Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Pulling back from the kiss, Kiyohime gave a soft sigh before laying her forehead against Haku's. Fiery tears dripped down her cheeks before she opened her eyes which were filled with pure love and joy, "Haku-Kun..."

Just looking into her eyes in return, the eighteen year old man smiled, "Kiyohime." Glancing at the ring, now in what he considered it's proper place, Haku sheepishly smiled, "Hopefully you like it?"

Now looking at the ring itself, Kiyohime smiled even more as her eyes sparkled nearly as much as the blue diamond on the ring, "Hai..." Turning back to him, she nodded, "I do."

Giving her another kiss, Haku smiled, "Then I am glad."

For her part, Kiyohime shifted back to her more human-like form before hugging her boyfriend, and husband in both their hearts, "I never expected... or even hoped..."

Only holding her close, the young man shrugged, "Well, I have been planning it for some time..." At her look of confusion, he smirked, "I've been saving up for a ring since last year. Just the past few months have given me enough funds in order to actually buy the one that I wanted to."

Blushing, Kiyohime was unable to look him in the face, though she was smiling, "You... you've been planning on giving it to me for months? Really, Haku-Kun?"

Hand gently grasping her chin, Haku turned her head so that they were looking each other in the eye, "Hai. Because I want you as my wife, Kiyohime. And just telling you does not prove that like giving a ring."

Yet again, Kiyohime's eye was drawn to the sparkle of the stone and she felt tears well up once more. Inside her chest, she swore that her heart felt like it would explode from all the emotions that it held within it. Yes, Haku had told her almost every day since they had gotten together that he would marry her. And she had believed him, how could she not? But...

There was always that small voice in the back of her mind whispering to her, telling her that he could well be lying to her.

But she had never believed that voice, and instead believed Haku, her beloved Haku. The young man whose voice as a child had reached her in that dark place in the depths of the Hidaka River. A young man who as a child, had given her kindness and happiness. There was one person in this cold, cruel world that cared for her.

A young man who since they had gotten together had become even more special. Who had shown her love and care every day that they spent together. And who she fell more and more in love with each day. Someone who had smiled at her and she had smiled back to. A person who did not care what she looked like... or her past.

With that thought, the tears once more came to Kiyohime's eyes. But these were not the happy tears of before, and her voice was hoarse with emotion as she spoke, "Haku-Kun... why? Why?"

Eyebrow raised, Haku gave her a look, "Because I love you."

Despite those words filling her with warmth, she shook her head, "That... I know that you say that, and I believe it, I do! But..." Taking a deep breath, Kiyohime continued, "B-but... I am not pure, Haku-Kun. Not anymore."

Frowning, Haku gave her a look, "I don't care."

Just sniffling, Kiyohime gave him a watery smile, though there was sadness there, "But why? Why do you not care? I... I am not taking about being a monster, a demon... A honnari Hannya."

It took only moments for the young man to piece it together, "Anchin."

Slowly, Kiyohime nodded before speaking in a near whisper, "Anchin..."

Gently stroking her hair, Haku shook his head, "I don't care about him, Kiyohime. Except for hating him because he hurt you. That's all he is worth in my book."

Burying her face in his chest, the Demoness shook her head, "B-but..." With a deep breath, she sniffled a bit, "For years... he told me that he was going to marry me. If I was a good and virtuous girl. T-two years before... I was a young woman. He had told me that he would marry me and later, he... he asked to meet me in his room, and I did. And each n-night that he stayed at our home. O-otou-San was so angry when he caught us, he was enraged at Anchin and demanded that he make it right. That he would be marrying me."

Still stroking her hair, Haku nodded. After all, he had been told this story before, "And Anchin told both you and your father that as soon as he returned from his pilgramage, he would do so."

Only nodding, Kiyohime was silent for a few moments before speaking, "Hai. Otou-San let him go because... it would look bad if he kept him there. B-but then, he never returned when he was supposed to. And... and it was horrible. Everyone in the village knew what had happened and I..." Shaking her head, she swallowed, "I chased after him and caught up with him. I had to because... B-but he pretended not to recognize me and tried to escape. Until I cornered him. And that... that was when he told me that he was a Monk. Thus, to reach enlightenment, he had decided to cast off such earthly desires such as that which was between us. And so we could not be wed. He... he did not care how it would affect me. I was about t-t-to... when he cast a spell. A sacred spell that caused me to freeze in divine light, stunning me long enough for him to run the rest the way to the ferry."

Grimacing, Haku sighed, "And he paid the ferryman not to take you across. With him bowing to you from across the river stating that he was sorry, but him being a Monk came first before you jumped into the river and transformed."

Eyes closed, the Demoness of the Hidaka nodded, "I was just... just so angry. It felt like I was burning alive from the inside from the anger and the hate. How dare he... how dare he do what he did and decide that his reputation was more important. Did he not care how it would affect my Otou-San? My family? Me?" A thin smile crossed Kiyohime's face, "When he saw me transform, the flames burning away my humanity, I saw him get scared and he ran for the temple. The rest..."

Just nodding, the eighteen year old sighed, "I already know." Looking down at her, Haku smiled, "And once more, I do not care. He brought it upon himself for both what he did that night and ones afterwards."

Looking down, Kiyohime swallowed, "But I am not pure, Haku-Kun. How... how can you want me for a wife when I have been sullied..."

A hand gently lifted her face up to where she could see Haku smiling at her, "You are not sullied, Kiyohime. You could never be sullied." Thumb wiping away the fiery tears that dripped down her cheeks, he kissed her, "I do not care what happened between the two of you. To me, you are the woman that I love, no matter what."

If before, she was crying, now Kiyohime was nearly outright sobbing, "Haku-Kun..." Grabbing him tightly, she held on as her eyes closed, "Haku-Kun... thank you... thank you..."

With gentleness, Haku kissed the top of her head, "You don't need to thank me, Kiyohime. I love you, and nothing is going to change that. Nothing at all."

Simply nodding, Kiyohime smiled brightly before kissing him back, "Hai."

That night, Haku was laying on their shared futon and looking up at the ceiling. Part of his mind had gone over what had happened earlier. It went without saying that the young adult was over the Moon. Despite all the worries and self-doubt, Kiyohime had said yes. She had said yes! Just that fact made him smile brightly, even though he was saddened by the fact that she still suffered some self-doubts. Not that she loved him and vice versa, but that she was worth it.

Not, for the first time, did Haku curse a certain monk.

His thoughts though were pulled from such matters as a happy Kiyohime walked into their bedroom, the ring on her finger sparkling in the light. Just as happy himself, Haku smiled back at her, though he blushed a bit at the fact that she was once more wearing one of his shirts, "Ready for bed, Kiyohime?"

Just humming, Kiyohime nodded before turning out the light. As usual, one of the few sources of illumination came from the dragoness' eyes, which softly glowed in the darkness, "Hai."

Slipping into their futon, she waited until Haku brought the blanket up to cover them both before sighing. Eyebrow raised, the eighteen year old gave her a look, "Something wrong, Kiyohime?"

With a blink, she looked up at him, "No, just... wondering if this is a dream."

Lips curling into a smile, Haku gave her a kiss on her forehead, "If it is, than it is our dream, Kiyohime. One that we both will adore." Head tilted to the side, Kiyohime smiled suddenly and shifted so that she was astride him. Nearly automatically, Haku's hands went to her toned legs and gently grasped them, "Hmm?"

Bringing up her hands and cupping his cheeks, Kiyohime smiled, "Haku-Kun." She leaned down and claimed his lips for her own before deepening the kiss, 'Haku-Kun...'

One of her hands left his cheek though and reached back for his own hands, and grasped one of them. A hand that she used her own to shift up her leg, a shiver running through her as his rough palm glided across toned muscle covered in soft skin until it reached the destination in mind. A destination that made Haku pull out of the kiss with a surprised look, "Kiyohime?"

Part of him knew that if he could see better in the darkness, the dragoness' face likely was lit up in an atomic blush even as he felt a firmness under his hand. But he didn't do anything, simply wait for her to answer him, which she did in a soft whisper, "Haku-Kun, please... you are my husband now, and I am your wife. I... I want more, but..."

A small smile appeared on his face, "But not too far."

To that, Kiyohime smiled and even in the low light, he could see it, "Hai, but far enough." Grasping his other hand, she moved it to her front, "Please..." When she let got, Kiyohime's hand lightly scratched his chest, "Please..."

Seeing her eyes glowing and the pupils slit, Haku gave a squeeze which made Kiyohime sigh. His lips close enough to feel her breath on them, he smiled, "Kiyohime..."

In reply, Kiyohime reached up and grasped the back of his head before kissing him, and doing so hard and deepening it right away.

While they did not consummate their marriage that night, that did not mean that they did not enjoy what they did. Quite the opposite in fact. And that morning, when they woke up, the two smiled happily at each other.

Because that was all they needed in the end, each other.

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Weasley's Warship Workshop 7

Jean-Bart stood at the main gate of the arsenal de Toulon, waiting for Ron to appear. With Toulon being the largest naval base for the Marine Nationale even after the affects of Blood Week and a shift of forces towards the Atlantic, there was plenty of traffic and she was glad her bike allowed her to lean against it while she waited. She got a few looks from passers by but she ignored them, the guards at least were familiar with her and that was all she cared about.

It was only a couple minutes after the designated meeting time when she saw a red haired boy walking towards her hand in hand with another red haired man. They were clearly related, most likely making the man Ron's father. Since Ron was only thirteen she should have realized somebody was coming with him and she shook her head. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much fuss from the man.

To her surprise, the man stopped once Ron pointed her out and nodded to the boy. There was a brief moment where the two hugged and then Ron was jogging over to her. The man saw her looking and gave her a brief wave, which she returned in acknowledgment. Then her eyes went back to the redheaded boy after a brief glance to the guards, who were busy enough with the auto traffic at the gate.

"Sorry I'm late." Ron said as he approached, the boy not out of breath from his short jog. "It's dad's first time here too so we had to take it slow."

Checking her internal chronometer, it was only 12:05 so Jean-Bart shook her head.

"It's not a problem, you aren't that late." Reaching behind her she pulled out a helmet, small enough to fit on his head or so she hoped. "Put this on, we're going for a bit of a drive."

Ron took the helmet and looked at it curiously for a moment before managing to slip it over his head and get the strap attached correctly after only a couple tries. Looking up at her he glanced towards her head.

"Where's yours?"

"I do not need one because I am a battleship." She said before rapping him on the helmet lightly. "Underneath this you are soft and squishy."

Turning, she clambered onto the bike, starting it up and feeling the familiar rumble of the engine.

"Your father isn't going to be upset about you getting on a motorcycle is he?" Jean-Bart turned to Ron, then glanced towards the crowd where the redheaded man had already disappeared.

"No, my dad likes mechanical things and how they work so he told me to ask you a bunch of stuff about it." Ron looked at towards the crowd as well and then back to her. "He doesn't get as much time to tinker as he used to."

"Well good then, get on behind me."

Ron looked from Jean-Bart, then to the bike and then back to Jean-Bart.

"What?" She asked him.

"Nothing." Ron's words weren't convincing but he climbed up behind her without further fuss, Jean-Bart able to support his weight easily with her leg.

"Now hold on tight." Jean-Bart said, gunning the engine slightly as she pulled out into the street.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ron's first motorcycle ride was so full of interesting things that he could barely keep track of them.

The most mundane of them was the city itself. Ron was an engineer and not an architect, so aside from a few particular buildings that stood out to him it seemed more or less the same as England. There were differences of course but he could be forgiven for missing them given the situation.

The next thing to notice was the motorcycle that was rumbling between his legs. It was like riding a broom but only in the loosest sense, your legs went on each side of the thing and it moved. The vibration and the noise from the engine was quite unlike the automobiles and trucks he'd been in before. Especially since with the motorcycle the noise was unfiltered by windows or the vehicles frame.

Lastly and most prominent in his teenage, hormone ridden mind, was Jean-Bart. Despite his exposure to ship-girls and their looks, Ron was not quite as familiar with the kind of casual, prolonged contact that riding a motorcycle even a relatively short distance entailed. It certainly didn't help that the sort of in-built filter he had for Warspite, Duke and even Summer simply didn't exist when it came to Jean-Bart.

So from the moment he realized that he'd have to be pressed up against her back to ride properly, his mind decided to remind him about the fact that Jean-Bart was as much a very attractive woman as she was a battleship. From the placement of his hands around her stomach to the fact that her long hair whipped by him close enough that he could smell the shampoo she was using, all of it reminded him that she was soft, smelled nice and tickled the part of his brain that did funny things to his stomach and other parts of his anatomy. It certainly didn't help that she didn't seem to mind or even notice, so Ron ended up spending a lot of the trip running through the parts of a shell hoist and how many nautical miles Warspite or Duke should be able to get with so many tons of bunker oil.

Thankfully the trip wasn't all that long, Jean-Bart having picked a local cafe that she apparently frequented, judging by the ease at which they got seated at a table inside and tucked away in a more private corner. Ron barely even remembered to take off the helmet she'd given him before they were seated and she was ordering for them. He was fine with that, seeing as he couldn't speak nor read French in any meaningful capacity. Something he'd have to correct, he realized as Jean-Bart rattled off words he only had a vague understanding of at best.

It wasn't until the waiter stepped away and Jean-Bart turned her attention back to him that Ron realized he'd been staring. Thankfully it had been at her face instead of any other parts of her anatomy but he'd still been staring.

"Is something the matter?" Jean-Bart asked, looking mildly concerned about him. "You haven't said a word since you got on the bike. Nerves? I tried not to go too fast."

Ron hadn't really noticed how fast they were going, given they were on a motorcycle and going through city streets it couldn't have been all that fast. He shook his head no and put a smile on his face.

"No, no. Nothing about the bike was all that nerve wracking." His voice wasn't the most convincing but Jean-Bart didn't push it, instead looking him over once more before nodding.

"In that case why don't you show me what we are here for? I assume this isn't secret information?"

Ron nodded, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his space enhanced wallet. Opening it, he found what he was looking for and felt himself regaining his metaphorical feet as he pulled out a number of sheets of paper and parchment with diagrams on them. "Well as you can see here..."

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

Jean-Bart could not quite get a handle on Ron. He seemed to be easily distracted on certain matters and somewhat nervous. Yet when he began to talk about engineering and repair, he turned into some kind of savant, producing drawings and diagrams that seemed to have been produced by a professional firm. She knew he had gotten help with them, Summer and Angie had both professed their interest in seeing things through in her presence, yet he seemed to be the overarching designer for them.

Of course what he was discussing brought on headaches of its own.

"What do you mean charms and runes?" She asked as he was pointing to the breech block of one of her 15'' guns.

"Uhm… didn't they tell you I was a wizard?" Ron asked, clearly concerned about the development.

"I'd seen the term used but I assumed they were speaking metaphorically." Jean-Bart realized that she'd not quite paid as much attention as she should have to some of the forum posts. Either that or the full details hadn't been made public on the internet.

Ron looker around a moment, to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. "Well, you know magic is real right?"

Jean-Bart snorted and gestured down to herself.

"Yes I am aware. There were also security briefings about strange men and women wandering around in silly robes trying to make naval personnel forget things but I've never seen one."

Ron visibly winced and Jean-Bart realized that she'd hit something very close to home with the boy, much more so than anything he could likely fake.

"Well… yeah. There used to be but according to my dad most of the ministries have developed a hands off approach after ship-girls made people immune to Obliviate spells. Except for a few edge cases or idiots, military personnel are off limits."

Jean-Bart looked at Ron, decided he was telling the truth and then nodded.

"Alright." She looked around, waiting a moment as the first part of their meal was brought out and then continued. "So I accept that you are not talking strangely out of your ass for this. What do these charms and runes do?"

Ron seemed somewhat relieved she believed him, even as he dug into his salad.

"Well, long story short you'll have a two or three second decrease of your salvo reload time and improved gun up percentage rate. We're not sure how much since there's not a lot of public data on it but we estimate five to ten percent. There's also a decrease in barrel wear but it should be roughly the same amount of time firing with the reload increase."

Jean-Bart wanted to wince at his statement but it was only the truth and her salad was the perfect way to distract herself. What Ron was saying was quite extraordinary, even if the numbers didn't seem all that impressive at first glance. In a short swift engagement things likely wouldn't change much but in a running battle, the kind of fight she would be engaged with if she was chasing enemy forces those numbers added up over minutes and hours.

"That doesn't sound bad." She finally said as she finished her salad, just in time for the next courses to come out. "What about the rest?"

"Your engines and machinery are straightforward enough. There's heating charms to produce a steadier burn rate, runes of cleanliness to prevent debris build up and anti-friction charms and runes so things run smoothly. There will be a moderate increase in power and you'll be able to run like you're just out of the yard for longer but mostly it prevents down time. You might get a knot or two if we're lucky and do both sets of boilers and machinery."

Speed was not quite life but it was useful to have and as Jean-Bart ate she examined the diagrams Ron had pushed towards her. They meant little to her, outside of the fact they were very clearly of her machinery spaces and had small additions to them. Runes per meter, layout of where they would go and how many charms would be needed in theory.

"Everything will run as normal even if your magic doesn't work?" That was her main concern with most of this.

"If it doesn't work everything should run as normal." Ron nodded. "We aren't changing anything big with these, just adding improvements."

"You are changing something big elsewhere?" Jean-Bart raised her eyebrow sharply at Ron.

"Only if you want." Since he was in engineer mode Ron didn't respond to the sharp glance with nerves, instead spreading out a stack of diagrams instead of only a few. "This is our proposal for your secondary turrets. I'm not sure what you know about other nations shipbuilding but what you have in front of you is what Summer, Angie and I think a French built version of the American 6"/47 Mark 16 DP mount adjusted for a triple barrel configuration would look like."

Ron paused, pointing at the diagrams as he went.

"The turrets are high-angle dual-purpose, autoloaders and we figured out how to tie them into your fire control directors so they can actually shoot down planes instead of just making pretty explosions in the sky. There's also a shell proposal here to replace your older style 6" ammo, including one that is VT fused for AA work. We essentially just copied the American's again but with French design principals. With that shell and the turret mount you should get 12-14 rounds a minute since we're including all the little magical work we did on your main guns too."

Jean-Bart felt her mind racing as she strove to keep up with Ron, as the idea he was laying out was simply audacious. If it worked properly she'd nearly triple the fire rate of her secondaries, add an equally hefty throw weight to her AA suite and it would be a surprise to anyone who fought her. At least the first few times.

It was risky for sure, as these were designs that had never existed until now. Had no historical backing whatsoever aside from an American design that had never used a triple barrel configuration. Yet…

Yet Ron seemed certain it could work and from what she'd seen of him he wasn't one for boasting. Perhaps he had made a step to far with these but as her own engineers argued the finer points of the design, she came to her own decision.

"Oh, I think I do want this, Ron." Jean-Bart smiled as she tapped the diagram. "It's bold but then, so am I." She grinned wider, finding it returned by Ron.

"I thought you might like it." He said confidently and Jean-Bart found herself wondering just what else the young boy's mind might hold.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
AN: This one got away from me a bit so I think there's going to be a second part. Hope you all enjoyed and comments, questions and concerns are welcome as always.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Canadian Mountie Meets Her Sister

Castle Moulbaix

Wei Ying paused in her story. Sometime after she had started to tell Colombe about Delilah and her working on dismantling the White Lotus Association in 1880s San Fransisco, the injured rapier had succumbed to the fatigue of her wounds and exertions. Now, lying in her antique bed, she was sound asleep.

Ying glanced over to the other two young women in the room. Claire du Chasteler gave her a shy smile and raised a finger to her lips before seguing into Brahms' Op.49 No.4 Wiegenlied played very softly and gently on her piano true body.
Spoiler: Mother's Tired

Ying then looked over to the other woman present. Across from her, Ehren du Chasteler nodded, then silently got up and walked to a wardrobe. Opening it, she pulled out a white embroidered Provencal French quilt and Ying stood. Carefully and gently, they covered Colombe with the fabric as Claire played softly.

As they finished, Claire and Ehren looked at each other for several seconds, then the piano nodded and shifted into another gentle lullaby. Ehren walked to the door and gave Ying a cool look before jerking her head at the hall outside in silent request.

The dao swallowed, remembering the cold and determined look in the dagger's eyes several hours ago when Ehren had viewed her as a threat to the du Chasteler family. Taking a deep breath, she stood, circled the bed, giving Claire a thankful smile in the interim, and headed into the hall outside where the blonde dagger was waiting for her.

Ehren gave her an unreadable look. "We need to talk," she spoke in a cool, clinical tone in slightly German-accented English.

Ying nodded and responded steadily. "Yes. We need to talk."

"Privately. Are you hungry?" Ehren continued as they walked down the hall to a door at the end.

Ying tapped her cheek with a finger. While she had eaten before Portkeying to Moulbaix, a top-up would not be a bad idea. "I could handle a light lunch."

Ehren opened the door and nodded. "Excellent. I'll fix us a tray then. You have no objection to pork sausage and potatoes?"

Ying shook her head. "None whatsoever. But I would prefer to talk first."

She stepped inside and her eyes widened. The room beyond was octagonal with bookshelves separated by dark wood paneling and windows looking out to the castle grounds. African weapons and masks hung on the walls and Ying sensed protective enchantments on the furnishings, artifacts, and books. A massive carved hardwood desk dominated the room with a computer and telephone on top. Ehren walked to the desk and with a flick of her wrist unsheathed her dagger, before placing it in a carved black walnut display stand next to the computer.

Ying raised an eyebrow at that, then unbuckled her swordbelt and hung it up on a convenient peg by the door next to an odd African mask with four eyes. "Dare I ask?" She asked coolly.

Ehren turned from opening a panel to reveal a dumbwaiter and surveyed her for a moment. "Before I manifested, I spent my life here next to Mutti's computer. It is... comfortable." She then paused, before opening a nearby cabinet and removing a pair of old socks wadded together in a ball. "Lock the door please?"

Ying complied and watched with interest as Ehren stuffed the socks into the end of a brass tube extending up from the floor. "Now I do have to ask, why do that?"

Ehren gave a fractional smile. "The voice tube connects to the kitchen. it was originally designed for the lord in his study to communicate with servants in the kitchen..."

Ying walked to the desk and leaned against it. "...but someone downstairs can listen in without precautions being taken. Clever."

Ehren bowed her head slightly, then stood ramrod straight. She opened her mouth, then closed it with a click of her teeth. "..."
Spoiler: Sisters' Secrets

Ying cast about for something to say to break the awkward silence. "That was an impressive illusion that you used to fool me earlier, Ehren." she settled on, wincing mentally as it opened the subject of earlier.

Something like hidden relief flickered in the dagger's steel-blue eyes. "I managed to put my lessons from Miho and Delilah together into coherent use. I seem to have an inborn flair for illusions."

"I can see that. I know the art too, but that is because of my mother's heritage." Ying took a deep breath, then continued, "I am half huli jing, a fox spirit from China. Normally I would not tell you of this, but," Ying took another deep breath, then closed her eyes, opening them to reveal that her pupils were vertical slits as a pair of ghostly golden tails flicked behind her, "we are family, and you deserve to know."

Ehren blinked, and had a brief shocked look on her face before she re-exerted control. Her eyes then showed curiosity. At Ying's nod, she walked forward and gently touched the spectral tail flicking behind Ying, realizing that it was solid. "So you use illusion to hide these from sight, ja?"

Ying smiled slightly as she looked over her shoulder at Ehren. "Actually, no. Huli jing are shapeshifters as well."

As Ehren watched in awe, the tail vanished like smoke from her hand as Ying's hair lengthened and paled, turning wheat-blonde. Her older half sister shrank slightly, and when she turned, Ehren gasped as she saw her own face in Ying's Chinese dress. The lips opened and her voice spoke in English lacking her native German accent. "Just like so."

Ehren's eyes narrowed at the revelation and she spoke thoughtfully. "Then if you had truly meant ill for Mother...."

Ying-Ehren shrugged awkwardly. "I could have impersonated you or anyone else in the house with study and practice, yes. Probably Delilah since I know Del very well, honestly. It would not have been easy, I would have to mimic your voices, movements, habits, and accents which are a real pain, and I don't speak German while you do, for instance. But not impossible." Ying took a deep breath, held it, then flowed like water back to her normal human form as she released it in a controlled exhalation. "I have done it more than a few times as an undercover agent."

Ehren nodded slowly with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I see."

"I owe you an apology. I intended to wind up your mother with that arrest, since I have been hunting her off and on for a century, and both Del and Jackie asked me to. But I would not harm her, she is family." Ying sighed, "I should have known better, but truly I forgot to finish crossing the river before leaving the boat."

Ehren crossed her arms under her modest chest and leaned against a bookcase. "Mother needs to know what you told me."

Ying nodded. "Oh, Colombe knows our capabilities, Mother told me that she revealed most of what she can do to Colombe back in China. Plus folklore and so on. I shall just tell her what my half-blood allows me to do. But I thought it best to clear the air with you, younger sister, since you saw me as a threat to your family and if your mother had not stopped you...." Ying trailed off and shivered.

Ehren sighed. "Apology accepted, and if I had known, I would not have done to you what I did do. I would like to learn illusion crafting from you, since it is invaluable for my combat style and preferences. I prefer fights that are weighted in my advantage." She scowled, "Experience has taught me that I must 'cheat' to have a fighting chance against Toku, Colombe, or Kasuyu in a spar. Lack of reach and personal power is frustrating to deal with."

Ying nodded. "I can also teach you at least the basics of Mei Five Ancestor Fist if you want. It is our family's wǔshù style and... well... you are my sister. I shall have to petition Amah since she is the sifu who taught me what I know, but I actually enjoy teaching."

Ehren gave a slight smile. "Good. That said, I must ask." Her face clouded and became more serious as she stared into Ying's eyes. "Why show and tell me this? I am not ungrateful, but this is too good to be true."

Ying paused, and walked to the window, looking out it at the small lake behind the castle. She spoke somberly as she rested her head on the glass. "Two reasons. First, even if my plan proceeds perfectly, several governments will still want Colombe imprisoned or killed. This does not count her habit of finding new trouble as well. The enemies that she has made... many of them are furious because she has cost them liǎnmiàn in the eyes of their peers. She has humiliated them by her very presence, as you saw with Masamune-no-Fudo. The only way for them to regain liǎnmiàn(face) is to humiliate or destroy her in turn. So they will make a move on her, and your... our family."

Ying turned her head to look at Ehren as the dagger nodded sharply. "Second and more relevant, the Statute of Secrecy is collapsing, and when that happens, there will be chaos. Even in the best case, ambitious and unscrupulous people magical and nomaj will act to take advantage of opportunities. And when that day comes, as wise as it would be for your mother to hide here and protect what she has...." Ying trailed off and sighed.

Ehren nodded, "Mutti will never do that. Especially if it involves you, Aunt Del, or Aunt Jackie."

"Exactly. I have spoken with Delilah on this subject before and I strongly suspect that she has her own plans ready to go. I know that she is not a supporter of the Statute." Ying sighed. "She told me that you had decided to stand alongside her on that day despite your youth and relative inexperience."

Ehren nodded sharply. "Ja. We have discussed that, along with dealing with some of the intolerable abuses." Her eyes hardened on the last.

"As well, she said that you have trust issues because of your past, and while I erred badly in my introduction, I would not wish them to poison my relationship with my Youngest Sister."

Ehren stiffened at Ying's words and then strode forward, invading Ying's personal space. Steel blue eyes stared fiercely into dark gray ones for long moments. "She told you that?" Ehren barked out sharply.

Ying spoke calmly, returning the furious stare with one of her own. "She did. She told me little of you or Claire, but she said that when we talked in the morning before Portkeying here."

"Anything else?!?" Ehren snarled, her eyes shimmering and her fists clenched.

"Merely that you do not trust easily or lightly but when you do, you are the truest friend one could have. And... that you are the spirit of a dagger that Father acquired in World War II in Europe and manifested just under two years ago. Nothing more." Ying replied thoughtfully. "I am sorry for bringing this up."

Ehren spun on her heel then strode to the desk and slammed both hands down on the polished wood, her shoulders shaking with emotion as she bent over the desk.

Ying froze in shock then walked to Ehren's side. She gently placed a hand on her back and spoke quietly. "I'm sorry, Ehren. I don't know what I did wrong, but I did not wish to hurt you. Let me help you please."
Spoiler: Ehren's Answer

"Help me?" Ehren's voice was icy and filled with self-loathing as she turned to look at Ying, her eyes shimmering. "Help me! Look at me and tell me if I deserve your kindness, 'sister'!!" One trembling hand raised and pointed at the display stand.

Ying's eyes followed the finger and she froze in shock. Shining brilliantly on the polished nickel of Ehren's pommel were the twin silver siegrunen(Victory Rune) of the Schutzstaffel(Protection Squad), while below them equally brilliantly embedded in the ebon leather of her grip was the Adler und Hakenkreuz of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.(Eagle and swastika of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.)

The symbol of the Nazi party's feared paramilitary arm.

Darthcourt Note
Siegrune was Originally the Sun rune Sowilo, the same rune Harry Potter has on his head.

The SS were Originally Hitler's Personal Bodyguards

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Taking a deep breath, Akimi let it out in a sigh as she looked down at the basket in front of her where the clothes that she would be wearing would go. A hand on her shoulder made her turn to find her friend there, "Miu-Chan..."

Rather than say anything right away, the Crane Hanyou simply hugged her friend. After a few seconds, she softly whispered to Akimi, "Are you okay?"

Unsure grin on her face, Akimi was about to brush her off when she stopped. The grin slowly fell away and she closed her eyes as she leaned into her old friend's embrace, "I don't know... I'm nervous and somewhat scared, but... I need to do this."

Only nodding, Miu kissed her head, "Hai, I understand, Akimi-Chan." Pulling back a bit, she cupped the other Hanyou's cheek with her hand, "I know and understand. But we'll do this, together."

Just nodding, Akimi returned the hug before turning back to the basket. With another deep breath, she began to strip off her clothing and place it into the basket. Glancing over her shoulder at where Junyou was waiting with a Miko, she frowned a bit, "Question?" Upon getting a nod from the Light Carrier, Akimi continued, "Why do we need to remove our clothes?"

Motioning with a hand, Junyou frowned, "Well... it is because otherwise, you'll lose said clothing to the aether." At the confused looks, the shipgirl shrugged, "No one is quite sure if the clothing disintegrates under the sheer magical and spiritual power being released, if it is consumed by the energies of the ritual as part of the sacrifice, if it transfigures into the shipgirl's uniform, or if it just... disappears. No one knows, but that just means that unless it is something that you don't care about, you shouldn't wear something besides clothing that is made to be lost."

Both Onmyouji shared a look with one another at that before turning back to the Light Carrier. Raising one eyebrow, Miu frowned, "So the clothing just disappears? Nothing else?"

With a shrug, Junyou shook her head, "Like I said, no one knows what happens to it. All we know is that it can't be found afterwards and that the Natural Born is then wearing what we term their 'Working Uniform', which is the clothes that they are wearing alongside their rigging. The Kami knows that myself, Hiyou, and Ryuujou have all attempted to observe it, but we still have not figured it out for ourselves."

Yet again, the two soon to be awoken Natural Borns shared a look at that.

However, before they could ask more questions, Haru appeared in her Miko garb and bowed to them slightly, "Good day to you both, I am Ono Haru and I am the main Miko for the ceremony."

Bowing back, the two Onmyouji smiled with Akimi speaking up, "A good day to you, Haru-San. I suppose that it is now time for the two of us to be purified before the ceremony commences?"

Just nodding, Haru smiled, "That is correct." Motioning with one hand, she chuckled, "If you'll follow me?" From there, she lead them both to a tiled room with a Torii over one door. They recognized that it was a small Shrine to Amaterasu, her brother Susanoo, Ryuujin, Hachiman, and Inari. With a small nod, she gestured at the tiled floor, "If you would.'

Without saying a word, the two kneeled onto the floor in Seiza position. Once they had, Haru walked over to the chōzuya and took some water with a wooden dipper which she used to purify first herself, and then passed it to Junyou who did much the same. Haru then brought the dipper over to first Akimi and then, Miu. Both Onmyouji noted that the water was seawater from the scent. The Miko continued purifying them with seawater, chanting as she did so to wash away any impurities before finishing.

Once they were done, Haru motioned for them to rise and they did so with her activating a small waterfall which they stepped through as she continued to chant and they stayed there for several moments before she shut it off. Water still dripping off them, they looked to Haru and Junyou who smiled. Gesturing to the door, Junyou smiled some, "Let's get you dried off a bit and dressed."

Thus, fifteen minutes later found the two walking out of the changing room in cheap, though finely made, white Yukata. Glancing to where people were already filing in, the two soon to be awoken shipgirls felt their eyes widen some as the Destroyer Fubuki with a few other shipgirls walked in with some kids... who soon let out Yokai features. They were followed by a group of what had to be sisters with one in a wheelchair. But one of the sisters, Miu recognized as she leaned towards her friend, "Wait, is that Ibuki Moriko? The Mixed Yokai Martial Arts Champion?"

Her own eyes wide, Akimi nodded, "Hai, it is... But..." Furrowing her eyebrows, she gave a look towards Junyou, "What is she doing here?"

Somewhat bemused, Junyou shook her head, "They're Natural Borns themselves." At the wide eyes, she continued, "Moriko is the Heavy Cruiser, Ibuki. Her twin sister, Suzume represents the Light Carrier Ibuki which was being converted from the Heavy Cruiser. And their little sister, Sachiko, is an unnamed sister ship that did not get much further than a keel and some hull plates before being cancelled."

More than a little surprised, they simply nodded before continuing to walk towards the pier that jutted out into the Summoning Pool. Akimi was the first to climb down the ladder onto a wood platform and kneeled on it as Maruyu towed it out towards the center before diving. Looking over the side, the Hanyou could observe Maruyu taking the chain and hooking it into an anchor point at the bottom of the pool to secure it.

It was then Miu's turn and she was towed out as well to where Akimi was. By this point, various people were gathered and her eyes widened even as they watered a touch, "Haha-ue... Chichi-ue... Okaa-San..."

When Akimi looked, sure enough, she could see her friend's parents as well as her mother's co-wife standing at the rails. All of them looking proud though a little nervous. Part of her mood fell at that though, as none of her own relatives were there and-

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement towards one corner of the Summoning Pool and looked at it. Her eyes widened and her breath caught as she saw a translucent Kitsune standing there smiling at her... her own mother. The Kitsune merely nodded before fading away and Akimi felt her heart soar at that.

Soon enough though, the ceremony began and she could feel the spiritual energy began to swirl around them. Faster, and faster, stronger and stronger. At the same time, in her chest, her heart began to pound as the hairs on her skin prickled. The platform began to rock back and forth as the waters in the pool sloshed.

Right then, she could sense it.

Due to being an Onmyouji, she had a sense for her body's own magic, spiritual power, and the like. And so, she could feel the energy swirling around entering her body, infusing every bit, every cell that made up her form. Merging with her own magic and spiritual energies. Already, she could feel her soul begin to... bloom, was the only word that her mind could bring forth. As if it had been a closed bud that now was being given nourishment. Enough so that it began to open revealing the beauty and brilliance that was inside.

Already, she could not see what was around her. But she could sense her friend, Miu, next to her. And she could also sense that she was undergoing the same thing as the wood began to crack and splinter under their feet from their increased weight. It... it was invigorating as all her fears and nervousness began to fall away, like snow melting off a roof. Right then and there, she felt like there was nothing that she could not do as the magic and spiritual energy in her body crackled.

Finally, right when it felt like her heart was about to explode from all the power, the ritual reached it's height. And her heart just stopped with her knowing that it would never again beat. But at the same time, she could feel her boilers come online fully, flames composed of pure spiritual might igniting as power rushed through her. And deep within her, she could feel her soul, the mental manifestation of which to her sight was like that of the Lotus fully coming into bloom.

Though she noted that in that split moment, her ears and lower back felt... odd, for some reason.

Beneath her, the wooden platform for all intents and purposes shattered, exploding outward and being consumed by the energies released. And as the light faded away, Akimi had to hold back a gasp as she could suddenly see so much more. Around each and every shipgirl, she could see the ghostly form of their hull. When she looked at Miu's mother, she could see the wings of a crane spread wide with one gently cradling her husband.

It was then that she noted that everyone looked sort of stunned for some reason. Already, the Onmyouji could feel and hear her crew rushing around her decks. She could also, somehow, sense her grandfather at her bridge. He felt... sad, regretful. But he did not say anything yet, and so she did not speak to him. Instead, she turned to her friend and smirked a bit. Her friend was wearing a rather revealing Kimono like top that showed quite a bit of cleavage with a open haori over that. At her neck was an almost collar like object with a chrysanthemum on it, while her legs had were colored by purple leggings. Akimi's lips twitched a bit as she chuckled and gave her friend a smile at the sight of the two projections of hair, or perhaps feathers, from her head that looked sort of like wings, "Miu-Chan.'

Looking herself over, Miu chuckled a bit, "Not quite the clothing that I was expecting, but still quite nice. Right, Akimi-Chan..." Turning to her friend, the Light Carrier's eyes widened and her jaw dropped some, "Akimi-Chan?"

Just blinking at the tone of shock, Akimi gave herself a once over. Eyebrows raising, she noted that she was in a Miko-style outfit that was partially open around her breasts which showed some cleavage herself, though thankfully not much. It definitely showed off her... fuel tanks, as it where. Due to the embarrassment, her ears twitched a bit as she opened her mouth and...

Wait...

Her ears just twitched.

Slowly, she reached up with a trembling hand to where the side of her head was and frowned as she felt perfectly normal ears where they were supposed to be... before her ear on that side twitched again which made her eyes widen. Her hand continued to move up until it came to a stop at the feel of something rather triangular on the stop of her head, which her finger grazed along as she boggled. Fox ears... she had fox ears...

Looking over her shoulder, she noted the two fox tails that swished behind her with a utterly stunned look on her face, 'Oh... that's why Miu is shocked.' Somewhat numb, her mind brought back the memories of all the times she wished that she had been born a Kitsune instead of leaning towards her human side, 'Guess that one should watch what they wish for...'

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

And now, I finally have been able to squeeze this out of my head! I blame Three Houses, it's very distracting.
Flash Back: Things Start Falling Down
Under Xiang's watchful eye, that man and his companion took their seats across the table from Cynthia. Xiang herself remained standing by her side, quietly glaring at the two.

"Have you been having security issues of some kind?" the blonde woman asked abruptly, rubbing her hands together and smiling in a way that made her seem almost snake-ish. "We're meeting in some old, abandoned fire station, and I'm not exactly an expert on such things, but I imagine that it would be… hmm… though I suppose, if you were…" She leaned back, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Then she glanced back down and shrugged. "Just trying to break the ice," she added.

Cynthia sighed. "… Well," she said, "you're not entirely wrong."

This wasn't anywhere near their "hideout," if that location could, in turn, be called that. But secrecy was paramount, and any potential applicants or recruits were interviewed in outside locations before anything like the Fidelius came into play.

"But that's beside the point," the Holy War Sword continued, steepling her fingers and leaning forward. "You tracked down one of my agents—granted, not anyone with any important place, but still something that puts my work at risk—and asked for a job interview. You even asked to induct a whole research cabal into the organization. So tell me, old man… why would I want to do that?"

The old man gave her a thin smile. "It just so happens," he said in a reedy voice, "that I had a part in developing a particular spell…"
-----

"Old guy's talking now…" Tatsuya grumbled into the handset. "Facing away from the window, but… the War Sword and her buddy seem interested. Wonder what he's saying… how are those ofuda coming?"

"Slower than they should be," DuBois's irritated voice came through. "Are you sure your spider friend is on the level?"

"You don't. Rush these things," Reiko snapped back. "You want the spell to work, you need to have everything in the exact right place at the exact right time. We're lucky that they don't have to be on an even plane in the first place!"

"Are you… sure she's for real?"

"She's saved my life once or twice," Tatsuya replied smoothly. "Whoop, she's talking again. 'And what exactly…'"
-----

"… would your research team require in order to make this a reality?" Cynthia asked. The old man's smile grew wider, and Xiang bit back her disgust.

"Simply access to greater resources than we have at the moment," he replied. "The memory spell is but one small part of our work—all of which could be used for your benefit, of course—and while our present location has allowed us to make remarkable progress, we still need more samples, more test subjects, more money…"

Cynthia gave him a noncommittal look before glancing over at his woman companion. She took a moment to register that she was being cued, then shrugged again. "What can I say?" she said, nodding, "we're starting to hit some walls."
-----

"She's talking again," Tatsuya's voice came in over the walkie talkie. "'I suppose that wouldn't be hard to set up… and it sounds like your research might be helpful in some way…'"

"'Ow long is this gonna take?" McKay grumbled, nudging the ofuda that sat on the room halfheartedly. Benio groaned, and brushed her hand away from it.

"Don't play with that," she remonstrated the older girl, returning her attention to Tatsuya's half-narration of the conversation. The Holy War Sword was continuing over the different benefits that she might find if she accepted the wizards into her ranks.

"'… would allow us to function under even greater secrecy than before, or even permit a certain degree of openness…'"

How far did her influence run, Benio wondered. Was it centuries old, inserted into the very highest levels of the government, all but strangling Magical Britain? No, that was ridiculous—from what she had seen, the Holy War Sword didn't seem the type for such a duplicitous rule. Something recent then—but still not too high up, probably taking advantage of the wars with the different rent-a-Dark Lords to increase power, waiting for the right time to strike… impractical, but maybe the way the Holy War Sword thought they were to be done?

Benio grumbled in frustration—she was going to need some time to put her thoughts together better—as Reiko came up the back of the building and scurried closer.

"Almost ready," the jorogumo explained breathlessly. "Just need to make some final adjustments, and—"

"Wait!" Tatsuya cut her off, voice suddenly frantic. "She's still going—I think this part's important!"
-----

"… And in light of all that you would bring to our cause," Cynthia finished, "my final answer to you is 'no deal.'"

The woman shrugged carelessly. The old man's eyes widened with shock, a momentary fury running through them before he bolted to his feet. It made sense, Cynthia had spent the past minute praising his work, after all, but this, Xiang thought, was the only way it could have ended (and she would have been lying if she said it wasn't her favorite way for it to end, as well).

"What do you mean?" he demanded angrily, voice shrill. "Our work would be nothing but helpful to you—you said it yourself! You clearly don't care about motives—why would you refuse us?"

For a moment, Cynthia said nothing. She simply pressed her forehead to her fingertips, breathing quietly. Finally, she lowered her hands and fixed the man with a glare that, to Xiang's amusement, actually caused him to start and back away a little.

"For starters," Cynthia said, voice low and cold, "we already have researchers working for us. Researchers with access to the magical government's advancements in magic—" the woman snorted and Cynthia rolled her eyes, "—which is, at this point in time, frankly of more use to me than the money sink that your project represents."

"Second…" the sword spirit shook her head in dark amusement. "Your big, fancy spell needs test subjects. I get that, practical experience is needed in order to iron out the kinks, but… really, we kind of need Shipgirls. The war with the Abyssals isn't over, it's only in a lull—trust me, I know war. I've seen quite a few in my day. Shipgirls are the only soldiers who can fight this war, and—leaving aside whether or not it could ever actually work—any risk of doing damage, no matter how small, is simply too much of one. Your research cannot through any practical means progress."

The old man's teeth ground. "Anything else?" he seethed.

"Just one point," Cynthia promised. "See, Xiang here has been in the care of your previous science club. Yeah, not these jokers—" now the woman looked affronted, "—the guys who you were running with in the 1940's. It may not have been you exactly, but she's got a nose for you people… and me?" She glared, the kind of soul-shattering death stare that could only come from literal millennia of experience. "I've got a feeling for, well, people. And even if Xiang couldn't tell me how you people ripped her vocal cords out, I've got a pretty good idea of your type... old man 731."
-----

Inadvertently, the binoculars dropped. Tatsuya fumbled, trying to retain his grasp, bring them back up to his eyes. 731… memory… how did Honjo Masamune describe him again…

"Oh shit, it's him." he whispered before bringing the handset up to his mouth. "Benio! Tonbo! That guy—Nameless, he's the one that did it! Reiko, how quickly can you—"

"Uh, before that?" Benio cut it, voice uncomfortable. "Our problem child is being problematic."

McKay dropped down into his line of sight through the binoculars, swinging on a line she had pulled out of wherever to try to smash through the window
-----

Not too satisfied with this one again... but at least things are finally starting.

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

Regalia giggled quietly to herself as she sat with the others at the picnic table, a pair of small cloth satchels held in her hand.

"Those little sacks sure seem to have you excited." The Re-class looked up to see Nero sit down opposite her with her breakfast plate. "What's in them?"

"Oh, hey Nero," Regalia greeted her cousin with a smile. "These are… just some special seeds I picked up while I was at Hogwarts checking on Uncle Harry with the others. I can't wait to plant them—the palace courtyard should be an ideal spot."

"Special…?" The Ne-class's eyes widened slightly. "You mean they're magic?"

Regalia shrugged. "Sort of…" setting one of the pouches on the table, she opened it up and reached in with a couple of fingers, pulling out some tiny brown-green grains of what looked like rice. "This batch is just some special grass seed. It'll grow fast and thick, resistant to all sorts of nasty stuff. But that's nothing compared to this." She tapped the other pouch. "These seeds? They'll grow into sheep."

At that moment, Nero was sipping from her cup of juice; hearing Regalia's claim, she nearly spat out a mouthful of her drink in surprise, coughing and spluttering. "They'll what!?" She gasped. "How is that even possible? And how did you get your hands on such a thing?"

In response, Regalia rocked her head side to side, a pleased look on her face. "I took advantage of our visit to talk to the school's herbalist."


XXXXXXXXXX

Pomona Sprout walked alongside the row of plants, inspecting each one carefully. The saplings all looked good… lush leaves, healthy color, no signs of infection by foreign agents. With continued care, she expected them to remain healthy well into the fall.

Hearing slow, cautious footsteps, Sprout turned to see a pale, nervous-looking face peeking out from the doorway to the greenhouse. "Can I help you, young miss?" She asked.

"Um…" The girl slowly stepped out from behind the door—revealing herself to be an Abyssal, to the Professor's surprise. The Re-class waved a hand meekly in greeting. "Hi. You're… Professor Sprout, right?"

The witch nodded. "Indeed, I am. And you are…?"

"Regalia." She brought a hand to her chest. "We, er, actually met a little while back… I'm part of the Fleet of Laughter. I was there when Aunt Ruadri got her finger bitten by that plant."

Mulling her words for a moment, Sprout's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, yes! I remember you, now. Out of the visitors we had, you seemed especially taken with the sights our Herbology department has to offer."

Regalia nodded. "Yeah, I was. It's because… back at our home, I actually run a farm. The island we live on, it's a phantom island, hidden with magic, so we're pretty isolated. Before our fleet came out into the open and started getting aid from humans, it was up to me to grow a lot of our food."

"Is that so?" Sprout's wrinkled face lit up in a smile. "That's a wonderful thing to hear. You're quite a special young lady, to do all that for your family. Were you a witch, I think you would make a superb Hufflepuff!"

Regalia blushed lightly at the compliment. "Thank you…"

Stepping away from the row of plants, Sprout pulled off her thick soil-crusted gloves and tucked them away. "Now then…" she said, coming over to Regalia, "Do correct me if I'm wrong, but I take it you're here to explore the possibility of adding more fantastical crops to your repertoire?" Seeing the Abyssal's eyes widen in surprise, she chuckled. "You wouldn't be the first person to ask; the world of magic has a lot to offer humble muggle farmers like yourself."

After taking a moment to compose herself, Regalia nodded. "Y-yeah, you're right. The thing is, we can't really rely on normal crops alone to sustain us… we need meat, too. We've rounded up some wild pigs on our island to try and breed them for their meat, but it's going to be several years before that really pays off. At the same time, we want to be able to support ourselves completely eventually, meaning being able to produce our own fabrics and stuff. Because of that, the vegetable lambs and goose trees I heard about in our last visit really interested me. They would provide not just meat, but also fleece and feathers we could use for other things… and I would be able to raise them with the skills I've already developed farming."

Sprout hummed thoughtfully. "A noble idea."

"I know obtaining some of those plants to grow probably won't be as simple as coming to you and asking for some," Regalia continued, "and caring for magical plants like these may require some extra training I don't have yet. But I just wanted to explore the possibility, while I'm here."

The greenhouse was silent for a while as the professor pondered Regalia's story. Eventually, though, she spoke up once more. "You would be right, to assume such special plants don't come freely. And yes, many plants with magical properties require very precise conditions and care to grow properly. Lastly, although your home island is hidden, its existence, I presume, is now known by many officials. Your isolation does not necessarily mean that it would be safe to start growing blatantly-magical crops in the open, not while the Statute of Secrecy still stands."

Regalia looked disappointed, but she nodded in understanding, lowering her head.

"However…"

Regalia looked up as Professor Sprout pulled out her wand. "Accio Tartary seed, accio grass seed." Moments later, a pair of small brown pouches came zipping from the far corners of the greenhouse, to rest in the witch's outstretched palm. Pouches in hand, she turned back to Regalia.

"For a young, selfless girl like yourself, acting with her family's prosperity in mind… I feel an exception can be made for these cases," she said, holding them out. "Providing you can keep from declaring your intent to the world, of course."

Regalia blinked, at a loss for words as she picked up one of the pouches, gently rubbing the fabric between her fingers. "These are…?" She gasped.

"The Tartary vegetable lamb is fairly simple to care for, much like normal crops," Sprout explained. "So long as you plant it in fertile soil, keep it watered, and protect it from weeds, pests and the like, it should only take a few months to reach full size."

"I see..." Regalia glanced to the other pouch. "And that one? I heard you say it was grass…?"

Sprout nodded. "Once the plant blossoms, and the lamb itself is exposed, it will consume all the surrounding vegetation it can reach before expiring; in this way, the lamb will grow to a more suitable size for consumption. This breed of grass will grow fast, dense and healthy with relatively minimal upkeep, and are highly resilient to pests and whatnot. Plant this grass in a circle around the Tartary, four to five feet in diameter, and the lamb will have plenty of vegetation to feed on when it emerges, to fatten up well."

"I… wow." Regalia worked her jaw. "This is incredible." She looked up to Sprout. "Is there something you want from me in return…?" She asked.

The professor shook her head, smiling. "You can consider this a gift, dear… a gift, and a trial." Regalia tilted her head in mild confusion. "I want you to take these seeds and take good care of them. Make sure they grow large and healthy. And once your work has finally borne fruit, I'd like you to return to me with the roots of the lambs. If you can show me you can look after magical crops, I would be thrilled to look into the possibility of having someone tutor you further on the subject." Sprout gave the Abyssal an expectant look. "Are you up to the task?"

Regalia grinned brightly. "Yes, Ma'am! You can count on me!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-This one gets a bit dark and heavy in places

Jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīnɡ (Every family has its own issues/everyone has a skeleton in their closet)

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Ying stared in horrified shock at the Nazi insignia on the true body of her youngest half-sister Ehren. Ehren's heart-felt acidic words thundered through her head.
Spoiler: Bloodstained Pasts

"Help me? Help me! Look at me and tell me if I deserve your kindness, 'sister'!!"

Ying gently squeezed Ehren's shoulder as she thought. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She could feel the vibrating tension in her sister's frame, barely held in check.

As much as she wanted to comfort her pain-filled half-sister, long and unpleasant experiences as Oldest Sister, then Oldest Aunt, then Oldest Grandaunt to generation upon generation of the Wei family, had taught her that sometimes, that would be counterproductive. The recipient of the comfort had to want to accept it.

Which Ehren du Chasteler clearly did not, viewing herself as too tainted by her past to deserve such a gift.

A strong fortress indeed, and not one to be taken lightly.

But Chinese history was full of stories and tales containing the wisdom of the past. Many of which Wei Ying had read thanks to Amah's gentle but steel-hard determined guidance of all her children. After all, in order to know where we shall go, we must know where we came from. And the Thirty-Six Strategems of Combat spoke of how to defeat such a fortification. Fǔ dǐ chōu xīn, remove the firewood from under the pot.

With that Ying spoke firmly as she closed her eyes in pain and gathered her huli jing powers of shape-shifting and illusion. "Ehren, let me ask you this. Do I deserve the kindness of my youngest sister?"

The dagger blinked as the question, said in a voice of command caused her to refocus other places than the self-loathing spiral she was in for the moment, "Of course you do. You are Aunt Del's friend and classmate, a RCMMP officer who upheld the law in all your stories to Mutti. Why do you ask?" She turned to look at Ying.

Ying sighed deeply, tears in her eyes. She then spoke bitterly, with loathing in her voice. "Yes, all that is true. But not the whole truth."

With that she breathed out a silver mist which shifted her Chinese dress to an Imperial Japanese Army cavalry officer's uniform with a white kempetai armband. Her body swelled and turned into that of a young Japanese man.

"During World War II, I had been sent with C Force to reinforce the defenses of Hong Kong. I was to serve as an interpreter and liaison with the local magical community. We arrived two weeks before Japan attacked." Ying's eyes were distant and her smile was twisted. "As you might guess considering events, we were forced to surrender on Christmas Day, 1941."

Ehren nodded, "Then what?"

Ying sighed, "I used my abilities to slip away in the confusion as yet one more frightened Chinese civilian clutching the possessions that were all that was left of her home. Fortunately, I had a long-range crystal ball that I had brought along against the rules so I could speak to Mother. I used it to contact Australia and get orders, which were to serve as a spy in Hong Kong. Keep my head down, report troop and ship movements."

Ying paused and shook her head. "Which I did until the liberation in 1945, where I resumed my duties with the RCMMP as a policeman and Auror. That's what everyone knows of my wartime service. Everyone knows and believes that except me, Amah - my mother - and now you, because you need to know the truth about monsters."

Ehren took a deep breath. "There is more, Ja?"

Ying's smile turned dark and vicious and her voice was savage. "Oh yes. Much more. The man whose face I have right now is Captain Okita of the Magical Kempetai(Secret Police). He was called in to hunt down a serial killer in Hong Kong on January 19th, 1943. Someone the Kempetai called 'Lady Kitsune' since their queries revealed that she was a fox spirit. According to their files, she was responsible for seventeen killings of Japanese officers, policemen, and local 'patriotic citizens' who supported their 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere'."

Ying shook her head. "They were wrong. I was stalking my twenty-second target then. That does not count the people I used as intermediate steps to get close enough to the real monsters to strike. Counting them, it was thirty-nine. At least my intermediate victims got a quick death and were presentable for their funerals. Not so my primary targets."

"For Okita, when I counterstalked him down on March third, I used his entrails to spell out the characters for 'rapist' on the wall of his office so he could observe them as I worked on him. I remembered what his detachment of troops did to the nurses at the hospital that C Force was defending when we surrendered, you see. He was still screaming then, for his mother as I recall, but the Dark Spell that I had adapted from those a Wendigo uses to isolate human prey to be devoured silenced all his cries along with keeping him alive until I left." Ying spoke, her eyes distant. "I then walked out of his headquarters with his orderly's face which let Okita be discovered by the next person to give him a report a half hour later. They thought that I had headed out the bloodstained opened window, you see. Well until the Orderly vanished two hours later en-route back from the barracks to start the manhunt."

"By then, I was a street peddler shining shoes and boots five blocks away. Which almost got me killed, by then they were doing mass random executions of a hundred for every victim of mine and the next block over had a mass roundup. They bayoneted them in the streets to 'send a message' and I marked the sergeant in charge as a future target of mine."

Ehren paled at the dark tale.

Ying shifted back to her normal state as she finished, and spoke contemplatively to herself. "The worst part... is twofold I suppose, Sister. First, part of me actually enjoyed it. The panic, the terror, toying with them like a particularly sadistic cat does to a mouse. Walking through a room, into a bar, out of a brothel, reporting to a police station while knowing deep in my soul that if I wished, anyone I saw, anyone I met could be my prey either to replace or kill however I chose. Knowing how to defeat their police handbook magical and mundane because I had read the same book."

She shuddered, "The other bad part, is that I had my reasons to do what I did and if I had to, I would do it again. Let that dark part of my soul that I kept chained and controlled before and after Hong Kong out to play. I know that when I am working as a policewoman, part of me deep down in the dark corners of my soul enjoys thinking about how the criminals who I catch feel as they sense me coming unstoppably for them to hold them to account for their crimes. How, just like Lady Kitsune's victims, I have complete power over their freedom. I felt it before Hong Kong, but did not realize that dark part of myself getting expressed until I let it loose with the thinnest of restraints on it."

Ying looked Ehren in the eyes. "It may be the huli jing blood, since the most famous of my kind, Lady Su Dájǐ, has been infamous for over two thousand years for what she did and caused to be done to destroy the Shang Dynasty. Decadence, depravity, bloodlust, murder, torture. Neither of us are foreordained to follow the call of our darker natures, but it is a constant struggle that we must win because the consequences are too horrible to contemplate."
Spoiler: Sisters

"We Chinese have a saying. Jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīnɡ. The translation is 'there is a skeleton in every house', and you have seen mine now. When I spoke to Amah about this after the war, she reminded me of another teaching by our greatest philosopher. 'The real fault is to have faults and not amend them' and I have my faults, of which this is the greatest that I strive to amend." Ying looked distant and as old as her century and a half true age as she spoke to herself, turning to stare at her true body. "Amah gave me mercy when I confessed, but it was hard, hard for me to accept that. It still is and I have difficulties even contemplating forgiving myself."

"Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein." Ehren said solemnly, hugging Ying as she did. "It is Nietzsche's words of wisdom. The common English translation is 'Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.' although that lacks some of the nuances it has auf Deutsch. Something that I have learned myself from studying my own evil nature and flaws."

Ying nodded and returned the hug. "So I say to you, Ehren du Chasteler. Do I deserve the kindness of my youngest sister?"

Ehren's arms squeezed tighter. "As much as I deserve the kindness of my eldest sister, Wei Ying."

"As much as I do."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Relaxing into the chair, and taking care to not to sit on her... new tails, and that was something that she needed to get used to, Akimi sighed a bit. Across the desk from her, Goto had an expression of concern, "How are you feeling?"

All Akimi did was shift a bit and gave a slight smile, "Well... actually, I am feeling pretty good." Holding out one hand, she rotated it until the palm would be facing upwards and clenched it into a fist tight enough for everyone to hear the straining steel, "And I mean really good. Just so much power that..."

Just tilting her head some, Miu smiled at her friend, "I think he means in regards to your new... additions." She giggled some as Akimi's new ears twitched before turning to the Admiral, "Though I will agree with Akimi-Chan that I am feeling quite good." Bemused a little, she reached up and adjusted her shirt a little, "Granted, I am having to adjust to some things as well."

Coughing into his fist, Goto nodded, "Yes, well, I can see that." He then looked at the ceiling as Miu continued to mumble and adjust her shirt some. The bit where she wondered if she went up a bit in size caused him to flush a little, 'Think of Kongou... think of Kongou... think of Kongou in that school uniform of hers...'

Beside him, Kongou gave him a look, 'He better be thinking of me. Perhaps I should wear that schoolgirl uniform tonight...'

Once he had himself under control, the Admiral turned his attention back to Akimi who was sighing at her friend's continued actions, "But yes, I am wondering how you are fairing with your new additions. I will admit... it was a surprise that it happened."

For her part, Akimi reached up and gently rubbed one of her ears, "Not just for you, Teitoku. I don't think that any of us could have expected this to happen... not that I have much issue with it." At their looks, she shrugged, "I've always sort of wished that I had been born a Kitsune. Right now? I... feel more complete than I have in, well... ever, really. Which is more than worth it in my view."

Somewhat bemused, Goto chuckled a bit, "I see." He then became serious once more, "But considering things, I must ask... can you disguise yourself?"

Akimi chewed her lips some as she thought it over and slowly nodded, "While I was not a Kitsune before this, I... did learn quite a bit in regards to illusions and the like from my Okaa-San. I may not be able to hide from magical forms of detection, not until I master what abilities that I might have gotten, but I can walk around the Base and the like looking like a normal human, if that is the issue." Furrowing her eyebrows, she gave a hum, "Given some time, I should be more than able to fully disguise myself."

Lips curling into a slight smile, the Admiral shook his head, "It does not need to be for very long. With the Statute failing more and more, probably a year or two at the most."

It was then that Kongou spoke up, "If I may make a suggestion?" Now that everyone was looking at her, she gestured at Akimi's ears with one hand, "Perhaps make them seem like hair tufts? Like Yuudachi-San and her sisters?"

Now considering that, Akimi frowned, "That... would be much easier, I suppose."

Having completed her adjustments, or the best that she could do, Miu spoke up, "From what Junyou-Sama stated, there is a period of about two to three weeks where a Natural Born needs to adjust to one's new self, correct?'

Only leaning back, Goto nodded, "That is correct, yes. You'll have to get used to your new strength as well as controlling your weight. It takes some time for everything to settle in, though usually after three days, we begin training Natural Borns with how to, ah, ship as it were." Remembering something, he gave a small shake of the head, "Though in your case, we may need to wait on such a thing fully as we do need you for something."

Both Akimi and Miu looked up at that before the Kitsune frowned, "You do?"

Much to their confusion, Goto's lips twitched a bit into a ghost of a smile, "Hai, we do, though nothing really all that important when we get down to it." Turning towards Miu, he gave a slight smile, "I assume that you know about your Oba-Sans?"

Confused, the newly awoken Battleship turned to her friend who seemed surprised and then thoughtful, "Oba-Sans?"

Slowly, Miu nodded before motioning with one hand, "Hai, my Oba-Sans... Otou-San had two Onee-Samas, remember me telling you about them when we were in school?" Getting a nod, she continued, "Well, we finally found out what happened to them..." Briefly looking like she bit into the rotten apple and found half a worm, Miu looked directly at Akimi, "It turns out that the Elders had agreed to them becoming Hitobashira for a hidden naval shipyard. Their spirits are still there with the area having been purified over time, but..."

Goto clasped his hands on his desk, "Hai, and from all accounts the caldera where the shipyard was is practically cleansed and should be finished in a few days. At which point, we'll summon the ships that are there in a single ceremony." With a small nod of the head towards them both, he smiled, "I've had it suggested that it would be a good idea to have not just the rest of your family, Miu-San, but also yourselves and the other magical warships there as well."

The two newly awoken shipgirls raised eyebrows at that in askance, but didn't ask any further.

Instead, they focused on other matters, such as how both their stomachs chose that exact moment to growl loudly to let them know that they needed to eat. Placing a hand against her stomach, Akimi blinked, "That... feels odd." Glancing at the shipgirls, she frowned, "Is thtat normal?"

Lightly chuckling, Nagato gave a nod, "It is, and nothing to worry about as we have plenty of food for you both. We just need a few more minutes of your time before we head to the mess hall to fill those fuel tanks of yours."

Her tone dry, Miu adjusted her shirt a little, "Somehow, I doubt that my fuel tanks need anymore filling..."
____________________________________________________________

Closing the door behind her to the dorm room that she was going to share with Miu, Akimi took a deep breath as she leaned against the door. With her friend talking with her parents, there was now time that she could spend with just herself... or herself and her crew. Taking another deep breath, the newly awoken Battleship opened her eyes and looked around the room.

While there was not too much there, even Akimi had to nod that it was a nice room. It was less a dorm room really and more a small apartment. There was a small kitchen and a nice sized living room with three rooms and a bathroom. All in all, she had to admit that it was much nicer in some ways than the dorms at Mahoutokoro.

Something which, when she heard that they would need to stay on base in a dorm, she was worried about due to knowledge of military life.

But it turned out that the shipgirls had much nicer residences than was normal. After all, each and every one of them was the equivalent of an Officer. Thus, they could have nicer places to stay on base. Part of her would miss staying in her family home, though her shikigami would keep it nice and clean, so that was not a worry. And before she left, she had set up several nasty defences that added to the ones already there. Say what you would about her family, but they had a few centuries to make the home secure and it was certainly that.

The reminder of her family made her wince and she quickly turned her mind away from that. Instead, Akimi decided that she needed to focus on something else. With that in mind, she looked around before removing her shoes. Briefly, she picked them up to better examine them. Eyebrow raised, she looked at the metal footwear with an intrigued look. Above a certain point, they were the same steel color as a warship, but below they were anti-fouling red with a metal strap that went across the foot to secure it, "Hmm... I never thought that I would be wearing Okobo. But... I suppose that it makes sense."

For a few more moments she considered the Okobo with an amused air. They were something that she was familiar with after all, having worn both such as well as other forms of traditional footwear before. So wearing such did not bother her in the slightest, though she was happy that they were not of the same sort that a Maiko, an apprentice Geisha, would wear. With a shake of her head, she walked over to her bedroom and walked in before looking around.

It did not take her more than a second or two to find what she was looking for and so she walked over to the full length mirror that was there. Once she was in front of it, she came to a stop to better look at herself in it. Ignoring the rest of her body, she leaned forward and examined her face with a slight bit of awe as one finger gently traced along her cheek. It had always been a bit of a point of pride for Akimi, but she looked rather good for her age of thirty six years.

Yet now? She swore that it looked like she had dropped a few years. A few wrinkles and stress lines were now faded to the point where she could barely see them. In fact... leaning in closer, her eyes widened as she noted that some of those lines were fading even then, slowly, but visibly. Even as she watched, one of her few grey hairs regained it's original color. Shocked, she muttered a bit to herself, "Am I... physically de-aging?"

That was a surprise, though a pleasant one.

Lips curling into a smile, she took a step back to better examine herself. One of the first things that she noted was that her usual, beat up glasses had been changed into much better ones. Behind them, her eyes shone out brightly. Frowning, she furrowed her eyebrows. The other thing that she noted was the metal eboshi that sat on her head between her fox ears, a red stripe near the bottom and at the top, the gold Chrysthemum sat proudly, sparkling in the light.

From there, her gaze went downwards, first coming across the metal choker that covered her neck with a small strip coming down to her sternum. From the joint running along it, Akimi knew that she could separate the halves to remove them. Eyes going further downwards, she came to her clothing. They were modified Miko robes with detached sleeves being one aspect of it. Another aspect was the fact that there was just a small bit of cleavage visible...

And then she turned to the side and blinked as she could see a small amount of skin visible there. Not that she really had too much issue with that, if was more than some outfits that she had worn after all. Akimi's lips twitched a bit, 'And really, it is not like I have too much to be ashamed of. Sure, I might not be as big as Miu-Chan, but I am above average.'

Giggling to herself, she continued the rest of her examination. That was, until she finished the examination of her outfit, which she did not mind too much. It was, after all, a very nice one considering what she was worried about. And more traditional than Miu's. And that was when she took a deep breath as she came to the next part of her personal examination...

Mainly, that of her new "Features".

With another deep breath, Akimi removed the eboshi on her head and set it aside. Leaning forward like she had when she first began her examination, she noted that her eyes had changed, becoming more fox-like. Her eyes were drawn though as the fox ears on her head twitched, which made her frown some in thought. They were longer than those on a normal fox really, but not enough that they would not be recognized as belonging to a fox. Reaching up, she paused for only a moment before taking one between her fingertips and gently rubbing.

Briefly, she felt a rumble come up from deep within her chest because, dammit, that felt good. Really, really good at that. Of course, that was when her eyes widened and she blushed some at those thoughts, 'Dammit, calm yourself, girl!' Taking a moment to calm down, she went back to examining them. The fur that covered them was both soft, and fine. Almost silky between her finger tips really. It was also the brownish red of the rest of her hair as well, which made her nod in relief as it did not stand out too much.

Frowning in thought, she narrowed her eyes some and tried to move them much like a normal Kitsune could. There was a brief moment where she could feel knowledge bubble up from somewhere, but then she was able to move them. This way and that, she rotated them. Lowering and raising them as well which made her nod as she slowly got used to such. Another thing that she noted was how good her hearing was now, much better than as a human. Same with eyesight and smell, all three senses having been boosted which both impressed her and made her frown in thought.

However, she shook that off and opened her mouth wide. Reaching up, she moved her lips aside to look at her teeth, which made her internally nod as each canine was bigger than a human's. They were fangs, really, 'Just as I thought...' Akimi then poked at them with her tongue, making her wince a bit, 'Okay, those are really sharp...'

Just letting go and going back to her examination, the Kitsune raised one hand and looked at her nails. Or, rather, claws as they were now. She could tell without testing that if she wanted, she could easily cut someone with them due to how sharp they were.

Only shaking her head at that, Akimi turned her attention to another matter...

Mainly, that of her tails.

Yes, she had more than one tail weaving behind her. Currently, there was only two swishing through the air before she concentrated. Those tails then split into two each, showing four tails which made her breath catch before they merged back into two tails. Akimi turned around and looked over her shoulder at the mirror at the tails, reaching down. Gently, she placed her hand where they met her body and examined the attachment point with a look of awe on her face, "These... really are mine, aren't they?"

Running her fingers through the fur, she shivered a little at the touch. The fur was silky smooth as well as soft. Gently running her hand along one tail, she mumbled a bit, "I am going to need to get a nice brush for you guys..."

It took her a few minutes of hard work, but she managed to get her tails under control. She also tested moving them around to get a feel for her tails and how they operated before nodding to herself. Turning back, she could only smile a bit. After all, she had not lied to Goto, she was not angry or even annoyed at being a Kitsune.

As a matter of fact, she was happy with that.

What caught her attention though was the fact that in the mirror, she could see a Kitsune standing before it. A rather beautiful one, eyes sparkling. For the first time, in a very long time, Akimi found herself happy and relaxed. As if something that had been missing for so very long was now back where it belonged. Part of her wondered if this was what every shipgirl felt when awoken, but decided to shelve that as something else, more important needed to be done...

The long awaited meeting with her grandfather.

Simply taking a deep, calming breath, Akimi let it out. Twice more, she did so before kneeling down into a seiza position. For a moment or two, she stared at her reflection in the mirror before closing her eyes. She then breathed in deep, and then out...

Breathe in... breathe out...

In... and out...

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on what she somehow knew was her bridge with everyone around her stilled. To anyone else, they would have taken shadowy forms, but not to her. To her, they were only slightly translucent, but indistinguishable from their original selves. A presence behind her made her pause, only for a voice that sounded so tired and sad, yet also emotional, "Granddaughter..."

Turning, her eyes met those of an older Kitsune, and she nodded, "Ojii-San."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Akimi and her Grandfather stood mere feet apart as they looked at each other. Two members of the same family, separated by a generation and many decades. One casting a deep shadow over the others of his family, and one who was born and lived under that shadow their entire lives. Neither said anything as they simply watched the other.

Inside of her mind, Akimi had planned it all out. How she would rage against the man for what he had cost his family in his quest for vengeance against the Americans. Demand answers or force them from him if needed. Ask him why... why did he do what he did? Did he not care for his family? About what they would need to live with due to him?

But... all of that died when she saw his face.

His expression was one of sadness and grief as well as remorse. There was also love there, love for her she could tell. However, it was another emotion that she saw that caused the words in her mind to die. Mainly, the self-hatred that was on his face, something that she had seen more than once in the mirror herself. And an emotion that she had seen on her mother's face many times. There was also self-incrimination.

For a moment, he reached out for her before he stopped and pulled back his hand with a wry smile. Swallowing, he gave a small nod, "You're a beautiful Kitsune..." Pausing, Kaito continued with a sheepish look, "I mean, even as a human you were beautiful. But now... you remind me so much of my Musume, your Okaa-San. And your Obaa-San. Though, I suppose that one should have expected that being who they were."

Lightly blushing a bit, Akimi nodded, "Thank you."

Opening his mouth, the older Kitsune looked to say something more when he paused and closed his mouth. An awkward silence descended on them both as they tried to figure out what to say to the other. The Bridge crew glanced at one another, not quite sure what they should do or say. Finally, he sighed and his shoulders slumped as he looked around them with a saddened look, as if he was taking it all in. A somewhat heartbroken look was on his face before he nodded with a deep breath, "I suppose that this is it then."

Now confused, Akimi frowned, "'It'? What do you mean?"

Still looking heartbroken, Kaito looked at her, "I am no fool, Granddaughter. I... know of my reputation. And I know too that as you are my ship, you can forbid me from coming back." A small tear ran down his face and he chuckled weakly, "Well... as I said, this may be the last time I stand upon this bridge."

Much to Akimi's surprise, seeing his look and hearing his tone... it made her boilers and metaphysical heart hurt. This... this was... Closing her eyes, she gave a nod before opening them, "First... I would like to talk with you. But somewhere..."

Thinly smiling, her grandfather nodded, "Hai, I suppose that..." With a deep breath, he let it out with a sigh, "I suppose that there is that. Perhaps the main planning room?"

Getting a nod, he began to walk in a manner not dissimilar to a man walking to the gallows. It did not escape Akimi's notice that the bridge crew, as well as those they walked past, all had saddened looks on their faces and saluted her grandfather, which he returned. Not long after, they reached the planning room, with Kaito running his hands along the table that was there. On one wall, there was a portrait of Emperor Hirohito which made Akimi chuckle, "You know, I always did wonder why it stated in the books that the magical ships had such portraits."

With a look at her, Kaito shook his head as he turned to regard the portrait, "I was in the Imperial Japanese Navy during the war with the Russians. And it was... tradition, to have a portrait of the Emperor on our Capital ships, though I suppose that you might have to change it to the current one. We also had another portrait in my office... I mean, the Captain's office. A magical one with which we could communicate with Tokyo no matter where we were. Mine was... was of your Obaa-Chan, who died after..."

Not quite sure what to say, Akimi chewed her lip, "I... see."

Just glancing at her, the ghostly Captain turned and walked to a small safe and reached for it before pausing with a small frown, "I... would offer you a drink, but, um..."

Lips twitching, Akimi chuckled a bit, "I am not sure how that would work in this case since I am the ship, and the alcohol would come from me. Could I even drink it?"

Shrugging, Kaito shook his head, "I will admit, I do not know. This... is not what I expected when I went down with my ship, with you, all those years ago. To come back with my ship as my granddaughter, I..." Leaning against the wall suddenly, he laughed bitterly as tears ran down his face, "No, I never expected this at all."

Eyes widening, the shipgirl took a few steps towards him, "Ojii-San..."

In reply, he held up one hand and turned to her, "Why? Why call me Ojii-San... when I... when I caused such horrible things to happen to you, to your Okaa-San who was my Musume... to our family? I... do not deserve such."

Walking forward, Akimi came to a stop within a few feet of him, "Because..." She smiled sadly, "No matter what, you are my Ojii-San. Did you do terrible things? Yes. And did our family suffer for them? Also yes. But... you are still my Ojii-San despite that."

Turning to her, he had tears running down his face and nodded slightly, voice hoarse, "Thank you." With a small sigh, Kaito shook his head, "I... heard everything. Every time you spoke to my picture, to me. And... I'm sorry. I am so, so very sorry." Collapsing to his knees, he closed his eyes, "I am so sorry..."

Now kneeling herself, Akimi looked at the broken man before her. One question, just one, was on her lips, "Why?"

Almost a minute passed before Kaito began to speak, voice soft and filled with grief and sadness, "Your aunt... my daughter, Ren. She was... such a beautiful child. So filled with life and kindness. Heh... I remember her doing things like carrying spiders and such outside so that no one would step on them. Your Obaa-Chan gave birth to her after the war with the Russians, when I returned. She... she was the youngest of my children. But she also wanted to see more of the world. I... I did not want her to go to that accursed island, but one of the officials who organized the trip stated it was safe."

Her own voice soft, the Battleship nodded, "And she was murdered."

Bitter laughs came from Kaito, "Yes, though that was not what the Americans said. They claimed that she had attacked their Auror in a rage, yet he did not have a wound on him. And the other females, they claimed that the same one had come onto her earlier that day, stating that something like her was good for only one thing, and that was warming the bed of a human."

Guessing already where this would go, Akimi nodded, "But they were dismissed due to not being human."

Eyes closed, the Captain nodded, "Hai..." Opening them again, he continued to look down at the floor as tears dripped from his eyes, "Because as non-humans, as 'Beasts', they were inherently untrustworthy. Obviously, they were trying to besmirch the Auror's reputation, you see. The fact that my daughter's clothes had been torn was dismissed as being from herself. I... was enraged, but there was nothing to be done..." Once more, Kaito closed his eyes and clenched his fist hard enough to draw blood if he was alive, "They did not even return her body, cremating it and putting it in an unmarked grave. There are spells, after all, which could reconstruct a body that was even burned you know."

Only nodding as this was what she had been told, Akimi frowned, "I see..."

Shaking his head, Kaito sighed, "No, no you do not. Because even on our side, the investigation was dropped. Too much trouble and we could cause an international incident over nothing important, you see. Not to mention, the government before Kamo came to power was extremely pro-ICW and pro-MACUSA. The Officials involved, well... the ICW did not want the possible interruption in trade and MACUSA was making too much money with the island in question with trade. So it was dropped." With a deep breath, he sighed and looked Akimi in the eyes, "But... it did not stop there. I was given threats that if I continued to push, our family would find themselves in the reserves. So I was unable to bring my musume's killer to justice. And your Obaa-San, she... it was three years later. The official cause was disease, but all of us knew that she died because of a broken heart. After that..."

At that, everything fell into place for his granddaughter, "And when the Kamo Government came to power and approached you with becoming the Captain for their Battleship due to your experience..." The only thing her grandfather did was nod, "I see..."

Now looking back at the floor, Kaito shuddered a bit, "You... cannot understand how much anger, how much rage and hate I held for the Americans and the previous government. When the Kamo Government in 1934 had a number of them killed, including those who dropped the investigation? I was right there when they were executed for treason. And I felt glad for it. When they told me that I would perform an attack simultaneously with the No-Majs performing their own on Pearl Harbour, I was gleeful. Finally, finally, I would have my revenge. Making it even better was that the man who killed my Musume was now in charge of the island itself. Due, mainly, to his own Otou-San being in the Cabinet for MACUSA's President. So I would be able to kill him... which was why I planned for an oiler to wait halfway there for refueling, with the Carriers laden down with bombs while there was so many shells for our guns..."

On his face, there was a far off look.

He slowly shook his head, "I ordered them to continue firing the guns until we nearly ran out of shells, to bomb the island until there were no bombs left. We focused on where the island's administration was, where that bastard likely was. So much ordnance fell that the rubble bounced. The only place not touched was the graveyard, where your Oba-Chan's remains were likely buried. Everywhere else... burned." Looking at her, Kaito slowly blinked, "I made sure of it because-"

Akimi continued for him, "Because you ordered the planes to drop drums filled with fuel onto the burning buildings. Which fed and spread them still further."

Just nodding, Kaito sighed, "Hai, I did. I did not want any part of that island, that place that caused me so much pain to stand. Once that was done, we left. Had to replace the barrels of your guns, right after we had done so before our mission, they were so worn. That asshole that killed her had escaped though, badly burned. Had an international portkey on him... and his Otou-San was enraged and really pushed for no quarter. But even that left me... feeling empty. I still fought but..." Thinly smiling, he shook his head, "I suppose that there was a part of me that was glad as the waters closed around my head as you sunk, my arm tied to the wheel, as it where. Because finally, it was over for me..."

Noting the sadness there, Akimi frowned, "But... it was not, was it, Ojii-San?"

Bitterly smiling, her grandfather shook his head, "No, no it was not. Because I went through my judgements and met Ren. She... she would not look at me and was horrified and ashamed of what I had done as was my wife. That... that ripped me apart. And since then, we... we have not seen each other. My personal hell, which I am sure that the Yama Kings knew when they sentenced me. How could they not? And after, I saw what happened to our family, to your Okaa-San and you. I... I... there is nothing that I can say or do. Because there is nothing, no forgiveness that can be given to me. All I ask... is for you to take care of yourself, my granddaughter... my wonderful granddaughter, Akimi-San, as well as the crew once you remove me from the crew register. They were a good crew, it was only I, their Captain, who deserve punishment."

For several moments, Akimi did not say anything, simply looking at the utterly broken man who lowered himself and placed his forehead against the floor. Her thoughts went over not just what she had been told, which fit so well with what she knew. But also other things, such as how it was that one attack that condemned him as a war criminal. For everything else, he was no better or worse than other Captains in the actual IJN like Yamamoto.

Slowly, the Battleship rose to her feet, "Captain Aranami Kaito? I hereby pronounce my punishment..." Her grandfather closed his eyes, only to be surprised at her next words, "You shall work off your crime."

Opening his eyes in shock, he found Akimi's hand held in front of him, open as she smiled a bit down at him, "I... what?" Eyebrows furrowing, he looked at her in confusion, "W-what? But..."

Just shaking her head, Akimi chuckled softly, "Yes, you have done horrible things, Ojii-San. But you acknowledge them as such, which is far better than what I have heard of a number. However, you can still work it off if that is what you feel like. It will be a long time before you finish doing so." Her expression became stern, "There is a war against the darkness for not just Japan, but the world. Do you wish to take up arms and cleanse yourself by giving aid? To take up arms and help?"

Hope was within the older Kitsune's eyes, "Do you...?"

All Akimi did was nod slightly, "I do... I need someone with experience to Captain me after all. And, perhaps... our family will be able to look at you once more.'

Staring at the offered hand, Kaito did not say anything before he reached for it and clasped it. Brought to his feet, he looked at his granddaughter, someone who despite everything was willing to give him this chance. And so, he snapped to a salute best that he could, "Hai! I will do my best to aid the world, to cleanse myself of my crimes by helping those who need it. This, I swear upon my soul."

Returning the salute, his granddaughter and ship smiled, "Good... now we have a lot of work to do."

Kaito just smiled at that, "Perhaps, but I shall be there every step of the way as long as you shall have me."

Both members of the Aranami family shared a slight smile at that before they walked out of the meeting room and onwards to what may come.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-Got WAFF?

It's A Butterknife's Life For Me

Castle Moulbaix Attics

Kasuyu walked through the door at the top of the attic stairs with a wicker basket of sandwiches and bottles of water for The Mistress' sister, Aomi Sato, and the Fujiis.
Spoiler: The Elegant Captain Fox

He looked at the dimly lit attic stretching the length of the north wing and sighed. While he had cleared corridors among the heaps of boxes, bags, trunks, chests, old furniture, and a million and one other things collected over three centuries of occupancy by the Du Chasteler family, he could spend weeks up here.

Still the young ones and their guardians would be hungry, and he had good news to report. The Mistress had vindicated his belief in her. He had seen many, many legendary warriors in his existence, and she certainly ranked among their number.

"Hello?" He called into the dimness as he followed the trail of feet in the light dust. He sighed and made a note to remind the Mistress to renew the dust-repelling spells up here once she was mobile again.

"Hello?!" Movement to his left. He turned and then sighed as a rat the length of his forearm appeared and glared at him from beady black eyes before scurrying down the chest it had been on top on. It jumped down to the floor to run away... then froze in midair, thrashing a foot above the floor. Kasuyu blinked and then smirked as he realized that it it had hit a near-invisible spiderweb.

"Yatta! I got another one, Miho-nee!" A happy chittering voice sounded in his ear and suddenly a spider body the size of a Golden Retriever descended silently from the rafters above him on a thread of her own silk. Kasuyu blinked at Misaki Fujii as the the young Jorogumo descended her line. The girl's humanoid torso was now dressed in a red and gold suit coat above a white linen shirt and she had a battered black tricorn hat on. One of her hands held a curved 'sword' carved from Styrofoam, and the other had a flintlock pistol, which Kasuyu devoutly hoped was unloaded.
Spoiler: Misaki's Outfit


"Misaki. It is good to see you. Where are your sister and the others?" Kasuyu rumbled as the girl began to cocoon the helpless rat with more silk from her spinnerets.

"Oh hello Kasuyu-chan!" Misaki waved a foreleg at him as her back two continued to cocoon her prey. "Hunting is really really good up here."

"Misaki-chan! Remember the Pirates' Code!" Chihiro's voice sounded from the next row over. Kasuyu gave a low rumbling chuckle at the embarrassed look on the jorogumo child's face.

"Oh right! Halt and avast you scurvey landlukk--- landlabb---" Misaki waved the 'sword' in a supposedly threatening manner. Kasuyu was reminded as nothing quite so much of a particularly small and cute kitten trying to intimidate its owner.

"It's landlubber, Misaki-chan. Want me to come over there to help?" Chihiro was stifling an attack of the giggles from the sounds of things.

"Thanks Chi-chan! Halt and avast you scurvy landlubber! Yatta!! Be warned ye are trespassing in the super secret hidden lair of the infamous Fujii Pirates and we will make you walk the plank!" Misaki beamed as she got out the requisite 'pirate challenge'.

Kasuyu could not resist a smile as he was 'marched at swordpoint' to the Throne of the Dread Pirate Queen to supply a ransom of bottled water, sandwiches, and news.

------------------------------
Spoiler: A Pirate's Mysterious Lair

To Kasuyu's distinct lack of surprise Jacklyn had found an antique featherbed and matching sofa and was using at her 'Court' under a grimy window. Aomi Sato had clearly signed up for the 'pirating life' considering the repurposed dirndl dress, Brunswick Death's Head Hussar's traveling hat and cavalry knee boots as the Inugami lounged on the bed reading old newspapers.
Spoiler: First Mate Inugami


Jackie looked up from where she was working on picking the lock of a brass and fabric covered chest. "Oh, Kasuyu, Is..." Her voice was almost totally absent of the normal devil-may-care insouciance.

Kasuyu nodded, "The Mistress and Miss Toku's sister have ended their fight. Both are being treated for their injuries in Toku and the Mistress' bedrooms."

Jackie closed her eyes and Aomi slid off the bed to hug her from behind. One hand covered the Inugami's and squeezed before Jackie opened her eyes. "That's good news. What's in the basket?"

"Water and food for you and the others. Where are they?" Kasuyu inquired as he pulled out a picnic cloth and then started to remove sandwiches. He pulled out two small bags of chocolate covered coffee beans and handed them to Misaki. "Here you go, for you and your sister."

"Yay, thanks Kasuyu-chan!" The young jorogumo squeed and hugged him with a ear to ear smile. She then dashed to the nearest beam and scurried up it to vanish into the shadowed rafters overhead. "Nee-chan! Look what I just ransomed!"

Jackie shrugged. "Miho along with Misaki are enjoying hunting the wildlife as you may have saw, apparently jorogumo enjoy hunting like spiders, go figure. Chihiro's found a bunch of books and I loaned her a monocle with a universal translation spell so she can read the titles as she sorts through them. Won it in a card game in Baltimore in 1837. How are my nieces and Toku?"

"They are watching over the injured." With that the aforementioned Tanuki showed up in the blue coat dress and black fishnet stocking version of Junior Pirate Uniform and carrying a stack of books as big as she was.
Spoiler: Chihiro the Curious Pirate


"Kasuyu-chan!" The tanuki hugged the axe around the leg after dropping off the books inside a nearby enchanted chest. "When I get done will you help me take this downstairs?"

The massive Axe tsukumogami winked at her then brayed like a donkey before nodding. Everyone broke out in laughs for him yet again demonstrating his soft spot for the children.

"Almost... justa... shit who forgot to oil this... GOTCHA!" The padlock that Jackie was working on popped open and with a squeal of rust the pirate opened the lid of the chest that it was holding closed. "This is me favorite part." She grinned and rubbed her hands together as Aomi's ears perked up and her tail wagged.

Aomi looked over Jackie's shoulder as she pulled out one of a pair of portraits. "Who are they?"

Jackie scanned the portrait of a young blonde man dressed in mid 19th century upper-class clothing and shrugged, before flipping it over. "Just says 'Raoul' and an artist's signature. Might be one of Sis's relatives, have to ask her."
Spoiler: Raoul

Kasuyu nodded. "A good plan. We can perhaps use these to furnish the room the Mistress' eldest daughter claims."

Jackie nodded. "Works for me. The real fun is finding these anyway, and this is all her family's stuff anyway." She pulled out the other painting and whistled. "Or not, pump my bilges dry, that's a rare bird and a half. If it was anyone but Sis I would pirate it."

The painting was a nude of a sensual and ethereal young blonde woman with bright green eyes, slightly pointed ears, and pale gold hair. Not crass or vulgar at all, she exhibited an erotic innocence as she poured water for her bathtub in the painting.
Spoiler: Christine

Aomi spoke. "Any idea who she is?"

Jackie flipped the painting. "Just the same artist's signature as Raoul. Says Christine, no last name."

Kasuyu nodded. "I shall show them to the Mistress."

Jackie nodded and began to sort through the clothing in the chest. "Linens are embroidered R. du C and the coat of arms. Raoul is definitely a du Chasteler then. Not much else though, we can drag it downstairs and ask Sis about it."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Coming out of her meditation, Akimi softly sighed, 'Well... that seems to have ended well.' A chuckle escaped her as she turned only to pause at seeing Miu there leaning against the doorframe with a concerned look, "Miu-Chan? What are you doing back?"

The Light Carrier shrugged a little before smiling some, "It's been a few hours, Akimi-Chan. You were really out of it."

With a blink, Akimi turned towards the wall and stared a little, "I've been meditating for four hours?"

Arms across her chest, Miu nodded, "It seems so, like I said... you were out of it."

Lightly blushing, her friend sheepishly smiled, "Ah, my bad then." Rising to her feet, she straightened her back some, "Hmm? Now that is interesting..."

Eyebrow raised, Miu gave her a look, "What is?"

Stretching, Akimi smirked a little bit, "Mainly that I'm not sore in the slightest despite being in that position for so long." With a sigh, she chuckled, "Remember Takahata-Sensei?"

That got her a snort from the other woman, "Who couldn't?" Reaching out with her hands, Miu made groping motions, "Those muscles and that ass! Mmm... I liked it."

Unable to help herself, Akimi laughed and lightly slapped her friend in the arm, "Down girl..." Thoughtful, she grinned, "I will admit that he was a fine specimen of masculinity. And I still say that you could have bounced a Ryo off his behind."

Sighing, Miu nodded, "A shame that we never got the chance to try..."

After a few more moments of considering lost chances, the Kitsune shook her head, "Anyways, remember one of his favourite forms of punishment?"

It took a few moments, but Miu winced, "Ah, yes... having us sit in the Seiza for two hours. Not fun, at all." Feeling phantom pains, she rubbed her legs, "Really not fun. My poor legs ached for a long time after each one. Better than Matsuhada-Sensei. Kami, that shinai she used for troublemakers..."

Frowning, Akimi tapped her chin, "Whatever happened to Matsuhada-Sensei anyways?"

That made Miu frown as well as she thought and tried to remember, "Hmm..." After a few seconds, she snapped her fingers, "I'm pretty sure that she died three years before Blood Week. Unless I am misremembering... she passed away in her sleep. Matsuhada-Sensei was, what? Two hundred and eighteen?" Glancing around, the Carrier shuddered, "Though I swear that sometimes I turn thinking that she is about to use that Shinai of hers on me."

Akimi glanced around herself with a shudder, "Same here."

Deciding to change the subject just in case they attracted attention from a possible Yuurei of their feared teacher, the Crane Hanyou cleared her throat, "Anyways... I brought some stuff for us to eat." Miu's lips curled into a slight frown, "By the way... judging by how you came our of your meditation, how did it...?"

Expression softening as she understood what her friend did not say, Akimi nodded, "I've talked with Ojii-San and cleared the air as it were. He wishes to make up for what happened, and I am allowing it. We spent some time talking afterwards and sorting things out."

Her own expression soft, Miu smiled, "That is good to hear. You were pretty nervous about that." Getting only a shrug, she motioned with her hand for Akimi to follow her, "I bought something for both of us to enjoy as a celebration of sorts after Otou-San, Okaa-San, and Kaa-San left."

Raising an eyebrow, the other shipgirl followed, "Should you have done that? And how did Oji-San as well as Oba-San and Oba-Chan take it?"

The fact that she spoke of her parents in such familiar terms never ceased to make Miu smile. And it was true as her parents had all but adopted the other woman as a niece of sorts as she stayed with them over the summer at times and had lived in their home for about a year after Akimi's mother's suicide. Hence the familiar terms she used for them, though Miu was happy to hear such for another reason:

It spoke to how much better her friend was now mentally since she was using them again.

Shaking her head, Miu walked towards a box that had Ofuda on it, "They're pretty happy about what happened. And they're proud as well that we're stepping up to defend our nation in the way." At seeing her friend open her mouth, she held up her hand, "They also do not see any issue with what happened with you, Akimi-Chan. To them, you are still you."

More than a little relieved, Akimi sat in a chair, only shifting a bit due to her tails, "That... that is good to know. I was, well..."

Bemused, her friend wagged a finger at her, "You know my parents, Akimi-Chan. They would never have a problem with you in regards to that." Her tone becoming dry, Miu continued, "Though Kaa-San made mention of wanting to see how fluffy your tails were, so I am jealous there." She then grinned a bit, "Especially as I want to touch fluffy tail."

Unable to help herself, Akimi laughed at that. As she calmed down, she grinned right back, "Trust me, Miu-Chan, whenever you want, you can touch Fluffy tail."

Brightly smiling, Miu shook her head, "Glad to hear it." Opening the box, she reached in and pulled out two massive parfaits, "Now for a celebratory snack!"

Eyes wide, the Kitsune boggled as one was set down in front of her, "Snack? This is a meal! I don't even know if I'll be able to finish even half of this!" Hearing a snicker, she frowned at the shipgirl across from her, "What?"

Only shaking her head, Miu smiled, "These are made for Capital Shipgirls like we are, Battleships and Carriers especially." she then gave her long time friend a look, "Also, remember dinner?"

It took a few moments, but Akimi flushed a bit as she remembered his plate after plate went down into her gullet. She had been feeling like she had fasted for weeks. And that was something that, as an Onmyoji, she was not unfamiliar with as for some rituals one did need to fast for some time. Shaking her head, the Battleship smiled, "I suppose so." Her spoon filled, she put it into her mouth and hummed happily as she swallowed, "Delicious."

Also swallowing some of her parfait, Miu nodded, "Hai, and that is putting it mildly. Glad that Fubuki-San pointed me towards Mamiya's if this is the normal fare there." Taking another spoonful, she put that into her mouth with a happy look on her face. After a minute or two though, she spoke up, "Oh! You wouldn't guess who I spotted just outside the base."

Spoon in her mouth, Akimi blinked, "Hmm?" Pulling out the spoon, she swallowed and wiped her mouth, "Someone outside the base? Who?"

Madly grinning, her friend gestured with her spoon, "Kiho-Chan, as a matter of fact."

Eyebrows raising, Akimi stared at her before frowning, "Kiho-Chan? She was outside the base?" Getting a nod, she furrowed her eyebrows as she considered what she just heard about her old schoolmate and friend, "What was she doing there now?"

Only shaking her head, Miu smirked a bit, "She was in disguise, though attracting some looks from guys. "Then, she frowned back, "As to why she was here? Your guess is as good as mine, Akimi-Chan. And you've been in contact with her more than I have over the past few years."

Rubbing her chin in thought, the Kitsune thought it over, "I would guess that she is in some sort of investigation? Not sure who would have her do it in the area though or why. Mostly I've chatted with her or sent the families of students her way who have needed her talents for something. And sometimes she's sent clients my way that have needed members taught Onmyoudo. Though it is kind of strange..." Putting another spoonful of parfait in her mouth, she hummed, "But most likely some sort of investigation for someone though."

Just nodding, the Carrier decided to defer to her friend's belief. Instead, she reached into her purse and pulled out a booklet, "Oh, and we're both supposed to read this. It is about being a shipgirl since we're doing orientation for the next few days."

Intrigued, Akimi took the booklet and read the title, "'So You Find Yourself A Shipgirl, Now What? By Matsuda Ryoko/Light Cruiser Tenryuu'?"

Lightly chuckling, Miu shook her head, "It surprised me too. Apparently Tenryuu-San wrote a book for us Natural Borns to go through everything that we need to know. Some of it is... rather intriguing and could help us both."

Flipping through it, her friend gave her a glance, "Oh? Such as?"

Miu pointed at the booklet with her spoon as she swallowed another bite of parfait, "One of the many benefits of being a shipgirl is that all the skills our crews had? We have." At the surprise on Akimi's face, she shook her head, "The example she gives is her daughters, the Destroyers Inazuma and Ikazuchi. Neither of them knew any actual martial arts before being awoken. But their crews had been trained in Aikido and others. It took them only months to hone said skills and reach their first Dan. Tenryuu-San also mentioned that she did not really know how to use a sword, but after awakening she knew the basics and was able to use the skills her crew had and build on them for her own style."

For a few moments, Akimi slowly blinked as she rolled that around in her head, "Well, Ojii-San does know a number of martial arts and how to use a sword-" She froze and gave her friend a disbelieving stare, "Wait, are you suggesting that..."

Leaning back, the Crane Hanyou nodded with a thoughtful look, "Within our crews are people that have been around for hundreds of years. Onmyoudo with decades of experience on our own. Not to mention Yokai such as your Ojii-San who have their own knowledge beyond that. Each and every one of them. And those skills are now at our fingertips, we just need to ask and practice."

Slumping back in her seat, Akimi just stared off into space at nothing in particular. Finally, she began to snap out of her shock and ran her hand through her hair, "That... that is unbelievable. But looking at my own knowledge, I... I can access it!" Rubbing her palms against her head, she laughed, "I can actually 'Know' what my crew did! All of it, so..." Looking at her friend, Akimi shook her head, "This... this is big."

All Miu did was nod in agreement with a grin, "Very big." Tapping the booklet, she continued, "And that is just scratching the surface of our new existence..."

Quickly, the Kitsune grabbed said booklet and began to read through it even as she ate, much to the amusement of her friend.

 

[darthcourt10]

WickedestCard

So...a quick cute and silly snippet for the Floofy escort Carrier that helped get Solie to the people that can actually save and repair her. Next one should be the one dealing with the fallout of Solie being found, at least to some degree.
-----------------------------------------

What Happened during Christmas: Gambier Bay


Tired and shaky breathes could be heard in the hallway of the Carriers Dorm as a blond haired USN escort carrier uneasily made her way to her dorm. While Gambier Bay has improved herself in terms of her nerves and confidence this last impromptu mission really frayed and scared her in ways she hadn't felt for a long time. She and the other shipgirls and Navy personnel onboard had reported to Admiral Goto what had transpired on the medical transport and he had gained a steely look and had a few more assigned to the escort detail to the Yokosuka Shipgirl repair area. He did tell them they were clear for R&R and so all of the others had gone to the mess or exercise rooms to cool off from their experience. Even the pilots had been shaken and unnerved by the flight let alone those in close proximity to the So-class.


Gambier Bay however elected to head to her dorm after reassuring Raymond and Dennis that she would be okay. While the two destroyer escorts gave her a look that told her they didn't quite believe her the two nodded and headed off to find a cuddlepile to relax in. Gambier knew what they were all trying to do; trying to get rid of the feeling of crushing loneliness and dread. All the others went to places on the base where there were lots and lots of people and activity. The blond carrier however wanted to be with her sister, fall onto her bed and make a certain call. Still, as she was musing she realized that she was in front of the door to her dorm room with three names on the door and each have a small decoration of a plane next them.


Shin'you

Taiyou

Gambier Bay


For a second she looked at the door before the small of fried dough started to hit her and she slowly opened the door to find out why. Just inside she could see her sister White Plains walking back and forth in front of the counter as her dorm mates adorned in aprons and cooking hats were trying to make doughnuts. At the noise of the door opening all three turned to look at her and White's eyes shone with excitement as she saw Gambier.


"GAMBY/GAMBIER-SAN!" all three of them shouted as White managed to hop over the counter and launch herself at Gambier and hug her. For their part Taiyou and Shin'you ran over and hugged her tightly as well.


"Gambier-san! Weren't you supposed to get here in like two weeks? What are you doing here so early?" Shin'you asked as she and Taiyou moved to the carrier's sides to better form a hug.


"W-Well...something came up d-during the convoy mission and...well I can't really s-say much more than that" Gambier Bay stated as best she could, her words making White hug her tighter.

"Wait...like 'don't want to' can't say more or 'top secret hush hush' can't say more Gamby? Cause those are two are very different." White asked, trying to figure out if she should push more or let it end there.


"The second one...Admiral Goto and Admiral St. John both feel that what had happened during the convoy is going to be top secret in a few days so I can't say anything. Fe, Dennis and Raymond can't either. I-It's great to see you guys!" she explained as she hugged them back, already starting to feel better than a few minutes ago.


"It's great to see you too. Oh, Plains-san was teaching us how to make doughnuts because we, uh, wanted to surprise you when you got back for New Years. They're not great just yet but you can have them if you want" Taiyou said as she explained what they were doing. The two other escort carriers took her hands and walked her over to the counter to show their handy work.


"We wanted to thank you for helping to teach us and for the escort and convoy runs you've been doing so we asked Plains-sans if she could show us how to make some American comfort food." Shin'you told her as she grabbed the platter of their attempts to make doughnuts. It was fairly easy to tell their first few attempts from their rougher shape but they did smell good.


"I've already told you two it's okay to call me White or White-san if you have to. Anyone as good a friend to Gamby is as good as one to me. In fact, I'm a little surprised you haven't replaced the -san with -chan yet." White said with some good natured mirth as the other two carriers gave her a small bow.


"Mmm...you know for your first time trying...these are pretty decent...some more practice and you two will be pretty good." Gamby said honestly as she ate a couple of the sugary treats. This caused the other two to smile happily as they bowed deeper. That is before Gamby quickly remembered what else she wanted to do.


"I need to make a call back to the US to let him know I made it here early. Oh, and White, Shin'you and Taiyou I need all your help finding Christmas presents for everyone else." the carrier stated as she went to her bedside table to rummage around for her phone before she walked out the door. The other three girls just turned to each other as they were left behind by the surprisingly animated blond.


"Boyfriend?" a confused Taiyou asked.


"Boyfriend." both White and Shin'you confirmed without skipping a beat.


"Was this before I was summoned?" the dark haired carrier asked in return.


"Yep, met him once before, seems like a decent enough guy if a bit reserved. Did handle the combined Taffy Glare and questioning pretty well so that was points in my book." White responded easily.


"I-Is that normal?" Taiyou asked once more, not really know much about this outside of the gossip she sometimes hears around the base.


"I don't think so. We Taffies are a tight group so we look out after each other a lot. I was more annoyed that I learned from SGO and not directly from them but they made up for it. The others aren't as easy going as I am."


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


(Shadowy dark room with several dark robed people at table)


"So it seems with the coming of SmolFloof we have lost Gabby to vile clutches of romance and dating. Status report on Johnston?"


"She seems to be getting close to a platinum haired boy from England, seems a bit stuck up and rude. Johnston though seems to have knocked him down some."


"Damn it...that's two Taffies down. We must close ranks and keep an eye out to make sure any more of us fall."


Suddenly the door to the room opened up and light poured into the room, startling the destroyers, destroyer escorts and escort carriers.


"Alright you little shits, dessert is ready, ice cream sandwiches and banana splits are on the menu so let's get a move on."

-----------



"Oh...well it's good that all of you are close and look out for each other. Since we probably won't get to meet him it's nice that you and her sisters are making sure she doesn't get hurt. Gambier-san seems to have...gotten more confident and assured of herself since she started dating." Shin'you responded, remembering time her friend almost seemed afraid to even be on a base with a Japanese capital ship. Now while she still dreaded actual surface action Gambier Bay could have lunch with someone like Yamato.


"Yeah, besides he keeps up the Smol image thread on SGO updated with SmolFloof and while it's taken a bit of a back seat to the shipping section it's great to see a Taffy Smol. Now it's no longer a monopoly of Smols based out of here and Kure." White said as she remembered when the tiny carrier first made her debut online. It was the biggest blow up until the latest happy and cute couple in the Shipgirl Shipping and Relationship subsection started to grey South's hair. Thankfully no one was really upset seeing as that thread was adorable as all get out.


"Hey, I'm back. Seems he's going to have to find another way to get packages over here since he was also expecting me to get here later. I could hear SmolFloof in the background being excited about coming to Japan. I'm not sure exactly what she had in mind." Gamby said as she came back through the door with a bright smile if tired smile on her face and just looked more relaxed. Her previous loneliness and dread having slowly melted away now and she was grateful that she wasn't in a bad state to talk with her sister and friends.


"You'll probably not get all the presents ready by Christmas in two days but we should be able to help you get some. Not that anyone would hold it against you seeing as you getting here this soon was really unexpected. We can probably get a couple things this evening before going to sleep." White stated as she thought about how much time was still in the day. It wouldn't be a lot of time but all three of them could see that even with her mood Gabby was quite tired from her emergency mission. Better to have her wind down from the mission and get some sleep.

----------


(The next morning)


The quiet pitter pattering of feet was softly echoing around the room as a small figure was slowly making its way through the room to the triple bed before it climbed up. Gently it made its way to the top of the bed and began to pat the sleeping shipgirl's shoulder.


"Bay! Bay bay bay." she said as she tried to wake up the occupant. Soon enough the shipgirl sat up and looked down before her eyes widen in surprise and moved to turn on the lights.


"Shin'you, Taiyou look. It's my Smol!" Gamby said quietly as she went to wake up her friends.


"BAY~!" the Smol said is a large amount of happiness and pride as she pulled out a few large presents out of a bag. She even had a small santa hat to complete the look.
------------------
So, what do you all think? I have to say...it's really weird trying to make reference to alt!me and all that for the sake of not cluttering up the snips. Still, even twice removed the affects of our favorite deep sea Princess can be felt and it can be seen as troubling to a certain section of people. And yes, that was a large gathering of Taffy 1 through 3 and members of a few more destroyer groups.

For reference, this is kinda how the scene looked like
Spoiler

In fact, for Fleet Week, if Gamby is on base you can bet the three of them would open up a cute little cafe.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Courtship Display VIII

Magical Diet, Magical Chiyoda, Tokyo
Spoiler: The Tokyo Diet

RCMMP Chief Superintendent and Auror Wei Ying walked past a group of four dozen protestors being kept away from the steps to the Diet by a line of hassled Aurors. As she skirted them, she sighed and could feel the tension in the air. The voter on the street was angry.

"Hm, that's new," she muttered to herself as she surveyed the placards and signs the protestors were waving with automatic habit from her decades as a policeman. "I wonder what that is about?"

She focused on one of the signs being waved showing a Nundu of all things chasing a rather fat politician in a red robe out of the Diet building in an endless loop.

'Political Nundu, The Protest Candidate That Can't Be Ignored?' Catchy slogan certainly and there has to be a story behind this. At least it beats the normal death threats against the local crop of village idiots.

At least the local hotheads were waving signs and chanting slogans versus thrown rocks or Blasting Spells. That never ended well in her experience, even if it was because your team had won the Cup. Or in the case of Vancouver in 1994, had lost the Stanley Cup in Game 7. She mentally winced at the memories of the riot.

"Auror Ying, is that you?" The expected shout from her left was right on time and she turned, her face showing clear 'surprise' at the sight of Delilah de Breuil dressed in a nice robe waving at her.

"Del, what are you doing here?" Ying's voice was clearly that of one old friend meeting another as she walked over to Delilah. "Your office said that you were on vacation when I called them four days ago to see if you wanted to meet up and talk."

Delilah grinned after they hugged in the middle of the square, ignoring the hustle and bustle around them, which no doubt included a few snoopers. "Well according to Accounting, either I burn my vacation time backlog by heading out of the office, or they will hire a Hit Wizard to get me to use it. It is making them look bad."

"Ahh, I see," Ying commiserated, "well this is a working vacation for me. The ICW wants to have me help the Aurors here track down Colombe du Chasteler since I'm the subject expert on her. Nasty piece of work that she is." Mischief glittered deep within Ying's dark grey eyes as she continued in that grave voice, "Ottawa also wants my observations of the mood here, unofficially."

Delilah grinned smugly, "I know exactly what you mean. I'm supposed to meet a friend here for lunch. If you want to tag along and meet her, I'm sure that she would be a useful person to know."

"I think that I will." Ying's voice was thoughtful, showing no indication that she and Delilah had planned this 'accidental' meeting all along. "I am just spinning my wheels until they develop a few leads. Damn du Chasteler has that nasty habit of causing trouble then dropping off the face of the planet before we can track her down and capture her."

Delilah nodded as a witch in her 30s approached them and adjusted her glasses. "Konnichiwa de Breuil-san."

Delilah turned and bowed in greetings. "Konnichiwa Miyata-san. May I introduce my classmate from Ilvermorny, Chief Superintendent of the RCMMP Auror Wei Ying?"

Ying bowed in turn and spoke in slightly accented Japanese "Konnichiwa, Miyata-san. Your government called me in to assist with the manhunt for the criminal Colombe du Chasteler. I'm the ICW expert on her and for my sins I was the one to construct a suspect profile for her. I was just speaking with Delilah-chan about our observations of Japan." Ying chuckled as they began to walk toward the primary Floo exit portal. "Ottawa likes to be kept abreast of events, and they generally are interested in the same thing the Yanks like Delilah-san are."

Delilah grinned. "You are just still sore I led Thunderbird to victory over Horned Serpent in our class's final House cup standings. But yes, I always like to hear your observations, since you are quite insightful for a Canuck from the frozen North. What's that saying, ahh yes, The RCMMP Always Gets Their Being."

"Indeed we do," agreed Ying, "Although some chases are harder than others. I miss fieldwork, honestly. I'm half inclined to request to go out and see what can be seen alongside the locals. I really am led to believe that du Chasteler might try a strike at a second Reserve before too much longer." She put her hands behind her neck and cracked it.

"Tell me about it! I miss getting a chance to do fieldwork like we did back in the 1880s against the White Lotus Triad up and down the West Coast. Instead I am suffering from Bureaucrat's Bottom and Swivel-chair Spread. I never should have agreed to take that promotion to my office." Delilah agreed with poorly-hidden wish for a field assignment once more. Come into my parlor and take the bait Naomi Miyata.... With that she rubbed her lower back to work out a knot.

Naomi nodded slowly, her mind whirling behind the polite mask. "I see... perhaps you would like to join Delilah and I over lunch and we can discuss that? I know some people in the Civil service who can perhaps assist you with processing the paperwork to do a check on a few Reserves alongside my inspection tour. We are as interested as Auror Wei is to catch du Chasteler-san, if for no other reason to demonstrate that the mistaken perceptions of governmental incompetence are the results of a few bad apples. Surely you have some?"

Ying grinned, "Oh my yes. Jock, oh you don't know him, Miyata-san. He was Auror Shaw back then and my junior partner before a possessed Canada Goose took off his leg. He wound up assisting Minister Wojcik in Magical Creature Handling and the last time I spoke to him, he told me about Councilor de Santis' granddaughter deciding to fall for a loup-garou she met at a hockey game...."

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

Azabu Tansumachi Tenryoan, Roppongi Grand Plaza Second Floor, Tokyo

"Thank you and please come again!" The manager's bow was quite abject and the unwritten addition "But not too soon, preferably after I retire so you will be the new guy's problem!" was as clear as if he had spoken it.

Ying and Delilah both returned the bows and walked out of the steakhouse. "That was a good meal. Even better that we were not interrupted this time. So, now what after I put in the request to join her fact-finding surprise inspection as an ICW rep checking to see if du Chasteler plans to attack the reserves alongside you so we can report to New York and Ottawa?" Ying mused.
Spoiler: I called WHO?

Delilah grinned smugly. "Now you get to meet our aunts and make the social rounds." She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Moshi moshi? Mou, I'm onna phone!" A soft childish voice came over the speakerphone. Delilah's smug look was replaced with dawning horror.

Delilah spoke firmly like she was addressing a small child. "Kyoshu, call Umi to the Phone please." The revolver crossed her fingers as she made her request.

"Umi-chan! Telephone...wait why am I holding the phone, Moshi moshi?"

"Kyoshu, it's Delilah de Breuil. Call Umi to the phone please?" Delilah spoke with forced patience in her voice.

"Umiiii! Telephone! Wait, mou.... Moshi moshi?" Delilah facepalmed.

After the sixth iteration of 'telephone', a new voice that sounded like nothing so much as a harassed mother of two joined the game. "I'm here Kyo-chan, just give me the telephone? Moshi moshi."

Delilah muttered "At last!" silently. "Aunt Umi, I'm in the area and was hoping to drop by. Ahh is Akutoku there?"

"No, she's with Chisuheri. I'm trying to get this potion order done and you caught me adding the sarugami fur to the mix." Umi spoke, "I don't suppose that you can watch Kyo-chan and Nameless?"

Delilah bit her lip. "I can as long as you don't tell Akutoku I'm back in Japan."

"I'll see you at the family house then. Ja ne!" Umi's voice was that of a prisoner who had just gotten a pardon.

"Right, we will need to Floo to Kyoto..." Delilah started to walk and stopped dead. "Ying, what's wrong?"

The dao looked at her with a slightly maniac shocked look. "Your father's family is Japanese?"

The revolver nodded, "All us Muramasas are Japanese of some form. I'm Japanese-American. Sis is Japanese-Belgian and so on."

Ying turned white as a sheet.

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

Yokosuka Public Library
Spoiler: Hachiko and Moriko

(This one is the 'main' Hachiko/Moriko theme)

Hachiko Miyata smiled at Moriko Ibuki as his girlfriend came to the check-out desk with an armful of books. "Moriko-chan! Thank you for coming by when I called."

The unawakened natural-born Okami shipgirl gave a toothy grin at her boyfriend. "I couldn't resist visiting my Hachiko-chan." She leaned over and Hachiko gulped at the visible cleavage in her keyhole neckline blouse "What's up?"

He walked from behind the counter and guided her to a private reading room. "Yesterday, I found these in my pocket after work," He pulled out a pair of coupons to the Chojukan ryokan hot spring inn that were marked 'buy one night, stay for a weekend!' and handed her them, "but, I can't possibly afford to go. As much as I want to take you to it. So please take them so Sachiko-san can visit with the boy she likes?"

Moriko's heart fluttered as she realized that he was giving up his chance for a romantic getaway with her to make her crippled baby sister happy. Then her jaw firmed. "Hachiko-chan. I know that you wish to make your own way, and not rely on handouts, and I respect that. I know that you distrust good fortune that falls into your lap like these romantic couple's getaway coupons, and put your brother and others needing you first and I love you for it. But I want to see you spend some time upon yourself too."

She placed the tickets on the table. "I will buy one night at the ryokan for two. I will also ask Suzume-chan to babysit Aki-kun so you have time for yourself. She owes me for some things so she will agree to host him for the weekend and help him with studying. In return, will you use these to pay for the other two nights in an Onsen?"

Hachiko closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "I have a little money that I can take with me for train fare and perhaps some shopping? It... Has been a long time since I have had anything resembling a vacation."

Moriko leaned forward and caressed his cheek as she stared through his glasses into his eyes. "It has been too long for me. I have money from the JMSDF so if we find some bargains, we can get some souvenirs. I wonder who will provide a bento to eat on the train though?"

Hachiko smiled brilliantly as he gazed into her eyes. "I can prepare bentos for us, Moriko-Chan. Weekend after next?"

Her return smile lit her face up. "Weekend after next once I ask for vacation and speak to Suzume-chan, Hachiko Chan."

Their lips met in agreement and they melted into each other's embrace.

In a distant office above a literally divine karaoke club Ame-no-Uzume the Alarming Heavenly Female's sunny smile widened noticeably as she checked a relationship status upgrade alert on her phone's apps.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

A folded, somewhat worn shirt was added to the other clothes within an old gym bag before it was zippered shut. Straightening, the young female wolf Yokai looked around the room, "Well, that's about it..." Looking at the bag, she sighed, "Hard to think that, well..."

From where she closed an old backpack, her sister nodded, "Hai, Karen-Nee. All our things, all that we own, can be summed up in two old school backpacks and one gym bag." A knock at the door made her turn, "You can come in."

Moments later, their witch friend as well as the two Nekomata followed her in. A small sad smile on her face, the lone human gave them a wave, "Hey, we're just finished up." Seeing the looks, she tilted her head, "You okay, Karen-Chan? Mami-Chan?"

With a small shrug, Mami shook her head, "Hai, we are, Izumi-Chan. Just.... thoughtful, you know? This? This is an end of an era."

Just walking over to the bed, Izumi sat down and looked at the small, cramped room that she had shared with the two wolves for the past nearly ten years. There was a lot of memories tied up in the foster home after all for all of them, and, glancing at them, she smiled as she was reminded that the two wolf Yokai had been her close friends even before that, "I suppose that it is." Suddenly, Izumi grinned, "But then, we got something to look forward to!"

Confused, Karen cocked an eyebrow and gave the Human a look as she crossed her arms over her chest, "What do you mean?"

Lips curling into a smirk, Izumi gestured first at Karen and then at Mami, "Well, think about it for a moment. For all these years we've been like sisters to one another, since we were toddlers. And now? We're going to become sisters for real once we become shipgirls as we're all from the same class."

Expression brightening, Mami nodded, "That's right!" Giggling, she grabbed hold of Izumi and hugged her, "We're going to be sisters for real!"

Unable to help herself, the witch giggled and hugged her friend, and soon to be sister Ship, back, "I know!"

Only shaking her head at the two of them, Karen turned to the two Nekomata who seemed happy for them, "So, how are the two you doing, Megumi-Chan? Kokoro-Chan?"

Shrugging, Megumi smiled a bit as her ears twitched, "We're doing pretty good to be honest. Kokoro-Chan barely got any sleep last night." Poking her twin, she grinned, "The worrywart."

Lightly blushing, the other Nekomata poked her fingers together, "Sorry about that..."

Ruffling her hair, her sister shook her head, "See what I mean." She then adjusted her own gym bag, "Anyways... we're all packed up. Guess after this, we're going to be living on the base in our own dormitories."

Karen gave a nod of her own to that, "Hai, that is true..." Frowning, she ran a hand along the now empty, and beat up, dresser, "As odd as it is, I'm going to miss this place." Shoving her hands into the pockets of her worn jeans, the wolfess sighed, "Though that may be due to how all the brats will reaction without their Onee-Sama here to keep them in line."

Softly snickering, Mami waved her off, "I think that Oba-Chan can deal with them. And we can always visit, especially as..."

Glancing at the door, Megumi frowned, "We'll be bringing money from our pay checks here to help support them." When she looked at the others, she nodded as they did the same. After all, the Hachishakusama who was in charge of the foster home really was like a caring aunt to them all, and they wanted to help her out. She had taken them in along with other orphans and cared for them.

Which was not too surprising when one knew how Hachishakusama Yokai came about. Like Hone-Onna, they came about from a woman who died. But in this case, the woman was often a mother who either lost her own child or had become separated from said child. Thus, causing their transformation after death. Some were bad, being so driven with recovering their child that they would steal ones away. But their Oba-Chan was one who instead took in those without parents, raising them.

And they were thankful for that.

Heck, they could remember one incident years back when the Abyssals survivors who from those who had attacked Northern Ocean Princess had made a run for the coast. A Nu-Class has come ashore and was going to kill the youngest when the Hachishakusama who took care of them appeared and proceeded to rip it limb from limb for threatening them. Because of that, and how she cared for them, the five of them had decided that they would try and find their Oba-Chan's sons, who had disappeared after a landslide had killed her having saved their lives at the cost of her own. And after her death and transformation, they had disappeared into the system. And now, they had the resources through the JMSDF to find them.

That said, at the moment, the five friends all took a moment to take in everything.

With that done, they all stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. Sighing, Karen gave a nod, "And that is that I guess. At least this gives Oba-Chan more room." Bag slung over her shoulder, she looked at Izumi, "So do you have everything, Izumi-Chan?"

In reply, the witch lifted up what looked like a small chest, "Right here." Izumi smiled a bit, "The JMSDF already stated that they're going to help me learn magic. No more trying to learn myself from second hand books since we didn't have enough money for a tutor or to send me to one of the smaller schools."

Frowning in thought as they made their way along the halls, the Yokai nodded before Kokoro spoke up, "Aren't they reopening Mahoutokoro this year though? That is what I heard anyways."

However, Izumi shook her head, "Even if I was not too old to go, there is the issue of being a shipgirl. So I won't have time for it. And I am not going to leave you all in the lurch like that. Not now, not ever."

All the others did was nod at that with smiles. Reaching the bottom floor, they found the Hachishakusama who had cared for them practically in tears as she looked at them, "Oh, you five..." Walking over, she pulled them into a hug, "I am so proud of you, even if I wish that you could just stay here safe and sound. Promise me that you will be careful and take care of each other..."

Tightly hugging her back, Karen nodded, "Hai, we all promise, Oba-Chan." Her ears turned to where she could hear the sound of tires on gravel. With a deep breath, she looked at the others before moving back a step, "I think that is our ride."

When they got outside, they found that there was a small bus there with Akebono at the wheel. The Destroyer walked out with a smile and nodded, "So, ready?"

Blinking, the Hachishakusama frowned as she furrowed her eyebrows, "I am sorry, my dear. But why a bus? A car or perhaps a van would have been sufficient."

Rather amused, Akebono crossed her arms, "The Shitty Admiral figured that all of your would want to be there. And before you ask, the food is free for you on base and you can stay the night. There is also a full functioning bathhouse there as well."

Jaw dropping, the tall Yokai stared, "I... That is..." Looking at the now hopeful children, she smiled and shook her head, "Okay, children, gather some clothes and we'll go with your Nee-Sans." Happy gasps met her and the other children rushed inside. Turning, she gave a smile to Akebono, "Thank you, Akebono-Sama. We appreciate this."

Akebono simply waved her off, "Don't worry about it, we don't mind it at all. And if the Shitty Admiral had not so, we would have forced him to."

Humming, the Hachishakusama nodded, "I see..." Leaning in, she gave the shipgirl a closed eye smile, "Please do not use such language around the children though."

Somehow afraid, Akebono took a step back and waved her hands in front of her, "Um, yeah, sure... won't say that around the kids..."

Upon arriving at Kushiro, meanwhile, they came across a surprise in the form of a number of unexpected shipgirls. The first sign of which was Karen being pulled into a glomp as the shipgirl in question giggles, "Imouto! Panpakapan!"

Muffled mumbling could be heard from the wolf Yokai as she wondered what was going on. A moment later though, she was thankfully free as Atago went and glomped Mami with the same cry. Blinking away stars, Karen shook her head, "What just happened?"

A sigh made her turn to find a bemused Takao there along with Choukai and Maya. The Heavy Cruiser bowed a bit to both Yokai as well as the witch, whose face was currently being smothered in Atago's chest, "You will have to forgive Atago-Chan. She is just happy that we have new sisters."

Letting go of Izumi, Atago brightly smiled, "Hai! We got new Imoutos!" She then nodded to them, "I am your Onee-Chan, the Heavy Cruiser Atago!"

Only shaking her head, Takao also bowed, "And I am the name ship of our class, the Heavy Cruiser Takao."

Adjusting her glasses, Choukai smiled, "Good morning, Nee-Sans, I am the Heavy Cruiser Choukai."

The last of the Heavy Cruisers grinned widely and jerked her thumb at herself, "And I am the Heavy Cruiser Maya! But I'm better known as Maya-Sama!"

Off to the side, the two Nekomata stared a bit as the Heavy Cruisers closed on to talk with their new sisters. Then, they blushed some as they met the gaze of the Yamato sisters. For her part, Kokoro lightly blushed as she bowed to the other Battleships, "Um, good morning?"

Gently smiling, Yamato bowed back, "And a good morning to you as well, Nee-Sans. It is good to meet you."

A frown on her face, Megumi furrowed her eyebrows, "Nee-Sans? But... we're not Yamato class... not really."

It was not, however, Yamato who answered them. But, rather, that was when Musashi spoke up in her rumbling voice, "You came from the same series of design studies as us, it a different design. Thus, as far as Onee-Sama, this Musashi, and the others are concerned? That makes you one of us."

That brought a blush to both the Yokai's faces. One that deepened as Shinano gently hugged them, "It is good to meet you both."

Not too long after found them walking towards the Summoning Pool with Karen tilting her head, "Wait, something happened with the awakening of another magical ship?"

Frowning, Takao nodded, "Hai, it was just yesterday. The one awakened as an Onmyouji and it turned her into a Kitsune. So, we're unsure what might happen."

For a few moments there was no reaction, but then, both wolves turned and looked at a stunned Izumi. They tilted their heads and Mami smiled, "I think that you would look nice with wolf ears and a tail, Izumi-Chan."

Beside her, Karen grinned, "Hai, we'd be needing to beat guys and girls off of you then."

Pouting, Maya turned to her sisters, "It just is not fair. My boyfriend would love it if I had the fuzzy ears and tail. They got it, and Ashigara has it, why can't I?"

However, that only got her laughter.

 

[darthcourt10]

MagisterAurelius

Lonely Street 7 – The Not-so-Lonely Street

So from here on, my Lonely Street Snips are wrapping into the ongoing Ship of Fools. For reasons that should become readily apparent.

-0-0-0-

The mornings after 'Dalt Smash Mode' being activated were never a painless experience for Dalt. This morning's pain was welcomed however, because it confirmed that last night's torrid love-making with Kiho was not a dream. For once he did not wake up alone, but with his lover. His angel had reinforced that it was no dream, for upon kissing him good-morning and hearing his groans of pain, she had left the bed and returned with the Advil bottle. He had still gotten out of bed though, Kiho had some work to take care of, and Dalt knew that Yonehara and Ooyodo would want to debrief him of yesterday's events.

So it was with a smile on his face and a song in his heart when Dalt stepped into the Admiral's office building. He notified the front desk and sat down in the foyer to wait. It didn't take long before Ooyodo stepped out to admit him into Goto's office. Inside, Ooyodo walked back to her desk, while Goto, Yonehara, Ashigara, Takao and the local priestess of the shrine Haru Ono remained seated in various chairs.

"Master Chief, thanks for coming in so early. What can you tell us about yesterday's events?" Goto asked with his hands folded in front of his face.

Dalt described everything in detail until he reached the point where he burst through the wall. "I'm assuming of course that you watched the GoPro footage, that can show my actions far more clearly than my personal perspective, Admiral."

Everyone shifted so as to view the footage being projected onto a briefing screen. Ashigara was the first to speak as the beginning scenes were of the abduction happening at the gate of the base itself.

"These morons were filming the whole thing?"

Dalt chuckled. "So this must be Japan's equivalent of 'Florida Man' then."

Yonehara just facepalmed. "I've seen things, and this? This takes what I thought was the bottom of the pit, but they've started digging."

As the footage progressed to Imada's monologue of what he had planned for Kiho's demise, Dalt frowned. "Okay, if I had heard that, Kiho calling me off from killing him would have been much harder." His comment got him some looks, but he shrugged it off as everyone's attention became riveted once Dalt's dynamic entry started. The rest of the video was viewed in slack jawed silence by all except Dalt and Takao, who had seen the important bits in real life.

Haru was the first to speak, "YOU!" She pointed and stammered, "J-Just how? You shrug off some of the darker curses I've seen, one very impressive blasting curse and an Unforgivable curse, yet you just walk it off?"

"My resistance to magic and my freakish tolerance for pain happen to be something I was born with. At least that's what my grandfather told me was the result of the experiments my birth-mother did on herself while pregnant with me. She apparently injected mixed infusions of dragon, nundu and re'em blood to mix in with the amniotic fluid while I was gestating in the womb."

Haru's features became more bestial as she shouted in rage. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE THINKING?"

Dalt calmly responded, "My mother was a dark witch attempting to have a child immune, or at least highly resistant to magic. Her family supposedly possessed some artifact with an interesting curse. The artifact would only work in the hands of someone of a magical lineage, but the curse would cause any magical attempting to use it to slay their entire family and then themselves."

"Okay, that's one way to keep anyone from using something like that," Yonehara remarked, "but what about someone non-magical getting their hands on it."

"The curse wouldn't take effect on a no-maj, since they couldn't use the item in the first place. But since I would be a child of two magical lineages, but immune to magic, to my mother's mind that made me a skeleton key to a rather lethal lock. There are drawbacks. I can't be magically healed for one, have to heal up broken bones and such the old fashioned way. While I can shrug off a lot of pain, I will usually feel it the next morning. In fact, Advil is the only reason why my pulled muscles aren't screaming right now."

"So your birth-mother's family is still in possession of whatever this device is?" Admiral Goto leaned forward.

"Probably not. They ended up in a nasty three way fight between themselves, a MACUSA squad of Aurors and a band of Neo-Nazi Scourers. It was bad enough that only a handful of the Aurors walked away from that fight, and they promptly looted the family compound. I really doubt they would have missed something like that." Dalt shrugged. "And it's not like I ever knew any of them. My paternal grandfather had made sure that my father raised me the moment I was born."

"At least there's not a sealed-evil-in-a-can just waiting for anyone to pick it up. Something I don't need to worry about then." Goto looked a little less stressed and leaned back.

Haru spoke again, "And then there's the matter of you beating magical creatures to death Longstreet-san. The Boogeyman incident and now a Nundu. Where on earth did you learn to do these things?"

Dalt leaned his head back in thought. "Mostly from my grandfather and his circle of friends and war buddies. Most of my family on that side were members of the Order of Hermes so grandfather knew lots of the weak points on magical creatures that someone with no magic can exploit to take them down. And what he didn't know, Old Man Van Hellsing taught me and my brother the rest."

Dalt stopped in thought and looked at Haru. "I do have a question for you Haru-san. That Nundu didn't seem to be any tougher physically than a mundane big cat. Non-magical big game hunters have been using big game rifles for over a hundred years to take down things like that. Why haven't the mages caught on?"

Haru could only mutter something about common sense and the lack thereof in mages, then the debriefing ventured into what Dalt could recall about the Order of Hermes, what he could recall about his grandfather's activities in Indochina and any other tips on handling magical creatures while being non-magical. Three hours later, Dalt was able to arrange for Kiho to have a temporary base pass that would allow her to stay with Dalt until more permanent living arrangements could be made. Once he had accomplished that he grabbed a quick lunch and took a walk downtown and did some shopping.

-0-

Dalt smiled at Kiho as she entered the main base gate. He held her hand as they walked towards his house. "How did your meeting go?"

"It went very well. My client was extremely pleased with the results of my investigation. How was your day?"

Dalt grinned, "Nothing too strenuous. Just debriefed the Admiral about yesterday. Oh, and I picked this up for you." Dalt handed Kiho an official ID pass for the base. "It's a temporary base pass and ID until more permanent living arrangements are made."

Kiho stopped and looked at it in shock. "Dalt, this means.."

"That you can stay with me, until more permanent living arrangements are made." Dalt's eyes danced as he brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them.

They had continued walking and finally entered Dalt's home. For the first time in years, Dalt could actually taste the flavor of his own cooking as he and Kiho talked and ate. When night fell, this time he needed no coaxing to the bedroom.

In the morning he awoke to a smiling Kiho in his arms. "Good morning my dear."

"Good morning Dalt darling." Kiho purred in his ear as she embraced him. They lay there holding each other, languishing in the comfort of their entwined bodies.

"Kiho Mitsue," Dalt met and held her gaze with his, "do you know that you have saved my life? These past two years I've been in a very dark and lonely place. So much so, that until I met you, I was waiting for an Abyssal barrage to walk into and not come back out. And then I met you. For the first time in years someone wanted me, made me feel needed. You pulled me from the pit of despair. I love you Kiho Mitsue," Dalt paused as he pulled a small box from underneath the pillow and opened it, "and will you marry me?"

"YES!" Kiho exclaimed and then she kissed him deeply.

About an hour later

Kiho held out her hand, staring at the gold band on her finger in wonder. Dalt hugged his fiance closely and murmured, "I thought to take you shopping for the official ring, to get one the style and stone that you want, but I wanted to have something to ask you with so.."

Kiho stroked his cheek. "We can also go to a magical jeweler and just pick out a stone. Then the jeweler can use magic to make the ring what we want. This is the first ring you put on my hand Dalt, I will not replace it with anything else."

-0-0-

Later in the day, Dalt found himself at the computer in his home. He opened up Skype and placed a video call. He smiled as it was answered by a young teenaged girl who was tying her long blond hair back in a ponytail.

"Uncle Dalt!"

"Hello Nimue. How's my favorite niece been?"

"I'm okay, a little nervous about this summer to be honest. But! More importantly Uncle Dalt, normally we call you, is something wrong? That can't be it. Wait a minute! You're smiling Uncle Dalt!" Nimue's expression went from pensive to suspicious in an instant. "Mom says you're never happy, what gives?"

"Is Flynn home? Or is your dad off on a 'trip' again?"

Nimue snorted at Dalt making air quotes. "Yes, Daddy managed to break out of the basement again after Mom had chained him up after the last time."

"But I imagine you could probably connect to him on Skype right?"

"Wait, you want to talk to Daddy? Are you hiding something? You aren't sick are you Uncle Dalt?" The blond girl turned her worried expression away from the screen.

"No! No, I'm fine. I'm doing great Nimi. I haven't felt this great in decades. I'm not sick so you don't have to worry. No, it's time I stopped being angry and reconciled with Flynn."

"..." Nimue peered at the screen intently, then she covered her mouth in shock and nearly squeed. "Omigawd. You're getting married! But wait, who is she and why haven't you said anything before now?. Not cool keeping secrets Uncle Dalt."

Dalt facepalmed. "Ugh. Yes, I'm getting married. Her name is Kiho, and I literally just proposed to her this morning."

"Well alright then, I forgive you."

"That makes no sense. Just, could you please connect your dad?"

"Oh, alright. You men are all alike. So demanding. Never take the time to talk about important things like weddings, if the favorite niece is even invited to said wedding, when does the favorite niece get a little cousin to babysit, you know, those sorts of things." Nimue stuck her tongue out at the screen.

"Haha Nimi. When I actually know stuff like that my favorite niece will be the first one I call."

"Well then, I guess your call is being connected now..."

After about thirty seconds the screen split and Dalt's brother Flynn joined the call.

"Hello Nimue, why did you have to call... oh holy shit. Dalt."

"Flynn. Did I catch in flagrante delicto again or something?" Dalt smiled disarmingly.

Flynn blinked several times. "Okay, I'm awake and there was nothing funny in the scotch. But my older brother just had my daughter skype me, and he's smiling and cracking unfunny jokes. What the hell?"

"I thought it was time to actually talk to my troublesome little brother again. After all, between his work, his mistresses, and his wife, he might just start a dumpster fire and not have me around to bail him out of it."

"Har-de-har-har. Yeah I started many a dumpster fire when we were young, but you were the one who in 'cleaning up the mess' turned those into used tire yard fires! Wait a minute. You're chuckling. Holy shit. Dalt. YOU GOT LAID!"

"Better than that Daddy! Uncle Dalt's getting married!" Nimue helpfully interjected.

"Shit. Fuck. When?" Flynn had actually fallen out of his hotel room chair and was staring at the screen in shock. "Seriously, when is it? I've got an honest to god tutoring job in England over the summer and I'm taking Nimue along to meet her birth parents and her twin sibling."

"Like I told Nimi, I just proposed this morning. I'll let you know when I have more than that."

Flynn looked off in thought. "Well, hey, depending on what date you set, if it is in the summer? I'll ask Lucius if he would allow you to use the grounds or the manor for the ceremony and reception. Malfoy Manor is a pretty big estate, and has that English wedding charm if that's what your fiance might be into. But it would be a pretty big if."

"Depending on things I'll keep it in mind I guess?"

After that, the brothers and Dalt's niece caught up on all the family news and drama that been long accumulating during the silence between them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Having gone through the purification ritual, the group of teenagers found themselves on floating platforms that sat in the summoning pool. As they watched one of the Submarines climb up the ladder since she had anchored them, Karen shook her head some as she softly muttered, "I can't believe that we'll be working with someone like that."

Mami glanced at her sister and shook her head, "Um, maybe they're not all like that?"

Lips pressed thinly, the other Wolf Yokai shook her head, "Better not all be like that." Her eyebrows twitched a bit as the Submarine reached the top of the ladder and bounced... and not entirely on her feet, either, 'Okay, serious? What the fuck...'

Arms crossed, Megumi had a small smirk on her face, "Well, there is that one shipgirl, uh... Settsu, I think they call her." As one, they turned to where said shipgirl was, "Not sure how she got the clothes of that one American shipgirl, New Jersey, I think."

Softly snickering, Izumi shot her an amused look, "It was hilarious to see her reaction when Oba-Chan told her no swearing around the kids. That shut her up right quick."

For her part, Kokoro only shook her head before the Nekomata turned her attention to the cheap Yukata she wore. It was well made for all that it obviously did not cost very much, "I wonder where they got these? We could buy some for the others..."

Head tilted to the side, the older of the two wolf Yokai gave a nod, "We'll have to ask."

Before anyone else could say something, the sound of someone asking for their attention made them turn. There, at the end of the pier, stood Tanaka. On his face was a small smile as he nodded to them, "Are you ready?"

With one final look among them, Karen gave a thumbs up, "Hai, Teitoku! We're all ready!"

Just nodding, Tanaka motioned for the ceremony to begin. Unlike down in Yokosuka and elsewhere in Japan, the Admiral had a Ainu spiritual leader there alongside a Buddhist Monk and a Shinto Priest who all worked at the Ritual of Awakening. As they continued, the platforms that the five girls stood on began to rock back and forth, yet they managed to stand straight. Slowly, the water around them began to glow with it spreading upwards over their bodies.

Holding up a hand, Kokoro had a slightly awed look on her face as sparkles slowly rose from it even as the light began to shine brighter and brighter, 'Oh... wow...'

Each of them began to squint against the light and their last sight was of their "Little Siblings" looking at them with excitement, worry, and awe. As well, the Hachishakusama had clasped her hands and was looking on with pride along with some worry. Inside their chests, they could hear their hearts thundering and feel the blood rushing through their veins. The whole time, they could feel themselves become more and more powerful, like a balloon being filled with energy.

Finally... it reached the crescendo of the ritual and they could feel the brief moment of time when their hearts just stopped..

They had just enough time to realize what that meant, and also know that their hearts would never again beat. Then, that moment was past and they could feel their turbines fire and come roaring to life as pure power surged through them pushing them beyond what they could have had as mortals. They could feel their Yukatas disintegrate and new clothes form around them as their rigging manifested and platforms exploded beneath them from their new weight.

Meanwhile, everyone else waited with baited breath as the light around the Yokai and one witch exploded outwards into sparkles that drifted past them. As it cleared, there were the five of them now shipgirls. More than one eye widened as they noticed that the girls look at each other. With a deep breath, Karen stepped forward. Like Mami and Izumi, she had a white, double breasted coat in a naval style that lead down to a skirt and leggings. At her side was a sword. With a salute, she smiled, "Takao Kai Class Heavy Cruiser, Fuji at your service. Just leave everything up to Onee-Sama."

She gave a wink to everyone as Mami stepped forward with a soft smile, "Takao Kai Class Heavy Cruiser, Sakurajima, at your service."

It was then that Izumi also stepped forward and took a deep breath, though unlike the other two, she had blue in her uniform. Such as a blue bow tie at her neck, "Takao Kai Class Heavy Cruiser, Kunimigaoka." She glanced towards the kids watching in awe and winked, "Your Onee-San is now ready to head out and kick Abyssal stern."

Mad giggles met her at that as some of the kids cheered, alongside Atago who was jumping up and down. Forcing his head away, Tanaka could feel the slight glares from Akebono and Kasumi before they started to glare at the jumping Heavy Cruiser, 'Right...'

Now looking at the other two, he could see the older of the two Nekomata smiling and whispering something to her sister. Both of them were dressed in similar clothing in the form of Kimono style tops and skirts, though Kokoro's exposed some of her side while Megumi's exposed some cleavage. Walking forward a few steps, she placed a closed fist against her waist and grinned, "Hello, I am the Battleship Yashima, first of the Yashima Class. And don't worry, Oba-Chan, I'll take care of my Imouto."

Walking a few steps forward, her sister nodded with a slightly shy smile on her face as the cat mask on the side of her face caught the light, "And I am the Battleship Tsukushi."

Up on the pier, Tanaka only smiled at them before giving his own nod as did the other shipgirls who began to clap.

Not long afterwards, Karen finished climbing the ladder which groaned slightly under her weight, followed by the others. With a small tilt of the head towards Tanaka, she turned to the other foster children and the Hachishakusama with a grin, "Hey guys! What do you think? Your Onee-Sama is about a hundred times more awesome!'

Giggling young Yokai rushed forward and hugged her around the knees and waist. Unlike previous cases though, she was not knocked back in the slightest. Karen did look up as the Hachishakusama walked up and smiled at her as she looked her over, "You look very beautiful, Karen-Chan..." Briefly, a frown crossed her face, "Or is it Fuji-Chan, now?"

Lightly laughing even as she easily picked up two of the kids and set them on her shoulders, Karen grinned, "Thank you. And it is Karen, always that for you, Oba-Chan." She reached up and poked one of the Itachi on her shoulder and got giggles, "And for you bunch as well."

Cheers met that before some of the kids went to embrace their other "Onee-Sans", who in their eye had just become far cooler and more awesome. Said newly awoken shipgirls gently hugged said kids and either placed them on their shoulders or had them hanging off their necks. But all of them were grinning and laughing. Kokoro spotted the Hachishakusama giving her a slightly frown and blinked, "Um, Oba-Chan?"

With a blink of her own, the giant woman shook her head, "Sorry, Kokoro-Chan. Just..." There was a small grimace on her face, "Do you need to wear such clothing?"

Slight blush on her face, Kokoro tried to adjust her top some, "Sorry, Oba-Chan... I don't think that I can."

That only got her a sigh from her adopted aunt before the woman smiled just the same before turning to Tanaka. For his part, the Admiral shrugged helplessly, "I honestly do not know why the girls get the outfits that they do. But better than some...'

Considering that, the Hachishakusama sighed, "Yes, I suppose so..." She then tilted her head, "What comes now?"

Just scratching his chin as he hummed, Tanaka gave a small nod, "The normal operating practice would be to bring them to the office and give them a small briefing. But... I already took care of that yesterday. I assume that they told you some of it?" Only nodding as they walked, Tanaka continued, "For the most part, they're going to be sent down to Yokosuka for training after a day or two for them to settle into their new existence. Once down there, training will start right away."

For a few moments, the giant woman frowned and chewed her lip, "They... they will be taken care of, won't they?"

Lips curling into a smile, Tanaka nodded slightly, "Yes, they will. There are two others down there that will be getting trained alongside them as well. So they will be well taken care of, you have my word."

Maya gave a loud laugh before jerking her thumb at herself, "Don't worry, Oba-San, for my new Nee-Sans, I'll give them the best training possible. And you can count on the Great Maya-Sama to manage it!"

Sighing a bit, Takao shook her head, "Maya-Chan, we're all going to pitch in, as well as Ashigara-San. At least until Atago-Chan heads back to her girlfriend and boyfriend."

Heavily blushing, the Heavy Cruiser in question waved her hands, "A-Alaksa-Chan is not my girlfriend! And Cameron-Kun is not my boyfriend! He's Alaska-Chan's!"

Adjusting her glasses, her final sister nodded, "Yes, Takao-Onee-Sama, Atago-Nee-Chan is not boyfriend and girlfriend with them." A sigh of relief escaped Atago, but before she could thank her, Choukai continued with a slight smirk, "She is still in denial after all."

With a groan escaping from her, Atago hung her head and her shoulders slumped, "Not you too, Choukai-Chan... Panpakapan..."

Bemused as the other three sisters joined in on teasing an increasingly flustered and embarrassed Atago, Mami giggled some and shook her head. Turning to Izumi, she smiled a bit, "How are you feeling, Izumi-Chan?"

The witch tilted her head some in thought and clenched her fist as she walked, ignoring the giggling young male Kitsune that hung off her back, "Hmm... powerful. But also a bit disappointed."

Eyebrow raised, Megumi gave her an odd look, "Disappointed? Why?"

In reply, Izumi pointed at her head with a slight smirk, "No wolf ears." Then she pointed behind her, "And no wolf tail."

Looking over her shoulder, Karen grinned, "Yeah, that is a bit disappointing. Would have loved to see you with them as it would have been awesome." She then shrugged and shook her head, "But I guess that is just how it is."

One of the girls on her shoulder tapped her head, "Onee-Sama? Um... you got a sword?" At the nod, the young Yokai continued, "Can you use it? Like, cut bullets and stuff?"

Unable to help herself, Karen shook her head, "No, I don't think that I can cut bullets. But..." Looking at the blade at her lip, she became thoughtful, "I think... no, I know that I can use a sword?"

From where she was walking, Settsu grinned before speaking in a passible imitation of Jersey's voice, "Ffff-" Seeing the Hachishakusama look at her, she changed gears, "F-fudging right. Us shipgirls can use the freaking skills of our crews. So if at least one knew, then you would too."

Eyebrows furrowing, the Heavy Cruiser frowned in thought. After a few seconds, Karen nodded, "Hai, some of my crew knew how to fight. And one of them was taught by a Muramasa no Norimune? Huh."

Raising her hand, Izumi shook her head, "My Captain was trained by a Masamune no Tokunotakai."

When they looked to where Mami was, she gave a sheepish grin, "My XO was trained by Tokunotakai-San as well. But, um... one of my Engineers and two of my gunners were friends who joined up and..." Thoughtful, she gave a hum, "They were from a group of children rescued from the fires of the Great Kanto Earthquake by a woman who called herself Masamune no Musashi? And she taught them some basics over a few weeks to keep them busy while she attempted to find their families or someone to care for them."

That got a raised eyebrow from the Battleship Musashi, "They met someone named Musashi?"

Slowly, Mami nodded, "Hai. Apparently she was the spirit of Miyamoto no Musashi's own blades. From what they tell me, because of all the kids who went to the same orphanage joined up to do her honor."

Just tilting her head, the older of the two Yokai Cruisers hummed, "Huh, wonder if that blade is still around then... And who else might have crewmembers trained by her."

Those listening only nodded as they wondered themselves.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Operation Ehren's Reise (I) [Journey]

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Colombe sighed and adjusted the cast on her left arm. Getting seriously wounded was never fun, in her experience. Even if being at home with To-chan, her daughters, and Kasuyu to take care of her was better than....

For a brief instant a memory from almost a century in the past struck her with the force of the kick from Fudo that had turned a fifth of her ribcage into shattered bone splinters.
Spoiler: The Mill on the Meuse

The gasping screams of the gas victims from the attack two days ago as they coughed up the bloody froth that was their lungs. The sickening smell of gas gangrene as wounds swelled and corroded in the filth and despair of the overworked dressing station. The frantic pleadings of the seriously wounded man next to her who had just been marked ne pas évacuer and was to be carried out of the stinking, blood-soaked dugout that had been turned into a makeshift hospital for the mangled victims of the Mill on the Meuse to be abandoned outside to make room for another from the endless stream of broken men. And worst of all, the infernal thunder of the hungry guns endlessly roaring, stabbing her ears with their call that it was a matter of time before the next shell would blow her to pieces as just another anonymous corpse rather than just hammer shrapnel into her like this near-miss as the world went mad and consumed its own people endlessly and hungrily....

A stabbing pain in her right hand as her broken and splinted fingers shifted brought her out of the half trance of the terrible memories of the Great War locked in the depths of her soul where she never wished to return to and she focused on concerned blue-green eyes as Toku entered her room with a tray of food.

"Co-chan, what is wrong?" The Masamune said in a worried voice at the look in Colombe's eyes as she placed lunch down on her bedside table.

Colombe took a deep breath. "I was just remembering," she sighed deeply, her haunted eyes distant as she continued, "the past. Every time I'm injured, can't run, it all seems to catch up with me." Her lips curled in a sad smile, "Lyra always told me that I was a terrible patient for her when I kept coming back to her side to be nursed back to health."

Toku nodded and handed a glass with a straw for Colombe to sip from. "You share that with Fudo-nee."

"How is Fudo?" Colombe asked as she was handed a ham sandwich after finishing her drink.

"Sleeping now, I expect that she can return home in a day or two." Toku responded. "I would prefer to see neither of you as my patients in the future." Her voice gained a subtle edge.

Colombe winced with a hiss of pain. "I'll do my best, I promise. No guarantees To-chan. Not with my luck." She sighed. "I just wish there was something productive that I could do. Well apart from one thing. Can you track down Ehren and ask her to speak to me? You too, of course since I'll need a witness. Tell her to get the package that my lawyer prepared last November from my study and the one that I ordered to get sent here last week."

Toku nodded and after making sure Colombe could reach the rest of her lunch, headed to find the dagger.
Spoiler: Marching Orders

Shortly afterward, Ehren entered with a document folder in her hand alongside Toku. The dagger snapped to attention. "You wished to see me Mutti?"

"Mmm-hmm." Colombe took a bite of a blood orange and muttered, "Not sure what Aunt Juuchi sees in these things. They taste terrible. Anyway, I had planned to set up a trust fund for the Fujii family to provide for them. Both on the magical and non-magical side of things. So pull up a chair."

Ehren complied. "Yes, you had discussed that with me when you and Toku returned from Japan."

"Good. Nice to see Fudo didn't rattle my brains as badly as I thought." Colombe waved for Ehren to hand over the documents and then a pen from her vanity. "Lawyers are such wonderful things and worth their weight in the precious substance of your choice. Anyway! Back before I left for Japan to track down Father, I made the arrangements to make you the executor of my estate with the power of attorney over my affairs, Ehren." She began to flip through the paper, initialing as she went.

The dagger's steel-blue eyes widened. 'M-me, Mutti?"

Colombe pointed the pen at her youngest daughter. "Yes, you Ehren. You are the most trustworthy, loyal, and honorable person I know. Furthermore Kasuyu really does not have your head for business and Claire...she would turn Moulbaix into a giant recording studio and music store."

Mother and daughter both chuckled as Toku smiled. "Regardless, you have the power to conduct affairs on my behalf and my name while I'm incapacitated. Which I am currently between the shattered leg, the rest of the broken bones and other damage, and most importantly, giving my sworn oath to Ying to not travel more than thirty kilometers distance from Moulbaix without permission until my case is cleared. Which presents a problem since I need to speak to Jardine's managing director and a director at Gringotts' face to face in London and sign the notarized paperwork to set up the muggle and magical trust funds for the Fujiis and To-chan, and now Ying so they are provided for in the event the worst comes."

She turned to Toku. "I trust that you will not object to being part of the du Chasteler family in law as well as in truth?"

The Masamune smiled happily and shook her head. "Iie, Co-chan, I am honored."

"Bon." Colombe smiled back as she reached the last page in the packet and waved the others over. "I shall need a witness signature, To-chan. I am in my right mind and under no coercion as I appoint Ehren du Chasteler as my business attorney-in-fact in family matters relating to the estate of Colombe du Chasteler." With that she signed and dated the paper in triplicate and used a signet ring from the package before handing it and the pen to Toku. "Sign and date the witness lines, please, then pass it to Ehren."
Spoiler: Ehren nach England!

As Toku did so. Colombe pulled out a cell phone, then a set of identity papers and a credit card, her du Chasteler signet ring, and last a gold key on a silver chain from the package from her lawyer. "These are yours. Your passport, credit cards in your name, and the key to the family vaults in Gringotts. I will make the calls to the people you need to speak to, so that they know that you are acting as my proxy. I recommend Gringotts first to get wizarding funds for the trip, say a hundred Galleons should suffice. Better to have too many than not enough. Keep one copy of the forms on you for this trip at all times, and hand me the other two for my files."

Ehren nodded and signed the paperwork in turn. "Jawohl, Mutti. Anything else?"

"Yes. Plan on a week in London, so pack accordingly and take the Audi from the garage for your use. According to the Daily Prophet, Harry Potter was targeted by Dementors while at Hogwarts recently. Since the school should be out this upcoming week, I want you to nose around and find out the truth in that if you run into any wizards, especially students shopping in Diagon Alley . Stay discreet like Del taught you, but if you make contact with any of the Potter family's allies, let them know that the du Chastelers stand beside them in this time. If Ian and Lyra's great-grandson is seriously threatened, I'll talk Ying into allowing me to assist him."

Ehren nodded sharply, her eyes agleam. "Zu Befehl, Mutti!"

"That's my Ehren. If Del or Jackie have not told you how to access Wizarding London, instructions are on a slip of paper in your passport. Last but not least, check out one of the emergency Portkeys and if you get into trouble, don't hesitate to use it get back here. Any questions, Ehren?" Colombe finished, as she looked at her daughter.

"Nein, Mutti! I shall pack and depart forthwith." Ehren barked out as she shot to attention with a slap of her leather shoes together, nearly vibrating in her eagerness.

"Bon voyage, Ehren! Oh and don't be afraid to grab anything Claire or the Fujiis would like if you see a nice gift for sale." Colombe responded, watching her daughter head out of the room at double time.

She turned to look at Toku, whose lips were twitching with the attempt to hold in suppressed laughter. "I hope that I'm not making a big mistake here, but I do need to get this done."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-Let's Try this again.

A Butterknife Mountie Needs A Calming Draught (Badly!)

Azai Yakkyoku, Magical Kyoto
Spoiler: A Butterknife Family Meeting

"Father's family can't be Japanese..." Wei(-du Chasteler) Ying protested weakly as her aunt Delilah de Breuil(-Muramasa) guided her through the door of the potion and apothecary shop. "She just can't...."

Delilah gave her niece a look. "At least Aunt Umi is a potion brewer. We will need some Calming Draught. The good Calming Draught." Getting a nod from the shopkeeper, she used a move-along hold on Ying's shoulder and arm to 'guide' Ying through the curtain in the back.

"Speaking of Umi, where is she...?" Delilah mused as she walked her niece down the wood and rice paper corridor.
Spoiler: Goldfish Interrupt

"NIECES! Na-chan! Na-chan! NIECES!" A sudden happy cry and a white haired and yellow-eyed comet plowed into Ying with a tacklehug from the room ahead. "Hi, I'm Kyoshu! Who are you?"

Delilah laughed in Schadenfreude as Ying twitched and returned the hug on autopilot..

"Oh there you are. Who is your friend, Delilah?" Umi stuck her head out of the living room as Delilah guided the numbly twitching Mountie into the living room.

"Oh hi, I'm Kyoshu! What's your name...Mou let me guess? Are you one of my Nice Nieces, or a Naughty Nieces. Naughty Nieces~..." Kyoshu giggled happily as she sang, "...do Naughty Nieces eat the last cookie, Na-chan? Oh Hi, I'm Kyoshu, you must be my nieces. Wait wait, Na-chan, if I have Nice Naughty Nieces I'm an Auntie, but then Aunties are old... Na-chan, Na-chan, I'm OLD! Mou, who are you, I'm Kyoshu!" Kyoshu babbled away at the dao, who was muttering to herself about what kind of drugs were slipped into her steak.

Delilah looked at Umi who was measuring droplets of some fizzing pink liquid into her cauldron. "I'll tell you once you put down the ingredients, Aunt Umi. I'll need some of your Calming Draught for her. The good family-only Calming Draught."
Spoiler: Butterknife Drug Dealer

Umi gave Delilah a flat stare as she finished stirring the potion. "This better be good. I'm running low myself." The definite subtext was 'this better not be a joke' from the white-haired spear spirit as she unlocked a high cabinet with a series of hand passes and then pulled out a potion bottle.

Delilah smugged, "Oh it is. Let me introduce you to my classmate and niece Wei Ying of the Royal Canadian Magical Mounted Police who just arrested her father Colombe for serial violations of the Statute."

Umi stared in shock at the Chinese spirit as she handed the potion bottle to Delilah.

A dropped glass shattered in the kitchen and Delilah glanced over in that direction and froze. Her eyes widened and her smug smirk vanished utterly at the look in her father's eyes. "Oh shit. Hi Norimune. I can explain everything." Her voice was slightly frantic as she tried to defuse the bomb that she had just set off.
Spoiler: A Blast From The Past

Norimune stared at the Auror who had been assigned to guide her to and from court in 1946 when she stood trial for war crimes. "No fucking way...."

Umi shook her head. Ying twitched again. Delilah slammed her face into her palm and sighed heavily.

"You're not trying to shi--" Umi glared at Norimune as Kyoshu cocked her head curiously. "s-s-sandbag me, Delilah."

Delilah handed the potion to Ying. "Drink up, you will need it for this one," she advised her niece, "and just let Kyoshu babble at you." Nameless raised a comb and brush, "or that, they like to do hairstyles."

Ying sipped the potion, and then began to gulp it in earnest, her hair lengthening slightly unnoticed to all but Kyoshu as the Sword of Faded Memories began to braid her hair.

"Right. Introductions. The girl in the wheelchair is Toku's big sister Nameless, long story there. The hairstylist is Aunt Kyoshu, the Sword of Faded Memories. Then we have Aunt Umitsubame, the Waterwitch Blade, who keeps most of the cats herded these days. Finally the avatar with the fox ears and tail is my father Norimune, the Unrepentant Blade." Delilah ticked off the other spirits in the room. "Anyone else who gets to join this dumpster fire?"

Umi pulled out a second flask of Calming Draught and took a long pull before handing it to Norimune. "No. Akutoku's working on a deadline for a release. Chi's running around on JNHRO business of some kind. Kago's still in England. Juuchi's busy and stays away from Kyo-chan anyway. Suisei might pop by later once the bakery closes."

"Right. In brief, Sis... Colombe ran into Ying's mother Yuying in 1854 in China during the Taiping rebellion and got her on a boat to America right before a lynch mob in 1855. They don't like huli jing fox spirits over there." Delilah began the story

"No shit they don't." Norimune muttered, looking at the shell shocked dao who was having the French Braid start added onto with some cornrows.

Anyway, Sis was still on her find Norimune obsessive hunt back then." Norimune winced slightly and took a long pull of the potion before handing it back to Umi who was shaking her head. "So she never knew that she had knocked up Yuying by accident."

"Story of my life." Norimune muttered to herself.

"After the birth, they moved up to Canada and when Ying was eleven she got sent to Ilvermorny. That's where we met, when she pinched my arm hard for no reason at all. Gave me a nasty welt."

"You deliberately hit me first with your valise and smugged about it!" Ying focused her spinning mind on a key point in the tale that was getting covered up by her aunt and long-time school rival.

"Did not!" Delilah retorted. "If I had wanted to deck you like you claim, I'd have decked you. So there!"

"Did too! Don't try that accidental innocence shit you sneaky smug Yank!" Ying raised her voice as she glared at Delilah.

"Not my fault! Oh wait, that's Sis's catchphrase. It still applies so I'm stealing it, you stone-faced Canuck!" Delilah returned the glare as her voice elevated in turn.

"Mou, what's a Canuck?" Kyoshu asked, blinking in confusion. "Oh, Na-chan, wanna style her hair?" The silently laughing Masamune nodded as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Umitsubame and Norimune looked at the squabbling spirits and then at each other.

"One of us." Norimune began to chuckle quietly. "Only one of us can have such a fucked-up first meeting."

"No doubt about it." Umitsubame nodded and then pulled out more Calming Draught. "Do me a favor and grab the soothing herbal tea."

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

Umi pinched her nose. "So, let me get this straight. Colombe had an affair with a Chinese fox spirit in 1855 who moved to America and her daughter Ying butted heads with you all through school and then as a fellow Auror and then you found out last week that she was your niece?"

Delilah nodded and sipped her herbal tea. "In summary, yes. Sis had no clue about the child because by the time Ying's mother knew she was pregnant, she was in America while Sis was running around China on her attempt to hunt down Norimune. Truly God exists and He has a sense of humor."

Norimune stared at the tranqued out dao, who was sipping another bottle of Calming Draught while behind her Kyoshu began to floof out her blonde hair. "...and she was my primary guard for the trials in 1946 and then arrested," The nodachi began to break down in tears of helpless laughter again, "her own father for crimes."

Delilah smirked, "Yes, although that is part of a plan to give Colombe a fair shake with the ICW. We put Sis under House Arrest, then Ying has a magistrate friend who issued a warrant to bring Sis in for questioning. She gets her side of all the shit she did explained under Truth Spells and we then hit the ICW with it and get what was justified dropped and plea down the rest. Brilliant and I wish that I had thought of it."

"Because you Thunderbirds are jump in first and figure out what to do later types unlike us Horned Serpents who use our brains, Del." Ying snarked at Delilah as the Calming Draught finally took effect. "That said, Aunt Delilah has the gist of it and I knew Colombe was no villain, just unlucky from the start thanks to Amah's stories."

Something flickered for a moment in Norimune's eyes. "She has to be related to me with that kind of crazy luck." The Unrepentant Blade stated. "No way that is natural."

Umi nodded from where she was brewing more Calming Draught to replace the serious dent in her private stash. "I have to agree there."

Ying subsided as Kyoshu worked on her scalp. "Aunt Delilah told the key parts... Great-Aunt Umitsubame, Grandfather. I apologize for my ill-manners, but this string of revelations has been quite stressful."

"Na-chan, Na-chan, Nori's a grandfather! Then that means that she's Old! Na-chan, I'm OLD!!" Kyoshu babbled, looking at her friend with the brush before the Masamune guided her hands back to Ying's head. "OooO! Pretty gold hair! Lemme style it!"

Delilah's lips twitched as Kyoshu decided to add odangoes to the floof of Ying's hair. The Mountie sighed and began to pet the fox kit that hopped into her lap. "So, what happened to Great-Aunt Kyoshu or has she always been like this?"
Spoiler: Hong Kong

A chill ran through the room at the next words. "Sub-unit 942 happened."

Ying stiffened and her eyes flamed as her face twisted in an ugly snarl of fury. She swore venomously in Chinese. "Cào nǐ zǔ zōng shí bā dài!!" (fuck your ancestors to the 18th generation.)

Norimune shook her head. "You ran into them too then." Her voice was very flat.

Ying nodded sharply. "I was part of C Force holding Hong Kong in 1941. When it fell I slipped away and reported on troop movements through there with a crystal ball for the rest of the war."

Norimune nodded, her eyes distant as she remembered events seventy years in the past. "I'm just glad that I was temporarily assigned to Gorota's Company of the Seventh Imperial Guards for that fight. At least they mostly fought face to face unlike those fucking kempetai."

Ying blinked. "Wait, you were in Hong Kong? What part of the fight? What did you do there?" Her voice trembled and tears were in her eyes.

"Shing Mun Redoubt and then the first push on Jardine's Lookout. After that, my company was rotated back to the rear and replaced since the damned barbed wire was intact on the slope and we got hung up and cut to pieces." Norimune trailed off and stared at Ying. "You were there?"

Ying nodded as she tried to control herself. "I cast an illusion to conceal that barbed wire we had put up the night before from the pre-attack scouts. Had to pull out the next night when we got flanked out to the east."

"Clever." Norimune thought out loud. "Anyway, after that shitshow we got pulled out and that butcher Okita's men got sent in to replace us. Then I got sent to Burma."

"Okita." Ying hissed savagely, her shoulders shaking as she fought for self-control. "Grandfather, I'm glad that I never had to... to..." her voice broke and cracked as she trailed off, unable to speak.

Norimune stared at her. "Wait. The FUCK! You're Lady Kitsune?!?"

"Wait, who?" Delilah questioned.

"What the kempetai were calling a fox spirit in Hong Kong who was stalking and killing them. I served under Okita in '39 in First Changsha and he was a real vicious sadistic piece of shit. From the rumor I heard in late '43, his unit got sent to Hong Kong to root her out and she got him first. Heard he died really badly." Norimune explained, looking at her granddaughter with an unreadable expression.

"He did..." Ying whispered, her head downcast. "I enjoyed paying evil unto evil with him."

"Some people deserve everything you can do to them and more. Like the -942 mage who attacked Nameless and took her very identity. From what we know about what happened to Kyo-chan, same applies to them." Umi said quietly, her eyes hard.

Delilah nodded in agreement, "I watched a friend of mine burn a man alive and he dunked himself in Death Potion to try to put it out, and all I can think about him is that it was too bad that it was not me who did him in. Fucking SS Vampires."

Norimune nodded. "I won't miss Okita at all. Of all the officers I have served under, he was one of the worst. Just glad that it was one of us who offed him."

Delilah agreed as she sipped her tea, "We are all flawed monsters in our own ways. Have you told Sis about Hong Kong?"

Ying shook her head as Kyoshu stepped back from the hairstyle job. Her now floofy blond hair with dumpling buns on either side swayed. "No. Just Mother, Ehren, and now you."

Delilah sighed. "I recommend telling Sis about it. Her answer may surprise you, she has seen and done some shit."

Ying's shoulders slumped and she began to cry silently. Umi sat alongside her and patted her back.

Delilah turned to the puzzled and blinking Kyoshu and smiled smugly. "Here you go Aunt Kyoshu. I found something for you." She reached into her purse and pulled out a white and aquamarine stuffed animal pillow.

"I found a Mizuchi!" Kyoshu cheered, her memories of the past forgotten. "Na-chan, Na-chan! It's a Mizuchi! They are Nice Nieces!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-Massive props to RCNAnon here for lending me one of his girls to interact with Ehren.

Operation Ehren's Reise (II)

Southern England, M20, Dover End Of The Chunnel

Jean Bart smiled happily as the line of trucks that had been blocking her route to London peeled away to the loading dock for the railroad spur.

Open road at last! She leaned into the throttle and accelerated, feeling her lips pucker in a grin at the feel of what she had been born to do. Born to run with elan and panache.

As she passed a sedan carrying a family of four, suddenly a white Audi behind her flashed the headlights at her.
Spoiler: Audi!

She shifted over and the slab of German engineering cruised to pace her at 80 miles per hour. The blonde driver glanced over and one pale gold eyebrow rose above her custom Porsche sunglasses in a unspoken message. 'Why not?'

Jean Bart matched the challenging stare with a smirk of her own. 'Why not indeed?'

One leather gloved finger touched a button on the steering wheel and a piano began to play frantically from a CD installed in the custom sound system installed in the concept car.
Spoiler: Claire's Custom CD For Ehren

The girl behind the wheel slammed the turbocharged 2.5 liter engine into fourth gear as her foot floored the gas and the Audi accelerated away like a shell from her main battery. Jean Bart grinned at the custom DOVE-2 Belgian license plate and twisted her throttle fully open as the motor on her BMW S1000RR screamed, vibrating her steel bones with the need for speed.

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

Ashford, Kent, 15 miles from Dover, 61 miles from London
Spoiler: A Friendly Little Drive

A howling BMW motorcycle shot like a rocket between a delivery van and a Jaguar containing a stockbroker returning from his afternoon at the hunt club. The grinning rider's long pony tail whipped in the wind of her passage like the national flag on a battleship running flat out at pleine vitesse.

Right on her aft was the white Audi as their game of hare and hounds continued. In the driver's seat, a dagger's Teutonic blonde avatar showed teeth in her smugly happy smile as she calculated distances and possibilities of the spacing in the next clump of cars that they were approaching to make her move while her sister's voice sang to her with the thrill of the chase.

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

Swanlea, Kent, 15 miles from London

Traffic sucked, Jean Bart reflected as she finally was forced to slow down to something within shouting distance of the posted speed limits. She then smiled triumphantly as just behind her, the Audi slowed down in turn.

Glancing at her mirrors she shifted to the left to allow the Audi to come alongside her. The other driver took the invitation and her window lowered.

Jean Bart mentally raised an eyebrow at the young age of the late teenage driver. "Good race." she said sincerely.

A fractional nod from the blonde girl as she spoke in German-accented French. "Indeed. You do your machine credit. Sadly, duty calls. Dienst is Dienst and Schnaps ist Schnaps. May I have the name of the superior driver who has bested me?"

Jean Bart nodded, feeling her boilers flare a little hotter. "Jean Bart."

"I am Ehren. I hope to see you again for another contest. Auf Wiedersehen."

"Adieu." Jean Bart grinned as the window rolled back up and she began to plot her course to Passel House for her design consultation with Ron and his staff. "I look forward to it too."

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

Savoy Hotel, London
Spoiler: Ehren's Trip

Ehren walked to the windows and gazed out across the Thames River from her third floor hotel room. For a brief second, she allowed herself to lower her guard and tears trickled down her cheeks as the streetlights came on.

I miss you all so very much.

Miho Fujii. Misaki. Chi-chan. Toku.

Kasuyu. Aunt Del. Aunt Jackie. Zamarad.

Mother.

Claire.

I will accomplish my mission and come back to you. I swear.

Her thumb automatically traced along the hilt of her true body as she released the emotions that she had been holding in ever since she had gotten this assignment from Mother.

The restless night's sleep where she eventually had to sneak into Claire's room to let her big sister cuddle her one last time. The tearful departure early this morning. Claire's tear soaked hug and handing over a custom CD of her piano music to play on the drive over. The Fujiis offering her their best wishes for a safe trip. Kasuyu handing her the keys to the freshly washed and gassed up car. Mother in the antique wheelchair pushed by Toku hugging her with her one good arm and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Her burying her excitement, her thoughts, her fears, her worries, her pride in Mother's trust, her acceptance of the responsibility placed upon her shoulders behind her mask of cool confident duty.

Her first time outside the confines of Moulbaix by herself.

A whispered word to her reflection in the window glass. "I miss you all already."

With that, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply in and out. Finally she opened them and turned to the sky blue Beauxbatons uniform waiting for her tomorrow when she visited Diagon Alley and started her mission in earnest.

Mother's old school uniform that had been tailored to fit her by Miho yesterday.

Another whispered question. "Was it like this for you when you left Moulbaix your first time, Mutti?"

The uniform did not answer.

Neither did her smartphone when she double-checked her planned itinerary with her instructions to locate the Leaky Cauldron highlighted as her first step for tomorrow. Nor did her P08 Luger (A Christmas gift from Aunt Del) when she automatically cleaned and oiled it before sliding it into the concealed holster with the Notice-me-not charms embroidered that she would wear for her mission. Nor did her legal papers to notify those who she needed to convince that she was Mother's agent.

Nor did her dagger body when she honed and oiled herself.

Sleep was a long time coming for Ehren du Chasteler that night.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Stretching some as she walked into the small bathroom, Izumi groaned a bit before some satisfying cracks came from her spine... or was that keel now? Just giving that a moment's worth of thought, the newly awakened shipgirl shook her head as she walked towards the sink, 'I'm going to need to get used to thoughts like that, won't I?' Upon reaching the mirror, she sighed some as she caught sight of her reflection, "Heh."

Within the mirror, she could see the image of a young woman wearing a large shirt, that still strained a bit with a pair of shorts underneath. Bemused, Izumi considered her older "Sisters" in the non-magical part of the Takao Class and chuckled, "I suppose that answers the question of how the hell I've been so... gifted as it were." Head tilted to the side, she considered herself with a small smile. Despite just waking up, she still looked nearly supermodel good, "Guess all those rumours about shipgirls always looking beautiful were not just bullshit." Bringing up one arm, she did a small curl and her smile widened at seeing muscles form there that she did not have before her transformation, "Now this is sweet. Thank you to the Kami."

Lightly laughing as she remembered how she had been told at the debriefing after the Awakening Ceremony that shipgirls often changed a bit in the days afterwards as their bodies settled into their new state. Bringing her hands up to her chest, she was reminded of one thing she was told about which was relatively common, "Well, hopefully I don't get anymore here. Because, honestly, I got enough to worry about."

Izumi did pause for a moment as something felt a little bit... off, strange. But then she shrugged it off as something to think about later. Not really all that important when it came to things. Instead, she turned on the tap and ran cold water before splashing it on her face. An act which fully woke her up and made her shiver a little before she stopped and dried her face. But as Izumi pulled the face towel away from her face, she paused at her reflection. Slowly, her eyes widened some, 'What the...'

Back in the room that the witch turned shipgirl had come from, Karen was stretching on her bed with a sigh. Looking over at Mami, she chuckled a bit as the other wolf Yokai was examining her uniform, "Relax, you heard what the others told you last night about the clothes we get as shipgirls."

Only blinking, Mami shrugged a bit, "Yeah, and? I still don't understand how these work." Looking at the pantyhose that came with the rest of her "Uniform", she frowned, "Never wore this sort of stuff before, but I was always told it was a right bitch to get on and off. The girls at school always complained about it. Yet... for some reason, it isn't hard for me to put on or take off. Watch..."

Eyebrow raised, her older sister watched as her younger sister put on the pantyhose. Once it was fully on, Karen slowly blinked, "Uh, okay...? So you can put it on without trouble?"

Rolling her eyes, Mami threw her hands up into the air, "Exactly! I can pull them on as if they're just normal socks, or spandex bottoms I guess." Gesturing at it, she continued, "No runs or anything, it just smoothly and quickly goes on."

For several moments, Karen considered that as well as what she had overheard from other girls regarding that type of clothing. Like her sister, she had never wore something like that mainly because they did not have the money for it. But her own leggings came on and off easily, despite who complicated she would have thought it would have been. With a small shrug, she chuckled, "Maybe it is an example of the Magical Shipgirl Sparkly Bullshit they keep going on about?"

A frown on her face, the younger Yokai thought about it before taking off her pantyhose and throwing her jogging pants back on, "Maybe? Still if so than I am thankful." Sadly smiling, she glanced at her sister, "Remember when Okaa-San used to put them on? We were, what? Five years old?"

Wistful expression on her face, Karen nodded, "Hai, I remember. She used to state that it took a few minutes to put them on from what I remember." Leaning forward, she chuckled a bit, "I wonder what her and Otou-San would think of what we're doing?"

Only shaking her head, Mami sighed, "I hope that they're proud." It was then that there was a squeal from the bathroom and both Yokai blinked and rose to their feet, "Wait, was that Izumi-Chan? What in the world?"

Frowning, her older sister shook her head and began to walk towards the bathroom, "I don't know, but that sounded... happy?"

Just sharing a confused look with Mami, Karen was about to open the door when Izumi threw it open with a nearly blinding smile on her face, "Karen-Chan! Mami-Chan! Look!"

Both wolf Yokai looked at where she was pointing and their jaws dropped at the sight of two fuzzy ears that stood up. Then, they noticed the slightly bushy wolf tail behind their friend. Mouth open, Karen boggled a bit, "What in the world..."

However, Mami's own expression brightened and she walked over before pulling Izumi into a hug, a muffled sound of steel hitting steel as she embraced her, "This is great news, Izumi-Chan! Now you're even more our Nee-San!"

Tightening the hug, Izumi nodded with happy giggles, "Hai!" Moments later, Karen also embraced her and Izumi hummed, "I'm just so glad to share this with you."

Softly smiling, Karen nuzzled her, "And you are not the only one either, because we're both happy for this too... Nee-San."

If her smile before was bright, now said girl's smile was nearly blinding. Nodding, Izumi gave a sigh, "I'm glad."

Glancing at where Izumi's tail was practically a blur with how fast it was wagging, Karen had to hold in a snort, "I think that we noticed."

Confused, Izumi followed her gaze and blushed some at what she saw, "Um, hai?" Tilting her head, she hummed, "Though you're going to have to teach me how to hide them so I can go out and about."

Still smiling as she moved out of the embrace, Mami nodded, "That won't be an issue, Izumi-Nee. Trust me on that, we'll get started as soon as we can on that." Right then, a growl came from her stomach followed by ones from the other two. All of them had a light reddish hue to their cheeks as they placed a hand against their stomachs, "Um... once we get some breakfast into us."

Quickly taking showers and getting dressed, the three newly awoken shipgirls made their way to the Mess Hall. While not the size of the ones in places like Yokosuka or Sasebo, the Mess Hall in Kushiro was still quite large being about the same size as a school cafeteria. Along one side, various cooks worked to get food ready for any JMSDF personnel and shipgirls. In one small corner, the Hachishakusama was helping the various children get their breakfasts as they ate, watching over them even as she had a small mound of food in front of her.

Walking into the Mess Hall, the three Okami Heavy Cruisers looked around with smiles before they got glomped from the side by a surprise attack, "PANPAKAPAN!"

As giggles came from the attacking shipgirl, Karen smiled a little bit, "Good morning, Atago-Nee-Chan."

Brightly smiling with her eyes closed, Atago spread her arms wide, "Good morning, Imoutos! And it is better now that you're here!" Opening her eyes, she blinked some as she looked at Izumi's new ears, "..."

There was a slight blush on Izumi's cheeks as she brushed some of her hair back behind her human ears, "I, uh, woke up this way." Eyes widening, Atago stared at her before with a shaking head reaching up and gently poking the ear which twitched in reply. Then, she began to run her finger along it with a awed look even as the Heavy Cruiser who the ears in question belonged to blushed even more, "Um..."

However, a yelp escaped from Atago as Takao appeared from nowhere and grabbed her ear before pulling her away, "Stop that, Atago." Turning to the three Yokai shipgirls, she gave a small smile, "I'll take her back to our table, and sorry about this." She then gave a small shrug, "Anyways, since we'll get plenty of time to spend at meal times down in Yokosuka, you can join your little siblings." The black haired Heavy Cruiser winked as she ignored Atago's pleas to let her ear go, "After all, I know how to be an Onee-San."

Karen chuckled a bit and winked back, "Good to know~" She then lead the other two to where the Hachishakusama had the other children and waved at them, "Good morning, Oba-Chan, everyone."

Turning, the giant woman smiled, "Good morning, Karen-Chan, Mami-Chan, Izumi-Chan..." Upon catching sight of the new additions to the witch, her eyes widened, "Izumi-Chan? What happened?"

Only shrugging, the young woman in question shook her head, "I... don't know, I woke up with them." Glancing at Karen and Mami though, she smiled as she turned back to the Hachishakusama, "Not that I mind all that much as it makes me more like my Nee-Sans."

Just softly smiling, the Hachishakusama hugged her, "Good to know, Izumi-Chan. And I am glad for you." Gently guiding them to where they could sit down, she nodded, "Now, you just wait here and I'll go and get some food for you three. Megumi-Chan and Kokoro-Chan are already doing so with their new Nee-Sans."

Looking over, they found that the Yamatos were there with the two Nekomata with all seven having large piles of food in front of them that they were working their way through. Both cat Yokai smiled at them and waved at a spot across from them which they took, even as the younger children giggled and whispered about their big sister's new additions. Karen blinked though as she could hear the crackle of static in her head before Megumi's voice came through in her head, '{Good morning, you three.}'

Rapidly blinking, Karen frowned, "How..." The knowledge came bubbling up in her mind at the same time it did for her sisters and she continued over the radio, '{Huh, so that is how...}'

A grin on her face, Izumi laughed over the radio, '{Oh wow! This is so cool!}'

Musashi chuckled as she gave a nod, '{Yes, that is the normal response to such. And this Musashi does agree that it is rather... cool.}'

Snickering, Hana, who was the lone Natural Born of the Yamato class, spoke up, '{You got no idea! Kaa-San can't listen in on me when I want to talk with my Nee-Sans since I can do it whenever over the radio.}'

Eyebrow raised, Yamato gave her a look, '{Not anytime, Hana-Chan. There are times that we cannot speak over the radio for the obvious reasons.}' She then smiled, '{But this is one of those times, yes.}' The Battleship then turned to the Heavy Cruisers, '{Megumi-Chan as well as Kokoro-Chan were telling us about the foster home that you have been living in.}'

When the three Heavy Cruisers turned to the Nekomata, said two Yokai shrugged. Megumi then shook her head, '{Yamato-Onee-San wished to know more about it. And, well...}'

Leaning forward a bit, Yamato smiled, '{From what Megumi-Chan has stated, your foster home needs some work done to it, correct?'

Unsure, Karen gave a small nod, '{I... well, yes? We've done the best that we can, but with so many of us...}'

At that, Musashi gave a nod before her warm rumbling voice came over the radio, '{Yes, and this Musashi is quite impressed with your Oba-Chan.}' Adjusting her glasses, she smiled, '{Which is why we have decided that in a while, we shall pay for what is needed and shall work to fix up the building in question, or even build a new one if that is what happens.}'

Softly smiling at their shocked looks, Shinano hummed, '{Hai, us shipgirls can choose forms of charity to give to, and I think that we can all agree that this is a worthy one.}'

There were tears in the corners of the five newly awoken shipgirls' eyes as they spoke as one, '{Thank you.}'

Only nodding, Yamato smiled at them as did Musashi and the others. It was then that Kokoro noticed that Shinano was looking at a tablet in thought and tilted her head, '{Shinano-Nee-Chan? What are you watching?}'

Noticing herself, Hana giggled some, '{Oh, Shinano-Nee-Chan is watching one of Naka-San's livestreams. This morning, she's livestreaming the official opening of a small museum outside the Shrine in Yokosuka which we all go to. Mainly because the collection there is from Harry-San, who Shinano-Nee-Chan likes~}'

That got Karen's and the others attention and they tried to see best that they could even as Shinano blushed, until Yamato handed them a tablet to watch. Some of the younger children climbed up into their "Onee-Sans'" laps to also watch as Naka began putting on a small performance with traditional music included...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Adjusting his dress jacket, Harry glanced around the entry area for the museum right outside the Shrine. Off to one side, he could see Haru and Hoshi softly conversing, with the Kyuubi dressed in a fine Kimono. Nearby, one could see some of the local politicians talking with the representative from MEXT. Said man glanced at Harry and gave him a small nod as well as a smile, which the thirteen year old returned.

There was nothing much to be honest until a finger tapped him on his shoulder and he turned to find Harder there, "Hey, Kiddo. Feeling okay there?"

Lips twitching, Harry gave a small chuckle as he shrugged, "I am, Miss Harder. A little bit nervous, but..."

Softly snorting, the Submarine shook her head, "Kid, call me Harder, not 'Miss'. As to feeling nervous?" Harder had a slight smirk on her face as she continued, "I would be worried if you weren't a little bit nervous. Besides... you got to get used to this sort of thing for when you become an Admiral." She then gestured around them, "Though this is smaller than most political bullshit that you might need to deal with. But it serves a purpose to get your name out there at least."

Rubbing his neck, Harry hummed, "True, but..." He sighed a little, "I would have thought that I would be more used to this. After all, returning Honjo was sort of like this."

Only chuckling as she sipped a drink, Harder shook her head, "Maybe, but for the first few times stuff like this will get to you. Sure, it is the Kiddy Pool when it comes to shit like this, but really? Best place to start and get some practice in." It was then that she noted something and gave a tilt of her head, "Looks like your, uh, class just showed up."

With a blink, the teen turned and his eyes widened a bit as a bus pulled into the parking lot, from which a number of middle school students exited. Glancing at Harder, Harry got a nod and walked over with a small grin on his face, "Natsumi-Chan!"

A bright smile on her face, the disguised Kitsune waved at him, "Hello, Harry-Chan." Giving him a look over, she found her cheeks heating at the sight of him in a suit, 'Harry-Chan really does wear that well.'

Moments later, she blinked and blushed even more as she swore she could hear Tamamo's voice, 'Mmm, yes, he certainly is... delectable in that. But imagine in a few years...'

Briefly, there was an image of an older Harry wearing a similar suit. However, Natsumi shook it off and decided that she was just imagining the voice. Or, perhaps, it was just her hormones talking. Most likely that last one, she decided.

Instead though, she walked up to Harry and nodded, "Good morning, Harry-Chan."

Smiling back, Harry chuckled a little, "And a good morning to you as well, Natsumi-Chan." With a raised eyebrow, he glanced over her shoulder to where the rest of her class was, "I can't believe that you managed to get the class here. How?"

Just giving a small shrug, the Kitsune shook her head, "It wasn't that hard really, Oba-Chan did most of the hard work. Among other things, she noted that it would be a great opportunity for students to get to see how government operates and such. Also, they would get to experience some history as well." A grin then crossed Natsumi's face, "It just means that I get to see the looks on some of those bakas when they realize some things about you."

Only shaking his head, Harry sighed though he still smiled, "Natsumi-Chan..."

Natsumi raised an eyebrow and gave him a look, "You might have forgiven some of them for how they treated you back in elementary, Harry-Chan. You.. Not me. And this is me shoving it in their faces."

Before Harry could comment, a voice spoke up, "Did anyone ever tell you how scary you are, Natsumi-San?" They both turned to find Asuka walking up, "Because you really are."

A dark smile was on Natsumi's face at that, "More than a few have, Asuka-San. More than a few..."

Rolling her eyes, Ayaka scoffed, "Yeah, yeah, you like to make sure that those who anger you regret it." She then shrugged some, "Though I guess this is better than some might have."

Slightly frowning, Usagi walked up, "Do they really deserve to have this sort of thing thrown in their faces, Natsumi-Chan?"

The Kitsune turned and gave her a thin smile, "Trust me, Usagi-Chan, you got no idea. Some of these guys bullied Harry-Chan here a little bit back in elementary school. Heck, three of them beat him up when he tried to rescue Shiromizu-Chan from them when they were messing with her because she looked like an injured snake."

Narrowing her eyes, Usagi frowned, "I... see." Then, she shrugged, "Consider my problems revoked then." Looking around, the rabbit Yokai gestured, "Hey, isn't that Kiba-San over there?"

With a glance over her shoulder, Asuka brightly smiled at the sight of the well dressed Yokai, "It is! And Chisuheri as well!"

Head tilted to the side, Harry chuckled, "Huh, Chisuheri-San looks pretty good in a suit."

Right then, a smug chuckle made him turn to find Juuchi behind him dressed in a version of her normal clothing, but with the skirt coming down to her mid thigh, "Indeed, Master. Though I am not too surprised." Biting into a slice of blood orange, she gave him a look, which he nodded at. Smiling, she began walking over, "I suppose that I must go and talk with my dear Nee-San now."

Glancing at Harry's waist, sure enough, Natsumi could see Juuchi's true form there though peace bonded, "Huh, so Nagato-San let you bring her out?"

Lightly blushing, the teenage wizard nodded, "Hai, Mum wanted me to wear her at my side as a statement due to the connection with my family. Apparently it looks good or some such thing..." A small frown on his face, he glanced at his family's blade, "Not sure how..."

Due to not looking at them, he missed the Yokai Heirs outside of Asuka glance at each other. Then Kenta coughed and waved his hand, "We'll explain it later, Harry-San." Turning, he gave a small smile to the Tengu, "And you as well, Asuka-San."

Unsure, Asuka only nodded in confusion, though internally she was also considering asking Koga about the fact. Before she could say anything, a new voice spoke up, "Excuse me, Potter-San? Could I ask you something?"

With a blink, Harry turned and his eyebrows widened a bit. Remembering her from elementary school as one of the students that were nicer to him, he smiled some, "Okita-San?" At the nod as she was followed by two other girls, he continued, "Sure, go ahead."

Nodding, she pointed at the sword, "Is that really the Muramasa, Juuchi Yosamu? Truly?"

A little surprised, Harry gave a nod and patted the hilt, "It sure is as a matter of fact. She's been in my family for a few hundred years." Unnoticed by him, Juuchi looked over and did a double take at seeing two of the girls who had followed Okita up before she furrowed her eyebrows, "Why?"

Fingers twitching, Okita shook her head, "I just wanted to make sure because, well... it is amazing to be in the presence of such a masterwork. No matter the reputation that it may have, it is still a piece of true art."

Internally, the black haired wizard was snickering, 'I imagine that Juuchi is preening right now.' Glancing at said blade's human avatar, Harry shook his head as, sure enough, she was indeed preening, 'Yup, that's her.'

Humming, Nobu stroked her chin in thought, "Yes, truly a thing of beauty. And for your family to be so strong as to own and use a Demon Blade, it makes even a Demon such as I be in awe!"

Somewhat bemused, Harry continued chatting with not just the Yokai Heirs, but also those three whom he had been somewhat friendly with in elementary. Granted, even now he was unsure why Nobu kept going on about him helping her conquer Japan, but as always disregarded it. After about ten minutes though, he said goodbye and made his way over to a teenage girl standing next to a seemingly older teen and a younger girl. Waving, Harry gave her a smile, "Sayaka-San, Momo-San, Kyushu-San! Good to see you here."

For her part, Sayaka blushed a little at seeing Harry come up, "A-ah, good morning, Harry-San."

Both Momo and Kyushu also nodded and bowed, but then the physically younger girl had a small smile on her face, "Um, Harry-San?" Getting a nod, she continued, "Onee-Chan wouldn't mind much if you added 'Chan' to her name."

If anything, that made said older sister flush deeply. Thankfully for her, Harry chuckled and shook his head, "Only if she told me herself, Momo-San." Due to turning to Kyushu, he missed the embarrassed look Sayaka gave a grinning Momo, "So how are you doing, Kyushu-San?"

The Yokai shipgirl smiled a little, "I am doing well, Potter-San. Though..." She rubbed her stomach a little, "I would not mind a snack or two."

A slight smile on his face, Harry made a gesture towards a nearby set of tables where Natsumi and some of the others had already headed to, "You could go and have some refreshments. It is mostly treats as well as tea and coffee. Kenta-Kun's family and someone I know named Suisei-San who is a great baker as well."

Expression brightening, Kyushu looked towards Sayaka. Said girl nodded with a slightly tired smile and motioned for her to go on. The Oni Shipgirl gave a bow to her, "Thank you, Onee-Chan."

Watching as Kyushu walked towards the tables, the black haired wizard smiled a bit. Then, he tilted his head some to the side as he lowered his voice, "How are you doing, Sayaka-San?"

Simply sighing, Sayaka ran a hand through her hair, "I've been doing okay, Harry-San." She gave a glance to her younger sister who smiled back, "Momo-Chan's back, so that's great though I get worried when she heads out on patrol... but I think that I am getting a little better at that."

Only nodding, Harry chuckled a little, "It does become a bit easier with time." Thankful, Sayaka chuckled herself and Harry noted that she looked much better than she had all those months back before Momo had been summoned, 'I was kind of worried about her...'

For her part, the teenage girl stretched a little, "Anyways, the harder part is now that I have a Imouto that looks older than I do. But... we're working on that." Looking around, she chewed her lip some, "Um, about this..."

All Harry did was shake his head, "Don't worry about it, Momo-San will get invited to things like this from time to time. Just act naturally and you'll be fine." Grimacing a bit, he sighed, "Unlike me, who has to go up and give a small speech."

Blinking for a moment, Sayaka looked at him and giggled a little. At his raised eyebrow and amused expression, she blushed a little, "Um, sorry about that..."

However, Harry just waved her off, "Don't worry about it." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pocket watch and opened it to look at the time before straightening his suit jacket and bowing to the two girls, "Anyways, I have to go and prepare a little, Sayaka-San, Momo-San, it's been great talking with you."

The two girls bowed back, though Sayaka blushed for some odd reason.

While walking towards the podium, Harry did note though that Akagi and Kaga had both shown up and were talking with Taichi, who was between the two of them. So too were a number of the other shipgirls like Taigei, Ryuuhou, the Submarine girls, Louisiana, and the like. All of whom he nodded at before coming to a stand by the podium and sitting down with his adoptive mother next to him.

Roughly four minutes later, Taichi's band walked up onto a stand and got into position. The real surprise though was Naka herself, fully done up like an Oiran from the Meiji Era. With a small smile, the Light Cruiser kneeled down and took an instrument before she began to play masterfully as she sang various songs of the time in question.

Unknown to her, Harder was watching with a dropped jaw and a small blush, 'Holy shit... Naka is... holy shit...' When Naka got up and danced the same sort that an Oiran would to the music, the Submarine felt her cheeks heat up a little more every time that the normally orange clad Cruiser glanced at her, 'Whoa...'

For her part, Naka was thankful for the makeup that was on her cheeks as it made it easy to hide her own blush. Especially with how Harder was looking at her, though she didn't quite understand why she was so bashful. Rather than think on that more though, Naka concentrated on the routine that she worked hard to memorize and pulled it off perfectly.

Once she was done, the various politicians and the representative from MEXT gave their own speeches as did Haru. Then, it was Harry's turn as he stepped up to the podium and took a deep, calming breath. A soft smile was on his face as he gave a slight nod to the crowd as all the public speaking lessons from Yamamoto, Halsey, Nagato, Yamato, Goto, Naka, and others came to the fore, "Good morning to you all and thank you for coming. I promise that I will not make this a long speech. I am honoured to speak here on this day as the museum is opened with the Potter Ian Collection within it. Unknown to most, my family actually has had a long time connection to Japan, which I am pleased to say continues to me. One of my ancestors were among the British traders that travelled to Japan in the early 1600s, and even fell in love with a Japanese woman. My family is descended from them and it is from her that Juuchi Yosamu, the masterwork sword forged by Muramasa, came into our possession."

Continuing after a small drink, he took a deep breath, "Then, in the 1860s after Japan was opened to people from the rest of the world, my Great-great grandfather, Potter Ian traveled to this nation. He wished to open trading connections at the time, but there was another, more personal reason for his journey. For he had read the old journals and diaries of my honoured ancestors, about how part of our family originated here. Thus, he wished to know more about this land. And he fell in love with Japan, so much so that he spent many of the next four decades here, with my great-grandfather, Potter Henry being born here in 1890 to his wife, Potter Lyra, nee Black." Part of Harry noted some surprise from those who did not know that, or the rest of what he was stating, "Ian would continue to visit even past that point, with his last visit in 1924, a few short years before his death in 1927."

Most of those were listening intently as Harry smiled, "During his time in Japan, my great-great grandfather bought many things. Most, at the time, were considered knickknacks. Some were works of art, and he even bought a sword, Tsukiakari no Suzu, from a soldier who had used her at the Battle of Shiroyama, but had found a Samurai sword that he found more fitting to himself. All of these items, besides Tsukiakari no Suzu, who he carried while in Japan, were displayed in my family's ancestral abode in Britain. And those items have now been returned to Japan, where they belong and for new generations to enjoy and to learn of our honoured past from and through them. I hope that each of you, and others that will come after you, shall enjoy this collection and learning about those who have gone before. Thank you."

With that, Harry stepped down while there was some applause to that.

As he sat down, he softly sighed in relief. Feeling a tap on the shoulder, Harry glanced towards Haru who smiled at him before she softly whispered, "Very well done, Harry-San. Very well done, indeed."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see the MEXT representative give a nod of his own and a very slight smile. And Nagato was also giving him a proud look. Soon after, it was time to cut the ribbon to the museum and Harry walked up alongside Haru. Together with the MEXT representative, they cut said ribbon and officially opened the museum for everyone. As the various people entered, Harry noted the smug smirk on Natsumi's face at how some of his former bullies had soured expressions on their faces at seeing the picture and plaque inside.

Walking around sometime later, Momo was smiling as she looked at a mouse Netsuke, "Wow, Onee-Chan! Look at it, it's so cute!"

Sayaka was smiling as she bent down and was examining it, "Hai, it's adorable!" She then pointed at another one which showed a wolf, "But that one is pretty cool."

Bemused, Kyushu shook her head and pointed at another Netsuki, "I believe though that this one is the best."

Glancing at it, and noticing that it was that of an Oni, her sisters giggled madly.

Elsewhere on the first floor, Nagato was chatting with one of the local politicians, "... Well, we could not put all the collection on display, I am afraid. There's just too much to show all at once and so it will be rotated. Others... will not be put on display at all. And for some good reasons as well."

His eyebrow raised, the politician hummed a bit while taking note of cameras and such taking pictures, as well as Naka still in Oiran outfit running her livestream, "Oh? Why not? They are our heritage after all."

Nagato's answer, if he had been drinking, would have gotten a spittake from him, "Because some of them are of a more... erotic nature." A light blush appeared on her face, "Besides some woodcuts and such, there was a Netsuki for example of an Ama and an group of octopi. And that was just one example" Clearing her throat, the Battleship continued, "Hence it was decided that perhaps it was best not to display those pieces."

It went without saying the politician nodded fairly rapidly as even he blushed.

A short distance away, Okita was sighing as she looked at an collection of Imari ware plates next to two vases, "This brings back memories." Pointing at them, she gave a small nod, "These were very popular with the Europeans. I remember merchants selling them to such people, though I bought a few myself one time."

Rubbing her chin, Shin nodded some, "Hai, I can imagine why." She waved her hand at the display, "These are some beautiful pieces of art."

Chuckles made them turn to find their friend smiling. At their looks, she raised an eyebrow, "Could you imagine the reaction of some of our... contemporaries, if they were to come to our homes and find such pieces?"

For a few moments, Shin considered that before chuckling herself, "Yes, I could well imagine the reaction they would have. Not bad, Nobu-Chan." Humming, a small smile grew on her face, "Hai, I can imagine such reactions..."

Upstairs, Juuchi had a smug look on her face as she looked at one woodcut before glancing at her sister, "I quite like this one."

Eyebrow raised, her sister glanced back at the picture, which showed a giant skull glaring at a Samurai, with said skull composed of many smaller skulls. Shaking her head, Chisuheri only sighed, "Somehow, I am not too surprised..." But then, she tilted her head, "Though I will admit, Mekurabe are rather annoying..."

Humming, Juuchi nodded, "Quite."

Not far away, the Submarines stood before a wall screen which showed an underwater vista. Gesturing at it, Iku looked at the others, "What do you think? Do you think that Ryuujin-Sama's palace really looks like that?'

Thoughtful, Hachi shook her head, "I... don't really know." Adjusting her glasses, she hummed a bit, "But maybe? I've been nowhere deep enough to see if it exists down there, though since the Kami do exist..."

Imuya tilted her head some, "Could we even go there if we could go deep enough? I mean, we are talking about Ryuujin-Sama's palace after all. And we're not Mizuchi or any form of dragon."

Beside her, the lone German Submarine shrugged, "Why not?" At the looks, RO smiled a bit, "I mean, we are Kami, right? So why couldn't we go and visit a Kami... letting them know before hand."

Chewing her lip, Maruyu furrowed her eyebrows, "Maybe... maybe Shiromizu-San knows? She's part of his court, right?"

One finger raising, Shioi frowned, "Has she even been there though? I mean, she's met him, sure, but that was at Kannazuki. And from what I know, she hasn't seen him since."

A hum made them turn to where Ryuuhou was slowly nodding, "Well, there is Osamu-San? He's, you know..." Glancing around, she leaned towards them, "So he would likely know himself."

That got her a number of nods of agreement before the group turned back to the wall screen.

Meanwhile, not far away, Rika was grinning widely at another wall screen on display. It showed various cats on two feet, wearing human clothing and using human implements, "Cats really are the best."

Looking away from a wall scroll showing an Inugami in a Kimono, Ayaka scoffed, "You wish."

Both Yokai's friends that were there looked at each other and giggled at the two of them. Glancing at them, Natsumi shook her head as she turned her attention back to the touch screens which allowed for one to look through scanned books. Beside her, Louisiana tilted her head some as she looked at the picture of a Kitsune, "There are quite a few pictures in here, Ma Chérie."

Just nodding as she turned to another page, Natsumi hummed, "Hai, but then again, these are from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō books. And all of those are about Yokai." Chuckling at one picture, she shook her head, "Ojii-San actually has a copy back home."

All Louisiana did was not at that with a smile.

It was a very happy Haru at the end of the day as it had been a great success and one that she looked forward to having repeated.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Humming to herself, Fubuki smiled softly as she sealed the last container and placed it into a basket. With a chuckle, she turned to Fu-Chan who was wagging her tail with a bright smile, "Well, looks like we're all ready to head out for Hanami."

Quickly nodding, Fu-Chan took the basket and held it, "Hai Fubuki-San."

Somewhat amused by her actions, the Destroyer shook her head with a smile, "Are you sure that you'll be able to carry that, Fu-Chan? It is pretty heavy."

Despite the obvious strain, Fu-Chan puffed herself up with a smile, "Hai! I can carry it, Fubuki-San! After all, I'm a big girl."

Lightly chuckling, Fubuki ruffled her hair which made the younger girl happily smile, "Hai, that you are, Fu-Chan. And don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." As the Kitsune toddled off, the shipgirl tapped the side of her head, '{Yuudachi-Chan? Could you, quietly, ask Daichi to get the basket from Fu-Chan? She wants to carry it, but...}'

A giggle answered her over the radio, '{Not a problem, Fubuki-Chan! I'll do that right now, Poi.}' Moments later, there was another giggle, '{Though Fu-Chan is pretty cute right now...}'

Her lips twitching, Fubuki nodded, '{Hai, that she is. Take a picture for me, okay?}'

Getting an answer in the affirmative, she began walking towards the door with her hands in her pocket with a hoodie over her normal clothes. Before she got too far though, a small hand tugged her shirt and she looked down to see a little Neko, "Hai, Ayama-Chan? Is something wrong?"

The little Yokai shifted a bit and looked around before leaning towards Fubuki, "Um, Fubuki-San... could we buy some Kakigōri? Please?"

Unable to help herself, Fubuki patted her on the head, "As a matter of fact, we can." Gently, she began to guide Ayame towards the door, "How about we go get some before we get on the bus to take us to the park, hmm? Does that sound good?"

Eyes wide, Ayame rapidly nodded with a bright smile on her face, "Hai!"

Not long after, the Destroyer was leading them off the base towards where the Kakigōri stand was before heading to the bus stop. As they did so though, Fubuki's senses tingled and she narrowed her eyes a bit as she glanced around surreptuously. Her gaze caught sight of a woman in her thirties that was dressed like an office lady. Said woman was watching them before she winced and rubbed at the side of her head and began to reach into her purse. Anyone else would have thought that it was a normal woman with a small headache, perhaps brought on by stress or a possible hangover.

Fubuki was not one of those.

Destroyers were many, many things. And one of those was escorts for larger ships, which meant that often times they had to pick up on things that others might miss. Hence, she noted that the woman was watching them with some interest which made her narrow her eyes slightly, '{Mutsuki-Chan? Kisaragi-Chan? You're both at the back. Four o'clock, woman in business wear.}'

Both shipgirls in question focused in on that with Mutsuki speaking up, '{Hai, we got her, Fubuki-Chan. Looks to be in her thirties, correct?}'

Giving a slight nod, Fubuki narrowed her eyes slightly, '{That is her, there is something about her... she's watching and focusing on the children. I think that she might be magical. But still...}'

Needless to say, the two Destroyers at the back narrowed their own eyes as both of them shifted their positions slightly. It was then that Yuudachi spoke up, '{Do I need to show them what a nightmare is, Poi?}'

Fubuki gave the slightest shakes of her head, '{No, not yet. But keep an eye on her, and Kana-Chan?}'

The Battleship spoke up, her voice one that was as hard as steel, '{If I need to, I will protect the children while you take care of it, Fubuki-Senpai. And if they try to get past me...}

Leaving the threat hanging, Kana didn't say anything else. Something that made Fubuki smile slightly with a coldness there, '{Good. But send some word back to the base to keep an eye on her, I'll inform Nagato-San if she follows.}'

Each of the other shipgirls gave slight nods as they kept a lookout, all the while not letting on that they were concerned as they continued to take the children to the Kakigōri stand. Which worked as not one of the children noticed anything as their guardians chatted with them and the like as normal. But some of those who knew shipgirls did note that the five shipgirls shifted their position some into something more along the lines of escorting a convoy with the children in the center.

Granted, at seeing her mutter some, Fubuki narrowed her eyes slightly as did her bridge crew. After all, they could not see a bluetooth or other handless device. Which meant that she was likely recording. The fact that she was still glancing towards the children made her shift her position slightly, followed by the others, 'Good.'

Of course, that was when their attention was caught by something else... mainly by Moriko rushing towards someone that Fubuki had to do a double take at. Feeling a tug at her arm, she looked down at Fu-Chan who quietly whispered to her, "Um, Fubuki-San? What's going on?"

Watching as the boy, or that was what she thought they were, was stuffed into Moriko's big... fuel tanks, Fubuki gave a small shrug even as she internally grumbled about her own lack of such, "I... think that she's greeting her boyfriend."

Akane blinked at that and the disguised Neko looked up at Kisaragi, "That's a boy? But... they're really pretty."

Unable to help herself, Kisaragi giggled some, "Hai, that's a boy." Internally through, she frowned, 'I... think?'

The sound of giggles made the blonde haired member of the Destroyers turn to the Inugami beside her. At the look, Kasumi grinned up at Yuudachi, "They're funny."

Laughing, Yuudachi only nodded and ruffled the young Yokai's hair, "Hai, they are, Poi. But that means that they're nice together."

Head tilted to the side, Atsuko nodded as she glanced to her twin, Akari, "Kind of like Fubuki-San and the others. I mean, you're all together, right?" When the shipgirls nodded, though Kana had a blush, the disguised Oni frowned, "I hope that I get someone like that some day..."

Gently patting her head, Kana shook her head, "I'm sure that you'll have someone like that yourself, Atsuko-Chan. But you have a few years yet before you need to worry about that. Just enjoy being a child for now..." Her eyes saddened a little, 'As much as you can with the life that you and the others have lived.'

With that, they guided the children towards the stop where they could get on the bus and go to the park.

Meanwhile, in the park, Harry laid back on the blanket under the sakura trees as blossoms drifted in the breeze and branches rustled, "Now this is nice." Looking down to where he was stroking Natsumi's hair as she laid with her head in his lap, he smiled a bit, "Isn't it?"

Cracking open one eye, the Kitsune smiled back at him, "Hai, it is." Once more closing her eyes, she hummed some with a small sigh as he continued his pampering, "Very nice."

Shiromizu chuckled a bit as she grinned some, "At least until later, because you are taking up all his attention now."

In reply, Natsumi swatted at her with a slight smirk, "Hah? Maybe I am, but we're spending the day here at Hanami after all. And these are days to relax and enjoy."

Lips twitching as she sipped some sparkling juice, the Mizuchi shook her head, "Never said otherwise. But the rest of your family is coming later..."

Only shrugging as she continued to enjoy the petting, Natsumi snorted, "And? Until then, I can just enjoy myself like this." She opened one eye and gave a smirk, "Much like I am assuming my Onii-San currently is with his girlfriends."

Head tilted to the side, Harry considered that some before humming, "You don't seem to have an issue with that." At her curious look, he shrugged, "Taichi-San having more than one girlfriend."

Eyebrow raised, Natsumi considered his question among other things. After a few moments, she smiled a little bit, "I don't mind it that much, Harry-Chan. They do seem to like my Onii-San. And, more than that, they are serious about this. In my book, that is enough of a reason not to have any real issue with it. I'm just glad that he has at least someone."

Somewhat amused, Shiromizu gave her a look, "And also because it gives you plenty of material to tease him about."

Raising a finger, the Kitsune smirked, "Hai, it does give me a lot of material to tease him with. So that is another good reason to not have a problem with it."

That got a laugh from Harry even as Shiromizu shook her head. Leaning back a little, the Mizuchi looked at her friend, "What about you then?"

Confused, Natsumi looked at her, "What about me?"

Waving a hand around, the young Kami's next words got a blush from both the Kitsune and the wizard whose lap she had laid her head, "Would you be in such a relationship?"

Not saying anything for a few minutes, Natsumi looked up at the blossom laden trees above them, "Would I be in such a relationship?" Holding out a hand, she caught some of the petals that were falling in her hand. Several seconds passed as she looked at them and then smiled as the breeze blew them away, "I do not think that I would mind all that much as long as there is love and not lust between those involved."

All Shiromizu did to that was tilt her head slightly before smiling, "I see..."

Leaning back, Catherine glanced at where Harry, Natsumi, Shiromizu, as well as Nagato, Hoppou were nearby. Softly smiling, she gave a small nod as Tsukiakari poured some wine into her glass, "Merci, Tsukiakari." Taking a small sip as the Kyu Gunto did the same with a dish of sake, she hummed as she looked around, "So this is the flower viewing that you spoke of to us?"

Softly smiling, the Japanese blade nodded, "Hai, it is, Catherine-Senpai." Looking around, there was a look of fond remembrance on her face, "I remember Master Ian going to such with me at his side. And Mistress Lyra enjoyed it as well."

Expression gentle, Catherine only smiled, "I can see why. This is quite the nice activity."

From where she was sitting, Goldie nodded, "Indeed it is!" Taking a drink of her own wine, she smiled, "While this is not of Rome, it is still quite Roman! Umu!"

Bemused, Tsukiakari gave her a look, "I... don't think that it could count as Roman, Goldie-Senpai."

In reply, the Roman blade waved her off, "Bah! All is Roman for Rome is all! Tis a rule of the world after all."

While Tsukiakari shook her head in amusement to Goldie's pronouncement, Andraste smiled at Sabah who was cuddled up to her side, "I quite like it. What do you think, Sabah?"

The Arabic blade hummed a bit as she sipped her own fruit juice before smiling, "I like this quite a bit." Turning, she regarded Tsukiakari, "You said that this is to make one consider the impermance of life?"

Slowly, Tsukiakari nodded, "Hai, that is right."

Only taking another sip, Sabah chuckled, "Then this is a fine thing to do."

Leaping to her feet with a full human look to her, Dracul placed a hand to her chest, "This sight is so peaceful and relaxing~ It makes me want to sing~!"

With a sigh, the lone American of the group shook his head and took a sip of beer, "Please don't, Lil' Lady." Taking another sip of his beer as the spear huffed, he smirked, "Though this here is not half bad."

A short distance away, Saki shook her head as the others chuckled before smiling herself, "It is so strange to think that despite being made in Japan, this is my first Hanami. But... I am enjoying myself." Looking down, she hummed, "What do you think, Sheff?"

Her long time partner chuckled a little from where he was seated in her lap, "I am quite enjoying myself, Saki my dear. And I will admit that it is nice to go to and enjoy."

That got him a hum from the older looking girl. Not far away, Nightbane chuckled as he placed his arms behind his head. All of the tsukumogami were dressed like normal people as to not stick out. And part of his amusement came from how Amalie's eyebrow was twitching as Big Iron had fallen into a drunk sleep in her lap and was now drooling, "I can see why people like this."

Pulling a bottle of beer away from his lips after taking a drag of it, Carnwennan nodded, "Indeed." A chuckle escaped from him as he took one of the treats and bit into it, "I could see my first Master, King Arthur, as well as his knights enjoying such a thing." Briefly, the dagger paused and frowned, "Well, for a short time."

Eyebrow raised, Vala gave him a look, "Oh?"

Carnwennan shrugged some, "Well, not long after half of them would be drunk, half would be composing really bad poetry with some being drunk and not, and some of them would be crossdressing among other things." Taking a sip of beer, he shook his head, "Others would be fighting and attempting to woo the ladies."

If anything, that caused more eyebrows to raise. From where she sat besides her "Brother", Xing cleared her throat, "I take it that some of the last one there would be drunk as well?"

Waggling his hand, Carnwennan snorted, "Some... and some would be dressed as women while hitting on women... and sometimes, if drunk enough, on a fellow knight dressed as a woman." That got him stared which made him smirk, "Never a dull moment with the Knights of the Round Table."

Just pausing in his eating, Feng gave him a look, "Truly, Arthur was a King among Kings to be able to herd such an amount of cats."

Voice dry, the Arthurian dagger gave him a look in return, "You have absolutely no idea." He gestured around them, "As much as some Admirals talk about the craziness of shipgirls, they are mild compared to the Knights."

Rather amused at what she was just told, Tsuchi held out a dish which Juuchi filled with Saki, "Sounds like he was an extremely interesting man."

As Carnwennan nodded, Juuchi snorted, "Perhaps, but I feel like we shall not be bad in regards to the Potter family. After all, they are so much more interesting." Filling her dish with sake, she glanced at where Harry was, "Yes, especially with the entertainment that our Master's romantic prospects give us."

Grinning, Tsuchi raised her dish, "Agreed, my old friend."

The other weapons chuckled at that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Operation Ehren's Reise (III)

Leaky Cauldron, Charing Cross Road, London

Ehren marched down the street, the sky-blue skirt of her mother's old Beauxbatons uniform swishing around her hips. Her steel blue eyes flickered from newsstand to shop to... Aha, there!

Her lips puckered in a small smug smile as she crossed the street to enter the pub advertised by the faded hand-painted sign of a leaky cauldron. Behind her cool, aristocratic calm mask, her heart thudded wildly and she paused a half second with her hand on the door.

She took a deep breath, remembering the last time she had felt this thrill run through the steel of her true body.

The bullets cracked overhead from the Polish village and the copper smell of blood was filling her senses as Vati crawled to his gasping soldier. These Polish troops were blocking the destined path of Greater Germany and that would not do.

With that he flipped the safety off his Luger as one hand rested for a moment on her hilt in a comforting caress that warmed her spirit as she sat on his hip.

His arm shot up and his voice cut through the chaos as his Will exerted itself over his men. "Sturmangriff! Vorwärts!" Alongside him, her spirit shot to her feet and charged at the obstacle in her way in that moment of perfect rightness that liberated herself from all her fears as she ran alongside Vati's shoulder at what awaited them....

With that she opened the door and entered, feeling the comforting weight of her true self ready to do what was necessary to protect her family.

The pub inside was like stepping back in time several centuries to when Mother was her age. Candles flickered and the walls were whitewashed stone while the furnishings were rough-hewn wood. Unbidden, her lips twitched in a smile as she threaded her way through the dozen and a half patrons to the back courtyard.

She examined the bricks and smirked triumphantly at the sight of a damaged brick in the center. She reviewed Mother's instructions one more time. "Tap the bricks in the following pattern with a magical item. Wizards use their wand, but our true bodies serve equally as well..."

A twitch of her wrist and her true body filled her hand, giving her that thrill of rightness at being unsheathed as she smoothly flipped herself to tap the bricks making up the wall with her hilt.

Tap... tap-tap... tap... tap...

The first brick slid back into the wall and she automatically resheathed herself once more. Her hands moved on autopilot as her eyes widened and her lips parted in awe as the first crack of light shone from the opening.
Spoiler: Diagon Alley

"Mein Gott, it's beautiful..." she whispered to herself as she stepped out into the bustling crowd of wizards. Her lips curled up in a happy smile as her eyes flickered from wizard, to storefront, to witch, to a display of racing brooms and Quiddich gear to a bookstore.

She then swallowed and took a deep breath. Focus, Ehren. Dienst ist Dienst and you are here for a reason. Mother trusts you to not act like a fool. You can come back another time for yourself. With that she nodded and her cool professional mask was pinned to her face once more. Gringotts first, Mother said it was down to the right and I could not miss it.

With that observation, she moved down the street, her heart thudding.

Gringotts

Ehren marched up the marble steps of the towering bank and nodded to the doorman as the bronze doors opened. Behind her cool mask, her heart raced and the key on the chain around her neck felt heavier than the castle that was her home.

Her eyes narrowed as she crossed the foyer and read the poem on the inner doors.

Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there

As she stepped inside those silver doors, for a brief instant, Grendel rattled the bars of the cage of her Will at the sight of the Goblins inside. Their hook noses, wizened faces, and clear greed reminded her of some of the Nazi stereotypes of the Jews as money grubbing parasites. With that her eyes narrowed and she exerted her Will to slam the darker side of her nature back into the cage once more.

"Not Jews, but the Gnomes of Zürich then." Her lips quirked as she approached one of the clerks and spoke clearly and precisely as she snapped to attention.

"Ehren du Chasteler to speak to Ragnok about a matter of account management. In addition I shall be making a withdrawal from Vault 455. I am expected."

The goblin flipped through his book. "Signet?"

Ehren reached into her pocket and presented Mother's signet ring for a minute inspection with a jeweler's loupe. "Key?"

She then pulled the key from around her neck for his inspection.

Finally the goblin handed the items back and got off his stool. "Follow."

Ehren automatically fell into position one pace behind and to the right of the goblin as he led her across the floor.

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

Ehren walked out of Gringotts a hour later with a spring in her step. The coin pouch at her waist was heavier by a hundred Galleons and a double handful of Sickles and Knuts for her spending money, and the folder she carried had the notarized, witnessed, and certified official paperwork to establish trust funds and account access for her older half sister Wei Ying, the Fujii family, and her stepmother Masamune-no-Tokunotakai.

Equally happily, she had enjoyed matching wits with Ragnok as he had discussed fees and obligations and tried to sell her some financial services of dubious applicability and even more dubious utility at rather exorbitant costs. It seemed that as someone who had read business law and business textbooks to prepare for her role as Mother's secretary and manager, Ehren was a minority in the Wizarding World.

A smug smirk flickered around her lips as she surveyed the street from the top of the steps leading up to Gringotts and began to plan her attack for the rest of the day.

Hm... bookstore next to pick up some magical histories and spellbooks plus any sheet music for Claire, perhaps Flourish and Blotts? And is that... why yes it is an ice cream parlor three doors down from there! Florian Flortescue's Ice Cream Parlor looks to be a perfect place to listen in while enjoying a French Vanilla and caramel sundae with extra whipped creme and cherries!

Ten minutes and two bites of her requested caramel sundae later, Ehren shivered in pure bliss as her eyes half-closed. She resolved to come back to Florian Flortescue's as often as she could while in London. Along with seeing if she could pick up some ice cream to take home to share with Claire, Misaki, Chi-chan, and Mother.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Courtship Display IX

Yokosuka Naval Base

Moriko smiled at her sisters as they sat across the kitchen table in their quarters. "Hachiko-chan got two discount tickets to an onsen for the weekend and I am going to go in half with him to pay for them. I need my wonderful little sisters to help him by taking care of Aki for the weekend. Please?" The she-wolf Natural born shipgirl gave her best effort at destroyer eyes to her sisters.

It didn't work.

Suzume looked at Sachiko. Sachiko nodded and grinned. Then in unison two heads swung to stare down their older sister who gulped nervously at the look in their eyes.

"Ara~~ Ara~~~! Whatever will our big sister be doing with her Hachiko-chan at a couple's special mixed-bathing onsen~? Hmmm~~?" They exclaimed in chorus as Moriko blushed crimson.

"Oh my~! My pure and innocent older sister will be sharing a hot spring with a young man, what manner of 'nighttime~ naval~ activity~' might he get up to there with her?" Suzume melodramatically announced as she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead in a clearly faked fainting attack.

Sachiko chimed in, "How forward of her, when Kogamaru and I have yet to do anything so bold and scandalous as hand holding! Alas, my cruel big sister won't pay for her deprived and desperate little sister to spend time with the love of her life~."

Moriko whined as her blush redoubled. So much teasing...

Finally a half hour later, the teasing relented a little.

"Of course I will be happy to sit Aki-san for Hachiko-san." Suzume said with a smile. "He is a good boy and you have done so much for us that you deserve this vacation."

Sachiko then wheeled herself over and hugged her oldest sister. "I hope that you enjoy your time with Hachiko-san. Just let me know what it is like since I would like to go someplace like that when I am healthier."

Moriko returned the hugs. "Thank you, sisters. I better get going to pick Hachiko up for our trip to the museum."

Suzume stepped close and hugged Moriko. "Good luck revealing everything to him." Her twin then grinned evilly. "You may want to find out whether he likes girls with large fuel tanks first, though."

Steam shot from Moriko's ears. "SU-ZU-ME!!"

"Kidding, kidding, Oneechan. I know how much he likes your chest!"

Moriko nodded and gulped at the thought of revealing herself to Hachiko.

I can do this, right?

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

I can do this, right?

Hachiko Miyata gulped as he waited outside the main gate for his girlfriend to show up so they could visit the museum that had recently opened. While he would have enjoyed doing anything with Moriko-chan, this was special to him.

He had heard that the museum had an amazing exhibit on Yokai and Japanese magic. Which was the perfect place to reveal to Moriko-chan that he was not just human, but a halfbreed. The son of a Inugami yokai and a human witch, he was a Hanyo, a nonhuman with little magic to his name but still a magical being.

So he would have to reveal to her the great secret that magic was real. It was true that she was a Natural-Born shipgirl, the reincarnated spirit of a Japanese Warship that was being built for the Pacific War. But that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the hidden world of wizards and magic that he would have to reveal to her.

Especially since his family were civil servants working for the Magical Diet, the magical government of Japan. When, not if, his grandfather agreed for him to marry her - which caused his face to flush - then she would be fully brought inside the secret.

And he owed it to her to try to cushion the blow and help her prepare for that day. Starting with hinting at the truth.

"Hachiko-chan!" At the cry he turned to see Moriko dashing toward him.

"Moriko-ch---" The rest of his greeting was cut off as she swept him up in an embrace and his face disappeared into her cleavage. He closed his eyes, reveling in the softness enveloping his head, and even better the clean, wild smell of her perfume, a scent that always made his blood thunder in his ears with something pure and primal.
Spoiler: The Call of the Okami

Finally she released him. He looked up to stare into her sparkling gray eyes and that wonderfully predatory smile of hers.

"Let's go to the museum," he said, feeling his blood thunder in his ears.

"Yes, let's," she replied, her teeth gleaming.

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

Hachiko squeezed Moriko's hand as they entered the exhibition of "The Art of the Yokai." His eyes lighted on a ink painting of an Inugami dressed as a monk lecturing students.
Spoiler: Inugami

"Look at this one, Moriko-chan!" He pointed with his free hand at the Inu. "What do you think?"

"That's a really impressive painting, Hachiko-chan." She responded. "There's a story behind it, right?"

He gulped and nodded. "Yes, there are legends," he mentally added, and family stories, "about pacts made with spirits back during the Yayoi Period that produced the first Inugami as loyal servants and aides to some families."

"That's nice." She responded a bit absently, as her rangefinders sought an Okami. "Oh look here! I like this one!" She said, guiding him to a different wall scroll with two Okami cavorting.
Spoiler: Okami

"That's really nice, Moriko-chan." he responded.

She smiled, "The Okami are the legendary messengers of Amaterasu-ōmikami who marked them with her sigils." She pointed the swirling patterns on the wolf's forelegs and face.

"Wow, that is interesting. I can see why Clover Studio used a wolf to represent Her in Okami." Hachiko said, smiling broadly.

Moriko nodded, "Yes, the same kanji are used for wolf and great kami." That is what my parents told me when I was a cub.

Hachiko grinned. "I like the Inugami legend better because I have always been partial to Man's Best Friend. In fact, I was named by my father after the legendary Inu who waited faithfully every day until his death for his dead master."

Moriko barked a laugh. "It suits you, but I prefer the wild mystery and spiritual connections of the wolves. They are the ultimate hunters and lords of the wilderness."

He grinned and hugged her around the waist at they headed to the gift shop to get souvenirs. "Dogs are better though, you know."

"Not so, wolves!" she responded with a teasing edge in her voice as she bought a set of postcards that showed the prints they liked.

"Dogs!" Hachiko laughed as they walked outside.

"Wolves!" She responded. "This is silly, they are both great. Unlike cats!"

"You said it, Moriko-chan. I'm a dog person, always was, always will be." Hachiko stated as they reached the bus stop. "So we head to a Piece of Heaven for Karaoke next?"

Moriko nodded. "Karaoke then."

As a set of schoolchildren got off the bus that they were going to take, Moriko leaned close and growled softly. "I'll show you everything at the Onsen, Hachiko-chan."

His eyes sparkled as he responded. "I can't wait, Moriko-chan."

 

[darthcourt10]

SkyeFire

Phyrexia Unbound said:

For some reason this image makes me think of a BreadGun and ButterGun in a love-hate relationship.​

Shoot-shoot-kiss?

And, for an off-the-cuff, less-than-serious omake:
*-*-*-*-*-*

Ehren chased the last of her ice cream around the bottom of the fluted glass with her long spoon, pondering whether or not to have another. On the one hand, gluttony was unbecoming a member of her family tree. But on the other hand, it wasn't like she had human issues with calories. And she was on her first trip away from home....

Her conundrum-wrestling match ('more ice cream' was up by two falls, and going for best-of-five) was rudely interrupted when someone shouted in her ear.

"HUZZA!!!"

Ehren did not scream like a little girl, vielen dank. Nor was her leap out of her seat that of an startled gazelle, but rather than of a tigress looking to turn an ambush back upon the ambushers.

KLONK!

...except for idiot magical architects installing a gottverdammt ceiling beam in exactly the wrong place.

"Ooowwwwww...." All right, perhaps her leap had been a bit higher than intended. As she lay on the floor, holding her head and trying to blink away the whirling stars, it occurred to her that Aunt Delilah would never forgive her if she got killed by incapacitating herself in front of an ambush in such an embarrassing fashion. Mutti would disown her in shame--

"UPHOLDER! What have I told you about startling complete strangers like that!"

"Oh, fairest of maidens, ship-launcher of Troy! Ah... that it was rude. And unwise. And that you would do truly unspeakble things to me if I did it again...."

"Ugh! I swear, you do this just for the attention! Now, make yourself useful and go get some ice, while I apologize to your victim."

Ehren was sitting up rather woozily by this point. Her ambusher was, apparently, the college-age-looking woman with the (Ehren couldn't help but glance down at her own chest) impressive bust line, and the ambusher's chider was the tweenage, frizzy-haired brunette with a stressed expression of "WHY am I SURROUNDED by IDIOTS?" that struck an immediate chord with Ehren.

The tween reached down a hand to Ehren, looking apologetic. After a brief moment of wrestling down her paranoia, Ehren took it, and let the younger-looking girl pull her to her feet.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," her rescuer apologized resignedly. "Upholder is supposed to be my... escort... but--"

"HUZZAH! Good day, barkeep! I require ice, and quickly!"

"--but it's more like taking an oversized, overactive pet out without a leash. Or a cattle prod...." she added, under her breath.

"She is..." Ehren tried to think of what Claire would say. "She is quite... sneaky," was the best she could come up with. To be sure, sneakiness was something Ehren could appreciate.

"I know! You wouldn't think someone so loud could be so adept at sneaking up on people, but she is. Oh! I'm sorry, where are my manners! I'm Hermione Granger."

Ehren took Hermione's hand, again. "Ehren du Chasteler." For some strange reason, she felt an immediate kinship with this girl. As if she wanted to buy them both ice cream, and sit down and complain about the loud, inconsiderate, disorganized people in their lives together.


Because, HMS Done With This Shit and Dagger Takes No Shit would get along like a house on fire....

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-This runs immediately after and builds upon There are Two Kinds of Fools (Epilogues) and concurrently with Pack Dynamics V-VIII.

Bullets, Blades, and Blossoms

Taura Plum Blossom Park, Yokosuka

Hanami, 2014
Spoiler: Hanami

Delilah de Breuil smiled faintly as she watched her Aunt Chisuheri vanish into the crowd of picnickers enjoying the blossoms of spring. She glanced at her wristwatch and the smile grew slightly more smug as she noted that she was ahead of her planned schedule for this operation.

I can actually take an hour to establish my cover by enjoying Hanami by just wandering and acting like the schoolgirl that I am disguised as while I examine the blossoms.

With that cheerful thought, she then adjusted the 'Hello Kitty Purse' that was actually a concealed space expanded buffalo hide knapsack that she had crafted from the bull that she had killed on her first hunt in 1869. Her hand caressed the leather, and a soft smile grew on her face as the wind blew through the blossoms and rustled her hair around her face.

She could remember the thunder of millions upon millions of hooves upon the endless prairie of the Great Plains as a sea of lowing buffalo stretched before her as far as the eye could see. The thudding of White Leg's hooves under her as he ran at a full gallop and the beating of her heart as one tempo of pure joy as Louise paced her on Grass Dancer, her friend's blue-black hair and Delilah's own chestnut red mingling in the wind of their passage as they participated in their first hunt as full tribal members of the tetonwan, the People of the Plains. While she could have drawn her true self and shot as she pleased, there was a rightness as she raised her bow, feeling the green ash flex and the thunderbird feather marking her arrow tickle her cheek as she took aim at the mature bull that she had picked out....

The breeze faded and she returned to herself with the familiar bittersweet jolt at the memories of those who she had loved and then lost in her long-past youth. Louise, now dead a century and yet mourned privately by her still. The great herds of her youth, now scattered remnants such as the one that she hid on her ranch. The Lakota, now a faded and broken people diminished from what they once were.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Her lips curled as she heard that quote in the voice of Wei Ying. Of course that damn Canuck would have introduced Tennyson to me the first winter after Louise passed away. And I owe her for that. She can be the most inscrutable, annoying, stubborn, prickly person I know - my sisters excepted! - but she is a friend despite all the ways that she gets on my nerves and rubs me the wrong ways.

With that thought Delilah smiled and began to walk among the other people enjoying Hanami.

Suddenly a vaguely familiar voice interrupted her reverie. "Delilah?"

She turned to see a familiar sword spirit's avatar. Her eyes widened as her instincts automatically went to red alert at the sight of the greatest of the Muramasas. "Aunt Juuchi, what are you doing here?" Delilah responded automatically.

Behind Juuchi a set of three young women and two men - no, spirits like herself and her aunt - all looked at her with various expressions of curiosity. One of the young women dressed in simple clothing spoke in a gentle voice. "Juuchi, she called you aunt. Do you know her?"

Juuchi's smile twitched slightly. "This is my niece, Auror Delilah de Breuil. I'm here for Hanami. Come over and meet some of the people who I know from the Potter Armory." Her tone of voice suggested that Delilah saying no would be a big mistake.

Delilah nodded. "I can visit for a bit before I need to run my errand. I am Juuchi's niece, yes, Miss. We met least year when I finally got in contract with the Muramasa side of my family."

The young woman smiled and patted the blanket next to her. "Catherine. You are French, yes?"

Delilah shook her head as she sat next to Catherine. "Not for a long time, no. Mother's family are Huguenot wizards who left France for America after Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. We have lived in America ever since. My eldest half-sister Colombe is the Frenchwoman in the family." Delilah smiled. "She is Julie d'Aubigny's daughter with Juuchi's older sister Norimune. Father... got around quite a bit."

Catherine blinked in surprise at that statement and blushed. A dusky-skinned girl sitting in the lap of a second purple-haired girl wearing glasses leaned in and spoke in accented English with clear interest in her voice. "You were not crafted then?"

Delilah shook her head. "Yes and no. The revolver that I am the spirit of manifested when Mother gave birth to me in 1855. I am led to believe that it was the same for my older half-sisters Colombe and Jacklyn when their mothers gave birth to them in 1707 and 1723 respectively, Miss...?"

"Sabah bint Alhasan. My shy friend is Andraste." Sabah responded as Andraste waved, listening with interest. "The others with us are Bill and Nightbane, and you already know Juuchi Yosamu."

Bill tipped his hat and saluted her with his bottle of beer. "Wouldn't mind seein' you shoot, Little Lady. Always nice to see a fellow shootin' iron, and with those eyes you have seen the elephant."

Delilah's lips quirked. "Well, I reckon we can have a right hog-killin' time of it, Bill." She paused and her eyes widened in recognition. "Tombstone, 1881?"

He nodded.

Her lips quirked. "Thought you looked familiar. I passed through there on Auror business in January. Had a Naagloshii that we needed to dry-gulch before it did more damage after it came down out of the Superstition Mountains. Finally cornered it in March. Now I definitely want to spend a day or three swapping tall tales with you."

Nightbane leaned in with interest. "What is a Naagloshii?"Beside him Catherine's eyes sharpened.

Delilah winced. "Navajo shapeshifter and skinwalker and nothing anyone sane wants anything to do with. They are pretty much shaped from the essence of pure malice and evil just like Dementors in Europe and Wendigo up in Canada and Alaska. I know a little about them from having to fight them, and the little I do know about how they are manifested is enough to convince me that I should not probe deeper. That kind of magic is dangerously seductive."

Catherine smiled. "Well said, Delilah. Evil is an omnipresent threat that we must fortify ourselves against."

Juuchi snorted. "Speaking of evil, what about my other nieces?"

Delilah laughed, "Jackie is doing Jackie things. The one who is my current headache is Colombe. She decided to get into a fight with some Aurors over here who were torturing a family of Yokai fleeing a reserve. That's why I'm here, I'm working on putting a stop to the current manhunt aimed at her. Again."

Andraste blinked. "Again?" she inquired curiously in her shy voice before sipping her wine.

Delilah shook her head and nodded after accepting a glass of wine from Catherine. "Merci. Yes, again." Delilah gave a long-suffering sigh as she explained, "Sis... Colombe that is, has a nasty tendency to run into situations where doing the right thing involves bending the laws if not outright breaking them. When I first met her, it was after she defended herself magically from a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob after her head in the middle of town. Which got MACUSA on her tail for violations of Rappaport's Law. Then there was her starting a riot during the French Revolution to save her young nephew from the mob, resulting in a major breach of the Statute of Secrecy."

Catherine puckered her lips and nodded slowly, "I cannot fault her for that, especially if her nephew was innocent."

Delilah sipped her wine and thought for a moment. "According to her he was about ten years old and about to be guillotined."

Catherine sighed with a somber expression. "I certainly cannot fault her for that. I have my own memories of that madness."

Delilah nodded. "Nor do I, but the ICW certainly does not see it that way. I agree with her opinion that it is more morally abhorrent to stand by and do nothing rather than act and save lives. Then she served in SOE during World War Two alongside Lyra Potter and myself once America entered the war in '41. Not all of our operations were on the magical side of the fence either." Delilah had a sick expression on her face. "Especially not the one where we trashed that SS relocation camp for the Jews of Holland."

Juuchi spoke smugly, "I could not have done it much better from what I heard. You certainly have the right attitude toward our family's enemies."

Delilah shook her head. "I don't know whether to be honored or horrified there. I pride myself on being a little more subtle than the rest of my family's pack of bloodthirsty maniacs."

Juuchi's smugness increased as she reached into the basket by her elbow and pulled out a blood orange.

Sabah spoke. "Subtle is better. I remember seeing you around Potter Manor during those years. What of your friend the Ifrit?"

Delilah blinked, "I don't recall you though. Zamarad is well, she moved to America after the war and I keep in touch with her. You know her?"

Sabah gave a slight smile, and slid her hand down her face, shifting it to that of a House-Elf, before sliding it back up to resume her normal appearance. "I was selected amongst us in the Armory to assist Tsukiakari in secretly bodyguarding Mistress Lyra with her approval while Master Henry was away with Juuchi fighting the war. And yes, Zamarad and I had many conversations while you were absent alongside your sister. It was pleasant to speak to another Muslim to discuss philosophy and the finer points of the Faith."

"Ahhh." Delilah made an understanding sound and sipped her wine. "When I see her next I shall relay along that message, and shall be happy to put you in touch with her if you so wish."

"That would be good." Sabah pulled out her phone and Delilah did the same to exchange numbers, followed by Bill. "I must ask, whatever became of that cute little dagger that your sister left with us during the war and then reclaimed?"

Delilah blinked, visibly running back through her memory. "Oh, you must mean my niece Ehren. Sis took her home to Moulbaix in 1946 and she manifested last year. She is a good girl, just do not tell her that, for she can be prickly. Sometimes she reminds me of nothing so much as a very wary and very angry cat."

Juuchi smugged harder as the rest of the blades gave her long-suffering looks.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Packing the last bit of clothing into a backpack, Harry gave a nod before swinging it onto his back. A chuckle made him turn and the sight of Nagato leaning against the doorframe caused him to smile, "Good morning, Mum."

Softly smiling, Nagato walked over and ruffled his hair before kissing the top of his head, "Good morning, Harry. Ready to head over to Wanko's Territory for two days?"

A grin on his face, Harry nodded, "You bet, Mum! I can't wait to see it." Briefly, his grin became a frown, "Though I wish that it was for more than two days..."

Only ruffling his hair, the Battleship shook her head, "If this works out well, then you'll be able to spend more time there. Right now though, Wanko wants to introduce you to her fleet. Mainly because they've all become very curious about you." Gently smiling, Nagato lightly laughed, "Though I am not too surprised about that to be quite honest with you. Not with how much Wanko, Regina, and Revina have likely talked about you to them."

Rubbing the back of his head, Harry chuckled weakly, "Well... Big Sister and Regina are not too bad...but..."

Bemused, Nagato chuckled, "Revina on the other hand? Yes, I can see why you might be nervous about what she has told people. Especially considering her... personality." Tapping her chin, she grinned, "I wish you luck." That got a sigh from her adopted son though the small smile on his face said it all. Walking over, the shipgirl placed a hand around his shoulders, "Now, how about we get some breakfast with Hoppou before you leave..."

Elsewhere on the base, Regina was walking alongside Shinano as they chatted. Tilting her head, the Re-Class blinked some, "So are your new sisters doing well?"

A bright smile on her face, the Yamato nodded, "Hai, they are and will be coming to Yokosuka in a few days to begin their training." Giggles escaped her as she clapped her hands like the young, teenage girl she was in her mind despite her body looking like a young adult's, "I actually came home ahead of Onee-Sama and the others so that I can get our quarters all ready for Megumi-Chan's and Kokoro-Chan's arrival."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Regina frowned, "Megumi? Kokoro? But I thought that their names were Yashima and Tsukushi?"

Just shaking her head, Shinano smiled, "Those are their ship names. Megumi and Kokoro are their birth names from before they were awoken." She rapped her chin for a moment, "They prefer to be called by their birth names rather than ship names unless out on patrol or on a mission. We don't have a problem with that as a number of Natural Borns do that."

Regina tilted her head a bit to the side and frowned, "Um, don't take this wrong but... that's kind of weird...

Shaking her head, the Carrier smiled, "Just a little bit, but it doesn't matter in the end. What does is what they're comfortable with." Considering that, Regina nodded in agreement with Shinano. A frown then appeared on the Yamato's face, "Though I am a bit confused as to why Kokoro-Chan went out and bought those, um shorts? Like what you see on some bathing suits. Don't know why... something about she doesn't like feeling a breeze?" Lips twitching, Shinano could almost swear she saw question marks appearing above Regina's head before she shrugged, "That's what she said."

Now scratching her head, the Abyssal frowned, "Um, okay?" The two shared a look that only those confused, though also amused somewhat, about something and long time friends could. Deciding to leave any questions regarding it for much later, Regina smiled a bit, "So they're going to be coming here to train?"

Just nodding, Shinano hummed, "Hai, that's right. For at least a month or two before going back to Kushiro. But I'm glad because now I have new sisters... though I might have more soon."

That made the Abyssal cock her head to the side in confusion, "Really? More sisters?"

On Shinano's face could be seen a thoughtful look, "Hai. You know the A-150s?"

It took a moment to place the name, but Regina nodded, "That's what people call the 'Super Yamato', right? Because I think that someone mentioned them before..."

Brightly smiling, Shinano nodded, "Hai, that's right, Regina-Chan." For a moment, she frowned, "The design was finished at the end of the war, but... they never built them. And when the war ended, they destroyed the plans for them." Turning, her expression became happy, "But... I think because of Harry-Chan, they might be able to be born!"

Head tilted to the side, Regina blinked, "Because of Harry?"

There was no doubt in the tone of her voice that Harry could do such a thing, absolutely none at all. Rather, it was more a question of how which Shinano nodded at, "Because of magic." Seeing her friend blink, the Carrier shook her head, "Remember the ritual that Harry got into? Which helped Louisiana-Chan come fully awake?"

Eyes widening, Regina nodded, "I remember that." A thoughtful look crossed her face, "I think that Lady Wanko said that it is still going...?"

Making a sound of agreement, Shinano smiled, "Hai, it's draining Voldemort of his life. And Harry-Chan is strong enough that he is forcing it, I think that he is pushing as hard as he can against Voldemort and beating him."

Her eyes hardening, the Re-Class gave a slight nod. After all, there was absolutely no question who was stronger between Harry and Voldemort for her. None at all... as shown by the image in her head of a Chibi-Harry standing over a dead Voldemort, as shown by the Dark Lord having "X"s for eyes. After a moment, she shook that image off and remembered what else she knew, "So Harry might be drawing enough out to get your sisters created?"

All that Shinano did was smile, "Hai. And I know that he can." Giving a sigh, she shook her head, "I know that he can."

Slightly smiling, Regina just nodded in agreement to that before patting her friend's shoulder, "Yes, he can." Tilting her head some, she gave a hum, "I wonder what they'd be like?"

Crossing her arms, the Carrier also tilted her head as she thought about it, "Hmm... I think that they would be like Onee-Sama. Or maybe Hana-Chan?"

For her part, her friend considered that before Regina smiled, "Hopefully, or maybe like you."

Blushing lightly, Shinano adjusted her glasses as she looked at the Abyssal next to her, "Um... you hope that they might be like me? Really?"

The next words from Regina only made her blush worse as the Re-Class gave her a serious look, "Of course! Then they would be pretty, strong, tough, and very smart as well as brave."

Knowing that her face was likely hot enough to cook an egg on, Shinano gave the best smile that she could despite the embarrassment she felt. At the same time though, she was also proud, "Thank you, Regina-Chan."

Just blinking her reddish gold eyes, the Abyssal frowned as her next words caused steam to escape from Shinano's ears, "Um, okay? But I was only telling the truth..." Seeing her friend poke her fingers together made her internally giggle, 'So cute.' Deciding to take pity on her though, Regina hummed a bit before remembering something, "Oh! Speaking of sisters... remember how you mentioned that dream? Of the other Shinano?"

Slowly, Shinano nodded, "I remember. Why?"

A little amused, Regina shook her head, "Well, wouldn't she have counted as a sister? And what if you could have made her stay?"

Looking up at the blue, April sky, the shipgirl considered that before nodding, "I would not have minded having her stay. And I would have welcomed her."

For a few moments, Regina thought it over before nodding, "I would have as well... though, what if she became like you with, um, Harry? Since she was you... kind of?"

That caused Shinano to close her eyes in deep thought for a minute or two before shrugging, "I would not have minded all that much. Once, I mentioned it to Onee-Sama." She then furrowed her eyebrows and scratched her head in confusion, "But... she went all weird on me for some reason. And Enterprise-San had this grin on her face saying something about twins before Yahagi-San slapped her hand over Enterprise-San's mouth."

Eyebrows furrowing, Regina frowned, "Wonder what that was all about?" Simply shrugging, the Carrier shook her head before replying that she had no clue and the conversation continued along the line before something else came up which made Regina surprised, "You're getting your first Rebuild?"

Proudly, Shinano nodded, "Hai! I'm getting my Kai refit, though..." Her face became thoughtful and she frowned, "I don't know if I should surprise Harry-Chan by having it done or... have him there when it happens like he was for Hibiki-San." A light blush appeared on her cheeks, "He held her hand the entire time after all."

Now, it was the Abyssal's turn to blush as she imagined it, "H-he held her hand? The entire time in... in front of others?" At this nod, Regina poked her fingers together while looking down, "I would not mind if he did the same for me..."

To that, Shinano nodded in agreement as her own cheeks blazed, "H-hai... I would not mind." Both of them glanced at each other with blushes on their cheeks before giggling. Looking around, Shinano leaned towards her friends, "I can't believe we're talking about that! We're so naughty."

Rapidly nodding, Regina smiled back, "Very naughty."

Another burst of giggles escaped from the two at that even as they had blushes on their cheeks from imagining it in their head. Shinano then hummed a bit, "Um, anyways... you can see the glow, right?"

Head tilted to the side, Regina looked at Shinano before narrowing her eyes. After a few seconds, her expression brightened and she nodded, "I can actually! That is so neat." She placed a finger against her chin in thought, "So what is your Rebuild like?"

Lightly smiling, the Yamato looked up at the sky in thought, "Well... it is mostly improvements. My old Type 89s are being replaced with the new Type 98s that Yuubari-San has come up with. And my old rocket launchers are being replaced with a new one. But the big one is... some of my old 25mm guns are being replaced with 40mms. I'm also getting a hydrophone like Musashi-Nee-San as well as better radars." Glancing around, Shinano shook her head, "One of the things grabbed from the magical shipyard at the Caldera was notes about a new radar based on ones salvaged from a number of American ships that the magicals had gotten."

Eyebrows furrowing, Regina considered that before smiling, "That will make you a lot better at AA, especially with new radar. You'll have eight of those Type 98s, right?" Getting a nod, she continued, "And that will give you a nice boost. Though..." The Re-Class frowned and glanced at her friend, "No word yet on becoming a full Carrier?"

Shinano sadly shook her head at that, "No, not yet. Akashi-San stated that she needs to use the scraps of my old plans we've found as well as looking at Hana-Chan to see what that would look like. Also, um... the stuff I got from the other Shinano." Expression brightening, she nodded, "But on the other hand, she thinks that I'll start operating Jets soon!"

Her own expression bright, the Abyssal nodded at that. Regina then glanced around and shyly smiled, "You're not the only one about to get a rebuild, Shinano."

It took only seconds, but Shinano gasped and grabbed her friend's hand, "You're getting your rebuild as well? And becoming a Flagship level Re-Class?"

Nodding rapidly, Regina was smiling so wide it could have hurt, "Yes, Lady Wanko stated that she's finally able to upgrade me to a Flagship! And she's going to do it in a few weeks as well."

Both girls were smiling at each other and holding their hands before they let out squees and bounced around a bit more like how two young teens would rather than full grown women. Shinano than pulled her friend into a tight hug, which Regina returned happily as they continued to bounce on their feet. After all, they each considered the other to be very cuddly. Kissing Regina's cheek, Shinano smiled just as wide as her friend, "I'm so happy for you, Regina-Chan! You really deserve this!"

Massively grinning, Regina gave her friend a kiss on the cheek, "So do you, Shinano! And this is going to make you even better."

Pulling away from the hug, Shinano nodded before puffing out her chest, "Hai! We're going to be so awesome!"

Just nodding as well, Regina also puffed out her chest, "Very awesome! And we're going to kick stern!"

The moment was interrupted though with a crash sound and both the Abyssal and the shipgirl turned to see that a man in a JMSDF uniform had tripped over a garbage can. Face red, he glanced at the two girls, straightened his uniform, and walked off quickly. Scratching her head, Shinano had a look of confusion on her face, "I wonder what that was about?"

Slowly blinking, Regina scratched her head, "Maybe he was playing a game on his cellphone? Or looking at the clouds?"

Head tilted to the side, Shinano gave a nod, "That makes sense..." Eyebrows furrowing, she shook her head, "It happens a lot, but Onee-Sama keeps telling me that I'll have it explained when I'm older. Don't know why..."

All her friend did was shrug as she did not understand it either.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

SkyeFire said:
Because, HMS Done With This Shit and Dagger Takes No Shit would get along like a house on fire....​

Indeed they would!

SkyeFire said:
And, for an off-the-cuff, less-than-serious omake:​

Which gives me a nice hook for Ehren's first day in Diagon Alley!

Operation Ehren's Reise (IV)

Florian Flortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Diagon Alley, Magical London

Ehren smiled happily at Florian Flortescue as she held the bag full of ice to the swelling knot on her head. "Ich hätte gern drei Kugeln Eis. Zwei Vanille, und Sahne-Kirsch mit Karamell-Sauce, bitte!" She then cocked her head at the frizzy-haired brunette with her college aged friend. "No hard feelings here, so I'll buy for you two. You aren't any worse than my big sisters and aunts."
Spoiler: The Banana Split of the Undersea!

"HUZZAH! Tutti Frutti Banana split My Good Publican!" Upholder cheered and Hermione groaned.

"Butterscotch with hot fudge sauce here." The brunette then focused on Ehren. "That's three scoops of ice cream two vanilla and one with cherries and cream and caramel sauce?"

"Ja, it is," Ehren responded. "I am currently rigorously and methodically testing to see which items on the menu are superior." She gave a brief smile. "It gives me something to do while I study and work on my English."

"Aha!" Hermione made a sound of understanding. "You must be hoping to be part of the Beauxbatons delegation for the Triwizard tournament this fall at Hogwarts."

Ehren nodded, and then paid Florian as he delivered the promised ice cream. "Indeed I am. When I heard that Hogwarts would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament I resolved to redouble my studies in English and schoolbooks assigned to students to compare them to what I have been taught. Übung macht den Meister." Silently she added 'when you just told me' behind her cool smile as she spoke.

"Practice makes a master." Hermione mused between bites of ice cream. "That is a very true saying. With an attitude like that you will go far. Hopefully I see you in Hogwarts because I would love to show you around our library then."

Ehren's smile became more genuine. "I cannot wait. Although Mutti was concerned about the reports of Dementors attacking students in The Daily Prophet. I hope that it is nothing too major, because I would hate to have Mutti prevent me from going."
Spoiler: Song for HMS Done With This Shit

Hermione scowled, "At least the Dementors got sent back to wherever they come from in pieces and have been barred from the school grounds. I still can't believe that the Ministry of Magic could be so stupid. I swear you need a leash and muzzle to keep Harry out of trouble, though. First Professor Quirrel, then the Basilisk, and THEN the Dementors. What's next? Giant flaming wombats?"

Ehren's smile widened. "I can relate. Mutti is a trouble magnet," You have NO idea how true that is.... "and Aunt Del and my big sister Ying both are pranksters of the first order. Keeping them from burning the house down is a full time job, I fear. It is a wonder I am not bald from pulling my hair out."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Harry made a better girl than I did for a prank. It was shocking! Don't even get me started about my idiot sister Cleo's taste in boys."

"Be fortunate that your sister does not demonstrate how much a piano virtuoso that she is with backing music. I was more than half asleep one morning and heading for my wake-up cup of espresso and Claire started playing the theme from Jaws in front of everyone!" Ehren commiserated between bites of her ice cream.

Hermione laughed.

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

"...And then Mutti yelled at poor Claire, and she panicked and stomped down too hard. Her foot was still on the gas and she accidentally snapped the pedal off" Ehren paused to pay for the third round of ice cream as Hermione facepalmed and shook her head. "So Mutti is yelling at her and the throttle is full open, so she twisted the wheel and took the Reparo-Wagen into a woodlot. At least Mutti knows Reparo and Kasuyu used the jeep to tow it back home to get fixed up."

"Ouch, that is...." Hermione sympathized. "Yeah, that is something else. I hope that your driving lessons were not that kind of disaster."

Ehren grinned. "Oh, they were better. You see, after that Aunt Del and Aunt Jackie agreed to teach me themselves. So while Del distracted Mutti, Jackie snuck me off for two weeks at a private driving school.'

Hermione blinked, "And your mother was OK with it? She sounds like such a control freak."

Ehren smirked, "Oh, no, she was frantic. But Jackie is a sailor and by the time that she found out that we were gone, we were already at sea on Aunt Jackie's other yacht. Jackie patched things up with Mutti after I passed the tests."

Hermione smiled, "I love sea cruises myself."

"As do I, they are peaceful, and I learned how to handle a small sailing craft. There is a joy in testing yourself against the elements, just you and your will and skills against the open seas."

Both Upholder and Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "That's very true. But I do need to go soon."

Ehren nodded. "Ja, I have other errands to run myself." She paused. "Can you do me a favor, Hermione?"

"Which is what?" Hermione asked.

Ehren scribbled a phone number on the back of the receipt. "Mutti asked me to let Harry Potter and his friends know that if he runs into trouble, the du Chastelers stand ready to stand beside him. Mutti has some ties to his family and owes them much. Here is the number for our telephone if, no, when, he needs assistance."

Hermione blinked and tucked it away. "I will keep that in mind." With that she stood and headed down the street. As she hefted her purchases, her radio room crackled to life. {What do you think, Upholder?}

Upholder cocked her head. {She is not human, certainly. She is also concealing a few things from us, although I could not detect any outright lies, just... omissions. She is also much younger than she looks, and German is her native language.}

Hermione nodded, {One thing that I noticed is that outfit of hers was superseded in the 1890s at Beauxbatons. They did away with the pearl buttons that she has and now the House insignia are embroidered on her blouse pocket like we have in Hogwarts. If she is really a Beauxbatons student, I will eat my anchor chain.}

Upholder frowned slightly. {That is troubling. Better safe than sorry. I have your permission to proceed then?}

Hermione sighed as they entered the Leaky Cauldron. {Approved.}

Upholder spoke. {Cousin, you heard?}

A soft shy feminine voice entered the conversation. {Affirmative, Commander. I have our Blonde Woman of Mystery in my scope.}

{Then Proceed, Venturer. Find out what you can about our German conversationalist. In the name of the Knights of the Undersea! HUZZAH!!}
Spoiler: HMS Venturer (P68)

Vana Yael Apfelbaum, the natural-born spirit of HMS Venturer and great-granddaughter of David Apfelbaum, locked her tracking solution on Ehren du Chasteler as she trailed the blonde through the streets of London.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

After a few moments of puzzling over what had happened, the two shook it off and continued to walk along. Head tilted to the side, Shinano blink a bit, "So, Wanko-San is going to give you some escorts of your own?"

Humming, Regina nodded with a small smile, "She is as a matter of fact." She tapped her finger on her chin, "Not sure which ones, mind you. But... I am certain whichever ones she does assign me can get along with you and Harry."

A slight frown on her face, the Carrier considered that, "Hmm..."

Regina's smile widened a touch, "I think that one of them that Lady Wanko is going to assign is Rainy Spring as she is a Flagship Destroyer. Though..." Tapping her chin, the Re-Class frowned, "I think that Lady Wanko is also going to evolve her into a Demon. She could lead any Abyssal Destroyers assigned to me."

Eyes widening a touch, Shinano tilted her head, "Really? She would assign you a Demon?"

Only nodding, Regina smiled, "She would, Shinano. Rainy Spring is a very good Destroyer and I've fought alongside her. Also, um... as a Flagship I would still be stronger than her as a Demon.'

Crossing her arms, the Yamato just nodded and smiled, "I can see that." Her smile brightened a bit, "Because you're already very strong, Regina-Chan."

Lightly blushing, Regina sunk a bit into her hood and poked her fingers together, "You think so?"

Pumping her fist, Shinano nodded sharply, "Hai! I don't think so, I know so!" She became thoughtful and tapped her finger against her cheek, "Hmm... do you think that she might willing to have combined exercises? So that my Destroyers can get some practice in against Abyssal Destroyers? Like our planes have against one another?"

That made the Re-Class furrow her eyebrows as she thought it over. Eventually, she gave a small nod and smiled, "I think that I might be able to." Regina's eyes then widened a bit, "Oh! And I think that Tsuzie might be willing to come as well for such a thing to help you get used to such things." Looking around, she leaned towards Shinano and whispered with one hand cupped beside her mouth, "She's a huge fan of Miss Naka."

Quickly looking around, Shinano leaned in, "She's a big fan of Naka-San? Really?" When she got a nod, her eyes widened a bit, "Wow..."

Nodding, Regina smiled, "A really big fan. She has all of Miss Naka's songs and the like. I've also seen her singing along to them and other songs. And she has a very nice voice too."

With a small hum, the Carrier considered what she had just been told before nodding, "Maybe we can get her to meet Naka-San as well? That might make her pretty happy."

Eyes widened a bit, Regina smiled, "It really would! Tsuzie does a lot of work for Lady Supprin after all, though even Lady Supprin has tried to cut back on that. From what I overheard... Lady Supprin is thinking of making her into a Light Cruiser Demon due to her loyalty and hard work. She is a Flagship level after all."

Humming, Shinano gave a small nod, "I can see it from everything that you've told me." For a few minutes, the two of them walked in a comfortable silence before the Yamato sighed. Seeing Regina look at her, she smiled a bit sadly, "Sorry, Regina-Chan... I'm just a bit jealous of you."

Confused, the Abyssal frowned, "J-jealous? Of me?" That got a nod which made her insides twist a bit. Right then, Regina decided that she did not like her friend being jealous. But when she spoke, it was in a soft voice that was nearly a whisper, "Why?"

For a moment, Shinano didn't say anything and when she spoke, it was in nearly as soft of a voice, "Because you're going to have Harry-Chan to yourself for the next two days, and, um..."

Eyes widening a bit, Regina's expression softened and she hugged her friend, "Sorry."

All the Yamato did though was hug her back with a smile, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Regina-Chan." When her friend's eyes met her own, Shinano shook her head, "I'm happy that you get to spend time with Harry-Chan. Because I know that I'll get to spend a lot of time with him too. It's not a bad thing to be jealous, but that's normal I guess. But... as long as you're happy, I'm happy."

She then gave a closed eyed smile which made Regina look at her with tears in her eyes before the Re-Class hugged her even more tightly, 'Shinano...' Pulling back, the Abyssal looked at her smiling friend before nodding, "T-then one of these days, you need to come to my home. And we can have a sleepover."

Blinking at that, Shinano tilted her head before her eyes widened, "Your home, Regina-Chan? And... and you want me to sleep over?"

Regina blushed a little and poked her fingers together, "Um, yes? I've sort of wanted you to come and see it..." A thought then occurred to her and she gasped a bit happily, "Maybe you can even come tomorrow!"

That made her friend blink a bit before Shinano furrowed her eyebrows, "Tomorrow? But, um... I need to make sure that everything is ready for my new Nee-Sans."

With a shake of her head, the Abyssal looked around, "Harry's time turner. You can use it to turn back time, get some sleep, do it again, and come spend the day with us!"

Her eyes widening, Shinano stared before thinking it over, "Um, it could work..." She turned to Regina and frowned a bit as she shuffled slightly, "Do... do you really want me to come?"

Grasping Shinano's hands, Regina gave a nod, "I do, Shinano. And I know that Harry would like it as well." She then clapped her hands, "We could do some things there too! Like, sunbathe there just outside my home. I really like doing that and it's so warm too. And the water is also right there if we want to go into it."

Lightly smiling as she imagined it, the Carrier nodded, "That sounds nice..."

Regina only smiled at that, "Really nice, Shinano. Sooo relaxing, though... um..." Frowning, she shook her head in confusion, "I sunbathe without my poncho. But sometimes humans walking by who are visiting and stuff just stare at me weirdly. Not sure why."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Shinano blinked, "Huh, that sometimes has happened to me when I've been to the beach and sunbathing in my swimsuit. But Onee-Chan, Musashi, just gives this odd smile and says that she'll take care of it when she notices and goes to talk with the people with them leaving. Really fast at that..." Both Regina and Shinano frowned in confusion at that before shaking their heads after having a shared look. It was then that she remembered something, "Um, what are you going to be doing anyways?"

Just blinking, Regina stared before blushing a bit, "Ah, it's not all that much. I was going to show him around and introduce him, which should be just the first day. Ruby really wants to see him..." Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked at the floor, "And the second day is to give him some time to relax before bringing him back. So, mostly swimming and stuff. Maybe take him diving at one of the reefs."

Slowly, Shinano nodded before she realized something and blushed, "Um, maybe you could do something... o-or have Harry-Chan do it." At seeing the confusion, she continued and walked up to her friend, "T-there's palm trees there, right?"

While confused, the Re-Class still nodded, "Yes? There's a couple."

Looking one way and then the other, Shinano leaned in, "M-maybe you could b-be leaning against one. And then Harry-Chan reaches up and..."

Once more, she glances around before putting her hand on the wall beside Regina's head, which made the Re-Class flush as she realized what her shipgirl friend meant, "Y-you mean, he might do..."

The Yamato nodded, "H-hai, and then he would lean in and... and..." Doing the same, she reached up and rapped her knuckles above the wall beside the bright red Re-Class' head, "T-th-then maybe Harry-Chan would go... 'Regina-Chan, I want you to do something...'"

Hands covering most of her face, Regina peaked out from between her fingers, "R-really? You think he might... and... command me to do something?"

Nodding, Shinano pulled back and looked around, "Like, maybe... get some coconuts o-or, um rub his shoulders! Because they're all achy or something."

Fists now clenched in front of her, Regina nodded, "W-wow..." Looking at each other, the two let out a happy squeal before glancing around and giggling, "And m-maybe when you come, he does the same."

All Shinano did was nod at that with a light blush of her own.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Operation Ehren's Reise (V)

Savoy Hotel

Vana, or as she preferred to think of herself while on assignment, HMS Venturer walked away from the front desk while adjusting her glasses absently. Her Royal Navy identification card had gotten her a chat with the night manager, and the manifestation of her faeries had persuaded him that she was who she said that she was.
Spoiler: Venturer On The Hunt

Which had gotten her some useful data to refine her targeting solution. With that she sat down in one of the provided chairs and pulled some light reading out of her hold to 'visually occupy herself' while she discussed the data with her crew. She opened Spivak's Calculus, Fourth Edition to page 357 and ordered her faerie of the watch to keep a close eye on the elevator bank with her periscopes for Miss Ehren du Chasteler.

With that she took a deep breath and found herself inside her cramped, familiar, comfortable hull. She ducked through the hatch to the wardroom and nodded very respectfully to the young man waiting for her with a chessboard in front of him.

"What do you have for me, Jimmy?" she asked.

He extended two fists and she tapped the right one. He opened it, showing a white pawn and they set up the board to play chess. "Ma'am, while you were signing the autographs for the manager's young daughters, we radioed the Admiralty. HMS Victoria called to Scotland Yard and the Home Office and we have confirmation that a Miss Ehren du Chasteler arrived yesterday through Dover via the automobile tunnel. Our report is that she is a Belgian national, age nineteen." He tapped his king pawn thoughtfully then advanced it two squares.

Vana nodded and moved her king knight in response, then frowned slightly as he advanced his queen knight pawn one square. "I see. No criminal record then?"

"None whatsoever. She is quite a tabula rasa which is unsurprising if she is a magical being of some kind." Jimmy fianchettoed his queen bishop and Vana sighed and castled in response, biting her lip absently.

"Ton nit plotz, Apfelbaum." she muttered to herself, then looked up at her captain. "Do you have any recommendations for me, Jimmy?"

He frowned and drummed his fingers on the table. "I do not suggest direct confrontation yet. Rather just watch and wait for now, and gather data. Considering the importance of Mr. Potter diplomatically with the Japanese plus the magicals, we need to determine the motivations of the new player in this game, of which Miss du Chasteler is apparently an agent of."

"Oy vey! I know all about the inimitable Mr. Potter having his fingers in so many pies. You taught me well about patience being a necessary virtue for a submarine. Especially one with only four tubes and eight torpedoes." She shrugged and exchanged knights to put pressure on his defenses. "Do we have a listing of her purchases in Diagon Alley?"

He pulled out a message form and passed it across. Her eyebrows rose while she read it as the steward entered with cups of gunpowder tea for them. "Hm, magical textbooks. Specifically basic spellbooks, history of magic one through four, third year Defense Against the Dark Arts...? And Upholder reported that she was quite young and green as a new ensign." She leaned back and surveyed the board before moving a rook.

"Indeed. And according to the desk, she will be here for six more days." Jimmy moved a bishop. "Check." As Vana moved her knight in response, he continued. "Visigoth, Vulpine, and Viking are going to help their big sister out. Their words, not mine!" He hastily added at her un-amused stare.

"Vey is mir! I need the 'assistance' of those three shlimazels like I need ein lock in kop!!' Vana moaned. "This is an operation needing subtle and they don't do subtle." Absently she moved her queen.

She thought rapidly then developed a sly grin. "I need to tell those three stooges something to prevent them blowing this operation higher than my torpedo spread into that munitions transport in '44. I know! Tell them that she's an U-Boat in disguise and to infiltrate the U-Boats' current social gathering to find out their plans. I have every confidence in their ability to blend in and gather critical intelligence from the Kriegsmarine girls." She finished with an evil smirk at this job of killing two birds with one stone.

Jimmy laughed. "Perfect, Ma'am. I shall alert the Admiralty to bail them out from the brig for being drunk on duty a week from now after our operation concludes." He moved his rook. "Check, mate in three."

Vana looked at the board as she computed her options, then toppled her king with one finger. "How many moves this time did I last?" She asked curiously.

He nodded respectfully. "Fifty-one, a new record for you, Ma'am."

"Good to see that I am improving." she mused as she set the board up for another game. "So now we wait until du Chasteler makes her next move."

Jimmy nodded and advanced a pawn to open their next game. "Just so, the game is afoot."

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

"Target status report! She's moving from the elevators!" The call came down into the wardroom where Vana was finishing her normal kosher breakfast of kippered herring, fried eggs, and rye bread while reviewing her maintenance paperwork.

With that she blinked and stirred, noting in passing that she had done another hundred pages of calculus proofs as she stowed her current pleasure book.

Equally fortunately, while she had been waiting and dealing with her never-ending struggle against paperwork, her faithful crew had changed her camouflage pattern. Gone was the schoolgirl look, and instead she appeared like a young college student with her King College London Department of Mathematics sweatshirt over blue jeans.

Du Chasteler had changed clothing too, now dressed professionally in a pressed gray blouse with black tie, knee-length black skirt with razor-sharp pleats in it, white stockings, and black flats. The impression was of nothing quite so much as a junior banker or stockbroker, aided by her hair up in a ponytail held in place with a music-themed scrunchy.

With that observation, HMS Venturer began to stalk her quarry once more through the early-morning pedestrians as London stirred to life.