Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Shinr

Harry Leferts said:
"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."
jmcdavid said:
Alternate Shinano: I do not deserve such happiness. Not after what I have done in my timeline.
Harry Leferts said:
Shinano: *Stern expression on her face* Yes, you do!​

Post-Seventh Year, San Francisco, under the Golden Gate Bridge, USS Super-Carrier (Insert Name Here)

A Steel-Hull Super-Carrier was returning home from her duties, her crew eager to unwind on earthly ground.

Especially the Flight Deck Crew, who at the last minute were tasked with cleaning up after an accident that had the deck covered in loose ordinance and spilled with highly flammable and explosive liquids.

And among them was a tall woman of mixed American/Japanese descent, who was inspecting the cleaned up part of the deck for any missed surprises when she heard a cry.

She looked at the source of commotion, a fellow crewmember who in panic pointed above at the bridge, and she along with many others on the deck looked up. But soon it became apparent that he was pointing at something more troubling.

A jumper.

As people around the deck started to notice and panic, time nearly stopped for her as she with sudden too-perfect clarity looked at the suicidal man.

Whose skin was bleached with white paint, and explosives strapped to every part of his body.

An Abyssal Cultist.

"BOMBER!!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, and everybody started running for cover, from the projected point of impact at the edge of the deck.

Which, unfortunately for the crew, was the part of the deck where the loose and all-too delicate ordinance were not yet cleaned up.

She felt a sudden pain in her heart, and for reasons unknown even to herself at the time, she ran.

Towards where the bomber will go splat.

She ran with all the might her long legs would give, the fastest she ever did in her life, her heart pumping at absurd levels.

And along the way, her vision occasionally flickered, the suicide bomber no longer looking bleached, then bleached again, her surroundings suddenly looking outdated for at least half a century, distinctively un-American and in flames, and then modern and undamaged again.

And just as the bomber was about to hit the deck, she tackled him out of the air, both of them flying beyond the deck and towards the water.

Her heart stopped.

And then the bombs exploded, too far away too cause any serious damage beyond cosmetic to the ship.

She, her body surprisingly, if relatively, intact, splashed into the water, and she blacked out.

A day later, she would wake up in the repair baths as an awakened Natural Born, and to confusion to herself and everyone else, would identify herself as the Yamato-Class Carrier Shinano.

And to her's even greater confusion, she cried tears of relief, as if a great burden was lifted.

That fate could be changed.

----

In which the reincarnation cycle doesn't care about little details such as the soul being from the alternate universe or that timelines don't exactly align.

For context: Alternate Shinano was inspired by an unreleased Hearts of Iron 4 mod where Germany and Japan won WWII, and she is mentioned in the USA Diary getting bombed in San Francisco, causing Nixon, already deep in the Watergate scandal, a bit of trouble.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

The Shadows of the Past

Hayama Imperial Villa, Kanagawa, Japan
Spoiler: A Family Meeting

Masamune-no-Fudo brushed soot off the shoulders of her tailored suit as she stepped out of the green-flaring flames in the fireplace. Seeing the other spirit in the room, she immediately bowed deeply out of respect to her eldest sister. "Kotegiri-oneesan"

Kotegiri returned the bow just as elegantly and precisely in her manners as she was in the ways of warfare. "Fudo-chan. It is good to see you once more."

The flames flared green again and a young man dressed in a black morning coat with a silver tie and cufflinks stepped through and bowed to his sisters. "Kotegiri-oneesama, Fudo-nee."

Kotegiri returned the bow of greetings. "Hōchō-kun It has been a long time since we have spoken. 1902 in fact."

The Hōchō Masamune nodded and walked with Fudo to the offered sword racks waiting for their true selves. As her fellow tanto placed himself on the polished wood, he spoke in an undercurrent with a glance toward his eldest sister in her red kimono. "Fudo-nee, do you know what the meeting is about?"

Fudo shook her head. "I have suspicions, but nothing definite."

"Honjo-chan." The flames flared green again and the Honjo Masamune stepped through with a briefcase in her hand and bowed to her sister who returned it.

"Kotegiri-nee" The greatest blade of their sisterhood responded as she rose from her bow. "It is time then?"

"It is." Kotegiri then turned to the newly arrived Musashi and bowed in welcome.

Finally the last Masamune arrived and Kotegiri gestured to the room beyond where tatami mats were laid out for them to kneel on. "Siblings, welcome. I called all of us together because there are some matters of grave importance that we must discuss as a family."

Hōchō blinked. "What of Tokunotakai-nee?" He inquired from where he knelt next to Fudo.

Kotegiri shook her head slightly. "Toku-chan will be informed of our decisions since she is unable to attend because of another duty. Fudo-chan has graciously agreed to inform her since she is on musha shugyo on the orders of Hachiman-dono. Musashi-chan, will you do the same for Truman-chan?"

The sword of Miyamoto Musashi nodded. "It would be my honor, sister."

"Good. First and most happily, Toku-chan is not the youngest of us all anymore." A stir ran through the room. "It has come to my attention that during Kannazuki that the Mizuchi Shiromizu who was present there was requested by Masamune-sama himself to bring back a gift to the Mortal Realm for a worthy soul that he chose. The tanto Hogosha Odori, who was gifted to the kami of the cruiser Jintsuu is the newest member of our family."

Excited whispers ran through the room as the gathered masterwork weapons speculated on their newest sibling. Kotegiri let the speculation run its course then coughed to refocus the attention on her. "I trust that we shall all behave ourselves with proper decorum both when visiting our youngest sibling and also assisting Jintsuu if she requires some training to master Hogoshi Odori?" Kotegiri fixed Musashi with a steely gaze as she spoke.

Heads bowed in acceptance.

"This is a serious matter, as is the next item on the agenda. Honjo?"

Honjo bowed her head and adjusted her glasses. "The reason Toku is not here is that the pilgrimage that Hachiman-dono has sent her on has already revealed some alarming matters." Honjo opened her briefcase and began to pass out folders. "Toku and the Muramasa who Hachiman selected to accompany her have revealed a rather grave injustice involving the Yokai Reserves."

Fudo clenched her fists as she placed the unread folder in front of her. She already knew from Toku what was in the report. Beside her Hōchō frowned. "One question. Hachiman-dono selected a Muramasa and not a more worthy blade to handle these matters alongside Toku-chan?"

Kotegiri nodded sharply and spoke with velvet-edged steel in her voice. "He did, and He apparently prefers this Blade for dealing with such actions from what I have read of her career. Once the Reserves are dealt with, you can then take matters up with her if you so choose, Hōchō. I do not like it either, but our duty in such matters is clear. Especially with the Statute of Secrecy failing and the instability in the Diet, this matter must be resolved successfully and smoothly to prevent grievous harm to the country if it is allowed to fester."

Hōchō subsided with a scowl on his face that matched some of Fudo's best as Kotegiri took command of the family gathering back. "Honjo and I have come up with a plan to resolve these matters politically, but I wish to hear your thoughts...."

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

Owari-To Construction Company, Office of Vice President In Charge of Inspections
Spoiler: Fudo's Wrath

Fudo scowled as she remembered the rest of the meeting. Every muscle in her body wanted to take swift and decisive action to purge the dishonor that the Reserves had become with blood.

She could not forget the saddened, horrified, and furious looks in Toku's eyes when her sister had told her about what she had discovered.

Could not forget the moment when Toku-chan confessed that she had killed another to save Colombe. The shock in her heart when she realized that Toku had blood on her hands that would never truly scrub away. After all Fudo could remember every face of every man and woman that she had killed in the Sengoku Jidai even though they were over four centuries dead and gone.

With that she grabbed a stress ball from her desk and savagely squeezed it as she began to pace in her office again.

Unfortunately immediate, decisive action was off the table for now in favor of politics.

Curse politics.

She could still hear Gorota Tokugawa's voice telling her about the bravery of the Yokai troops who her words had inspired to volunteer for his unit of the Imperial Guards in 1942. Telling her about how when given the chance to prove themselves, prove their honor and loyalty, they were some of the best troops that he had.

Yokai whose children, wives, sisters, and parents had been locked up by Kamo and those who came after in the Reserves 'for their own good' that had slowly degenerated into jigoku-on-earth in the tales of the jorogumo that du Chasteler and Toku had saved. Yokai who had given their all for Japan and then had been betrayed by politics and the Statute of Secrecy.

With that angry thought she threw the ball across the room to thud against the door. Glaring at it, she stepped forward to kick it across her office for lack of anything more productive that she could do.

The door opened behind her as she wound up a soccer style kick and a familiar voice sounded from it. "Fudō-oba! What is wrong?"

She turned to see Yoshiakira Tokugawa's concerned face and bowed to the middle-aged youngest son of the current company and family head. "I am sorry, it is just...."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have been upset ever since you returned from that family meeting."

She nodded, blushing slightly.

"Then you should get out of the office. We are having difficulties with the surveying for our contract at Yokosuka. There seems to be something in the area that is affecting our people. Father sent me down to see if you would look into these matters for him."

Fudo nodded with a small smile of relief. At last, something to do!

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Chatting with Kitakami Maru, Harry turned as the door opened to reveal a slightly blushing Regina and Shinano. A bright smile appeared on his face at the sight, "Regina, Shinano-Chan! Good morning"

The Carrier gave a slight bow to him with a small smile on her own face, "Good morning, Harry-Chan."

Beside her, Regina was also smiling as she looked down on the teen that had captured her heart. For a brief moment, the image from hers and Shinano's previous talk came popped up and she had to fight down the blush that threatened to deepen. Instead, the Abyssal nodded, "Yes, good morning to you as well, Harry." She then tilted her head a bit, "Are you ready to go?"

A chuckle escaped from Harry as he gave a nod, adjusting the backpack he had with him, "I am." He frowned a little bit, "Though I am a bit worried..."

Head tilted to the side, Regina blinked, "Worried? Why?"

Scratching his cheek, the teenage wizard sheepishly grinned, "I've looked the area of the Timor Sea up. And, well... supposedly this is the hottest time of year for it? And, well..."

Much to his surprise though, Regina waved him off with a small smile, "Oh! Don't worry about that, Harry. You'll enjoy yourself as a matter of fact."

While confused, Harry just nodded and gave a shrug, "Well, if you say so." Gesturing at the Vanishing Cabinet that they would be using, he smiled, "Ready?"

In reply, Regina nodded, "Ready." Turning, she gave Shinano a tight hug before whispering in her ear, "See you in a little bit." Then it was Harry's turn to say goodbye to her and the two opened the doors to the Vanishing Cabinet and stepped inside before turning and waving as the doors shut. Regina did note though that her tail came up and draped itself over Harry's shoulders, which caused him to giggle while she blushed a bit. At the same time, she was also smiling a bit, 'I finally get to show Harry my home... I'm so excited.'

Moments later, the two could tell there was a small shift of some sort and a clicking sound came from the door. As Regina opened the door, Harry's eyes widened a bit. Wherever they were, it was within a chamber of some sort with ghostly blue flames lighting the area. Nearby, Harry could also see a desk made of Abyssal metal with a Ru-Class behind it blinking at him in interest.

But more important was that Wanko was standing in the middle of the room, a smile on her face as she crouched down some, "Welcome... Little Brother to... my home."

Stepping out of the Vanishing Cabinet, Harry walked over and gave Wanko a hug, "Thanks, Big Sister, I'm glad to be able to finally see it."

Almost immediately accepting the hug, Wanko brought her two massive and clawed hands up to gently hold him against her, "As am I... Little Brother." She then stood up and gestured to the Ru-Class who was watching in interest, "Little Brother, allow me... to introduce... Ruka, who is... often here watching... the Cabinet."

With a glance at Wanko, Ruka walked around the desk and held out a hand which Harry took without any hesitation. Something that impressed her considering the expression she wore, "It is good to meet Lady Wanko's Little Brother. Welcome to our home, as she said."

Just nodding, the thirteen year old thanked her. Part of him, from various sessions with Hoppou and some with Wanko herself, recognized that her guns were likely twelve inch, which marked her as an older class of Ru. Something that went far to explain as to why she was the guard for the Vanishing Cabinet. Not long after, they were journeying through a long tunnel which had alcoves here and there that were big enough for an Abyssal to stand in and fire their guns down the hallway in either direction.

Soon enough though, they were outside and Harry blinked as he was hit with the tropical heat and humidity of the air. Almost immediately, he began sweating and soaking his shirt. Yet... it was also less hot than he had expected. More like that one time he went for a trip with his Mother to Okinawa in the middle of Summer. Blinking, Harry looked up at Wanko in confusion, "Um, Big Sister? I thought that it was supposed to be hotter than this?"

In reply, Wanko gave a smile and nodded down to him, "Yes, normally it... is much, much hotter. But I decided... to make it... cooler for you... Little Brother... for your visit."

Eyes widened a touch, Harry realized what she meant. He had heard that various Princesses could easily control the weather in their vicinity, and knew from Hoppou that was true, not that his adoptive little sister ever really used such powers around him. Still... that Wanko had turned some of the hotter days of the year cooler, just so that he would find it easier?

That said a lot.

A smile on his face, the teen hugged her thighs with a chuckle, "Thank you, Big Sister."

Gently, Wanko hugged him back, "You are very... welcome, Little Brother."

When he pulled back, Harry looked over what he could see. They were obviously on a coral island of some sort, which rose a few hundred feet above the sea. Down below, he could see an lagoon dotted with various structures, another atoll nearly out of sight seemingly the same as well. And out on the horizon, the wizard could see massive thunderheads rising upwards. Seeing them, part of him wondered about the clouds before Regina leaned down, "That is where Lady Wanko's power over the weather ends."

It took only moments, but Harry's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline with how high they shot as his eyes widened at what that meant. He knew from lessons taught to him as well as educational programs that when hot, moist air met cooler air, it would rise rapidly. And if there were massive thunderstorms on the horizon... suddenly, things made a lot more sense, 'Big Sister must have created a big cold front for those to be that big...'

Not knowing his thoughts, the giant Princess nodded, "Yes, and when... night falls, I shall... let them go on... their way." Glancing at Harry, she smiled, "It should cool things off... and I think... Darwin will also... like some rain as will... Timor."

Head tilted to the side, Harry remembered something that he had been told, "Timor? Don't you control that island?"

Slowly, Wanko shook her head, "No, I do not... control them. Some human nations... consider them a Protectorate... of mine. I see them... as what I believe is... called a Protected State." As they began to walk, Harry keeping up with her long strides, she continued, "I allow for... them to continue... ruling themselves and living... as they will. At the same time... I protect them from... other Abyssals... and humans that... could cause them trouble."

Beside her, Regina nodded with a small frown, "They have had some... issues regarding people that have attacked them that we've helped them with." She gave a small shrug, "I don't understand it myself."

Shaking a claw, her Princess shook her head, "It all boils down... to politics. Especially... after we handed... West Timor... back to Indonesia in... exchange for them... acknowledging our control... over the Timor Sea... and a few minor islands. Also... an actual defense... treaty." Wanko then smiled a bit, "As for Timor-Leste... in exchange for... protection and our help... with infrastructure, which I use for punishment... duties, they give us... treatment in regards to... trading and the... like."

Just nodding, Regina looked at Harry, "Lady Supprin was behind that. She said that growing both our economies were important and that through trade with them, we could get a lot that we need that we don't produce ourselves." A little bemused, she chuckled, "Even before we got the treaty with Australia, we were trading for food and the like. But now there's a plant being built on the island to refine methane Lady Supprin's forces are gathering into petroleum products with a small cut for the Timorese to use as they wish. And also we're building a refinery for the manganese nodules and crusts we're bringing up from the deep sea as well as other metals."

A happy expression on her face, Wanko nodded, "Yes, it has been... to the benefit of... both our nations. And both sides are... very happy with... what is happening."

Considering that, Harry just nodded as it made a lot of sense. Before he could say anything, another Ru walked up before speaking in an Australian accent, though Harry also had to stare at the hat she wore. One which had what looked like shark and crocodile teeth on it, "Good morning, Lady Wanko, Regina." Spotting Harry, she cocked her head to the side, "Now who is this here bloke? Unless..."

With a small sigh, the Re-Class nodded with a smile, "Good morning, Rula. And yes, this is Harry, Lady Wanko's Little Brother."

Rula leaned down and examined him for a few moments before smiling, "Ah, nice to meet you, Mate. Good onya for visitin' us."

Taking the hand, Harry shook it with a smile, "Well, I've been meaning to do so for a while now... just never had the chance."

Just chuckling, the Ru-Class smiled back, "Fair dinkum. Well, perhaps later we'll go and throw something on the barbie for ya." Glancing at Regina, she gave a wink with her next words causing the Re-Class to hide her face due to her blush, "Unless this little Shelia here goes and takes up too much time with a Pash. Hopefully, you brought your togs." Slapping Harry on the shoulder, Rula walked around them with a nod, "Anyways, going to bring Ruka a stubby holder for later."

And, with that, she walked off whistling a tune. Eyebrow raised, Harry turned to look at Wanko, "Well... she's interesting."

Sighing, Wanko shook her head, "That is... a good way to put it. Though be careful... sometimes she can be... a real Larrikin." Despite the confused, though also amused, expression on Harry's face, she did not explain further. Instead, she started walking again, "Let's introduce you... to some of the... others here..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Broken_Mirror93

So, this idea had been rattling around in my brain and after a long debate I decided to post it I hope it is of acceptable quality and let's see if you guys can guess with whom Summer Interacts.

White on White


Summer liked her Dockmaster. Then again, She liked almost everyone and everything. She liked the nice warships that surrounded him, she liked his family, she liked the men at the port and she liked the supplies she was given. However, what she didn't like was when the port got just a bit too busy and loud. Yes, she could just retreat to her room and be on her lonesome, but even then it was just a bit too loud for her liking.


When that happened, she snuck off-base into a nearby forest where she could just hide and wait until the base got just a bit quieter. However, 'snuck' was perhaps not the right word, mainly because she went through the port's main gate and told the men watching it where she was going and when she would return. The first time that happened, they had barred her way out. They called for her Dockmaster and Miss Warspite and together they came to an agreement: She would wear a bracelet that would allow the men to track her and they- and a warship or two- would come to fetch her if she stayed away for too long or moved too far away. Why she would do that, she didn't understand: After all, her Dockmaster and friends were here. But if it allowed her some peace and quiet, she agreed and let them put the bracelet on her arm.


She didn't know why the port got so busy and loud today, but after making sure she wasn't needed, she had excused herself and left for her forest. She liked the forest. The wind rustling through the leaves, the tiny birds filling the air with their songs, the warm sun on her skin… she didn't know why but even before her Dockmaster had found her, she liked it. Truth be told, those were the first things she liked. No other Abyssals taking what they wanted and leaving her with nothing. No sudden attacks because why not. Just the wind, the leaves, the songs, and the sun.


While she liked the entire forest, she liked one part most of all: a small grove, with tall grass and wildflowers, surrounded by tall, strong trees. When she first stumbled into it, she felt… something: Not the sun or the wind. Not what the Dockmaster and his family were cloaked with: but something different. It didn't feel dangerous or hostile but that something told her this little grove was special and that she was safe here. No one who would mean her harm would find her here.


That was why she was surprised when she encountered someone here. Sitting on a blanket with a basket, wearing a sundress and a sunhat, was an oddly familiar woman with pale skin, white hair and rather impressive ...displacement. At first, Summer wanted to hide from this new, unknown person but before she could do so she was seen and the woman on the blanket called out: "Why, hello there! Would you like to join my picnic?"


The woman on the blanket wasn't scared? But... Summer was an Abyssal and the fact that she was loyal to her Dockmaster was not well known outside the base, at least as far as she knew. Perhaps this was a visiting shipgirl that had been briefed about her presence and decided to go looking for her? Slowly, Summer approached the unknown woman, who had a kindly smile on her face as she made room on the blanket.


Carefully, Summer sat down as the other woman in white pulled a small, cloth bundle from her basket. opening the bundle, she pulled a sandwich out and handed it to Summer. A second fulled suit, but this one remained in the other woman's hands. Seeing her take a bite out of the dish, Summer herself gingerly took a bite-only for her eyes to widen in surprise. The rest of the sandwich didn't stand a chance as she gobbled it up. A gentle giggle shook Summer out of the sudden feeding frenzy she had found herself in and, with a gentle blush, she turned towards the shipgirl, who covered her mouth with her hand as her kind, blue eyes twinkled with amusement. Handing the blushing abyssal another sandwich she said: "I'll tell Edinburgh that you like her sandwiches. If you are still hungry, feel free to take more." She rose from the blanket and started to walk through the grove, picking flowers.


Summer decided she liked this odd, seemingly fearless shipgirl. The second sandwich was soon joined by a third, then a fourth and during the fifth the other woman re-joined Summer with a bunch of freshly picked wildflowers. Stopping her spree of sandwich destruction, Summer watched her skillfully weave the flowers into something.


A sudden nagging feeling overcame Summer as she looked at the other woman working. She wanted to say something but didn't know what, she wanted to know who this person before her was and why she was so kind to her.


"You look like you want to ask me something." the voice of her new friend brought her back to reality. She looked up and saw the odd woman looking at her, the finished wreath in her lap.

"I… Yes." Taking a deep breath, Summer continued. She could do it! She talked to her Dockmaster and the others all the time! "Are… are you one of the visitors of th..the base?" The shipgirl's eyes widened in surprise. "The was a base nearby? No, I'm not visiting any bases. My fleet and I planned a Picnic, but everyone else suddenly had to fill in for others, so I had to make do just by myself and the basket Miss Edinburgh prepared. I hoped I would find someone to share these treats with and enjoy a nice day off. When I met you I decided to make a new friend."

Summer was stumped. Did this ship girl not know what an abyssal was? It sounded like that was the case. "Are...are you aware of who I am?... What I am?" came her question. It hung for a moment in the air, then the possibly insane woman answered: "I don't know what you are but I know who you are: Someone who enjoys the wind, sun, and birdsong as much as I do. After all, if you did not enjoy does things you wouldn't have made that peaceful, happy face you made when I first saw you. And if you were hostile, you would have attacked before I saw you."

"That...is true." Summer could see the logic behind her words. "But I look rather frightening to humans. With…" she pointed at her legs and her arm. Now it was the unknown woman's to be stumped… and then she giggled again. "The Ironblood look just as frightening, maybe even more so, and they are quite kind once you get to know them… except for Roon." the woman in white shuddered. "Roon is … frightening." Suddenly, a harsh noise filled the air and Summer's new friend produced a smartphone from somewhere between her breasts. Looking at the screen, her face fell. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. A convoy is under attack."

Without packing the supplies she stood, carefully, but quickly, placed the wreath in Summer's hair and hurried into the forest. "What about the picnic?" Summer called out. With a last smile, the other white-clad woman turned around and returned: " Share the sandwiches with your friends and return the rest the next time we meet." And with that, she disappeared in between the trees.

Looking at the left behind basket and blanket, Summer picked them up. Then she realized something. "I didn't ask for her name."


Warspite sipped her tea, glad that the entire mess with the replacement parts was over. Turns out, a lapse in concentration from anywhere in the chain of command could cause a headache for hundreds, maybe even thousands of people as everyone scrambled to find parts of long-range radars that were sent somewhere they shouldn't go. Another sip. Soft knocking at the door. Only one being on the base knocks that gently. "Please enter, Summer." Just as gently as she knocked, the shy abyssal opened the door and entered the room. She looked slightly different. A crown of wildflowers on her head and a picnic basket in her hand. "Uh… Miss Warspite? If you would like, I have sandwiches." she said. Warspite's elegant eyebrow rose. As far as she knew, Summer had no idea how to prepare food. Worry crept into her. "Summer, please tell me you didn't accidentally frighten off some picnic-goers and steal their basket."

Summer was aghast at the idea and shock head. "Oh no, no, no. I met a ship girl in the forest and she had to leave. She told me to share the sandwiches with others and return basket and blanket when we next meet." she rattled down.

Warspite's eyebrow rose further.: That sounds odd. rising from her seat, she approached the shy abyssal and looked into the basket. Only two sandwiches remained inside. Taking one, she looked at, sniffed and took a bite. Her eyes widened and she had to resist the un-ladylike desire to simply inhale the treat in her hand. Slowly, carefully she ate, savoring each bite of the morsel.

" Quite good, but I hope you didn't give some to the human personnel. They are only fit for consumption by shipgirls… and abyssals."

Summer nodded quickly. "Of course." The abyssal looked into the basket. Hear face brightened. "Miss Warspite, Could I please keep the last one? I have an idea." Cocking her head slightly, Warspite asked what that idea was. With a smile, the Installation answered.



Brigid lay alone in her cell, bored out of her mind. There was very little to do after all. A knock at the door, a sliding noise. Supplies had arrived. Stupid Humans, keeping her supplied until she could force that traitorous installation to restore her to her former glory.

Standing up, she moved to the door and in addition to the grey slop the fed her was some kind of triangle. Sniffing it, she found in harmless and ate quickly. The slop followed. The triangle tasted much better. Laying down again she returned to doing nothing.


…

…..

…….


She wanted another triangle.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Reaching the bottom of the small mountain, Harry's eyebrows rose at what met them. At the bottom was a wide beach that stretched down to the water's edge where tropical waves washed ashore. More amazing were the groups of Abyssals gathered here and there simply sunbathing and dozing without a care. There were even a few humans as well, though mostly under shade to protect them from the harsh Sun above. But some of them were swimming in the lagoon itself in an area that was cordoned off by a net. Seeing his gaze, Wanko pointed at it, "That is a... jellyfish net. It keeps out... jellyfish that could... harm humans and so... makes it safe to... swim there for humans."

Somewhat amused, Harry chuckled a little, "Abyssals meanwhile don't have much of an issue with said creatures."

The slight smile on Wanko's face told him that she found it just as amusing, "Yes, our skin... is as tough as... steel after all."

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something and the Princess looked up to see a man in a Khaki shirt and shorts come up to her. On his tanned face was a massive grin, "Hello there, Miss Wanko."

As Wanko greeted him back, it took Harry a few moments to place him and he grinned as well, "I know you, you're the Croc Hunter!"

Blinking, Steve Irwin grinned at him with a laugh, "That's what they call me." Holding out a hand, which the teen shook, he smiled, "Steve Irwin."

Unable to help but grin back, Harry chuckled, "Harry Potter."

For her part, the Abyssal Princess placed a hand on Harry's shoulders and nodded towards the other human, "This is my... Little Brother, Mister Irwin. He is visiting for... a day or two from... his school for Spring... Break."

Nodding, Steve smiled a bit before snapping his fingers, "I remember Hagrid telling me that." Lightly laughing, he shook his head, "Biggest and strongest bloke that I've ever met, but gentle he is. Helped me wrestle Brutus last Summer." If anything, his smile widened, "How's he doing back in Scotland?"

Hands in his pockets, Harry chuckled a bit, "He's doing fine, Mister Irwin-"

The Croc Hunter just waved his hand, "Call me Steve."

Only nodding, Harry smiled back, "Steve, but yeah, he's doing just fine and has started teaching us about, uh..."

Looking around, Steve shook his head, "About all sorts of magical creatures?" Seeing the widened eyes, he gave a wink, "Known about them for a few years now. Amazing creatures! Can't wait for the Statute to fall so that I can show them to the world at large."

Brightly smiling now, the teen laughed, "I can imagine it now." After a moment, he hummed, "But yeah, Hagrid has been teaching Care of Magical Creatures back at Hogwarts..." Pulling out his phone, he thumbed through the video and showed it, "This was when he showed us Hippogriffs."

Just leaning in, Irwin smiled before waving at a teenaged girl, "Bindi, come on over here." Gesturing at Harry as she also jogged up, he smiled, "This here is Harry Potter, Harry? This is my daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin." As the two teens shook hands, he made a motion at the phone, "Harry here has some video from one of Hagrid's lessons."

Grin on her face, Bindi shook her head, "Really? Hagrid is teaching now?" Getting a nod, she leaned in to watch the video of the Hippogriffs, "Crikey, look at them, Dad."

Awed look on his face, Steve only nodded, "Yeah, they're real beauts they are, just gorgeous." Harry showed them a few more videos of magical creatures and he sighed, "No matter what, Mother Nature never ceases to surprise. And I cannot wait to see them. Especially those dragons Hagrid went on about. Crikey, I want a dragon."

Beside him, his daughter nodded, "I can't wait either, Dad." She grinned a bit, "Though we're helping in our own ways." At seeing the confused look on Harry's face, Bindi explained, "We're just coming from an island nearby that was hidden by magic. They got Megalania on the island! Actual Megalania!"

It took Harry a few moments before he realized what she meant, "Wait, you mean the giant monitor lizards? I know that their saliva can be used in potions and their hides can be used in place of dragonhide among other things..."

Steve chuckled and shook his head, "That's the one, biggest goanna that I've ever seen in my life."

Giving her father a look, Bindi snorted with a smile, "Yes, and one of them chased us up a tree until one of the Abyssals chased it off." She then laughed, "Still a real beaut it was, had to be at least twenty feet long. And we caught it all on film... some of these creatures are driving zoologists nuts as either they should not exist, or should be extinct..."

After a few more minutes of chatting, and Harry getting an autograph, the father and daughter duo needed to leave, so after Bindi shook Harry's hand goodbye, Steve did much the same, "You tell Hagrid that the invitation to my zoo is still open when he comes by next time. We'd love to have him around and back on the show."

Rather amused, Wanko gave him a look, "As long as... you do not try... to steal Hagrid... for too long."

Only laughing at that, Steve shook his head, "No worries about that, Miss Wanko. Just like the bloke as he loves animals as much as we do. And finds the dangerous ones misunderstood like we do as well."

With that, the two left and the thirteen year old wizard shook his head, "Never expected that."

Beside him, Regina giggled a little, "Not many do, but we don't mind it when he visits us. And a few of the girls are fans of his as well." That got a chuckle from Wanko. She then perked up a little, "Oh! We have to bring you to Ruby."

Having heard about the Harbour Demon in question, Harry was excited to meet her and they lead him towards a cave in the mountainside near the beach. Entering it, he glanced around in interest as the cave was more a tunnel, with offshoots where various living quarters were. Looking at him, Wanko pointed further down the tunnel, "Down at the end... is where my quarters... are. Ruby's... is right around that... bend."

Just nodding as they reached said bend, the teenager looked at the large door and waited as Wanko knocked. Much to his confusion, the voice that came through sounded like it was coming from a girl not much older than Hoppou. Then, Wanko opened the door and they stepped inside the furnished room to find a Harbour Demon type there. A part of Harry noted that she looked a like Wanko, though with some differences. Instead of the giant gauntlets, Ruby's hands were exposed and each one of them were massive with claws.

Right as Harry was about to speak, Ruby spoke in the same voice that he had heard through the door, "Um, Lady Wanko? Who is..." Furrowing her eyebrows for a moment, her eyes soon widened, "Is this Harry?"

With a glance towards Wanko, Harry held out his hand to her, "That's right, I'm glad to meet you, Ruby. I've heard a lot about you."

A light blush appeared on the Abyssal's face as she reached down and shook his hand, "Um, thank you?" With a brief look to Wanko, she smiled, "I'm very pleased to meet you, Harry. Lady Wanko has told all of us a lot about you. Especially when she brought that basilisk meat here."

Lightly laughing, Harry grinned back at her, "Both Big Sister as well as Regina and Revina have also told me a lot about you all as well. And I'm glad to be able to finally visit.

That caused a smile to break out on Ruby's face before she nodded, "I'm glad that you could visit as well."

Both of them chatted for several moments before something came up that made the wizard frown, "You have trouble getting dates?" At her embarrassed nod, he scratched his head, "Because you're an Abyssal?"

Ruby though shook her head with a sigh and pointed one massive talon at her mouth, "It is because of my voice." Shoulders slumping, she looked like she was going to cry, "They're interested until I speak and then back away because I sound like a little girl. It's not fair..."

Frowning, Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "That's not right..."

Unknown to him, there was a soft smile on Wanko's face as well as Regina's as they watched the two bond.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Operation Ehren's Reise (VI)

Savoy Hotel, London
Spoiler: Ehren's Mission

Ehren du Chasteler marched out of the Savoy Hotel's lobby to the taxi stand. Her ponytail swung back and forth like a pendulum with her steady, determined, precise stride. She clasped the document folder containing Mutti's financial instructions to Jardine to her side as if they were top secret plans for world domination.

Behind her Vana placed the bookmark back in her calculus textbook and followed the dagger spirit with the stealthy patient hunter's gait of a submarine who had never failed to return to port from the lethal hide and seek that was the North Atlantic and North Sea at war. Inside her red-lit control room, her captain called out target movements and observations with his eyes glued to her periscope as her crew updated their target's actions and threat analysis. In her ASDIC room, her chief sonarman raised a hand as he held his headset closer to his ears and the spoke in a firm voice in the hushed hair-trigger readiness of her hull at Action Stations that cut through the tense atmosphere like a knife.

"Sir, hydrophones report that target is ordering her taxi to take her to Jardine Matheson's offices in the City."

Vana nodded in response and approached the next taxi in line, pulling out her purse as she did so. The Magen David charm that she had gotten at her bat mitzvah from her Aunt Abigail glittered as she slid into the back seat and firmly spoke. "Jardine Matheson's offices."

Inside her, her diesel engines hammered harder with the thrill of matching her wits and skills against an unknown opponent to protect her country, her Queen, and her family. After all, as her captain had said, the game was afoot, and it was a game that she had been born to play and win.

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

Jardine Matheson's Offices, London

Ehren got out of the taxi after paying the driver and adjusted her skirt absently. She nibbled her lip nervously at the sight of the slab of glass and steel overhead, then nodded decisively as she walked to the revolving door. Behind her a second taxi pulled up and Vana got out.

Ehren breathed out and then in. "Finalize the paperwork for Ying, Toku, and Miho's trust fund and then represent the du Chasteler family at the shareholder's meeting. I can do this. I shall do this for Mutti." She whispered to herself and then strode forward with a facade of confidence that she did not feel in the least under her armor of cool competence.

She was blissfully unaware that HMS Venturer had heard every word that she said and was using it to refine the target analysis as the submarine followed her into the lobby.

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

A half hour later, Ehren finally stood from the comfortable chair and placed her signed, witnessed, and notarized copies of the financial documents in her folder. Across the desk from her Robert Jardine-Patterson extended his finely manicured hand and she shook it. "A pleasure, Miss du Chasteler. I look forward to your mother recovering fully from the automobile accident that broke her leg." His blue eyes twinkled as the seventh-generation descendant of the businessman who had founded the international company continued. "She is doing well at her age?"

Ehren nodded. "Ja. Mutti is doing quite well when I called home last night to speak to her. My sister Claire is watching over her convalescence like a mother hen with one chicken." Her lips quirked as she mentally added in that Toku, Kasuyu and the Fujiis were no doubt helping nurse her mother back to health.

Robert smiled charmingly. "I confess that when I got the news that the legendary Colombe du Chasteler planned to attend our biennial senior shareholder's meeting, I had my hopes up. Father mentioned that she was one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen when she arrived to extract him and his staff from Iran in 1979. Normally then he hastily added that my mother was of course even more beautiful." He chuckled and after a moment Ehren joined in.

"I can see that in your case, the apple did not fall far from the tree at all. Beautiful, and sharp as a razor. I must inquire, have you considered working for us, Miss du Chasteler?" He finished in a voice that was filled with curiosity.

Ehren blushed pink at his compliment. "Nein. I fear that Mutti has other plans for me. She has been grooming me to be her deputy in business, you see. Jardine is certainly very important to her, but she also has other concerns that need my skills. Hence my private schooling and intense tutoring in business. I believe her plan is to ease me into acting as her business proxy moving forward, since she can only be in one place at one time." Also I have commitments to fight evil and injustice alongside Mother and Aunt Del, and am the designated backup plan for the Black Hills, but you do not need to know that.

Robert responded as he guided her to the door of his office, "If you change your mind..."

"Then I shall certainly contact you." Ehren finished with a precise nod of her head. "Alas, Befehl ist Befehl(Order is order./Command is command, could be either). I have to get ready for the stockbroker's meeting that I am to attend as Mother's representative. "

He opened the door for her and spoke to his secretary. "Jennifer, please conduct Miss du Chasteler to Executive Waiting Suite Number One for the shareholder meeting."

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

Meanwhile downstairs in the lobby, Vana glanced outside as a black limousine pulled up. The uniformed driver got out and held the door for a group of six, all of them blondes ranging from silver through pure gold to light peach. She locked her eyes on the peach-haired girl with a feather clip in her pink hair hugging the blonde boy's arm and her face paled as they approached.
Spoiler: Enter The Malfoys

As she entered on Draco's arm in the wake of his parents, Johnston's lookouts reported a periscope on her port bow. Instinctively she moved into position to shield Draco as her faeries sprinted to General Quarters. Her radio room called to her fellows in the flotilla. {Submarine sighted at oh three zero!}

HMS Cleopatra's head snapped around as her machinery skipped a beat. While she had survived The War, her sisters Hermione, Bonaventure, and Naiad had all fallen to the submarine menace. Suddenly her intelligence officer waved a target identification card frantically to get her attention. {Stand easy, that is a V-Class! One of ours. Unidentified submarine, this is HMS Cleopatra, report immediately!}

Vana took a deep breath as her eyes locked on the destroyer and two light cruisers staring at her. {HMS Venturer, Pennant P sixty-eight. Upholder has instructed me to surveil and report on a Miss Ehren du Chasteler who is present in this building attending a stockholder meeting scheduled for twenty-three minutes from now. Du Chasteler is a magical who has expressed interest in Mr. Harry Potter and represents a unknown faction that we are trying to determine capabilities and motivations for.}

A German voice joined the radio conversation as the shipgirls relaxed and escorted the Malfoys as they headed across the lobby toward the elevators. {What kind of idiot parents name their child 'Honor' anyway? Muffin's family is attending that meeting, and we are invited. We will report observations to you once the meeting concludes, Venturer.}

Vana nodded. {While you do that, I will return to her hotel and run the tag number on her automobile and investigate her room to further refine the profile of her organization. Target is a light blonde girl, dark blue eyes, precise military bearing, approximately 18 years old. German accent in her English, dressed in a dark grey blouse, black skirt, white stockings. Hair in a ponytail. Thank you and good hunting, Cleopatra.}

Cleo's gold ringlets bobbed around her head as she entered the elevator. {Tally-ho Venturer and Godspeed.}

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

Executive Waiting Suite Number One
Spoiler: A Dagger, A Sith Lord In Training, And Shipgirls

Lucius Malfoy's brow wrinkled minutely as he entered the lavishly furnished waiting area. The only other occupant was sitting in a leather chair by the window overlooking London reading the financial prospectus sheet minutely. Her steel-blue eyes rose and she gave him and his family a cool considering gaze before returning to her paperwork.

He was not fooled for a moment. A lifetime of dealing with dangerous people had honed his instincts well, and this young woman was radiating purpose and strength of will, advertising her hidden depths as she made a note with her pen. Silently he blessed the foresight that his younger self had shown in learning wandless magic. While it was less controllable than using his wand, it was more subtle to cast.

Such as now as he flicked his fingers and his eyes gleamed silver. The girl's right forearm glowed, showing the presence of a magical artifact there, probably her wand. That was not the part that caused his eyes to widen in shock as his Seeing Spell faded.

On her hand a signet gleamed with magical light to those who had eyes to see as he did. It had projected the image of her magical heraldry for him to witness in response to his spell. A shield which had the bottom as the silver M upon the black and green of his own House of Malfoy quartered with fleur-de-lis, while above was heraldic eagle of the Hapsburgs.

Lucius sat down in the provided sofa while behind his impassive stare his mind whirled. The French branch of his family were dead for three-quarters of a century; he knew that. But yet, the signet this girl wore was a match to his own, one that only a blood member of his House could wear without the curses and Dark Magics forged into the very white gold of the ring killing her horribly.

A ring that only the Head of the House or his designated deputy could wear.

With that information internalized he decided upon his course of action and glanced at his family. Narcissa read his intent in his eyes, and gave him a supportive nod. Draco looked up from where his girlfriends were chattering to him and after a moment's pause his son's lips quirked. It also did not escape Lucius that the shipgirls were shooting glances at the mystery woman present. "We should introduce ourselves to a fellow shareholder, no?"

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

Ehren glanced up from her paperwork to see the patriarch of the family with his blonde son and gaggle of girls in tow approach her. She put aside the profits to earnings sheet that she had been examining to prepare for the meeting ahead and raised one eyebrow. "May I help you?"

The man extended his hand. "Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. May I introduce my wife Narcissa, my son Draco, and his friends Johnston, Cleopatra, and Niobe?"

Automatically Ehren took the hand, the signet that as per Mutti's instructions that she was to wear for her financial meetings throbbing suddenly as her hand clasped his. "Ehren du Chasteler. The pleasure is mine." She responded absently. Ehren's eyes flickered across the somewhat old-fashioned formal clothing of Lucius, Draco, and Narcissa and then sharpened as she noticed that Lucius wore a matching signet to hers.

Ehren continued. "I must inquire, are you any relations to the French Malfoys?"

Lucius sat beside her. "Indeed, they are close relatives of ours until they died out during the War. Why do you inquire Miss du Chasteler?"

Ehren smiled slightly. "Because my family is descended from them. Jean-François du Chasteler was a Malfoy who founded our family as a cadet line of the Malfoys in his native France. Mother traces direct descent from him."

"Interesting." Lucius's eyes sharpened and he leaned in. "It is good to find someone of proper blood and breeding in these sad days. I was unaware that any of our French cousins survived."

"Belgian actually. Our family established themselves in Belgium before the French Revolution and have remained there ever since. At least that was what Mother told me along with the family histories that I read in our castle." Ehren responded, her voice cooling somewhat as Lucius talked about 'proper blood'.

Lucius smiled, "Just so. Heritage is important, as is measuring up to the standards of our forefathers. It is a pleasure to meet a cousin for the first time. How long as your family been investors in Jardine, if I may inquire?"

Ehren smiled, "Since the nineteenth century. We got in at the very start and it served our family well. Mutti normally would tend to matters personally, but she broke her leg in an accident," an accident named Masamune-no-Fudo, "and is convalescing in our castle under the care of my sister Claire and members of our staff. So I was deputized to act in her behalf." Ehren finished proudly.

"Pass along my best wishes for her recovery when you return home please." Lucius said as Narcissa coughed meaningfully. "I should attend to my wife. Draco, please make your cousin's acquaintance."

Draco sat down next to Ehren and smiled smugly, reminding Ehren of nothing so much as Delilah forming a plan. "Have you ever seen Star Wars?"

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

Two hours later the elevator doors opened and Lucius strode into the lobby at the head of his family. Behind him, Ehren was speaking with Draco and the girls. "I really enjoy 40:1 the best of all the Sabaton songs that I have heard. What is not to love? Honor unto death in the face of impossible odds fighting the Nazis with immortality awaiting you when you fall!" Ehren sighed happily with a smile on her face.

Johnston nodded with an ear-to-ear grin, "Just like me and my sisters at Samar. You only die once but glory lives forever. When I saw the Jap fleet coming for us, I knew that my time was up, but how you die defines yourself more than how you live. So I charged the Jap fleet to buy time for my carriers and went down with my flag still flying and not a shell or torpedo on board as my boys fought as hard and as long as we could fight."

Cleopatra chimed in. "ABC said it best off Crete. 'It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to build a new tradition. The evacuation will continue.' My cousins died there happily to uphold the Royal Navy's tradition of victory at sea that Nelson set at Trafalgar."

Niobe nodded enthusiastically, "Ja. While I was too old and too outdated to participate in the First World War for my Kaiser, I served as faithfully and well as I could as a coastal defense ship until I was sunk in the Med in 1943."

Ehren looked at her curiously and then spoke hesitantly to the silver-haired armored cruiser. "I... must ask. How much of a perversion of what it is to be German were the National Socialists?" She bit her lip nervously as she waited for the reply as Lucius's limousine approached.

Niobe's face turned thunderous. "That was the most horrific corruption of my Fatherland imaginable. The worst part were the brave men I saw who believed the lies that they had been fed unknowingly and never realized how badly they were staining the true grandeur of the Germany that I knew."

Lucius waved them into the limo. "Claude Bosi's. I have reservations." He told the driver who tipped his cap.

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

As they were seated in the five star restaurant Lucius's phone rang. The Malfoy patriarch flipped it open and raised it to his ear. "Hello...Wait, she is trying to have Fudge do WHAT?! That utter moronic pink piglet!! No no, keep things under control there, I will get there as soon as I can and handle it!" His knuckles on his cane turned white with anger.

He pulled out his Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card and handed it to Draco. "I need to deal with matters at the Ministry. Use this to pay for lunch and then entertain the ladies, son. I will see you and Narcissa for dinner at our townhouse." With that he strode to the restroom and Apparated away.

Johnston's eyes gleamed as she looked at the credit card when the champagne and the appetizers arrived. "Harrods?"

Cleopatra raised her flute of Dom Perignon. "Harrods most definitely."

Niobe spooned caviar onto a canape. "Ja. Harrods."

Ehren smiled smugly and loosened her tie slightly.

 

[darthcourt10]

Year Three - Prisoner of Shipping Part 4b

START

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Shortly after Harry was done bonding with Ruby, Wanko and the Harbour Demon in question were pulled away. Regina continued the tour, much happier now that she was spending time alone with him. Not that she minded much Wanko or Ruby also doing so, but... there was something special about her being able to show him around herself.

Just... her and him, together.

Thus, the Re-Class showed him around and introduced him to various members of the Timor Sea Abyssal Fleet. All of them were polite to him and somewhat bemused to finally meet him, but were happy to spend a minute or two just talking. It was just after saying goodbye to a Chi-Class that Regina heard a grumble and turned to find Harry holding his stomach with a sheepish look, "Um, sorry about that..."

Eyebrows furrowing, Regina was about to ask what was wrong when the grumble came again and she realized what it was. A giggle escaped her and she smiled down at Harry, "Hungry, Harry?"

Sheepish look still on his face, Harry gave a nod, "Yeah, a little bit... sorry about that."

However, the Abyssal just shook her head and smiled, "That's fine, Harry. After all, we have plenty of time, so..." Tapping her chin, she gave a nod, "I'll take you to one of the food places here."

Cocking his head to the side, Harry raised an eyebrow, "You have food places here, Regina? Really?"

With a hum, she lead him towards what looked like a wharf that headed out towards the structures in the lagoon, "We have a few here actually, though, um... not really all that big." Giving it a moment of thought, Regina shook her head, "But they're good places to go and eat. And really good food as well."

A frown on his face, Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "But I only have Japanese currency on me."

Much to his surprise, Regina stopped and looked down at him with a smile, "I thought that you might not. But I'll be paying." Seeing him open his mouth, she summoned her bravery and placed a finger against his lips, "I-I can pay, Harry. And then, um... you can pay for when we go to Hogsmeade with Shinano."

Frowning behind her finger, the teen considered that before nodding, "Okay, that's fair enough." As they began walking towards the structures, Harry scratched his neck, "So, um... what would you suggest we eat?"

That question made Regina pause and consider things, "Um, well, there's no big places here... I think that Lady Supprin mentioned that McDonalds was trying to get a resturant going, but not much more than that." She then shook her head, "B-but while the places are more like those food trucks inside of buildings, they're really good."

Slowly, Harry nodded with a small smile, "I don't mind that sort of thing."

Finally reaching the structures, part of the teenage wizard was surprised that they were mostly what looked like homes on stilts made of either wood, black Abyssal metal, or the odd organo-metallic material some called 'Abyssal Coral', which grew underwater near Abyssal bases. The Abyssals that Harry knew had told him that they used it as a building material. On their roofs were either solar panels, small wind turbines, or a combination of both. Under his feet, meanwhile, was a metal walkway that was covered by some sort of cemented sand. He could also see ladders going down to the surface of the water where Abyssals climbed up out of the water or down to it. Seeing his surprise, Regina shook her head, "Sometimes it is easier for us to get around on the water. And also allows for us to head out on patrols."

Just nodding as he continued to look around, an thought came to Harry and he chuckled a bit. At the confused look on Regina's face, he shook his head, "It sort of reminds me of a real life version of Lake Town from The Hobbit."

Blinking for a moment, Regina considered that and then giggled a bit, "I suppose so, Harry. Though, um... there is another one in one of the other lagoons. We call it Lagoon-Town, so..."

Eyebrow raised, Harry gave her a look before both broke out in chuckles at that, "Okay, that sounds pretty neat." Now able to see some signs that were written in English and some Portuguese, he tilted his head, "Where should we go?"

For her part, the Re-Class furrowed her eyebrows and looked around with a hum, "Well... there's a few places. John's over there has some nice burgers, including a shark burger that's really good. But... then we got Smith's over there and he has some fish and chips and also HSPs..."

Confused, Harry frowned, "Um, first, those are human names. And... HSPs?"

Regina just smiled and shrugged, "We have some humans who have moved in or are from when Lady Wanko didn't have the peace treaty." She then lightly blushed, "And, um, HSPs are short for Halal Snack Packs. They're really good and have this meat called doner kebab on chips with all sorts of sauces." Glancing around, she leaned towards him, "A lot of Abyssals like eating there because we like the taste. If there is one thing that we really like about the peace treaty, it is getting to eat human food."

That got a nod from Harry, "Oh! So it's like doner meat and chips." Considering it for a second, he gave a small nod, "That... actually sounds pretty good, Regina."

Happy, the Abyssal took his hand and lead him to the food place in question where they were greeted by the owner and his wife, both of whom were human. If the two cooks were surprised by Harry, they did not show it and simply greeted him like he was an old friend. When Regina paid for it in Australian bills, she smiled at him, "We don't really have a currency yet... but we use either Australian or American money. And sometimes centavo coins."

Question answered, Harry took his food and Regina's before following her as they went outside. Sitting down on the side of the "Road", Harry glanced behind and below to the water where an Abyssal Submarine moved between the pillars of the buildings above. He could see that it was placing various objects around and frowned, "Wonder what she's doing?"

Looking over her shoulder, Regina shook her head, "Oh! She's just laying coral around." Seeing Harry's confusion, she giggled a bit, "It is one of the ideas from Lady Wanko to grow natural coral around the piers to make a reef here. Apparently it will help with fish stocks and the like."

Only smiling at the thought, the teen chuckled a bit. A thought than occurred to him about something that she had said earlier and Harry turned towards the Abyssal, "Regina? You mentioned that one of the things that Big Sister's fleet really appreciates is the fact that they can now have human food. Why?"

For a moment, Regina blinked before she finished chewing the bit of meat that was in her mouth. Looking down at her meal, she smiled a bit, "Why?" At his nod, she frowned for a moment in thought before making a motion with her fork, "Um, a lot of reasons actually. For a lot of Abyssals, a meal might be a barrel of oil, a hunk of steel, or seafood that can be pretty much raw. And not like sushi, but, well... imagine using depth charges on a school of fish and you got the idea of what some Abyssals might eat when they can."

Grimacing at the thought, Harry shook his head, "Okay, that makes some sense. So human cooking is great to Abyssals because... there's variety?"

Slowly, the Re-Class smiled at that and hummed, "That's right. There's so many different things to eat, and different ways to eat them as well as tastes that us Abyssals adore it." Looking first at her own beer and then at Harry's soda, she pointed at them, "Almost all Abyssals would never think of beer or fizzy soft drinks." Regina then gestured at their meals, "Or making a spiced meat like this, or cutting potatoes into chips. But because of the treaty, our fleet has access to such things! And it's so different and... and nice..."

A small smile on his face, Harry reached over and patted her on her thigh, "I think that I can understand that, Regina. And there's so many foods including that which, well... isn't yet invented, you'll never run out."

With a hum, Regina nodded, "That's true..." Turning, she considered Harry for a few moments before leaning in and gently kissing him. Light blush on her face, she pulled back, "But I like your cooking the best."

Though his blush, Harry smiled back at her with his next words getting a smile from the Abyssal as well, "Thank you."

Both him and Regina lapsed into companionable silence as he continued to eat while observing what was going on around them. Watching as the odd human walked while Abyssals also made their way too and fro, it struck Harry at that moment that it could be a look into the future. A look to the day when there was peace and the war was over, with human, shipgirl, Abyssal, and others living and working alongside each other.

It... was a dream to both cherish and to fight for, and one that he would do both for.

Seeing Regina giving him a questioning look, Harry explained and was not surprised to see her become thoughtful as he knew she was seeing the same thing as he did. A soft smile spread across her face as she ate the last of her food and leaned forward, "I never really thought about it, Harry. But... you're right. This... this could be how things turn out when the future comes. And I hope that it does."

Harry reached over and grasped her hand which made her look up before she blushed a bit at the look he gave her, "Same here, Regina. I hope that some day in the future, after we win the war, this sort of place is more common. Will you help me with that?"

The answer from her came quick, if silent as she kissed his cheek and pulled back. Regina then nodded with a smile, "Yes, Harry. I will help you with that for as long as you want, for a dream such as this... for peace." Turning back to their surroundings, she sighed a bit, "For a dream that all of us can share and enjoy."

With his hand in hers, Harry stood up before helping her to her hooves, "Then we'll do this, together."

A soft smile on her face, which was shared by Harry, Regina nodded as she looked down into his green eyes with their hands holding the other's, "Yes... we'll do this together."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"So this is your home, Regina?"

From where she stood in the doorway, Regina nodded some with an unsure look on her face, "Um, yes?" Looking around, she chewed her lip, "Is... is something wrong?"

Confused, Harry tilted his head at her in question, "Why would there be something wrong with it?"

That made the Abyssal blink a bit, "Well... it was your tone."

Blinking, it was now Harry's turn to blush at what she said. Scratching the back of his head, he chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't know what to expect for your home. But... this is kind of nice." Hands in his pockets, he glanced around, "Really nice."

Eyes widening a touch, Regina smiled at him, "Really? You think so?" At his nod, her smile brightened a bit, "I'm glad then..." Realizing something, the Abyssal hurried over, "Oh! Let me open the windows!"

With practiced ease, she did just that as she reached one of the windows. Unlatching the shutter over it, she opened it to reveal that there was a screen there. One that Regina moved to the side before opening the outer shutter and letting air and light in. Due to being an Abyssal, Harry suspected that she did not need to worry about mosquitoes and biting flies. Which meant that she had a screen for another reason. One, he suspected, involved him.

Meanwhile, Regina opened the other three windows before she nodded. At the same time, Harry looked around the small building in interest. Oddly, it reminded him of those small beach homes he once saw in magazines. The walls were made mostly of weather worn wood, as was the floors. The roof, meanwhile, was made of sheet metal. There was a large cot, without the mattress though there was a long piece of wood there with the bed along one side of the wall and in view of the door. There was also a small table and chairs along with shelves which had various things on them such as shells. There was even a cabinet.

All in all, it was a rather nice place. Something that Harry told Regina and made her smile, "Thank you, Harry. I'm glad that you think so.""

Giving it all another look around, Harry tilted his head some, "By the way, why isn't there a mattress on the bed?"

Regina blinked at that before realizing what he meant. A small blush on her cheeks, she tapped her chest, "Oh! Um, I carry the mattress and blankets around with me inside my hull." She then grimaced a bit, "Helps keep them from going all mildew and scuzzy with bugs in them when I'm gone for a week or two. Revina learned that lesson once when she came back and these spiders had made a nest in her bed. And there was mushrooms growing in it without her noticing."

Amused at the image in his mind, the teen chuckled and raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

With a hum, she nodded, "Yeah, it was sort of funny. She came in all tired and flopped onto her bed and then..." Throwing her hands into the air, Regina continued, "Pomf! There was this big cloud of spores that burst out and made her cough and wheeze. But before she was able to do anything else, all these spiders came out and swarmed her. Revina started screaming and ran out the door before leaping into the air and crossing half the lagoon. And then she fell into the water with this huge splash! Sploosh!"

Right then, Harry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as Regina told the story, complete with gestures and sound effects. Granted, something else came to mind, 'So cute...' Once she was done, he smiled and crossed his arms, "Okay, that actually sounds rather hilarious, Regina."

Giggling, Regina gave a smile back as she nodded, "It was rather funny to see at the time." As she looked around, she hummed a bit, "Just need to set up some last things."

Head titled to the side, he just watched as she went to the wall where there was a nail before reaching into her poncho. Moments later, Regina pulled out a picture that she hung there and Harry felt his eyebrows raise at what was in the picture, "That's me and Shinano-Chan."

Soft smile on her face, Regina adjusted it a bit, "Mm-hm. That's right." Besides the small blush, there was something else in her expression that the teen could not identify, "I want my friends to be one of the things that I wake up to."

With that, she walked over to the end table and placed another photograph there. This one being of Harry with Regina on one side and Shinano on the other, all three happily smiling though the shipgirl and Abyssal has slight blushes on their cheeks. Walking up next to her, Harry glanced towards the Abyssal who had a happy look on her face, "You keep these pictures with you?"

Humming, Regina nodded, "I do." Gently, she traced a finger along the edge of the photo's frame, "That way, they'll be protected and I have them with me." Turning to Harry, the Re-Class smiled, "That's not a bad thing, is it?"

Chuckling, Harry reached up and ruffled her silver hair before giving her a kiss on the cheek, "No, nothing is wrong with that, Regina. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact."

Brightly smiling, Regina gave him a kiss to the cheek and straightened. Shows of affection like that we're something that she enjoyed after all, and she hoped that Shinano was right that when Harry became their Admiral, they would get more of the same. It was that she noticed that Harry was looking towards the cupboard and nodded, "That is where I keep the cooking supplies." Seeing the interest, she continued, "Um, it's a small charcoal grill as well as a pot and a pan for when I want to cook something." Poking her fingers together, the Abyssal flushed a little, "I'm not all that great at it, but I can cook fish and such."

For a few seconds, the thirteen year old considered that before smiling, "Well... if you want, I can cook while I'm here." Eyes wide, Regina boggled at him before rapidly nodding so fast that Harry was concerned that her head would fall off. Lightly laughing, he ruffled her hair again, "Guess that I know what I'll be doing while I'm here then." All Regina did was smile before leaning in. Of course, that was when her tail snaked alongside Harry and he laughed more before scratching it, "Yes, and also giving you attention as well."

It was a blushing Regina who listened as her tail gave a rumbling purr in response to Harry's attention to it. Yet, she was also rather happy about the fact we well. After a few minutes, she turned to Harry, "Um, do you want to do something? Like swimming or..."

Considering that, Harry tapped his chin in thought, "Well... I just ate a bit ago, so best to let it settle. Anything besides swimming I guess."

That made the Re-Class hum before she stood up, "How about we go and sunbathe? We have the beach right there after all."

Unable to help himself, Harry felt his lips twitch into a smile, "I don't see an issue with that. But, um... give me a moment to get changed?"

A giggling Regina gave a nod to that, "Okay, I'll wait outside for it then."

Waiting just outside the door, Regina looked around her section of the island. While some of the Abyssals lived on homes out on the water, the Re lived on the island not far from the underground complex that Wanko called home. The hut where she lived was just a few feet from the beach though well above the high tide mark. Like many, it was on stilts of a sort, which helped to protect it against any possible storm surge that could somehow get past the lagoon. And with the trees to the side helping to shade it, Regina loved it.

As she stood there though, her mind drifted a bit.

In her mind's eye, she could see what may be in the future. Out on the sand we're a number of shipgirls like Iku as well as Hachi. Natsumi was dozing as she leaned against a nearby tree, with Louisiana beside her. And in the surf, she could see an older Harry laughing as him and Regina swung a messy, silver haired boy around with water splashing around them. Shinano, too, was there in Regina's other side with a young Re-Class that hung into hers and the older Abyssal's hand, also being swung around. Laughs could be heard as a few other children came running up, some with fox tails and others being a mixture of shipgirls or Abyssal children. All of whom knocked the young man into the warm waters of the lagoon.

A soft smile on her face, she clutched her hands together, 'I hope that happens some day...' Regina was brought out of it as she could hear footsteps coming towards her from inside, "All done, Harry?"

When she turned, she flushed at the sight of Harry in his swim trunks and a lopsided grin that was just him, "Yeah, I'm done." Seeing the blush on her face, he cocked his head to the side, "Uh, Regina? Something wrong?"

For her part, the Abyssal waved her hands in the air, "N-no, nothing is wrong, Harry." Internally though, she felt her cheeks heat, 'I guess that those new exercises are helping...' Shaking off that thought, Regina held out a hand, "Want to go and sunbathe?"

Much to her confusion though, Harry shook his head. But before she could ask, he brought up a small tin, "Just need to put on the sunblock lotion that I made."

Now things made sense to Regina and she gave a nod, "Oh! I forgot that humans burned easily in the Sun." Ducking her head some, she rubbed the back of her neck, "Um, sorry..."

However, Harry just waved her off and shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Regina. I'm not." A light dusting of red on his cheeks, he gestured at his back, "I was going to ask if you could do my back for me though. Don't want to leave any parts unprotected under this Sun."

Lightly frowning, the Abyssal checked his face and neck for a sunburn, "You're not burned now, are you?"

To her relief, Harry shook his head, "No, I'm not. I put some on my face and neck as well as arms and legs before we left Yokosuka. But I should reapply it and add some if I'm going to be sunbathing."

Much to his amusement, Regina gave a sharp nod, "Yes, you should." Walking begins him, she took a dab on her fingers of the magical lotion and began to work it in. Unknown to Harry, she had a blush on her face as she did so, 'O-oh! Maybe Shinano can do this too, tomorrow...'

At the same tome, Harry worked in the lotion elsewhere, though a small shiver went through his body as the cool hands worked at his back. One thought made him blush a little, 'I wonder how good she is at shoulder and neck rubs.'

Once she was done, she smiled at up him and straightened, "There we go, all done, Harry."

Smiling, Harry gave a chuckle, "Yes, we are." Holding out a hand, which she took, they began to walk towards the beach, "Time for a little bit of Sun."

Upon reaching the sand, Regina picked a spot and used her tail to sweep the sand level. With that done, what she did next made Harry blush and stare as she took off her poncho and spread it out. The sight reminded him that for all that Regina could be shy, she still wore what amounted to a bikini under her poncho. A rather revealing one at that.

It also left no doubt that, yes, she was a Battlecarrier with the best parts of a Fast Battleship and Aircraft Carrier combined in one hull.

Looking over her shoulder, Regina felt herself blush some at his stare, "Um, Harry? What's wrong?"

Quickly, Harry gave a weak chuckle and shook his head, "Heh, it's nothing, I, uh..." Looking away for a moment, he found his gaze going back to the now confused Re-Class again and again, "Um... didn't expect you to take off your poncho, that's all."

While Harry was internally cursing puberty and his hormones yet again, Regina relaxed some, "Oh, that? I, um, don't really use towels or blankets. So I just lay on my poncho on the sand since that is all I need or just lay on the sand itself. That's all."

Just nodding, the thirteen year old gave a nod, "That makes sense."

Humming, Regina laid down on her side against the poncho. She then patted the empty side with a smile, "Here we go, you can lay right here."

Only swallowing, the thirteen year old did so though he kept having to look away from where the Re-Class was stretched out. It was only the fact that he knew she didn't know any better that he knew she was not teasing him like he overheard some girls talking about doing. That said... it was hard for him not to take glances as she laid with her eyes closed as the hot Sun beat down. Despite himself, Harry also began to relax some as the minutes passed...

That was, until Regina shifted and laid on her front with her tail shifting to lay on the opposite side of her body from Harry.

Needless to say, that left said wizard once more cursing certain things. Meanwhile, Regina had her eyes closed as she relaxed and dozed a bit. After all, like other Re-Class, she liked to lay in the Sun when she could. Though... she did wonder one thing.

Why did Sendai mention to her and Shinano about doing this in front of Harry would be enjoyable for him? And why did White Plains grab the Light Cruiser by the ear and drag her to where Johnston and her sisters were looking annoyed?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Legs swinging beneath him, Harry looked down into the crystal clear water beneath him. From where he was perched on Regina's tail as she strode across the lagoon, he could see the bottom and various sea creatures in the warm waters. As she came to a stop, he turned to look at her and had to swallow a bit. Mainly because the Abyssal had left her poncho behind, leaving her in just the normal Re-Class bikini. Her reasoning being that her poncho would just get in the way.

Words which made Harry internally choke and beat a certain thing called hormones over the head.

Giving her a glance, he had to admit to himself that she did look good... right before shaking his head, "So about here, you think?"

Not knowing what was going through the teen's mind, Regina smiled and nodded, "Mm-hm. I think that this is a good spot for diving." Now looking down herself, she giggled at the looks of the fishes, "The reef is right there."

Mask in one hand, Harry gestured at the water, "Mind lowering me some so that I can rinse?" The Abyssal did so and he washed his mask on the water before putting it on. He then finished by putting the hood of his wetsuit up and giving her a thumbs up, "Okay, I'm ready."

Even as she began to sink into the water, the Abyssal cocked her head to the side, "Um... why are you wearing a full wetsuit, Harry? The water is warm and it is kind of odd."

Water now reaching his calves, Harry chuckled some, "Actually? You should always wear a wetsuit. Besides which, as much as I know and trust Big Sister when she says it's safe, best to keep as well prepared as possible." Now water reached his waist as he kept a hold on her tail, "There's jellyfish and such in the water that could hurt if they stung me. So best to give them as little chance as possible."

Considering that as the water was now up to his chest and still rising, Regina smiled some with a slight nod, "Now that makes sense I suppose. Um, we've been told that some of the jellyfish can even kill humans and the like." At last, the surface closed over Harry's head as they continued to submerge with Regina frowning as the water reached her own neck, "And I don't want you to get hurt either. So best to be safe."

And with those words, she fully submerged and continued to sink until her hooves impacted the sandy floor of the lagoon, small clouds of sediment expanding outward from where she landed. Letting go of her tail, Harry drifted a bit as he tapped his go pro, part of him excited about being able to show off his trip, "Wow... its really beautiful down here." Twisting, he looked at Regina, "So being down here doesn't bother you?"

Shaking her head, Regina looked perfectly at home where she was, "No, why?"

Just shrugging, Harry grinned behind his mask, "Well, a lot of shipgirls don't like diving. Yet you're walking along down here with little effort." At her giggle, he shook his head before a thought occurred to him, "How do you get around down here?"

Glancing at him, she hummed, "There's a few ways. I can walk along the bottom, or use my screws to propel myself... alternatively, if I really want to move fast?"

Her tail moving was the only warning Harry for before it whipped around, shooting her forward with a massive cloud of sediment behind her. Unfortunately for him, it caused him to get flung backwards and he summersaulted in the water. Despite that, he could see Regina rapidly change direction with sweeps of her tail, not unlike a crocodile, "Whoa!"

It was then that the Abyssal noticed what had happened and quickly made her way over, "S-sorry!" To her confusion though, all she got was laughter, "Um, Harry? Are you alright?"

Only waving her off, the wizard nodded, "I'm fine, Regina." He then gave her a look which made her boilers run a little bit hotter, "But that thing you just did? That was awesome!"

Lightly blushing, Regina poked her fingers together before giving him a hug, "Thank you." Once they separated though, she nodded, "I'm still sorry that happened." Chuckling, Harry shook his head in amusement. Several minutes found them swimming along the reef when Regina tapped him on the shoulder and pointed, "Look, a sea snake!"

Sure enough, moving through the water was a sea snake, not a care in the world. Watching it, Harry tilted his head to the side, "I wonder if I can talk to it...?" Making his way over to it, Harry hissed, "{Hello.}"

That made the snake turn him before it's tongue flicked out and it headed for the surface. Following, Harry's head broke the surface as the serpent turned to him, "{A ssspeaker? I have heard of sssuch thingsss from the land dwellersss. But did not think that I would ever meet sssuch a being.}"

A small smile on his face, the teen shrugged as Regina poked her head up beside him, "{Well, I am ssstill getting ussed to thisss. Anything you can tell me?}"

The snake seemed to stare at him before pointing with its tail, "{In the wet grasss are big grazersss. You might look at them.}"

It seemed that was enough for the snake as it dove and vanished out of sight among the coral. For Harry, he looked towards Regina in question and she hummed, "I think that he means the dugongs that live nearby." As they continued to swim above the reef, taking in not just the array of colours, but also the life, they had a companionable silence between them. Until Regina broke it as she glanced at him, "So you like diving, Harry?"

With a blink, Harry turned to her and gave a nod, "As a matter of fact, I do like diving, a lot. It's... relaxing." He gave a small chuckle as he looked around, "Granted, it is not like I've seen too much doing so since most of my diving has been up at Yokosuka. And certainly not anywhere as colourful or full of life as here." Emphasizing that, the teen brushed his hands through a school of fish, metallic flashes seen as they dodged it. Turning back to Regina, he smiled, "Also it is something that I share with Hachi-Chan and the other Submarines... and you now as well."

Brightly smiling, the Re-Class nodded, "Yes, it seems so." Tail slowly propelling her along, she let out a sigh with bubbles escaping from her mouth, "I've always enjoyed swimming like this. Like you said, it is relaxing and lets me get away from the rest of the world for a time." As he nodded, she turned to him, "Speaking of diving, have you ever done cave diving? There's a few here in the island that some of the Submarines say look nice."

Much to her surprise, Harry grimaced, "No, I don't do cave diving. For one thing, I'm not trained for that. And even if I had the chance to get trained, I wouldn't. It is far too dangerous."

That made Regina blink, "Too dangerous? Really?"

Slowly, the wizards nodded, "Very dangerous." Gesturing at the gear he was wearing, Harry shook his head, "I use a newer model of rebreather, Regina. It is a lot better than, say, what was on the market even five years ago." Considering that, he frowned, "A lot better. There's been some major advancements to safety and failure rate. Anyways..." The thirteen year old waved a hand, "With it, at this depth? I could stay down for... oh, five to six hours without worry. Less if I was much deeper, like fifty feet, but we're barely at thirty. Cave divers use the same sort of equipment because it is safer and lets them stay down longer... but usually by maybe three to four hours with something like mine."

Frowning, the Abyssal considered that, "So a lot less then a Submarine could."

Just nodding, Harry smiled behind his mask, "Yeah, a lot less. But the amount of air is just one issue. I could dive in a sinkhole no real problem as long as I don't go into any branching tunnels from it. Because I would always have the opening above me to keep me orientated."

Eyebrows furrowing, Regina raised a finger, "But you've dived inside of wrecks. And there's no light there."

Chuckling, Harry shook his head, "Yes, but wreck diving and cave diving are only superficially similar. In reality, inside a wreck you would not really lose your way unless you're talking an absolutely massive one. Because you can always orientate yourself to some extent. And I also don't wreck dive alone. In a cave though, it is different. You can lose track of your orientation in regards to where you are and where the exit is. It also messes with your sense of time and direction. All of which are downright deadly when diving. You might start heading in the direction that you think is the exit, only to be heading deeper into the cave where there is no way out with your air supply growing less and less all the time." Voice and tone becoming somber, he looked at her, "There's a relatively famous underwater warning sign in one cave that gets the point of how dangerous cave diving is that..."

Her eyes widened, she frowned, "A sign? What sort of warning sign?"

She could see that Harry was frowning behind his mask, "Well, on it, it warns that cave diving is dangerous and a lot of divers have been killed, including in the very cave that the sign is in. It even tells the person to prevent their death to go no further. But... it is the imagery on the sign that is what gets the point across." Seeing Regina gesture for him to continue, he does, "It shows the Grim Reaper beckoning the person looking at the sign to go further into the cave. And at the Reaper's feet are the skeletal remains of various divers, including one that died reaching for another dead diver's breathing equipment, as if it would have saved him." Tone dry, the thirteen year old looked at her, "It certainly gets the point across."

A shiver went down Regina's keel as she nodded, "I... yes, it does seem to do so..."

With a shrug, he sighed a bit, "I am many things, brave among them. But stupid is not one of those, and cave diving is something that I will not do..."

Thankfully, however, soon they went back to exploring the reef and having fun. One example being when Regina's tail coughed up a dead fish that she used to lure out a eel from the place it was hiding in...

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Operation Ehren's Reise (After Action Reports)

Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England
Spoiler: Vana's Zeyde

Vana Apfelbaum smiled as she crossed the bridge separating the BAE docks where she had been built in a past life by Vickers from her home town of Vickerstown on Walney Island.

Home at last, she thought happily as she glanced over at her brother-in-law Mordecai who was driving her from the main railroad station to Zeyde's house. "You said that Sarah is expecting again, shvager?"

"Feh! That alter cocker of a doctor says that it is twins. Again! Oy vey! My Sarah will be the death of me! One goes to sleep and the other starts crying, all night every night just like Joshua and Moishe did, mark my words! Always before I argue a court case or have to prepare a brief!" Mordecai kvetched happily at his 'misfortune'.

Vana's happy smile widened as she reached into her hold and pulled out a bag that she set in the passenger seat foot well. "Maybe this will persuade schvester Sarah to cook you some of her mother's brisket recipe tonight, Mordecai. Alef-Bet flash cards to help her teach your sons Hebrew, and milk chocolate gelt coins to reward them when they learn our language."

Mordecai smiled happily, his white teeth gleaming in his beard then resumed his kvetching as they turned onto Mikasa Street. "Even if she does cook it, those three bottomless pits masquerading as my sons will eat it all and leave me nothing! I work myself to the bone day and night only to get eaten out of house and home! Such misfortune!"

The car stopped and Vana got out, curtsying modestly. "Adank, Mordecai. Give Sarah my regards and I shall pray for a short labor and a swift delivery of your children."

She then turned, adjusting her headscarf and walked to her family's house.

She knocked on the door, and then looked at the small row house, smiling happily. Her hydrophones picked up the thunder of running feet and then her smile widened as her younger brother Jakob opened the door. "Muter! Schvester Vana is home!" He shouted before hugging her.

As she stepped inside, her mother's face appeared from the door to the kitchen. "Vey ist mir! How many times have I told you not to run in the house you shaygetz! Du farkirtst mir di yorn!" The blinding smile on her mother's face as she saw Vana put the lie to her moans about how a little rascal and imp of mischief such as Jakob would be the death of her. Said death of her poor overworked and underappreciated mother would be aided no doubt by his big sister who was off fighting in the war and setting a bad example for her juniors.

"Muter, where is Zeyde?" Vana asked politely when her mother paused the kvetching to take a breath.

"Oh he is in the garden out back sunning himself. Probably fell asleep again, now give me a kiss and wake him up. I need to get back to the kitchen, and make sure my kishkas do not burn before I put them in the cholent."

Vana's mouth watered as she hugged her mother. "I need to speak to Zeyde, but after that I will help you cook. Many hands make the work light, nu?"

With that, she walked into the small garden in the back. True to her mother's word, Zeyde David was snoring in his favorite lawn chair under a parasol keeping the rain off him. Vana stood there for long moments, smiling shyly at the sight.

This is what she ultimately defended, after all. Her wonderful and irritating family. The country that had taken in her great-grandparents after the Shoah when they arrived as penniless refugees, a bare handful of the thriving communities that had once existed in Poland.

Her home.

With that thought, she gently shook her great-grandfather's shoulder. "Zeyde. Zeyde?"

The white haired elderly man mumbled and then blinked. "Vana? Is it you?"

Her shy smile widened. "Yes it is, Zeyde. The Royal Navy gave me leave to come home for Shabbat with the family."

His dark eyes sharpened and not for the first time, he seemed to see through her. "You are troubled, though. What is wrong, my Kleyn Delfin?"

Tears of joy filled her eyes at her family nickname of 'little dolphin' that he had given her as a young child for her habit of swimming happily in the bathtub rather than getting washed. She took a deep breath and began. "Zeyde, you know that magic is real, nu?" He nodded solemnly. "I recently was sent to investigate a fellow spirit. But she was not that of a ship like I am. Instead she is that of a SS Dagger."

His breath caught in his throat and the fist on his arm that had a blue numeric tattoo clenched as she finished. "And yet, she is apparently a good person and hates those mamzerim as I do. Yet she is one of them. What am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to feel, Zeyde?"

For long moments he thought, his eyes dimmed remembering days that had seared his soul. "Vana. I can only say this. Not all Germans or Poles were evil. Some of them saved us at the risk of their own lives and were acclaimed as Righteous Among Nations. Some of my fellow Jews fell to darkness and persecuted their brothers and sisters to save their own skins then. Watch her certainly and decide for yourself by her deeds and words. If she is one of them in sheep's clothing, you know what must be done to protect our people. If she is what you say that she seems to be... remember your Tanakh."

He took a deep breath and recited from memory in Hebrew. "{Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.}"

Vana nodded slowly and then hugged her great-grandfather. "Thank you Zeyde."

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

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium
Spoiler: Ehren's Homecoming

Ehren drove the Audi up the familiar driveway and parked it in front of the main doors. She pushed the button to open the trunk, and then unlocked the passenger side door where her mated pair of Eurasian eagle post-owls waited in their cages before turning to the two pairs of golden eyes looking at her curiously. "Welcome to your new home Uhu, Bubi." She said quietly with a soft smile.

As the owls hooted back, the door opened and Kasuyu walked out. "Welcome home, Miss Ehren," he rumbled.

"Guten Tag, Kasuyu. The packages and bags in the trunk go to my room, the wicker hamper in the passenger seat foot well goes to Mutti. The financial paperwork and receipts are in the folders inside it." Ehren said as she picked up the two owl cages. "I will help of course, but the bulk of this is Christmas and birthday presents. Some of which are fragile so do take care."

As the axe tsukumogami picked up the Harrod's Indulgence Hamper, Ehren finished "How is Mutti?"

The axe smiled. "She is moving around well in her wheelchair, and once the arm is regenerated, I suspect by the end of the week, she can proceed to crutches. She has missed you, as have we all."

Ehren responded softly as she walked inside. "So have I. So have I."

"Ehren!" Claire's overjoyed voice assaulted her ears. Ehren smiled to see Claire leaning over the second floor balcony with an ear-to-ear smile. "You're home! Mother! Ehren's home!" In the distance, a familiar Bosendorfer piano's music shifted into Verdi's "Triumphal March" from Aida.
Spoiler: Claire Welcomes Ehren Home
]

Ehren smiled warmly. "Claire, it is good to see you too. I have many things that I bought, if you can help Kasuyu bring them up to my room?"

The Piano nodded happily as she dashed down the stairs. Ehren, wise in the ways of Elder Big Piano Sisters, set the cages containing her owls down in a safe spot and braced herself for the inevitable tackle hug. Which came with the expected crushing force and was returned eagerly as the sisters reunited at last.

Tears of joy filled Ehren's eyes as she whispered. "I got your birthday and Christmas presents, just be careful when you bring them up, some of Mutti's are fragile."

Claire's hug tightened as the piano whispered in her tear-filled voice, "Vielen Dank, kleine Schwester." Then her true voice filled the castle with the sounds of triumphant victorious arrival.

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

In her second-floor study, Colombe smiled at Toku as the piano in the corner that she had been playing one-handed suddenly shifted to playing Aida on its own. "Ehren-chan is home, To-chan."

The Masamune smiled and lowered her shakuhachi bamboo flute that she had been playing in a duet with Colombe. "Should we go down to see her, Co-chan?"

Colombe thought, and then shook her head, absently scratching her splinted left arm. "Not just yet. Let Claire have her moment first. You know how mopey she has been the last few days."

Toku nodded. "Hai. I never knew how emotional Russian composers could be."

Colombe laughed as Kasuyu entered with a wicker hamper. "Tell me about it. When Claire is doing the Russians, she is in a mood. What do you have Kasuyu?"

The Axe placed the hamper down on her desk. "Miss Ehren said this was a get-well package that she got for you and the paperwork and receipts are inside."

"Thank you, Kasuyu." Colombe responded absently, a faint alarm bell sounding in the back of her head at the sight of the Harrods logo on it. "Please help her get the rest of her luggage inside, no need to call Miho or the children down from their attic hunt."

"Yes, Mistress." The axe responded with a bow and left.

"Now, let's see. To-chan, can you help me open it?" Colombe wheeled herself to the desk as the Masamune popped the straps and opened the lid, taking the neatly lettered and labeled folders out of the top to lay on Colombe's desk.

"Merci. Let's see here. Oh, Grand Cru Champagne! Très bon!" Colombe grinned happily as the two bottles of spirits were extracted.

"Bath and shower gel and body creme!" Colombe's smile turned crooked and she winked at Toku and waggled her eyebrows. "Perhaps these could be shared tonight?" The Masamune blushed crimson and gave a happy nod as she pulled the last items out.

"Oh là là là là! Chocolate fondants and Marc de Rose truffles! Ehren is such a good and thoughtful girl!" Colombe interjected as Toku looked curiously at the two tins of delicacies. "You must try this, To-chan!"

With that Colombe turned to the folder marked in Ehren's precise hand "Expenses and Reciepts" and opened it. She began to page through. Slowly her jaw dropped and she turned pale as a ghost then flushed an angry red.

"MON DIEU! SHE SPENT HOW MUCH?" Colombe shrieked at the top of her lungs, hyperventilating as Toku looked at her with concern.

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

"EHREN DU CHASTELER! GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF!!!"

With that command Ehren double-timed to the study and snapped to attention after entering. Facing her was a rather wild eyed Colombe who was breathing heavily with a red face and a Toku looking quite concerned.

"Fifteen hundred dollars for a pearl necklace!!" Colombe snapped out.

"Jawohl, I needed to get Toku a Christmas present." Ehren reported calmly.

"Fifteen hundred dollars for earrings!" Colombe flipped to the Tiffany receipts

"Your birthday is coming up in three months, Mutti." Ehren explained patiently

"Three hundred dollars for toys!" Toku bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Die kinder deserve a good first Christmas, Mutti." Kasuyu took one look inside the room at the tableaux and slowly and silently eased the door closed with the look of a man staring at a nest of angry rattlesnakes.

"One thousand dollars in the gift department!" Colombe grated out.

"Ja, they had limited edition music boxes that Claire would love." The piano in the corner played a shocked chord before shifting to John Williams' "Main Theme" from Superman.
Spoiler: Music Boxes! Thank You Little Sister!!

"I raised you better than this, young lady! Where did I go wrong?!?" Colombe choked out then shook her head in memory.

She could remember herself standing exactly where Ehren was right now dressed in her sky blue Beauxbatons uniform as Papa said those very words when he found out that she had lost five hundred francs (and her virginity with a boy) playing picquet with Gabriel Potter after curfew. A bottle of Spanish brandy had been involved in her decision to add her undergarments to the pot on that hand where she let him score a trick with four aces too, she recalled. She never had been as good as he was at picquet either.

"Mon Dieu, I have turned into Papa..." she muttered to herself absently before flipping to the next receipt. "Sixty-one hundred dollars of alcohol? You are only two years old!!"

"I thought you would like the Louis XIII brandy for Christmas, and the Baron de Signognac was recommended by Narcissa." Ehren said in that cool, precise voice as she stood at rigid attention.

"Who is Narcissa?!?" Colombe grated out, pouncing on this new piece of information involving the disaster that Ehren's mission had apparently turned into.

Ehren took a deep breath and reported in a level, precise voice. "When I was in Jardine, I ran into Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy, of the British Malfoys, our cousins. Lucius had a matching House signet ring to ours on when I spoke to him before the stockholder meeting. Afterward we went to lunch, he got called away to handle a crisis at the Ministry of Magic, and his wife Narcissa, son Draco, and three shipgirls who are romantically involved with Draco, specifically USS Johnston, HMS Cleopatra, and SMS Niobe, proceeded for Harrods. I took the opportunity to buy several late birthday presents for my Malfoy cousins. Specifically the Tag Heuer fine watch for Draco, one bottle of Louis XIII brandy for Lucius, and two bottles of Chanel #5 for Narcissa. Draco is an acquaintance of Harry Potter and in his class at Hogwarts and shall be relaying along our message of support. In addition, I have the contact info for Draco, his parents, and all three shipgirls."

Colombe blinked, then shot a glance at Toku, whose lips were twitching uncontrollably and whose serene National Treasure of Japan composure was cracking badly around the edges. She then gave Ehren a firm stare. "So what exactly did you buy for yourself, Young Lady?"

Ehren reported from memory. "Books itemized on receipt D-1. Ice Cream itemized on receipts D-2 and D-5. Post Owls itemized on receipt D-3 to keep in touch with Cousin Draco at Hogwarts covertly, and to deliver packages as needed; they can also supplement Miho's hunting efforts in the attic. Chudley Cannons paraphernalia to blend into magical society itemized on receipt D-4. Swimsuit on H-7. Clothing itemized on H-8, the polo shirt is for Sister Ying. Meals Itemized on all M-series receipts, Hotel lodging on S-1, Gasoline on G-1 through G-8. Tolls on T-1 and T-2...."

Colombe raised a weary hand. "Enough, I get the picture. The other expenses are for the family members for birthdays and Christmas?"

"Ja, Mutti! It was more efficient that way!" Toku dissolved into giggles and slowly collapsed into a chair.

Colombe scowled. "That's one way to describe this feu de benne à ordures. Is there anything else you did that I should be aware of?"

Ehren paused, and then looked embarrassed. "On the way to London, I raced a young lady on a motorcycle from Dover to London."

Colombe facepalmed and groaned. "Did you get caught?"

"Nein, Mutti!"

"Proving yet again that God and the kami look after fools, imbeciles, and du Chasteler daughters." Colombe moaned. "Did you win?"

"Nein, Mutti!"

"Don't gamble on any races then until you win consistently. Anything else? No drunken duels to first blood with a fellow aristo you met in a tavern enroute? No drunken duets in taverns either that sparked a bar fight?"

"Nein, Mutti! No taverns were harmed in this operation!" Ehren responded as one of her eyebrows raised a millimeter at the oddly specific questions.

Colombe shook her head. "That makes one of us then. Ahh... no romantic entanglements?"

"Nein, Mutti!"

"Thank all the saints and kami! Your poor mother's heart can't take much more! Consider yourself grounded to the castle and property until further notice and I will be docking half your allowance as a reminder for next time to let me know in advance and not be so extravagant spending." Colombe waved a hand absently at the mass of receipts.

Ehren blinked in confusion. "But I was not extravagant, truly. Narcissa bought a $24,000 pendant on her husband's credit card, and Draco got Cleopatra a gold necklace valued at over $18,000 dollars on that card. Johnston and Niobe got custom items at Tiffany's too, but I was unable to report their price."

Colombe cradled her head in her good hand and began to laugh and cry hysterically as Toku dissolved in giggles. "Ehren just go... Find Claire and play a duet with her. Fix yourself a late lunch. Go before I limp over there and throttle my wonderful, infuriating daughter."

Ehren slapped her heels together and about-faced. "Zu Befehl(At your command), Mutti!"

As Ehren marched out the door, the madly giggling Toku staggered over and gently patted Colombe on the back.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Cousin's Correspondence

Castle Moulbaix

Two Days After Ehren Returns To Moulbaix From London

Colombe du Chasteler glanced at Toku as the Masamune entered her study with the requested bottles of brandy from her cellar and a wicker basket. "Here they are, Co-chan. Why did you want these particular bottles?"
Spoiler: A Dove's Correspondence

Colombe smiled as she unlocked a desk drawer and pulled out a sheaf of creamy fine paper marked with the watermarked interlinked NC of Neenah Coldenhove's paper manufacturing business. Next came a blotter, then a gold-engraved antique dip pen, a bottle of ink, and finally a stick of red sealing wax. "They are to accompany my letter to Lucius Malfoy. Thanks to Ehren's efforts, we have a useful contact in England, and I am not minded to have it go fallow."

Toku sat with interest as Colombe arranged the items on her desk and uncorked the bottle of ink. "The dip pen was a wonderful invention. I learned calligraphy on a goose quill as a girl, and that was quite an ordeal to write up to Papa's standards with. Hm, in fact, call Ehren in, please."

Ehren entered shortly afterward. "You wished to see me Mutti?"

"Oui." Colombe nodded. "Pull up a chair and watch." Colombe dipped her pen in the inkwell and began to write her letter in a beautiful flowing 18th Century Rhonde script.
Spoiler: Rhonde Calligraphy

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium


To Mr. Lucius Malfoy
Malfoy House, England

27th April 2014

Sir,

I wish to thank you and your family for providing such wonderful hospitality to my daughter Ehren du Chasteler during her recent visit to London. Such courtesy and nobility is quite a delight to see in these days just as they were in my youth.

My daughter has notified me of our blood relationship through the French Branch of our mutual family, and it livens my heart greatly to be informed of cousins who practice the noble arts of hospitality and family loyalties.

Enclosed is a modest token of my esteem along with my wishes for a very happy belated birthday. May this vintage satisfy your refined palate and bring you joy with your family by partaking of a suitable cordial for such a celebration.

I close with an invitation to visit myself and my daughters if you or members of your family should ever visit Belgium in the future.

Your humble correspondent,

Ms Colombe d'Aubigny du Chasteler, Marchioness of Chasteler and Moulbaix

Colombe signed the letter with a flourish, and then carefully used the blotter on it. She looked over at the enthralled Ehren and the thoughtful Toku. "Anything worth doing is worth doing with style. This letter demonstrates to Lucius Malfoy that I am an individual of proper breeding and nobility, which your story said that he values highly. In addition, one can never have too many allies in positions of influence."

She looked at the letter. "Good penmanship is a work of art, and will predispose my correspondents to react more positively." Toku nodded, thinking of her own work with inkstone and brush as she wrote letters to her sisters.

With that Colombe carefully folded the letter into a square and picked up the sealing wax. A quiet incantation summoned a small flame that melted the wax to drip on the letter. "There is a protocol here. Black wax is for ill news such as a serious illness or death in the family, red is for formal correspondence, blue is for more informal. Since I am just meeting him for the first time and sending a gift of friendship, I am using red wax to show the importance of this letter to me."

With that Colombe used her signet ring to stamp her heraldry into the cooling wax. Ehren nodded along, her eyes intent as she took mental notes.

Colombe flipped the letter over, and wrote Lucius's address on it, then cast a series of Cushioning Charms on the basket and the straw covering the cognac bottles inside. "I am enclosing the four bottles of Sarajishvili 1896 Cognac that I own. It is a fine vintage and quite deserving of its five-star ranking, but a little sharp for my palate. Not that Lucius needs to know that," she finished with a smug grin.

One last charm to renew the stasis spells that prevented the antique cognac from going bad followed. Then Colombe attached the sealed letter to the lid of the basket with a Sticking Charm and wiped her brow. "Now I just need a volunteer to head up to the top of this tower where the owls that you bought are nesting and ask one of them to deliver this to Malfoy Manor."

Ehren snapped to attention. "I shall do that forthwith, Mutti!"

"Danke, Ehren."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Laying back some, Harry looked up through the opening in the roof of the grotto that he was in. It was not too big, about the size of a living room. Above his head, anemones waved in the current as fish swam here and there. Looking over, he smiled some at Regina, "Do you come and do this often, Regina?"

Regina smiled a bit and nodded, "I do, Harry. Because this is rather relaxing and nice."

Just considering her words, the teen nodded, "It is rather nice." Bringing up his arm, Harry checked both the time as well as the air he still had. According to what he could see, there was still three hours or so of oxygen. And by that time, it would be getting on to late afternoon. With a sigh, he sat up and looked at the Re-Class beside him, just floating on her back as she watched him in curiosity, "We should probably get going, though I do want to come back to this."

Softly smiling, Regina flipped over and also moved until she was beside him, "Yes, I suppose that is true." Her expression suddenly brightened, as if a wonderful thought had just occurred to her, "Um, Harry? Do you want to see the outside of the island?"

That made Harry blink in confusion and it took a few seconds for him to realize what she meant, "Wait, you mean the seaward side of the island?" At her nod, he smiled behind his mask, "Actually? I wouldn't mind that. And I'd be pretty safe with you there."

Needless to say, that made the Abyssal very flustered. But she smiled just the same and lead him out. Partway though, he stopped and looked at the nurse sharks that laid against one wall and waved. After all, Harry had pet them earlier. And from what Regina had told him, a number of come to live where under the Abyssal buildings over the lagoon with the Abyssals sometimes treating them as pets.

Once they were outside the grotto though, Harry turned towards Regina with a small smile on his face, "So... where to now?'

Instead of telling him though, Regina swam in front of him and crouched down before looking over her shoulder with a giggle, "Just hop on, Harry and I'll take you there." Eyebrows raising, the thirteen year old boggled for a moment before he shook it off. Swimming over, Harry sat where her tail met the rest of her body, which also had a small amount of Abyssal steel that went up her spine. Looking over her shoulder, Regina smiled, "Okay, you have to hold on tight."

Wrapping his hands around her midsection, he chuckled a little, "Yes, Ma'am. Holding on tight, Ma'am."

Much to his amusement though, that just made her blush before she poked her fingers together, "A-ah, um..." After a few moments, Regina looked back at him again as he shifted a bit due to the scuba gear, "O-okay then, d-do you have a good hold?"

Unable to help himself, even as he found her expression cute, Harry nodded, "I do, Regina. Let's go!"

And with that, Regina turned back and pushed off the floor of the lagoon, raising a cloud of sediment that was blown away by a sweep of her tail. Said tail continued to powerfully swing from side to side as the two were propelled over the seabed by it. From where he was, Harry was laughing which made Regina smile, "Um, you like?"

She could practically hear the grin in the wizard's voice as he answered her, "Are you kidding? I love this, Regina!" Just shaking his head, Harry continued, "This is just plain awesome!"

A smirk appeared on the Re-Class' face, "Well, we're not at top speed..."

For a moment, Harry blinked as he wondered why she hadn't gone as fast as she could with him. And with widening eyes, when she glanced at him, he realized why and took a deep breath before pressing himself as close as possible, his arms holding on to her midsection, "Well then, I order you to go as fast with me as you can."

That turned out to be right thing to say as Regina's smile widened before she turned back to where they were going. Bringing up her arms, she held them together slightly behind where her head was. Harry only had a moment for his eyes to widen before she sped up, her hands breaking the water slightly to lessen the issue with speed for him. He knew that later he would need to see the footage to guess how fast she was going at the moment, but part of him suspected that it was at least fifteen knots.

Right then though, Harry realized that she was heading towards the surface as fast as she could. And then the two of them burst from the water and into the air. Tightening his grip as they finished their arc, droplets of water trailing from them, Harry laughed as loud as he could as they headed back towards the surface and splashed down, their bodies cutting through the surface easily. It was not the last time that they did this either as they began to head for the entrance for the lagoon. Each time was accompanied by either laughter from Harry, or loud whooping.

Eventually, however, they did reach the end of their trip and Regina slowed down. As they entered a gap in the wall around the lagoon, Harry looked around. He noted that the "Floor" of the gap was mostly flat and sloped downwards towards the open ocean. And along it was a continuous slow motion avalanche as grains of sand slid down it. But what caught his attention was that it was both wide enough for a large boat, but also the sides looked steep, "Was this cut?"

Glancing back at him, the Abyssal nodded, "As a matter of fact, it was." She gestured around them and continued, "Back when we took the area over, Lady Wanko ordered us to dig a channel, which we did by hand since we did not want to disturb a lot. Any living coral we moved elsewhere and deposited while the dead stuff we simply used for building material." Regina then gave a small shrug, "It works well enough for Submarines and such coming and going."

As he considered that, Harry gave a small nod, "I can see that." Finally, they were through the gap and Regina came to a stop. Understanding what was unsaid, Harry let go and looked around their surroundings. They were at the edge of the outer coral reef and Harry could see how it dropped down fast and he was unable to see the bottom, "How deep is it here?"

Head cocked to the side, Regina considered that before giving a nod as her Imps checked the depth charts, "The water depth is about... four hundred meters or so."

That made Harry blink some as he looked around when he noticed a shadow nearby. It did not take it long to resolve into a Great White that was swimming past, "Uh... Regina?"

Just blinking at him, Regina tilted her head before turning back to the shark that came closer to them as if to examine the two. However, the Abyssal kept herself between it and Harry and said predator decided not to try its luck with a much worse predator. Soon after, it vanished into the ocean and Harry relaxed some which she noticed, "Is something wrong?"

Scratching the back of his head, Harry weakly chuckled, "Sorry about that, Regina. But... that was sort of scary since those things sometimes attack humans."

Her eyes meeting his, she shook her head, "I would protect you against something like that, Harry. And if it even tried... it would not get a second chance." Briefly, her eyes glowed and Harry relaxed still further. After all, there were fewer things as powerful as a protective Re-Class. Just nodding, he paused though at her next words, "Thankfully, it was not a ground shark."

For a few moments, Harry went through that bit of information in his head before he remembered something he read in Fantastic Beasts and his eyes widened, "Wait, you mean the Timor Sea Ground Shark? Which looks like a Wobbegong, can grow up to twenty feet, and is able to disillusion itself?"

Regina nodded with a small smile, "Yes, those are a bit more tricky. But thankfully, they live further down, though..." Frowning, she tapped her chin in thought, "Sometimes they eat humans."

All the thirteen year old did was give her a look, "Riiiight..."

It was two hours later that Harry and Regina stumbled out of the lagoon, large smiles on their faces. Stretching a bit, the Abyssal happily hummed as she looked towards the wizard who was taking off his mask, "That was fun."

Laughing, he grinned back at her, "It was at that, Regina. That was awesome from beginning to end. I've never done a tropical dive before outside maybe Okinawa once, but that? All that was wicked."

Eyes lighting up, Regina gave a small nod, "I'm glad then."

Now pulling off the hood of his wetsuit, Harry let out an explosive sigh before running his hand through his hair, "Just got to put my gear away and then shower or something. Get all the salt off my skin before it dries too much and irritates it."

About to say something, the Re-Class paused and considered things. Poking her fingers together, she blushed, "W-well, I, um... have something like that. I'll show you after you put everything away..."

Very intrigued, Harry gave her a look and nodded. A few minutes later found him walking behind Regina to a wooden structure about fifteen feet from her home which looked like a derrick, and which had a wooden fence around the bottom that stopped at what was about neck height for a Re-Class. Looking up, Harry's eyes widened a touch at the sight of the giant rain barrel that was at the top, which had a pipe leading from it, "Is that... and outdoor shower?"

Slowly, Regina nodded some, "Mm-hm, it is." Upon catching his gaze, she poked her fingers together, "Um, sometimes when I come home from a patrol, I need to wash up. So I just use that instead of the communal showers. I-it works just as well and is kind of nice since I can just enjoy myself. And usually, the rain barrel is full of water from rain, o-or I can just fill it up from my own water tanks. It is also heated by the Sun, so the water is always hot."

Just smiling, the wizard shook his head, "Well, that means that we can rinse off the salt at least. And we don't need to change out of our swimsuits either..." Looking up at her, he chuckled a bit, "You wash my back and I do yours?"

Rapidly, Regina just nodded and opened the shower booth. Noting that the floor was basically a hunk of coral rock that had been partially buried, Harry stepped inside as did Regina and he realized that it was big enough for the two of them. That was, before Regina turned on the shower head and warm water fell on the two of them, already washing the salt from their bodies to his amusement. Turning it off, she soaped up a cloth and handed it to Harry before taking another.

Granted, it was more for Harry's benefit as she did not need to worry about salt on her skin, but to Regina? If it was for the thirteen year old boy to make him comfortable, that was enough. Soon, they started talking about the big fish that Harry had caught outside the reef and how he was going to cook it. Something that the Re-Class was well and truly looking forward to...

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Weasley's Warship Workshop 8

As Ron smiled at her, truly smiled at her for the fist time, Jean Bart felt her boilers flutter once again. Yet for the first time, instead of simply wondering why she understood. She could see the genuine humor and excitement that it contained. The spark of what some would call genius that had been nurtured by others and he was still growing, the fact that he really seemed to understand what the upgrades he was proposing would mean to her.

She could even see, though she would argue with herself that she perhaps only imagined it for quite some time, the spark that drew ships like her towards him. The fact that he was truly accepting of the fact that his would never be the glory of the guns or the hammer of battle. It was not that he would not stand where he could it was that he simply could not stand in the line of fire like the ones he loved and he understood and accepted that fact like few others. Instead he would prepare them to the utmost, trust them to come back and repair their wounds to send them out again. Which in turn made the glory they gained part of his own, for those who truly understood.

It hit her like a full broadside penetration of her citadel and she struggled not to flush immediately in front of her guest. She attempted to cover it up by stuffing some of her meal into her mouth. Instead she failed miserably, suddenly choking on the piece of meat as she let her fork drop and she coughed as her intake systems tried to reset themselves. Which meant that she was suddenly pounding on her chest as she coughed.

Ron's face immediately turned to concern as she coughed, the partially standing from his seat.

"Are you alright?" He asked, clearly ready to lend aid to her.

Jean Bart held up her hand in reply, managing to work down the errant piece of food with the help of her drink and a few more coughs.

"I'm… I'm fine." She said, mostly telling the truth. The revelation that had hit her was still rattling around in her head like a loose shell casing but she had recovered from her coughing fit. At least it gave her cover for why her face was red.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen a battleship choke on food like that before." Ron said as he took his seat once again.

"It has never happened to me before this. It is a most unpleasant feeling." Jean Bart took the time to look down at her food, somewhat annoyed that she had made a fool of herself in front of Ron. Not that she would admit it to a soul yet but… oh merde she was never going to hear the end of this.

"Do you need a minute?" Ron asked, "You seem out of it."

"I… no, I'm fine. It's just your ideas are quite a bit to take in at the moment. Lots to think over." It wasn't an outright lie but Jean Bart suddenly felt herself wishing she could be a bit more honest with herself.

Ron seemed to accept the answer without much question though, instead simply nodding to her.

"I understand. There's been a few rather long nights in coming up with them so if you want some more time to think it over I understand."

Jean Bart shook her head, forcing herself to act normal once again.

"No, I do like them Ron and I want you to do what you need to prepare them. I just… want to look it over some more in the meantime."

"That's no problem. You can take those since they're copies." He nodded to the papers in front of her as he took a bite of his food.

"Thank you." Jean Bart could only sigh in relief as she gathered up the papers and slipped them into her hold. Ron didn't even seem to notice when she did so. Which was good except for the little part of her that sounded a lot like Richelieu saying otherwise. Jean Bart wanted to smack her head against a solid surface but refrained and merely sighed instead. Hopefully things would make more sense soon.

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

Unfortunately they didn't. As soon after they finished the meal and Jean Bart had paid for it, due to the simple fact that she had Francs to Ron's Pounds and not his lack of insisting on it, Jean Bart discovered why Ron had been somewhat agitated when he'd ridden behind her the first time. At least she was pretty sure she did as his arms wrapping around her from behind once again triggered a similar tenseness in her lower stomach as she felt in his arms.

Again Jean Bart wished for a wall to bash her head against. Of course he'd been nervous. He was a teenager and for all that she hadn't been in commission that long, she knew what the thought of a girl to do to her own sailors. Much less one actually in the throes of puberty. Thankfully Ron either didn't notice or didn't say anything about her own reaction as she pulled her bike out into the road and headed back to the base.

Jean Bart was glad for the distraction of traffic, as it allowed her to focus on something other than her newfound feelings. Except of course for the fact that she had to take Ron into account when she was turning.

Thankfully they made it back to base with minimal fuss, Jean Bart pulling to a stop and allowing Ron to hop off behind her.

"So, when are you supposed to get picked up?" Jean Bart asked Ron, looking around to see if she could see the redheaded man who had dropped him off.

Ron checked his watch and shook his head. "I've still got about half an hour or so before I'd expect him to be here. Dad has some business to take care of with the French Ministry, something about berets enchanted to sing God Save the Queen I think. They're blaming British Wizards and he has to straighten things out."

Jean Bart started to open her mouth to question Ron but found herself closing it once more. Singing berets? She wasn't sure if he was pulling her leg or actually as serious as he seemed to be. She wasn't sure which one would be worse either.

"What does your father do exactly?" Jean Bart decided that was a better question than the singing berets, at least as an opener to deciding if Ron was crazy or not.

Ron looked up to her and blinked a few times before smiling.

"Right, sorry. You don't deal much with magic do you?"

Jean Bart shook her head no, wondering if she wanted to deal with magic any more than she had to.

Ron looked around for a moment, clearly looking for eavesdroppers. When it was clear there weren't any he turned and began to speak once more.

"Well my father is the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the British Ministry of Magic." Seeing the still confused look on Jean Bart's face he continued. "It essentially means his job is to make sure that idiotic or ill meaning wizards don't use magic on say, a watch." He pointed to his own. "Then release it to anybody who doesn't know about magic." He gestured to the crowds out in front of them.

"Is that a major problem?" Jean Bart furrowed her brow, wondering what exactly might happen with such things.

"Well it didn't use to be back when they could do memory wipes." Ron shook his head. "Take the berets for example. You could walk up, take the beret and make someone forget it had ever happened."

Jean Bart nodded, now somewhat concerned with the implications of a government official with the ability to make someone forget things they'd seen immediately.

"Now with the ship girls around, more and more people are becoming immune to obliviation, so Dad has to do a lot more work on some things now. So he has to be a liaison officer with the French Ministry of Magic to get this one covered up."

Jean Bart nodded again, at least the part of international police organizations working together made sense, even if the magic didn't quite yet.

"I see." She didn't really but Ron seemed willing to explain. "So what about you? Could you be hit by one of these spells since you're a wizard?"

"Normally I would be but since I've spent so much time around Warspite and Duke I'm immune. Even just the amount of time I've spent around you is enough for people to start remembering fuzzy details. They'd think it was a dream most likely but the effect is cumulative, any additional time spent means you're more immune and it doesn't wear away." Ron smiled again as he spoke, causing Jean Bart's boilers to flutter again.

"That's a relief." Jean Bart wasn't sure why that had come out but she noticed Ron blush slightly because of it.

"Since we've got the time, why don't you tell me more about magic." Jean Bart had a feeling that whatever her future might contain, magic would be a rather large part of it and learning sooner rather than later was always a good thing.

"Hmm. Well I suppose I could tell you about Hogwarts." Ron said, leaning up against the wall Jean Bart had stopped by. "That's where I go to school."

Jean Bart nodded and sat with Ron for another thirty minutes until his father came to pick him up, much more knowledgeable than when she started but feeling all the more out of her depth as something she hadn't truly been aware of opened up in front of her. She needed time to process… and to vent.

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

"I hate you." Jean Bart's voice contained no heat, only resignation as her sister picked up the phone.

"Ma petite! Whatever did I do?" Richelieu initially sounded confused but after apparently processing Jean Bart's tone, her own changed immensely. "Ma petite! What happened? Did you finally find yourself a lover? Is it Monsieur Weasley, did he set you up with a friend? Oh tell your big sister everything!"

"I did not find a lover." Jean Bart said, for the first time perhaps sounding a bit put out by that fact. She sighed, trying to process her words. "I just… ugh..." She did manage to lean back and smack her head against the wall of her dorm room. Unfortunately it was cushioned by her ponytail and only gave a dull thunk.

"You are in l' amour!" Jean Bart could hear Richelieu squealing over the phone and what she was pretty sure were the sounds of her sister jumping up and down in excitement. "Tell me more!"

"He… understands us. Battleships I mean." Jean Bart really wasn't sure where to start so she just rambled. "I could see it in his eyes. He sees us, the ships, and not just pretty eye candy. He understands our purpose and is not threatened by it. By what I've seen he thrives on it! He showed me what he planned to do for my refit sister and it was all speed and guns! Oh the guns he showed me were divine! Better up time for the main battery, a complete design overhaul of my secondaries! The speed… he said a knot or two. Maybe. But promised less maintenance, which means more time at speed without worry!" Jean Bart realized then that she was getting rather emotional and stopped, feeling embarrassed in the moment.

"Mhmm..." Jean Bart could tell Richelieu was nodding her head even without being able to see her. "There's more I can tell, don't hold back!"

"He… is intelligent of course. Mature in some manners but still young in others. He cares for the people in his life properly if what I saw at his manor was any indication. I could see the care he put into the drawings he did for my refit..."

"Drawings? He did drawings of you already?!" Richelieu seemed overly excited by that.

"Yes, why?" Jean Bart paused.

"It is just so romantique!" Richelieu said. "Soon you will get your own book like Lady Warspite!"

"I… I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon sister." Jean Bart said, coughing slightly. "For one he is still working on Duke of York's, for another..."

"It doesn't matter!" Richelieu exclaimed. "You are in love for the first time and I will see you succeed! Even if I have to fight the entire Royal Navy for such a thing to happen!"

Jean Bart blinked for a moment, a different sort of warm feeling filling her chest at her sisters words.

"Thank you, soeur ainée." She said softly.

"You're welcome ma petite!," Richelieu said in return. "Is there anything else? Anything else at all?"

Jean Bart paused again, wondering if she should even say this part. Yet Richelieu was her sister and who else could she tell?

"Well… I'll admit he's… cute." She said carefully. "While looking like he will grow into a fine young man."

When Richelieu once again squealed over the phone, Jean Bart decided that for once, she didn't actually mind.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
AN: This one took a while longer than I really wanted it to but I hope you all enjoy.

Questions, comments and concerns welcome as always.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The Sun had nearly reached the horizon as Regina sat on the beach just watching it and the waves as they washed against the sand as the two forms of nature had done so for eons and would continue to do so for longer. She felt at peace doing so, her stomach nicely filled from the meal that Harry had whipped up using the tropical fish that they had caught. However, the Re-Class was brought out of her thoughts as she watched Harry walk up. Said wizard had a thermos and a small box next to him. He had also thrown on a shirt as the air had cooled some now that night approached. A small smile on his face, he gave a nod, "Regina."

Face lit by the setting Sun, Regina smiled back at him, "Harry." She petted the sand next to her and gestured at it, "You can have a seat, if, um, that is what you want..."

Lightly chuckling, the thirteen year old did exactly that before setting the box and thermos aside. At the curious look, he opened the box to reveal treats, "I thought that you might want a little bit of dessert, so... I actually made some things before I came and brought them with me."

Gently, Regina smiled at him and hummed, "Thank you."

Just nodding, Harry poured some tea into one of the cups for the thermos, the tea steaming a little. The whole time though, he kept glancing at Regina as she had not put her poncho back on, and just sat there lounging in her bikini as the last warming rays of the Sun bathed the area. But it was not just that, but the look of utter peace and contentment on her face that also caught his attention. As did the way her eyes sparkled in happiness, which made him blush lightly at seeing it as the sea breeze softly blew strands of her hair, currently colored orange by the setting Sun.

Deciding to look away, he turned his attention to the Sun which began to rapidly sink beyond the horizon. Granted, he still glanced at her every couple of seconds. But then, a thought occurred to Harry and he tilted his head, "Regina?" Getting a hum, he continued, "Have you ever seen the Green Flash?"

With a blink, Regina's expression brightened, "All the time actually." Leaning back on her hands, she turned her face towards his, "It's sort of neat to see too. I mean, you get this green light coming from the Sun for a few seconds."

For his part, Harry handed her over a cup filled with tea, which she took and sipped with pleased sounds. Chuckling, he sipped his own tea and nodded, "That sounds pretty great."

The two shared a smile before they lapsed into silence. It was not a awkward silence, but a companionable one. A sort of silence that could happen between two people who did not need to say anything at all to each other in order to have a conversation. Just the sort that could come from people who were content and happy with what they were doing and each other.

Several minutes passed before suddenly, Regina pointed, "Look at the top of the Sun, Harry."

His attention now on it, Harry began to grin as he saw a portion of the Sun turn green, "That... is so cool!" And when the Sun fully sank beneath the horizon, there was a single green ray of light that seemed to hang in the sky above where it had disappeared for a second or two before vanishing. Shaking his head, Harry smiled, "That was amazing..."

Just nodding, the Abyssal didn't say anything. As the sky continued to darken and the stars come out, the two sat there enjoying treats like fudge as they sipped their tea. Glancing at him, Regina lightly blushed at the sight of him in the darkness, 'This is...'

Getting up, and catching Harry's attention, he was about to ask when she moved behind him. Regina then sat down and scooted up until her legs were on either side of his with her arms wrapped around his midsection. Unknown to her, there was a blush on the teen's face at how the front of her body was pressed up against his back. Looking over his shoulder, he raised an eyebrow at her, "Regina?"

A soft smile on her face, Regina shook her head, "I, um... just wanted..."

While the rest of what she was saying trailed off into embarrassed mumbles, the wizard could understand what she meant. Instead of saying anything, he scooted back more into her which made her smile widen and her eyes glow. And part of him noticed that it was not just her eyes that glowed, but under the pale moonlight of a nearly full Moon, her skin also had a glow to it.

Eyes meeting, the two shared a small smile before Regina pointed, "Look right there, Harry. See those stars?"

Following her finger, he gave a nod as he could make out a group of stars, not much bigger than the pointer stars for the Big Dipper. It was then that he realized what he was looking at and his eyes widened, "Are those... is that the Southern Cross?"

Happily humming, Regina nodded, "They are."

Unable to help himself, Harry chuckled and shook his head, "Wicked." Several flashes of light on the horizon made him turn in that direction and he could just make out dark clouds billowing upwards with lightning flashing, "Looks like it is going to really storm in a few hours..."

Behind him, Regina only sighed with a slight tilt of the head, "Yes, Lady Wanko is going to let them roll on past... though I think that Darwin and others will be happy. They could use the rain this time of year after all." That got her a nod from Harry before she placed her chin on the top of his head, "This has been nice."

Lips twitching as she held him close, the teen shook his head slightly, "It really has, Regina. And I've had a lot of fun myself, so thank you. And I am definitely looking forward to coming back."

If anything, that made the Re-Class smile brightly.

Both of them continued their star gazing for another hour before they headed back to Regina's home. Lighting his wand, Harry set it down on a stand and helped Regina close all the shutters as well as the door before they secured them. With that done, they laid down on the bed and Regina cuddled him from behind and soon the teenager fell asleep.

However, Regina was still awake as the first raindrops began to fall on the small hut and the wind whipped up. Soon enough, the soft pat-pat became a roar as the storms began to dump a massive amount of rain onto Wanko's island. A small, soft smile appeared on the Abyssal's face as she held the sleeping boy close as the storm raged all around them. Oddly, she felt that it was... poetic, in a way. Mainly because Harry, for all his youth, had turned into an eye of calm within the storm that was the world around them.

And right now, in this moment? Regina found herself happy that she had met him. Shifting a bit, she kissed his cheek before laying back down and snuggling into him. Her last thoughts before falling asleep, lulled by the storm were simple.

Mainly, the only way it could have been better was if Shinano was there as well.

It was a refreshed and relaxed Harry who stepped outside the next morning early after the Sun had risen. Some drops of water still dripped from the leaves of trees and the air had been washed clean leaving it smelling of fresh rain as various tropical birds sang. Walking up behind him, Regina wrapped her arms around his neck and her tail around his midsection. Looking up at her, he chuckled, "Good morning, Regina."

Giggling some, she gave a nod before kissing his cheek, "Good morning, Harry." Regina tilted her head before then giving him a short kiss on the lips and sighing, "A very good morning."

Lightly blushing from the kiss, Harry turned back to the shore and looked around, "Looks like it is going to be another nice day, just like yesterday." Getting a hum, he raised an eyebrow at Regina, 'Hmm...'

Unknown to him, Regina was giggling in her head, 'I wonder when she will...' A signal made her blink before her eyes widened and nearly sparkled, 'Yes!'

Several minutes later, the smells of eggs and bacon being cooked added themselves to the air. However, it was not Harry who was cooking, but rather Regina using a charcoal grill. Watching as she added spices to the scrambled eggs, even as his stomach grumbled, the teen tilted his head, "Smells delicious."

Glancing over at him, Regina smiled, "Um, while I'm not as good a cook as you are, I can cook some. Mostly things that are from here." A thoughtful look on her face, she gave a nod, "Later, I'll cook up some breadfruit and maybe fe'i banana."

That made Harry blink in confusion, 'Cooked banana?' Shaking that off, he put his hands behind his head, "Never had breadfruit before, any good?"

With a hum, the Re-Class nodded, "They're very good! We actually eat a lot of them among other things as well." Licking her lips, she shook her head, "Pretty much all of us eat them."

Somewhat amused by her reaction, Harry chuckled. She gave him a plate and filled it with food which he ate before nodding, "This is really good, Regina." Chewing, he swallowed, "Fresh spices?"

Just nodding, she smiled, "Yes, we get them from Timor and other places."

As he ate though, Harry noticed something and frowned before furrowing his eyebrows in thought. It was not until he was finished though and set the plate aside that he asked the question that was on his mind, "Regina?" Getting a sound to continue, he did so, "You're cooking up a lot, more than I would have thought that you would need."

Twinkle in her eye, Regina nodded, "That's right."

Eyes narrowing, he frowned at the non-answer. Clearing his throat, he raised an eyebrow, "Why-"

It was then that Harry noticed that she was not looking at him, but something else in joy and amusement. Turning, his eyes widened at the image of Shinano in a t-shirt and shorts rushing for him with arms wide, "HARRY-CHAN!"

Moments later, she impacted him with his face landing between her fuel tanks as she picked him up and swung him around. Regina for her part, collapsed madly giggling at what had happened, while her tail came up and took over cooking.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting on a rock, Harry raised an amused eyebrow as he watched Shinano dig into the breakfast that Regina had made, "So... you're here for the rest of the day?"

Just swallowing, the Carrier thanked the Abyssal for the glass of fruit juice and hummed, "Hai, Harry-Chan. I got permission from Kaa-San, especially with how I am doing it."

If anything, that made Harry raise his eyebrow still further, "Really? And how are you doing it? Because from what I remember..." He paused and frowned as he had a realization, "Wait, you asked for my time turner before I left..."

There was a soft blush on Shinano's face as she answered, "Um, yes, I used it to go back in time. And, um... Kaa-San had no issue with it as long as I am back by tomorrow to greet Onee-Sama and the others." Glancing at Regina, she continued, "She knows that I really wanted to spend the day with both you and Regina-Chan, Harry-Chan."

Chuckling, he walked over and patted her head which made her smile and lean into it, "I don't mind. But..." He turned towards the lone Abyssal, "But it is up to Regina."

At that, Regina straightened her back and brightly smiled, "It was actually my idea in the first place." Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow, she scratched her cheek and flushed, "I wanted to spend some time with Shinano along with you, Harry."

Lips twitching, the teen patted her head which made her lean into it even as he continued patting Shinano's head, "That's fine, Regina. And nothing wrong with that at all." Shrugging, he shook his head, "I was just concerned that this came out of nowhere for you, but if you don't have any issue with this?"

Rapidly, Regina shook her head, "I don't mind at all."

Having gone back to eating the delicious breakfast, Shinano gave Harry a once over before blinking, Once she swallowed, she pointed a fork at him, "Um, Harry-Chan? You have a nice tan already."

That caused Harry to blink for a moment before he glanced at himself. Head tilting to the side, he chuckled a little, "Huh, will you look at that, I am getting a tan." Turning back to them, he gave a small shrug, "Not surprising though I suppose, I'm pretty fair skinned normally. Grandmother says that it is the Irish in me that does it."

More than a little thoughtful, the Re-Class considered that before putting a finger against her chin, "I've always wondered about that... though..." Briefly, Regina chewed her lip before shyly smiling and poking her fingers together, "I do sort of like how you have really pale skin in winter. With the black hair and glowing green eyes... you could be an Abyssal."

Shinano pausing in her chewing to think about it before nodding, "I guess?" Giggles then escaped her and she pointed at Regina, "Though when Harry-Chan does become our Admiral, you can claim that he's an Abyssal Admiral since he'd be in charge of you."

Yet more giggles escaped from the Yamato as her friend heavily blushed with steam coming out of her ears as she clapped her hands over her face, 'H-Harry would be an Abyssal Admiral... m-my Abyssal Admiral... O-oh my...'

Eyebrows raised in some amusement, Harry shook his head and went back to drinking the fruit juice that was in his hand. While, normally, he would have begun the day with some tea, the fruit juice was really fresh. And also it was really, really good. Finishing the cup, he placed it into a bag that was beside him for trash. Not long after, once Regina stopped expelling excess steam pressure from her boilers and Shinano had eaten, the three stood up.

Brushing himself off of any loose sand, the wizard looked over Regina, "So... what next?"

A thoughtful look on her face, Regina glanced at Shinano and smiled, "We could go swimming after a walk to the safe part of the beach."

Needless to say, that brought a grin to Harry's face. But before he could say anything, Shinano sharply nodded, "Good thing that I am ready! I even have my new bathing suit!" She reached down to the hem of her shirt and pulled it up to reveal that she was wearing a black one piece under it. Shucking off her shorts and bundling her clothes together, she pulled out the swimsuit some before shoving her clothes into it, with them disappearing into her hold. Throwing her hands into the air, she brightly smiled, "Let's go swimming!"

Laughing, Harry shook his head, "Okay, that sounds great, Shinano-CHAAAAN!"

Suddenly, a Re-Class tail slipped beneath him and he found himself once more sitting astride it. Automatically, he brought his hands up and wrapped them around Regina's midsection. For her part, Regina waved at her friend with a giggle, "See you there, Shinano!"

With those words, she took off with Harry hanging off her. It took a few moments, but Shinano's eyes widened and she ran after the Abyssal, "HEY! WAIT UP, REGINA-CHAN!" In response, Regina looked over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue which only made the Yamato run faster, even as Harry laughed despite bouncing around, "REGINA-CHAN! HARRY-CHAN!"

Abyssal and Shipgirl ran along the part of the beach where the waves crashed around their feet, warm water tickling their skin even as it was splashed far and wide. Short distance away, Wanko shook her head in amusement before chuckling as she resumed walking towards another meeting with Supprin. Especially with the ideas to upgrade Regina into a Flagship Re, 'They all... work very well... together. I'm glad...'

Meanwhile, Regina along with Harry and Shinano were laughing gaily as the two supernatural young women ran. Soon enough, they reached the beach and Regina sharply turned and rushed into the inviting tropical waters with Harry on her back. Around them, the water sloshed away, but before the Abyssal got too far, she was tackled by a giggling Shinano. However, she got splashed by Harry and splashed him back, with it turning into a splash fight between them before they got to swimming as the two told Shinano about the dive trip the day before.

When they finished, Shinano sighed and pouted a bit, "I wish that I could have gone, but, um..."

Harry shook his head with an understanding look on his face, "You don't feel comfortable diving or staying underwater long." At her nod, he swam over and hugged her, "Hey, and that is perfectly fine, Shinano-Chan. It isn't for everyone after all."

For her part, Regina also embraced her friend before giving her a kiss on the cheek, "What Harry said, Shinano. You not feeling comfortable underwater is fine and there's nothing wrong with it." She then gave a small shrug, "After all, you're not a Submarine or Abyssal."

Softly smiling, Shinano nodded and looked at the other two, giving them both kisses on the cheek, "Hai, that is true. And thank you both."

Not even a moment later, Regina's tail coughed and a beach ball bounced out. Washing it, the Re-Class held it up, "Um, want to play?"

Over the next half hour, the three bounced the beach ball between them as they laughed under the Sun before heading back to the beach where they built sand castles. Finally, they laid out on the beach with Harry placing his hands behind his head and sighing with his eyes closed, "Now this is nice."

About to agree, Shinano turned to him and paused as she remembered that he was shirtless and laying there in nothing but his swim trunks. Glancing at Regina, the Carrier knew that her friend had realized the same thing. Both girls kept taking looks at Harry before Shinano coughed with a red face, "U-um, yes, very nice."

From where she laid on Harry's other side, Regina nodded, also red in the face, "Y-yes, very nice indeed."

While he was confused about the tone of their voices, Harry internally shrugged it off. Instead, he decided to just enjoy the tropical Sun.
___________________________________________________

Looking over at Shinano, Regina tilted her head to the side, "Um, so what do you think?"

Eyes closed, the Yamato chewed some as she was back in her shorts and t-shirt. Swallowing, she opened her eyes with a smile on her face as she wiped her mouth, "These are good burgers, Regina-Chan." Her gaze fell on the large burger in front of her, "I haven't really had shark burgers before, but these are really good. I think that Jersey-San might like them as well if she ever comes here."

Harry chewed his own burger before swallowing, "What Shinano-Chan said, Regina. These are really good burgers."

A chuckle from across the counter made them all turn to where there was an older human there with a grin, "Well, thank you. Us here at John's enjoys it when our customers enjoy their burgers here."

Taking another bite, Harry nodded and once he could, smiled at the owner of the eatery who happened to be married to a Wo-Class, "Well, we're certainly doing that. These are really, really good."

Lightly chuckling, the man tipped his hair, "Fair dinkum."

Not long after, they were leaving the resturant with Shinano picking her teeth, "That was a nice meal, Regina-Chan. And they got a lot of variety..." Pausing, she tilted her head to the side, "Though I am sort of surprised that there's a cane toad burger... aren't those poisonous?"

Just shrugging, Regina shook her head, "Only for humans and such. Us Abyssals really like the taste, like how we eat sea wasps and such. The stingers make our tongues all tingly and taste like a spice." Both Harry and Shinano paused at that and turned to her in disbelief. However, the Abyssal continued as she did not notice though she had a look of confusion on her face, "It is sort of weird though... the Australian government has been encouraging us to grab as many cane toads and rabbits as we want."

Sharing a look with Shinano, Harry cleared his throat, "I would guess that they would have their reasons, Regina. Though, uh... when you cook food Abyssals keep preparation of them separate from anything that humans might eat, right?"

With a blink, the Re-Class gave him a look, "Of course we do! Though only certain restaurants actually use them and those places are almost all catering to Abyssals. John's gets their cane toad burgers from another kitchen nearby."

Both Harry and Shinano relaxed at that as they began to walk out of the town. As they did so, the thirteen year old noticed something and turned towards Shinano, "Huh... where's Hamakaze-Chan and the others?"

After Regina also turned to Shinano, the Yamato blinked, "They're visiting some of their sisters at Kure. But they're going to be back tomorrow morning."

The wizard just accepted that and they followed Regina into the jungle. Around them, various colorful birds flittered from branch to branch of all sorts. Spotting one, Shinano brought out her phone and began to take video, "Look, Harry-Chan! A Cockatoo!"

Doing much the same, Harry grinned, "That is so cool! I didn't know that you have cockatoos here on the islands."

Regina shrugged and shook her head, "We have a couple? Some people were excited to see them and Lady Wanko has ordered them protected because they're endangered. So no one harms them."

It was not just the tropical birds either, as colorful butterflies vied with flowers in bursts of color around them. Watching as her friends and precious people looked around with wonder, Regina felt her chest swell in happiness. But rather than say anything, she continued to lead them around to see all the various things that were around.

 

[darthcourt10]

rdmcmains

If I'd had more warning of Taylor's Commissioning Day than two and a half hours after it started, (totally my fault here), I'd probably have had this ready to post on her Commissioning Day. Instead, have a doubly belated omake!

Naval Base San Diego
San Diego, California
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
1720 hours local

It had been a rough two weeks for USS Taylor. Even with the removal of the Wake Island and Midway Princesses years ago, hostile bands of Abyssals still roamed the Central Pacific. She'd seen more Abyssals on this convoy run than she had in the last year, and it seemed like half of them wanted a piece of her transom.

She'd worn all her barrels out twice, emptied her magazines three times, and even nailed an I-class in the mouth with a thrown depth charge that would have made that quarterback Lou was always talking about green with envy.

Still, the convoy had made it safely to San Diego, she'd made her report to the Admiral, and now she was making for the gate (and a week's leave) as fast as 60,000 horsepower could move her. And if one more of her sisters asked her why she didn't use some form of weaponized insect against the Abyssals, they could eat a depth charge too!

Maybe a practice one. If they were lucky.

Bah, planning 174 cases of justified sororicide could wait. Right now, she needed food, ice cream and hugs, not necessarily in that order. Fortunately, she knew right where to get at least two of those.

As she left her bridge crew to deal with where she was going, she let her mind wander, thinking about who she was going to.

It all started with the 'triumphant return' of the Shipgirls Online forums. The first incarnation of the site had been run on a server made mostly of baling wire and duck tape, meant to last just long enough to get her to sign on. Once she did, she was hung with the tag that epitomized every joke her sisters had ever made about her.

Not a Skitter.

Taylor was sick and tired of being compared to a fictional character. Yes, five-foot-seven was tall for a destroyer. Yes, stretching a destroyer's mass across that much frame left her lean and a little gangly. And yes, her hair was long, curly, and black as night. That didn't make her the SecNav-damned Bug Queen of Brockton Bay!

And the less said about the fanfic someone wrote about That Girl somehow triggering as a version of her, the better. It had taken her actually trying to shove Jenkins' head up her shaft galleries before her sisters stopped asking to see her shotgun.

They didn't pull this crap on Chevalier; hell, she'd actually joined in once!

Anyway, when SGO came back online, this time on a server made for the traffic, she fully expected the abuse to continue.

And then he showed up.
StopBullyingDDs

She wasn't actually the first girl he came to the defense of; that honor went to Shimakaze. After apparently one too many posts calling her 'Stripperbote', he lashed out.

After pointing out that shipgirls had precisely zero control of what uniform they're summoned in, he ripped them up one side and down the other for sexualizing a girl who looked barely 12 years old, referencing the Commander, 7th Fleet who proclaimed, "Destroyers are not for lewds; they are for cuddles and headpats only."

Taylor wasn't sure what was more shocking; that the first response to his post was, "That was when they knew, they'd fucked up," or that the responder's tags included (Not a Hotel).

It was only a couple of days later that he went after one of Taylor's sisters after yet another Skitter reference. "It's like you want to prove she's that Taylor by forcing her to Trigger!" He then pointed out how bad an idea it would be to have a shipgirl who was annoyed with her 174 sisters, could control insects, and had access to Japanese Giant Hornets.

She'd sent him a private message at that point, and learned he was a civilian contractor at NBSD, part of the janitorial crew. He offered to buy her ice cream, and as a destroyer she was morally unable to decline.

They'd talked, eaten ice cream (a pint for him, about a dozen for her), and agreed to meet again after she got back from her next deployment. And then, as she was getting up to return to base, he hugged her.

She'd never felt anything so...nice.

Sure, she'd cuddled with her sisters before (and still did, depending on how much they'd aggravated her recently), and with other destroyers in Japan (for the record, Jersey was right; Fubuki really was cuddly as fuck) but this felt so much... more. And she liked it.

One thing led to another, and several meetings for ice cream and a couple visits to his apartment to watch old '80s TV shows later, one of the local cruisers saw them together, and the rumors of Taylor's 'boyfriend' took off.

He wasn't her boyfriend! He was just a friend whose hugs she liked. She even put that down on the request to get him an expense card: keeping up with a destroyer's ice cream habit on a janitor's wages wasn't easy. She was sure New York nearly rolled her rangefinders completely overboard when she submitted the form, but it went through anyway.

And that's when she found out he could cook. Nothing fancy, he had a couple different casserole recipes, a few different forms of meat and potatoes, and a pretty nice taco salad, but it was all good, and his recipes made enough for them to each get full. Interestingly, the closest he got to Italian food was the occasional pizza or macaroni and cheese. She was sure she hadn't mentioned her dislike of the Marina Militare, but she appreciated the moral support.

A soft, "Hey," alerted her to the fact that she'd arrived at his apartment building, so she let herself in through the front door and walked up to his apartment. She paused before knocking; she realized that he'd probably only left the base an hour before she had, so he might not have finished cooking dinner, not to mention that she forgot to call him to tell him she was coming over. This...could be bad. Oh well, nothing to do for it now. She knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, it opened. "Taylor! Welcome back," he said, hugging her. She sighed happily. It had been more than a month since she'd last seen him, at Haruna's wedding, after all.

He chuckled as he pulled her through the door. "This explains a lot."

Taylor stepped into the apartment, slightly confused. "Like what?" she asked.

"Well, I'd just got to work this morning, and my manager told me my vacation request was approved, and they'd see me on the fifth," he said, walking back to the kitchen.

"I didn't know you'd requested vacation," Taylor said.

"Me either. Then, around noon, I got an anonymous text suggesting I cook up a big meal for this evening."

As he looked over his glasses at her, Taylor rolled her eyes. "Fox," they said in unison.

"Yeah. Good news, though. You're just in time; I just pulled it out of the oven."

When Taylor caught sight of the baking pan sitting on the stove cooling, her entire crew started cheering.

"That's right," he said, "I forgot those guys really like the casserole."

"You can hear them?" asked Taylor, mortified.

"Yes? It's not that bad, Taylor. I've been in the mess when the battleships and carriers come in. When their stomachs rumble, you can measure it on a seismograph. A few hundred happy 'Hey's is nothing."

They sat down to eat, keeping the conversation light. Finishing up, he asked her, "So, anything you feel like watching tonight?"

"Babylon 5?"

"Good choice," he responded. "Go get the DVD player started while I grab something out of the freezer."

She smiled as she walked into the living room; some ice cream on top of everything else would make this day just about perfect. She turned on the TV and DVD player and sat down just in time for him to turn the lights off. "What—?"

He walked into the living room, carrying something with two lit candles on top, while humming…Happy Birthday? Wait a minute…

She quickly checked her log for the date. He was right; she couldn't believe she'd forgotten.

Coming around the couch where they'd spent many a night watching old TV shows, he put the object he'd been carrying on the coffee table. It turned out to be an ice cream cake, shaped like, and decorated as, her unit patch. The candles were number candles, 7 and 1. Standing up, he walked over to Taylor, bent over, and kissed her on the forehead.

"Happy Commissioning Day, Taylor."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hands moving as she walked, Shinano peeled the fruit in her hands to reveal the pale, yellow flesh before taking a slice and popping it into her mouth. Chewing slowly, she hummed before swallowing as Regina looked on in interest, "What do you think?"

Finger against her chin, the Carrier frowned for a moment before smiling, "I like it!" Taking another slice, she held it out to Harry, "Here, try it. I think that you'll like it too, Harry-Chan."

Lips twitching in amusement, Harry did so and chuckled a bit at the taste, "Sort of has a sweet, orange taste but also tastes like a mild lemon. Not bad."

Just nodding with a happy look on her face, Regina practically beamed, "I'm glad that you both enjoyed it." Unpeeling her own, she shook her head, "Lemonade fruits really are good."

Shinano, for her part, gave a giggle, "They are, though don't tell Enterprise about the durian fruits that you grow here." At the curious look from Regina, she shook her head, "She really likes eating them and can eat an entire crate of them if given the opportunity to do so. Onee-Sama just gets exasperated with her over it."

At that, snickers escaped from the lone male of the three, "Not just Yamato-Oba either." He continued when they turned their attention onto him, "Apparently, the other Yorktown sisters all avoid her when she has durian fruit. Gets really funny because she keeps trying to convert them to the 'Worship of the King of Fruits' for some reason."

Giggles escaped from both the shipgirl and Abyssal at that. Shaking her head, Shinano had a twinkle in her eye, "I can believe it with how Enterprise-San sometimes acts."

Continuing to walk alongside them, Regina only shook her head with a small smile on her face. Even the Abyssals had heard just how much Enterprise loved the fruit... which ended in one Abyssal Princess being sunk when she attempted to destroy a large amount to hurt the 'Grey Ghost' by cutting off her supply of food. Even Revina had twitched at what had happened and been utterly confused before stating that they were all crazy. Telling Shinano and Harry that, the Re-Class giggled as the other two burst into laughter and stated that was just like the American, 'This is nice...'

Laughter calming down, Harry let out a sigh before looking at the two beside him. Due to the heat and humidity under the forest canopy, Shinano had discarded her shirt leaving her swimsuit from the waist up exposed. It went without saying that Harry was unable to not give her glances... or give Regina who was beside her. All the while, he was punching his hormones in the face within his head.

That said, the three had taken a number of pictures of each other and themselves in a group from time to time.

Now taking a deep breath of all the scents, Harry took first Regina's and then Shinano's hands in his which made the other two blush lightly. But they said nothing, however they did entwine their fingers with his. Turning to Regina, the wizard tilted his head to the side, "So where are we going now?"

Scratching her cheek, Regina hummed a bit, "U-um, I was thinking of taking you somewhere that's sort of nice though we'd be swimming again..." Ducking her head a bit, she flushed, "I know that we already went swimming this morning, but, um..."

Head the side, Shinano blinked before smiling, "I don't mind a nice swim since it is rather hot and humid out. Actually, that sounds really good, Regina-Chan."

Even as Regina's expression brightened, the thirteen year old nodded, "Shinano-Chan is right, Regina. A nice, cool swim sounds good." Looking at his sweat drenched shirt, Harry shook his head, "Be nice to get all this sweat off, I have to be smelling bad by now."

The Carrier shook her head and frowned, "I don't think that you smell bad at all, Harry-Chan."

On Harry's other side, Regina gave a sharp nod, "Shinano is right, Harry. You don't smell bad at all, it's a good smell."

After a few moments though, both shy girls realized what they said and became very flustered. Something that made Harry's lips twitching into a smile as he internally chuckled to spare them more embarrassment, 'Cute...' Giving their hands a gentle squeeze, he smiled up at them both, "Thank you, Shinano-Chan, Regina-Chan."

Due to their heights, he wasn't able to kiss them on the cheek as he wanted. So instead, he kissed them on their knuckles, which only made the two blush deeper with steam coming from their ears much to his confusion. Before he could say anything, Regina pointed at one path off to the side, "U-uh, um, we need to take that one." She then began to drag Harry along, with Shinano following due to holding Harry's hands. After another five minutes or so of travelling along the winding path, they reached their destination and she gave a nod, "Here we are."

Much to their confusion, they found themselves in front of a cave, which made them both look at Regina. Clearing his throat, Harry shook his head, "Uh, Regina? I don't do cave diving, remember..."

Rapidly, the Re-Class shook her head and waved her arms in the air, "N-no, we're not going cave diving. But, um... just follow me."

With a shrug, the two did so and soon their eyes widened as they entered a large cavern in the limestone rock that made up the island. The roof must have collapsed at some point leaving sunlight streaming into the cavern, and tropical flowers dotted the area. But more importantly, about ten feet in front of them was a small beach of sorts, and the cavern itself was filled with crystal clear, deep blue water. Walking up to it, Harry looked around before shaking his head, "What is this place...?"

As Shinano nodded in agreement to the question, Regina smiled a bit, "The water comes from an underground mineral spring. There's all sorts of minerals in the water and the like. And, even better, the water's nice and cool with it not being too deep."

Softly smiling back, the Yamato shook her head, "This place is beautiful, Regina-Chan. Really beautiful..." At the bright expression from Regina, she hummed a bit, "Any rules?"

When Regina shook her head, Harry chuckled some and grinned, "Well, guess that there is only one thing to do..." At their looks, he jerked his thumb at the water before taking off his shirt, "And that is go swimming."

Moments later, he was joined by Shinano who shrugged off her shorts. Entering the water, the shipgirl's eyebrows raised, "The water really is cooler... and I can feel the minerals in it."

Joining her, Regina swam along until turning so that she can face her friend, "Well, I did say that it was a nice place. And sometimes I like to come here and swim when I need time to think."

In reply, Shinano came up to her and gave her friend a hug, "Thank you for showing us this, Regina-Chan." Kissing the Re-Class on the cheek, she bashfully smiled, "Thank you."

Just seconds later Harry appeared behind the Abyssal and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "And consider this a thanks from me as well."

Cheeks blazing red, Regina sunk down into the water until her nose touched the surface as steam slowly rose from her head.

Unable to help himself, the thirteen year old chuckled before gently patting her head. Lips twitching into a smile as she looked at him, Harry turned his attention to Shinano before diving under the water. The Carrier glanced at him before turning back to Regina... right before Harry burst from the water and glomped her, "I got you, Shinano-Chan!"

With a loud "Eep", said shipgirl tumbled backwards into the water as a cackling teen swam away. Bursting from the water, Shinano huffed before glaring and brushing her hair from her eyes. Then she began to swim after him with a grin, "I'm going to get you, Harry-Chan!"

Performing a breaststroke, Harry grinned all the wider, "Just try it, Shinano-Cha-gah!"

It was then his turn to yelp as Regina had come up from below and yanked him under. As the Re-Class surfaced a few feet from the sputtering wizard, Shinano grinned and held up her hand. The two then did a fist bump before turning around... just in time to get a splash of water to the face. As it ended, Regina gave him a flat look, "You do realize that this means war..."

Only making a bring it motion with his hand, the thirteen year old smirked... and regretted it as Regina used her tail to splash him. He just managed to resurface as Shinano cupped her hands behind her with a grin, "Yamato Style... Kame... hame..."

Eyes widening, Harry raised a finger, "Uh, Shinano-Chan? That won't wor-"

Unfortunately, that was when Shinano finished and thrust her hands forward, "HA!"

Any sort of argument Harry had was ended before it begun by the massive wall of water that washed over him.

Yet again, the Re-Class and the Yamato looked at each other with a nod of respect before performing a fist bump. Needless to say, it did not take Harry long to give up his attempts at dislodging the two of them from where they were... and many, many dunkings via splashes on his part. It also left his two opponents giggling madly each time. Something that made him pout, increasing their giggles and blushes.

Soon enough though, peace returned to the cavern and the three began to swim in the cool, mineral rich blue waters.

Feeling a weight on her back at one point when she was standing in some shallow water (well, for her), Shinano looked over to find that Harry was hugging her from behind. Giggling, she shook her head, "What are you doing, Harry-Chan?"

There was an amused look on Harry's face as he answered with his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his legs around her waist, "Just relaxing a bit, swimming can be tiring after all."

Giggles escaped from the Yamato as she shook her head, "True enough, Harry-Chan."

Pushing off the bottom of the pool, she began to swim, not bothered in the slightest by the weight on her back. Just sighing, Harry laid his head against her shoulder blades, 'Now this is nice...'

Besides the swimming, the group took various pictures. One of them had Harry between Shinano and Regina, with all three giving victory signs. The late afternoon continued to pass as they swam and soon, the Sun began to set outside. Noticing the gathering twilight, Shinano frowned, "We should be going back."

Regina chewed her lip a bit before shaking her head, "Um, can we wait some?" At their confusion, she motioned around them, "This place is, um... nice, at night."

Eyebrow raised, Shinano glanced at Harry who thought it over before he gave a slow nod, "I guess that would be okay? Though... is there a easy path back to the beach so that we can head back to your home?"

Very rapidly, the Re-Class nodded, "There is actually, it's a straight path through the woods back to the shoreline. I just, well..." She poked her fingers together with a small blush, "I took the long way around to show you more."

Placing her hand on her friend's shoulder, Shinano smiled, "I don't think that either I or Harry-Chan can complain much about that, Regina-Chan. This has been a nice day after all." As Regina relaxed, the Carrier turned to Harry, "Right?"

Hands behind his head, Harry chuckled, "Right." He then shrugged some, "Anyways... Big Sister isn't going to let the storms come until a bit later, so we got time." Internally, he was intrigued, 'I wonder what Regina meant by it being nice at night...'

Roughly two hours later he got his answer.

From the hole in the cavern roof, moonlight gently streamed in as the stars above twinkled and shone. The moonlight danced on the waves, casting pale reflections on the walls as the water seemed to gently glow. On the ceiling and walls as well, florescent moss and lichens softly glowed, while fireflies danced here and there through the air, weaving trails. Harry, who had been to Hogwarts and other such places, could only look with a dropped jaw, "It's... beautiful... magical even."

Sitting beside him with her legs drawn up, Regina looked around in wonder, "I was here once and fell asleep and woke up after dark to see... this. It was so beautiful..." Her voice was soft, as if speaking too loudly would break the spell. Reaching out, fireflies danced around her hand, "Magical even..." Turning, she looked at Shinano and Harry, "I wanted... I wanted to share this with you."

A few moments passed as Harry watched her before reaching over and gently taking her hand in his, "Thank you."

_______________________________________________________

The three took one final, slow swim in the moonlit waters of the cave before heading back to where Regina's home was. Only stopping to get some food, they made it just in time as the thunderstorms that Wanko had held back over the day finally broke over the island. Sitting on Regina's porch as the rain thundered down, Shinano chewed on a piece of fried breadfruit, "This is really nice."

Beside her, Harry gave a nod as he finished off the last of the satay, "And the food is good as well."

Giggles escaped from Regina as she smiled at him, "Of course it is." Standing up, she held a finger, "Give me just one moment..." A few minutes later, the Abyssal returned with mugs filled with tea that both Shinano and Harry accepted gratefully. Sitting down once more, Regina looked on as the storm raged on, "I liked the past two days..."

With a happy hum, Shinano nodded her agreement, "I also liked today, it was... really nice." Sighing, she kicked one leg out into the rain and let the warm water cascade over it, not realizing that Harry was looking at it, "But tomorrow morning we need to get back home."

Stretching, the thirteen year old groaned a bit, "Yeah, but we can always use my time turner if needed to go back some when we get back home to Yokosuka." Looking out at the rain, he tilted his head to the side, "I haven't heard any thunder... are the thunderstorms done?"

Just tapping her chin, Regina sent a message to the "Weather Abyssal", One of the older ones who were obsolete even at the beginning of the war, who answered back, "Yes, the thunderstorms have passed."

For his part, Harry gave a nod before tossing his shirt off and walking out into the rain which soaked him. Seeing that, Shinano's eyes widened, "Harry-Chan! What are you doing?!"

Throwing his hands wide, Harry closed his eyes and looked up before shaking his head, "Just enjoying a nice, tropical shower." A grin on his face, he held out his hand to them, "Want to join me?"

A few seconds passed as the two girls blinked at him before looking at each other. Eyebrow raised, Shinano shook her head, "That is pretty crazy..." She then grinned and got up before walking into the rain, it soaking her clothes and revealing her swimsuit slightly, "But fun!"

Unable to help herself, Regina giggled and then joined the other two as the warm, tropical rain poured down. Brushing sodden hair from his forehead, Harry grinned up at them, "Heh, now this is what I call fun." After a moment of thought, he grabbed Shinano's hand and Regina's before pulling them into a dance, "Oh, we're dancing in the rain~"

Laughter could be heard echoing from the area almost immediately after and when the storm ended and the clouds broke revealing the starry night sky, the three dried off before sitting on the porch and looking up into the sky as shooting stars began to fill it. Both Regina and Shinano, as well as Harry who they were leaning against, had watched the streaks of light in the heavens. Watching as he closed his eyes, the Carrier smiled before whispering, "What did you wish for?"

Harry looked at her and smiled before tapping his nose, "That would be telling and then it would not come true."

It was not long after that the three of them retired to bed with Shinano laying on it in her shorts and swimsuit, shirt hung nearby. On top of her, Harry laid with his head on her chest with Regina having her head on Shinano's shoulder and tail across Harry. All of them had smiles on their faces, which continued the next day as the wizard and shipgirl returned to Yokosuka, using the time turner once there to turn back the clock two hours so that Shinano had time to shower and get ready for Yamato and the others.

But for the whole time... the same thoughts went through all three's mind besides the fact that it would be two days, or one in the case of Shinano, that they would always remember...

And that it was wonderful.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N.-This one really fought me, but it's back!

Courtship Display X

Yokosuka Naval Base
Spoiler: A Chat Between Old Friends

Kiho Mitsue felt like humming as she entered the base beauty shop and spa. Unconsciously, her thumb found the ring that was now on her finger and gently caressed it as she once again thought of what it meant for her.

That she had found a good man who had taken hits from life as he traveled the same lonely street that she had. That something, fate or the kami or karma or blind luck had touched her life to have her meet someone who understood her in so many ways since he too had known what it was like to endure and push forward when the world battered you to the ground over and over again. That he had even risked his life to save her from a terrible fate; killing a Nundu bare-handed.

She smiled like a kitsune in a peanut butter factory as she finished her thoughts. Dalt was hers now.

"Kiho-chan?"

A very familiar voice sounded from her right and she looked over, staring in shock. "Miu-chan, what are you doing here?"

The purple haired crane Hanyo chuckled. "I was about to ask you the same thing, Kiho-chan. I came here for a massage since I'm sore after kyudo practice."

Kiho blinked twice. "Oh, I came for a haircut. And I don't recall you studying kyudo."

Miu smiled. "It is recent. The other carriers asked me to join them, and I seem to have picked up a knack for it."

Kiho's jaw dropped. "Other carriers? Wait, you're a Natural-Born?"

Miu preened and touched one of her winglike hair tufts. "Among other things, yes. Tell you what, I'll buy a spa trip for you too and we can discuss it in the massage room." One of her lookouts waved at her captain. "Wait, that ring?"

Kiho's face was lit up by her answering smile as she extended her hand for Miu to admire her engagement ring. "Chief Longstreet proposed to me. I can see we really need to catch up. Ahh, do your parents know that you are a shipgirl?"

Miu smiled and moved over on the waiting room couch. "Oh yes! They all came to see Akimi and I Awaken."

"Akimi's a shipgirl too!?" Kiho started to laugh helplessly as she sat down.

"What's so funny, Kiho-chan?" Miu asked with a birdlike cocking of her head.

"I'll tell you in private, Miu-chan. Well as much as I can without violating my professional ethics." Kiho responded after her laughter stopped. "It is wrapped up in my engagement story."

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

As the two soaked in a hot mineral pool to prepare them for the planned massage, Kiho pulled out her wand and began to scribe privacy wards. Miu nodded and followed suit.

"So, what is so important to put up privacy wards?" Miu asked with a sigh as she sank a little lower into the steaming water.

Kiho gasped at the sensation of heat opening her pores. "My last job was for a senior member of the Civil Service. His grandson had fallen for a young lady here on base who is a Natural-Born shipgirl, although unawakened right now too. Basic background and suitability check."

Miu nodded slowly as she ran through the list of unawakened Natural-Born shipgirls on base and compared it to the SGO shipping channel. "Ibuki-san?"

Kiho's lips twitched. "I can neither confirm nor deny that on grounds of professional ethics. But my client, whose grandson is rotting my teeth with his antics with his girlfriend, was rather interested in the fact that she is a Natural-Born along with being what she is."

Miu sniffed through her sharp nose. "I imagine so. Ah, that could be problematic especially since I and Akimi-chan... ahh. you remember how upset Akimi-chan was about not being like her mother and maternal grandfather?"

Kiho nodded. "Yes, I do. Wait. You don't mean?"

Miu's feathery hair-tufts flapped. "Two tails."

"You're kidding!" Kiho's jaw dropped as Miu crowed at her stunned expression. "That's... that's... impossible! The Diet will have kittens!!"

Miu cackled, "You don't know the half of it. She's the spirit of Yamatai now. I'm pretty sure that she plans to make a statement by her service to the nation to throw that in the teeth of everyone who gave her shit over her family's actions."

Kiho pinched herself then yelped in pain. "I'm not dreaming. Yamatai... wait, her grandfather...?"

Miu sobered, "Is on board her, yes. She had a very long conversation with him and she is accepting a few things that hurt her in the past. He seems to be good for her psyche now that she can say what she always wanted to say and get the answers about why he did what he did."

Kiho smiled happily and reached over to squeeze Miu's hand. "That is wonderful news, and I will have to congratulate her when she gets off duty. Anyway, my former employer gave me a bonus for that information about a certain Natural-Born and the implications of that and plans to share it with some of his colleagues both here and in Kyoto to reevaluate certain laws."

Miu nodded. "I plan to have dinner with my family soon. I must inquire, the grandson...?"

"Is named for his grandfather if your family wishes to congratulate them on the upcoming marriage once the young lady's sister Awakens. I still have his number if contact needs to be made." Kiho said with a sigh as she felt her muscles unknot.

Miu smiled at the unspoken words. "Now, to more important things." She dismissed the privacy wards.

"Hai. Did you grow a cup size recently? I don't recall you being that top-heavy. Busty yes, but not that curvy." Kiho asked curiously.

Miu groaned. "Yes. My Awakening had some... side effects. I'm still trying to decide if there is some good in it. My balance has been slightly off ever since and on top of that I had to do some emergency shopping for larger shipgirl-rated bras at the store here such as what Atago wears. Which was absurdly expensive I might add! On the other hand, I'm getting the attentions of a lot of single men, and a few attached men as well. Almost as many as I did when were were in school and the Puberty Kami blessed me."

"I hate you," Kiho said without any heat in her voice.

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

Yokosuka Suratsu Suwa Elementary School
Spoiler: Nest Stop, The Onsen!

Hachiko nodded to Suzume as he walked Aki to the main gate. "Thank you again for handling him so I can visit the onsen with Moriko-chan, Suzume-san."

The Okami Natural-Born smiled. "It is nothing and makes up for the fuss which I was responsible for on your first date. Sachiko-chan and I will be happy to watch over him."

"I'll see you soon, Tou-san!" Aki hugged his big brother and dashed into school with the energy of a nine-year-old.

Suzume continued. "He really is a good boy."

Hachiko nodded and took off his glasses to wipe his eyes. "Hai, he is and I am so very proud of him. Normally on Fridays he goes to Kyudo at the Hachimangu in Kamakura, but Tokunotakai-sensei is on vacation."

Suzume smiled. "Don't worry, I can get him into the kyudo range on base and Houshou-sensei will be happy to instruct an earnest young kyudoka such as him."

She turned to Hachiko and her smile faded slightly. "Hachiko-kun. If you and my big sister," Suzume blushed crimson as they walked to the parking lot where the rented minivan that would carry him and Moriko on the onsen trip waited, "if you enjoy each other's company, please be gentle and kind with Moriko-chan. She loves you very very much and is still a young lady under the toughness."

Hachiko blushed in turn. "I know, and I would never hurt her. I promised my Aunt and Grandfather not to go too far until they gave their approval for our marriage, which I have not gotten yet." His face clouded. "I have experienced with my parents the price of infidelity and not setting appropriate boundaries and I would sooner die than hurt Moriko-chan so."
Spoiler: Hachiko's Devotion

Suzume smiled in relief. "Good. Moriko-chan is..." She paused and clearly weighed her next words carefully, "I will not say that she wishes to be dominated, but she wishes to have an equal partner who can take the strain of leadership of our little pack off her shoulders. Someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with her. Be honest with her and trust her Hachiko-kun."

The Inugami Hanyo nodded to himself as he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "Be honest with her. I shall strive for that, and once we have privacy I plan to have a long chat with her. Trusting her is easy."

He stared at his girlfriend as she hugged her younger sister Sachiko with tears in their eyes as they prepared to separate for the three day onsen trip that he and she would go on. He whispered to himself as Suzume hastened ahead to join her sisters. "Trusting her is easy. Having the courage to tell her the truth about my heritage is hard."

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

Sherri slumped onto the couch with a heavy sigh, her arms and legs aching after a day of work. "Oof… so tired…" she groaned. "Never felt this worn out before…"

Carrie collapsed in the chair next to her twin, wringing her hands. "How many trees did we pull up again, just the two of us? Thirty seven?"

"Thirty-eight."

"Thirty-eight trees…" Carrie wheezed. "Our cranes were made to haul tons of steel. Why was this so tiring?"

Facedown on the couch, Sherri made a halfhearted attempt at a shrug. "Maybe we're just out of practice? We've consciously made ourselves more 'girl' than 'ship' for the past few years now."

"A fair point." Carrie let herself have a small grin. "But at least we're helping the rest of our fleet. It shouldn't be too long before the path to the hot spring is clear… and then we'll really get to enjoy the fruits of our labor."

"Amen…" the other Ri-class raised a fist upward in agreement.

In just a few minutes, the twins were out like a light… so it was, that Sunny stopped by the cabin to check on the pair, and discovered them fast asleep where they lay. Seeing her baby sisters having some well-earned rest after a day of work, the Demon couldn't help but smile softly… but a part of her noted their less-than-ideal crash spots. This wouldn't do.

Stepping in quietly, Sunny gently picked up each Ri-class and placed them on her shoulders. Sisters in tow, she tiptoed out of the cabin and made her way towards the barn, where the destroyers were also beginning to settle down for the night. Coming into the wide open interior, Sunny found a nice, roomy spot in the hay that covered the floor, and put Carrie and Sherri down. Finally, she clicked her tongue, alerting the drowsy puppies to the new presence.

Seeing a pair of larger ships now sleeping in their midst, the sleepy destroyers began to shuffle closer, gathering around them. Carefully, they nudged and moved the cruisers, sliding under their back, nuzzling against their sides, and resting on their feet. In a matter of minutes the cuddlepile was complete, with each girl snuggled in the middle of at least half a dozen destroyers… and neither of them were roused from their slumber even once, pacified by the aura of comfort and protectiveness growing around them.

It ended up being one of the best night's sleep Carrie and Sherri had had in a long while.

XXXXXXXXXX

Clunk—vrrrrrrrrrrr…

Clunk—vrrrrrrrrrrr…

Clunk-click.

Narrowing her eyes at the breaker that had tripped moments after being flipped on, Nuri hummed thoughtfully, before turning on her radio. "Millie, dear, there's an electrical issue in the…" she checked the breaker's faded label, trying to match it against the O'mega's schematics. "...lower deck, crew cabin seven."

{Still!?"} The exasperation in her daughter's voice was evident. {I've gone over every socket and light fixture in that room twice, now!}

"You may want to check inside the walls, then. Take a socket plate off the wall, and send some of your crew into the hole to search for the problem."

There was a sigh on the other end. {Alright…}

Satisfied, Nuri shifted her focus. "Ritou, how's the work on propulsion?"

{It could be better,} came the terse reply. {On the bright side, if this actually works, she should be able to make twenty knots easily.}

"If?"

{Hey, jury-rigging a turbo-electric system into a diesel-powered ship is not a simple process. I don't know if failure will just make the system conk out, or if this shit will explode in my face.}

Nuri smirked. "Just more incentive to get it right the first time, then."

By this point, the Abyssals had invested quite a bit of time and effort into this ship, working to turn her from a derelict wreck into something seaworthy. The hull above the waterline was more or less restored—fresh steel plating, new windows, and the layer of aluminum oxide on the superstructure scrubbed away; the whole shebang was painted a nice matte-black with white detailing, to match up with its new owners. The interior, meanwhile, just needed some minor touching up (most notably, scrubbing out all the bloodstains and clearing out the mildew) to look nice again. The electrical system was almost fully operational, with only a few bad circuits remaining—which she and Millie were currently correcting now.

That just left propulsion… which was a much bigger problem than they had originally anticipated.

They ended up spending over three weeks just trying to redraw the ship's blueprints to incorporate their beefier Abyssal propulsion system, while maintaining as much of the original structure as possible. It might have been possible to repair or replace the ship's original diesel engines with the help of their blueprints, but unfortunately, the documents the Fleet of Laughter had received when they got official ownership of the Omega did not include schematics for the ship's Yanmar-made engines… protecting intellectual property, Grandma Nagato explained. Thus, with no blueprints to reconstruct the engines, and no physical samples to attempt to reverse-engineer them, the girls had to go to Plan B: replace the system entirely using something they knew.

Now, however, if all went well, the ship would be ready to sail to Japan for the finishing touches within a week. They couldn't wait.

Suddenly, Nuri became aware of another presence in the room. She glanced over to see an uncommon sight: a ghostly, black-skinned being with a faint red glow, dressed up in a dark version of a naval officer's uniform. A manifested imp, who at the moment seemed to be looking at everything in the room, and scribbling things down on a clipboard in his clawed hands.

"Hey there…" Nuri spoke up, getting the imp's attention. The moment the trooper realized he was in front of a Demon, he immediately stood at attention. "Could you identify yourself, and explain what you're doing down here?"

"M'lady," the phantasmal imp greeted Nuri with a curt nod. "Ragos Bloodsong, executive officer for the Abyssal battleship Regalia."

"At ease." As the Abyssal officer relaxed, Nuri tilted her head, surprised. "So you're one of Regalia's crew? I thought she was with Mother today?"

The imp held up the clipboard. "The boss lady left me and some others here to observe progress on this ship's refit in her absence, take notes for her to go over on her return."

"Oh… I see." Nuri gave the officer a small smile. "In that case… as you were, XO Bloodsong." Giving one last nod of acknowledgement, the imp departed, leaving Nuri alone in the breaker room again to keep testing the electrical circuits.

After a few minutes, a thought suddenly occurred to her…

Wait a minute… Regalia dispatched her XO? Will she be alright without him present?

XXXXX

"Regalia's belly is making noises. Is Regalia hungry?"

"Huh? Oh, oh yeah, it's lunchtime, isn't it…? Sorry, Grandma. Haven't had anything to eat all day."

"…"

"..."

"Uh, Regalia?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Err… I don't know. Should I want something to eat? It's a little hard for me to tell—I soooooorta sent off my XO to handle something else back home while I'm here—"

"You WHAT!?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hitting the mat hard, Hedwig rolled and came to her feet before lashing out with a kick that was blocked. Another kick though swept her feet out from under her and set her back to the mat again. Just as she was about to get back to her feet, she paused at the foot that was inches from her face. Slowly, it was retracted to show a smiling girl not much older then fourteen, "Not bad, Hedwig. You're really improving a lot."

She then held out a hand that Hedwig took and got back onto her feet. The transformed owl gave her a nod, "Thank you, Teacher."

With a laugh, the girl put her hands behind her head, "Call me Amick, Hedwig. Especially as all this is informal."

For her part though, Hedwig shook her head, "No, I will not." She turned fierce eyes into the smaller girl and frowned, "You are teaching me and so I will give you respect." Then, suddenly, the familiar smirked, "At least during the times that you are teaching me."

Rather than be insulted, Amick laughed, "That's good to hear." She then wagged a finger at Hedwig, "At least you don't get all huffy when I kick your ass around the mat."

Simply shrugging, the owl shook her head, "You are teaching me and that is what matters." Accepting the sports drink handed to her, she took a great gulp of it, "Which I am thankful for."

Only shaking her head, the Destroyer-Escort snorted, "And I'm thankful that you want me to teach you. Not too many people want to learn Sikaran after all." Taking a sip of her own sports drink, she sighed, "The Japanese have their own native arts and Americans? They want to learn the more common ones like Karate or boxing. So I'll admit that I was surprised when you showed up asking me to teach you."

Turning to her, Hedwig frowned before raising a hand, "As an owl, I use my wings for flying. It is my talons that do the killing."

Eyebrow raised, Amick looked at Hedwig's legs. While they were currently the usual gi for martial arts, she had seen them bare. Toned and muscled was one way of describing them. Part of her always did wonder about how powerful a kick they could make... even as another part could not help but find them nice legs.

In the present though, she shook her head, "True, owls kill with their talons. So it makes sense for you to specialize in kicking. And considering how your legs can look..."

A smirk crossed Hedwig's face as she brought up her foot, which transformed into a giant owl's talons, "I think that I could do some damage with this."

That got her a snort of amusement from Amick, "No shit. Brutal would be putting it mildly, especially for a pamatay." With another sip of her drink, she shook her head, "Reminds me of this one fight with a Tsu. It was in close, so I used a biakid kick."

For a moment, the transformed owl furrowed her eyebrows before nodding, "The spinning heel kick in a punching position which is aimed at the back of the head." At the amused look, the owl had an eyebrow raised, "I remember you showing it when I first came to be taught from you."

Chuckling, Amick shook her head, "And I remember your look. Never seen someone so amazed by a kick or wanting to learn how so bad." Waving a hand, she hummed, "Anyways, the back of my foot is where my screws are when I have my rigging out. So you can imagine what happened..."

Voice dry, Hedwig snorted, "It was a bit of a mess, I presume."

Widely grinning, the Destroyer-Escort snickered, "You could say that. One of my sisters turned green and puked." Her grin fading, she shrugged, "But yeah, I don't mind teaching you." A small smile appeared on Amick's face, "It honestly is sort of fun to teach someone who wants to learn."

Hedwig hummed a bit as she took another sip of sports drink, "And I am happy to learn it." Becoming thoughtful, she gave Amick an inquisitive look, "I have wondered why you teach me though..."

Glancing at her, Amick was silent for a few seconds, "Why? Pretty simple really, because you wanted to learn."

Confused, the Familiar furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean by that? Of course I wanted to learn."

Now turning her full attention to Hedwig, Amick shook her head, "You wanted to learn. Not because it was cool looking to kick some guy in the head like Chuck Norris. Rather, you wanted to learn to both improve yourself and become better at protecting those that you care about. That is something that I can respect and do, especially as I am a Destroyer-Escort, it is in my very steel. So... it is my honour to pass what I know onto you. Because I know that you would use it properly."

Leaning forward, Hedwig frowned, "I know that some shipgirls are good at martial arts... none of them have come to you?"

Only shaking her head, the shipgirl chuckled, "No, like I said, most go for the more common martial arts or to perfect those that their crews knew. Most shipgirls practice until they're good at those martial arts. Some of us take it further. Yuudachi-San's sister, Shigure, for example. She's mastered the styles her crew knew and learned new ones. Girl's the equivalent to a blackbelt in several different styles and moderate in others." Rubbing her chin, Amick frowned, "All because she wants to be able to protect Fusou, Yamashiro, and her friends. When it came up at a tournament that we ran, Shigure-San told me that she was never going to run again." A laugh then burst from her, "Then, she proceeded to kick my ass all over the mat. Actually went on to win the tournament despite facing a Battleship in it, though next time..."

Seeing her teacher clench her fist, Hedwig felt herself smile. After all, she was really lucky that the shipgirl was willing to teach her. Finishing off her sports drink, she got up, "Should we resume, Teacher?"

However, Amick shook her head, "No, that is enough for one day. Time to do some cool down stretches."

To that, Hedwig gave a nod and began to do so beside the Destroyer-Escort, the shipgirl's mind went back several weeks earlier...

*******

Feeling the tap on the shoulder, Amick looked over at Sammy B, "Yeah, Sammy? What's going on?"

Just smiling, the "Destroyer-Escort who fought like a Battleship" jerked her thumb towards the door, "There's someone here to see you." At the confused look, Sammy B shook her head, "Johnston sent her over here because she's looking for a martial arts teacher specializing in kicks. So Johnston suggested you."

At hearing that, Amick sighed a bit, but still stood, "Fine, let's go see what she wants... though what can you tell me, Sammy?"

Her fellow Destroyer-Escort gave her a small smile, "Well... you might have trouble believing this, but remember Hedwig, Harry's owl?" Getting a nod, Sammy continued, "He did some sort of magic ritual thingy and made her his familiar. Which lets her take human form."

One second passed and then another as Amick digested that. Finally, she gave Sammy a look of pure confusion, "Wait, wait, wait... say what now? Harry did what? And his owl can do what now?"

Utterly amused at the reaction, Sammy shrugged, "Harry did a ritual which let's his owl take human form. Weird, but cool."

Needless to say that she was more than a little certain that she was being put on. Just the same, Amick walked to the door and opened it. On the other side was a young woman who had golden eyes and either black hair with white speckles or white hair with black speckles. However, Amick took note of something else.

Mainly that the young woman in front of her had barely any body fat on her and was mostly toned muscle.

Before she could continue her examination, the woman blinked and looked down at her before speaking in an accent that one of Amick's crew recognized as being Welsh, "You're the one named Amick?"

Frowning, Amick gave a small nod, "DE-168, Amick at your service. How can I help?" Internally, she waited as she knew what would come next, 'Here it comes...'

Hedwig blinked a bit before nodding and bowing slightly, "My name is Hedwig Potter and... I wish to learn from you the martial art known as Sikaran."

Eyebrows raising, the shipgirl noted that there was nothing but respect and curiosity as well as hidden hope that was in the golden eyes looking at her. No derision or dismay as she was expecting and had gotten before. After all, looking like a young teenage girl, more than a few of the adults she had met and talked to about martial arts would be dismissive of her due to her apparent youth. But this young woman, owl or not...

Moving aside, Amick gestured for Hedwig to come inside.

Once they were inside, the shipgirl motioned the transformed owl to the couch before heading to the fridge and opening it, "Anything in particular that you want to drink, Miss Hedwig?"

Rather amused, Hedwig chuckled, "Just Hedwig, please. And also a cola, if you have one."

Grabbing a can, Amick nodded before tossing it to Hedwig, who caught it in midair easily, 'Hmm... very good hand to eye coordination.' As she sat down, she gave the other female a raised eyebrow, "Are you really Harry's owl?"

Not saying anything as she popped the tab, she only spread wings that appeared on her back, "I'm not sure." Head tilted to the side, Hedwig smirked a bit at the shocked look as she flapped her wings some, "But perhaps if that is what they say."

Simply giving her a look, Amick snorted, "Well, that answered my question." Taking a sip of her drink, she gave Hedwig her full attention, "If I may ask, why do you want to learn from me?"

Much to her bemusement, Hedwig seemed confused by her question, "Why do I want to learn how to fight from you?"

With a slow nod, the shipgirl set down her drink, "Yeah, why do you want to learn from me. Some people seem to think that they can learn cool shit with Sikaran, like from some Shonen magazine. Others? They figure that they can impress people since it is not a common martial art." Eyes narrowing, she fixed the familiar with a look that was evenly met, "Why do you want to learn?"

For almost a minute, Hedwig was silent. Then, she set her own drink down and looked Amick in the eye, "My Master, Harry, has taken good care of me. But now with how I am, I can finally protect him as I have wished. To fight alongside him if needed, something that would have been hard, if not impossible, before. And there are..." A far off look came over her face before her expression hardened, "There are other reasons that are private."

While curious about those reasons, Amick simply let it lie and nodded her head, "I see. But there are other martial artists that you could have asked. Inazuma-San or Ikazuchi-San are quite accomplished at Aikido, for example and are currently teaching your Master. Sergeant Mathewson is an a very good boxer. Fubuki-San is good at Karate and Judo as another example. So... why me?"

It seemed that the question caught Hedwig off guard as she blinked for a moment or two, "Why you?"

Humming, the shipgirl leaned forward, "Yes, why me?"

Rather than answer right away, Hedwig instead gathered her thoughts together. Finally, she looked up and met Amick's gaze, "I am an owl, despite looking like a human. When us owls fight, when we kill, we do not use our wings to do so. We use our feet, our talons." Holding out a hand, she continued, "At times we may beat our wings over something, but we prefer not to for that could injure them, stop us from flying. Which would mean our deaths." Turning back, the owl continued, "I have tried to learn how to 'Throw a punch', but it does not feel right to me. Kicking does, and I asked around and was told by Johnston that you are good at such and can teach how."

Amick considered what she had just been told and what she might do. She could not deny the fact that she was a pleased by the fact that Johnston recommended her, because she was very pleased. It spoke of a lot of acknowledgement from the Destroyer. Every so often, Amick took a sip of her drink as she thought it over.

Finally, she gave a nod to Hedwig, "Very well, you have yourself a deal." Reaching across the table, the two shook hands, "Just understand that this is not an formal thing, my crew members who know it were taught by their parents, relatives, and elders in their villages."

Just shrugging, Hedwig blinked, "That does not matter as that was how such things were taught before."

Eyebrow raised, the shipgirl simply nodded in agreement.

*********

Having finished their cool down exercises, Amick and Hedwig stood up. The shipgirl took their cans and crushed them between her hands before eating them. After all, they were made of steel and a growing shipgirl needed such in her diet!

Stretching, she nodded towards the nearby showers, "Let's hit the showers before anything else. I want to get all the sweat off me."

With a scoff, Hedwig gave her a look, "What sweat? You beat me without breaking one."

Lips curling into a smirk, Amick chuckled, "Your sweat, of course. I got it all over me during our lesson. Don't want to come out of here smelling of sweaty owl after all."

Rolling her eyes, the Familiar gave a huff. Minutes later as they entered the showers, Hedwig glanced at Amick, "So how well have I done?"

With a hum, Amick gave the other woman a nod after looking at her, "You've done pretty well actually and have all the basics down pat. Not too surprising as we've been doing this about three times a week minimum for a few hours. Which means, of course, we can move on and I can start you on some other stuff. But all told? I'm happy with how you've done and looking forward to teaching you more."

Understanding what was meant, Hedwig only smiled and nodded as she was proud of herself. Not just for learning it, though that was part of it. But also because of what it meant.

That no longer would she be as helpless as she was to help and protect those she cared for.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Butterknife Mountie Deals With Loose Ends

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Wei Ying stepped out of the Vanishing Cabinet connecting Colombe's ancestral house to the de Breuil estate in upstate New York, and from there to Grandfather Norimune's farm in Japan. One hand protectively clutched the oversized purse that she had slung over her shoulder.

She shook her head as she walked out of the room containing the covert transport system into the hall. While she was not unfamiliar with undercover and covert operations in her career as an ICW Auror and a Royal Canadian Magical Mounted Police Officer, this kind of secrecy was one for the record books. Her lips quirked as she thought about her plan to clear her father Colombe's legal troubles by working the system of the ICW and arranging for charges to be plead down and dropped in advance. Which would start as soon as Colombe was able to get around without needing a wheelchair.

Her smile at the irony of the covert way she was insuring true justice was served widened as she saw the frame of a massive African axe tsukumogami coming down the stairs with a large trunk on one shoulder. "Hello Kasuyu, have you seen Colombe? Oh, and where is everyone else?" She said warmly.

The axe gave her a nod. "The Mistress is in the library along with Toku. Miho is assisting me in moving furnishings down from the attic to prepare your room here at the castle. The children are in the ballroom being watched by Claire, and Ehren is in London on business."

Ying blinked, "I... see. Thank you very much, Kasuyu. Where is the library?"

Faintly a series of piano notes rocketing up and down in an intricate melody resounded from downstairs and the axe grimaced.
Spoiler: Claire's Worried

"Down the hall that way to the corner. Take the door on your right into the tower room. The Mistress will either be there or down the stairs in the lower library." He then rumbled a sigh. "Claire is... troubled. Ehren had to be deputized to tend to business that could not wait in London, and is on her own for the first time. The two have been together since the day Ehren manifested and Claire prefers not to leave Moulbaix save to shop."

Ying stood on her tiptoes to squeeze Kasuyu's shoulder. "I understand. It is hard the first time close siblings must separate. For both sisters, especially when they build their lives around each other. After I speak to Mother, I shall seek out Claire and provide her company. Thank you for looking after my Younger Sisters."

The axe looked relieved at her words. He gave a sharp nod and a brief smile before responding in his deep smooth bass voice. "You are most welcome." He gave a deep laugh before continuing. "Looking after the Mistress has often been enough to make one lose his hair. Between the Mistress' habit of getting into trouble and her wonderful children's quirks, it is a miracle that I have any hair left!"

With that he shook his totally bald head as Ying chuckled and then shook her head at the joke with a wry smile. "Indeed. Perhaps after I speak to Father, I shall hunt you down and we can tell each other about particularly hair-raising stories over lunch. Still, we each have our duties to do."

With that Ying headed down the hall in the opposite direction from Kasuyu to the indicated library door.

Opening it, her eyes widened.

The octagonal room was filled with books on their shelves, alternating with scroll racks. Across from her on the far wall, a 17th century Flemish painting showing Minerva, the Roman goddess of Wisdom and the Nine Muses of classical art, science, and literature dominated the far wall.
Spoiler: Minerva and the Muses

From somewhere under her feet came the murmur of voices, and she threaded her way through the bookshelves, noticing how they were enchanted with protection and preservation spells for the contents before reaching the indicated stairs against the far wall

As she descended, she noticed with interest that there was a groove at waist height cut into the stone and inlaid with bronze teeth paralleling the stairs. I wonder what that is for? she asked herself. The answer appeared at the bottom of the stairs where a wood and leather chair with a hand crank for a gear that fit in the slot to move it up and down the steps rested at the end of the groove.
Spoiler: A du Chasteler Mystery

As Ying reached the chair and stepped off the stairs, Colombe looked up from the antique desk she was seated at where she was surveying old papers. Two paintings, with one being a portrait of a young blond haired man while the second was a nude of a beautiful young woman, were propped up nearby against a bookshelf. Past Colombe, Tokunotakai's head popped up from a corner where the Masamune had been looking through the contents of an envelope that she had pulled from a floor-to-ceiling grid of pigeonholes. with envelopes of various shapes and sizes stuffed in them.

"Bonjour Ying! I trust that you are well." Colombe smiled and pushed her wheelchair back from the desk with her good arm.

"Quite well, Father," the dao responded as she walked over. "What are you doing?"

Toku wandered over curiously with a manila folder in her hands as Colombe responded. "Investigating a minor family mystery."

Ying's eyebrows raised. "You do not say?" she asked with clear curiosity in her voice after she hugged Colombe.

"Hai." Toku responded as she handed the manila envelope to Colombe. "Jacklyn-san found those paintings of Co-chan's grandnephew and the mystery woman up in a locked chest in the attic."

Colombe nodded and flipped through the old letters inside the large envelope. "Oui. The young man is my grandnephew Raoul, Hippolyte's older brother, who died unexpectedly of violence while on business in Paris in July 1854." She scowled murderously, "I suspect that Hippolyte had something to do with it, I know that Hippolyte killed his parents by Dark Magic during a cholera epidemic in 1863."

Ying frowned and spoke with some disgust in her voice, "Delilah told me about him, a little, she called him an absolute monster. Which matches with what I read about him from the ICW's investigation of his murder."

Toku's eyes flashed and she spoke with steel-deep loathing. "Indeed so. He was sufficiently powerful and steeped in hatred that after Co-chan killed him in 1899 that his spirit manifested as an onryō. That festered in his old office and haunted Co-chan until I was able to deal with his grudge a month ago. Trust me when I say that the man was a monster and the world is a far better place now that he is gone." She hugged Colombe around the shoulders from behind and laced her fingers with those of the Rapier's free hand.

Ying blinked and spoke slowly, "That is a Japanese term for... vengeful ghost, yes? I do not know much more about them, to be honest. My experiences with the supernatural were predominantly with those native to Canada such as sasquach, loup-garou, and wendigo along with a few creatures from China."

Toku nodded. "It is. As a miko of Hachiman-dono, I was called upon to perform exorcisms and act as an intermediary with various spirits and ghosts during my time in the shrine. An onryō is formed when someone has sufficient malice and grudges to linger to seek vengeance upon the living. They are quite dangerous."

"I see. So, perhaps I can help with the mystery. What do we know?" Ying asked.

"Very little," Colombe responded, "I found a letter from Raoul to his father Julien Visart de Bocarmé dated April 3rd 1854 where he announced that he had met 'a wonderful and gay young lady working as an artist's model for Msr. Gustave Courbet' when he came by to commission the portrait which we had. From my experiences in France several decades before and afterward, Christine might have in addition been a femmes galantes or lorette who also offered more intimate services than merely showing her figure off for an artist. Certainly Raoul commissioned the painting that we have of her from Courbet before his death in July 1854, he was supposed to return to Paris and pay for the artwork that he had commissioned then. Courbet was a Realist, so this would have represented exactly what they looked like at the time of the painting."

Ying looked at the portrait closely and analytically. "The young lady is a Veela, is she not?"

Colombe nodded, "I think so. She certainly has the look of one and a community of Veela migrated from their natural Bulgaria to France during the Roman Empire. Papa hinted the French Malfoys may have had Veela blood in them, hence our blonde hair." She frowned as she continued with banked anger in her voice, "as you may guess, they were popular concubines, mistresses, and 'house servants' for wizards for centuries."

Colombe took a deep breath and spoke in a hushed voice. "I can personally attest that they existed in France a century before the painting was made. My wand's core was Veela hair, and there was a local businessman who supplied Veela 'entertainers' for the students and staff of Beauxbatons." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before continuing, "to my shame, I made use of his services on several occasions before I was expelled in 1724. I thought little of it then, save that it was my god-given right as an aristo to satiate my lusts with some of the 'gay young ladies' who were made available for my pleasure. Now, I know far better."

Ying spoke quietly, "We all make mistakes, Father. When we have privacy, I shall tell you of Hong Kong and my own great shame. I... spoke to Grandfather Norimune while in Japan yesterday. She, Great-Aunt Umitsubame, and Delilah all recommended that I tell you of that part of my past." The dao turned to the Masamune, "as well, I owe you an apology, Tokunotakai. My experiences during World War Two soured me on Japan and the Japanese, but I am led to believe by Delilah that you were innocent of the actions of your countrymen in China then. I shall try to not hold my prejudices against you."

Toku spoke with controlled tears in her voice, "I tried to stop my nation's slide into madness back then. I failed, and the shame of the failure is mine to bear. The Pacific War was very hard on my family, especially Fudo-nee. The young man that she loved dearly, and who was one of my greatest pupils in the art of the sword, fell in defense of Saipan leading his men in a charge. That is why she does what she does, she wishes to protect me from the pain that she endures from his memory."

Ying hesitantly hugged Toku as Colombe squeezed her hand gently. "That is understandable. Mother and I both miss my stepfather greatly. He was a very good man and treated me the same as my half-brothers and sisters despite being not just the child of another, but not pure-blood Chinese. Which brings me to one of the reasons for my visit."

Ying looked at Colombe. "I...." Her voice broke and she took a deep breath. "I hunted you down in large part to clear your name and right a grave injustice but also.... Father. I want you to speak to Mother. While she has told me repeatedly that what you had with her is long over and done with, I wish to at least have my parents be friends and not strangers."

Colombe tensed and took several deep breaths. She then turned her head to look into Toku's eyes. The Masamune gave her a small approving smile and a nod before kissing her on the lips. "I shall let Claire know that her big sister has arrived, Co-chan." she spoke serenely.

Colombe whispered "Thank you, To-chan" and then visibly braced herself before nodding to Ying.

Ying reached into her purse and pulled out two embroidered red silk bags, pulling the bronze dragon holder for her crystal ball from the first one, and then the fist-sized cloudy crystal ball from the second. She slotted them together and took a deep breath, visibly tensing as she sketched ideographs on the surface.

The ball clouded and then cleared to reveal a mature Chinese woman's face with a certain ageless mature beauty that the hints of silver in her midnight black hair merely accented. "Daughter, this is unexpected."

Ying smiled smugly. "Amah, as I said when I left you, A Mountie Always Gets Her Person. I did it!"

She stepped aside to allow Mei Yüying to see the nervous face of Colombe du Chasteler.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

It was still early in the morning and the school was quiet as Ellen Baker sat at her desk sipping her coffee and enjoying the silence. Soon enough, for the English teacher, it would end and she would have a class of noisy children. Not that she ever minded much, she threw herself into teaching and nothing made her feel better than to see smiling faces and such as she helped them through their problems. And the fact that she was one of the most liked teachers in the school also helped.

Not that she kept her teaching duties to just the school, either, as she helped teach various shipgirls as well as they were summoned afterschool. It was a small way that she helped out the war effort, and she was proud of it. And it was far better than coming home to an cold and empty, silent apartment-

Quickly, she shook off those thoughts and sighed as she looked at the Red Sox calendar on her desk. Placing the tablet that she was reading the news on, in particular her favorite team, she stared at the calendar silently. In particular, one date that was circled before sighing to herself as she felt the old, familiar ache in her heart before looking at the photograph on her desk, 'I miss you.'

Ellen was brought out of her melancholy thoughts as the door to her classroom opened and a head of messy hair poked in with another head of white hair below that one did much the same. Chuckling, she turned away from the photograph, "Harry, Hoppou, what are you doing here?" She then motioned at them, "Come in, come in you two."

Walking in, Harry had a smile on his face as he gave a small wave, "Good morning, Ms. Baker." He held up his hand to reveal the folder there, "I thought that I would drop off my schoolwork." The thirteen year old then looked down at Hoppou and chuckled, "And that I might as well drop my little sister off at school while I was at it."

Bemused, the English teacher took it and chuckled, "Well, at least you do it on time and it is good that you're willing to transport your little sister." Eyebrow raised, she gave him an inquiring look, "Though I do wonder why you are doing both the curriculum here and also at your school. That is rather odd after all."

Just shrugging, Harry shook his head, "There's reasons for it."

If anything, Ellen's eyebrow raised still further, "I'm sure." Opening the folder, she began to look through it, flipping the pages with a practiced eye, "Hmm...'" Hoppou's voice though caused the teacher to look up, "Sorry, Hoppou, what was that?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Hoppou placed her hands on the teacher's desk with a concerned frown, "Hoppou is wondering if Ms. Baker is okay? Because Ms. Baker feels and smells sad."

For several moments, the teacher did not say anything before looking at the photograph, "Just... thinking about some regrets and sadness. That is all..." Running a hand through her hair, she shook her head even as tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, "That's all..."

Glancing at the picture, which showed a younger Ellen alongside a Japanese man and two ten year olds, Harry slowly nodded, "Your children..."

Only taking a deep breath, Ellen released it, "That's right. Hard to believe that it has been several years since..." Gently, she picked up the picture and her a broken hearted smile on her face, "I met their father in Junior High, Ken's father had been transferred to the States to work at a Branch Office. We started working, me helping Ken with his English and him teaching me Japanese as a sort of... exchange, I suppose. I was fourteen when the two of us began to date. Two teenage sweethearts, you know?" Her gaze was far off, "When we were fifteen, nearly sixteen, we went to this party. Our parents dropped us off and talked with my friend's father who was there, so it was not like the whole thing was not being supervised... but then, he got a call from work and took off, leaving a bunch of teens alone and unsupervised."

Just wincing, Harry shook his head as he knew some of this, "Not a great idea..."

Chuckling, the teacher grinned wryly, "No, not a good idea. One of the Jocks at the local high school who were there left and came back with alcohol that he used to spike the punch without the rest of us knowing because he thought it would be funny." Ellen gave a small shrug, "Neither Ken or I remember much of the night, but... our parents were pissed. But not at us, but at the jock and my friend's dad. Nine months later, our little Eric and Samantha were born." Giving them a look, she smiled, "I chose their names as we weren't sure what would happen due to being teens, and likely would stay with me in any case." Shrugging, Ellen sighed a bit, "But... we stayed together, and Ken and I got married when we were eighteen before I continued my education to be a teacher. Both of us moved to Japan when I was twenty two with me as an English teacher and him following his father into the same company."

Quiet descended on them as Hoppou looked at the picture of a happy family, "But... you lost them."

Tears in her eyes, Ellen sniffled a bit, "Yeah, I did... when we came to Japan, the two of them made friends with another young girl, Sora Tsukuda." A chuckle escaped from her as she wiped her eyes, "Eric and Sora were two of a kind and you could tell she had a massive crush on him... and he had one on her. I would not have minded if they..." Shaking her head, the teacher sighed, "We were on a trip in the Izu Islands and they were about twelve and wanted to see Tori-Shima. It was just a short sightseeing trip, so Ken and I as well as Sora's parents let them... we didn't know that it was the first day of Blood Week. Two days later, I woke up in the hospital here in Yokosuka with Sora's parents missing. All Ken and I could remember was the shells falling and Sora's parents pushing us along. And swirling fire... I don't know. But... we've never seen our children since despite us searching." With another deep breath, she gave them both a brittle, heartbroken smile as tears dripped down her cheeks, "We miss them, so very much. I'm just glad that Ken is alive still, though often working hard, which I understand."

Reaching up, Hoppou gently patted her hand, "Hoppou... Hoppou can understand where Ms. Baker is coming from." There was a forlorn look on the Abyssal's face, "Hoppou lost many of her own daughters... and Hoppou is sorry that Abyssals like her hurt Ms. Baker by killing her children."

A hand on her shoulder made Hoppou look up to find the teacher looking at her, "No, not like Hoppou." She pulled the smaller being into a hug, "Not like you at all, Hoppou. Don't ever think that." Pulling back, Ellen patted Hoppou's head, "And yes, I know that you can understand, Hoppou. As strange as it may be to me, I know that you understand, so thank you. But while I miss them, it is an old pain. A wound that will never heal, but... I am not so sad anymore." Turning to the calendar, she sighed a bit, "It just hurts a bit more since their birthday is in a few weeks. That's all."

Both Harry and his adoptive little sister gave their teacher a hug, which she appreciated.

It took a few minutes, but Ellen pulled herself back together before clearing her throat as she looked through the folder open in front of her, "Anyways, Harry? Your work as always is impeccable from what I can see, though I'll grade it later. But I'm sure that there's nothing wrong with it."

Harry just nodded and after chatting a few more minutes, they left. As they walked along though, the thirteen year old noted that Hoppou had a frown on her face, "Something wrong, Hoppou?"

Glancing up at him, Hoppou placed her hand against her chest, "Hoppou did not know about Ms. Baker's children. And now... Hoppou is sad." She looked back up at him, "Hoppou likes Ms. Baker, she's a fun teacher for Hoppou and friends, and funny when talking about baseball. She helps everyone... but Hoppou wonders..."

Understanding what was not said, though asked, the wizard sighed as he lowered his voice, "People react to grief in different ways, Hoppou. Ms. Baker? She's thrown herself into her work, to make all of smile and to help us out, because for her that helps with the pain." Harry paused for a moment before chewing his lip, "There... was a field trip a few years back, before I went to Hogwarts. We were at this park when an Abyssal cultist tried to attack us, maybe because I was adopted by Mum or something, I don't know. But Ms. Baker? She's protective of her students and cares for them. Even though he had stabbed her, she picked up this big ol' stick that was on the ground when he threw her aside before getting up and swinging it. Smashed his hand and the knife he had before she gave him a whack to the chest, send him to the ground, following it up with cracking him in the head."

Eyebrows furrowing, the Abyssal considered that before frowning, "Hoppou remembers that one of Hoppou's classmates were having trouble with their Daddy. Ms. Baker saw that and helped them, though Hoppou doesn't know how. But... Hoppou now understands why."

Hands in his pocket, Harry just nodded, "Yeah... when I learned of what happened, I understood it as well." Shaking his head, he gave a chuckle and ruffled Hoppou's hair before motioning her on, "Anyways, we should get you to class so that you can have some time to talk with Rei-Chan and Asuka-Chan."

At that, Hoppou's expression brightened and she nodded, "Hoppou can't wait! Oh! Big Brother, Hoppou is working with Rei-Chan and Asuka-Chan on this project..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

She stood at the edge of the shore, the ocean waves lapping at her ankles. In front of her, beneath the surface of the water was a reef, where a school of fish idly swam about, minding their business. All the while, they had no idea someone was eyeing them as a potential dinner.

Taking up her position, poised to strike, she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then, a flicker of motion—

A sharpened iron rod stabbed into the water so fast that it appeared as just a blur to the naked eye… missing its intended target by a fraction of an inch.

The Tsu-class growled in annoyance. She'd been at this for nearly an hour now, with nothing to show for it. The fish were simply being unreasonably erratic today… why couldn't they just hold still for a little bit longer? Sighing, she yanked on the line in her hand; the iron spear shot out of the water and sailed back to her, letting her catch it in her other hand.

The Tsu-class glanced to her throwing arm—once a massive armored gauntlet bristling with dual-purpose five-inch guns, stripped down to (relatively) brittle metallic bones bound up in cloth wrappings. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter—either she broke down some of her armaments, use their parts to shore up the rest and keep them operational, or she let everything fail and end up completely defenseless. She didn't like to think about it, but sacrificing her armor had actually made fishing more consistent… now that she wasn't having to fling so much of her own mass around with each throw, she could aim much more accurately.

Of course, there were times that even skill and precision just weren't enough to get the job done.

Jamming the business end of her spear into the sand at her feet, the Tsu-class let herself slump to the ground. The motion caused her helmet to jostle loose, rocking slightly over her skull. With a huff of annoyance, she reached up and gripped the dented, worn metal and peeled it off—minding the cable feeding into the base of her skull—letting her wiry grey hair fall out over her shoulders and down her back. She knew it was pretty much pointless for her to hold on to the thing; the seals that kept it secured to her head had failed long ago, drastically reducing its protective qualities.

But she just didn't want to give up the last thing she had, that reminded her of Mother.

Her chest grew heavy as she peered into the inside of her helmet. There, etched into the steel, was a simple message:

Please don't lose this one, Hatsumo. I don't want you to get hurt.
Hoppou <3


She's once taken off her helmet, to prove to some speculative crabfishers that she had a face—only for a particularly large wave to rock the boat they had all been standing on, causing it to fall out of her big, clumsy hands and into the water, where it sank like a stone. To her surprise Mother took it fairly well when she explained what had happened, and whipped up a new one for her in a couple of hours, even leaving her a little inscription as a reminder to keep it close. Now, years later, it was the only memento of her past life that she had left.

Hatsumo… once upon a time, that had been her name. But not anymore. She didn't deserve to keep her name, after what she'd done. She was a coward—she surrendered herself to her traitorous kin, became their willing slave, rather than standing with her sisters in defense of the home they shared with the humans. Although in the end, her sister saved her from her masters, protected her… a small part of her wished she had simply been sunk instead.

Sensing a familiar IFF approaching, the Tsu-class gazed up to the distant ocean. For several minutes she watched, waited for the approaching Abyssal to rise over the horizon… and when her sister came into view, she grimaced. Her portside flank was a mess, with several wide holes blown into her armor belt—looked like 16-inch shells, fired point blank. In the past, the Tsu-class likely would have freaked out at the sight of her injured sister, rushed to her side to try and tend to her wounds in whatever way she could think of… but now, it registered about as much shock and concern for her as a broken nose. Painful and unsightly, but she'd live.

After all, her sister Tampa had bounced back from much worse.

The Tsu-class rose to her feet. "What happened?" She asked simply, holding up her gauntleted arm to help catch Tampa as she staggered from sea onto land.

The patchwork Demon took several seconds to catch her breath, teeth grit in pain, before finally speaking. "Mother…" she gasped.

The Tsu-class blinked. "What? What about Mother…?"

Slowly, Tampa picked up her head and looked her sister in the eyes. There was something in her gaze, something that the Tsu-class had thought was gone forever:

Hope.

"Felt… Mother's heart. She is alive."

XXXXXXXXXX

"She did what!?"

Hoppou shook her head. "She had her XO disembark to run errands for her while she was with Hoppou," she intoned. "Having no idea what effect that has on her."

Beside the small Princess, the Re-class in question tilted her head. "I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like I'm messed up in any way… my brain feels fine, my motor skills are unaffected."

"Without your XO, you stop thinking about taking care of yourself," Tanith explained. "You'll take note of things happening with your body, but you won't act on any of it unless someone else tells you to."

Hearing the door creak, the three glanced to the palace entrance to see a manifested imp approaching. As he got close to the three, he dissipated into smoke, which coalesced into a miniature version of himself in Regalia's outstretched hand.

And the moment the imp vanished into her hull, Regalia's eyes went wide and she brought her hands to her gut. "Oh god I suddenly feel so hungry I need something to eat right now and the base of my tail is itching and my leg feels funny after sitting cross-legged for three hours and…"

Watching her daughter race off towards the town, rattling off various things she was only now realizing she felt, Tanith sighed. "Sorry, Mother. I was the one who suggested she leave a team to observe restoration efforts while she went elsewhere."

Hoppou shrugged. "It's okay. Just a beginner's mistake… now she'll know not to send away the officer who keeps her running properly."

At that point, the pair heard two new voices approaching.

"You think I'll fit through the Panama Canal? Or will I have to walk around it like you?"

"Well, your beam is 33 meters. Given the canal's locks are 34 meters wide… I'd give it a very big Maybe. If you could manage it, you'd make an even tighter fit than the Iowas."

Tanith and Hoppou turned and saw Sunny and Nuri walking in from the direction of the nursery, absorbed in some discussion. Nuri was carrying two boxes of files, one under each arm; one of them looked to be the box of prospective repair ship designs offered to them by their Atlantic counterparts, while the other simply read "Mi-class".

"Hey, what are you two up to?" Tanith asked.

The two girls looked up, their faces lighting up in pleasant surprise on seeing Hoppou standing there. "Oh, hey Mom, hey sis!" Sunny greeted them with a smile. "The two of us were just preparing to head out to the town, chat with our siblings."

Hoppou tilted her head. "About what?"

In response, Nuri hefted the two boxes in her arms. "Now that the Mi-class is complete, and Millie has passed her trials with flying colors, I figured it's time for us to pass on our finished work to the Atlantic Princess. The two of us were going to town to assemble an escort fleet."

"I see." Tanith nodded. "Well, I appreciate you giving me advance notice. It would've been… agitating, to have you and a dozen others just vanish without a word. I wish you two luck on your trip."

Hoppou slipped over to Sunny and Nuri, giving each of her daughters a quick hug in turn. "Hoppou wishes you luck, as well. You all be careful, okay?"

The sisters giggled softly. "You got it, Mom. We'll make sure everyone comes back home in one piece."

 

[darthcourt10]

MagisterAurelius

Ship of Fools XI: Can You Hear The Ship-Girls Bling?♪

The dining room at Claude Bosi's, downtown London

Draco traded confused looks between the credit card in his hand, his mother, and the door his father had just walked through. He then grew even more puzzled as all three of his girlfriends smiled and seemed to agree to something but only said the name 'Harrods' out loud.

"Mother, I know Father has been trying to teach me about how things are handled on," he paused before continuing, "this side of things, but he never mentioned how this card works." He looked to his mother expectantly, and to his relief she smiled.

Narcissa reached up, removed the long hair pin from her braided bun, and gestured with it as she replied to Draco. He realized that she had disguised her wand beforehand and had been wearing it in her hair since this morning, and that she was now casting privacy charms.

"When we are finished with our meal, the waiter will bring the bill. Just give him the card and they will take it to their register, and then will return it and a receipt for you to sign. And that's it." Narcissa then leaned forward and her eyes gleamed. "You will have plenty of practice with this when we start to seriously shop at Harrods."

The main course arrived and conversation between the girls and Narcissa turned to what to look at first upon arrival. Draco tried to follow the conversation but all he managed to follow seemed to be a string of French and Italian sounding names with the odd English or maybe American name thrown in. His newfound cousin seemed to notice his growing befuddlement.

Ehren took a bite of her Galician beef filet, took a moment to savor the taste as she chewed the delicate morsel, but threw Draco a lifeline after she had swallowed. "Do not fret so cousin, all you have to worry about is having the strength to carry all the bags und packages."

"It's just that Father said to make sure to entertain the ladies. How would anyone find that entertaining?"

"You will be fine Liebste, just telling us how an outfit looks on us is more than enough." Niobe's eyes glittered as she took a bite of her Cod a la Grenobloise.

Draco frowned as he speared a piece of his own fish on the fork. "I still don't understand. You three are ship-girls. You would look beautiful in a gunnysack." As he brought the bite to his mouth, he missed the blushing expressions of Johnston, Niobe and Cleopatra.

"Gaah. Four years to go." Johnston rubbed her forehead. "Draco, honey, you aren't making things easy for me when you say stuff like that."

Narcissa smiled and poured napalm on the fire. "Johnston dear, Draco turns fourteen in June, so only three more years to wait." After this, the dessert course arrived. After the ice cream and honey madeleines were quickly consumed and lunch paid for, the group got into the limo and headed off to Harrods.

During the limo ride, conversation turned to Draco's spring break from Hogwarts and his plans. When asked by Johnston what Washington was doing instead of coming along, Draco replied to the destroyer.

"I have a tutor coming over the summer to help me learn to master wandless magic, so things are going to be hectic and busy. So Washington is taking spring break to visit Ostfriesland in Germany."

Cleopatra pursed her lips in thought, "I was hoping you would come out to Brighton Beach with me this summer Muffin. How can you be that busy all of a sudden? I really wanted to go swimming with you in the swimsuit that I'll be buying today." Cleo batted her eyes at Draco.

"Oh don't worry Cleo, Draco will have time to spend with all three of you over the summer. Washington may have other matters coming up however, but since you're all ship-girls she is comfortable leaving his safety with you." Narcissa smiled and looked out the window. "Ah we're almost there. I suggest we start at the sixth floor and shop our way down."

-0-

Harrods Sixth Floor – Salon de Parfums

Draco was impressed at his first sight of Harrods and once inside he began to comprehend just how seriously the muggle world treated the shopping experience. It was if all the shops in Diagon Alley and good chunk of Knockturn Alley as well had been stuffed and stacked into a city blockwide building six stories high. He soon found himself off to the side watching as his mother, cousin and girlfriends all giggled and sampled the various perfumes, sprays and other scented things. To be honest to himself, Draco's olfactory sense was feeling overwhelmed at the combination of the myriad tinctures. Luckily for him, the girls made rather quick decisions regarding perfumes and then it was off to the next floor down.

-0-

Running tally of purchases:

Lucius's card

Johnston, Cleo, Niobe : 3 bottles of Chanel No5 = $300

Narcissa : (for Draco) 1 bottle of Bvlgari Aqua Pour Homme cologne = $90

Colombe's card

Ehren : (gifts for Narcissa, Claire, Colombe, Toku, Miho, Jackie, Del, Ying) various perfumes = $1000

-0-

Harrods Fifth Floor – Harrods Shoe Heaven

The fifth floor, the Shoe Heaven of Harrods, would forever be one of those blurry moments in Draco's memory. His only recollections were of his mother and the rest of the girls trying on an endless parade of shoes and squeeing over brand names he honestly could not tell the difference between. In the end, only Ehren had neglected to purchase a pair of shoes.

-0-

Lucius's card

Johnston, Cleo, Niobe, Narcissa: 12 pairs of shoes (Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Dolce & Gabbana) =$8400

Colombe's card

Ehren = 0

-0-

Harrods Fourth Floor – Young Men's Clothing

Draco managed to recover somewhat from the flurry of questions that had been asked of him the floor above. However, now Narcissa had decided he needed a new suit. One quick professional fitting later, Draco found himself standing before all the girls and his mother in a two piece Hugo Boss suit. He was unsure why, but those moments seemed as if he were a piece of delectable meat.

At least that was the impression he got from Johnston, as she was licking her lips as she stared at him. Cleo and Niobe were blushing, but kept their gazes locked on him. His mother simply smiled. Ehren actually stepped forward for a moment and straightened the lapels on the jacket by a minute amount, before she nodded and murmured "Alles ist Ordnung" as she stepped back. At any rate, once they had made the purchase of the suit, dress shirts and a pair of Oxfords they moved on to the toy section where Ehren had to make some purchases for some of her family's young wards. After which, it was on to the third floor.

-0-

Lucius's card

Narcissa : Hugo Boss suit, shirts, shoes for Draco = $600

Colombe's card

Ehren : 2 Steiff 80cm teddy bears for Miho's kids = $300

-0-

Harrods Third Floor – Linens, Gifts and Stationery

The group browsed the floor leisurely with only Narcissa and Ehren making some incidental purchases. Draco's mother bought some quality bed linens, while Ehren picked up a couple of music boxes for her sister Claire along with some fine stationery with a music motif. Mostly, it was a pleasant walk with conversation and best of all to Draco, ample opportunities for holding the hands of his girlfriends. Ehren had even opened up and regaled them with amusing stories of her sister learning to drive and the rodents of unusual size in the attic.

"Ah, I believe our home once had an infestation of those in the past. Lucius's father tolerated the things because he was amused by the sport they brought, but once I married Lucius I put my foot down and had them eradicated. I was not about to raise a family in a vermin ridden home after all." Narcissa looked at Ehren thoughtfully. "I could put you into contact with the exterminators we used. I believe they have branches on the Continent. The things make such a ghastly mess wherever they go, it would be a shame for them to spread throughout your home."

"Mutti has Castle Moulbaix warded well even though most of it is sealed off at the moment. Also, our maid and her children are quite adept at hunting them down in the attic." Ehren replied phlegmatically as Narcissa hummed.

"I'm surprised that your mother doesn't have any House Elves."

"I asked Mutti once, when I first heard about them. Mutti only said that she preferred to have paid house staff." Ehren shrugged. "That is all she told me. Perhaps they jog unpleasant memories for her." As they walked on Ehren turned the subject to music as they visited the stationery and gifts section. After making her purchases, Ehren rejoined the group and they took the escalator down to the first floor.

-0-

Lucius's card

Narcissa : linens = $150

Colombe's card

Ehren : 2 music boxes, 1 Mont Blanc pen, fine stationery = $1000

-0-

Harrods First Floor – Women's clothing and accessories, Fine Jewellery

If shoe shopping had been an ordeal for Draco, the first floor was his true introduction to Hell. The eyes of all the females with him blazed with the fires of acquisition and Draco found himself just a bit afraid as he followed them from one designer boutique to the next. The first test was the easiest. His mother and the ship-girls all purchased some form of Givenchy handbag or another.

-0-

Lucius's card

Ship-girls and Narcissa : 4 Givenchy handbags = $4500

-0-

The second test was far more taxing on his hormones. Draco found himself seated in a chair near several changing rooms as he waited for the girls to appear. His mother had only lightly laughed as Ehren and the ship-girls decided to try on new swimsuits. Before Ehren went to change, she looked at Draco and walked over to him.

"Cousin, I have a favor to ask of you and it is a matter of some secrecy."

"What do you need? I will keep it secret."

As Narcissa looked quizzically at her, Ehren began to subtly fret. "Das ist so umstāndlich," Ehren muttered before continuing, "you need to understand that when I change into a swimsuit that I am merely dressing my manifested avatar. There is nowhere I can keep my true body on my avatar wearing such. So please cousin Draco, I must entrust you to conceal my true form while I am changing."

Draco looked at Ehren and then to Narcissa who waved some privacy charms into being. Draco then asked, "What is your true form then?"

Ehren took the dagger from concealed holster in her sleeve and handled the SS Ehrendolch to Draco. At his widening eyes, she explained, "I am the manifested spirit of that weapon. My mother and father had a romantic affair in 1940. My father died early in the war, shortly after the Americans joined in fact. Mutti kept me as a reminder of him. But it is a subject that is best discussed somewhere more private than here."

Draco sat back down and slipped the Ehrendolch into his pocket. "A spirit of a weapon? Is that like that tea set of Potter's in any way? A tsukomogami or something like that?"

Ehren nodded. "Ja. Something similar but not quite the same." With that she went back to change.

Ehren was the first out to ask for an opinion on a simple black and grey two piece swimsuit that screamed efficiency. With positive reactions from Draco and Narcissa, Ehren nodded and went to change back. At which point all three of Draco's girlfriends came out at the same time.

Draco breathed deeply as he tried to keep his hormones in check. Keeping his ears from turning red and a blush invading his cheeks was more a losing battle however. Johnston had chosen a blue and black strapless bikini with matching bottom. Cleopatra went with an ivory one piece with cutouts along the sides. Niobe selected a bikini as well, but in a deep aqua color with white ruffles. As each girl smiled and asked his opinion, Draco carefully kept his hands in his lap and tried to keep his voice steady as he complimented each of them. Thankfully, the girls were happy enough with what he said that they had decided to purchase their selections, and the next ordeal could begin.

-0-

Lucius's card

Johnston, Niobe, Cleo : Swimwear = $500

Colombe's card

Ehren : Swimwear = $85

-0-

Niobe waited for Ehren to emerge from her changing stall. "You have somewhat to explain. I lasted long enough in the war to know just who got issued those daggers, Ehrendolch. Your vater was SS."

Ehren stood her ground and looked the protected cruiser in the eyes. "Vati was an honorable man who died early in the war. I don't think Mutti would have kept me as a reminder otherwise. Answer me this if you think I have anything to do with that ideology: What would a ship-girl do, if she came back with that regalia stamped or welded into her hull?"

Niobe's eyes widened a bit as she answered. "She'd take an angle grinder to it."

"I tried that. My avatar's eyes gave out before the protective enchantments that Mutti put on me did. That and the blood made the grinder too slippery to handle."

"Mein Gott! What on earth?"

"A short time after I first manifested, I looked up certain things on the Internet. And I saw what that symbol had come to represent."

Niobe looked at Ehren with a far softer gaze than before. "If you need someone to talk to about those sorts of things... remember that Wilhelmshaven isn't that far from Belgium. You can always stop by and there are lots of girls who would understand about that."

"Danke. I-I might sometime."

-0-

What followed for Draco was a whirlwind through the women's apparel section. Some of the shop assistants had noticed Draco's increasing befuddlement with amusement, bringing him a chair while he waited for the girls or his mother to finish trying on an outfit. While most of the outfits had become a blur to him as the girls changed in and out of different ones, there were a few that made an impression on Draco. The fact that they spiked his hormones really didn't make that much of a difference. The moment when Johnston and Niobe were seemingly competing for his attention definitely stuck in his mind. It was hard to choose as well. Johnston's off the shoulder crop top paired with a pair of tight denim hot pants had Draco cursing puberty with a vengeance. Then Niobe came out in a demure ensemble of a Gucci silk blouse with a bow and a zebra pattern pencil skirt that accentuated her curves with maximum concealment. Draco finally gave up and stopped even trying to judge, as he tried to find enough words to adequately compliment the girls.

Finally, various outfits had been tried on, judged and even his mother had selected three dresses. Suddenly Draco's presence was no longer required as he found himself sitting outside the lingerie and nightwear departments with Ehren. He took the opportunity to hand Ehren her true form back to her.

"Danke. You mentioned something about the Potter's tea seat. Do you know Harry Potter well then cousin?"

"Johnston is one of Potter's friends. Our respective Houses tend to not get along, and I did some things to leave him with a less than positive opinion of me."

"Ah. Time can correct things like that. Mutti had heard about the Dementor attack and wished to offer any aid she could to him, as she counted Ian and Lyra Potter among her closest friends."

Draco paused to think. "Well, good luck trying to find him in England. Most breaks he spends at home in Japan. That's where he'll probably be now." Draco's mind raced. He had no knowledge of an Ian or Lyra Potter being relatives of Harry Potter, at least recent relatives. But as he pondered how old Ehren's mother must be, his mother and his girlfriends came out to get him to pay for their purchases.

"Now comes for the truly wonderful place to shop girls," Narcissa announced grandly, "it's time to see some jewellery."

"Um.. Mother?" Draco interjected at this point after looking at the sales slip from the clothing. "Just how much can this card be charged for?"

Narcissa smiled sweetly at Draco. "Maybe we should find out then."

-0-

Colombe's card

Ehren : a pair of outfits for Ehren, Gucci Dragon polo shirt for Ying = $950


Lucius's card

Johnston : Burberry pencil skirt, Burberry silk shirt, crop top, hot pants, Alex McQueen wool gabardine dress, 5 matched pairs of lingerie = $4955

Niobe : Claudie Pierlot zebra pencil skirt, lace camisole top, Gucci silk blouse, Alex McQueen wool dress, lace up denim shorts, 5 matched pairs of lingerie = $4156

Cleo: Wolford faux leather pencil skirt, Wolford strapless top, Ralph Lauren silk blouse, Alex McQueen wool dress, 5 matched pairs of lingeries = $2656

Narcissa: 3 dresses (Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Eskandar cashmere), silk negligee and lingerie set = $5200

-0-

As they walked towards the Fine Jewellery room, Draco pleaded with his mother. "Mother, are you certain that Father will be okay with this?"

"Your father has gone shopping with me before Draco. He knows what to expect."

"Even though we're buying for more than just you, me and Father?"

Narcissa clapped her hands together. "That's right. We need to get Nimue something nice for her birthday. And we should get your father something as well. What is it Draco?" She looked down at Draco's exasperated expression.

"I thought that was a secret for now Mother." Draco winced as he realized that all three of the shipgirls and Ehren had overheard. Ehren's face remained even but Draco's girlfriends all looked at him expectantly.

Narcissa recovered from her lapse quickly and lowered her voice to the group. "I will tell you more in the car on the way home, what I can tell you is that she is not some girlfriend Draco has stashed away."

"You make it sound as if I have girls scattered about like loose change Mother."

"No matter! There lies our prey ladies. Gold and gems oh my." And with that battlecry the girls marched into the room.

-0-

Cleopatra had grabbed Draco's arm and held it as she looked at the various rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Suddenly, her grip tightened and she drew a sharp breath.

"Oh that's so pretty!" She examined the Azza Fahmy precious stone necklace from several angles before turning her stunning blue eyes on Draco and batting them. "Muffin?"

Draco's eyes couldn't leave Cleo's as he handed the credit card in the direction of the clerk.

-0-

Next he found himself dragged away by Johnston and Niobe to the Tiffany and Co boutique. The girls looked at various pieces. Niobe then asked Draco to put the bangle she had asked to look at on her wrist for her. As he did, her eyes seemed to catch the sparkles from the diamonds in the gold bangle. She moved her lips in a wordless whisper that somehow Draco heard every word in his mind, "Darling would you please?"

Before he could make a motion to get the card out, Johnston came over to show him the pair of platinum anchor-shaped earrings she had found. "The diamonds are nice but look at these aquamarines in the bell of the anchor! D-Do you think they suit me Draco?" Johnston asked him nervously, and blushing.

"I think that you two are pretty without jewellery, but let's go ahead and get these then."

Draco found himself being hugged from both sides as he barely managed to hand the card to the clerk.

-0-

Ehren walked up to Draco as he prepared to shop with his mother, and handed him a box. "Here cousin, an early birthday present from myself and Mutti."

He opened up the box to look at Tag Heuer watch. "Thank you Ehren. I think it might be a better watch than Father has."

Ehren smiled, "You are welcommen. Narcissa, would you suggest what I might get for Lucius?"

"I would suggest a good bottle of brandy or whisky, I will be heading there myself once I'm finished with my shopping here."

"Das ist gut."

Draco thought for a moment, "Is there anything you want while we're here Ehren?"

Ehren looked at Draco, and gave a slight smile as she noticed the slight nod of agreement from Narcissa. "Very well. There was something I was looking at while shopping for the others back home..." Ehren walked over to a pair of Annoushka diamond and stud pearl earrings.

"Those?" Draco asked, and at the nod from his cousin he purchased two pairs. At Ehren's raised eyebrow, he handed one of the boxes to her. "For you. And this pair will go with a strand of pearls I saw over at the Tiffany counter."

Narcissa nodded. "A good choice." Once Draco had purchased the strand of Akoya pearls for Nimue, the group followed Narcissa to the Faberge counter. "And here is where beautiful things reside."

The sales assistant flashed Narcissa a gleaming smile. "Lady Malfoy! It's a pleasure to see you again! How can we help you today?"

Narcissa's grin was positively imperious as she sat on a viewing stool. "Impress me, Mr Ravenoff."

Over the next half hour Draco and the girls boggled at the sheer artisanship of each piece brought forward. Until one piece was laid on the soft velvet for Narcissa to view, the large nearly egg shaped opal pendant flashing its iridescence hues.

"I think that piece suits you Mother."

Narcissa beamed at Draco with approval. "You are right Draco. This is the best piece so far. And I believe that will probably be the only piece for today Mr Ravenoff. We have had a busy day shopping so far."

"Indeed Lady Malfoy, the Karenina Opal pendant is quite stunning in its simplicity." Mr Ravenoff began boxing up the pendant as Draco handed over the credit card.

As they left the Fine Jewellery room, Narcissa asked Draco for the card. After he handed it to his mother, she and Ehren left to the lower ground floor to the Wine and Spirits section. When they returned, Narcissa called for the limo to pick them up. "Who's up for a drive around London? That will give us plenty of time to talk about things before returning to the Savoy," Narcissa said.

-0-

Lucius's card

Johnston : Tiffany earrings with aquamarines and diamonds in platinum = $6500

Niobe: Tiffany Etoile gold bangle with diamonds = $5900

Cleo: Azza Fahmy yellow gold w/precious stones necklace = $18,162

Nimue: Tiffany 18 inch necklace of Akoya pearls, Annoushka pearl earrings = $3700

Ehren: Annoushka diamond and pearl earrings = $1450

Narcissa: Faberge Karenina Opal Pendant = $24,000

Lucius: 1 bottle of Chivas Regal Icon, 1 bottle of Tomatin 36 y/o single malt, 1 bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label King George V = $3280


Colombe's card

Draco: Tag Heuer watch = $2475

Toku: Akoya pearl necklace = $1500

Colombe : gold and pearl Dove of Peace earrings = $1500

Kasuyu : gold bracelet with raw diamonds = $1000

Miho: Tiffany bracelet with spider and raccoon charms = $750

Ying: Akoya pearl stud earrings = $500

Claire: Music note charm = $400

Lucius: Louis XIII brandy = $2800

Columbe: Louis XIII brandy, 2 bottles of Baron de Signognac brandy, Harrod's Indulgence Hamper, misc chocolates = $3300

-0-

At the Ministry of Magic – the office of Amelia Bones

Once more had Lucius Malfoy worked to prevent Dolores Umbridge from blowing Magical Britain sky high. Thank Merlin that Fudge is so incompetent he misplaced that damn proposal. A loyalty oath to the Ministry and Magical Britain on the Irish magicals' lives and magic? What could cause her to try something so stupid? Lucius knew that if word had gotten out, his own faction and supporters would be marching right beside the Irish in rebellion. Dolores had been intransigent at first, and not for the first time, Lucius was seriously considering having her eliminated. But for now, things had finally started to settle as he was commiserating with Bones, Arthur Weasley and Dame Longbottom. Dumbledore was present, but Lucius never considered conversation with Albus to ever be worth commiserating over.

"What is to be done about her?" Arthur Weasley was clearly at his wits' end with the toad.

"Any prophecies about accidents in the Ministry over the summer Dumbledore?" Lucius decided to try throwing a lure out, to see what fish may bite.

"I'm afraid not Lucius. Until she actually does something to warrant removal, we are better off knowing where she is and she is doing."

"Or when there is no longer a Statute to prevent the muggles from dealing with her." Arthur grimly replied.

Well now, Lucius thoughtfully considered Arthur Weasley again in his mind. I would have to careful, but perhaps Arthur could be more reasonable than I had previously thought. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone. He frowned as he pulled out the phone, not noticing the curiosity on the others' faces.

"Yes? This is Lucius Malfoy. Yes, I gave my son permission and authorization to use my card. Yes, and my wife as well. Yes, please put the account representative on the line."

The others were watching intently when Lucius suddenly shrieked and grabbed his chest.

"HOW MUCH? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY NEARLY REACHED THE CREDIT LIMIT?!"

Arthur Weasley's eyes nearly popped out of his head, Amelia Bones' monocle dropped from her eye, Dumbledore snorted, and Dame Augusta Longbottom fell out of her chair cackling madly. Arthur was the first to recover and stood up as Lucius sagged in his chair and continued talking in a tired voice.

"Yes, I will handle a bank transfer myself tomorrow. Thank you." Lucius hung up the phone and looked dazedly at the others.

"Do you need some water Lucius?" Arthur asked.

"No thank you Arthur. I will be having something far FAR stronger after I have had words with my son and my wife."

Amelia finally found her voice, "What happened Lucius?"

"I told my son to entertain the ladies while I had to deal with this mess. In so doing my son spent nearly £78,000 pounds! I'm going to go see my wife and son now. Good evening to you all." Lucius had to step over the still laughing form of Augusta Longbottom as he walked to the door.

-0-

In the limo driving around London

Narcissa looked at Draco's girlfriends as they giggled over their gifts. She accepted that her little boy was growing up but it was still a bit difficult to see him kissing girls. Still, there would be time later for that. Narcissa had an important item to bring up.

"Girls and cousin Ehren, what I have to tell you must remain a secret and I need a vow of such, to be maintained until you either receive a letter or confirmation from Draco or myself that you are released from the vow." When she had received the agreement of all, she continued. "The name that you overheard, Nimue, is the name of Draco's twin sister. They have been separated since birth, and even I didn't know she existed until very recently. Late in the last wizarding war, the Dark Lord ordered his supporters to provide any infants born after the families' scions to the Dark Lord's research wizard. This was to provide weapons to be used against the Dark Lord's enemies."

Ehren swore in vehement German and the others were incandescent with rage. "This asshat wanted to use babies to make weapons?" Johnston nearly roared.

"Yes, but he's already dead," Narcissa interjected. "But before he was killed, I gave birth. I was delerious from the long labor and thought I had given birth to just Draco. Instead, I had birthed twins, with Nimue following Draco. Lucius knew that the Dark Lord would demand her, and he took steps to protect her. He had someone he trusted to sneak her out of the country and raise her as his own daughter. Things would have stayed like this, but Draco expressed talent in wandless magic. Lucius contacted this confidant as he is a Master of Wandless Magic to tutor Draco. He agreed, but he wanted to bring Nimue to meet her birth parents. After much discussion, Lucius and I agreed and so she will be spending the summer at Malfoy Manor."

"Family takes care of family, that has been part of the Malfoy line for centuries. To reciprocate your trust I shall trust you as well. I mentioned in Harrods that I was the spirit of the Ehrendolch dagger that is my true form. My mutti is Colombe du Chasteler. Mother is Grandpapa's oldest daughter and the half-sister of his other children since she was born on the wrong side of the blankets." Ehren blushed. "Last year Mother got a lead on her other parent Muramasa-no-Norimune and headed to japan to confront her, alongside Aunt Del and Aunt Jackie.."

-0-

After some lengthy explanations and oaths of secrecy sworn, the limo pulled up to the Savoy hotel and Ehren got out. The driver helped her with her packages and bags, but before entering her hotel and going back to her room, Ehren gave her cousins and Draco's girlfriends her phone number and email to stay in contact, and received theirs in return. After getting back to her room and placing her bags on the table with proper german efficiency, she flopped onto her bed, tired but happy.

-0-

Draco, his mother and the ship-girls walked into the townhouse to find a rather unhappy Lucius Malfoy.

"Sit Draco. Tonight my son, Words Shall Be Spoken...."

-0-

2 days later at Castle Moulbaix

Ehren was happy to be home. While actually meeting Harry Potter to pass on Mutti's support, she had still met the English Malfoys, completed her tasks, and successfully completed a great deal of birthday and holiday shopping in one swoop. Kasuyu had taken the Indulgence Hamper with its various Champagne delicacies and all of the paperwork and receipts up to Mutti.

Suddenly throughout the castle Colombe's voice shrieked, "MON DIEU! SHE SPENT HOW MUCH?"

-0-

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking along the tunnels under Yokosuka, Yamato smiled some as she glanced at Shinano. Her little sister had been practically on cloud nine since spending a day and night with Harry and Regina on one of Wanko's islands in the Timor Sea. When she had found out about her little sister using the time turner to go back in time after getting everything ready so that she could spend time with Harry and Regina, she had been a bit disappointed...

Until White Plains had spoken up and stated that she had given permission for it and encouraged her.

That had smoothed things over and, thankfully, Shinano did not know about the initial disappointment Yamato had. Musashi, meanwhile, had been more amused then disappointed and quietly cheered on her sister. And while Hana had been disappointed, it was more in that she had not been invited to go to a tropical island getaway as well, which made Yamato quietly sigh. She loved her sisters, she did, but sometimes...

Moving away from such thoughts, the Battleship though was happy for her sister as Shinano had practically not stopped smiling since then. And when she asked to see pictures and video taken, Yamato had found out why and smiled a bit at seeing her Carrier sister flush and stutter some before bringing up photos. Even she had to admit that some of the places that they had gone to were spectacular. That cave, for instance, was one that Yamato wanted to visit herself some day.

Of course, Yamato still had to punish her sister for skipping a bit, something Musashi had agreed with... And thus, the two older sisters gently teased their younger sister about everything. Not too hard teasing, but a light ribbing about the time she had spent with Harry, showing off her swimsuit, and the like. It showed how far their little sister had come that while flustered and such, she had smiled and eventually gave back just as much as she got to the older two's enjoyment. Still, Yamato was happy to see her sister in such a good mood and hoped to see more.

Especially as she did approve of Harry and Regina to some extent, including Harry eventually becoming Shinano's Admiral as she was sure that he would.

With a chuckle that got her a curious look, the Battleship waved it off. Instead, she tuned into the conversation between Musashi and their new sisters, the tanned Yamato frowning as she spoke in her rumbling tone, "So we might have another sister?"

Megumi and Kokoro shared an unsure look before turning back with the elder of the two, "Maybe? I'm not really sure how it would count or not..."

Cheering a bit, Hana threw her hand into the air, "HA! I'm going to be an Onee-San again!" She then turned to her last sister, "You hear that, Hoki? Now you're going to be a Onee-Chan."

The Battleship in question lightly blushed at that, but had a happy smile on her face just the same in regards to what she was hearing, "An Onee-Chan... I'd be an Onee-Chan..."

Lips twitching in amusement, Yamato turned to the two Nekomata, "You stated that you are not sure whether or not they would be our sister." At their nods, she frowned a bit in curiosity, "Why?"

Glancing at her biological sister, Kokoro chewed her lip, "Um, because she was based off the A-150 Design?"

It went without saying that a number of eyebrows shot up and Shinano now spoke up with surprise in her voice, "She is a Super Yamato?"

Just frowning, Megumi gave a small nod, "Hai? I think that is what they're called?" She gave a small shrug and shook her head, "All I know is that I was pretty close to completion so they moved me out from my dock in... 1944? I think?" Furrowing her eyebrows, she grimaced a bit, "They went to work on her which slowed down my own construction as they had to wait for my turrets and such to be built, which took far more time than they wanted. And in the last days, well..." The Nekomata glanced at Yamato with an unsure look, "In the last days of the war they were going planning to have me perform my own version of Operation Ten-Go. But were unsure if I was to be beached on Kyushu to fight the Americans or on Hokkaido to kill the Soviets..."

Everyone there could hear the sound of steel straining under a great amount of stress and looked to Yamato to find the Battleship had her jaw clenched as was her fists. With a final breath, she slowly relaxed though the look in her eyes stated that she still wanted to kill something... probably quite brutally at that, "I, Yamato, see..."

Right then, Akimi's voice could be heard as she furrowed her eyebrow as she decided to change the subject to something else and get rid of the oppressive silence, "I... think that I know of the one that you're talking about, Kokoro-San." Each of them turned to the Kitsune who had a frown on her face. Being as they were in the tunnels, she let both her ears and tails out as they walked along, not noticing various males giving her looks as they passed. Seeing their looks, she shrugged some, "Due to my family's history, I... sort of read up a lot on the warships and such of the Kamo Government."

At that, the others nodded before Yamato cleared her throat, "What can you tell us about this design?"

For several moments, the Kitsune Battleship was silent as she gathered her thoughts. Finally, she gave a small nod, "There was not a whole lot about it to be honest as it was only about forty percent complete at the end of the war, maybe fifty but more likely forty if that." Getting nods, Akimi continued, "Like Kokoro-San mentioned, the design was based on the A-150 design with a few differences for it. Um, for example, using transfiguration magic they could take two armour plates as planned and merge them into one plate with the combined thickness as well as strengthening charms making it about twice as strong as a No-Maj version and a bit lighter. Another difference was the guns."

Slowly, Musashi gave a nod, "Unless I am mistaken, there were not any twenty inchers around?"

Just shaking her head, Akimi frowned, "No, the ones they did have when the No-Maj government cancelled the A-150 after Midway went to some other project, an island in the Inland Sea I think?" Missing the knowing looks between Musashi and Yamato, she just continued, "Anyways, because of that they went with the same main guns are what you would have, Yamato-Sama. They even gave her a name..."

Eyebrow raised, Yamato smiled a bit, "Truly? Then I wish to know her name in case we meet." Seeing the looks among the Yokai as well as Miu, her smile fell, "Is... something wrong?"

Wincing, Miu shook her head, "Well... the name chosen was problematic, let us just say."

That got her a snort from her long time friend, "That is putting it mildly, Miu-Chan." Akimi then turned to the confused Yamato sisters, "The name they chose is often used in history lessons to demonstrate just how... arrogant... the Kamo Government really was in the end."

Now concerned, Yamato glanced at her sisters and then back to Akimi, "How bad, Akimi-San."

It was not Akimi, but Megumi who spoke up, "Well... that depends. The Kamo Government saw what they were building as the biggest, most powerful warship to ever sail the seas. Thus, they decided that it needed a name that would show that greatness." Her tone took on one of derision and disgust, "The naming scheme used ancient names for Japan, or parts thereof. So they decided to name her the Onogoroshima."

Right then, everything stopped and Yamato stumbled some as she stared with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. She knew, that on her bridge, her crew there were also staring in pure shock with dropped jaws and twitching eyebrows. Especially in the form of Yamamoto. And it was not just her as the others were also boggling at what they just heard.

Finally, Musashi removed her glasses, cleaned them before putting them back on and wiggling a finger in her ear, "This Musashi must have heard wrong, did you state that her name was..."

Grimacing, the Kitsune Battleship nodded, "That they chose the name Onogoroshima for her? Yes." Eyes closed, Akimi pinched her nose, "Trust me, you are not the first to have that reaction. But then, it was 1945 and they were getting desperate, though still certain that they could pull victory from the jaws of defeat."

Yamato reached up and rubbed the side of her head, "I... see. Though even then, I, Yamato, are quite dismayed to hear that our Imouto was named such." On her bridge, she could hear Yamamoto cursing up a storm and insulting anyone involved in naming a ship such, and he was not the only member of her crew doing such. And looking at the other shipgirls that this bomb was just dropped on, Yamato was certain that she was not the only one whose crew were doing the same, 'If only they were still alive...'

With a shrug, Akimi shook her head, "As it is, though, the war ended before she was even halfway complete and she was scrapped along with, well... any other ships under construction. I am reasonably sure that quite a bit of her steel made it into No-Maj Japan for the reconstruction among other things."

All Yamato did was nod at that.

Glancing around, Mami cleared her throat, "So, uh... you're taking us to some place to train...?"

Thankful for the change in subject the eldest of the Yamato sisters nodded, "Hai, it is rather isolated and away from prying eyes with the name Ōkamashima..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Shinr

Once upon a time, there was a Ru-class Abyssal Battleship, who unlike most of her ilk preffered to live out her days lazing around, with an occasional raid to gather supplies the only break in the non-routine, and who served an equally unambitious minor Princess who wanted to keep her head down.

The problem with that, is they were based on the edge of Indian Ocean, which meant that by several degrees of vassal separation they served the Subcontinental Princess, the most bloodthirsty and sadistic of the Elder Princesses, something which now the Ru-class considered a punishment for the negative karma of all her previous lives.

It wasn't bad at first, the letter of obligation satisfied by conducting rare raids that they needed for supplies anyway, and they were far away enough from the horrifying farce of Her Court and generally beneath notice for any potential accusation of dereliction of duty. But in decades leading to that August week, a decade after the second human great war, things begun to change as the six-armed affront to Hinduism decided to have a more direct touch in rulership.

Distant vassals, who previously payed lip-service to the ways of their Elder Liege, found themselves being... "persuaded" to be more pro-active in delivering cruelty and terror on their victims. Many who objected, some out of genuine horror, most out of sheer impracticality, were unceremoniously sunk, and the rest of weak vassals got a hint and fell in line, no matter how unwilling.

And in those decades, things kept escalating, and it didn't matter if it was against humans on the islands and coasts, sea-beings underwater or even their fellow Abyssals, the Elder Princess demanded more, more, more.

Her Princess, who was never cut out for this, became mentally broken in short order, paradoxically trying to cope with the savagery by doubling down on said savagery, until she just stopped, unresponsive to everything, including other Abyssals who called her weak and "culled" her, either out of genuine belief in the Darwinian ways of Subcontinental Princess or in effort to not look weak themselves.

In the middle of this ever-increasing horror, the Ru-class found her mental lifeline in the most cliche of places.

Religion.

To be more specific, in order to distract herself and keep herself sane, she took to reading, delving into the books that she salvaged from the ruins of libraries, churches and temples, some of which she herself put fire to. And the topic that she was most engaged with to the point of escapism, was the religions and philosophies of India and neighboring regions, from Hinduism to Buddhism and many others.

Of course, no amount of book-reading will make her escape reality, and that reality eventually came knocking in the big way.

In August 2005, the Abyssal attacked humanity, and in India and Indian Ocean probably more people died in the single month than in the whole of 20th century.

And it was amid the burning ruins of Sri-Lanka that Ru-class stood alone, other abyssals already left looking for fresh targets, with her smoking shield-cannons resting on the ground, each as heavy as a Yamato to her mind. She stared with dead eyes at the devastation she had wrought, dead to the world.

Unresponsive even to the tank shell that impacted her face.

Her body fell down, only the dead-woman's grip on her shields preventing her from eating dirt, while giving an impression of a prisoner being hanged by hands. A battered tank, part of a remnant of Sri Lanka military rear guard, came to the view and shot her several more times. The wounds she suffered were light, but to the outside observer she looked like a still, rotten corpse. Judging her to be dead or at least Mission Killed, the tank crew shot her again just to be sure, turned around and drove away in an attempt to rejoin the rest of military and escape to the mainland.

She stayed liked that for days, uncaring for the world outside of her blank mind, when the radio cracked up.

"-nk you can run away!?" the voice screamed "Just because the Humans put a little resistance!?"

It was the voice of the Subcontinental Princess.

"It doesn't matter where you cowards and traitors will scurry off to!" the Elder Princess continued "No matter what river, what bay, what sea, what ocean you will flee to, I will find you! And I. Will. Ki-"

She was cut off, her IFF suddenly disappearing.

THAT shook the Ru-class out of her stupor, and as she stood up she noticed that one part of the horizon was more unnaturally brightly lit, until it dimmed, showing an extremely distant shapes of several mushroom clouds.

She stared and stared, not daring to believe, to hope, that the biggest monster among them all, herself included, was dead. And in the end, while still not willing to believe that the Fake Kali was dead, she saw the opportunity to get away.

But where to? No body of water was safe from the Subcontinental, especially if all the rumors about the rest of the Elder sisterhood were true, that they were dead and thus, leaving the whole water world free for her to take.

And thus, the Ru-class decided, that she will hide somewhere as far, far away from the oceans as possible.

In the chaos of the following weeks, she sneaked into the mainland, traveled through the Blood-Week induced near-anarchy of Indian northeast, and arrived in Nepal, where she came to the base of the tallest mountain in the world:

Sagarmatha, Chomolunga, Zhumulangma, better known to the rest of the world as Everest.

As the Ru-class stared at the future ordeal before her, she started thinking that maybe climbing the mountain was not exactly a greatest of ideas, and that maybe she should head for the Eurasian point of Inaccessibility some way north, the point furthest from all Oceans. But no, that point was practically in the middle of civilization, a civilization that could or will be conquered by her former Elder Princess, and eventually she will be found out and put to death for cowardice. No, better to somewhere where even the Abyssals would find hard to live and little reason to venture, like this tallest mountain.

And so she begun her climb, away from the beaten paths just in an unlikely case there were humans in the route camps, what with any mountain climbing activities probably cancelled in the wake of Blood Week.

She climbed and scaled and risen and ascended for what seemed like eternity, as the cold, jagged earth digged into her body, as the freezing air chilled her hull, as her spirit kept weakening.

But she persevered, even as she took several falls that would've killed humans several times over, as she digged herself out of the few avalanches, as battled with monsters that seemed to sprout out of the snow, as had to dismiss most of her rigging due to damage, she kept climbing.

And then finally, she reached the summit, exhausted, hungry, freezing and damaged, but all of that disappeared from the mind as she finally looked around:
Spoiler: Summit View

The view from the top of the world was breathtaking, the majestic snow-covered peaks jutting out from the sea of white clouds, contrasting with clear blue sky.

It was the view after seeing which you could die peacefully. Which of course, after the euphoria left the Ru-class, is what probably awaits her here now that she clearly thinks it over, especially with her limited supplies.

Which is when a shriveled hand holding an apple came to her view.

She yelped and in surprise fell on her butt, both her voice and and the impact causing a few avalanches below, and would have turned her guns on owner of the hand if her rigging was operational. Instead she examined the man.

He was old. No, scratch that, he was ancient, his bare skin so shriveled he was practically a skeleton, his permanently eyes-closed face a step away from being a skull, and he wore an equally ancient monk robes that looked like they would unravel at any moment, and parts of him were covered in old snow. Despite that, he looked completely unaffected by both the thin air and freezing temperature, and patiently presented the apple to the Abyssal.

Despite her wariness, the literally avalanche inducing sounds of her stomach rumbling made a decision for her, and she in embarrassment accepted the apple from the ascetic, who smiled and returned to meditating.

As she ate, she continued to examine the ascetic. She was about to throw the remains of the apple to the void below, but instead decided to store it in her hold. Then she remembered all the books she read about Indian religions, philosophies and ways of life, and after a bit of deliberating, she sat near the ascetic and attempted to meditate.

Years later, when the humanity recovered enough to allow itself to pursue vanity projects like Everest climbing, the first humans to set foot on the summit in decades were celebrating, and in the commotion part of accumulated snow had fallen away, revealing a surprising sight:

A literally shining Abyssal, sitting still and cross-legged with a gesture of warding against evil. Her rigging dwarfed her, four shielded giant mouths with three turrets inside of each, two of them at each of her sides with other two behind and above her, forming a half-ring around her, all of them linked with sacred ropes and strings. And most of all, instead of infernal fire they radiated an aura of content slumber, creating a halo of light around the Abyssal.

And the Abyssal herself? Softly chanting mantras, taking no heed of panicking humans.

Despite the political headache she would bring to the surrounding countries just by existing, she would be left alone due to her passivity. Let the sleeping dogs lie, as they say.

And somewhere in the mountains, an ascetic monk smiled at another soul being enlightened.

----

I was thinking about the Challenger Deep Princess, and I thought what would be an opposite of her, and this is a result. The "Enlightened" rigging was inspired by the Azur Lane's oversized rigging of some of the Japanese shipgirls (and a recent fanart concept of AZ!Yamato)

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

At that name, Miu perked up in interest, "Ōkamashima, Yamato-Sama?" Getting a nod, the newly awoken Carrier had a thoughtful look on her face, "Hmm... the same hidden island that my Oba-Sans are?"

Sympathetically smiling, the Battleship nodded, "Hai, that is correct, Miu-San."

Confused, Karen looked away from where she had been chatting with Takao, "Your Oba-Sans are there? Why would they be on a hidden island being used by the JMSDF?"

For a few moments, Miu was silent, but Akimi placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke up instead, "Her Oba-Sans were squibs back during the 1920s and their... parents... decided that they could be of use." Sneering a bit, her lip curled to reveal a fang, "Mainly in the form of having them made into Hitobashira for one of the hidden dockyards."

The younger Yokai all paled at that and turned to the Carrier, who slowly nodded. Izumi winced and shook her head, "But... I thought that people stopped using the Hitobashira ritual back in the 1600s! And it was considered something of last resort even back then..." Eyebrows furrowing, she frowned as she remembered something, "In fact, the last case of possible Hitobashira was... Jomon Tunnel in 1912 or so, I think?" She narrowed her eyes in thought, "Or that was what I read and not even the Magical Diet was sure of that... though the tunnel is supposed to be haunted."

Blinking, Shinano turned to her and frowned, "Jomon Tunnel? There are Hitobashira in the tunnel?"

Izumi shook her head and shrugged some, "Maybe? A lot of people died there building the tunnel and most were buried in a mass grave nearby. But... there was an earthquake back in the late 60s which damaged it and a number of skeletons were found buried standing upright in the walls of the tunnel. Something that would have been hard if they were dead when buried... but like I said, no one is sure." Finger tapping her chin, she turned to Akimi and Miu, "Um... I think that you mentioned that they worked in the Diet, so..."

Closing her eyes, Miu frowned some, "Hmm... well, as you said, it was something that no one was quite sure about in regards to if they were Hitobashira or not. But there was a few dozen skeletons like that in the walls of the tunnels and there was a lot of... disturbances there. I believe that even before Blood Week, there was at least an Obliviator stationed near there on a permanent basis just in case, usually one near retirement age or had pissed someone off. And they did try to cover it up, but since there was no proof one way or the other... they simply half-assed the job and left it mostly as an urban legend of sorts."

Only rubbing her arms, Hana shook her head as she had a small shiver, "That... is really creepy."

Moments later, a warm arm placed itself over her shoulder in a protective, but also comforting gesture. Looking up, Hana's eyes met those of Yamato, "Do not worry, Hana-Chan. Such Yuurei cannot hurt you, nor would I, Yamato, allow for them to do so."

Arms crossed, Musashi scoffed, "And this Musashi would stand right there as well." Lips curling up into a small smirk, the tanned Yamato chuckled, "So as Onee-Sama says, do not worry about such things.

Watching that, Miu smiled before shaking her head, "In any case, the tunnel is in the middle of Hokkaido, so I doubt that we would need to worry any time soon." Her frown returned though, "As to my Oba-Sans... they're nice from what Otou-San said. He also said that the island that they're on has a large, water filled caldera?"

Just smiling, Yamato nodded, "Yes, with high walls and a deep water. The caldera is large enough that we can have you all practice sailing and the like without worry in regards to anyone seeing you until you are fully ready. Part of it is also the event taking place tomorrow there."

For a few seconds, the Natural Borns were confused until Mami hit her palm with the bottom of her fist, "That's right, there is supposed to be a summoning of some sort there tomorrow, correct?" At the nods, she tilted her head, "Kind of confused as to why they would do it there and not here? And I wonder how different it will be from when we were awakened..."

Letting out a sigh, Takao shook her head, "It is mainly due to the fact that the ships we wish to summon are in the caldera." Seeing the confused looks, she continued, "Their wrecks are still there in the water and they had to be purified due to... how they were built." There was a brief grimace on her face before the Heavy Cruiser shook her head, "Anyways, we considered it and decided that it was best to summon them there as it can work, though we're going to have every magical shipgirl there as well to boost the chances of the ritual working."

Adjusting her glasses Choukai gave a nod, "It is also because the caldera itself is shaped in such a way that it can operate as a summoning pool in and of itself" It was then that they came to an intersection and she smiled at seeing who was there coming down another tunnel, "Harry-Chan."

Upon seeing her, the thirteen year old smiled, "Choukai-Oba! Takao-Oba, Atago-Oba, and Maya-Oba!" Seeing who else, he waved, "Shinano-Chan! As well as Yamato-Oba, Musashi-Oba, Hana-San, and Hoki-San!" He did become curious upon seeing the other girls there, though he gave a wave to the girls from Hokkaido, and were quickly introduced to Akimi and Miu. As Harry fell in, he asked where they were going and nodded at the answer he got, "I'm heading there as well actually."

Softly smiling, Shinano giggled a bit, "Going to see Sakura-San and Ume-San, Harry-Chan?"

Just shifting the backpack he had, and ignoring the glances it was given, Harry nodded, "Hai, among other things since tomorrow is the big summoning. Figured that I would go and have a chat with them, especially as I won't get time tomorrow and what is happening after... might not get a chance until school ends."

Chuckling, Akimi gave him a small once over, "I see, I do not know if Junyou-Sama has explained to you, but both myself and Miu-Chan." She gestured at her friend who gave a jaunty wave, "Are going to help tutor you in Onmyoudo as we're quite good at such and I have experience in being a sensei for such."

His eyes widening, Harry grinned and gave a nod, "Sounds great." Getting a nod back, he turned towards the girls from Hokkaido, "It's great to see you by the way."

Arms crossed under her chest, Karen smirked a bit, "Great to see you again as well, Harry-San. And thank you for your advice in going to the naval base..." Pausing for a moment, she narrowed her eyes slightly at him, "You knew about what we were, didn't you?"

Not even going to bother lying, the wizard shrugged, "I did. But that was mainly due to me being able to see into the spiritual realm due to my biological Mum being a shipgirl, though unawakened before she died." He then scratched his neck, "I didn't say it as I did not want to pressure you or anything."

For a few moments, Karen considered that before nodding, "Thanks for that by the way."

Right about as he was going to nod, Harry blinked as Kokoro hugged him, "Hai, thank you, Harry-San." Pulling away, she smiled as he looked at her before gesturing at herself, "I feel more complete then ever before. And, well... being a shipgirl is something that I like being."

With another small bow, she stepped back.

The group continued to walk down the tunnels before reaching their destination. Looking at the Vanishing Cabinets, Akimi raised an eyebrow, "And these will get us to Ōkamashima? Truly?"

Lips twitching as she fought herself to keep from smiling, Yamato gave a nod, "Hai, that is correct. We simply step inside, close the doors, and then we'll be at Ōkamashima.

In return, the Kitsune Battleship gave her a look before turning back to the Vanishing Cabinet, "I... see." Glancing at the others, she frowned before looking at the plaques above them, "So, the others go to Kushiro, the Timor Sea, and Britain?"

Akimi's eyes widened a little at that bit of information while Miu whipped her head around to boggle, "It can travel all the way to Britain?"

Highly amused, Musashi adjusted her glasses, "Hai, and does so in only a few seconds as a matter of fact." Seeing the suspicious look that the two older Onmyouji were giving the cabinets, she snorted, "This Musashi understands how it may sound, but it does work in such a manner. And we find it very useful."

Bouncing a bit, Atago giggled, "We have another cabinet elsewhere on the base that we use to go to our own private hotspring island." Holding up a finger, she winked, "It's a great place to simply relax and soak, Panpakapan!"

Unable to help himself, Harry grinned and threw his hands into the air, "Panpakapan!"

While Atago answered him with another shout, Takao sighed and shook her head in amusement, 'I should have expected this...' A chuckle then escaped her as the others glanced at her.
_________________________________________________

Stepping out of the Vanishing Cabinet and into a small room built with cinderblocks, Akimi turned back to the Cabinet in surprised even as Miu as well as Megumi and Kokoro stepped out, "That... had to be the most smooth form of magical travel that I have ever experienced." A thoughtful look on her face, she turned to her friend who was also regarding the Vanishing Cabinet with some surprise, "What about you, Miu-Chan? Your thoughts?"

Finger tapping her chin, the Carrier slowly nodded, "It was the smoothest magical travel that I have ever had, and it is one of my jobs to inspect such things." Shaking her head, she paused as a thought occurred to her, "Now I can understand why Otou-San convinced Kyoto to set up a network of these for Mahoutokoro."

Eyebrow raised, Akimi considered that as the others continued to come through the Cabinet, "Hmm... it does make a lot of sense, actually." Tapping her chin, she considered the logistics, "Yes, it would allow for transportation to and from Mahoutokoro, especially with the war putting a stop to using the giant storm petral for transport."

A small grimace, Miu shook her head as she rubbed her behind through her clothes, "Ugh, I never understood using those. So damn uncomfortable. Just... why...? Out of all the things, they chose us sitting on birds..."

Just shrugging, the Kitsune Battleship smiled a bit, "Not a clue." Suddenly, she frowned, "By the way, what happened to them with the war?"

That made Miu blink, "The giant storm petrels?" At the nod, she frowned and thought about it, "Hmm... I think that most of them survived actually when they escaped the pens that they were kept in and there's a few islands where they've been spotted breeding. The Magical Diet is having issues because there's worry that the No-Majs might stumble across them. I mean, a sea bird that has a wingspan of about fifteen to sixteen feet is going to get attention when they do. But... they're hard to catch, and since they're not really obviously magical, they got a very low priority to say the least."

It was then that Izumi spoke up as she had been coming out of the Vanishing Cabinet in time to hear Miu with the last bit of the conversation, "So the No-Majs might find out about them then? What happens if they do?"

Miu frowned a bit as she turned to her, "Depends on who you ask. The Diet would likely try to Obliviate anyone that came across them, but chances are that they would be unable to by the time any video hits the net or what have you. Kyoto has basically decided to simply let it happen in such a case. Not worth the trouble compared to keeping the Statute going for as long as they can for a better, softer fall. Besides..." She gave a small shrug, "A giant seabird is odd enough that no one will think 'Magic' right away most likely. The only magic that they got allows for them to carry a lot of weight and that is about it, which isn't that obvious when one gets down to it."

Head tilted to the side, Shinano hummed in thought, "Um, actually, I've been seeing them on radar and such on a number of the uninhabited islands."

Turning to her, Akimi nodded some, "I would not be too surprised if their population has grown actually. There's not too many species that predate on them and they mostly survived on Minami Iwo Jima because the wards kept them there and they were trained. With that... they've likely gone wild and begun to expand their population. Probably like a lot of endangered species in and around the oceans have since the war started. I remember that there was one expedition deep into Abyssal territory about a year ago or so to Fiji and found that the fire crabs there have expanded out of the preserve that they were in and have pretty much settled across the islands in the area once more. Something that concerned the ICW since once the war is settled, people are going to move back, but..."

More than a few looked at her for a few moments before the glasses wearing Takao gave her a look of interest, "Fire crabs... those are the odd tortoise-like creatures with multiple legs and shells filled with precious gems, correct?"

Just nodding, Miu smiled, "Hai, they are as a matter of fact. The gemstones grow from their shells as they age. Emeralds, rubies, diamonds, sapphires... all of which can grow up to the size of your fist. The Kamo Government had a small island close to Okinawa where they kept a number of them, harvesting the gemstones and using that as a source of funding on the non-magical side of the world for their various projects." Then, she shrugged, "I am pretty sure that the preserve is still there actually, though no idea if any of them survived this long during the war."

Giving a chuckle, Harry grinned widely, "Hopefully no one tells Inazuma-Chan about that. Because knowing her, she would head there to try and get one as a pet." He then spoke in a close match to said Destroyer's voice, "'But Kaa-San! Look! It is all pretty!'" The thirteen year old cleared his throat and attempted to impersonate Tenryuu, "'Ami, no! That thing shoots fire out of its butt! You are not going to be keeping it!'" Voice shifting back to the impersonation of Inazuma, he continued, "'But Kaa-San! Fire! And it followed me on the island and I can't let it go!'"

As he continued to impersonate the two shipgirls, various chuckles could be heard from the others, while back in Yokosuka, Inazuma looked around, 'Why do I feel like I should be yelling at Harry-Chan, Nanodesu?'

Tenryuu, for her part, was also frowning, 'Why am I feeling like I should keep a close watch on Ami whenever we're around Okinawa...?'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Placing her hands behind her head, Maya hummed a bit, "You know, that bit about endangered magical animals actually reminded me of something that I've noticed."

Intrigued, Karen turned to her, "Oh? And what is that, Onee-San?"

A grin on her face from what she had just been called, the Takao rubbed a finger under her nose, "Well... one thing that I've noticed is that there is a lot more whales now." Seeing the confusion, she shook her head, "You don't really see them on convoy runs except at a distance and usually, it means that there's no Abyssals around. But on normal patrols? I've noticed bigger pods and such going around. Not huge ones... but... still more than I saw at the beginning of the war."

Now thoughtful, Yamato furrowed her eyebrows for a few moments, but it was Shinano who spoke up, "Hai, I've noticed the same thing." At the looks, she blushed lightly, "Um, it is mostly through my planes though, but a few times up close. I think that a biologist stated with ships staying to specific routes for the convoys and coming through in groups, its giving the whales some reprieve for what has happened."

Slowly, Musashi gave a nod, "That does make sense... especially the ones in the Antarctic and such."

While he was interested in what was being discussed as he had heard about it elsewhere, the lone male of the group was focused on something else and that was Miu as he walked over to her, "Um, Miu-San?" Getting a hum from her as she turned to him, Harry continued, "Have you ever met your Oba-Sans?"

Blinking for a moment, Miu shook her head, "No, unfortunately not. I was meaning to before the whole thing about being a shipgirl came up." A small smile appeared on her face, "Though according to Otou-San, I have you to thank for our family having been told the truth and my Otou-San finally being able to meet his Onee-Samas once more."

Lightly blushing, Harry scratched his cheek, "Hai, I found out from Sakura-Chan and Ume-Chan. Both of them wanted to see their Otouto once more... so I tracked him down so that they could meet him once more."

Softly smiling, the Carrier nodded before she pulled him into a hug, with his face finding itself in marshmallow heaven, "Thank you, Harry-San, for what you have done for my family and, especially, my Otou-San. A great weight has been lifted off his shoulders thanks to you. And for that, you have a friend."

As he pulled back, Harry's face was red from what had just happened. But he just smiled back at her and gave a small bow, "You are very welcome, Miu-San. I'm just glad that it made Ume-Chan and Sakura-Chan as well as Konohana-San." Hearing Shinano call his name, he looked over his shoulder briefly before turning back to Miu and bowed slightly, "Excuse me please."

Once he was out of ear shot, Akimi gave her friend a look before elbowing her and hissed at her, "Miu-Chan!"

Grimacing as she rubbed her side, the Crane Hanyou frowned at the Battleship, "Ow, what was that for?"

With a glance towards Harry, Akimi continued to hiss at her fellow Onmyouji, "You know what!" Eyes narrowing, she gave Miu a frown, "Never took you for a craddle robber."

To that, Miu rolled her eyes, "I am not." At the raised eyebrow, she snorted, "I am not interested in Harry-San except for teasing him as his reaction was hilarious. Firstly, I am too old physically for him."

However, the Kitsune's eyebrow raised still further and pointed at herself, "Miu-Chan, we look the same age. I looked to be thirty five and since our awakening, I'm now looking like my late twenties, minimum. You're deaging physically as well."

Miu just shrugged at that, "Yes, and? The point remains the same. Second, he's not my type at all. And third... I would not do that to my Oba-Sans."

For a second or two, Akimi just blinked at her friend. Then, she wiggled a finger first in her human ear and then the fox ear on her head, "I'm sorry, Miu-Chan, but what now? I had to be hearing things wrong..."

Snickering, the Carrier shook her head, "No, you heard right Akimi-Chan." Glancing at where Harry was, she turned back to her disbelieving friend, "According to Otou-San, my Oba-Sans both have a crush on him." Miu had a thoughtful look on her face before sighing, "Of course, he also stated that if something could come of it, he would approve fully as both their Otouto and the Head of the Family. But..." Then she grinned, "Just the same though? I think that teasing him might be fun~"

Just pinching her nose, Akimi sighed, "I should be surprised, but... I'm really not."

Meanwhile, Yamato walked towards the door and unlocked it before opening it to the outside. Behind her, the others followed and newly awakened Natural Borns all widened their eyes as they could see what surrounded them. Everywhere they looked, they could see ruins being reclaimed by nature. Some of the buildings had been blown apart or burned down. But other places looked as if they had melted in some sort of hellish heat.

Not far away from the hill that the building they exited from stood on, they could see the rusting hulks of ships. Two of which looked like smaller version of the Yamato class, one unfinished Aircraft Carrier, and an unidentifiable one which the waves breaking over the top of the hull. Each of the newly awakened shipgirls felt a shiver go down their back as there was something a little... disturbing about seeing such ships slowly decaying in place. What made it a bit worse was that the ships in question still sat in their drydocks, now long since reclaimed by the sea.

Still looking around at the devastation, Megumi's jaw dropped before she turned to the others, "What... what happened here?"

It was none of the shipgirls, nor Harry, who answered her however as a ghostly sounding voice spoke up, "An attack from MACUSA at the end of the war." Everyone turned to find Ume and Sakura there with sad smiles, "They slipped a strike team in to destroy the facility which they did so with various means. Though we are glad that they did so considering the evil that was done here."

A smile on his face, Harry walked up and pulled the two Hitobashira into a tight hug, "Ume-Chan, Sakura-Chan, it's great to see you."

Lightly blushing, the two Hitobashira returned the hug gratefully with Ume nodding, "Thank you, Harry-Chan. It is great to see you as well." They gave him a look over and their blushes deepened, "You have grown some..."

Beside her sister, Sakura furrowed her eyebrows some, "And you somehow have a tan."

Scratching his cheek, the thirteen year old chuckled, "Well, um... I went to visit Regina and Big Sister. They live in the Timor Sea by Australia and I spent two days down there. I also brought back a lot of photos and video for you as well!"

Eyes widening, both Ume and Sakura smiled brightly, "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

He glanced to the side and smiled, "You're very welcome, Ume-Chan, Sakura-Chan. But before we go any further, there is someone that you have to meet." Moving slightly, Harry made a gesture towards Miu who stood frozen, "May I introduce your niece, Konohana Miu, who is also a Carrier shipgirl."

Once more, the Twins' eyes widened as they took in their niece. For her part, Miu walked forward and bowed deeply to the two, "Sakura-Oba-San, Ume-Oba-San... it is a pleasure to meet you."

As she rose though, she paused as Ume and Sakura placed a hand each on her cheek as they examined her. Softly smiling, Ume gave a small nod, "We can see our Otouto in you, as well as your Okaa-San, Sora-Chan."

Glancing at her chest, Sakura giggled a bit, "We can also see that you are as gifted as your Okaa-San is." Another giggle escaped her and she shook her head, "Though I suppose that we could blame a bit on the family curse of sorts..."

Cheeks feeling hot, Miu rubbed the back of her neck, "Hai, that is what Otou-San stated when I began to, uh, develop in my teens." Grimacing a bit, she adjusted her clothes a bit to no avail, "Though I think that it got a bit worse since awakening as a shipgirl..." Looking around, she frowned a bit, "Actually, I think that I remember this place from my... previous life, I suppose."

Both Hitobashira considered that and slowly nodded, "Hai, we do remember your hull now, back in 1934 when you came to be refitted. It was done here, though we did not build you."

Expression softening, Ume shook her head, "But enough of such things, we wish to get to know more about our niece. Though we can state that you are a beautiful woman, Miu-Chan. Just as we expected of any child of our Otouto."

For some reason, Miu felt her heart swell at those words and Harry just nodded before glancing around, "Um, Ume-Chan? Sakura-Chan? I'm going to go for a walk, okay?"

The two spirits just nodded at him before turning back to their conversation with their niece.

With glances to where Miu was now quietly talking with her aunts, Akimi smiled and joined with Harry as they walked away. As they walked, Harry glanced up at her, "Aren't you worried a bit about your friend?"

A smile on her face, the Kitsune chuckled and shook her head, "No, not in the slightest. Besides which... she needs the privacy, all three of them do." Getting a nod, she glanced to where the ships were and tilted her head, "So who are they?"

Nodding, Harry pointed at the B-65s and began to give their name as well as that of the others...

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Melons and Eggs

Castle Moulbaix
Spoiler: A Chat Between Old Flames

Mei Yüying surveyed the nervous face of Colombe du Chasteler for what seemed like an eternity through the crystal ball. Finally, the huli jing's eyebrows raised. "You have not changed a bit in the last century and a half, Shǎguā."

Colombe blushed. "You are looking good yourself, Bèndàn. I am sorry that I left you in the family way when we parted. Motherhood agrees with you."

Yüying smiled and blurred, visibly de-aging to become an attractive twenty-year old Chinese woman. "True. Younger-me would have never accepted the life of a housewife, as I told you repeatedly while we were running for our lives across Guǎngdōng Shěng. However you left me little choice in the matter, Shǎguā." Her voice acquired a velvet-covered edge as she finished. Ying braced to attention at the words from her mother even though they were not aimed at her.

Colombe winced and straightened up. "As much as I might wish to claim that it was not my fault, Bèndàn, I did initiate you into the arts of l'amour at your request. Now that I have been made aware of my irresponsibility and have dishonored you by leaving you pregnant with our daughter to be born out of wedlock, I swear that I shall make full amends in this matter. Whatever it takes to cleanse this stain upon my honor and yours." With that she bowed her head, visibly showing the pain of her injuries. Beside Colombe, Ying stared in shock at Colombe's declaration of self-described guilt, recognizing the legendary hero from the first memories of her mother's stories.

Yüying looked at her and the smile grew."You really have not changed a bit, you too noble for your own good gwailou. I was wiser than I knew when I decided that your pet name for us to share was Silly Melon the morning after you got between my thighs for the first time. Relax, Colombe. While I was understandably shocked when I realized that Kwan Yin had blessed me with my Eldest Daughter, you had not just met but exceeded your responsibilities to us with what you did for me both in the Middle Kingdom and then in America."

Colombe breathed out a relieved sigh. "I still should have...."

Yüying interrupted her sharply. "What? Come with me aboard the clipper ship, drawing the Taipings upon both our heads in the New World? We both agreed that you would set a false trail to Manila with an illusion of me. Not given me sufficient funds to establish my own life, my own family? Not taught me to speak and write English? Never mind how you asked for no payment or service from me for all that you did to assist me from the moment we met, but merely said 'I gave my word to help someone needing my aid.'"

Colombe whispered, her eyes downcast. "I still should have looked harder for you in 1866 when I passed through San Francisco. I failed to be there for you and our child, and should have known the rumor of your marriage and then having twins shortly afterward was incorrect. You yourself told me twins are rare for a huli jing to bear as I recall now."

Yüying shook her head. "I had taken precautions to make it difficult to be found in Canada, had already married Wei Hong, and was at the time expecting my Fifth Son. Your Ying was headed to Ilvermorny then anyway. What we shared was long over, as wonderful as it was. Melon, you did all that you could be expected to do and more for me. Accept that the past is written in stone and forgive yourself for falling short of the impossible. For Ying's sake if not ours."

Colombe nodded slowly, smiling in memory as she raised her head to look her old lover in her equally smiling face, "You, as normal, are wiser than I am, Dumb Egg. Yes, our journey to the sea was wonderful for me too. To be honest, I held a torch for you for quite a while, until I met Lyra and Ian Potter in 1899 who captured my heart anew. I still do a little even now, that was a very intense year on the run, Egg." She laughed at herself, shaking her head, and then continued. "It seems to be my curse to love deeply and then part, leaving me with memories more precious than jade and diamonds. I am hopeful that To-chan will break the pattern of my life, though."

Yüying looked distant with a fond smile on her face, "Indeed they are more precious than diamonds and jade. I never knew what living was before then. In a way, it was my own great saga to mature from the sheltered young girl menaced by a dozen bandits that you saved to what I had become when I set foot in America. You guided me with your words, deeds, and example to find the strength to make my own life and I am eternally grateful for that, Melon. And I wish you all the best with your To-chan, for she or he is truly blessed by all the Gods to have your love."

Colombe blushed at the compliment, "She, actually. In return I cherish the memories of you finding the inner strength inside yourself, to become the sifu and sage that fought shoulder to shoulder with me to the dock in Kowloon, Egg." She glanced at Wei Ying and smiled at her eldest child. "Thank you for raising Ying to be a person who is worthy of my steel. I am quite proud of her even with what little I know of her."

Ying blushed as her mother barked a laugh, "Indeed my Little Clever Fox has made me proud, generally. She has much of you in her and it warmed my heart to see her manifest your better qualities under my guidance. I must ask, what of your quest to find your sire? I hope that my information was of use."

Colombe nodded. "Actually your assistance in it was invaluable. Your lessons in Xiǎozhuàn script let me identify a treatise on the properties of spirits of items in the Summer Palace when I raided the library ahead of the flames in 1860. That scroll let me identify that Norimune was from Japan in turn once I translated it and applied the tests inside to my own blade." The French rapier then laughed wryly and shook her head, "Although that was very much a case of two steps forward and one back as it turned out."

Yüying raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry as she sat down in a summoned chair. "Do tell, was it the luck enchantment on your blade causing things to go haywire around you again, Melon? I sense another grand epic story in your eyes."

Colombe shook her head. "Yes and no to the double-edged sword of my luck. As it turned out, Norimune is consecrated to one of the Japanese Shinto deities. Hachiman the Protector of Warriors, as it turned out, who empowers the luck enchantment I inherited. My path led me to the shrine where Father was consecrated, where I ran into the spirit of one of the other swords that had been consecrated by a rival noble for a competition of worthiness, which To-chan --- Masamune-no-Tokunotakai had won."

Yüying facepalmed and muttered. "Not again. Melon, don't tell me...." Ying stared at the rare sight of her mother losing her composure in naked shock.

Colombe smirked, "I'd say that there wasn't a fight, Egg, but that is a damn lie. You know how obsessed I was back then."

"Tell me about it," Yüying shook her head in disbelief, "You can't just do things the easy way, Melon."

"Not particularly, no, Egg." Colombe's smirk grew much more smug. "Anyway, I provoked a fight, although Toku was a stuck up prissy bitch back then. Didn't help that her family's school of sword smithing were blood rivals with Norimune's either. We had it out and I sucker-punched her to win. As it turned out, Hachiman was present watching us and He had plans for me. Which started with him kicking my ass into the ground at least five times."

"At least?" Yüying's face was a study in disbelief. "Even for you that is a bit excessively stubborn, Melon."

"I lost count after He broke my arm the second time." Colombe shrugged expressively, "anyway, long story short, He informed me in no uncertain terms that the time was not right to meet Father. I swore an oath to come back when it was, which was partway through the Abyssal War as it turned out. In the interim I met my half-sisters Jacklyn Fox and Delilah de Breuil in 1927.... Wait. What's so funny, Egg?"

Colombe stared at the giggling fox spirit in the crystal ball while Ying had a growing mortified expression on her face. "Well our daughter hated Delilah de Breuil for years, Melon. I have memories of decades of her complaints about 'that smug sneaky gwailou bitch' all the way back to the day they met that I can show you. And she was all this time being terribly impious to her Second Aunt!"

"Mother!!!" Ying choked out, her cheeks flaming. "How could you?!"

Colombe grinned smugly. "Oh, please do tell, Egg. Perhaps when I visit Canada to give my statement I can speak to you about our child's terrible lapses."

"Oh most certainly, Melon. I shall visit Lake Louise and meet you face to face and fill you in on Eldest Daughter's rudeness toward her Second Aunt." Yüying's smirk was smugly happy, like a fox exiting a chicken coop with a mouthful of bloody feathers.

Ying whimpered as her fox tails manifested and drooped. "So cruel...."

Both of Ying's parents grinned at her with matching smug smirks. "Well you are the child of one of Muramasa's Demon Blades and a huli jing, daughter of mine." Colombe mused as Yüying began to laugh.

A.N.-Yes, Silly Melon (Shǎguā) and Dumb Egg (Bèndàn) are Chinese terms of endearment that can be used between lovers.