"

Noticing that the three Duckies were leaning in, while Suzutsuki listened with half an ear, Harry smirked some, "I am, as a matter of fact, Akizuki-Chan. I know that Niiyodo-Chan has a deal with them for just that."

More than one pair of eyes stared at him for the next few seconds. But then, Hatsuzuki frowned in thought, "I've always wondered where Niiyodo-San has gotten the magical treats..."

Also thoughtful, Teruzuki gave a small nod, "Hai, especially as she has that small storehouse in Warehouse Ten that she uses for keeping them out of view." Finger tapping on her chin, she frowned, "Though I think that she mentioned something about a small store for such treats being run soon? And out of the same warehouse so that no one catches on where the magical candy and such is at?"

Considering that, the wizard of the group slowly hummed, "It would make a certain amount of sense when one thinks about it." At their looks, he continued, "Well, think about it for a second. How much does Niiyodo actually get in the run of a supply run here?" Lowering his voice, he continued, "And the candy and such is rather cheap, so she can splurge on it and sell it for a bit more than what it was originally worth. And a lot of Destroyers and smaller shipgirls like candy, as do older ones, so..."

Suzutsuki tilted her head some before nodding slightly, "Hai, that does make sense." Examining their surroundings, she shook her head, "And I can imagine that it would be somewhat profitable as well."

With a snort, Harry placed his hands into his pockets, "Considering how much Destroyers and such eat when it comes to sweets, Suzutsuki-Chan? That might be putting it mildly." He pointed at one item in particular, getting gasps from the Destroyers, "Some of the things that magic can do are interesting when it comes to normal sweets."

Jaw dropping, Teruzuki stared for a moments before rushing over. Grabbing the item in question, she walked back in a daze and held it up, "Look, Nee-Sans! Look at this chocolate bar!"

Unable to help themselves but to stare as well, the other three Destroyers just looked at the twenty pound chocolate bar that their fellow shipgirl was holding. Suddenly, Suzutsuki looked at Harry in confusion, "Wait... what about tempering?"

Blinking, they turned towards Harry who blinked back before shrugging, "There's spells and ways of getting around the issue of the chocolate tempering as it cooled. You can shrink it down to the size of a normal chocolate bar, which means it loses heat faster. As well, there's other spells that can make it cool faster and stop it from being ruined." Pausing for a moment, the wizard frowned, "I think that Shiromizu mentioned that someone wanted to set up a chocolate factory near her mountain actually where they would do that in Japan."

Awed, Akizuki, Teruzuki, and Hatsuzuki whimpered a bit as they imagined a large number of giant chocolate bars that one could buy.

Moments later, they shook it off and slowly spread out through the store. Oddly enough, Suzutsuki kept beside Harry as she examined the various candies and such. Mainly because, out of the corner of her eye, she could see him watching her sisters and making note of candies that they were interested in, only to pull back at the last moment. Amused, her lips quirked upwards slightly as she lowered her voice, "You're going to buy the ones they want, but think are too expensive, aren't you?"

Watching as Teruzuki pulled away from a giant tin of fudge, Harry cocked an eyebrow at her, "Am I that transparent?"

Lightly chuckling, Suzutsuki shook her head slightly, "Not that much, Harry-Chan. But I can guess from some of what they have told me about you and what I have observed myself." Expression softening, she smiled, "I'm very glad that they met someone like you, Harry-Chan, who will take care of them. Though... may I ask why?"

Simply glancing at her, the teen tilted his head some, "How much do you know about my past?"

Frowning at that, Suzutsuki thought for a second or two before wincing, "Is that because...?"

Only slowly nodding, Harry sighed a bit, "Growing up at the Dursleys... they never really fed me enough, you know? And when the war started, with rationing? It was even worse as most of the food in the rations that should have gone to me went instead to Dudley and some to Vernon. I got very little of what I was supposed to get." There was a far off gaze to him at that moment, "Mum told me that I was basically skin and bones when she saw me without a shirt. And the doctor that was there grimaced. According to him, it was obvious that I had malnutrition and was close, though not quite, to starvation. So I can understand them... and I want to fill them at least partially because of that. Because I can understand where they were. And because it makes them smile at the end of the day."

Despite being unhappy at what she was hearing, and also feeling her crew angry, all the Destroyer did was nod, "I see."

Now smiling again, Harry gestured at the other Duckies, "But look at them, all of them are happy and smiling because they're filled with good food. And getting them the candy they want..." Smile becoming slightly wistful, he shook his head, "It is almost like I am giving a little black haired boy from years ago the candy he once wanted, but saw his cousin devour instead."

Rather than say anything, Suzutsuki simply hugged him and they stayed like that for a few seconds. Pulling apart, she gave him an understanding nod before going back to looking for candy that she might well want. And there was quite a bit of that to say the least.

By the time the group returned to Hogwarts, the Duckies were fed with quite a number of sweets in their holds.

That night found Harry slowly running a brush through Teruzuki's hair as the shipgirl closed her eyes in enjoyment. He had already done much the same with Akizuki and Hatsuzuki while off to the side, Suzutsuki watched with a soft smile on her face, 'Nee-San looks so relaxed at the moment.'

Eventually, the thirteen year old was finished and set aside the brush before running his fingers through the strands, "All done, Teruzuki-Chan."

When the Destroyer turned towards him, he smiled and she returned it before kissing him on the cheek, "Thank you, Harry-Chan." Scratching her cheek, Teruzuki gave a small giggle, "Um, also for today and having us eat so much."

Swallowing, Akizuki rubbed her stomach, "I don't think that we've ever eaten so much before, Harry-Chan."

Just raising an eyebrow, Harry chuckled, "But you enjoyed being stuffed, right?" At their nods, he smiled brightly, "Then I'm glad."

The three of them shared a look and sighed before shaking their heads. Looking at the time, Hatsuzuki gave a small nod, "We should be going to bed."

Getting up, Teruzuki nodded as she stretched, "Hai! Early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise!" She then blinked a bit, "Um, I think, anyways..."

Unable to help himself, the teenage boy chuckled a bit and soon he was laying in bed with Akizuki on one side and Hatsuzuki on the other as Teruzuki cuddled up on his front. Slipping into the bed behind her eldest sister, Suzutsuki nodded some as she closed her eyes, "Good night, everyone."

Various others all replied to her and soon, the only sound was that of five people all sleeping quietly, and peacefully.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Courtship in Emerald (VI)

Night of August 6th-7th (Two Months After D-Day), 1944

Hill 317, Mortain, France (76 Miles From The Normandy Invasion Beaches)
Spoiler: The Mortain Gap

"Tank left front!" Delilah shouted to be heard over the roar of cannons and the crack of bullets.

She had to rely on her nomaj comrades gathered in this crisis that demanded all hands from the infantry companies to the regimental headquarters units, cooks, and mechanics to deal with the approaching Panzer V spitting machine gun bullets and 75mm high explosive shells into the thin line of American troops clinging to this vital hill over the formerly sleepy French village of Mortain.

Her sub-machine gun spat fire and death into the German infantry attempting to storm the hill under cover of the German tanks.

Eighty years before the grandfathers and great grandfathers of the National Guardsmen alongside her in their hastily dug foxholes had marched under the state flag of North Carolina and the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy off to war. A quarter of the Third North Carolina Infantry Regiment had fallen in the slaughterhouse of the Cornfield at Antietam as it changed hands fifteen times on the bloodiest day in American history and another forty percent at Gettysburg in the largest battle on North American soil.

Now their children's children bled and shouted and fought and died once more under that proud regimental banner to blunt a counterattack intended to smash the breakthrough from the last two months of meat-grinder fighting in the bocage country of Normandy. If the Thirtieth Infantry Division did not hold, the Germans would scythe to the sea, cutting off two corps of American troops and turning the developing breakout into yet another round of brutal attritional combat.

But the Thirtieth Infantry Division was called 'Old Hickory' for a reason.

After this battle to determine the fate of Operation COBRA, the German army would have a new, bitterly respectful name for the heroic American division who had stood like a bleeding wall of immovable steel in their path while outnumbered five to one by some of the best Panzer units of Nazi Germany including the elite of the elite 1st SS-Panzer Division Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler itself. A name earned with sacrifice and valor to be carried for three hundred eight days of near-continuous combat across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and finally Germany itself to liberate Europe.

'Roosevelt's SS'

The Panzer V suddenly exploded into flames from a round off the antitank gun dug in on the flank among a cluster of boulders and hastily felled timber on this hill dominating the road nexus of Mortain.

Delilah's cold leaf-green eyes narrowed as she took advantage of the now-illuminated SS-Panzergrenadiers climbing the slopes to methodically cut this rush down while more shell fragments hammered her personal shields as salvos of German artillery slammed into the battered rock-strewn hilltop like the hammer of Thor over and over again.

The drum magazine's last round fired and the bolt of her red-hot and smoking Thompson locked open.

At the same moment above the din of battle she heard a desperate call for help.

"Krauts on the right...OH GOD!"

It tailed off into a bestial earth-shaking roar that sent chills down her spine with primal fear.

She couldn't let that stop her.

The echoes of the roar were still ringing in her ears when she leapt from her foxhole, hands flashing to draw her true body and her wand.

Her inhumanly calm voice cut through the chaos like a whip as she waved her arm in the fire-shot darkness to get the attention of anyone she could.

"Follow me!"

Behind her, Sergeant Bearclaw and her sister Colombe sprinted after her with spells and steel filling their hands along with the reserve squads formed from any rear area personnel and walking wounded who could carry a rifle

Delilah didn't care.

The foes of freedom were ahead of her on this night and the clarion call to rally around the flag flamed in her heart and her soul like a great trumpet blast calling her to her duty that she had willingly sworn herself to eighty years ago.

Behind her cold green eyes her brain whirred with calculations, estimates, predictions as she sprinted through the chaos of war.

Then her eyes narrowed as she saw the massive bulk of a creature half again the height of a man clambering out of the machine gun pit that it had just ripped to pieces.

Grendel.

Her lips drew back from her teeth in a mad, smug smile as she locked on a expanse of smooth corpse-flesh on the creature's upper chest.

Her arm moved as she summoned her energies through her wand.

"Bombarda!"

The spell shot across and then vanished as it reached the golem.

The silver collar inscribed with Nordic runes and Grindlewald's symbol glowed scarlet.

Magical Protection.

Grindlewald's abomination turned its eyeless head toward her and bellowed in challenge as greenish acidic flames wreathed its massively muscled arms.

It began to climb toward her with more Nazis behind it.

Well then, I'll do this the nomaj way.

With that analysis her focus shifted and her hand twitched to resheath her wand and draw her favorite Bowie knife.

Meanwhile her eyes sought out weak points in the brute made of iron, necromancy, tortured Untermenschen 'raw materials', and Dark Magic coming for her to rip her apart and crumble the defense line.

There.

CRACK

Thought and action were indistinguishable as her finger squeezed her trigger and her first shot blew through the magical shields and armor plating making the creature bulletproof to shatter the cold-iron alchemically forged bones of the creature's knee joint through the inch-wide gap in the protective plating as it sprinted toward her.

There.

CRACK

The thigh of the other leg exploded into black-green blood and torn flesh from her next shot as she magically transmuted the .44 caliber Minie ball in her firing chamber into silver nitrate contact explosive with a thought as it shot down the rifling grooves of her barrel at supersonic speed.

As her cylinder rotated, her mind moved equally mechanically.

A merciless inexorable thing of cams and shafts, cold calculation and ruthless analysis, as her thoughts probed for weak points, trajectories, flaws, vulnerabilities in the enraged murder machine staggering toward her.

All her targets had become to her were just a string of numbers measuring vital areas, hydrostatic shock, movement vectors, penetration angles for her shots, estimated loss of the greenish sludge that it used in place of blood, shattered joints, fire lanes, time before the next bullet would be ready.

The Cold Equations of firearms that she had been born to solve to completely destroy whatever she applied them to in moments such as this.

There.

CRACK

--------------------------------------

A decade after this day, a science-fiction author would put pen to paper in a short story about the hard decision to sacrifice an innocent life on an otherwise doomed starship to save eight men who would otherwise die without that sacrifice. One of his quotes perfectly described the Muramasa known as Delilah de Breuil in these times of crisis when time gained was measured in lives spent and ground captured or held was measured in blood shed.

"A machine does not care"

--------------------------------------
Spoiler: A Letter Home

Potter Manor, England

18th August 1944

Zamarad slowly read the letter that had just come in the morning mail. Her hands shook and her emerald eyes filled with heartfelt tears.

Somewhere in France (I can't say more than that)

13th August, 1944

Dear Zamarad,

I am taking a moment to write you to let you know that I am all right. Colombe asked me to relay that she is alive to Lyra as well.

Sergeant Bearclaw died in my arms this morning as part of last night's fight to plug a hole in our lines before we could be relieved when cut off. I will have to make sure to bring his tomahawk and his other personal effects to his widow and his young son in the Dakotas when the war is over.

Curse this war eating our best and brightest.

God bless the flyboys, they are hammering the Germans night and day constantly now and we may finally have them on the run if we can hold these forces and let Patton's men scythe into their flank. I pray that it is so, every day without your voice in my ears is a spike driven into my heart.

Last week was very bad, but we broke their back and held our positions somehow even when encircled. I asked Colombe and she said that it reminded her of holding the line in the Great War in some ways. Half of us who went up this hill to hold it will rest here forevermore. I understand now what Lincoln meant when he told me that those who fought and died here hallowed this ground far beyond our poor power to add or detract.

It is a knowledge that breaks my heart to have purchased.

I wish I could say more, but the truck carrying ammunition to us and evacuating those of us too badly wounded to fight is leaving now, so I close with the following.

I love you Zamarad.

Delilah Naomi de Breuil.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Clouds flew past, the water vapor that made them up exploding as they burst through them. Tracer fire lit up the sky behind, narrowly missing their cockpit as their engines burned brightly in the predawn dusk. Over the radio there was an unholy screech from the following Abyssal fighter as the pilot pushed them into a high-G turn, one that the plane was never really designed for nor had those who built it had thought.

Plane shaking, the pilot gripped the stick hard as they pushed blood into their legs and were themselves pushed back into the seat. At the same time, over the radio other squawks could be heard from the rest of the flight. And out of the corner of her eye, the pilot could see one of their fellows in an aerial dogfight, twisting and turning in the air as they tried to get away from the following Abyssal fighters.

Behind her visor, the pilot narrowed her eyes before glancing at the ofuda that was on one side of the cockpit before taking a deep breath. To those who could see such things, magic flew over the plane's frame, sinking deep into the electronics, steel, and aluminum that made up it's body. Almost immediately, the winds flowing past shifted and twisted under the control of the magic now infusing the aircraft. Said plane almost purred as the pilot, within seconds, steeled herself. Only glancing back to see if the pursuing Abyssal fighter was still there.

It was, as proven by the tracers that narrowing missed the engine.

On the pilot's face, a nearly savage grin appeared on her face behind her mask while feathers burst into being under her flight suit. Her gloves creaked a little as she continued to dodge, but also slowing down a bit. Then, she yanked back on her stick and the nose of the plane began to turn upwards until it started to go vertical.

The pilot of the Abyssal fighter grinned inside of his own cockpit. It had seen other pilots attempt to use the exact same maneuver before to get behind. It chuckled a little, so predictable. After all, it would take the pilot a few seconds to get out of, which meant that it could take them out. Far too easy, but then it could help it's fellows in taking out the planes that had cost them several Abyssals less than fifteen minutes before.

Unfortunately for it, and fortunately for the pilot, that was not what happened.

Engines screaming into the early morning air as they clawed at the air, the entire frame being put under enormous strain. Through the cockpit, for a few seconds, the pilot could see some of the last stars of morning twinkling seem in front of the nose of her F-15J(S), the Earth and Ocean directly below her engines as her plane entered a perfect Pugachev cobra... and then went beyond.

At that moment, time seemed to slow for both the Tengu pilot and the Abyssal, with the latter feeling the stirrings of disbelief as the F-15 in front of it began to go upside down. Inside of the Abyssal Fighter, the Imp Pilot felt it's jaw drop as the pilot of the human aircraft turned the Cobra into a full on loop that was no longer than the F-15 itself. Looking up, it's eyes met those of Ai's behind her visor as her plane, and his, were in-line with each other. The thrust of Ai's original speed still continuing to push her plane in the original direction while the plane itself was backwards and upside down compared to what it had been. The plane performing what should would have boggled the original designers...

A Kulbit maneuver, which was hard to pull off in a F-22 and should have been impossible in a F-15, yet that was what the pilot was performing.

Both sets of eyes met for that moment that stretched on into eternity. Pilots on the opposite sides of the war, wanting nothing more than to kill one another. One, wanting to simply slaughter and glory in the death and destruction, the other wanting to protect and put a stop to the other. Aerial predators locked in a dance of death, which now only had one possible outcome...

For it's part, the Abyssal Fighter tried to break away in a hard turn, but it was too late as the human Fighter came down behind it and shreded it with twenty millimeter rounds. Even as the enemy aircraft came apart in black, Abyssal steel and flames, Ai already threw her plane into a hard turn, her magic coating it as she fought the winds and G-forces, the world above the cockpit twirling as she shreeked downwards, like her ancient ancestors once did upon their foes in times long since past. Now, her blood sang within her veins even as it was attempted to be shoved into the lower part of her body as it called out to her aircraft... and her plane answered.

Levelling off, she sent burst after burst from her gun, the rounds tearing into and shreading the Abyssal aircraft following her wingmate.

Over the radio, the other pilot thanked her before the two formed up and turned hard. Despite everything it had been through, Ai's plane did not give up. As long as she fought, so did it. And with her at it's side, it would not, with the Tengu magic singing through it's frame as much as the blood sang in Ai's, the two were near one in combat...
____________________________________________________________________

Hand against the Fighter's nose, Ai gently stroked it with a soft smile before looking away and towards the Summoning Pool. Tilting her head, she gave a raised eyebrow at Gyaru, "Hmm?"

The tanned female pilot gave her Yokai friend a raised eyebrow, "How many more airships are there do you figure?"

Considering the question for a few moments, Ai frowned in thought, "Not too many, I believe. Why do you ask?"

With a small shrug, Gyaru frowned a bit, "Just wondering what you think will happen with your plane once that day comes. Afterwards, we're not really going to be using the Summoning Pool for much."

Placing her hands into her pockets, the Tengu sighed, "I... do not know."

Kudzu looked at the plane, patting it gently on the wing as he did so before turning, "Well, we could probably raise enough money to buy it." At the confused looks, he shrugged, "Have her turned into a gate guard."

For a few moments, Ai considered that before shaking her head, "Even if we had enough money to buy her, a gate guard position is not quite what I would wish for her." Expression becoming gentle, she sighed, "A museum, perhaps. Where she could be properly honoured and taken care of out of the elements."

Bemused, the Okinawan of the group chuckled, "You treat your plane as if she was your own daughter, Tengu."

Several minutes passed as they continued their conversation, including talk of the new plane that Ai will be getting though she expressed regret that it would not be her old one. But soon, they left. However, before they did, Ai gave her old plane a last pat on the nose and a smile, "Thank you again, old friend. May your rest be long and peaceful..."

With that, she left being the last one out and turning off the lights as she did so.

Darkness enveloped the room and there was silence except for the odd breeze that drifted through the room, carrying with it the scent of incense. But other than that, it was still and quiet... until there was the small sound of a squeak. One that was followed by another such sound.

At the back of the plane, one of the ailerons shook as it moved into a different postion. That was followed by the one on the opposite side of the plane doing much the same. Short minutes later, the lights on the edges of the wings began to glow, providing light to the room. All the while, inside the cockpit, electronics slowly flickered on one by one as the stick and switches moved on their own despite how old they were. And if one listened, they might have just been able to hear the turbines, which supposedly were rusted in place, move slightly as the radio in the cockpit crackled to life.

If one was there, they might have been able to smell ozone along with another smell. The smell of a mountain breeze, just barely there. A smell that many Yokai would have recognized as being the smell of Tengu magic.

Hanging from the ceiling, some of the lights flickered and glowed slightly, soon beginning to move in the strengthening breeze. Meanwhile, in the Summoning Pool, the water sloshed this way and that. And one could smell incense as the sticks left behind began to smoke.

But then, as soon as it had begun, it ended. The smoke stopped rising from the incense sticks, and the water stopped sloshing around. As well, the breeze that had been building up died off itself, the lights in the ceiling slowly dying away. And as for the F-15J(S) that sat in it's place, the turbines in it's engines stopped turning. Meanwhile, within the cockpit, the lights slowly died off and the stick stopped moving. The radio, too, stopped working. Finally, the lights on the edges of the wings died out and left the room once more dark and silent...

For now, anyways.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-Happy Veteran's Day/Armistice Day everyone! Dedicating this one to all those whose sacrifices purchased safe lives for us.

A Courtship in Emerald (VII)

August 24th, 1944

Notre-Dame de Paris, Paris, France (176 Miles From The Normandy Invasion Beaches)

An elderly woman in a nun's habit, yet unbowed by age and her long stewardship looked out over Paris from her appointed place on the Île de la Cité.

She had endured much in her long, long life.

Seven hundred and eighty-one years before this day, her cornerstone had been laid and blessed by Pope Alexander III, assisted by Bishop Maurice de Sully who had conceived her in his wisdom as a church worthy of Paris.

A century after that first stone was laid, this great bell tower where she looked out over her city had been completed by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those workers who had labored in faith to create something that they would never see finished as her vaults and flying buttresses rose to the heavens in one of the great masterworks of Gothic architecture.

She had been built, rebuilt, desecrated, reconsecrated, damaged, repaired, and restored over the centuries at the hands of Frenchmen both wise and foolish, pious and profane.

She had witnessed much.

Popes had come to her hallowed halls to celebrate the Divine. Kings and Emperors had been crowned within her, and then solemnly laid to rest as their lives were celebrated under her quiet gaze.

Her voice had called her city, her flock, her children to celebrate the birth of a Dauphin, mourn the death of a beloved monarch, announce the canonization of a saint, warn of fire, riot, and insurrection, and merely to tell the time to come to her always-open doors and pray for those beloved humble souls under her care who could not afford a clock or read and write but merely believe.

She had not just endured and witnessed but also inspired Victor Hugo to write one of the great works of French literature about a hunchback who was given sanctuary within her walls to ring her bells.

With that thought, her fingers gently touched Emmanuel, the great bronze tenor bell that was the largest of her carillon, as she listened to the crack of rifles, and boom of cannons ringing out across Paris.
Spoiler: Les cloches de Notre Dame

Dark, soulful eyes filled with her tears for her flock who were even now martyring themselves on the street barricades against the invading occupiers. She knew better than any other, perhaps, the importance of faithful sacrifice leading to martyrdom and the rewards that awaited them behind the veil.

She had seen that many times before, not least in the faith of a brave young woman who would go from sight of her spires to her willing death at the stake to become canonized as a unstained immortal banner to rally her homeland to liberate itself.

For more than any other, Notre-Dame de Paris embodied what it was to be French.

And as the first tank crewed by the Free French Second Armored Division (Leclerc) reached the plaza before her doors, the hands of one of her priests grasped the rope and she called across her city once more with her mighty voice in the joy-filled sound of her pealing bells.

Awakening the voices of her daughters from St-Denis who watched over 43 Kings and 32 Queens of France where they slumbered in her crypt beneath sculpted marble effigies, to Sacre-Coeur crowning the heights of Montmartre in gold and stained glass, to the young barely century-old La Madeline with her statue of Saint Jeanne D'Arc, to the tallest of her daughters, Dôme des Invalides, whose charge was to be the eternal sentry of the tombs of France's war heroes with Napoleon Bonaparte himself laid to rest under her gilded dome and battle trophies.

Libération de Paris!

---------------------------------

In the French Ministry of Magic, tears of joy filled the eyes of two half-sisters who had just helped secure the building from Grindelwald's forces in fierce combat.

For they were hearing the church bells pealing across Paris and knew deep in their souls what that meant.

The one tying a bandage around her sister's arm was the child of an aristocratic Catholic Squib family who had lost her beloved sister in the Terror of the French Revolution. She had endured much in her long life as the daughter of one of the most colorful women in French history, and her scars in defense of her mother's homeland ran deep indeed, although well-hidden underneath her cool aristocratic facade.

Now that facade cracked and shattered at long last.

Colombe du Chasteler smiled happily as tears of joy and relief filled her eyes, for after five long years of combat with only the faintest of hopes to sustain her, at last her faith and efforts had been rewarded.

The heart of the country she perhaps thought of home more than many others where she had walked was free at last.

Her sister who gave her a matching tear-filled smile was the daughter of a Huguenot wizarding family who had fled religious persecution by the then-King to the New World where they put down deep roots. Only to one day have a daughter of their daughters return to La Patrie to help liberate France from the Nazi boot-heel crushing her.

A daughter who had drank deep of the American belief in the Rights of Man, of Liberty, and Freedom, and so had volunteered to cross the great oceans once more in a great crusade against tyranny and evil. A daughter whose own tears flowed and smile blossomed at the bells of Notre Dame heralding a new birth of freedom in one of the cradles of Western Civilization.

For Delilah de Breuil had seen her own sacrifices of all that she ever was and ever would be laid upon the Altar of Freedom be accepted and rewarded in this moment.

Leaf-green eyes met crystal blue eyes in a moment of shared understanding.

"There will be a Te Deum celebration of gratitude tomorrow. Just like for the crowning of a monarch or the birth of a crown prince. But... I haven't been to Church in decades, Del. Well... the last time was 1870. That long." Colombe shook her head and blushed in embarrassment.

"And I'm United Methodist, Sis. Mother converted during the Great Awakening of the 1850s shortly after having me. I don't even know how a Catholic high mass goes, so you will have to be my guide to all the Latin. We're going, Sis."

-------------------------------

August 25th, 1944

Potter Manor
Spoiler: A Te Deum In Notre-Dame

A gold-haired figure knelt in the family chapel before a simple, although finely carved wooden crucifix. Shoulders shook in emotion inside her plain peasant garb and her eyes teared up with all the feelings that hearing the latest radio report of the fighting in France had stirred within her.

Her head bowed over her clasped hands, and her lips parted, and she began to joyfully sing words engraved upon her heart.

Words written in the Fourth Century by Saint Ambrosius.

Words preserved in the Frankish Hymnal of the Eighth Century.

Words set to music at the order of Louis XIV, the Sun King and the greatest of the French monarchs himself, by his court composer Jean-Baptiste Lully in the Seventeenth Century as one of the masterpieces of French Baroque music.

Words now sung by Charles de Gaulle, Colombe du Chasteler, and Delilah de Breuil among the joyful voices of the people of Paris that filled Notre Dame's vaults, stained glass, and spires.

Words sung in the style of the High Middle Ages of the Fifteenth Century by the manifested spirit of the Sword of Saint Catherine, carried into battle to defend France by Saint Joan of Arc herself.

Te Deum laudámus: te Dominum confitémur.
Te ætérnum Patrem omnis terra venerátur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi cæli et univérsae potestátes.
Tibi Chérubim et Séraphim incessábili voce proclámant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra majestátis glóriæ tuæ.
Te gloriósus Apostolórum chorus;
Te Prophetárum laudábilis númerus;
Te Mártyrum candidátus laudat exércitus.
Te per orbem terrárum sancta confitétur Ecclésia:
Patrem imménsæ majestátis;
Venerándum tuum verum et únicum Fílium;
Sanctum quoque Paráclitum Spíritum.
Tu Rex glóriæ, Christe.
Tu Patris sempitérnus es Fílius.
Tu ad liberándum susceptúrus hóminem, non horruísti Vírginis úterum.
Tu, devícto mortis acúleo,
aperuísti credéntibus regna cælórum.
Tu ad déxteram Dei sedes, in glória Patris.
Judex créderis esse ventúrus.
Te ergo quǽsumus, tuis fámulis súbveni,
quos pretióso sánguine redemísti.
Ætérna fac cum sanctis tuis in glória numerári.
Salvum fac pópulum tuum, Dómine, et bénedic hæreditáti tuæ.
Et rege eos, et extólle illos usque in ætérnum.
Per síngulos dies benedícimus te.
Et laudámus nomen tuum in sǽculum, et in sǽculum sǽculi.
Dignáre, Dómine, die isto sine peccáto nos custodíre.
Miserére nostri, Dómine, miserére nostri.
Fiat misericórdia tua, Dómine, super nos, quemádmodum sperávimus in te.
In te, Dómine, sperávi: non confúndar in ætérnum.
Spoiler: Translation
We praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim : continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty : of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death :
thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us : as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded.

Zamarad appeared at the door to the chapel and then approached to kneel beside Catherine. Hesitantly the Ifrit prayed in turn for the speedy conclusion of the war and the safe return of a chestnut-haired Muramasa with leaf-green eyes.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Water hitting her face from shell splashes. Mogami grimaced before bringing up her guns. It took only brief moments before they fired, the recoil rocking her back a little. After a couple of seconds, she fired again, while glancing at the sky with one eye cloudy. Some might have thought that she was blind in that eye...

And could not have been more wrong.

Even as she was firing her guns on a Ha-Class, Mogami was "Seeing" through the eyes of her planes in that eye. High above the Aviation Cruiser, her Fighters and the Abyssals fought in a furball. A thin smile crossed Mogami's lips and she chuckled, "Well, I was complaining about being bored."

Guns firing and shooting down some Torpedo Bombers, Asakaze growled a bit at her, "So this is your fault!?"

Shooting her a smirk, the Aviation Cruiser laughed, "Hai! Besides, convoy escort would be boring without some excitement!"

Eyebrow twitching, Asakaze lashed out with a foot, catching an enemy Destroyer in the midsection and followed up with a punch that sent it flying, "WHEN WE GET BACK, I'M KICKING YOUR ASS!"

Just winking, Mogami grinned, "You can try!" Her grin fell away though as she frowned, "Though this is odd... wonder what got them all riled up now? Usually, they don't attack in these numbers and..." Backhanding a PT Imp, causing it to practically explode, she took only a moment to shake off her hand of the oil and other substances, "And something is not right here."

Matsukaze blinked and looked at her, "Wait, what? Seriously?" A moment later, a shot from a Ro-Class knocked her hat from her head which she grabbed before it flew off... only to see that the top was missing and smoking. Briefly, the shipgirl had a dismayed look before she wailed, "MY HAT!"

When she launched herself at the offending Destroyer, Kamikaze groaned, "We told you about the hat! Why do you keep carrying that around!?"

Even as she grabbed the panicking Ro by the tail and swung it into another, the hat wearing shipgirl scowled, "BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD ON ME, DAMMIT! AND BECAUSE IT LETS EVERYONE KNOW THAT I AM SUAVE!"

Tone dry, Asakaze gave her a look, "That last is a lie, you know."

"YOU WANNA FIGHT!?"

Rolling her eyes, Mogami sighed before shaking her head and frowning as some of her planes that were not involved in the every increasing furball above continued backtracking the Abyssals. Though she breathed a sigh of relief as Suzuya's planes returned to join up with hers, {Thanks, Imouto!}

Laughs answered her over the radio as Suzuya answered her back, {Well, I can't let you get that banged up! Otherwise your girlfriend might get angry at me!}

Softly snorting, and shooting another Destroyer, Mogami smirked a bit, {Yuzuki-Chan? Nah, she would kick my ass and shout at me for being a baka boku. She likes you after all.}

More laughter answered her even as she heard her sister's guns, {True, and the feeling's mutual. You did good in getting her as a girlfriend, Nee-San.}

That brought a smile to Mogami's face and she gave a nod, {Thanks. Though I do know that.}

Right then though, the smile fell from her face as her scouts came into view and paled. Seeing that, Harukaze frowned, even as she fired torpedoes at a Ta-Class that was distracted, "Mogami-San? What's wrong?"

Face set into a grim line, the Aviation Cruiser took a deep breath, "Remember what I said about wanting more excitement?" At their nods even as they fought to protect the convoy, which was making full speed towards the safety of Fukuoka, Mogami sighed, "Yeah... I regret about... every fucking thing right now."

Over the radio, Suzuya's voice came through, {How bad?}

Giving the matter some thought, Mogami answered, "We got not just that bitch Ancient Destroyer Princess coming, and her two Demons... but some new Princess it looks like with Abyssal Seaplanes. A really, really fucking wierd looking one at that. Horns, mask on their face, looks like something from a damn Kabuki play."

A snort could be heard from the other Aviation Cruiser, {You're joking...} Moments later, one of her planes spotted the same Abyssal, {... You're not kidding. What the hell...? It really does look like something from a Kabuki play!}

Eyes narrowing, Mogami looked around before frowning, "Wait..." It was then that she realized something and her eyes widened, "They're not attacking the Convoy! At least not beyond potshots!"

Head whipping around, Kamikaze frowned, "Then why are they attacking us!?"

Quickly running through everything, the Aviation Cruiser frowned, "I don't... No, wait, could it be...?" Chewing her lip, even as she reloaded another group of planes, Mogami shook her head, "I think... no, I'm sure that I know! They're trying to make a breakthrough!"

Suzuya's voice was full of confusion as she called back, {A breakthough?}

Grimacing, Mogami nodded before scowling, "We've had them bottled up in the Sea of Japan for years now. Between us, the Koreans, and the Chinese as well as the Russians up in Sakhalin? We've been wearing them down. If they don't break out into the Pacific, we're going to corner them soon enough and then sink them. They got no damn choice!" Right then, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and was turning her head in time to get nailed roughly just in front of and above her ear by a bomb, "ARGH!"

Various other shipgirls called out her name, "MOGAMI!"

For the Cruiser in question, her vision swam as she lurched violently, with everything blurring and going double. At the same time, her head rang like a gong had gone off inside of it and her fuel tanks sloshed violently while her neck strained. Part of her mind noted the wetness that was even now dripping down her neck. To a human, what she was experiencing would have been the equivalent of a concussion. Stumbling, her guns still came up and fired at an Abyssal Destroyer that leapt at her, blowing it apart. Voice slurring, Mogami swayed, "Smmmokay... jusss a sit hurt..."

Over the radio, Suzuya's voice could be easily heard, {THE FUCK YOU ARE! I'LL BE THERE IN FIVE! HOLD POSITION!} To Mogami, it seemed like seconds before two arms grabbed her still stumbling form and her sister's face filled her field of vision, "Dammit, Nee-San! How many fingers am I holding up?!"

Blinking, Mogami noted that she was only really able to see out of one eye, "... Shree...?"

Teeth gritting, the other Cruiser growled, "Baka! I'm not holding up any fingers!" Turning towards the Destroyers, she snarled, "We're doing a fighting retreat! Cover the convoy, let them break the hell through if needed! Natori! Punch us a hole through these bastards!"

Said Light Cruiser's voice could be heard over the radio, {ON IT! COME ON, BRING IT! FUMIKAZE! HAKIKAZE! WITH ME!} A few minutes later, which in a battle was practically forever, Natori spoke up, {AND WE'RE THROUGH!}

With a nod, still supporting Mogami, Suzuya nodded, "Thanks! On our way!"

Another voice then came over the radio, a familiar American accented voice that held range beneath it's depths, {What is the situation?}

Glancing at her sister, Suzuya gave a shake of the head, "Mogami is injured with a hit to her bridge. She's conscious, but concussed at the least. We're currently fighting off a full on breakthrough attack of lead by Ancient Destroyer Princess, her Demons, and an unknown Princess with air capabilities. We are currently covering the convoy."

Fusou could then be heard as she sighed, {How unfortunate, such misfortune...}

Dark chuckles could be heard before Pennsylvania's voice came over the radio, {For them, perhaps. Ladies, form up into a Battle Line, we're going in hard.}

Various answers came over the radio in confirmation.

Mere minutes later, the Battleline composed of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Fusou, Yamashiro, and Hyuuga slammed into the Abyssal lines just north of where the Convoy was making use of the break in the lines. Having recovered slightly, though still dazed and with blood dripping down the side of her neck, Mogami continued to fire alongside Suzuya, while above, Zuihou's fighters now joined the air battle, shooting down Abyssal after Abyssal. A lopsided grin crossed her face as other planes joined in from Unryuu's and the battle shifted in the shipgirl's favor.

Elsewhere in the Battle, Pennsylvania narrowed her eyes as she got into a duel with a Ta-Class, lips curling into a snarl before shouting her next order, "TURN AND PRESENT BROADSIDE! ... FIRE!"

All her guns barked one after another, as did her fellow Battleships with them straddling the Abyssal Battleships as both sides attempted to cross the other's T. Around and between them, the smaller Light Cruisers and Destroyers fought their own battle. Often trading physical blows as much as shells as one Chi-Class lining up for a torpedo run on Yamashiro and Fusou learned when Shigure appeared from the smoke and slugged her in the face even as her torn clothes whipped in the wind, "NOT TODAY!"

Staggering backward, the Torpedo Cruiser didn't have time to react as Shigure's arm grabbed it in a chokehold and twisted, while at the same time the Destroyer brought her knee up into it's back. For a brief second there was the sound of straining steel before two cracks were heard as the Abyssal's neck and back were snapped in twain. A shot from Shigure's cannon finished it off as the torpedoes the Abyssal had cooked off moments later, blowing it apart. Ignoring the slight cuts on her cheek, Shigure charged right back into the battle as shells from the Battleships on both sides fell around her.

Once, she had lost her friends, seen Fusou and Yamashiro sunk...

Never again.

Watching from the corner of her eye, Yamashiro gave a nod as she watched Shigure leap into the air and drive her foot into the stomach of a leaping I-Class with was followed up with a point blank shot at it's eye, "Hmm... Shigure-Chan is certainly in fine form."

Eyes observing as a Ru-Class blew apart as their Battle line managed to get into position to cross the T, Fusou happily smiled, "Hai, in this case Shigure-Chan is quite fortunate... and such misfortune for the Abyssals."

Propellers hungrily chewing into the water as she twisted, Shimakaze's Renshou-Chans fired at Abyssals left and right as she used her speed to her advantage. The Destroyer and her sisters weaved in and out of the battle, often with the first signs of the opposing Abyssals knowing that they were there was hits from their guns or torpedo runs. Watching as her spread of Torpedoes slammed into, and blew apart a crippled Abyssal Ta-Class, Shimakaze grinned, "Ou! Good shot!"

A grunt escaped from Arizona as her armor belt bounced one Ru-Class' shell before said Battleship died to a salvo from both Arizona and Pennslyvania, "An extremely good shot, Shimakaze!"

Moments later, Shimakaze's "Thanks Mom" brought a slight blush to the American's cheeks.

Just behind and around the Battleships, Atlanta and her sister Juneau, put enough flak into the air that no aircraft got close to the Battleships, while Agano added hers as well to the anti-air from her fellow Cruisers, the Destroyers, and the Battleships themselves with Pennsylvania putting up so much that at times only her glowing, rage and hate filled eyes could be seen through the gunsmoke.

Between the fleeing convoy forces and the battleline approaching from Sasebo, the Abyssals knew who was their major threat and turned before slamming into the relief forces. Something that made Mogami and the others breath a sigh of relief. As soon the convoy was within the sight of coastal artillery, Suzuya and the others with minor damage split away from the rest of the convoy and slammed into the battle from their direction. Mogami was one of those as she had recovered enough to operate though still being able to see out of only one eye.

That was enough to break the Abyssal offensive and they began to try and flee. Unfortunately, the unknown Princess managed to get through the Tsushima Strait with some forces, while Ancient Destroyer Princess and her Demons fled back into the Sea of Japan. It was an exhausted, though victorious, group that returned to Fukuoka Naval Station as it was the closest Repair Dock.

Upon reaching the launch ramp, Mogami stumbled a bit as her injuries and exhaustion caught up to her. As she fell though, she was caught by two arms and looked up to find Yuzuki there with a frown on her face, "Uh..."

Scowling, the Ushi-Onna glared at her girlfriend, "If you were not injured right now, I would punch you for continuing the battle when injured!" She then sighed before lifting the Cruiser up into a bridal carry, making Mogami squawk, "Which means that I will just need to make do with this, I suppose."

All Suzuya did was shake her head as both the convoy and Sasebo group watched in amusement as Mogami complained about being manhandled and the like as her girlfriend carried her to the Repair Docks. Though they could all also tell that the shipgirl didn't actually mind all that much when it came to it. Chuckling with Matsukaze's arm over her shoulder as she helped the Destroyer along, Hiroko shook her head, "Well... Mogami-Chan is going to be getting a talking to once she's healed..."

Matsukaze shrugged a bit before wincing at the stab of pain in her side, though she still smirked, "Followed by a wild, passonate makeup."

Rolling her eyes, Yuzuki's sister sighed, "Stop." As they continued to walk along, she smiled a bit, "At least you all won this one."

Simply waving a hand, the top hat wearing Destroyer chuckled, "Well, I got my arm around a hot girl. Pretty sure that is winning by anyone's standard."

Once more, Hiroko rolled her eyes and shook her head, though some noted she had a slight blush, "Yeah, yeah, you charmer. Let's get you to the Repair Dock..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Courtship in Emerald (VIII)

September 4th, 1944

Ministère Royal de Sorcellerie/Koninklijk Ministerie van Magische Zaken, Brussels, Belgium, (325 miles from Normandy Invasion Beaches)
Spoiler: A Crusade For Freedom

Henry Potter looked at the two visibly exhausted women standing in front of him. One hand idly caressed the hilt of Juuchi Yosamu as she hung from her sheath attached to the Sam Browne belt of his British Army colonel's uniform.

"Aunt Colombe, Delilah, you both look like death warmed over." He finally said, as the Muramasa katana rattled in agreement.

The weary rapier sighed from her bandaged face. "Some of Grindlewald's fanatics stayed behind and were planning to use Fiendfyre and alchemical compounds to incinerate Brussels when the Allies' armored spearheads entered town to slow them down and do as much damage as possible. We stopped them, but...." An eloquent shrug.

Delilah de Breuil picked up the statement. "That bitch Vinda Rosier was leading them and managed to escape us. We had to defuse the bombs, which gave her the chance to Apparate away. No clue as to where."

Henry nodded slowly. "I see. No leads?"

Delilah shook her head. "None usable. They are getting more clever, the safe that had their documents and orders also had an Obscurial trapped inside it. Edward Bones got blown apart when he opened it and we had to put that down too. Fortunately the wards on the Ministry building kept it contained in here."

"I see." Henry rubbed his chin. "No luck with the French Malfoys either, although they are no longer a concern for us." His sword gave a series of smug rattles and he tapped her hilt with a finger. "Hush you."

As the Potter Blood Sword gave an annoyed rattle as she subsided, Henry nodded. "Right. I'll take over things here. Aunt Colombe, you haven't checked in on Moulbaix, have you?"

"Non." Colombe shook her head, her voice hoarse and exhausted.

"Do that then. I'll write orders for you two to secure Moulbaix and then stand by for further instructions." Henry pulled out a scroll of parchment and a quill and scribbled on it, then signed it. "There we go, all nice and tight by ICW standards. Check my memory, Aunt Colombe, you don't have a Floo connection there."

Colombe nodded. "I do not. My family were classified as Non-Magique descended from Squibs and also, considering my legal difficulties...."

Henry nodded "Which are only suspended for the duration of the fight against Grindlewald. Just check on your home and then take some personal time; you deserve it after the last five years."

He then pulled out an official US Army order form and repeated the process, finally tapping his wand on it to forge General Courtney Hodges' signature. "Welcome to First Army Intelligence Staff, Major de Breuil, Captain du Chasteler. You are ordered to 'hand deliver vital documents captured from occupation authorities in Brussels' to me in the ICW liaison office attached to SHAEF command in Paris. Monday of week after next. Now get some sleep and then go requisition a jeep from the nearest motor pool and get on the road."

The two women nodded as they took their orders and cast spells to shift their shoulder patches to the black A on gold representing First Army. "C'mon, Sis. I saw a hotel two blocks down the street when we were preparing to storm this building and I have a pocket full of dollars both in paper and coin. Let's enrich the local economy some."

September 5th, 1944

Ath, Belgium
Spoiler: Return to Moulbaix

"Papers!" The British Military Policeman held up his hand to the jeep heading back from the front as it reached the checkpoint.

Delilah stopped the jeep as her sister was jarred awake. "Here you go, Sergeant." with that she handed over the orders as she mentally reinforced the spells making her and her sister appear to be male officers.

The MP frowned as he flipped through the papers and then saluted. "Very good, sir. Just be aware that we have had some stay behinds and stragglers taking potshots at supply convoys so be alert."

Delilah nodded and tapped the SMG next to her. "That's why we grabbed an armed jeep for this transfer, Sergeant. Ahh, what happened there?" She pointed to a group of villagers scrubbing the cobblestones underneath a bullet-pocked wall surrounding a church and cemetery.

"Jerry happened, sir. Right before we liberated this village, someone saw the villagers preparing Belgian flags. They grabbed two dozen of the locals and machine-gunned them there as a warning to the rest. Bastards."

Delilah nodded, her eyes cold. "Bastards indeed. We'll keep an eye out for them. Keep up the good work."

With that she drove through the checkpoint and turned onto a farm lane. Colombe spoke, her voice hoarse as her tears fell. "Those were my people. My responsibility."

Delilah glanced over at her sister. "This sounds personal, Sis."

Colombe nodded. "That village belongs to my estate. I was baptized in that church. And I wasn't there to protect them from the Boche bastards who did that atrocity."

Delilah reached over and squeezed Colombe's shoulder as she stopped the jeep. "I'm sorry, Sis. You did all that you could be expected to do and more. Now let me climb in the back and cock the Ma Deuce just in case those bastards are still around."

Her eyes turned steely as she chambered a round and put her fingers on the triggers of the pintle mounted M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun in the rear of the jeep. "I hope they are."

Colombe put the jeep into gear from her new position in the driver's seat. "Me too, Del, me too."

With those words she continued her drive toward her home.

September 5th, 1944

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Colombe parked the jeep next to the stable house that she had converted into a garage in the 1920s. She breathed in and out deeply in memory as the motor died. Her eyes scanned the woodlot surrounding the castle, with the unharvested apples on the trees that her Papa had ordered planted for his table and that she had walked underneath as a tow-headed young girl among the saplings.

Delilah finished her own scan. "All quiet here, Sis." With that observation, the Muramasa revolver leapt out of the jeep and drew her wand. "Nice charmwork on the No-Maj repelling wards."

"Thank you. I reinforced them heavily in 1938 after I returned from Spain. This is... not the first time that the Boche have overrun Belgium in warfare before." Colombe responded absently, her eyes still looking at the trees.

"Sis... Are you all right?" Delilah spoke quietly.

Colombe shook herself and finally turned to the apparently-abandoned castle. "Oui, just... memories."

Delilah nodded and gently hugged her sister one-armed. "I can relate. I miss the Dakotas and our estate in the Allegheny Mountains dearly too. Still, we need to see what happened here. I wouldn't put it past Hitler or Grindlewald to loot this place just to spite you."

Colombe nodded in agreement and then drew her rapier. "I would put very little past either of them. Not after everything that I have seen."

With that they approached the oaken doors under the du Chasteler coat of arms. Colombe raised a hand as she reached the steps and chanted two counterspells in a throaty Bantu language from Africa. "There. That disarms the lethal traps."

Delilah nodded as she hefted her revolver. "Out of professional interest, what would they have done?"

Colombe smirked smugly. "The first would have run molten bronze through the marrow of every bone in your skeleton. The second is a bound leopard spirit to rend your soul apart. I learned both in Africa."

Delilah gave a matching smug grin. "Nice. That's one way to deal with pesky neighbors."

Colombe nodded absently as she touched the carved oak of the door and closed her eyes. Her lips opened and she spoke in a hoarse voice. "Papa, I have come back at last. I'm sorry that it took so long."

Delilah did not know what to say to her sister's obvious emotional distress as the door opened at Colombe's touch.

Inside the entrance hall was cavernous and gloomy. Delilah automatically swept the room with her eyes, making note of doors along both walls, and the grand staircase directly ahead leading up to a larger-than-life-sized painting of an aristocrat before branching off to balconies lining the left and right sides.

A perfect firing gallery and killzone, she idly noted as she locked on movement to the right.

A large shirtless black man with a shaved head and obvious muscles appeared in the door, an axe in his hands.

"KASUYU!" Colombe's joy filled voice rang out as she sprinted across the floor to embrace him. Delilah lowered her aim as they embraced. She sketched a glyph with her wand and her eyebrows climbed as her spell revealed that he was a weapon spirit like she and her sisters were.

"Welcome home, Mistress. Who is your friend?" the African axe spirit rumbled.

"Ah, Kasuyu, meet my younger sister Delilah de Breuil." Colombe responded through her tears of joy and relief.

"Hello and pleased to meet you," Delilah responded, sheathing her weapons and then walking over to extend her hand to Kasuyu. "Do you have a fireplace somewhere secure?"

-----------------------------------

Delilah finished sketching Lakota pictoglyphs with her wand into the stone fireplace in the upstairs study that she had been led to. With that she turned to the others. "This makes this a Floo portal but only triggered when you empower these specific glyphs." She pointed to three glowing runes as Kasuyu and Colombe leaned close. "The authorities over here won't be able to detect transits to and from it as it links into the MACUSA transport network of spells with the MIB designation that we use to keep some of our safe houses safe from the nomajs and... other people."

Colombe nodded. "And using it to other locations?"

Delilah smirked smugly and her eyes sparkled, "It will bounce you into MACUSA's domestic network then back to wherever your final destination is internationally. To return, just preface the address with Magical Information Bureau-Castle Moulbaix."

"Clever," Colombe mused as she rubbed her chin. "Very clever."

Delilah smugged, "Thanks Sis. I was not first in my class in Ilvermorny for transportation spells for no reason. I will run up some Portkeys to here too with your permission as well for me and Jackie."

Colombe nodded and leaned against a gilded and engraved antique piano. "Agreed. So, what now?"
Spoiler: Reunion

Delilah's smirk turned triumphant. "What now? I'll tell you what now." She threw a handful of Floo Powder in the flames to turn them green. "I'm going to spend my two weeks of vacation very productively indeed. Potter Manor!"

With that she stepped inside and vanished in a puff of verdant flame.

Potter Manor, England

Zamarad looked up from her book as the flames in the fireplace across from her in the library turned jade-green and she sensed an arriving presence in the fire.

Instinctively, she called upon the powers of her heritage to prepare to defend the people who had saved her, accepted her, befriended her.

The flames roiled and reformed into the image of a young woman in a mud-spattered and stained US army uniform. Facing her was a young Arabian woman in a red-orange bedlah combination of a short top exposing her midriff, embroidered vest, and puffy semi-transparent silk pantaloons above slippers.

A gold oak leaf on Delilah's collar denoted her rank in the MACUSA Corps of Aurors and the US Army fighting to liberate Europe. A gold and ruby ring binding Zamarad's spirit gleamed and sparkled with the heaving of the bosom upon which it rested.

Delilah's heart-shaped face was far more careworn, more lined with what she had faced and endured in the months of combat across France and then Belgium. Matching lines of concern, care and worry over the last months as her love fought to protect her and liberate Europe engraved Zamarad's dusky cheeks.

Chestnut red-hair fell around Delilah's shoulders as leaf-green eyes focused on the blazing scarlet mane of hair atop the equally young-seeming Arabian woman looking at her with dawning hope in her blazing emerald eyes. The emerald that had given her name of Zamarad.

Delilah's lips opened while tears filled her eyes as she sprinted toward the equally tear-filled flaming eyes of the Ifrit already hurrying to her waiting embrace of reunion.

"Zamarad. It was a hard road that I had to tread. I came as I was able."

"Shaelat ruwhi. It has been so long, and I worried so much for you. You redeemed your promise."

With that, Delilah de Breuil fell into the warm embrace of her love as her lips met those of Zamarad aibnatu Alnaar at long last.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Once they were far enough from the rest of the group, Mogami muttered a little, "At least this time I didn't faceplant in your tits..."

Glancing at her girlfriend, Yuzuki smirked a bit, "Maybe, that could have been embarrassing for you." Smirk falling away, her expression became one of concern, "I just hate it when you get hurt like this, Mogami-Chan."

Just opening one eye, the Aviation Cruiser gave her a small smile, "Far better that I get hurt than you do. And for that? I got no problem with getting some hard knocks." Getting a snort, she closed her eyes before noticing something, "Sorry about getting blood and stuff on your uniform... probably ruined."

Softly scoffing, Yuzuki shook her head, "Uniforms can be replaced, Mogami-Chan." Looking at the head wound, she winced a bit. For a normal human, even most Yokai, one would question how the person was alive due how bad it looked, with bits of twisted steel here and there poking out of the congealed mess of blood and oil in Mogami's hair. Taking a breath, the Ushi-Onna let it out, "You getting more hurt by tripping in your condition is worse."

Mumbles met her as her girlfriend curled into her, "You're not angry, are you?"

Rolling her eyes, the Ushi-Onna sighed, "No, I'm not angry with you exactly. At the Abyssals? Hai. But not at you... though I don't like seeing you hurt." She frowned a little bit, "Though I am not happy that you went back out into the battle once the convoy got to safety in your condition. That we shall be having a nice, long chat about once you're healed up. Don't doubt that for a moment, Mogami-Chan."

The only thing that Mogami did was place her head on the other woman's shoulders and close her eyes.

It was less than four minutes later that they came to the Repair Docks for the Naval Station, which was small compared to those at most bases. Easily able to support the shipgirl in her arms with her strength, Yuzuki kicked at the door several times and it opened to reveal a young girl who was not much more than thirteen years old. She was wearing an apron with a toolbelt around her waist with her muscular arms revealed by the rolled up shirt. Upon seeing Mogami, she moved to the side to let the Lieutenant through and pointed, "Okay, get her into the Repair Docks and we'll get started on her."

Yuzuki just nodded as she shifted her load some, "Will do."

By the time that Arizona and the others had caught up, Mogami was already in the baths and Yuzuki had tossed her now ruined jacket onto a chair nearby. The American Battleship raised an eyebrow at just how much the Lieutenant filled her shirt now that her jacket was not covering it up, 'I would ask if she was a Battleship, but...' However, she dismissed it just as quickly and gave a small smile, "Lieutenant-"

However, she was not able to get much further as a group of blurs rushed past her and slammed into the disguised Ushi-Onna, drawing a small wince from her as they hit sensitive parts of her, "COMMANDER!"

With an apologetic glance at Arizona, Yuzuki looked down at the little shipgirls now burying their faces in her chest as they whimpered and sniffled, clothes torn and dirtied with soot with the odd cut on them oozing some blood and oil. Gentle, the Lieutenant reached out and stroked their hair, "Shhh... shhhh, it's okay, Hiburi-Chan, Daitou-Chan, Ikuna-Chan, Ootsu-Chan... Everything is fine..."

Tears in her eyes, Ootsu cried a little bit, "We were so scared, Commander! T-there were all these Cruisers, a-and Battleships, a-and lotsa planes... S-so many bad guys a-all around us..."

Continuing to stroke the hair of the various Coastal Defense Ships, Yuzuki nodded, "I know, I heard all about it. But you know what else I heard?" At the shakes of their heads, she smiled, "I also heard about how you all did a great job and protected the cargo ships. Each and every one of you did not break and run from the fight to protect them. An extremely good job, and I am proud of all of you for doing so. It was very, very brave."

A sniffle escaped from Hiburi as she looked up, "I-it was, Commander? A-and you're proud of us?"

Humming, the Liutenant nodded, "Hai, it was. All their captains and crews were talking to me over the radio while you were entering the harbor about it." Not exactly a lie, as some had been doing just that, "It was an excellent job that you did and I am very proud."

From where she was laying in the Repair Pool, Mogami raised one hand and gave them all a thumbs up, "You bunch did awesome."

Simply glancing at the Cruiser, Yuzuki turned back to the four Kaiboukan, "She's right. And you know what else?" When they blinked, she smiled, "If not for you all doing such a good job of protecting the convoy, they would not have been able to fight off the Abyssals because their attention would have been split." Reaching into a pocket, the Ushi-Onna pulled out a small napkin and began to wipe at their faces, "Now, dry those tears, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Despite what she said, more tears welled up and they hugged her all the more tightly, burying their faces in her chest, "COMMANDER!"

Giving Arizona a small shrug, she continued to comfort the young seeming girls. But soon enough, she sent them off to the showers to get ready for their turn in the Repair Baths, though not before telling them that they would have treats later for them. Turning to the American Battleship, Yuzuki gave a sheepish smile before coming to attention and saluting, "Sorry about that, Ma'am."

However, Arizona waved her off with a small smile on her face, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Lieutenant. You were taking care of your people, which is all that can be asked for."

As she nodded, the Ushi-Onna noticed that the Sasebo group was looking around the Repair Docks and she blushed a little, "I'm... sorry that it is not likely up to your standards. We mostly deal with cargo shipgirls and smaller escorts outside of the odd injury of heavier hitters. So we don't have too much room here."

For her part, Yamashiro gave her a small smile, "As you told the little ones, there is nothing to be sorry about, Lieutenant Kuroki. This is fine." She bowed a little to the wide eyed Lieutenant, "We are the ones who are thankful for access to such."

Quickly, Yuzuki bowed back, "Thank you."

Chuckles made her turn to where Mogami was being worked on by the small shipgirl and said Cruiser waved, "See? I told you there was nothing to be worried about."

Moments later, she winced a bit as the shipgirl working on her flicked her ear, "Stop moving around so much, Mogami! It's making it harder to work on you if you do that."

Eyebrow raised, Arizona cleared her throat, "Hello, Miss..."

Flipping the welder's mask she had, the young shipgirl smiled, "Salvage Tug Tategami, Arizona-Sama. Nameship of my class."

She then flipped her mask back down and went back to work as sparks flew as she fixed Mogami up. At seeing the intrigued looks, Yuzuki shrugged some, "We're not big enough for actual Repair Ships. But... Tategami-San works just fine for most of the repair work that is needed here."

With a grunt, Pennslyvana gave a nod, "That is unsurprising as a Salvage Tug can repair ships." She gave the Ushi-Onna a somewhat impressed look, "I will admit that is an impressive form of leveraging what you have."

Lightly blushing, Yuzuki nodded some. A few minutes later, she sighed a bit as the Kaiboukans, who she was patting the heads of, were all in the Repair Pool as were the others. She did raise a small eyebrow at the sight of Shigure, who was laying between Fusou and Yamashiro with her drowsy head pillowed on the chest of one of the Battleships, but shook it off. With a small nod, she sighed, "I hate to leave, but... I must go and make my report on what just happened."

Arizona just smiled from where she laid with a now dozing Shimakaze on her shoulder, the fast Destroyer's other sisters arrayed around the American, "That is fine, Lieutenant, thank you." Pausing, she gave a small nod of her own, "I'll make sure that my own report will be given to you as well."

Giving her a salute, the JMSDF Officer left after a few quiet whispers with "Her" girls, including the small escorts as well as Mogami and the Destroyers. Though she smirked a bit at her sister, who was staying behind a bit to chat with the Kamikaze sisters for a few minutes. Shaking that off, Yuzuki left for her office, feeling a slight bit of exhaustion in her bones before glancing out at the harbour. She could see the convoy slowly being brought to where they were meant to be offloaded. As well, there were a few of the cargo Shipgirls also at the pier being offloaded.

Despite the battle that they were just in, they knew their business. First would be offloaded and then checking for damage followed by a visit to the Repair Docks. With a sigh, she finished her walk towards her Office and entered it to find her Secretary Ship, Noshiro-Maru, already putting together reports. The shipgirl had similar looks to the Cruiser that also shared her name with her brown hair done up in a simple ponytail as she wore a Kimono style top with hakama pants beneath and a hoari over it. Glancing up, she blinked her reddish brown eyes behind her glasses and chewed her lip, "Commander? How is...?"

On Yuzuki's face was a relieved look, "They're all fine, Noshiro-Chan. Each and every one of them." As her Secretary had a similar look of relief, she walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup. With practiced movements, she added cream and sugar before sipping it. Moving behind her desk, she sighed as she sat down into the chair, glancing at the clock, 'It's going to be a long night...' Shaking her head, Yuzuki took a deep breath before letting it out, shoving the image of the injured Mogami out of mind for now, "Noshiro-Chan? Give me the repairs of the shipgirls we had on the harbour. I know that Hatakaze managed to fight some Abyssal Destroyers there..."

And so, she began to complile her own report as Noshiro-Maru began to give her information.

Meanwhile, back at the Repair Docks, the various shipgirls who had fought were all laying back and simply enjoying feeling their aches and pains wash away. Watching as Tategami wrapped a bandage around Mogami's head, Arizona gave a small nod with a slight smile before turning towards the Kaiboukans. The small shipgirls were all clusted in one corner together, dozing a bit, which made her smile grow a touch at how adorable they all looked.

Of course, that brought her thoughts back to Yuzuki and she hummed, "The Lieutenant it seems does care deeply about you."

Rubbing her eyes, Daitou yawned a bit, "Hai, the Commander is great. She takes really good care of us and gives us treats and stuff when we do good." Closing her eyes, she mumbled a bit, "We sometimes sit in her lap and have a nap because she has the best pillows. All nice, and big... and soft... and warm... Feels so nice sleeping against..."

It took everything for Arizona to not choke a bit as the other Kaiboukans agreed because she could just imagine what those "Pillows" that they were talking about were. But while she might have had a bit of prude rage, the fact that the shipgirls in question had the mentality of the young girls that they resembled meant that she only sighed. In the case of others, however...

Giggling perversly, Mogami grinned as she leaned back, "Hell yeah! Yuzuki-Chan's fuel tanks make for great pillows, my favorite to sleep on."

Only giving her a disapproving look, the American Battleship made her displeasure known silently, and verbally, "That is quite enough, Lieutenant Commander Mogami."

Just raising her hands into the air, Mogami kept her grin on her face, "Just telling the truth, Arizona-San. Besides..." She gave a small shrug, "Yuzuki-Chan is my girlfriend, so nothing wrong there with it. And you gave her a once over when you saw them."

Looking away, there was a dusting of red on Arizona's cheeks, "That is still not something that you should be talking about."

Yamashiro just gave her a smile as she patted Shigure's head, which was currently pillowed on her chest and her arm around the smaller shipgirl with Fusou on the Destroyer's other side cuddling her, "It is fine, Arizona-San. Mogami-Chan is fortunate to have a girlfriend like her."

The Aviation Cruiser in question had a happy smile on her face, "Tell me about it, Yamashiro. She doesn't mind any of my issues including my clumsiness."

Softly snickering, Suzuya gave her sister a look, "Despite you continually tripping and falling face first into her breasts like something from one of those animes."

Quietly sighing, Arizona shook her head as the two Aviation Cruisers bickered back and forth about it. For her part, Yuzuki's sister giggled before telling Matsukaze that she would be best with some food. Shortly after, however, Pennsylvania clearing her throat made everyone turn to her, "This is my first time meeting the Lieutenant, but has anyone else noticed..." The normally angry Battleship had a confused look on her face and furrowed her eyebrows, "She's not human?"

Almost immediately, the entire docks went quiet and the Battleship found herself somewhat unnerved by the stares she was not getting from those shipgirls stationed there. Each and every one of them staring her down. However, Arizona broke the silence, "Human or Yokai, the Lieutenant is an effective member of the JMSDF and does her country, and people, proud by standing up to defend them."

Everyone relaxed at that with Mogami sighing, "You don't know the half of it..."

Fusou then spoke up some in thought, "She had a cow's head... Ushi-Onna?" At the nods, she hummed, "I suppose that would explain some things about her. Such as her... strength."

Her last words chosen because of the look that Arizona, and surprisingly the members of the shipgirls stationed at the naval station, were giving her. With a small shrug, Mogami nodded slightly, "It does, though... it also causes her trouble at times because of what she is."

That made Unryuu furrow her eyebrows, "Because she's a Yokai?"

Grimacing a bit, the injured Aviation Cruiser shook her head, "Because she's a Ushi-Onna." At the confused looks, she sighed a little, "I... look, it's like this..."

She then told what she knew about the matter, and the other shipgirls' expressions shifted between various emotions. Though one of the two American Battleships had hers shift between different forms of rage and anger, the others were not much better. Laying back in the water, Suzuya scowled deeply and clenched her fists almost hard enough to draw blood. After all, she liked the Lieutenant after all! And someone giving her that amount of shit simply because of how her species was created, through no fault of their own? It infuriated the hell out of her! Suzuya took a few deep breaths to calm herself before remembering something and her anger came back, "Is that why when she goes to the magical parts of town, people give her more shit than usual?"

Mogami frowned a bit as she looked at her sister, "How...?"

With a small shrug, Suzuya shook her head, "I've sometimes gone to the magical markets to buy stuff, you know? I've seen her in her true form there and... noticed that people for some reason give her at best the cold shoulder."

A grimace on her face, her sister nodded, "Hai, that's why."

Each of the locally based shipgirls scowled at that and muttered to themselves about what they would do to the next one. Unnoticed, Arizona simply nodded slowly as she turned over what she was seeing and hearing in her head. Besides her own anger at what she heard, there was also the loyalty being shown to Yuzuki by the shipgirls. Yes, the combat ones outside the Kaiboukans were not under her command, but still. It spoke well of her after all... and brought to mind a conversation that she overheard between Mutsu and John about something regarding Yuzuki's career and how people had noticed her work.

Slightly smiling, Arizona leaned back into the water even as she felt her own repairs being done, 'I think that the Lieutenant will be getting a nice surprise soon...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Being shaken, Yuzuki came awake with a jolt and sat up, "Wha?!" Upon seeing Noshino-Maru there though, she sighed and rubbed her eyes, "What time is it?"

Just taking note of her internal time, the Armed Merchant Cruiser held her clipboard to her chest, "It's o'Six hundred, Commander."

Simply nodding, Yuzuki ran a hand down her face, "So about three hours." At the nod, she sat up on the couch that was on her office and grunted some at the ache in her back. She had worse though since being in the military and she had chosen the couch to be somewhat comfortable in case she ever crashed on it. Getting to her feet, Yuzuki was about to head to the coffee machine when a mug was held out for her. Chuckling, she took it, "Thank you, Noshiro-Chan."

A bright smile on her face, Noshiro-Maru nodded, "You're very welcome, Commander."

Taking a sip and humming at the taste, the Ushi-Onna glanced at her desk and internally sighed as there was still some papers there, "I suppose that some new items came through?"

Noshiro-Maru followed behind her as the Lieutenant walked to her desk, "A few things came in, Commander. Mostly word on on damages and such for the cargo ships."

Grimacing at that, Yuzuki rubbed the side of her head and nodded, "How bad?"

Much to her relief, her Secretary Ship shrugged, "Not that much damage really. As noted, they were going after the warships first, second, and third with the cargo ships being a distant fourth outside of distracting the warships with runs on them. There's some bullet holes and a couple of broken windows... but no truly bad damage and no deaths though we had some injuries such as broken bones."

Quickly flipping through the papers, she nodded some, "At least they didn't hit the convoy before they dropped off the materials that came through here on the Liberty Shipgirls for Korea." At the confused look, she smiled some, "The hydroelectric parts for some of the new plants as well as parts for smelters to be used in North Korea." Pausing for a moment, Yuzuki shook her head, "That still trips me up at times, that North Korea is gone and the peninsula is unified."

For her part, Noshiro-Maru shrugged, "Not for me, then again? I've never had to deal with that as I came from a time Korea was unified." A frown crossed her face, "Though I am surprised at how much Japan is giving to them..."

Shrugging, the Lieutenant frowned as she flipped through the papers, "I'm not, to be honest. For a while there it was such a shitshow on the peninsula that some people were scared that South Korea was going to collapse under the strain of the North doing so along with the Abyssals. So giving them aid to keep them from utterly collapsing was only smart. There's also a bunch of politics involved that I want to stay away from." A slight smirk crossed her face, "I'm a logistics officer, not a politician." Giggles met Yuzuki's proclamation before she went back to the reports, "Any sign of Ancient Destroyer Princess and her group?"

At the reminder, Noshiro-Maru grimaced, "None, it is as if they vanished off the face of the Earth. Again. There are some reports that they might have made a dash for the Western Channel, but... nothing conclusive and if they did, then they made it through it. But other than that..."

Eyebrows furrowing in thought, Yuzuki looked at the map across her office which showed the strait between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, "They could have turned I suppose. And with the battle going on, everyone would have been searching for them further within the Sea of Japan. And there was reports of storms in the West Channel..." Rubbing her chin, she frowned, "I hate to say it, but it is not impossible."

Moments later, the Armed Merchant Cruiser shifted a little, "But there is another possibility, Commander. Especially with how they seem to vanish and reappear seemingly out of nowhere."

Leaning forward, Yuzuki sighed and gave a small nod, "She could be using a Phantom Island in the Sea of Japan."

Several seconds passed before Noshiro gave her an unsure look, "Are there any in the area? Nearby, I mean?"

Not saying anything right away, Yuzuki considered that question before nodding, "There are a few such islands. I know that there is one just on the side of the line between Japan and North Korea that MACUSA used as a sort of magical listening post to keep an eye on the Magical side of North Korea. There were also a few small reserves... for both Japan and Korea."

That made the shipgirl blink, "Wait... Korea had reserves? Really?"

Glancing at her, Yuzuki nodded with a slight frown, "Hai, both before and after the war." Briefly, she closed her eyes as she brought up memories of old history lessons, "There was one dating back to the 1600s even, though that was less a Reserve and more a place of exile used by the Joseon, especially for Kumiho. Bit of an odd story that..."

Interested, Noshiro-Maru filled her cup up with coffee and sat down on the desk, "How so?"

With a hum, the Yokai took a sip of her coffee before she began, "Yokai have long memories, and I do mean long. There are Yokai who were around when Toyotomi invaded Korea back when the Joseph's ruled. Before that point, Kumiho were... well, more like Kitsune than their cousins to the North in China. There might have been Kitsune and the like who made the journey back and forth with them interbreeding with the native fox spirits. Anyways..." Yuzuki waved her hand in the air, "Kumiho were, at least, tolerated to some extent. Granted, for a few hundred years before the invasions, they had issues because of Confucism because, well... said philosophy as well as Taoism has issues with Yokai."

Once more, Noshiro-Maru watched as Yuzuki took a pause to sip her coffee, "So what happened to change matters? With the invasion, I mean."

Setting down her coffee, Yuzuki leaned back in her chair, "As I am sure you know from the history books, Toyotomi was driven back and became bogged down in southern Korea. Especially with guerrillas attacking his troops and the like. What the No-Maj history books don't mention is that he attempted to get back at them. He brought over about three thousand Kitsune who had fought during the Warring Era and during the unification of Japan. Problem was... most of them were Nogitsune, not that Toyotomi cared much about that."

It went without saying that made the Secretary Ship wince, "Nogitsune? That could not have ended well."

Sipping her coffee, Yuzuki shrugged, "Not really. But they were troublesome back in Japan and Toyotomi thought that was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone and pointed them at the Koreans fighting him and told them to do what they wanted. And do what they wanted, they most certainly did in one of the worst aspects of the war as they were able to slake their bloodthirst and cruelty. Needless to say, the result was that due to resembling the Kitsune so closely, the Kumiho's reputation never recovered. The Joseon sent many of them to an island north of Tsushima, claiming that they were giving them a kingdom of their own separate from humans. But... yeah. And things did not get better for them when the Enforcement of the Statute Of Secrecy reached East Asia, not that the Joseon had much issue with that." Scratching her chin, she frowned some, "Oddly, while a number do hate us Japanese, almost as many have issues with their fellow countrymen for stabbing them in the back when they had bled and died to drive us off. A large number migrated here to Kyushu and Tsushima because of that. Pretty sure that a number also left for the West after the Korean War."

Unable to help herself, Noshiro-Maru winced before chewing her lip, "Do you know if there were any on the island in question during Blood Week?"

Quietly, Yuzuki shook her head, "No, I don't. It would not surprise me if there were a large number of them there though. The Korean Ministry is... well, I would not call it as bad as the Magical Diet, but that is a low bar to clear to say the least. Add in that they got a low key magical civil war between the Southern and Northern magicals? They might never have bothered checking." A frown crossed her face and she sighed, "Issue is that while I know the general location, that does not mean I know where the islands are exactly. And then there is the issue of informing Command about them."

Confused, Noshiro-Maru furrowed her eyebrows, "Why is that an issue?"

Not saying anything, the Ushi-Onna dropped her disguise and pointed at herself, "I would need to out myself as a Yokai. More than that, as a Ushi-Onna... Which could be problematic, but I've been chewing on some ways to get around that." It was then that she noticed that Noshiro-Maru was not looking at her, "What?"

Clearing her throat, Noshiro-Maru shifted before taking a deep breath, "Well, see..."

As her Secretary Ship told her that they could see through Yokai disguises, Yuzuki just sat there quietly. She continued to be silent for a few minutes before blinking, "So, every shipgirl who has seen me..."

Unsure, the shipgirl nodded, "Has realized that you're a Yokai? Um... Hai?" Wincing as Yuzuki slumped a bit, she looked away, "Sorry."

Leaning forward, Yuzuki held her face in her hands for almost a minute. Eventually, she pulled her head back and took a deep, calming breath, "Okay, that... yeah. Did any of you tell anyone?"

Much to her surprise, Noshiro-Maru seemed insulted, "Of course not, Commander! We haven't told anyone and made sure that no one else has either! It is your secret and your business! And in the end, it doesn't matter to us!"

She did blink though as the Ushi-Onna's shoulders' shook, "Thanks, Noshiro-Chan." Then, she drained her now cold coffee and stood up, "Well... time to face the music then I suppose. Because Arizona-San likely knows as well. No sense in hiding it." Walking towards the door, Yuzuki paused and tilted her head and chuckled, "I suppose that I at least didn't make it as obvious as Kasumi-Chan did..."

Lost, Noshiro-Maru frowned, "Kasumi?"

With a hum, Yuzuki nodded some and glanced at her, "Hai, a Ushi-Onna I grew up with. She's a pilot in the JASDF and pilots one of the Apaches with nose art of Kamishirasawa Keine in her werehakutaku form. One of the best pilots they got for helicopters." Lips twitching, she opened the door before pausing, "Oh, and Noshiro-Chan?"

Blinking, the shipgirl nodded, "Hai?"

Just looking over her, Yuzuki smiled, "Thanks."

All Noshiro-Maru did was smile back and bow as Yuzuki turned back around and left.
______________________________________________________________

Mogami paused in her chat as the door to the docks opened and Yuzuki walked in which made a grin appear on her lips, "Yuzuki-Chan!" Upon seeing the smile that was on her girlfriend's face though, hers fell, "Yuzuki-Chan? Is something wrong?"

Everyone was silent and watched as the disguised Yokai grabbed a chair and sat down in it silently for a few moments before speaking as she looked towards Arizona, "Ma'am? You know, don't you?"

Her eyebrow raised, the American Battleship met the Lieutenant's eyes evenly, "Know what?"

Running a hand through her hair, Yuzuki sighed, "About me being a Yokai, and a..."

If anything, Arizona raised her eyebrow even further, "A Ushi-Onna, I believe it is called?" At the nod, she smiled, "We do, though I fail to see what the issue is."

Not having expected that answer, it took a few seconds for Yuzuki to come up a response, "I... it does not bother you that I am a Ushi-Onna?" When Arizona shook her head, she frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, "Why?"

That made the American actually chuckled a bit, "Why? Simple, you've put your life on the line by putting on the uniform you wear now, Lieutenant. It does not matter if you are human or not, you are willing to die for your country. And that is all that matters in the end." Seeing the surprise, Arizona decided to drop her own bombshell, "The JMSDF, and JSDF as a whole, know about Yokai and that they have personnel who are such. And, as a matter of fact, the general feeling is that it does not matter what they are, they are Japanese citizens. Those, like you, who put on the uniform are worthy of such."

Shoulders slumping, Yuzuki sighed in relief, "Thank you."

Glancing at Arizona who nodded, Mogami frowned and turned back to her girlfriend, "Who told you that everyone knew anyways?" It took a few moments before she connected the dots and narrowed her eyes, "Noshiro-Maru."

However, her girlfriend waved her off, "Hai, she told me but only because a conversation came up regarding certain... facts, which could be involving what is going on with Ancient Destroyer Princess and how she keeps vanishing. One that I told her I would need to find a way to hand over without revealing myself, but since you know..."

Pennsylvania had an odd look on her face, one of partial glee, "So you might know where she is."

Frowning, Yuzuki gave a nod, "I might, but not the exact positions. Only the Diet or perhaps the Korean Magical Ministry would know. But good luck getting anything from that bunch." She then frowned a bit, "Unless you have an awesome hat, I suppose."

Just blinking, Suzuya held her hands up towards her head, "Wait... do you mean that the Korean Magical Government still has that whole... hat thing, going on? That they used to do way back when?"

With a chuckle, Yuzuki smiled and nodded, "They do, as a matter of fact. I came across some of their government members on Tsushima before the war once. Trust me, what you are thinking of does not do them justice."

Even as the others shook their heads in utter disbelief, Arizona and Pennslyvania shared a look of befuddlement. The same thought going through both their heads, 'Hats?'

Shaking that off, however, Arizona took a deep breath before turning towards the bemused Yokai, "Lieutenant? If you could tell me what you know, I would appreciate it."

Light blushing at having been distracted, the Ushi-Onna nodded, "Of course..."

By the time she was done though, all the shipgirls were either facepalming (Mogami for example), pinching the bridge of their noses to ward off an incoming headache (Arizona), eyebrow twitching (Pennsylvania and Shigure), dismayed (Fusou and Yamashiro ("How unfortunate!")), or just wanting to whack something (Suzuya). After a few moments, Arizona let go of her nose and simply nodded, "In other words, they could well be hiding anywhere in the Sea of Japan. I'll inform John-I mean, Admiral Richardson about it. We'll do our best to track them down."

All Yuzuki did was nod at that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Courtship in Emerald (IX)

May 8th, 1945 (V-E Day, 336 Days after D-Day)

12 Grimmaud Place, London
Spoiler: London On V-E Day

"I shall be gone for quite a long time, Kreacher." Lyra Potter declared in her most imperious voice to the young House-Elf who was escorting herself and Zamarad to the door. "Thank young nephew Sirius for me when he returns and let him know that I shall call on him as soon as I am able."

"Yes Missuses Black!" Kreacher responded sullenly as they two women stepped outside into the raucous street party that was London on this day.

Zamarad smiled happily as she followed the elderly witch through the raucous party, accepting hugs and kisses from random strangers. The smile widened as they reached a blazing bonfire at a street corner.

The Ifrit dug in the pocket of her coat to find a wood chip that she had packed to snack on and rubbed it between her fingers as she infused it with a fraction of her essence. As it began to burn in her hand, she tossed it into the fire. Her eyes hooded in bliss and she sighed happily as she sensed the flames that a young man had just leapt over link to her and strengthen her as she instinctively moved them out of his way to avoid harming him.
Spoiler: A Dark Whisper

Why limit yourself.... So easy to let the fire spread and have a proper feast.... No one would ever know....

Her head snapped around as her hand clenched Lyra's hard enough for the witch to give a hiss of pain.

"Zamarad...what's wrong?" Lyra asked.

The Ifrit's burning eyes flickered through the chaotic crowd around them. Then her eyes widened in shock as she locked her gaze with that of a late-20s soldier dressed in a US Army officer's uniform standing at the corner ahead.

Dark fire flickered in the depths of his green eyes mockingly as he gave a knowing smile to her.

As he vanished from sight around the corner, her attention was caught by his hexagonal shoulder flash showing a gold sphinx on blue in front of a dagger.

Zamarad's voice was filled with barely contained blazing fury and revulsion as her emerald eyes flamed. "Shayṭān..."

Lyra paled and they made their way as best they could through the crowd.

They rounded the corner and stopped dead. The street ahead was packed with revelers climbing up lampposts, dancing, singing, hugging, and kissing each other. Finding a single disguised jinn in this chaos would be next to impossible.

-------------------------------

15th May, 1945 (One Week After V-E Day)

Schloss Oberkirchberg, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg (American Occupation Zone Of Germany)
Spoiler: A Spiteful Plan Of Revenge

Delilah rubbed her temples as she sat in a cheap folding chair. These Ahnenerbe-SS archives were a massive mess between their hasty transport from SS headquarters in Berlin to this castle in 1943, followed by the chaos of the war and attempted deliberate destruction before she and her team from MACUSA had stormed the castle and put paid to the SS mages, necromantic constructs, and Grindlewald's acolytes holding out here.

She smirked smugly in memory of the look of dread on Vinda Rosier's face a split second before her bullet had painted the wall behind Rosier with the most loyal acolyte of Grindlewald's diseased brain.

Checkmate, you nasty fanatical bitch.

With that she waved her wand over the next folder in her inbox to cast a detection spell for any traps as a familiar blond head poked into the office that she had commandeered. "Hey Del, what's up?"

Delilah waved Colombe inside. "Just going through the most recent paper files we found that survived the fires when they tried to destroy the evidence. You know how it is going now. Too many jobs, not enough hands." With that observation, she took a sip of C-Ration instant coffee and winced at the taste as she compared it unfavorably to what she was used to back home.

Delilah opened the scorched folder and began to read the charred pages. "Hm, Aktion Schwarzesfeuer(Murder Camps Approved). Approved...11 December 1944 by Rosier acting as Grindlewald's deputy. Deploy entity... The rest of the page is too burned to make out. Expense reports for a trawler and dive team hired... April 1939 to search the waters around Perim Island and the Seven Brothers?"

Colombe rubbed her chin in thought as she leaned over Delilah's shoulder. "Perim, Perim, I have heard that name before. Oh! It is in the Bab el-Mandab straits at the southern end of the Red Sea."

Delilah gave an intent look as she remembered her studies of Arabic over the last few years. "The Gate of Tears?"

Colombe nodded in agreement. "That is what it is called because it has nasty and unpredictable weather, hidden reefs, and the local legend is that thousands were drowned in an earthquake back a few millennia ago. Wonder what they were looking for there?"

Delilah shrugged as she puzzled through the damaged documents. "Maybe the answer is in here someplace. Hm. Well now, what do we have here?"

A collection of photographs labeled 'Behistun Expedition 1938' were pinned together. "More Middle Eastern links."
Spoiler: The Behistun Inscription

Colombe looked at them. "Behistun is out in Persia. It is a set of rock inscriptions on a mountainside depicting one of the Persian emperors -- I think Darius or Xerxes, maybe Cyrus? -- and a group of captive rebels that he is punishing. The local jinn tribe out there guarded it and watched me like a hawk when I visited with one of them as a guide in 1772 while sightseeing. It has... well... you know how some places have an aura of power?"

Delilah's eyes sharpened. "Oh yes, I could tell you some tales of Native American holy sites and places of power that would curl your hair."

Colombe nodded. "Exactly that. It reminded me a lot of Palmyra and a few places in the Congo and Africa where you held your breath because something was there and asleep. You really knew deep down that you did not want to be there when it woke up either."

Delilah frowned, thinking about certain obligations that she had in the Black Hills. "No, no you don't. That's all that is usable here. Something that I can help you with?"

Colombe nodded. "Yes, I'm going to be heading back to Moulbaix now. I wanted to extend an invitation to visit me when you wish, Del. I just don't want to be anywhere around when the next wave of wizards from the ICW show because... you know."

"I know, and we never had this conversation when they ask me about fugitives from ICW justice. Just be safe and don't hesitate to write me. Oh, can you do me a favor and dig through any records you have about the Bab el-Mandab or Behistun?" Delilah stood and hugged her oldest sister.

"I will, but no promises. You wouldn't believe all the stuff that I have picked up over the years." Colombe returned the hug as she responded.

"I can imagine; I have my own collection. I'll stay in touch Sis." Delilah responded. She waved her wand to make copies of the surviving papers for Colombe then after a moment of thought, a second copy for herself. "Audieu, Sis."

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

"This ish delicious!!"

It wasn't too much of a stretch to say Fluffy was a foodie. After spending much of her young life subsisting on raw fish and stale rations, she had very much come to enjoy eating meals with at least SOME sort of preparation. Nero's cooking, while relatively simple, had a lot of thought and care put into making sure everyone liked it. Stuff like snacks and candy didn't quite have that same personal touch to them, but they brought with them a wide variety of tastes, sweet and sour and bitter and more.

This? This was her first taste of something truly gourmet.

Fluffy and the other Abyssals all sat side-by-side at a ramen stand, enjoying some fresh-made beef bowls and attracting confused/concerned looks from passers-by. It had taken Fluffy a little bit to get used to chopsticks, but it was well worth the effort as she slurped up another mouthful of noodles, chewing while moaning contentedly. She had eaten instant noodles in the past, and was somewhat neutral on them, but this? The noodles were perfectly seasoned, the broth was thick and savory, the meat was tender and chewy in a good way—

"It's nice to see Abyssals can have a good sense of taste like the rest of us. Manners could use a bit of work, though." The store owner himself wasn't too put-off by them—they were paying customers, after all, on top of minding their own business and visibly enjoying his food. "Just be careful not to eat me out of a job, you hear?"

Sitting in the middle of the group, Regalia nodded. "I think we'll be okay, sir. We're not refueling or anything, just enjoying some lunch." She glanced over to Fluffy with a small grin. "We may or may not have someone asking for seconds, though."

"-mmf?" The Princess in question looked up, noodles hanging from her mouth, earning a laugh from the others.

Their first day in Japan had been spent just walking around, giving everyone some time to acclimate to their surroundings. Regalia wanted them to get used to being around so many people (being around humans in general, for Fluffy), so that the next day they would be more relaxed and able to enjoy themselves once they actually started doing stuff.

It had actually helped quite a bit, Fluffy thought. It had helped her realize something: she was actually relatively normal, at least for an Abyssal. She had no tail, no hooves or flippers, no metal bits… she was just an albino girl in an odd outfit. People didn't give her quite the same wary looks as they did the others—they looked at her more with curiosity and intrigue than fear. Perhaps Tanith was right: this wasn't so bad.

As the girls were all finishing up their bowls, Regalia suddenly got a look on her face, like she had remembered something. "Oh, by the way, sir…" she said as she ruffled through her bag, until she produced a sheet of paper and offered it to the store's owner. "Would you be willing to put this up somewhere people can see it? Our fleet is trying to gather volunteers to help develop our settlement."

Intrigued, the man accepted the flyer and examined it.



Attention:
Allied Abyssals are looking for volunteers to aid in the education and training of their community on the island territory of Avrora.

Princess Tanith, the effective leader of the Abyssal Fleet of Laughter, is seeking individuals proficient in the following trade skills:
-Architecture
-Agriculture
-Animal husbandry
-Electrical engineering
-Economics

Teachers are also welcome.

Salaries and work benefits will be managed through the JSDF. Food and housing will be provided by the Fleet of Laughter.

Any interested parties are asked to consult with your nearest recruiting office to volunteer. All applicants must undergo a rigorous screening process to be considered.

"Our species can walk towards the future together… but we need a helping hand to guide us. Will that hand be yours?" -Princess Tanith



"Hm…" The stand owner looked over the flyer for a few moments, before eventually shrugging. "Sure, don't see why not. You all have been model patrons up to this point."

The girls all perked up happily as the owner pinned the flyer on the nearby billboard. "And you, sir? Would you be interested in coming to our island and teaching us how to cook…?" Nero asked, a little bit hopeful.

The man shook his head. "A tempting offer, but I'm afraid that's gonna be a no from me. The pay is one thing, sure, but I've got a lot of regular customers who come by this place every week! Can't afford to let them down, y'know?"

Regalia nodded. "Of course, sir. We wouldn't want to disrupt your normal business." Sliding her bag back to its usual spot, the Re-class stood up from her stool and motioned for the other Abyssals to do the same. "Thank you for putting up with us, sir. The food was delicious."

The store owner waved them off with a friendly smile. "No problem. Stop by again, sometime!"

At Regalia's urging, the girls all gave polite bows, and then they were off. "Alright, guys," She said. "Is there anywhere you would like to go next?"

There was a few seconds of quiet deliberation. Finally, the other Re-class of the group meekly raised her hand. "Could we… go to the park?" Renita asked. "I'd like to just relax somewhere nice, for a little bit."

"Of course, Aunt Renita," Regalia replied with a soft nod. "I've been there before. It was quite relaxing…"

"Up until you got jumped by those weirdo strays?" Nero interrupted, eyebrow raised.

Regalia shrugged. "Well, they know who I am now, so as long as we all stick together, they shouldn't bother us this time around. Besides, it's a big public space—perfect for putting up more flyers!"

Marble threw up her hands with a gleeful smile. "Yeah, let's go to the park!"

And so, the girls continued. As the Omega's decking and interior was properly refurbished by professionals, the young Abyssals did their best to spread awareness of their recruitment efforts while touring Yokosuka. Their mission was twofold—not only were they reinforcing their appearance as docile Abyssals to the wider populace, but they were also demonstrating that they weren't all-powerful or all-knowing, and were willing to ask lowly humans for their help. Whether they would actually get results, they weren't completely certain—but as long as they managed to spread the word, they were satisfied.

Of course, they weren't the only people doing so. There was another side to Japan they couldn't explore yet—the hidden communities, the ancient lost villages, the nonhuman tribes hiding in plain sight. In the Abyssals' place, shipgirls called out to the group with the most widespread connections, using their reach to spread the Fleet of Laughter's message.

So it was that, late in the evening, a small family on a regular visit to Yamainutaira to pick up supplies noticed something peculiar—a laminated flyer, nailed to a nearby post.

"Ugh. It's too dark out… can't read what it says from here. Kids?"

One, two, three small figures hopped up on each other's shoulders, climbing high enough to reach the flyer; from there, a small set of paws reached out and tugged the paper free from the post, bringing it down for everyone to read. It was mostly the same as the flyers targeted to normal people… except for one additional block of text:

The Fleet of Laughter is willing to provide refuge for any Yokai applicants and their families, should they request it. Interested parties are advised to locate any Japanese Non-Human Rights Organization affiliate they might know, in order to establish contact with the JSDF and, in turn, the Fleet of Laughter.

"Refuge?" One of them spoke up. "Whas' that mean, Papa?"

"It means… they're offering people like us a home, Miki-chan. A place where we'll be safe."

"So that's a good thing?"

"It's more than good, Miki… it's a blessing. It means we won't be homeless by month's end."

 

[darthcourt10]

Icarus Ascending


Reptiles do not age, they simply grow wiser and Nono is easily among the wisest of them all. Why, if he had a beard befitting his wisdom it would be enough to coat him many times over! That's how wise he is.

He remembered when he was born. When they who would become his people felt and understood the uncaring wrath of the storm as well as the monster born out of their fear of those storms. His people lived in fear of their fears made manifest. They huddled around fires and hid within caves to escape from beings that hunted them relentlessly. Until a storm blew the monsters away.

They were spared simply because they were lucky, in the right place at the right time. They did not care, the storm had saved them. Thus they learned to hope and dream. Out of those hopes and dreams came Nono, guardian diety of the storms. Never really caring about his surroundings, he is a calamity made manifest, his great girth protected early civilization along with others like him.

They were the first pantheon. They fought against monsters, proto-gods born of fear and other negative emotions. As people often feel hardships first before they learn to be thankful and yearn for the good times.

And then the people were gone.

Wether by war or something else, Nono's people were gone and time had long erased their works from the face of the planet. Other gods, those of civilization and knowledge, went with them. Nono, being a god of the elements, chose to stay. He believed that a new civilization would rise and like the ones he protected, this new one will be plagued by monsters before coming under the protection of deities. And he was right, a new people did arise, and they huddled around fires and hid in caves while their fear of nature gave birth to monsters of the earth, sea and sky. Nono took them on, fought them while teaching the new people a bit of culture on the side. At least until the new gods were born. After that, Nono retreated to the depths, he wasn't needed anymore and the new people didn't really worship him enough for him to be adopted into a new pantheon.

Also because the new people had this awful habit of banging pots and pans whenever they see him flying around. Normally he wouldn't care but since they were making that damned noise especially for him his prayer senses make him hear every bit of that cacophony deep within his reptile ears.

Then these abyssals came. Spirits of war and bloodshed, beings of hurt and pain seeking to destroy the civilization that gave birth to them. Nono is familiar with them, he has seen similar beings rise before as well as their counterparts. Spirits of war and bloodshed, beings of hope and protection, the kanmusu, the honored dead come to protect the new generation from the failings of the past as well as secure the path towards the future.

So Nono stayed at the sidelines, picking off the occasional abyssal. here and there when he felt hungry. The new people are somewhat safe even without his intervention. Speaking of abyssals, he's feeling a bit peckish.
.
.
.
It is an aircraft carrier abyssal, a ship-form carrier abyssal at that. In ranking, she would theoretically be equal to a demon at least or maybe even a princess. But unlike the human-form abyssals, she cannot spawn. She is after all, an aircraft carrier and carriers have no ship building capacity whatsoever. That's probably the reason why there are so few ship-form abyssals like it.

It is also alone, it cannot spawn a fleet, and it's appetite is so great that the few that joined it have been cannibalized long ago. Right now however, it is attempting to pull a grey ghost. Hit and run tactics from afar, staying out of the enemies' striking range while keeping them within hers. It was a good tactic, so long as it knew its limits and did not try to bite off more than it could chew.

Besides, aircraft carriers have no natural predators, even the sea monsters that prowled the Philippines sea could not take it down. Or so it thought, the huge sonar signature rising directly beneath it seems to be trying to prove it wrong.
.
.
.
Swallowing the entire carrier in one bite, Nono, the great Bakunawa, prehistoric god of the storms, made his way back to the depths, he has a meal to digest.

*-*-*-*
note: funny thing about snake worship, my headcanon on snake gods being patrons of civilization is because they have experience with ones that date back before human times. Also, remember that bit about the Lusca being a godlike being born from the fear of whales? There's a reason why all genesis text have gods banishing darkness or fighting off monsters. People learn fear before hope.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The ticking of the clock was about the only noise in the office as both Yuzuki as well as Noshiro-Maru worked. Night had fallen a few hours before and the remains of their dinners, delivered to the office, was currently in the trashcan. About the only other thing that could be heard was the soft, dull murmur of the radio to provide a little background noise to the room as they worked as they both knew that it might be at least another hour or two before their work was finished, if not longer. But then, they were used to long days and short nights.

Part and parcel of the war effort after all.

Just as Yuzuki was sipping some coffee, there was a ding of an incoming message followed by Mogami's voice coming from the computer, "Telegram for the Admiral!"

Glancing over, the Armed Merchant Cruiser sighed, "I still cannot believe that you have that on your computer, Ma'am."

Amused, Yuzuki just shot her a grin, "I personally like it." Pulling up her messages, she continued, "Besides which, it's harmless in the end, just a little fun and nothing more."

With a sigh, Noshiro-Maru rolled her eyes, "Yes, harmless and not against any rules. But still something that I cannot believe you got." She then frowned a bit, "Though I am amazed at how popular that App is."

Simply shrugging, the Lieutenant chuckled, "I'm not. Besides... you remember Mogami-Chan's reaction when she was in here and I got a new message. Her expression was priceless and especially with how flustered she got."

Giggles escaped from her Secretary Ship as she nodded, "Hai, that was hilarious." Checking some papers, Noshiro-Maru raised an eyebrow, "Speaking of Mogami-San... according to this, she should be out of docks by tomorrow. So you're probably happy, Commander."

Happily sighing, Yuzuki nodded, "Hai, I am happy. Thankfully, it looked worse than it actually was since it was basically the shipgirl version of a concussion. So there is at least that... and we'll probably go somewhere tomorrow. Maybe a burger place since she would enjoy that." That got her a snort even as opened a message, "Hmm?"

Looking over, Noshiro-Maru notes that Yuzuki had a surprised expression on her face, "Is something wrong, Commander?"

For several moments, the Ushi-Onna didn't say much, if anything. Instead, she set her coffee to the side and looked more carefully through the message. Once she was done, Yuzuki leaned back, "Huh..."

Eyebrow raised, Noshiro-Maru came over to look, "What's in the message, Commander."

Glancing at her, Yuzuki frowned a little, "Just an old idea that I came up with for my Officer's thesis. Someone dug it back up and decided to have a look at it. Captain Yonehara is interested in it."

Blinking, the Armed Merchant Cruiser furrowed her eyebrows some, "What idea did you have, Commander?"

In reply, Yuzuki reached into her desk and pulled out some pocky, which she began to munch on. At the look she got, she just shrugged, "Need to keep my blood sugar levels up. As to my idea... it was one for convoy support." Seeing the intrigued look, the Yokai hummed, "You know the Ambulance Ships some have taken to use as Tenders, right?"

Slowly, and wondering where this was going, Noshiro-Maru nodded, "Hai, they're effective enough and help people feel proud by supporting the navies and shipgirls. Is there something wrong with them?"

However, the Lieutenant shook her head, "Nothing wrong in what they do, no. They're effective enough at stabilizing shipgirls who are injured. But not so much when it comes to logistics. Part of it is that they are a modified civilian design, there's only so much that one can do with them. As to the rest..." She chewed some of her pocky in thought, "The Kaiboukans are a perfect example of that as are some of the other smaller escorts."

Lost, the shipgirl furrowed her eyebrows, "How so?"

Chewing her pocky, Yuzuki made a motion with her free hand, "One of the issues is range with them. They do excellent work, but they do need refueling and the like since the convoys run close to twenty knots, which cuts into their range as they are moving at top speed. And the only real way of refueling means getting food into them. Then you get into the other convoy escort ships who often have shorter range. And since there's only so many tender-like shipgirls, some people have taken to using the Ambulance Ships as tenders, which only goes so far."

Following the line of thought, Noshiro-Maru frowned, "But people have thought of that. It's why they're using modified Amphibious Assault Ships, right? Or the new Langley Light Carriers the Americans are building since they have small well decks."

Only nodding, Yuzuki smiled, "You're right, of course. The JMSDF is even buying one of the modified Amphibs. But there's a few problems. While the Langley Class is cheaper than a CVN due to not being nuclear, they're still expensive. That's why they chose that name since they're conveniently powered unlike the CVNs which will still be named after Presidents. And easier to build. Add in that they're basically dual purpose in being Carriers and, well... they would be more combat support than anything else. Which still leaves us with supporting the convoys."

Just rubbing her chin, her Secretary Ship gave her a look, "Which deals with your paper."

With a small nod, Yuzuki after a quick search brought it up, "Most people work on analyzing battles, coming up with ways that they could have gone. Being who my father is and how I worked for him before joining up? Logistics has always been my thing and that's what I wrote my thesis on." Tapping the screen, she smiled some, "Affordable, able to be produced in numbers, and also meeting military requirements. I took as an example one of the Damen Stan patrol vessels and showed how you could modify it to be a cheap support vessel for convoy girls. A small bathtub just in case of really bad injury, but mostly small metal tubs that could be used as foot tubs when filled with Repair Fluid to help ease wear on engines and the like, which can be put away when done, a slightly larger galley and pantry to provide food, especially if you use bulk foods like dried noodles and the like. And a stern ramp for easy access on and off. Everything else is... well, standard." Scratching her chin, she frowned, "You could add a small gun for defence, the ship is already at a military standard construction and speed wise, and is both small and pretty cheap."

Thoughtful, Noshiro-Maru frowned as she slowly considered it, "That does make sense. And if it is mostly providing support via food and easing strain on engines... I can see how it could have caught some interest."

Scratching her head, Yuzuki began typing a response, "Not sure how or why now. It has been almost four years since I wrote it after all. Still... if they want to know more, I'll just pull out all my research and send it off as well..." Roughly an hour later, she had sent off the response when a knock at the door made her look up, "Yes?"

Moments later, the door slowly opened to reveal Hiburi along with her sisters, "Commander..."

Getting up, the Ushi-Onna walked around her desk, "Hiburi-Chan? What's wrong?"

For a few seconds, she chewed her lip some, "I... u-um... w-we're still a bit scared and we were wondering if... if we could..."

Expression softening, Yuzuki reached them and placed a hand on the small shipgirl's head, "You want to sleep here?" At their nods, she smiled and held back a chuckle at their relieved expressions to her next words, "Of course. Come on in and I'll set everything up for you."

Relieved, the Kaiboukans walked into the office in their pajamas and holding stuffed animals and they spoke as one, "Thank you, Commander."

Softly smiling, Yuzuki chuckled a bit, "You're all very welcome. Just give me a few moments here." Walking over to her couch, she pulled it away from the wall before reaching behind it. She then, with a small clunk, brought the back down so that it was levelled with the rest and forming a small bed with her placing the pillows at one end. A quick trip to her desk and she brought out a blanket which she set down on top before patting it, "Now come and have a seat."

The small shipgirls scurried over and did exactly that as the Ushi-Onna walked over to the machine next to the coffee machine. Moments later, steamed milk filled small cups that she added some cocoa powder to before bringing them over. Looking up, Daitou smiled, "Thanks, Commander!"

Patting her head, Yuzuki nodded, "You're very welcome."

When they were done though, she sighed at seeing the looks as they shuffled a bit on the bed. However, when she looked at Noshiro-Maru, said shipgirl simply smiled and shrugged, "There's not much work left to be done, Commander. So you can take a bit of a rest." She then smiled a bit, "You have been working hard after all."

Yuzuki gave her a look before sighing and walking over to the bed, "Okay, move a bit and I'll get in." Taking off her new jacket, she placed it to the side before taking off her shoes. Almost as soon as she slipped under the covers, she found the four Kaiboukans snuggled up with her, Hiburi and Daitou resting completely on top of her. But all of them had their heads, much to her amusement, resting on her chest, "Comfy?"

Each of them nodded with a happy hum, "'Mm-hm... good night, Commander."

Giving each one a pat, she chuckled, "Good night girls, pleasant dreams."
_____________________________________________________________________

Dawn had barely broken over the naval station when a now healed Mogami entered the Administration building for the logistics part of the complex. There was one or two people already at work on the lower level, who waved at her while they did their best to wake up fully. The Aviation Cruiser returned their waves whole heartedly. Unlike her crews in her previous existence, she had grown to highly respect the people working in the background for getting materials and food places.

Yes, it was not nearly as glorious as going out and fighting, but she understood that they were needed as much as those like her were.

Cracking her neck a bit, Mogami considered that question a bit more. Back in her days as a steel hull, her crew would have balked at escorting convoys, even though they contained food, supplies, fuel, and the like. It was not nearly as "Honourable" as hunting down the Americans and facing them in glorious battle. Yet, for all Mogami was, she was not stupid and tossed that aside. It kept the nation going after all. And besides... She got her fair share of fights after all escorting the convoys back and forth.

Which was why she had gone for her Rebuild which turned her into an "Aviation Cruiser". Despite it lessening her guns, the addition of aircraft meant that she was better able to protect and defend convoys, especially. Which in her mind, balanced it all out.

However, she put such thoughts of of her mind as she reached her destination and took a deep breath while grasping the doorknob. But her plans were stopped as the door opened to reveal a slightly tired looking Noshiro-Maru who had a finger to her lips, "Shhh."

Then, she pointed to the side and Mogami poked her head in to look. Almost immediately, a soft smile came to her lips at the sight of her girlfriend asleep with the Kaiboukans on the couch-turned-bed. It was a somewhat familiar sight and was why said piece of furniture was there. Turning towards the Armed Merchant Cruiser, she lowered her voice, "They couldn't sleep last night and came to Yuzuki-Chan, huh?"

Lips curled into a smile as she nodded, Noshiro-Maru hummed, "Hai, but you know how they are. The Commander can't say no to them."

Chuckling under her breath, Mogami shook her head, "Hai, I know..."

Upon seeing the expression on the Aviation Cruiser's face, the Secretary Ship tilted her head, "What are you thinking about?"

Not answering right away, Mogami scratched the side of her head, "It... well, seeing Yuzuki-Chan like this? I know that she'll be a great Okaa-San one day."

Eyebrow raised, Noshiro-Maru blinked, "Already planning to have children?"

Mogami had to hold back a snort out of fear of waking the sleeping Yokai, "We've talked about it. She wants to carry the first one at least and... well..." There was a small smile on her face with her next words, "I already had one Destroyer-Escort back in the 1960s named after me. And then you got the new one that they're building that they're going to give my name as well. So that's two of them." Crossing her arms, the Aviation Cruiser shook her head, "I might not be a good parent, but I know that Yuzuki-Chan will be a great one."

Remembering various things that Mogami had done with the younger appearing shipgirls, Noshiro-Maru coughed lightly, "I would not be all that sure about that."

Confused, the Aviation Cruiser shrugged it off and turned back to watch her girlfriend sleep with the Kaiboukans, looking like nothing so much as a big sister or mother with her daughters.

 

[darthcourt10]

Year Three - Prisoner of Shipping Part 4e

START

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hearing a knock on the door, Goto looked up from his paperwork, "Yes? Come in." When the door opened though, he gave a smile at who he saw there, "Ume-San, Sakura-San, good afternoon."

Both girls bowed to him with a small smile on their faces, "Good afternoon, Teitoku. We hope that we are not bothering you."

A grin on his face, Goto chuckled some, "Not at all."

Tone dry, Ooyodo spoke up from where she sat, "Especially as it gives him an excuse not to do paperwork. So yes, it does not bother him."

Waving her off, the Admiral smirked as the two Installation girls in front of him giggled at their antics. Turning towards them, he turned the smirk on them, "I would have thought that you would be getting prepared to go to Hogwarts in a few hours for Harry's game. Not to mention the Hogsmeade trip the day after."

Lightly blushing along with her sister, Sakura shook her head, "Actually, we prepared for our trip first thing this morning and..." Realizing how it could be taken, their blushes deepened, "Ah, that is..."

Nagato gave Goto a look before turning to the two and smiling softly, "It is always a good thing to be prepared ahead of time, Ume-San, Sakura-San. And it speaks well of you that you did so." At their thankful nods, she tilted her head some, "What do you need to speak about?"

At her desk, Ooyodo frowned as something occurred to her, "Does it have to do with Sora-San and her coming completion? I thought that the scrap metal from the trailers was coming in already..."

However, Ume shook her head, "No, Ooyodo-San, that is coming along at a good speed. We've already processed roughly two thousand tons of steel from the shipping containers, giving us about six thousand. We've already started construction on the first turret as a matter of fact. And if we continue at this pace..." Pausing, she checked some mental calculations before nodding, "We should be able to start work on finishing her no later than October of next year, and at earliest in August."

Eyebrow raised, the Light Cruiser nodded, "Impressive."

Meanwhile though, Nagato frowned at that, "If it was not to do with her completion..." Frown deepening, she looked at the two girls in front of her, "Than what is the issue?"

For a moment, the Twins looked at each other as they held a silent conversation before turning back to the group, "May we have a seat?" Waving them a seat, Goto sat up straighter as he waited for an explanation, "We... considered coming to you in regards to something we found out after our trip. But we felt that it was for the best to come here before it as that way it would not be hanging over our heads and possibly taking away from our enjoyment due to worrying about it."

Now concerned, Goto glanced at his Secretary Ships, including Kongou. Said Fast Battleship brought over two cups of tea and set them in front of the distressed twins, "Here you go, Dess. This should help some." Lips twitching, they thanked her and Kongou places a hand on their shoulders, "Now then, tell us what has you so bothered and we can see what we can do to help."

Much to her confusion though, the Twins shook their heads before Ume spoke up, "Thankfully, there is no chance of the issue coming to pass. But... it is still something that we feel you should know about, Teitoku." When he nodded, they continued, "Do you remember when Shinano-San turned out to have gained the American aircraft called a 'Mustang' and we mentioned that the Kamo Government had recovered a number of crashed ones and were thinking about repairing them? And how we stated we would need to do some research with our archives?"

Frowning even more deeply, the Admiral nodded, "I do remember that as a matter of fact. I take it that is what you're here to inform us about?"

A grimace on their faces, the Twins sighed. Sakura then took over, "We found... quite a bit in our archives as a matter of fact. And, as well, we... summoned some of those who were in command of our base." Seeing the looks of surprise, she pursed her lips, "It turns out that we can do that and send them away once done. They were... uncooperative with our questions and so we were forced to interrogate them as there was a chance for danger in the modern day."

Beside her, Ume smiled thinly, "As with shipgirls, we gained the talents that our 'Crew' had. As it turned out, a large number were experts at Legilimency and Occlumency. It also turns out that even the best occlumancer barriers will not withstand the equivalent of three dozen experts hammering on it. Thus, we managed to get the information needed for you."

Part of Goto was unhappy to hear about what they had done, but... he could understand considering some of the recent incidents on the magical side. Such as a man who worked for Sub-Unit-931 having used magic to cripple a sword spirit. The idea that there could be others...

Ume reached into her Kimono and pulled out a thick folder that she placed upon Goto's desk, "This is all we've gathered on what they called Operation Tatarigami. It is thankfully not a threat now, but if our Caldera had not been demolished when it had, they may have gone through with it." She gave a sigh of relief, "For which we're happy to note."

It took a few moments for them to place the word and Kongou frowned, "Tatarigami? As in the extremely powerful ghosts of vengeance that can cause natural disasters? That spirit?"

Slowly, the Twins nodded as they spoke as one, "Hai, one and the same."

With a glance towards them, Goto opened the folder and began to try and make sense of what he was looking at, "What was the plan? Unless it was to try and summon up the spirits of the WWII dead?" When the two former Hitobashira looked at each other, he paled, "That was a joke."

Just shaking her head, Sakura frowned, "It was no joke for them, Teitoku. That was just one part of it." At their nods, she continued, "Another part was the completion of Ishikari-San, her sister, and Denryuu as well as the smaller ships. It was also hoped that the big gun ships at the other dockyards would be complete enough to proceed when the time came."

Arms crossed, Kongou frowned, "Why?"

Glancing at her, Ume sighed, "The planning stages began in April, 1945 as not just bombing raids, but divination signalled that the war was too far gone for Japan to win. According to what we found out, everything was in flux at the time as some divinations stated August, others October. A few even stated the early months of 1946, the war would end. Hence, them coming up with Tatarigami. The first stage would start when the No-Maj government would surrender. At that point, all higher members of government, the Magical military, and... certain researchers would arrive in our Caldera. A holdout, as it were, as our wards would be able to defend against a mass attack by the ICW allied forces. As well, every ship of the Imperial Magical Navy would take up anchorage. Then, Stage Two would begin as preparations."

Sakura took over for her sister at that point, "They predicted that a large portion of the Allied No-Maj Fleet would arrive in Tokyo Bay, roughly a month after surrender in a show of force and to accept an official declaration. It would be a month because they would wait until Japan had fully stood down and could confirm it. During this time, rituals would be done to summon dead Japanese soldiers en mass and contain the spirits in special 'Ghost shells' which would keep them until it was time. As this was going on, they would also continue to produce 'Jigoku Shells', which contained Fiendfyre, as well as the bomb version while also repairing as many Mustang and other Allied plane wrecks as had been captured. A number of Allied pilot POWs would be brainwashed during this time."

Disgusted already, it was not hard for Goto to realize what the goal was as horrified as it made him, "They were going to launch an attack on the Allied Fleet in Tokyo Bay accepting the surrender."

The Twins nodded, "Hai, as well as various airbases using the brainwashed pilots."

Pulling out one paper, Ume presented it, "They had also come up with a spell which was a variant of the Portkey spell. It could transport massive objects a set distance between two 'Anchors'. Half would be in the Caldera, and the other half at the opening of Tokyo Bay. All the magical forces would be transported into the area at the edges of where they suspected the No-Maj ships would be gathered. The Midget Submarines would have been in position and would also attack. Meanwhile, in the chaos, the brainwashed POWs would reach the bases to 'Rearm' and bomb them. It was hoped to cause tens of thousands of casualties, including a large number of Allied High Command gathered there."

Utter silence met her born of complete horror at what they just heard. The others besides the Twins were struck mute at what they were hearing. Finally, Ooyodo took a deep breath before slamming her hand down on her desk, "Why?! What possible reason could there be for that?! The war would be lost and even if they damaged and killed a large number of Allied troops, all they would do is make sure that the Americans would not accept any surrender! It would literally lead to the end of Japan!" Sweeping her hand to the side, she snarled, "THERE WAS NO WAY TO WIN THE WAR AT THAT POINT!"

"The point was never to win the war with Operation Tatarigami."

Hearing that from Sakura brought the Light Cruiser up short, "I.. what? It was not meant to win the war?" At the shake of the head, Ooyodo furrowed her eyebrows, "Then what was the point?!"

Now looking at her, both Twins had blank expressions and their next words, which were spoken in emotionless tones, everyone felt a chill, "Because, it was not to win the war... but make sure that everyone would lose."

Yet again, silence descended upon them as they digested those words before Goto cleared his throat, though he had a sinking suspicion that he already knew the answer, "Everyone would lose. How?"

Grimacing, Ume shook her head, "Imagine if you will, Teitoku. Sailors and soldiers torn apart by angry Yuurei with their weapons unable to harm the spectres. Beasts composed of hellfire devouring men and ship as well as airplane alike. Monsters from Japanese folklore using the fact that the ships teleporting would, in fact, break any anti-portkey or apparation spells to appear on the decks of the ships to kill as many as possible alongside Onmyoji counterparts, all of them the worst form of fanatics." Her next words caused all of them to pale further, "In front of tens of thousands of No-Majs."

Eyes closed, Sakura swallowed thickly, "It would have been the absolute worst way for the Statute to fall. The ICW would not have been able to cover it up. A new World War would be born in the not yet cool ashes of the old one. But this one would see the Magical World pitted against the Non-Magical." With a deep breath, she let it out and continued, "In one last act of spite, the Kamo Government would punish the No-Maj Japanese for failing to win and surrendering by having them utterly wiped out by the No-Majs in retaliation. The Magical Japanese would meet the same fate with MACUSA and others, upon being revealed, finding themselves hunted. The No-Majs Allies would, in turn, be devastated as their magical populations would be forced to fight or die. A World War born of pure spite and hate that would see no winners, just losers to various degrees."

Her eyes also closed, Ume nodded, "One of our American crew, crudely, stated that it amounted to 'Fuck everyone with barbed wire' in what would happen."

Unlike the others who were trying to wrap their minds around it, Nagato could well imagine it as she had experienced the end of the war. Not just what would happen in Tokyo Bay, but afterwards. Millions of Japanese, magical and not dead, their bones piled high among the ashes of their homes with their nation annihilated. Bombs, nuclear ones included, being dropped on Magical enclaves. The magicals retaliating with monsters and spells, rituals and artifacts to break release horrors or to control nature as cities were engulfed in volcanic eruptions such as Naples.

Armageddon.

Ragnarok.

The End of Civilization.

All out of spite.

All because a group of men would not accept that they lost unless everyone else did as well.

Right then, Nagato had to shove down the anger that she felt and wished that the men who had planned it, and who would have gone through with it, were right there in front of her. Glancing at the others, she could well see that they had similar thoughts to hers. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths, 'It never happened. It was stopped before it could even begin. Thank the Kami and whoever else was watching.'

Face grave, Goto looked at the Twins and then at the folder, "You are positive that it relied on your Caldera to have happened? That it was because it was destroyed?"

Very slowly, Sakura nodded, "Hai, we're sure. Our Caldera was a fortress, the only place that one could concentrate such a large force and keep it secure. The wards surrounding it could sustain days of bombardment and, well... the ICW Forces would not be able to do that without the No-Majs noticing. We also had many guns that would mulch anything less than a Battleship making it harder... which is why ships passing through needed a talisman to be recognized and even then, certain passwords unless someone let them in."

Ooyodo gave a small nod at that, "Such as yourselves when the MACUSA task-force snuck in." Getting a nod, she rubbed her face, "This... this is horrifying."

The Admiral looked down at the folder for several long moments before speaking, "Ooyodo. When I am finished reading through this, as well as the rest of you, it is to be given the highest classification of secrecy. After which, you are to lock it within the vault within the Archives under Amaterasu Protocols. To gain access, two of us must be present and only the highest authorities will be granted such. No paper trails, nor will it be placed in the servers, even the most secure ones. Understood?"

The Light Cruiser nodded with her lips pressed thinly. Amaterasu Protocol meaning that it was information regarding the Supernatural that must not be released. If anyone tried to gain access, pure oxygen would be dumped into the safe followed by a several small high explosives going off to burn anything inside to ash. Ooyodo snapped to a salute, "Hai! Understood, Teitoku."

With a nod of his own, Goto turned to the Twins, "Do not mention this to anyone unless we confirm that they are able to access it."

Voices soft, they gave a slight nod, "We wouldn't because this... we wish that we never knew about it or how close we had come to it..."

Hand on the folder as he looked at it, Goto sighed, "You are not the only ones, trust me." Shaking his head, he gave a small smile, "Just... forget about it and enjoy your time at Hogwarts. Do not let it overshadow it."

Sakura gave a slight smile of her own, "Occlumency will help with that as one can compartmentalize such things, Teitoku."

Just nodding, the Admiral turned his attention back to the folder and grimaced as he began to read as he needed to know...

 

[darthcourt10]

RBomber

Harry Leferts said:
Glancing at the others, she could well see that they had similar thoughts to hers. Closing her eyes, she took sever deep breaths, 'It never happened. It was stopped before it could even begin. Thank the Kami and whoever else was watching.'​

Twins Caldera, 1945

The fight was intense, with no one willing to gave quarters or mercy. It was a meatgrinder that rivals Iwo Jima in fierceness, and sometimes cruelty.

It was nothing compared with what happened beyond Veil. A fight that both intense and sublime, far below notice of Mortals and Beings, but nevertheless important.

A whisper here, an inspiration there. A Shield held on a bit longer, a kinetic bolt slightly stronger. A tug on consciousness, to both distract and empower alike. A reminder of their own cruelty, a calming whisper that put mortally wounded into painless slumber.

Even as mortals dies, the battle didn't stop. Something primal, dark, lurking beyond veil, tried to claim Souls who perished for War and Bloodshed. On the other side, beings clad in black, armed with True Names of everything ever lived ferociously defend their Wards.

They are not fully succeeded.

They are not meant to.

They still shed tears, for the unfortunate Souls gone astray, if nothing else.

****

Somewhere above, both beyond and outside Veil, a figure watched. Besides him, a large white canine and a man garbed in traditional Japanese armor also watched the proceeding below.

"They succeeded?"

"Still proceeding below. Lords Will It, they most likely succeeded. I have no more knowledge than what He gave me."

"If they failed-"

"Japan would see largest sea volcano eruption world ever seen in this century. Tsunami that would likely wiped out most coastal cities. Victims would practically numberless."

"Or at least, that was your plan."

The lone figure look between the canine and the man. Chained between them, a burning... something, something Burn so brightly and viciously and unrestrained, even with all the seals and restraint put by its younger siblings there.

The canine looked distressed with this.

"Have Hope. The mortals below can win this battle. They worked His Will. Whatever happened here, most likely your Accord will survive. As well as Statute."

"You said you don't have Vision."

"I have knowledge. I can make conjectures and conclusion. And if I made mistake, He Corrected me. He didn't correct me."

Silence falls.

Even as battle subsided, they still watching.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Courtship in Emerald (X)

16th May, 1945 (Eight Days After V-E Day)

Schloss Oberkirchberg, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg (American Occupation Zone Of Germany)
Spoiler: A War Fought In Shadows

Delilah smirked smugly as she scanned the notes in German covering binding enchantments for body-less spirits.

Just what the doctor ordered to help release Zamarad from that damn ring.

With that happy thought and a wave of her wand, she copied the various notes onto a blank roll of paper and packed it away in her backpack for later analysis.

The door to the room that she had commandeered as an office opened unexpectedly. Automatically she focused on the dark haired man in the entrance as her hand twitched toward her true self as part of her targeting calculations.

US Army field uniform, blue hexaganal Counter Intelligence Corps shoulder flash, wand at the belt, no weapons in hand.... Two shots to the chest, then one to the head once incapacitated to make sure of the kill.... Target identified as Captain Ben Arnold of MACUSA.

With a mental start she shook off her analysis of how to terminate the intruder and smiled as she recognized an ex-protege from the Aurors before the War. "Ben! It is good to see you!"

Ben's own face lit up in a smile. "Delilah. I see the goddamn krauts haven't killed you yet."

"Not hardly, Ben, not hardly." Delilah stood and then her eyes widened as he walked inside. A silver oak leaf glimmered from his shoulders. "I guess I'll have to salute you this time around, congratulations on the promotion."

He grinned sardonically. "That's Lieutenant Colonel of Aurors Arnold to you, Major de Breuil. I'm not the Captain who you remember from Tunisia when we met last as part of the planning for the invasion of Sicily."

Delilah chuckled. "Fast promotion but well-deserved. How did you get it, or is that classified?"

He pulled out a gurgling canteen, "No classification, not anymore. I was in the right place at the right time when the Krauts sent one of their Einheit Stielau commando squads to try to bump off Ike and the rest of Supreme Headquarters staff. My big chance for field work as opposed to pushing papers and chasing spies and look what it got me. Drink?"

"Don't mind if I do, Ben." Delilah agreed as she pulled out her canteen cup. "To your promotion, may it stick when the damn war is over."

He clinked canteen cups and then sipped the Kirschwasser cherry schnapps, grimacing slightly. "Kicks like a Missouri mule."

"Mmm-hmm." Delilah agreed. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure this isn't a social call. What do you have for me?"

He handed over a MACUSA order form. "Effective tomorrow, I'm to take over this place. I'll be doing the analysis of the files your team captured, and start prosecuting the hunt for the surviving Nazis and Grindlewald supporters. And put those damn animals that Grindlewald recruited like the bloodsuckers and dogs back in their kennel to keep the nomaj fat, dumb, and ignorant as it should be."

Delilah scanned the form as she sipped the liquor. "Right. Says that I'm to report back Stateside by June 1st?"

Ben scowled, "Yeah, rumor is that we are going to draw down here to crush the fucking Nips. Plus have to keep an eye on the damn Reds too but Kamo's fanatics are the big threat." He did not notice the Muramasa's eyes narrow slightly at the racial slur or her hand twitch again.

"Ah. Damn, Ben, what happened? I don't recall you being so pissed at the Japs? I mean I know you hate the Commies since your mother fled Russia in 1919." Delilah spoke as she slammed back the last of the liquor.

"Kamo happened. Heard from the Pacific that Cyril got killed on Saipan when those fucking Nips launched an all-out charge into the lines. One of their officers at the head of a pack of those half-human creatures that they recruited split him in two before we wiped them out." Ben snarled, tears filling his dark green flaming eyes.

Delilah walked over and hugged him. "Shit. Well, when I get over to the Pacific, I'll sock the Japs one for you." She said quietly.

He nodded jerkily. "If the damn Nips hadn't stabbed us in the back to drag us into the war, Cyril would still be alive. Not like the incompetent Frogs or Limeys really deserved to have us come over here and sort out Hitler and Grindlewald. We prop up their empires and they reap the rewards, all because they couldn't properly separate the Magical and Nomaj worlds the way that we do."

Delilah sighed. "Right, well Rappaport's Law doesn't apply over here, Ben, as much as we might wish otherwise," not that I so wish, and you better never say that out loud around Sis, "so we have to use a different touch here. Crack down too hard on the surviving German magicals and we will just drive them away. Lots of carrots while keeping the stick handy."

Ben nodded, "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, Floo communications have been linked back up between New York to England, but everything east of London is a mess and a half. So you will have to get transport back to England for you and your team and can then Floo to the Big Apple."

Delilah nodded, her mind whirring. "I think I can arrange the paperwork to get them on one of the supply ships out of Antwerp or another port. Sure, it's nomaj, but it crosses the Channel, which is the big thing. Then get them to London and Floo out from there."

"Sounds good. Anyway, so get me up to speed here...." Ben responded as he grabbed a quill to take notes.

Potter Manor

24 May, 1945
Spoiler: Reunion At Potter House

The fireplace flamed and then Delilah stepped out, brushing soot from the shoulders of her uniform. Her eyes focused on the House-elf in the foyer. "Hello Stabby."

"Hello Missus Yankee. Missus Flamey is in the Library. Missus Perverts is visiting her Families in towns for a Bridge Night. Wonts be backs until laters."

Delilah chuckled. "No need to prepare anything on my account. I need to talk to Zamarad anyway."

With that she turned and walked down the hall, absently humming The Stars and Stripes Forever to herself.

She smirked smugly at the sight of Zamarad in the study idly consuming a bowl of wood chips one by one with her back to the door. A poem that she had read shortly after the turn of the century sprang to mind and she began to quote Elizabeth Barret Browning's work as she stepped inside.

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death."

Zamarad turned, her eyes widening and a smile filling her face. "Shaelat ruwhi! You are back!" The crackle and pops of a campfire roasting marshmallows on a perfect summer evening filled her voice.

The two embraced and kissed, then Delilah spoke quietly. "Yes, I am back. For now. I am wanted Stateside, and then to the Pacific, or so I am led to believe." The Muramasa sighed. "But I have time before I must Floo out to check in and see Mère, so I stopped by to see you. Also if you so wish, I can see about transporting myself and your ring to North Africa so you can be with your family if you do not want to stay here."

Zamarad abruptly placed a burning finger on Delilah's lips to quiet her. "Hush, heart of my heart. I have decided that when you leave for America, I shall inhabit my ring once more to cross the seas upon your bosom. After all, I wish to meet your mother and speak to her, and can stay with her when you are summoned to war once more. My father has been notified of my plans and agreed to them," mischief danced in Zamarad's eyes as she finished, "so I shall return to him when able." I gave him little choice in my explanation of matters, after all.

Delilah's smile lit up her face. "I'll pack anything you want me to carry in your luggage. Also I dug up some notes on the binding of spirits that may have answers to getting you out of the ring."

Zamarad smiled, "Good!" Then her face clouded and a harsh crackle of flame entered her voice. "But I have ill news. There is at least one Shayṭān on the loose in England. I saw it at the celebrations when Hitler was defeated."

Delilah's eyes narrowed. "I'll keep an eye out and warn Sis too. From the lore that I have researched, that is a definite threat."

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

Sunny let out a long, deep sigh, sinking up to her neck into her bathtub. "Oh yeah… that really hits the spot."

Nuri sat on the rim of the tub beside her, content to let just her feet soak for now. Their other humanoid sisters lounged in the larger group bath nearby, while the destroyers were outside getting a nice hosing-down. After getting a nice hot meal to refill their tanks, it felt especially good to clean off all the blood, sweat and gunpowder that had accumulated on their trek. "It was awfully nice of the shipgirls to let us rest in their repair baths," Nuri mused. "Even if we are allies, I figured they would be reserved for the defenders here."

The Demon shrugged. "Perhaps we just got lucky, and nobody's in need of repairs at the moment. But beyond that… well, we did have to cut through some hostiles on our way here. Every enemy Abyssal we sink is one less ship free to harass scouts, threaten supply lines, so on and so forth. Even if we're just defending ourselves, we're helping them out." She gestured to the water. "This could just be their way of repaying us."

"True, true."

The girls were quiet for a few minutes, just basking in their nice hot bath after such a long trek. Eventually, there was a splash as Sunny sat up, suddenly tense. "Hey, that thing we found—is it on its way to Mom?"

Nuri simply nodded. "Packed it in a crate, labeled it a potential biohazard, and gave it to the scout plane I sent ahead of us to warn we were coming. It should be arriving in Yokosuka right around now."

Sunny relaxed with a small sigh. "Okay. Okay." She shuddered a bit. "That thing… just looking at it felt all kinds of wrong. Even after I ripped it out of the Re-class's chest, I could still feel it… pulsing, in my hand. Like it was alive. Like some kind of parasite."

"Probably not too far off from the truth," Nuri agreed with a look of disgust. "Lord only knows how Mother will react to it…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Hoppou could feel her every hair standing on end, staring at the drum sitting in front of her.

Initially, she'd been curious—hearing that her girls had found something strange while en route to Hawaii, and had sent it back to her to examine—but her curiosity immediately turned to dread, when she saw the biohazard label slapped on the drum that the military transport had brought her. Her unease was not helped by the attached note: Sunny, Nuri and their fleet had found what they could only describe as a "tumor", recovered from the corpse of an enemy flagship. A flagship whose entire bridge and CIC had apparently been remotely detonated.

Without even opening the container, Hoppou's gut was telling her that a certain Princess was behind this. Messing with an Abyssal's insides, planting bombs in them, putting in stuff that didn't belong… disgusting. If she'd known beforehand that the Mad Scientist Princess could bring herself back from the dead, she would have made sure to definitively end her the first time they met, all those years ago…

Hoppou huffed, shaking her head. There was no point worrying about what she should've done in the past. At least she knew what would have to be done, if she ever met that monstrous Princess in the future. For now… she had to figure out her tricks, make sure she didn't pose a threat to her friends and family.

And that started with whatever was in this drum.

Hoppou looked around her one last time, inspecting the warehouse she was occupying. She'd asked Admiral Goto for someplace secluded and out of the way, where she could work on this thing—and, if it somehow became necessary, neutralize it without someone getting hurt. It was well-lit enough for her to work, and rather loosely furnished, with just a work table and some chairs. A couple of shipgirl guards were stationed outside to back her up, should the need arise, but she didn't think it would be necessary.

Everything was pretty much set. Without further ado, Hoppou summoned her rigging, reached out, and cracked the lid off of the drum.

The drum was, predictably, fueled with oil. More intriguing, though, was the amorphous blob floating on top. It was about the size of a softball, and almost seemed to be… pulsating. Hoppou shuddered, feeling sick just looking at the thing… but she quashed that feeling. She had work to do. She reached into the drum and scooped the mass out of the oil, bringing it closer for inspection. Several of her imps surrounded the mass, poking and prodding it, running various tools across the surface.

Through their readings, she found the outside of the blob was a semipermeable membrane, taking in various compounds and such to sustain it. She was mildly surprised; she had been expecting to find damaged blood vessels somewhere. A quick check online had told her tumors need a blood supply to survive and grow… but this thing had none. So this was something else. An independent entity, that was nonetheless implanted inside an Abyssal, leeching off of her.

What could it be, Hoppou wondered. The preliminary signs pointed to it being some kind of symbiote… but for what purpose? Was it just a mass of unspecialized tissue, programmed to replace a vital system of it was damaged or destroyed? Was it some biological equivalent to a battery, storing energy for an Abyssal to run on if their fuel tanks were empty? A backup system to preserve memories and knowledge for sunk ships' replacements? So many possibilities…

Hoppou brought her free hand to her mouth, pulling away her mitten and setting it aside; this let her properly grip the syringe she then produced. Slowly, gingerly, she pressed the needle against the surface of the mass until it broke through, extracting just a few milliliters of the fluid within. Sample secure, she passed the syringe off to her rigging's mouth, which swallowed it whole.

It took less than a minute for her imps to process the sample… and her eyes widened at the results. They had extracted some genetic information (at least, the Abyssal equivalent) from the fluid—genetic information that matched up perfectly with a sample she'd archived years ago. One she obtained after violently dismembering its owner.

This symbiote was derived from the Research Princess herself.

Immediately, the many possibilities of what this mass might be, had narrowed to one. Hoppou quickly pulled out a scalpel and sliced open the mass to reveal what was within:

An embryonic Abyssal.

Hoppou could taste bile in the back of her throat. Her suspicion had been confirmed; this… this thing was how that wretch defied death. She made herself into a parasite—planted little undeveloped copies of herself into her own ships, letting them fester and leech from their unwilling (if not unknowing) hosts. And if someone managed to take her out, she would be reborn… almost certainly killing her own ships in the process.

Hoppou began to tremble… tremble in pure rage, at her revelation. She didn't think it was possible, but that monster was even more vile than she imagined—more than just being willing to experiment on her own followers, she was perfectly happy to steal their lives to replace hers. How many Abyssals out there had these ticking time bombs in them, just waiting for that one unlucky roll of the dice to select them to be their Princess's next sacrifice for rebirth?

Even a single victim was too many, in her eyes.

Preoccupied with her own horror and disgust, Hoppou didn't notice the mass in her palm beginning to shift. Deprived of its original host and with its protective layers compromised, a failsafe in the embryo had just been triggered. There was no chance of the Research Princess reviving with this 'seed'... but that didn't mean it couldn't still have some use to her. In lieu of receiving her mind and soul, the embryo was now set to follow a simple set of instructions: Consume the nearest biomass, grow to full maturity, and deal as much damage to its surroundings as possible before something killed it.

Hoppou was snapped from her loathing trance by a sudden barrage of alerts from her imps. The parasitic mass was beginning to move, to spread. Looking down, she was startled to see thin black tendrils extending from the mass, growing over her mitten; she also saw that the incision she'd made in the membrane had mysteriously sealed itself. She quickly wrung her hand, trying to fling it off, but it had firmly attached itself to her mitten. On a reflex, she tried to swat at it with her free hand like it was a fly.

She immediately regretted the decision, as she felt searing pain on the back of her bare hand—the mass's tendrils beginning to burrow into her skin the moment they came into contact.

Feeling this abomination's tendrils sinking into the flesh of her arm, trying to violate her very being, the little Princess's reaction was instant and violent—she released all her self-imposed restraints, asserting herself fully on the world.

For several seconds, every living thing within a hundred yards of the warehouse stopped dead in their tracks… unable to breathe, as they felt the weight of her aura pressing down on them, threatening to crush them. There was a sound almost like a shriek as the Princess's body flipped the tables on the would-be parasite—using the link it had made between them to worm into its heart, consume it from the inside out—and utterly purged it from her being. With a fling of her arm, Hoppou cast off the loosened mass of malignant tissue, letting it hit the floor with a wet splat several meters away. Her physical boundaries secured, Hoppou quickly reined herself back in, suppressing her aura until she once more gave off the air of an innocent girl… leaving a couple dozen people suddenly able to breathe again, as they tried to process what the fuck just happened.

Hoppou looked down at herself, inspecting the spot on her wrist the parasite had tried to attach itself. There was some mild inflammation on her skin, and it was uncomfortably itchy, but her imps were reporting all-clear; she wasn't going to be contracting or spreading anything anytime soon. Rubbing her wrist, Hoppou looked over to where the parasitic embryo had hit the ground—

And froze.

The mass was still moving.

More than that, it was getting bigger.

Hoppou called on all her weaponry, training it on the mass, which seemed to be growing an inch or so in diameter every few seconds. The Research Princess's seed, it seemed, was trying to take form without a host. A part of Hoppou wanted to just blast it now, erase it from existence before it could emerge and pose a threat. Another part of her wanted to call for the shipgirl guards outside to back her up, to help contain the cloned Abyssal. But she held her fire, and her tongue… because a much bigger, much louder part of her wanted the Princess to emerge, so she could vent her hatred and disgust at the witch's utter depravity.

She wouldn't get that chance, however.

As the mass reached the size of a beach ball, it suddenly stopped. Hoppou furrowed her brow in wary confusion; had it run out of fuel for its growth? Because if not, that couldn't be the full size—even if she curled up into a ball, the Research Princess wouldn't have been able to fit in it. But she kept her weapons trained regardless, as the mass began to move more energetically, the Abyssal within struggling to tear out of its sac. After just a few strong thrusts, the thin membrane split open, revealing what lay within…

But it was not the Research Princess.

It was a little girl.

With features almost identical to her own.

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Weasley's Warship Workshop 13

Passel House, Southern England

November 4th, 2013

Duke of York woke to the smell of ambrosia, the scent of a rich, dark coffee (her delight and shame when compared to her sisters) and the delightful mixed smell of fried meat and vegetables that was a proper English breakfast. Having gotten back in late last night after a patrol, she'd not taken the time to eat a full meal and instead had ingested what Victoria had ready before a quick dip in the repair baths and then passing out in bed. Slowly blinking her eyes to wakefulness as her status reports came in, she was surprised to see a shock of red hair on the person sitting next to her bed with a rather large tray of food.

"Ron, what are you doing here?" she said, quite surprised to see him there, "It's a Monday, don't you need to be at school?"

"Good morning to you too Duke," he said with a grin, handing over the cup of coffee to her, which she promptly scooted upright for, took and sipped at without a further word. It would not do to criticize Ron over that matter. He might not do it again and as the taste of proper navy coffee filled her mouth, she realized he'd somehow gotten Victoria to salt the water and not scrub the carafe so it tasted right, she was quite certain that whatever he'd done to get here was quite worth it.

As she finished her sip she let out a sigh and then let the smile she'd developed show on her face.

"Good morning Ron," she finally said properly, "It's a pleasure to see you, though also a surprise."

Ron smiled back to her and reached out to take her free hand and give it a squeeze.

"It's good to see you too Duke. Don't worry about school though, I have the Headmaster's permission to be here, though I have to head back relatively soon."

Duke nodded even as her hand squeezed Ron's in return. The three of them knew duty, though it was usually Warspite or Duke who had to do the leaving and not Ron. The taste was always bitter and not in the pleasant manner that her coffee was.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked after another small sip of her coffee, "Not that I am complaining, mind." She nodded to her coffee and the food he had.

"It's your commissioning day," Ron said with a grin, "So I came to celebrate with you and give you a gift."

Duke's eyebrows rose at the comment, having not expected anything largely because she rarely bothered to celebrate such things.

"I see. What did you bring me?"

Ron grinned back at her and shook his head.

"Food first, then presents. Victoria would be mad if it went to waste."

Duke couldn't help but flare her nostrils with a snort but nodded and lifted her arms so Ron could properly set the tray over her legs, providing her with a place to set down her coffee.

Reaching out for the tableware, Duke paused for a second as one of her bridge fairies finally reminded her she wasn't in uniform. Rather, she spotted her own bare arms and reminded she was in her nightie. Perfectly safe for Ron to see of course as it covered everything important but still… her face flushed slightly as she began slicing a sausage open to eat along with some of the eggs.

The meal was very much up to standard, clearly having been prepared on time so that Ron could bring it to her just after it finished. Which meant he'd been here long enough for that to happen and she smiled at the young man who had helped to bring her out of her self imposed shell of isolation.

As she ate Ron pulled three packages up from the side of the bed, which were all wrapped in red paper with a white string. The larger one was big enough it could be many things, though Duke didn't know what Ron could have bought her. The second was smaller, though not all that small and the third… was small enough to be something like a jewelry box, which was quite the surprise.

She raised her eyes up to Ron's with a questioning eyebrow raise even as she ate.

In response he simply grinned at her with the cheeky smile he could still so very easily manage and gestured to her food.

"When you're done," he said.

A race between propriety and her own wishes to discover what Ron had brought her found propriety losing, as she was also still rather hungry. Barely five minutes had passed after Ron handed her the food and the entire extra large plate was gone with hardly any effort.

Wiping her lips with the provided napkin, Duke looked up to see Ron smiling at her once more, the memory of a previous conversation dancing in her head.

"Don't say it," she said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I wasn't going to say anything," he said, handing over the stack of presents, "You'll want to start from the top and work down."

The bottom one seemed to be the heaviest, judging by the fact the pile had a decent bit of weight to it. Duke carefully unwrapped the ribbon holding all three together and took the top package as Ron had said. Opening the paper up in her own deliberate manner, she was somehow not surprised to see an actual jewelry box inside. What did surprise her was what was inside as she opened it.

The shine of silver hit her eyes immediately as the lid rose, nestled inside a perfectly crafted red velvet hollow. The hair clip resting there was quite possibly the nicest she'd ever seen, more than likely hand made and perfectly formed in a long curve perfectly suited for someone with a mass of hair they had to contain. What truly took her breath away was even more finely crafted etching on top of it. Her ships heraldry, done in gold and a few small precious stones. Whoever had done it must have used tiny tools but even the "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" was visible if quite fine to the visible eye.
Spoiler: Hair Clip

Heraldry

Hair Clip

"Ron… you shouldn't have," she said as she held the clip in her hand, "The cost alone..."

"Was less than you think," said the red head, letting his hand rest on her arm. "Not to mention you didn't say a thing when I got Warspite her earrings."

Duke closed her mouth at that, as she most definitely had not said anything when Ron gifted Warspite the lovely earrings which she wore when she had an appropriate chance. She wasn't an expert on jewelry by any means but… it still seemed like the hair clip would be more. However she quickly quashed that thought and smiled at Ron.

"No I didn't. Thank you Ron this is lovely." Delicately putting the clip back in its resting place and setting it on her night stand.

"The rest of this must be quite amazing if that was the first thing you had me open." Duke glanced back up at Ron as merely smiled at her. The look sent her boilers fluttering in a far from unpleasant manner as her hands pulled more insistently at the package.

Inside was a piece of clothing that she herself had picked out, a mix of slightly elastic red and black paneling that was designed to do one thing, keep her upper body secure. The addition of crisscrossing silver and gold thread did nothing to detract from the look, the odd shapes that she didn't understand laid out in semi-regular patterns. She raised it up out of the packaging, eyes taking everything in as she turned the garment over in her hands.

"You did it..." she said, no small amount of wonder in her voice.

"It took longer than I wanted, between the sewing and learning the runes properly but I did promise."

Duke looked over as Ron scooted closer to her, one package remaining between them.

"The last one's the best though."

Duke opened her mouth to ask what could be better than this but her breath caught in her throat as the utter sincerity of Ron's voice fully registered. Quickly but properly the sports bra was folded and put back in its box, then set to the side.

Her hands were barely kept from trembling as she took the last package and peeled it open with the utmost care, as if she expected it to fall to pieces at a touch. Inside the package was an exquisite if plainly bound leather cover with a simple but well made clasp holding it close. She stared at it for a full minute as water gathered at the corners of her eyes and her hands took in the fine texture, hesitant to even open it.

A mixture of emotions ran through her too fast to catalog, most unbelieving, a few still doubting herself and more than a few bright threads of happiness. Perhaps it had been unfair of her to not believe mere words but this… this was something else.

Her revere was broken as the bed shifted and Ron leaned up against her. Her arm automatically went around him and pulled him closer, his head nestling on her shoulder.

"It's real, I promise," he said softly, sounding as if he completely understood why she might hesitate.

"I know..." her voice was even softer, barely a whisper as she leaned down and kissed the top of Ron's head, "I know."

A few seconds later her free hand finally reached out and popped the clasp, flipping open the cover to reveal "Duke of York" in fine, handwritten script on otherwise perfectly clear parchment. She let her hand run over it carefully, knowing that there would be no smudging on the magically preserved page.

"It's lovely," she said, her voice having regained some of its strength.

"You haven't even opened most of it," Ron's voice said with a bit of humor in it.

"I know it's lovely because you never short work like this," she said with a firm conviction.

Ron murmured something rather inaudible to her that sounded like an affirmation anyway. Smiling to herself she let her hand flip through the pages slowly, not picking any particular one but choosing at random. A boiler room here, her bridge there, one of the sailors berths further in. Near the end she found the full size fold out of her hull, carefully pulling the page open so she could look at her own lines like she'd more than once looked jealously at Warspite's.

"I can't put in to words how much this means to me Ron," she finally said as she closed and flipped the clasp shut on the book.

"You don't need to," he said softly, "It's just like how you've supported me and..." he gestured to the room around them.

Duke smiled and leaned her head down so it rested against Ron's. She wasn't embarrassed for once, as it was one thing to cuddle with someone you had feelings for. It was quite another to cuddle with someone you were in love with and had shown they did in undeniable proof. Time passed and she didn't bother to check her chronometer until Ron stirred against her.

"Time to go?" she asked him.

"Unfortunately. I can still make my classes if I leave soon but I don't want to push it, Dumbledore is generous so I don't want to take advantage of his goodwill."

Duke nodded against him, letting her head rise up from his as he turned his head towards her.

"I'm glad you liked your presents," he said, a smile on his face showing happiness that simply made her boilers even hotter than normal.

"Thank you again for them," she said, as her hands touched leather once more, "All of them."

Ron grinned and nodded, standing up from the bed. Duke tugged the covers off and followed, her nightie going down to her knees as she stood to follow after him.

"I'll see you again soon," he said as he leaned in for a hug.

"I can't wait," she said, pulling back slightly after, "I think I'm going to have something to show you soon as well."

Ron's eyebrow quirked up at that but Duke managed to just grin at him for once and his own smile turned to simply pleased.

"I'll look forward to it then," he said.

Struck by sudden impulse, Duke's hands tightened around Ron's back for a moment.

"Until then..." she said leaning down closer…

Ron made it to his classes on time but for some reason even in Potion's class he had a smile.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

AN: PLEASE WATCH ANY AND ALL COMMENTS MADE ABOUT THIS SNIP GIVEN THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED. SNIPS ON RON ARE GOING SLOW FOR A REASON.

That being said, I hope you all enjoyed and please feel free to comment otherwise.

 

[darthcourt10]

lt_agn02

It had been less than an hour than the almost fatal radio transmission, noted Aso. A six-ship girl team had intercepted the convoy and her fleet and brought it to a halt, each one inspecting everything with stern faces.

One of the bigger ones, an Iowa-class, she believed, sailed up to Guam. Out of curiosity, the Japanese carrier fished what looked like a segment of bamboo out of her pocket and placed it to her ear.

"Name, sailor?"

"USS Guam, CB-2, ma'am!" Guam answered.

The larger battleship jotted something down in her notebook. "Your itinerary says there are supposed to be six of you. Counting Skipjack, there are only five. Status?"

Guam pointed up at the bridge. "She's new, so we sent her upstairs to study the charts."

"And...care to explain the shit talking I heard over the radio?"

The large cruiser gulped. "Shit talking? I didn't do any shit talking."

The battleship crossed her arms. "Then why have I heard Brooklyn call Aso a piece of shit multiple times over the past few days? I heard you all the way from The Dungeon!"

While the battleship continued to rip the fleet a new one and sounding more and more like a battleship broadside at point blank range, Aso painfully put Yuubari's experimental "pocket sonar" back in her...pocket and sighed. This was her first assignment outside of Japan and it was already falling apart.

A certain distance away, a lieutenant entered the bridge with a cup of hot cocoa in his hand. He noticed the girl at the window just as he took a sip.

"Aso?" He asked. "You're still up here? I thought you hit the water as soon as Guam gave the password."

The girl chuckled sarcastically for a moment. "Well...I thought so too, but…"

The lieutenant nodded as he set his drink down. "Yeah, I kinda figured as much. I honestly don't blame them for keeping you up here, but they could have at least shown a little tact. Especially Brooklyn over there."

Aso nodded. "Guam said I almost got us all killed."

The lieutenant walked towards the window and grimaced at the sight below. "Yikes. I can hear Missouri from here."

"...Hai."

"Let me guess...Guam never told you the password, right?"

"...Hai…"

Shrugging, the lieutenant took another sip of his cocoa. "I swear, it's all the time with that girl. I wonder if she inherited Alaska's derpiness."

"Alaska's...what?"

"Honestly, it's not the first time she forgot to tell everyone the password. Then again, most of the time, the people assigned with her already know it. Try not to hold it against her, okay? She's normally a good girl, but sometimes I don't think her head is screwed on right."

She nodded, unable to say a word. For a short while, the two stood in silence. The lieutenant searched a few of the logbooks and retrieved a supply manifest. Aso simply watched Missouri tear her fleet a new one.

"... shore, I'll deal with you four later." Turning around to her fleet, Missouri pointed to the cargo ship. "Secure the transports. I want nothing getting in or out until we get to Pearl. Skipjack already knows submarine procedure. If a sub doesn't surface, either keep it down or put it down." She turned her head to the bridge of the ship. "Ahoy there! Aso, right? We're within operational range of the Coast Guard. Come on down and stretch your legs."

Aso jumped up and peered her head out the window. "Really? Can I?"

"I wasn't asking. Now let's go! You're not gonna get a good view of the sea if you stay up there all day!"

The Japanese carrier somehow found a small smile on her face. "Yes, ma'am!"

As she went to dash out the door, she stopped just as the lieutenant was about to exit the bridge to deliver the supply manifest. "You look like you're in a better mood. Missouri called you down?"

Aso nodded. "Hai!"

Nodding, he flattened himself against the wall to give her room. "Go get 'em, tiger."

"Hai!"

The moment she heit the water, Aso skated over to Missouri, who gave her a salute. "You're Aso, correct?" The battleship asked.

The carrier replied with "Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"I'm Missouri of Pearl Harbor." Missouri placed her hand to her chin. "I heard a lot about you from Arizona. She calls you 'The Jingoistic Jackass'."

The carrier's face flushed red. "I-I'm not that bad! ...I think…"

"When I was told by her and Admiral Smith that you would be stationed at Pearl, I had some concerns about your behavior, I will admit."

Aso visibly shrank.

The battleship crossed her arms. "But in the end, I made a bet with Arizona that by the time you go back to Japan, I would make you at least meet her standards. After all, if Pennsy can't be cured of her own negative feelings about the Japanese after 70 years, there's not much that can be done in 6 months."

"T-That's not…"

"Listen. We all have feelings leftover from the war. But negative feelings like resentment and shit don't matter as much as getting the job done. We aren't all shonen protagonists that can befriend everybody. What we need are people that can put their differences and feelings aside to get the job done, preferably without pissing everybody off." Missouri leveled a sideways glare to Brooklyn, who just gave her the finger.

Sighing, the Iowa class put her face in her palm. "I heard a lot of other things, but let's save stuff like introduction and backstory for later. We have work to do and I already wasted enough time. You'll be getting a feel for things out here. Send scouts, then do what you need to adjust. Whatever you do stay within sight of the convoy, all right? We're still in open ocean."

Aso nodded, peeling away from the transport ship to a comfortable distance where she could launch her air group. Taking a deep breath, she took an arrow from her quiver and set in on her bow. Before she pulled the bowstring back, she sent a glance to the battleship. One nod later, and the air group was in the sky.

The radio in the girl's ears crackled to life. 'Aso, this is your first time this far away from Japan, right?' Missouri asked.

'Y-Yeah.'

'Okay. Even though there are friendly Abyssals doing their part to keep the routes clear, we're still in highly contested waters here, so send your scouts on a 360 degree two-phase search pattern and check for enemies in all directions. If they spot anything, report it immediately. We need a CAP too. Think you can manage?'

'Please don't underestimate me! I can at least manage that much!'

'Now that's music to my ears. We'll be counting on you, Aso. Oh, and I'm not quite familiar with Japanese scouting procedures, but you're launching specialized scout planes, right?'

'Hai?'

'When you send out the second phase, send out bombers so you can hit them when you see them.'

'Understood.'

For the next few hours, Aso continued the pattern she learned in training. Launch, patrol, retrieve.

Launch, patrol, retrieve.

Launch, patrol, retrieve.

Each time, she found mostly huge tracts of empty ocean.

Despite the monotony of it all, she sighed in relief. It was a quiet convoy, one where she was able to relax in spite of being forced to stay topside. In hindsight, considering the squall a few days ago, it might have been more than reasonable. When that happened, the carrier couldn't make left, right, or tails of where she was. The wave height didn't help either.

Now, in peaceful waters, the carrier felt herself relax as…

'Missouri-san! I have an enemy contact!' Aso shouted into her radio. 'Abyssals coming in from the north!'

'Composition?'

'Three light cruisers, two destroyers, and a light carrier!' So much for quiet, Aso groaned internally. 'Scout bombers are beginning their run.'

'All right. Focus your efforts on that fleet. We'll pick up where you left off in scouting. Our ETA to Pearl is about three hours. Keep sending updates.'

For some while, the Japanese carrier kept fighting. Once her bomber group confirmed all six enemies were sunk, she felt a sigh of relief leave her lips.

Maybe things were going to turn out okay.

"Hey, Aso," a heavy cruiser, Salem, gestured the girl to come closer. "Close up the formation. We're coming into Pearl now."

The carrier suppressed a gulp as she headed to the vanguard of the formation.

Slowly but surely, mountains began to rise over the horizon. The island of O'ahu rose above the sea in all its splendor. Despite everything, it was going to be her home for the next six months. The closer she got, the more she could make out the details on the island and confirm them with her CAP.

The tall buildings of Waikiki were gone. None of the urbanization from the photos she studied back in Japan stood the test of Abyssal bombardment. Hell, almost nothing near the shore did.

Yet, as she looked to the store, she confirmed it. Multiple stone structures surrounded the southern entrance of Pearl Harbor, each one as circular as possible. Using her scout plane, she ordered as many pictures taken as possible. If she could analyze them, it would be useful. As soon as her planes landed, she moved to the port side of the ship, as per Missouri's orders.

Within moments, the fleet passed through the mouth of the harbor, coming face-to-face with a pristine white monument.

"Fleet, present arms!" Missouri commanded.

The ship girls extended a salute, Aso included. While she may not have participated in the attack, she knew what the monument was. It wasn't just the remembrance of a certain day. It wasn't just the product of a rock star that wanted to preserve history. It was more than that. Even as a Japanese carrier, she knew.

For the sailors and marines that day, that monument is their tombstone. By which all of them would be remembered.

Always.

 

[darthcourt10]

Wildredlifer

Excerpt of Meeting between Norihara M.D and Hoppou regarding the Survivors of Unknown Abyssal Princess.


Norihara: The Abyssal Tissue is showing no signs of Degradation or Rejection, Any theories Hoppou?

Hoppou: Sick but Brilliant.

Norihara: Hoppou?

Hoppou: What she created was a programmable tissue that was designed to Analyze, Imprint, Improve or Overwrite whatever it was implanted into.

Hoppou: It would imprint then mimic whatever it was attached to and begin to spread repairing Damage and improving to peak performance as it goes.

Hoppou: My examinations of both the Children and Adults have determined that the tissue was first applied to the abyssal implants.

Hoppou: Which was then Grafted onto them fortunately though the Biological discrepancy of the initial imprint greatly slowed the tissues repair and overwrite function.

Norihara: Slowed down the Overwrite Function? I thought she just grafted various abyssal bits on them for her perverse amusement.

Hoppou: It would have been bad enough if it was just that alone. but what tissue was doing was converting the human tissue into the class of Abyssal it initially imprinted on.

Hoppou: If she significantly improves this and gains access to a significant number of people the number of abyssals she could field could grow significantly.

Norihara: Converting human tissue into abyssal? The scans and biopsy of the surrounding tissue show no signs of that Hoppou.

Hoppou: Oh it's doing that all right luckily I've been able to modify it for the adults so the Tissue runs off the Human blueprint with the Tissue improving and strengthening them and removed the Neurological Programming embedded in it. Which means they won't become abyssals.

Hoppou: The Children, on the other hand, I cannot fully apply the fix for adults on them.

Norihara: Why can't you fully apply the cure the adults have on the children?

Hoppou: Ageing is one of the things that the Tissue would eliminate if I applied the same cure on the children as adults.
Hoppou: Though Removing the Neurological overwrite and slowing the process as much as possible gives me more time to research possibilities.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Courtship in Emerald (XI)

Potter Manor

25 May, 1945
Spoiler: Leaving For America

Zamarad aibnatu Alnaar took a deep breath as her eyes locked on the enchanted ring hanging on the golden chain from Delilah's neck. She closed her eyes and then opened them as she looked at her hostess. "Ila-liqaa' (Until we meet again)"

Lyra hugged her gently. "Please write once you get to America, dear."

Zamarad returned the hug of the elderly witch with tears in her eyes as she kissed her on each cheek in farewell. "I will, and thank you again for everything." Her eyes found those of the disguised scimitar as the 'House-Elf' waited at the door. "Thank you for being a friend to me when I was ripped away from so much that I am used to."

Only she saw the fractional nod and the shimmering tears in the eyes of the disguised Sabah.

With that she took a deep breath and turned to the love of her life. "I am ready to go."

Delilah nodded, and grasped the ring. Her lips moved as tears filled her eyes. "Forgive me for what must be done." With that she took a deep breath. "Please enter the ring until we come to my home."

Zamarad winced as she felt the energies linking her to the spells and enchantments binding her to the ring take hold of her very being.

She felt the freedom, the power, of the smokeless fire that she was a spirit of, unconstrained and unchecked save by her will and obedience to God's Law, be grasped by chains of magic.

Contained.

Controlled.

Shackled.

Made a servant for this voyage.

But never a slave.

Delilah would never allow it.

For an instant, as she reformed inside the ruby that was the focus of the enchantments shackling her, she thought that this must be what the lesser fires and energies that the Sons of Adam had called forth to power their machinery and industry must feel like.

As Zamarad looked up from the gemstone set in the ring, she saw unshed tears in the eyes of her beloved as Delilah threw Floo Powder into the fireplace. "Ministry of Magic, outbound checkpoint."

---------------------------

Ministry of Magic, London

As Zamarad watched with interest, a pair of wizards checked Delilah's travel paperwork and then sealed her travel trunks. "All clear Major de Breuil. And thank you for your service."

Delilah smiled slightly to them, "I served but so did you too. We all had our own part to play in the Great Crusade, and if you and yours did not stand against Naziism, well, who knows how the war would have gone?"

With that she entered the queue to the outbound transit portal.

As she stepped onto the platform, Delilah wiped tears from her eyes and her voice cracked as she spoke the words that she had dreamed of for four long years of war. "Woolworth Building, New York City." The flames flashed bright green and she squared her shoulders as she stepped into them to Floo back to her homeland.

---------------------------

Woolworth Building, New York City
Spoiler: MACUSA Headquarters


With a pop, Delilah de Breuil appeared in one of the Floo portals in the main arrival hall and stepped out, waving her wand to float her trunks behind her.

Inside the ring on her finger, Zamarad stared in awe at the massive Art Deco building around them as Delilah approached a checkpoint. Everything around her was so much larger and newer than she had expected.

"Business?" The uniformed Auror snapped out as his partner leved a wand at Delilah as per procedures.

Delilah handed over her orders and spoke formally. "Magical Congress of the United States Auror Major Delilah Naomi de Breuil reporting in from assignment to European Operations."

The Auror checked the paperwork meticulously as he compared it to a ledger. "Well ain't that some shit. Says here you ain't expected in until the First of August Ma'am."

Delilah facepalmed. "Great. Just great. Do me a favor and send a note saying that I'm back up to room 713 please Henry? Unless they moved Information Collection elsewhere while I was playing tag with Grindelwald."

The aforementioned Henry nodded. "Just take a seat over by the Memorial and I'll get someone down from your department to handle you, Delilah. Welcome back anyway. How bad was it?"

Delilah sighed deeply. "It was rough. Of the twenty who came over with me as volunteers, eleven are staying over there until and if Graves Registration ship them back to their families. And I have to tell Bearclaw's widow personally. Poor guy died in my arms."

"Ouch. At least all we have to worry about now is the Nips and some of Grindelwald's remaining fanatics." Henry agreed as he waved Delilah through.
Spoiler: Salem Memorial

The Muramasa revolver walked over to a set of statues of three women, one man and a child dressed in 17th century robes. She sat down and whispered to the curious Ifrit in the ring. "This is a monument honoring those of us who died at the hands of the No-Maj's during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. It... left deep scars on American wizardry."

Zamarad silently nodded, her eyes intent on the statues as Delilah pulled a book of poetry that Lyra Potter had given her from her trunk and began to read.

Some time later, a brunette witch approached Delilah. "Delilah de Breuil, in the flesh no less."

Delilah looked up and smiled happily. "Tina Goldstein! I take it you got the memo that I'm in bureaucratic limbo?"

Tina nodded and sat beside her. "Yes, I got the memo. Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

Delilah shrugged. "Bad news first, I suppose."

"Your Wand Permit ran out in 1943 and you will have to reapply, Del. At least they put in a waiver for fighting the enemy overseas for Aurors and deputized wizards. Also, that will have to be done on Monday next in room 511." Porpentina Goldstein admitted, "we really didn't expect you back this soon. But since the people over in Europe don't need you, their loss is our gain."

Delilah winced, "Joy, Tina. So I'm supposed to sit on my hands until then?"

"Pretty much. The good news is that I authorized a Floo Travel Permit for you to head home and then return. Take this to the main transit station and present it, and it will take you home to see your mother." Tina grinned and handed over the paperwork.

"Aces!" Delilah smiled and hugged Tina. "I owe you one for this, Tina. I'll just grab the forms to fill out on the way out the door."

Tina returned the hug. "Tell you what. Next time you get into the Rotten Apple, we hit the Blind Pig and paint the town red a bit."

Delilah grinned smugly, "Gigglewater's on me!"

With that she headed to the desk containing the forms.

De Breuil Estate, Upstate New York
Spoiler: Homecoming

Delilah materialized in the familiar sitting room of the family estate as the Floo Portal flamed green.

Automatically she looked around the vacant room and then whispered, "you can come out now Zamarad". As the Ifrit manifested in a puff of flame, she took a deep breath and saw.

Her eyes flickered across the familiar antique oak side table with one leg showing the crude skull and crossbones that a five-year old her had carved into it while playing pirate with Aunt Jackie (and gotten a spanking for doing). The woven Navajo throw rug that she had picked up as a birthday present for Mother in 1881 from an Indian trader in Tombstone out in Arizona Territory. The family's silver dinner service that grandfather had commissioned from Paul Revere during a business trip to Boston in 1774 now displayed behind the glass of the sideboard. The Balm of Gilead trees through the window that her family had brought from the Old World to the New to put down roots here in a place free from religious persecution and open to potential.

Home.

With that, her eyes teared up and she sobbed brokenly as it all struck her like a bullet from her true body.

The news of Pearl Harbor and Schjetnan Reef hitting her like a thunderbolt on December 7th, 1941. The declaration of war against Germany and Japan, Grindelwald and Kamo. Volunteering her services to fight for freedom as the desire to liberate those in need flamed within her breast with an unquenchable fire. Meeting her sister Colombe in a London under siege from the air by the Nazis. Meeting Zamarad, and watching the jinn that she had fallen in love with get enslaved by the Nazis. Fighting in the Sleeper's Tomb to thwart the SS. Operations behind enemy lines alongside her sister in a Europe crying out for liberation. Jumping into Normandy. Battles. Watching enemies, allies, and friends fall around her. The church bells of Paris announcing liberation and seeing the citizens celebrate deliverance that they had only dared dream of. Seeing Colombe's tears when she returned to a home that Delilah had helped her liberate. Christmas under artillery fire in a foxhole holding the line against the Wehrmacht's last great push in the snow. The news that Hitler was dead reaching her in a muddy foxhole in Germany in the drizzling rain of a spring night. Storming the redoubt held by Grindlewald's die-hard fanatics. Returning to Zamarad's arms yesterday and falling into a flaming ocean of love and passion that night. The return to America.

Vaguely she felt those same warm arms supporting her as her mingled tears of joy and sadness flowed down her cheeks in an unstoppable torrent of emotion. Joy, sadness, fear, love, anger, peace, all those and more boiled within her breast with a tidal wave of emotions penned up for three and a half long years of war.

The red ball of the setting sun slowly sank into the west behind the ridges and valleys of the Allegheny Mountains as Delilah Naomi de Breuil, youngest daughter of Muramasa-no-Norimune, the Unrepentant Blade of the Mad Smith finally returned to the home that she had left to answer the call to arms of the trumpet blast of freedom. The last rays of sunlight turned Delilah's tears into flaming shards of crystal alongside the tears of wonder in the eyes of Zamarad aibnatu Alnaar as the Ifrit daughter of the jinn marveled at the first sight of her new homeland.

 

[darthcourt10]

WickedestCard

So, in lieu of a follow up snippet for my side stories, have a nice and silly crack omake with one Gambier Bay and what happens when MSSB and Magical Tiny Fairy Bullshit interact.
--------------------------------

What Happens when a Shipgirl and her Significant Other build Models.


In the San Diego Naval Base, much like many other bases around the world, one of the larger lightly or unused hangers had been converted for "Fairy Activities" use. It was essentially a place for Fairies to hang out and do non-urgent things such as training flights, group maneuvers, practicing on the radio as well as maintained on their tiny machines. They did non-military things such as broadcasting their own radio station, figuring out how to work and play on modern computers, showing off the exploits and crafts of their ships or even just relaxing at the fairy bar (though those that had been there were rather down that it didn't include the magical fairies like the popular hidden one at a certain magical school).

Today however the main event was the gathering and exhibition of the models built by the Shipgirls at San Diego. Naturally they were mostly militarily themed but they varied quite a bit, from a visiting Jersey's platoon of RC Marine Corps M48 Patton Tanks with actual working treads/suspension and cannon sounds (Crowning stopped her adding actual cannons to them) to Yorkteen's incredibly accurate flight squadrons from her mother's early training sessions. That didn't mean there weren't a large number of kinds models that included cars going from the 30's to the present, construction vehicles, civilian aircraft and even things like 40K miniatures and RPG figures.

Today though the center of attention was the detailed model of a F2M Wildcat and a F-5 Tiger fighter jet made by one Gambier Bay and her boyfriend. One noticeable feature about the two planes was that they were actually to scale to the fairies themselves. It did seem that model making companies were going in on capitalizing on Shipgirl popularity by making kits that could fit them as well as add-ons like custom decals. These two particular fighter models had on Gamby's fighter squadron numbers as well as retractable landing gear and even a sliding canopy and detailed cockpits. One of her fairies even managed to find a modern jet pilot's gear that fit him and was standing on the model to give information on it. None of them were too surprised when it was Gamby that did most of the detailing and fine work on it. Shipgirls tended to be very good when it came to making model kits and her boyfriend admitted that he himself didn't trust his hands to work on something like this.

SmolFloof was quite the happy Smol when she wheeled in the models on a tiny cart and set it up on the makeshift runway that was the usual stage for such models. She didn't stay long as she took her cart back to go get the Gunpla models. She smiled when her full size counterpart was on the receiving end of a nerd out and enthusiastic thank you from her boyfriend when he called back after opening his gifts. One which Gamby paid in full when she also started talking shop about the two planes he had gifted the Escort Carrier. It would soon prove to be an interesting time after the Smol left though.

As several other fairies came and admired the plane models and talked shop one fairy that was a bit too into eating their snack absentminded threw the balled up wrapper behind their shoulder. If anyone had been watching they would have seen the wrapper sail through the air and make it's descent into the F-5's cockpit. As it was, more than a dozen fairies jumped and yelled as the roaring sound of a turbine starting up overwhelmed the chatter.

"Hey!"
"Hey hey hey!"
"Hey!?"
"HEY!!!"

Panic started to spread throughout the hanger as the turbine fan picked up speed and the jet started proper. Mass of fairies fled the area as supposed model plane started to roll forward. However, the costumed fairy from Gambier Bay instead ran forward and hopped up to the fuselage and climbed into the cockpit. He took a quick look at the panel and controls to try and find a way to turn it off.

It was for nought as the plane suddenly lurched forward, speeding down the runway. On instinct he closed the canopy and settled into the seat and lurched the stick back all the while other fairies down the strip hurried to get the other models out of the way. Others scrambled to simply get out of the way. Half way down the runway the jet fighter managed get lift off of it's wheels and actually take flight, the roar of the jet engine rattling the makeshift mini hangers as it sped into past the entrance. The pilot even managed to a way to retract the landing gear as he soared into the sky, surprising a nearby Petty Officer and shipgirl as he banked hard right to avoid them.

As it turned out, he never did find a way to turn off the engine and simply had to wait for the fuel to run out and then glide back down the runway. Any relief the fairies felt at the ordeal being over was dashed quickly when a curious South Dakota appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the F2M, the F-5 and the fairy and made a run for her work shop.
-------

"I don't get it. For all intents and purposes this is just a well made and put together kit." a confused SoDak said as she peered at the model on her table.

"Uh...that's because it is Dakota. My boyfriend and I finished it a couple days ago. I don't see why you're so curious about it." a slightly befuddled Gambier Bay responded, not sure why she was called here.

"You weren't there Gamby, this plane flew! Actually flew and I swear it broke the sound barrier. Do you know what means for Shipgirl kind! The kind of advancements that could be made!" declared South Dakota as she started to enter the SCIENCE! Mode she and several other shipgirls were known for. Gamby however just kind of tilted her head nervously as she saw the science inclined shipgirl get that gleam in her eye. In fact, the gleam only grew as she looked between the blond carrier and the other two items she brought.

"Wait...if you two building the model could make it fly...then what about these robot models?" Dakota wondered out loud as she suddenly appeared next to another table, this holding the Gunpla models of the Wing Proto Zero and the Heavyarms EW. She took a careful hold of the brightly colored figure and inspected it closely.

SmolFloof at that though shook her head and jogged over to one of the computers in the room. She jumped around for a few seconds as the others watched her type something. Finally after a moment she stepped back and pointed importantly to the screen.

"Bay bay! Bay." She declared with certainty.

"Huh? What do you mean it'd be a bad idea...what is this video anyways? XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero?" the Battleship asked as the Smol played the video clip.
Spoiler: WING ZERO

Bonus Rhythm Emotion track

The short video was really just a quick run down on the Wing Zero from the show but what it did show the scientifically inclined battleship was the power of the twin Buster Rifle. After the video ended she took a look at the Gundam in her hand and gently took the weapon out of it's hand and inspected it as well.

"Hey Gamby? What scale is this model kit?" Dakota asked in a neutral and even tone of voice as she held the tiny plastic rifle.

"Uh...it's 1/100th to the full scale thing. But why Dakota?" the escort carrier replied, unsure of why the battleship would ask that.

"I see...hm. If I could figure out a way to sufficiently power it I may be able to find a way to mount it onto your rigging as a powerful offensive weapon! If it's even 1% of the power of the ones in the show it will one-shot almost anything!"

At those words SmolFloof facepalmed while Gamby just sighed as she tilted her head to the side again.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Brushing her twin's still damp hair from their bath, Ume hummed a little in thought, "What style of hairstyle should we use, Sakura-Nee? Perhaps a Shimada?"

For a few moments, Sakura considered the option before humming, "No, I think that we should keep that for a festival." A light blush came to her mind as she imagined her and her sister walking with Harry through such an event, the teenage boy in a Yukata and a sheathed sword at his side as such was still allowed on the magical side of the world. A true samurai and his ladies... It would be even nicer as the amount of festivals that the two had gone to could be counted on one hand despite everything, "Hai, I think that we should keep it for a festival."

Lightly blushing herself as she saw the image in her sister's mind, her twin nodded, "Indeed." Tilting her head as she continued to brush Sakura's hair, Ume smiled, "Perhaps we should invite Harry-Chan for Tanabata in Kyoto? Or perhaps for a day or two of Gion Matsuri?"

The blush deepening slightly on her cheeks, Sakura smiled, "I think that I would like that." Closing her eyes in enjoyment as she felt the bristles of the brush lightly scratch her scalp, she hummed, "Perhaps we should have our usual hime cut."

Just nodding as she considered that, Ume smiled, "Agreed." Leaning in, she sniffed a bit and smiled even more, "I do like the shampoos and soaps that Harry-Chan made us. They do smell like the flowers we share names with."

Expression brightening, her twin opened her eyes, "Hai! And this 'Sleekezy' that he provided us works wonders in keeping hair straight. Though we shall have to only use it when absolutely needed." That got her a hum from Ume before she turned as her sister finished. Sakura then picked up the comb made for Ume specifically and watched as her sister turned, "And now it is your turn, Ume-Nee."

At that, the other half of their Installation nodded and closed her eyes in quiet enjoyment as her sister began to comb her hair, later to be brush it as a finisher.

Roughly an hour later found the Twins finishing their paperwork to leave before smiling as Kitakami-Maru took said papers. Checking it quickly, the small shipgirl smiled back at them, "I hope that both of you enjoy your time in Scotland."

Glancing at each other, they giggled a bit, "We will."

With a final nod, the two entered the Vanishing Cabinet and as per the last time, there was no sense of movement as they closed the door. But soon enough, the door clicked and opened to reveal another room and as per the usual procedure that they had been briefed on, the Twins walked to where they knew that the stairs were. As they did so, Sakura tilted her head to the side with a look that contained both nervousness and excitement, "Well... we're in Britain, Ume-Nee..."

Slowly nodding, her twin had a thoughtful look on her face though she also had nervousness and excitement, "Hai." Chewing her lip, she looked back at the Vanishing Cabinet, "Though I am surprised that Aki-Kun does not have one of the male members of our family escorting us like..."

Understanding what she was saying, Sakura nodded, "Hai, like it was back then."

Both girls could remember the previous time that they alive during the 1920s. Neither of them were allowed to leave the family residence without one of the older relatives, usually male, going along with them. At times it could be... stifling. Hence their surprise that when told about their trip to Hogwarts, their little brother had simply smiled and told them to enjoy it. Neither were quite sure what to make of it after all...

After a few moments, Ume nodded, "I... suppose that it makes a certain amount of sense now. Young women of our age go to school alone after all, and out with friends without an older relative." Her lips twitched a bit as she remembered something and clenched her hand, "And it is not like we have much to worry about being able to harm us under normal circumstances."

Head cocked to the side, her twin smiled a little, "That is true, Ume-Nee. Very, very true." Also looking at her hand, she blinked a little, "It is sometimes hard to think just how strong we are now. With our abilities now..." Softly smiling, Sakura shook her head, "We truly are lucky to know Harry-Chan that he went through such for us and gave us such a gift."

Only nodding, Ume hummed some as they reached the stairs, though she noted that the basement was very clean, "Hai, that is true." The thought of the young man, no boy, never boy in their minds, brought some heat to both of their cheeks. And they could feel their boilers which powered the installation that they represented burn slightly hotter, "Perhaps..."

Simply nodding, Sakura smiled, "Perhaps." The two shared a look and some giggles as they climbed the stairs. A sudden thought occurred to Sakura and she placed a finger on her chin, "Perhaps Aki-Kun did not ask for a escort as we have one of sorts."

Blinking, her twin tilted her head some, "What do you mean?"

With a glance at her, Sakura became thoughtful, "Nagato-Sama and Hoppou-Chan are both coming along, are they not? Though it will be another half hour yet before they arrive. Perhaps Aki-Kun believed that they would be enough of an escort?"

Just considering that for a few moments, Ume nodded, "Perhaps."

Upon reaching the stairs and walking up them, they followed the directions to the desk to report in to, only for them to blink. Eyes wide, Sakura felt her cheeks flush and knew much the same was happening with her twin as Harry stood there talking with the young British soldier behind the desk, "Harry-Chan...?"

Turning, his face lit up at seeing them, "Sakura-Chan! Ume-Chan!" Quickly making his way over, Harry pulled them into a hug, "Welcome to Britain."

Even as they returned the hug, the two girls blinked before furrowing their eyebrows. Confused, Ume looked at him, "Harry-Chan? What are you doing here?"

Rather than be insulted, Harry was more amused by the question and smiled at them, "What else? I figured that I would come and greet you on your first journey overseas." If anything, that made the two turn a bit redder in the face. Head tilted to the side, Harry blinked, "Poi?"

Lips twitching, the two shared a look before giving him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

It was shortly afterwards that the Twins completed their paperwork on this side of the Vanishing Cabinet and left with Harry. Though not before grasping his hands in their own as they walked outside. Exiting the house, the two looked around the English countryside curiously before they swallowed, which made Harry look at them, "Is something wrong?"

However, they shook their heads and smiled at him. Ume spoke for them both as they gave his hand a small squeeze, "No, Harry-Chan. It was just that this brings home the fact that we are not in Japan. Rather, we're in Britain now."

When he looked at her, Sakura nodded with a smile, "Hai, as Ume-Nee stated, it is now real to us. And this is... well, the furthest that either of us have ever travelled, I am afraid."

Giving their hands a squeeze back, Harry nodded, "Understood." Letting go of Sakura's hand, he pulled out a rope and held it up, "Right, well... this is the portkey to Hogwarts as a matter of fact. All we got to do is say the activation phrase and away we'll go..."

Shortly afterwards, the Twins grasped onto the rope and the thirteen year old spoke the activation phrase and they flew through a swirling vortex. On landing, Harry stumbled a bit as always, but the Twins did as well, nearly falling into him. Blushing, Ume and Sakura looked away as they steadied their feet, "Sorry about that, Harry-Chan."

Lightly blushing himself, Harry waved them off, "Don't worry about it, I'm not." Internally though, he had other thoughts, 'Thankfully, they're not mad at me... and it felt rather nice when they were pressed against me... Gah!' Proceeding to beat said thoughts using a chibi Harry with a giant spiked mace, outwardly the thirteen year old gave them both a smile and grasped their hands, "Anyways... just a bit of a walk to where the school is."

Finally, the Twins realized that they were not at the school, but rather on what looked like an old fashioned train platform. Eyebrows raising, they looked around in curiosity as Ume blinked, "Where are we, Harry-Chan?"

Chuckling, Harry smiled at them both, "We're on the platform for the Hogwarts Express as a matter of fact, Ume-Chan. This is where I get off the train at the start of the year and at the end of various holiday breaks and get back onto it at the start of holiday breaks and at the end of the year." Frowning a bit, he sighed, "Kind of wish that the train was here at the moment to show you."

Both girls gave him a smile before Sakura gently kissed him followed by Ume. Pulling back, they giggled a bit at Harry's stunned expression, "It is fine, Harry-Chan. Thank you anyways..."

Now snapping out of his stunned state, Harry cleared his throat a bit, "Um, right! So, if we'll walk this way..."

Soon, he was guiding them down a worn pathway with trees around it. Thankfully, it had not rained recently which meant that the path was dry and there was little chance of the girls getting their Kimonos wet or muddy. As they walked, the girls looked at the various flowers on the side of the path in interest. Often, they would bend down to examine them better before they would turn to Harry to ask the names of the flowers, which he answered easily.

Despite the time taken to walk along though, the three of them came into a sight of a bend in the path. Harry gave their hands a squeeze as he smiled, "Right around that bend is when you'll get your first view of Hogwarts. It's not nighttime, when all the lights are on, but..."

The Twins simply gave his hand a squeeze back and shook their heads, "That's fine, Harry-Chan."

Upon rounding the bend though, both of them gasped at the sight of the European Castle that laid on a small mountain across a dark, and deep lake. For several moments, the two just stared at the first magical school that they had truly seen before they turned to Harry. Kissing him on the opposite cheek of her sister, Sakura smiled at him, "Thank you, Harry-Chan. This... this means a lot to us."

Gently smiling, Harry just nodded, "I think that I know." Nodding his head towards the lake, he chuckled, "Anyways, we should get down to the shore of the Black Lake soon and head on across."

Reaching it, the three felt the gravel crunching under their shoes for Harry, and geta for the twins. Looking over his shoulder, Harry smiled at the awed looks of the Twins as they turned their heads and looked around. Around them, tall, dark Scottish ridges rose upwards, their tops with wisps of cloud clinging to them. When they turned to Harry, they recognized that his expression was asking them a question silently and they smiled, "This place... is amazing, Harry-Chan."

With a hum, Harry turned back to the castle, "Hai, it is." He then raised his wand with a slight nod, "Give me a moment and I'll call over one of the boats-" Feeing a hand on his arm though, the thirteen year old blinked in confusion, "Ume-Chan?"

Lips curling into a smile, Ume glanced at her sister who nodded back. Turning back to Harry, she shook her head, "Allow us, Harry-Chan." Letting go of Harry's hand, the two took a deep breath before they summoned their rigging around them. Ume then patted a spot between them, "Sit here, and we'll bring you across ourselves."

Chuckling, the teenage wizard shook his head in amusement but did as they asked. Shortly afterwards found them slowly being propelled across the water by the easy strides of the Twins. Seeing a large tentacle raise out of the water, Sakura stared at it in amazement, "Harry-Chan?"

Harry understood the question, and gave a small nod, "There's a giant squid that lives in the lake. Pretty friendly little fellow and often fishes people that fall in out and places them back on dry land."

The two former Hitobashira considered that for a few moments before nodding, though still slightly confused about it. They had heard of the creature of course, though not that it could live in fresh water. Granted, with magic, anything could be considered possible, so it did not bother them too much. Still, Hogwarts slowly rose up above them in the early morning sunlight, and the smiles of the Twins grew larger.

Finally, they stepped ashore and looked around in interest, with Harry getting off their rigging before dismissing it. Taking their hands, he nodded towards the castle, "Shall we?"

Both of them feeling a tingle of adventure, Sakura and Ume nodded as Harry slowly walked with them up the slope to the waiting main doors of the castle.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, I've got good news everyone! The next Select snippet is almost halfway done!


Hopefully, I'll be able to ride the rush of ending the arc all the way to the end relatively quickly, similar to what happened with the Tsubaki snippets (did those last few ever get cross-posted?). For the moment, though, I've had an idea kind of pushing up against the back of my mind for a while now, so I'm going to get get my silly on and move this out of the way as best I can so I can get back to all the other stuff I have piled up on my head at the moment.
-----

"Andy, there you are, I've been looking all… what are you doing?"

Mack's younger sister craned her head around to look up at him, pausing her video game. "What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked dryly. "I'm teaching Bob Jackson culture."

With a grating sigh, Mack folded his arms. "Okay, first off, hi Bob Jackson, I didn't know you were in the neighborhood—"

The skunk ape sitting next to Andy raised a hand and grunted in greeting.

"—second off, you said culture but that looks more like Street Fighter…"

"Like I said," Andy confirmed smugly.

"—and third off, you were supposed to be doing the floors right now."

"No, I wasn't," Andy protested, "that was Minnie's job, and she skipped out on it to go out on the town with Bella again. This is just like when you accuse me of getting into your DVDs and other stuff!"

Mack frowned, but decided to let that one go for a moment. "I was under the impression that you had agreed to take over the floors for her because of that."

"Did I? I'm not so sure."

Setting his teeth, Mack breathed in, out, slowly, five times. Pushing here and now would be counterproductive, so he would have to try again later, when she wasn't as engaged and set to lash out. "Have you seen Kat anywhere?" he asked.

"You mean you haven't tried the shed yet?" Andy snorted and restarted her game. Mack nodded to himself—the somewhat ramshackle structure in the back yard was the youngest Walker's favored haunt. He turned to walk towards the back door, then paused.

"By the way, Andy."

"What's that, Mack?"

The moment was over.

"I quit watching Wing halfway through because I got sick of jumping between narrative threads, and to this day prefer Seed."

Andy dropped her controller with a clatter, not even noticing as Chun-Li hit Bison with a devastating combo. "HERETIC!" she screeched.

"AH-HA!" Mack roared in reply.

"CRUD! FLEE, BOB JACKSON, FLEE!"

Bob Jackson threw his own controller aside. Grabbing Andy and tucking her under his arm, he charged through the door and out into the vacant lot next door. Mack looked balefully at the door, once again swaying dangerously on its lower hinge. "THAT'S COMING OUT OF YOUR ALLOWANCE!" he called after the two.

"SUCK IT!" Andy replied with a high-pitched cackle. Mack groaned and returned to going to check on Kat. He needed to go to the shed now anyway, since he needed to re-rehinge the door.
-----

Mack stared at the long, bulky thing that hung from the ceiling of the shed on bungee cords. "Kat," he said, looking down at the ten-year-old who was busy with a piece of rebar that—like many of the other materials located in the shed—had been salvaged from junkyards across the Florida west coast, "what exactly is this?"

Kat looked up from her project, and responded in her usual quiet monotone. "A potato cannon," she replied.

Mack gave the "potato cannon" a dubious look-over. It was long and had a hole in one end, so one might assume that that was the whole story. However, one could never be too sure with Kat. "A potato cannon?" he repeated.

"Yes, a potato canon, like I literally just told you," Kat said. That was the closest he had ever heard her come to sarcasm as best as Kat understood the concept.

"Can I see your blueprints?" His sister handed him a battered old binder, and he leafed through it. Finally, hands shaking lightly, he closed it.

"Kat, listen to me."

"Why?"

"This is not a potato cannon. You are trying to build a railgun."

Kat stared at him in confusion. "It's a potato cannon," she repeated.

"But it fires the potato with a metal payload inside it," Mack pointed out.

"I know that, that's what makes the potato go."

"That's also what makes it a railgun."

"But it shoots potatos."

"What's inside the potato is not a potato."

"The whole thing is intended to shoot a potato," Kat insisted, "and that makes it a potato cannon."

"It makes it a potato railgun," Mack offered a compromise before another thought occurred. "Which, I find myself wondering how you found cause to build."

Kat blinked her way through his words. She didn't frown exactly, but her eyes darkened slightly as she fit it together into 'why did you make the darn thing in the first place.'

"It's for nutrias," she explained.

Mack gaped. "What the heck is a nutria?"

"An invasive species. They're bad for the environment."

"I think that a potato railgun would be worse for the environment."

"Impossible. It was made to protect the environment, so it's good for the environment."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Mack handed the binder back to his younger sister. "Can you try to think of something that's less… drastic? And less likely to summon the police again?"

Kat looked down at her blueprints, then back up at her brother. "If you say so," she said—which, given the context, Mack would have to assume was grudging— "but if I can't, I'm going back to the potato cannon."

"No you're not," Mack said, and began fishing around for hinges… wait. All of a sudden, he was getting that feeling of doom. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Minnie's number.

"—my gosh, that's someone's car—" a harried voice answered, "Mack, hi! What are you calling for?"

"Oh, just thought that maybe I should check on my sisters," Mack replied, pulling a hinge from the large cardboard box that rested in the corner of the shed and swinging it back and forth agitatedly. Kat walked out of the shed to give careful consideration to a lower-key solution to the problem of invasive species.

"Oh, that's uh…" Minnie paused for a moment, and Mack thought he could hear her screaming at someone. "That's great, really. We're fine, everything's fine, Bella's just… having a really great time right now!"

"Millicent Walker, what is going on?" Mack demanded.
-----

Minnie lowered her phone, watching her older sister slam something vaguely human shaped against the ground with a loud bang. Others in various states of consciousness littered the ground around her.

"BABY BELUGA IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA!"

Bang!

"YOU SWIM SO WILD AND YOU SWIM SO FREE!"

Bang!

"If I said nothing, would you believe me?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

"Well… In that case, I don't even know," Minnie admitted, slouching against the wall with a sigh. "Bella just went kinda crazy—actually, wait. She got this drink—"

"Minnie. You are aware that, while Bella turned twenty last week, she is still technically underage."

"Not alcoholic!" Minnie shrieked. "Gosh, no! It was—"

"Excuse me, just what is going on here?"

"Hold on a second," she lowered her phone, placing her hand over it, and turning to face the taller woman who was glaring at the scene balefully. "Can I help you, Miss—"

"Astoria?"

Minnie blinked. "Who?" she repeated to… wait a second. "I saw you on TV! You're a Shipgirl!"

"Er, yes—" the woman replied. "But—no, we'll come back to that later. I'm Colorado. I mean—what is she doing?"

"RING RING RING RING RING, BANANAPHONE!"

Minnie shrugged. "I think those people challenged her to a fight or something. All I know is that she's never ever drinking Mountain Dew again."

Colorado nearly fell over herself laughing at the statement before she was able to reassure Minnie that the Abyssal cult she and her sister had stumbled across very much deserved their treatment.
-----

Well.

Fortunately, I have a few ideas for this one if it ends up growing out of control--maybe it'll end up like the Ushio snippets instead of the Select snippets. I alays had more energy for the former, for some reason.

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Courtship in Emerald (XII)

De Breuil Estate, Upstate New York

25 May, 1945
Spoiler: Jezabel De Breuil's Theme

A sharp gasp interrupted Delilah and Zamarad's embrace. The Ifrit turned her head from her love to see a gray haired woman in a black dress leaning on a hickory cane with the handle as a carved eagle feeding her fledgling. Green eyes surveyed her and her love in a face that still had traces of what would have been a luminous beauty in her long-vanished youth.
Spoiler: Jezabel's Cane

"Delilah! Thank God you are home at last!" Jézabel de Breuil cried out as she looked at her daughter standing in their home.

"Mère!" Delilah choked out as she untangled herself with Zamarad's help and dashed across the room to hug her mother, sobbing into her shoulder.

Zamarad gasped and cupped her hands together beneath her chin as she watched mother and daughter embrace. Fresh flaming tears trickled down her cheeks as she remembered the glowing warm green flame eyes and the soft whisper of her mother's voice.

After a few minutes of whispered conversation through their flowing tears, mother and daughter separated. The old lady then gave Zamarad a piercing stare that reminded the Ifrit of nothing so much as a desert eagle surveying a yearling ibex fawn.

"Zamarad aibnatu Alnaar, yes?" The voice was cool and controlled, and in a sudden spark of insight Zamarad realized that this was the voice of the stern but fair taskmistress that Delilah had based her entire personality and lifetime emphasis on self-control to please.

Zamarad curtsied as she had practiced under Lyra's tutelage, her hands finding the knee-length skirt of her emerald green half-shirtwaist short-sleeved dress. "Marhabaan, Jézabel de Breuil. I am she of whom you inquire." She said with banked warmth in her voice.

The green eyes narrowed as they observed her analytically, and then the elderly witch nodded sharply. "Come with me, then. Delilah, go ahead and unpack then meet us in the Blue Parlor with refreshments."

Zamarad swallowed slightly at the coolly commanding voice and followed the witch into the house. As Jézabel limped upstairs, Zamarad stepped forward. "Please, let me assist."

Jézabel gave her a cool look for a long moment and then nodded. With Zamarad's help they reached an upstairs parlor and Jézabel seated herself in a pink-uphostered hardwood armchair.
Spoiler: The Blue Parlor

Jézabel pointed to the couch, and as Zamarad sat, pulled a wand from her sleeve and began to scribe privacy wards. Finally, finishing her work, she returned the wand to her hiding spot and then clasped both hands on her cane. "I would know of you and your intentions toward my daughter."
Spoiler: A Chat With A De Breuil

Zamarad met the basilisk gaze with some difficulty and began to speak in a voice schooled to steadiness. "As you have been informed, I am one of the jinn, the spirits of Smokeless Fire." A nod answered her statement.

The Ifrit continued. "I am bound to the ring that Delilah now possesses. As she should have told you, she is seeking a way to break the enchantments binding my soul to it so I will have the free will to give her a decision without any influence over me..."

Jézabel raised her hand. "Clarify how this binding works. Delilah was somewhat vague as to the details and I would hear this from the genie's mouth, as it were." The last was said with a thin smile.

Zamarad frowned slightly, trying to explain. "My kind were created by God from marijin min na, fire without smoke or form before Adam was created. When God created humanity, some of us Fell by turning away from God's Law and Commandments to follow Iblis, the great deceiver who whispered to us that we were superior to humans." The Ifrit gestured, forming a series of figures of flame floating in midair between her hands.

As she spoke, the eyes of some of them turned pitch black and burned with a dark fire. "As punishment for our race's succumbing to Iblis's blandishments and to protect humanity from us if needed, humans were gifted the spells and incantations to fashion objects that are enchanted to bind us in servitude. This allowed the ones who fell, what we call Shayatan, to be sealed away in the desolate and secret places of the Earth by heroes among the humans aided by heroes among the jinn." Chains of fire shackled the black-eyed figures and threw them into a cage made of glowing metal.

Zamarad leaned forward as Delilah entered the parlor with a small tray containing a bottle of bourbon, three shot glasses, and a plate of gingersnap cookies. "However, since any of us can elect at any time to break God's Law and Fall, knowledge of the sealing was passed from magus to ruler, from wizard to scholar to sage." She sighed deeply as she continued, "Also, this knowledge of our weaknesses did not come with the wisdom to use it well. Some mages enslaved my kind, for the spells that were developed force me to perform any service the holder of my ring commands of me."

Delilah sighed and poured three shots of bourbon before taking a dozen gingersnaps and handing a plate of wood chips to Zamarad to snack on before sitting on the sofa next to her. "Yes, although that is very much a double edged sword. These orders must be obeyed to the letter of the command, not the spirit. And contrary to what the folk stories tell, any wishes must be performed by the jinn using her abilities. Order the jinn to say, acquire riches, and,she would rob a bank for the money, and deliberately lead the police to the owner. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Hence the double-edged nature of the bindings, since I can personally attest that once ownership of that ring passes to another... well." Delilah gave a vicious smile. "Zamarad is quite capable of burning the mage who enslaved her alive with a glance once I acquired the ring from him."

Zamarad punctuated the claim by looking at the shot glass in her hand with a razor-toothed smile of her own. With a whoosh the whiskey in it ignited with a blue flame that the Ifrit sipped as Jézabel tapped a finger against her cane in thought. "I see. Add in our moral repugnance to slavery in all its forms and... well." She opened her hand and made a throwing gesture at the couch where the younger women sat.

"Yes, Mère," Delilah agreed, "I have very strong romantic feelings toward Zamarad and want her answer unconstrained by any form of coercion, like this represents." She tapped the gold ring hanging from her necklace. "I remember very well your stories to me about the pitfalls of coercion and a lack of trust in interpersonal relationships. "

Jézabel's voice sounded from the fireplace. "Yes, my greatest mistake. It is nice to see a few of my lessons got hammered through your hard head."
Spoiler: Young Jézabel

Zamarad looked in that direction and her eyes widened at the portrait of a beautiful young woman in a blue dress who winked a familiar green eye back. "Of course such experience is hard-earned at best. Or so I have been told from my future self who confides in me."

Delilah leaned close and whispered to Zamarad. "That is Mère's debutante portrait from 1849, shortly before she met Father." The Ifrit nodded as she examined the magical portrait.

The elderly Jézabel nodded and sighed. "At least something took to have Delilah avoid the great mistake that I made with her father in 1855." The elderly witch pinned the Ifrit with her eyes. "How much do you truly know of my child, though?"

Delilah answered for Zamarad, "All of the secrets that I was free to divulge. She has met my half sister Colombe du Chasteler, knows the broad outlines about Father, and most pertinently, knows and accepts who and what I truly am. As for the rest, I am an Auror of the Magical Congress of the United States, true. I trust her Mère."

Jézabel locked her piercing stare with Delilah as a clock in the corner slowly ticked. Zamarad sat, sipping the flame as she wondered what to say.

Finally Jézabel sighed, closed her eyes, and pinched her nose. "So that's it then. I just hope that you are not making a mistake dear. And even if she is the one, this matter is going to be quite delicate. There are laws against 'unnatural relationships among women' on the books under sodomy and obscenity laws for the no-maj, and her family is from Arabia, so there is that too. Never mind her being a spirit for the Congress and Rappaport's Law. I don't even need to address the citizenship issue on either side of the divide as well, do I?"

Delilah rubbed her temples and spoke in a quiet voice. "I know. Believe me I have given this quite a bit of thought in the last three years. To the first, while I want to formalize a relationship if she will have me, it won't be public for decades at best and I'll just have to be very very careful, just like I am with my true nature to avoid blackmail or exposure until those laws can be repealed. Even then I will have to deal with interracial prejudice from some elements of society. I have already made some arrangements to have her on the ICW books as the pureblood orphaned daughter of an Algerian-French family who ran afoul of Grindelwald when Algeria was occupied and is therefore emigrating to America to start a new life. She even provided service against Grindelwald as an informant, so I can leverage that with the Congress perhaps. I wanted to get your advice before I determined to try for citizenship from the No-Maj's or a Resident Alien Witch permit from the Congress. Or both, perhaps, or neither."

Jézabel nodded along. "For now, keep her secret and keep it very quiet while I see which way the winds in New York City are blowing. At least she isn't the first and won't be the last war bride to come over here to establish herself. Once you check in on the paperwork backlog on your office desk, I recommend that you take her to your ranch house for a long vacation, dear. Keep a low profile and let me pull a few strings and have a few quiet chats with people in the Congress. If she wants No-Maj citizenship, then I shall make arrangements with the county clerk's office to enroll her for the classes to naturalize herself."

Delilah hugged Zamarad around the waist and leaned into her. "I will."

The Ifrit nodded. "I defer to your expertise, since I am unused to this."

Jézabel nodded slowly. "I would normally say that I'd have a bed made up for you in one of the guest rooms, but I suspect that you would sneak into Delilah's bedroom anyway. I'll assign you one when and if someone visits to keep the appearance of propriety up as we adopt a war orphan. I do want to speak further to you when time permits about your family, your history, and your kind since you are the first jinn I have met and what little English and French-language information we have about your kind is clearly incomplete at best."

Zamarad bowed her head and spoke formally. "Thank you for your hospitality, Jézabel de Breuil."

The portrait laughed, "Don't thank us just yet. Future-me is a spider spinning her webs and our daughter is her greatest apprentice. If you want to be a de Breuil, expect to prove your worth in our little games of intrigue and secrets as well."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As they entered the castle, the Twins looked around curiously. This early on a Saturday morning, there was almost no one awake besides the Staff and the odd Prefect heading to bed for a few hours now that six o'clock had come and passed. Up to a year ago, there would have been a chance of running into the poltergeist known as Peeves. After all, he would have been roaming the hallways and corridors looking for someone to torment and bother.

But now there was no chance of that happening.

So the school itself was generally quiet as most students slept. Holding Ume's and Sakura's hands, Harry gave them both a smile, "What do you think?"

Looking around and taking note of the stone walls and arches above, as well as the ceiling of the hallways they were in, the two former Hitobashira nodded slowly, "It is different from a Japanese castle."

When she turned to Harry, Ume smiled a bit, "Though we are a bit surprised about how nice it is. We..." A light blush appeared on her cheeks, "We were under the understanding that most European castles are dark, cold, and damp..."

Lightly laughing, Harry shook his head in amusement, "Most of Hogwarts isn't like that. Maybe parts of the dungeons, of course, but for the most part it is brightly lit." Scratching his chin, he shrugged a little, "Though it gets cold in here in winter at times. The climate has more in common with... northern Hokkaido than most of Japan."

The Twins simply accepted that as they continued to walk and look around. Granted, they were unsure about doing so in their outdoor shoes, but accepted it for now. Spotting something, Ume pointed, "Harry-Chan, is that European Knight armour?"

Glancing in the same direction, he nodded, "Hai, want to take a closer look?" At her nod, they made their way over and Harry watched as the Twins examined it more closely and with curiosity on their faces, "Rather different than Samurai armour."

Just nodding, Sakura frowned in thought, "Hai, it is." Looking at Harry, she had a small smile on her face, "We have a few suits of Samurai armour on display in our family home, Harry-Chan. If you ever come to see it, we would enjoy showing you such."

Getting a nod in return, she went back to examining the strange, to her, form of armour.

Eventually though, the two sisters decided to continue their tour as they walked along. Noticing a bit of mistiness in their eyes, Harry frowned, "Ume-Chan? Sakura-Chan? Are you... alright?"

Wiping at their eyes, they nodded before smiling at him softly. Part of Harry noted that their eyes seemed to glow before they spoke, "Sorry about that, Harry-Chan. We're not sad but..."

An understanding expression crossed Harry's face and he gave their hands a squeeze, "You're happy. Hence they're happy tears, not sad ones."

Simply nodding though, they paused and considered. Finally, after a few seconds passed, Sakura shook her head, "Well, a little bit of sadness, I suppose." Not looking at Harry, she examined their surroundings, "For most of our lives, we dreamed of one day seeing a magical school. Being Squibs, it... hurt when we realized the truth, that we would never see one. Such things were forbidden to us. Things changed for us as well due to not having magic. But still... we dreamed of coming to one, of being able to even see such a school." Turning, there was a tear at the corner of her eye, "So being here, in an actual magic school. It... it's a dream come true for the both of us."

His expression softening still further, if it was possible, Harry squeezed her hand before pulling first her and then her sister into a hug. Both girls tightly hugged him back as they buried their faces in his neck. Nuzzling them, Harry sighed a bit, "Then this is one dream that I am glad to make come true."

Pulling back a bit, first Ume and then Sakura gently kissed him before they went back to hugging him, "Thank you."

None of them moved from there for several minutes, just hugging each other. When they finally pulled apart, they still held hands with Harry smiling, "Well, we got some time before breakfast. And I'll show you around after the game as well." Both girls perked up at that and nodded, thus the teenage wizard continued to show them around the school.

Which, of course, included some of the secret passages, which left the two girls in giggles at the idea of such.

Much to their confusion though, they found themselves outside of a girl's washroom. Tilting her head to the side, Ume gave him a confused look, "Harry-Chan? What are we doing before a girl's washroom?"

Grinning, Harry pushed open the door, "I want you to meet someone." Despite their own confusion and somewhat dismay, they followed him into the washroom only to blink as he cleared his throat, "Aunt Myrtle? I got some people for you meet!"

To their great surprise, a ghost of a girl only slightly younger than they were appeared from a stall, "You do?" Spotting the two, the ghost smiled at them, "Well, hello there. I'm Myrtle Warren, and you are?"

Quickly bowing, the Twins smiled, "We are Konohana Ume and Sakura, Warren-San." A chuckle made them look up as Myrtle smiled at them, "Is... is something funny?"

Not bothered at all, Myrtle waved them off, "No, no, just thinking that it is a bit surprising to see someone bow to me, of all people."

Despite their curious looks, however, Myrtle said nothing more. The Twins decided to shelve any questions for later, however. Instead, Ume asked the one on their mind, "Myrtle-San? Are you actually Harry-Chan's Aunt?"

Bemused, the ghost glanced at the wizard in question before shaking her head, "Not quite, unfortunately. But his Great-Uncle and myself, well... we were close." Her cheeks shone a bit more silver, "My Andrew and myself, if I had not been murdered... we very likely would have gotten together."

Reaching over, the Twins took her hands in their own, "We understand."

From looking in their eyes, the eternal teenager could tell that they were being truthful and nodded. After a few seconds, she sat down in midair with a smile, "Leaving that aside, I do recognize your names. Harry spoke well of you..."

The next fifteen minutes passed with them chatting as Harry looked on with a smile. Myrtle seemed rather happy and pleased about meeting them and, when asked, he explained that he had not brought her before because of the situation of the Caldera. After a quick explanation, she had agreed as had the Twins.

Once they were done though, Harry opened the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Peering down the dark tunnel, Ume and Sakura stared for a few moments before looking at Harry, "Did you actually go down there, Harry-Chan? With a monster snake being in there as well?"

Grimacing, the thirteen year old wizard nodded, "Hai, but trust me... I didn't want to be down there."

With a glance at the tunnel, and the darkness that they could feel slowly rising from it, the Twins simple nodded.

Harry did glance at them when they breathed a sigh of relief though with a slight frown on his face. But they just waved him off and he shrugged before leading them to the Great Hall. As soon as they entered, the Twins had wide eyes and their mouths fell open some, "This is..."

Rather amused at their reactions, the black haired wizard chuckled, "I know, right?" Looking up at the ceiling, he smiled, "The ceiling is enchanted to show the sky outside. And to a certain height as well so you can see rain drops as well as snow falling, but vanishing about fifteen feet up. Apparently some homes will have a room like this."

Now intrigued by the idea, Sakura glanced at her sister, "That... could be interesting. Imagine a tea room with such a charm on it, Ume-Nee. One could have tea outside in what seems to be the middle of winter without worry of the cold or weather."

Also interested and thoughtful, Ume nodded, "Hai. Perhaps ask Aki-Kun about it?" Getting a nod, they turned to Harry who smiled before gesturing at the room around them, "Where do you sit, Harry-Chan?"

Just chuckling, Harry gestured at the Gryffindor table, "Right over there as a matter of fact." As they began to walk towards it, he pointed at the other tables, "Over there is the Ravenclaw Table, and beside it is the Hufflepuff Table. At the other side of the Great Hall is the Slytherin Table." At their looks, the teenage wizard shrugged, "The other two Houses sit between us because we have a long, and often vicious rivalry with one another. Best to keep us apart just in case."

Slowly, the Twins nodded at that before they remembered something, "Is it true that some Families and Clans often go into a single House?" Upon seeing his surprise, they blushed, "When we were... younger..." Harry nodded as they meant before they became Hitobashira, "We used to read a book that contained information about other magical Schools in the world. There was not much and some of it was... odd, but it mentioned that certain families often wound up in the same House generation after generation, thus causing rivalries between clans."

While surprised, Harry gave them a nod, "That's true to some extent as some families wind up in the same Houses. The Blacks, the Malfoy, and Greengrass Families often end up in Slytherin. Bones, Abbot, and Smiths in Hufflepuff. Then you have the Davis and Lovegood in Ravenclaw." He then gesture at his table, "Meanwhile, you often have the Potters, Weasleys, and Longbottoms in Gryffindor. But not always... my Great-Great grandfather, Ian Potter, was in Slytherin for example and some of my other ancestors have been in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw." Scratching his chin, the thirteen year old frowned, "Some families have issues if members get sorted into other Houses. But... mine has never really cared all that much when one gets down to it. And often just used that to pool experiences as each House is focused on a particular attribute."

As they sat down on either side of him, the two sisters listened intently as he talked about the Houses and such. He also talked some about how the Houses affected alliances between different families and such that he learned from family journals. When Harry was finished with one part, Sakura frowned in thought, "So... your family over the years has often kept an eye out for No-Maj Born and Halfbloods who are talented? And often buying into projects and businesses that they might start up?"

Humming, Harry gave a nod, "Hai, that is about it. While we don't often get involved with big businesses, we still have some holdings in smaller ones. And some have been very successful over the years."

Shortly afterwards, however, they found that people had begun drifting in and some of them were giving the Twins curious looks. Not that the two sisters cared much, since they believed it was because of their clothing that such looks were given to them. The three were joined after a little while by Hermione, Ron, and Neville, all three of whom sat either beside the Twins or across from Harry.

Dean suddenly sat down across from him and beside Neville before looking at first Ume and then Sakura who were happily enjoying some pancakes as well as bacon and eggs. Just shaking his head, he chuckled some, "How do you do it, Mate? I mean, really?"

Confused, Harry looked up from where he had placed some eggs onto a piece of toast, "What do you mean, Dean? Do what?"

Amused, the thirteen year old black boy gestured at Ume and Sakura who cocked their heads in confusion, "Twins, Mate. Two pairs of Twins!" Throwing up his hands into the air, he shook his head, "Seriously, what's your secret? You got to share it with us mere mortals!"

Not quite sure what he was talking about, though he had his suspicions, Harry frowned and narrowed his eyes. After a few moments though, he shrugged and went back to eating, "Not a clue what you're talking about, Dean."

Having their own suspicions, Ume and Sakura frowned at him before following Harry's example and going back to eating. Simply ignoring Dean's good natured muttering, the Twins turned to Harry and furrowed their eyebrows at what they saw him eating, "Shouldn't you eat more, Harry-Chan? You might need the energy."

With a blink, Harry paused in his taking a bite of his eggs on toast before chewing and swallowing. He followed it up by taking a drink of apple juice and then looked at each Twin, "Actually? This will give me enough to get through the game. Besides which, I don't want to eat too much and then get sick while seeking. And a full stomach is bad for that."

Considering that, the two former Hitobashira simply nodded as it did make sense.

Before long though, Nagato and Hoppou appeared, with the small Abyssal running towards him, "Po! We're here, Big Brother!"

Lips curling into a smile as she jumped into his lap, Harry shook his head before giving her a hug, "Yes, you are." Seeing Nagato come to a stop behind him, he twisted to give her a hug, "Good morning, Mum."

Softly smiling, the Battleship hugged him back, "And a good morning to you as well." Taking a seat beside Hermione, she began to pile food onto her plate, "So, excited for the last game of the year?"

Unable to help himself, the thirteen year old laughed, "You bet, Mum! We're going to get the Cup this year, I know it!"

Only nodding, Nagato gave him a smirk, "Of course, you are one of the Prides of the Big Seven after all."

That only got her a smirk and sharp nod back. Meanwhile, Ume and Sakura noticed that suddenly, Harry started to put food onto his plate. Something that confused them considering his early talk. That was, of course, until they noticed that Hoppou was grabbing some of said food. Him complaining about her stealing his food and her reply that he chose the best food for her tummy, combined with the wink Harry shot them, made the Twins giggle madly as they figured out what was going on.

 

[darthcourt10]

SkyeFire

Yellowhammer said:
Well to be fair, long before she needs to get to that point she will probably get into the shipbuilding business at Ron's direction. Or her shades and imps will mutiny after being commanded to get the whole base cleaned up to the point that her Yardmaster can eat off any flat surface on the premises.​

"Roight, then, gentlemen, let's bring this meeting to order, shall we? The issue of the day, as I'm sure we all know: the Boss Lady is driving our personnel bloody starkers trying to bring the entire base up to the same level of cleanliness as the YardMaster's office!"

"By Jove, you can say that again, guv! My groundskeepers are about to lose their sanity -- even the best cricket pitch can't be that tidy. Grass just doesn't work that way!"

"And my airfield! If I polish the runways any shinier, the planes that we're supposed to get eventually will just slide off when they land!"

"I must admit, the shipyard contingent has similar troubles. Now, I would never suggest that it's possible to perform too much brass polishing, but... just yesterday, I came across a major pipe junction whose bolts had been polished to the point that they're now circular, rather than hexagonal!"

""Hear, hear!"" from around the room.

"Now, the Lady is our commander, by word of God and the First Sea Lord, but there's no denying that she's gotten just a bit silly over all this. Now, that's no criticism of her, we all know full well why she's acting this way, but pending the arrival or training-up of a full Admin staff, it's up to us poor sods, as the senior existing department heads, to find some way to... shall we say, divert the Lady's energies into something more productive, and less... apple-polishing?"

"But what, though? Couldn't we get the YardMaster to distract her, somehow? He started all this after all -- not that I'm complaining, this all needed doing! But now, well... we've gone past the point of diminishing returns, and I think the only person who can divert the Lady's obsessive streak will be him."

"A veritable touch, that! Hmmm... well, we've these graving docks, foundries, and machine shops just lying idle. What say we put them to use, eh wot?"

"But how? Without a proper Admin staff--"

"Pish posh! Obviously we'll not be starting any battleships or carriers, but we need to get the yard dogs actual hands-on experience just as badly as we need an Admin staff! And some small craft, perhaps some Yard auxiliaries, would be just the ticket! Things we can afford to make mistakes on, take our time, and re-learn our craft by doing. Sooner better than later, because the war's not going to wait for us -- by the time the YardMaster and the Lady need us to start turning out capital ships by the flotilla, we need to be ready!"

""Hear, hear!""

"Capital plan, old chap, simply capital! However, I see one small flaw."

"Eh? Well, out with it, man!"

"How do we get word to the YardMaster? If the Lady realizes we're trying to 'bother' him, she'll put us all on lockdown. We all know how she feels about 'troubling' the Master. Silly of her, of course, but the First Lord knows, our poor lass has earned a bit of silliness."

"Hm, yes, you're quite correct. This will require... subtlety. Which means... Marine Contingent Commander? Call in the Gurkhas."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"Uh, Mate? Mind if we talk for a minute?"

Blinking, Harry finished his meal as he turned away from watching as Sakura worked her way through a plate of muffins to see Ron with a slight frown on his face, "You want to talk for a minute?"

The red head looked away from where he was looking at Ume with his eyebrows furrowed, "Uh, yeah..." Ron then jerked his thumb towards an area of the Great Hall, "Just for a minute or two."

Simply smiling, Harry picked up Hoppou who looked at him curiously with a sausage half in her mouth. Patting her on the head, he nodded, "I'll be right back." The small Abyssal just nodded and went back to munching as Harry walked over to where Ron had gestured. Reaching it, he cocked his head to the side, "What's wrong, Ron?"

Glancing back at the former Hitobashira, Ron frowned, "Mate, can I ask what is going on?" At the raised eyebrow, he continued, "Ume? Sakura? Weren't those the two that you mentioned being Hitobashy thingies? Though..." Narrowing his eyes, the red haired wizard frowned, "You never mentioned where."

Much to his surprise, Harry's face went completely and utterly blank for all the emotions it showed. Then, he leaned in towards his friends, "Ron, you're a friend. So know it when I say that I can't talk about it. All you need to know is that they are free to live their lives again, this time how they choose. Nothing more... and nothing less."

Frown still on his face, for a few seconds Ron considered asking. He was damn curious after all. But one look at Harry's face made him sigh, "Fine, Mate. But one day I want to know the truth."

Almost like a switch had been flipped, Harry was all smiles again and gave him a nod, "Of course. One day we'll sit down and I'll explain everything. That you can be sure of."

Lips curling into a smile, the fourteen year old wizard held his hand out to the thirteen year old wizard. Harry reaches out and grasped it and they shook on it, "I'll hold you to that, Harry. You understand, right?"

Chuckling, Harry gave a nod of his own, "I do, you don't need to worry any."

With that, the two walked back to their table, though the thirteen year old wizard noted that his adoptive mother gave him a slight nod, one that he returned. As he sat down with Hoppou leaping back into his lap, however, Ume turned to him, "Harry-Chan? Was something wrong?"

Softly smiling, Harry shook his head as he took a sip of apple juice, "No, Ron just wanted to ask me about something is all."

Even though it was obvious that she knew there was more to it than that, Ume kept her silence. Moments later though, throats being cleared made them turn to find Fred and George there with grins. Looking at his brother, George's grin widened, "Well, what do we have here, Forge? It looks like Ickle Harry-Kins..."

Fred finished for him, "Has himself a pair of twins? Why yes, it does seem so, dear brother. Though..."

With a hum, George nodded, "We wonder where he found such fine specimens? So very true."

Meeting their gaze with raised eyebrows, Ume and Sakura blinked before smirking slightly. Chuckling, Ume glanced at her twin, "Where did Harry-Chan..."

Sakura finished off, "Find us? Why it was..."

"At a certain place in Japan..."

"You see. But Harry-Chan is..."

"A very close and personal..."

With a small nod, Ume finished, "Friend."

The former Hitobashira nodded some with a smile before speaking at the same time with a stereo effect, "Of course, speaking together is much harder to do than apart as one needs to match pitch and time. Finishing each other's sentences is easy, speaking as one is hard."

For a few moments there was silence before Fred and George laughed as Ume and Sakura giggled. All Harry did was though was shake his head in amusement, 'Somehow, I feel that things will get very confusing for people.'

Everyone else besides Nagato and Hoppou just sighed as the two sets of Twins talked.

Shortly afterwards, the group was heading up to the Quidditch Stadium with the Konohana Twins holding Harry's hands as they approached it. Glancing at it, he turned his attention to the two girls, "What do you think?"

Brightly smiling as they took it in, there was a definite sparkle to their eyes as they looked at him, "Amazing, Harry-Chan." Giving his hands a squeeze, they sighed, "Our first Quidditch game."

Just squeezing their hands back, he smiled, "Hopefully you'll enjoy it."

Lips twitching, the two girls giggled as Sakura spoke for them both, "I think that we will." Head tilted to the side, she hummed, "It is against Slytherin, is it not?"

Chuckling, Harry gave a nod, "Hai, it is as a matter of fact. So it should be... exciting."

From where she was skipping along beside him, Hoppou snorted, "Hoppou is just glad that Regina is not here. Because Regina would really enjoy this."

A little confused at what she meant, the thirteen year old wizard shrugged it off. Probably not all that important anyways... It was then that they reached the doors for the stadium and Harry let go of the Twins' hands, "Well, I need to get going and get changed for the game. Hopefully you'll find a good spot."

Nagato crossed her arms over her chest with a small smile, "I'm sure that we will, Harry." Reaching over, she gave him a hug, "You enjoy yourself out there and have fun."

Grinning in return, Harry chuckled, "You can bet on that, Mum." Accepting a hug from Hoppou, he turned to the Twins who smiled at him, "Ume-Chan? Sakura-Chan? What-"

He was cut off as the two hugged him before kissing him on the cheek. Pulling back, they smiled, "For good luck."

Unable to help himself, Harry laughed as he grinned almost wide enough to hurt, "Now I'm sure to win."

Lightly blushing themselves, Ume and Sakura watched as he waved to them and left for the changing room before following Nagato and Hoppou. It did not take them very long to reach the seating area for the Gryffindor section. One thing that they noted though was the number of "Smols" also there in their own corner. Some of them munching on chocolates and the like.

Even as they watched, Minagato broke a piece of chocolate bar in half and gave part of it to a small fairy, Alli with said small being kissing the Smol's cheek before cuddling into her.

Somewhat amused, the two turned away and looked out towards the Quidditch field. Out of the corner of her eye, Nagato noticed and smiled as they seemed to almost vibrate, "Excited?"

Quickly nodding, the two shyly smiled with Ume answering for them both, "This is our first real Quidditch game." Chewing her lip, she shifted a bit, "Back before... our family didn't let us go to such for various reasons."

Having been seating himself in front of the group, Ron scowled, "Say what now?!" At their nods, he shook his head, "That is not right."

Both twins just shrugged at that, "It was just how it was."

Only continuing to shake his head and grumble, Ron didn't say much else. Short minutes later though, both Ume and Sakura cheered happily as Harry came striding out in his Quidditch uniform. Eyes wide, Sakura stared, "Harry-Chan looks quite good in that."

Watching as he shook Draco's hand before the two got on their brooms, Ume nodded, "Indeed!"

The two watched as Harry flew into the sky and the game began. Gasps were pulled from their lips every time they saw him dive into the fracas that was around the Chasers, or when he skimmed the ground at high speeds. Their eyes widened as they watched him perform aerial acrobatics as well as, in their mind, any Tengu or other creature born to the air. Both of them cringed each time as Bludgers nearly clipped him. Cheers erupted from them with each move he successfully pulled off as he hunted for the ever elusive Snitch. Hands smothered giggles and laughter at the commentary and antics of McGonagall and Lee.

Deep inside their chests, they could feel the boilers in their power plants rumble. An electrical feeling across their skin as they got caught up in the game before them. Silently, they begged him on as he played.

Perhaps it was not a professional game, but at that moment, for that time? Neither Sakura nor Ume cared. This was not just their first game, no, this was their first game watching the boy they cared so much about playing. And that was what was important.

Then, when that moment came that Harry dove for a speck of gold, the two former Hitobashira leaned forward, their fingers digging into the wood of the bench. Eyes wide, their lips moved, silently urging the thirteen year old Seeker. And when he caught it, when his hand closed shut around the small, golden ball and held it high...

Theirs were among the loudest of the cheering.

Ignoring Lee as he whooped in the commentator's box, shouting that Gryffindor had won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup, the Twins rushed down the stairs to the field alongside Gryffindors. Still cheering, they slammed into Harry and hugged him tightly as he cheered along with them. Neither cared what it looked like when they gave him a kiss on the cheek, but still, their smiles shone brightly. Because to them...

It was perfect for their first game.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking along, Harry looked at Ume and Sakura as the two looked this way and that as they made their way through the various corridors in the castle. A small smile on his face as they came to a stop in front of a window, he tilted his head some, "Hopefully you're enjoying the tour."

With a small giggle, Sakura nodded, "Hai, we are enjoying ourselves, Harry-Chan."

Beside her, Ume gestured with her free hand, "And how could we not, Harry-Chan? We're living a dream in that we are exploring a magical school."

Lips twitching, the thirteen year old nodded, "Good to know." He rapped his knuckles on the window three times before unlatching it and revealing that instead of outside, it lead into a tunnel. Letting go of their hands, Harry clambered up on the windowsill before helping them up. Once inside the tunnel, he closed the window behind them, "I'm glad that you are, it is sort of fun to show people around."

Glancing around the secret passage, the Twins smiled back. After a few moments, Ume turned to him, "While secret passages are not unknown to us, Harry-Chan, as some castles and mansions back in Japan had them, there does seem to be a lot of them."

Harry hummed at that in agreement as he summoned a ball of light, "There's a number of passages all throughout the school. Most students spend free time trying to find them all, you know? Sort of fun to do as well." Both teenage looking girls nodded, "I've found six myself besides the ones others know about. Mainly because the Smols have stumbled across them or Hedwig has heard of them from her fellow owls."

Finger pressed against her chin, Sakura frowned, "That does not explain though why there are so many..."

Just chuckling, Harry gave her a nod, "That's true, and there's all sorts of stories. Remember how I mentioned that the school was added to from the original keep?" At their nods, he continued, "Some of it dates back to then. Godric wanted the students safe, so he planned out routes to use throughout the school and out of it. Said routes could also be used if needed to get reinforcements to different places. Rowena also planned some as it let her cut to different sections of the school to seemingly appear from nowhere as did Helga. Salazar... had a number as well for his Basilisk. Most though were not built until the late 1200s under the then Headmaster, Richard Macalister."

Eyebrows raised, the Twins cocked their heads to the side, "Oh?"

With a hum, Harry gave a small shrug, "He was basically made Headmaster to get him out of the way of the Wizard's Council apparently on the account of being completely and utterly paranoid with him seeing enemies everywhere. As in, once he stabbed a roast chicken with a number of daggers because he believed a Leprechaun was hidden inside and planning to kill him."

Slowly, the two former Hitobashira blinked at that before glancing at each other. After a few seconds, they turned to an amused Harry, "And they thought it a good idea to have him watch over children?"

Voice drier than the Atacama Desert, Harry gave them a nod, "Hai, because while he was Headmaster, his Deputy did most of the work." Shaking his head, he chuckled, "To their surprise, he embarked on an expansion of the castle using funds from all over the place. Then, one stormy night... he vanished. His remains were found about a hundred years later."

Grimacing, Ume shook her head, "Poor man... so his enemies killed him that night." Of all the things she expected, a snort of amusement from Harry was not one of them, "Harry-Chan?"

Only shaking his head, the thirteen year old gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry about that, Ume-Chan, it's just... that was not the full story." At her interested look, he gave a small shrug, "See, the expansion to the castle also, secretly, included a large number of secret passages. Known only to him and a small group of workers... who all vanished. When they found him a hundred years later, he had been dead for a week." With a snort, Harry shook his head, "Turns out he had some sort of break and was hiding in the passages for about a hundred years, using them to get around the castle and steal food."

In reply, the two girls stared at him for a few moments before Sakura raised a finger, "He... hid in the castle... for a hundred years using the secret passages? And no one realized he was there?"

Chuckling, Harry nodded, "Hai, that is about what happened. Though people who caught glimpses of him thought that it was his ghost. And the house elves... well, no one ever asked them about it. So they simply never mentioned anything about him still being around."

Not saying anything, the Twins simply pinch their nose at what they just heard as they finish walking through the passageway and out from behind a tapestry.
Continuing their tour and chat, the conversation soon turned to other matters with Harry raising an eyebrow, "You liked the library?"

Softly smiling, Sakura nodded some, "When we were... younger, we often sought solace in the old stories and scrolls our family had. The Tale of Genji for example among others. Seeing it... reminded me greatly of it."

On Harry's other side, Ume nodded, "That is true, but I also liked the kitchens. While we did not have house elves back home, we did have a large kitchen where the servants would make food. It brought back... happy memories, of just watching them as they worked." Head tilted to the side, she smiled a bit, "Though the Owlery is not far off either."

More than a little curious, the thirteen year old wizard raised his eyebrows, "Oh? Why there?"

Both Twins shared a look before Ume gave a sigh, "Owls were not too common when we were younger, Harry-Chan. But other birds could be used. Our family had a small room in what amounted to a shed filled with various messenger birds. And it reminds me of that."

For a few moments, Sakura considered it before nodding, "That is true, Ume-Nee. It is similar to that." Soon after, they came upon the oddest tapestry yet that they had seen. Tilting her head to the side, Sakura frowned in confusion, "Are those strange creatures being taught... ballet?"

Just nodding, Harry had a bemused look as the wizard in the tapestry was currently being clubbed between dodging kicks, "Those are trolls, and yes, he's teaching them how to dance." At the look, he shook his head, "He was called Barnabas the Barmy for a pretty good reason." Frowning in thought, the teen wizard furrowed his eyebrows, "I think eventually he got killed when they stepped on him."

If there was a clock there, one could have heard it tick in the silence that enveloped the corridor.

Finally, Sakura gave the wizard in the tapestry an odd look, "We see..." Then she paused and considered things, "Though I suppose that it is slightly better than that legend about a group of Daidarabotchi trying to perform Kabuki."

That made Harry blink for a few moments as he considered what he just heard and tried to imagine it. But he eventually shook the thought off and let go of the hands of the two girls, "Wait here..." Much to their confusion, he began to walk back and forth a few times before a door appeared. Opening it, Harry gave them a grin as he gestured inside, "Welcome... to the Room of Requirement with it in its Room of Many Things mode."

Remembering what he had told them, the two girls stepped inside and their jaws dropped at just how many items there were there. Piles of furniture and the like stretched to the ceiling high above with various artifacts strewn still everywhere they looked. Some of their crews twitched a bit at the haphazard way everything was thrown around. Others, they could tell, were simply stunned.

Bemused, Harry watched them for a few moments before taking their hands, "This way, I'll show you my workshop." Just a few minutes later, they reached said spot. It was, more just a clear area, but the Twins could see several pieces of furniture as well as furniture polish and cleaner. There were also a few rags here and there, "Well?"

Eyes wide, the two stared at the various pieces of furniture that had been cleaned and, in some cases, restored. Walking up to a rocking chair made of mahogany, Sakura ran a finger along it. Part of her took note of the elaborate carvings of flowers in it, "It's beautiful..."

A short distance away, Ume nodded as she examined a full length mirror that had a silver inlay frame with a motif at the top of the Moon and red gemstones around the top, "Hai... these are beautiful..."

Unknown to them, the boy who brought them here had an amused look on his face, "Well... if you want them, you can have them." Seeing them jolt and then boggle at him, Harry grinned and gestured at them, "Remember the deal I have with the Headmaster? I can pretty much take what I want, so if you want them..."

Once more looking at the items in question, the two girls gulped before turning back to Harry, "Are... are you sure?"

Softly snorting, Harry shook his head, "Hai, I am. Besides which there's a few items that I'm going to give out anyways to people as gifts. Though that Wooton desk over there? I'm keeping... the second I'll give to Ooyodo-Oba, she would like it."

Confused, Sakura and Ume turned to the items in question and blinked as they looked like cabinets. Seeing that, Harry walked over and unlatched it, the doors swinging open and it unfolding outwards as the Twins' eyes widened, "Oh..."

Looking around at the items, Sakura made note of some of them in her mind. It was then that a thought occurred to her, "Is this where you found those... special cauldrons?"

Lips quirked upwards, Harry gave a nod, "Got it in one." Gaze turning distant, he hummed a little, "Though what I'm going to do with the money... well, maybe it would help with an idea that I had."

There was something about the tone of his voice, almost wistful which made the two girls interested. Walking over, Ume placed a hand on Harry's arm, "An idea you had, Harry-Chan? What sort of idea?"

Glancing at her, he smiled a bit in a way that caused her cheeks to heat up, "Well... it was an idea that I have been musing on for some time." With a small shrug, Harry continued, "Basically, a combination of a small school with a potions lab. Maybe attached greenhouses. A place where Potions Masters and Mistresses can teach those people who graduated and want to improve their knowledge of potions. And also give them a place to perform their research... In my mind I keep calling it, well... the Lily Potter Institute for Potions Studies and Research. Because my Mum, my birth Mum, was a Potions Mistress, you know? And I feel like it would honour her."

Expressions turning gentle, the two former Hitobashira hugged him, "That's a wonderful idea, Harry-Chan."

Hugging them back, Harry nodded, "Thanks. I mean, it's not much, you would need maybe ten at most students per Potions Master, but... it could help a lot of people. Not just in getting more Potions Masters and Mistresses trained, but also with them doing research."

With a small nod, Ume pulled back before cocking her head, "Which country though, Harry-Chan? Japan or Britain?"

Much to her confusion, Harry chuckled, "Actually? With the amount that I have, I could have a Branch in both." He hummed a little, "Maybe put the Japanese Branch on land near Shiromizu's mountain..."

The Twins just smiled and gave him another hug before they continued their conversation.

________________________________________________________________

Loud and raucous as well as energetic.

That was the best way to describe parties in Gryffindor. Some claimed that the House Motto, Gryffindors Charge Forward, meant not into battle but into parties. And, perhaps, there was something to it.

Especially now when the Gryffindors has cause to celebrate in getting the Quidditch Cup.

Sitting on a couch, Ume and Sakura watched with amusement at the party around them. Giggling a bit softly, Sakura turned to her sister, "Could you imagine how Haha-ue and Chichi-ue would react if they saw us now? And what we are involved in?"

A serious expression on her face, Sakura nodded, "Hai, I can imagine it." Slowly, she shook her head with a sigh as Ume nodded at her next words, "They would be so angry and disappointed in us. They might even threaten us with disownment."

Both of them managed to keep their straight faces for a minute...

Until they got evil grins on their faces and laughed at the image in their heads. Let there be said there was no loved lost between them and their parents, living and dead. It was as they were calming down, however, that they noticed that Harry came walking out of the crowd holding three frothy mugs, "Harry-Chan!"

Grinning, Harry gave a laugh as he walked over to them, "Well, I don't think that I need to ask if either of you are enjoying yourselves."

Brightly smiling at each other, the Twins turned back to him, "No, you don't." Looking at the mugs, the gestured at themselves, "Are those for us?"

Lightly chuckling, Harry gave a nod and held the hand that held two of the mugs out, "They most certainly are! Nice and cold Butterbeer."

Eyes practically sparkling, the two took the offered drinks. Looking at her own, Sakura had a small smile on her face as she mused a little, "You know, our parents would hate the fact that we're about to have such a drink. And would be quite displeased..."

Beside her, Ume nodded, "Oh yes, they would be quite angry." The two shared a grin at that before she moved aside a little and patted the spot between them, "Come and have a seat, Harry-Chan."

Only shaking his head, Harry did exactly that and found the two girls leaning against him. Watching as the two girls took a sip, their expressions lighting up, he chuckled, "Well?"

Smacking her lips some, Sakura hummed and looked at her own mug in thought, "It's... good. Somewhat like that dessert we tried... butterscotch pudding, I think they called it?"

With a hum as he took a sip of his own drink, the thirteen year old wizard nodded, "Hai, the taste is very much like butterscotch. Though they serve it hot or cold in this case."

Happily taking another sip and letting the taste brush over her tongue, Sakura looked around with a small smile, "Is it normally like this, Harry-Chan?"

Amused, Harry pulled his own mug away from his lips and nodded some, "Usually, yeah. When us Gryffindors have an excuse to, we party pretty bloody hard. And this one? Probably won't be done until early in the morning." At the looks of surprise, he laughed, "I just said we party hard."

Giving the matter some thought, the Twins nodded with bright smiles. Thus far, they were enjoying themselves at this party. It was far outside their experience, yes, but... they were having fun. As the night wore on, the two of them chatted with not just Harry, but the others. After what had to be their fifth mugs of Butterbeer, though it did not affect them, the Twins were looking out onto the dance floor in thought, "Hmm..."

Just blinking, Harry turned to them, "Is something wrong?"

Sakura gave Ume a glance and got a nod before she stood up alongside her sister. Then, she smiled a bit and held out a hand to Harry, "Harry-Chan? Could you... dance with us? Please?"

Wide eyed, the teenage wizard looked from one to the other as he thought it over. With a small nod, he got up and smiled, "Sure thing, Sakura-Chan. All three together or..."

Once more, the Twins looked at each other in silent communication before Ume answered this time, "First, together... and then separate."

At that, Harry nodded and took their hands before leading them out to the edge of the dance floor. Some of the other Gryffindors glanced at him, but most of them smiled. Those that didn't, rolled their eyes instead.

Gently, he placed his arms around their hips and they leaned into him with one arm each over his shoulder before they began to sway. Lips curled up into a smile, Harry tilted his head back some to meet their brown eyes which were practically glowing with happiness, "There we go."

If anything, the two's smiles grew before they leaned forward and placed their heads on his shoulders and closed their eyes as the threesome danced best that they could. Harry drawing on similar experiences with other girls and the Twins coordinating between them perfectly. Then, when that was done, Ume took a turn for a single dance with him as her sister stood to the side.

Feeling his hands on her hips, she smiled with a slight blush, "Thank you, Harry-Chan. You have no idea what this means to us, to be able to do this..." Her voice lowered a bit, "And we have you to thank for having this chance."

Not saying anything, Harry reached up and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. With a slow nod, he smiled back at her, "You're very welcome, Ume-Chan. But you don't need to thank me for that."

Giggles escaped her and she shook her head with her next words confusing him, "Never change, Harry-Chan... never change."

Deciding to just ignore it, Harry shrugged it off and continued to dance with her until it was Sakura's turn, the Twins switching out easily and smoothly. For her part, Sakura enjoyed it and simply leaned her head against his with a happy smile on her face. Neither of them telling him that this was their first real dance with a boy that they were not related to.

That would come later.