Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

With a sigh, Harry looked over the small amount of luggage since he had gotten permission to leave the school for the weekend and head back to Yokosuka. Lips twitching, he gave an internal sigh, 'I am happy that there's a school rule that allows students to leave for reasons like Sumire's birth... But not so happy that it was because of Pureblood politics and they had never meant for anyone but them to be able to use them.'

Giving it a few more moments of thought, Harry turned towards the small chest he had there as well. Inside were ingots of steel that he had made from the cauldrons in the Room of Requirement. At this point, he was pretty certain that his children's children could well be working on such. But he continued because it was simple work and he could lose himself into the repetitive motions of it. At the same time though, the ones in the chest before him were for a special project indeed. One that he poured his focus and feelings into...

Shinano's upcoming Rebuild.

Upon having heard about it, even a few weeks before, he had gotten started right away at working on making sure that the metal was available. And he had worked hard at making sure to have enough. Though, looking at the bars, he could just see a slight color difference in spots of the bars. Differences that he knew the reason for which drew his mind back to just before he had left Yokosuka when White Plains had taken him aside...

*******************************

Blinking, Harry tilted his head at the Escort Carrier with a small frown, "Um, White Plains? Why did you ask me to come here for a private talk?"

The small shipgirl glanced to where Shinano was talking with Regina and turned back to him, "You know that Shinano is going to be undergoing her Kai Rebuild, right?"

Still confused, Harry nodded, "I do as a matter of fact, she mentioned it to me." A light blush came to his cheeks and he scratched the back of his neck, "And, um... she asked that I help out with it by holding her hand."

Giggling, White Plains nodded, "That does sound like Shinano. I also know you well enough that you will be doing so as well." Once she got a nod, she became serious, "I can also guess from how well that I know you, that you will be making bars of metal to be used in the rebuild, correct?" At being caught, Harry's blush deepened, "Ha, I knew it."

Embarrassed, the thirteen year old wizard glanced at Shinano, "Um... is that an issue?"

However, White Plains only shook her head, "No, no, it's not a problem at all." Placing her hands on her hips, she gave him a happy smile, "In fact, I'm glad that you're going to do this for Shinano. Mainly because of what it would mean to her..."

Confused, Harry scratched his head, "Um, okay?"

Shaking her head, the Momboat for the Yamatos glanced at her "Daughter" and turned back to Harry, "That said, I have a small favor to ask of you." At his nod, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a large box, "I want you to add these to those bars of steel." When he went to take it, she shook her head, "Use one of those spells to lighten things first... and maybe to shrink it."

Now interested, Harry opened the box and blinked at what was inside. Because there were metal shavings as well as nuts and bolts with pieces of metal. His eyes widened though at recognizing what they were and he looked up at the serious Escort Carrier, "Are these..."

With a slow nod, White Plains smiled softly, "Pieces from myself? They are." Giving Shinano another glance, she turned back to Harry and continued, "I asked Miss Akashi to save some of the pieces when I get repaired after a battle. I've also had my crew remove some of the nuts and bolts before I go into the Repair Baths. Since they get replaced anyways..." With a small shrug, she smiled at Harry, "I'd like you to add these to the metal bars for Shinano's rebuild. Maybe they can help her since I want her to be able to do her best and protect those that she cares for."

Feeling a lump in his throat, the thirteen year old Wizard shrunk the metal down and placed it into his pocket, "I will..."

*******************************************

And he had as a matter of fact done as asked, which gave an odd look to the bars. When he looked at them on the spiritual level, said bars had a slight glow to them as well. Something that when he touched the glow, he could almost feel White Plains' love and care for her adoptive daughter. And the want and need to make said Yamato stronger for it.

Mainly because those were the feelings that he also put into the bars of metal for Shinano.

Softly smiling, Harry closed the lid to the chest and with a tap, shrunk it before placing it into his pocket. Straightening, he grabbed his carry on bag and left the dorms. It was short hours later that he arrived in Yokosuka and, after dropping off his bag, the first place that they headed was to the hospital to meet the newest member of their family.

Waiting outside her wife's room, Rose's face lit up and she smiled brightly before giving a nod to him, "Master."

Just chuckling, Harry gave a nod back, "Good morning, Aunt Rose." Glancing at Nagato, he shifted a bit and looked at the door, "How is Haruna-Oba and Sumire?"

Expression softening, the Tea Set softly laughed, "They are doing just fine, Master. Better than fine." With a glance of her own towards Nagato, she turned to the door and opened it, "Come on in, Mas... Harry, and meet the newest member of our family."

Nodding, Harry walked in and glanced around the hospital room. In the bed reading a book was Haruna, the Battleship looking up before gaining a happy look on her face, "Harry-Chan, Haruna is happy to see you..."

Quickly making his way over, Harry gave her a hug around her middle, "Good morning, Haruna-Oba."

A laugh made him turn to where Hiei was getting up from a chair, putting a laptop that she was doing some work on to the side. Opening her arms, the second oldest of the Kongou sisters hugged him, "And a good morning to you."

Hugging her back, the teen chuckled, "I wouldn't forget you, Hiei-Oba." Leaning back some, he glanced at the door before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box. Moments later, it was enlarged back to its original size, "Also, I brought you some fudge since I figured that you might need something to snack on. Hospital food being what it is."

That, along with the wink, made both Battleships snicker even as Rose sighed, "Oh Master Harry..."

In return, Harry winked back at her which made her giggle some before handing it to Haruna. Said Battleship put it aside and gave a small nod, "Thank you, Harry-Chan, Haruna is sure that her and Rose-Chan will enjoy it." Pushing off the bed, she slipped her feet into some slippers and gestured for Harry to follow her to the nearby crib, "Haruna would like you to meet Sumire-Chan."

Looking into the crib, Harry's heart nearly melted at the small infant that was inside wiggling around. She was dressed in a pink onesie, though her hat had fallen off revealing that she had Rose's tea colored hair. The baby gave a small nod as he watched her, "She's so beautiful, Aunt Rose, Haruna-Oba..." With a glance towards the parents, Harry reached in and held out his hand, with the baby grasping one of his fingers tightly which made him laugh, "And strong, just like her parents."

Gently taking one of Haruna's hands into her own, and entwining the fingers, Rose hummed, "She is, though I think that she takes after Haruna in that way."

Bemused, Haruna shook her head, "And Haruna says that she takes after Rose-Chan in that way." Turning back to Harry, she gave him a smile, "Would you like to hold her, Harry-Chan?"

Eyes wide, Harry looked up at her, "C-can I?" At the nod, he gently pulled away his finger and nodded, "I-I would, actually."

At that, Haruna and Rose both smiled. The Tea Set then gestured at a nearby chair and waited until Harry had sat down there before she picked her daughter out of the bed. Carrying her over, she helped the thirteen year old wizard position his arms the right way, though he already knew how with Mutsu's own daughters. With that done, she gently laid her daughter in Harry's arms, "Here you go, Master Harry."

Now sitting down and looking at Sumire, the teen felt his breath taken away even as tears prickled at his eyes. It was not helped as Haruna leaned down and gently stroked her daughter's head, "Sumire-Chan? Haruna would like you to meet your cousin, Harry-Chan. He is a very good person."

Swallowing, Harry smiled, "Hello, Sumire-Chan. Like your Okaa-San said, I'm your cousin, Harry. And... and I want you to know that even though this is our first real meeting, I already love you as you're family, real family. I promise to protect you as well."

Right then, Sumire opened her eyes with hers meeting the stunned ones of Harry before gurgling happily. Then, giving another yawn, she closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest. Seeing that, Rose had a happy look on her face, "It seems that she wants you to know that she loves you too, Master Harry. And that she knows that you'll protect her."

Unable to say anything, even as a tear dripped down his face, Harry just nodded happily.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The Sun still below the horizon, Harry and Shinano walked along the path towards Akashi's workshop. Motioning with his hands, the teenage wizard sighed, "It was... just incredible, Shinano-Chan. That moment when she opened those beautiful eyes and looked up at me... and the trust they held. It... I don't really have words..."

Humming, Shinano gave a small nod, "I think that I can understand, Harry-Chan." Internally, she gave a happy sigh as she had seen pictures of the baby herself. Glancing at Harry, she felt a small blush on her cheeks, 'If we were to have a baby w-when we're both grown up, would Harry be the same with them?'

Somehow, the Carrier knew that the answer would be yes, he would be.

All too soon it seemed, they came to Akashi's workshop and Shinano had to take a deep breath to calm herself due to her butterflies. It was helped by the fact that her sisters were there, though Hana was yawning, as well as White Plains. The little Escort Carrier practically bounced up to her, "Shinano! Are you ready for your Rebuild?"

Lightly blushing, Shinano gave a nod and a happy hum in reply. Beside her, Harry gave her hand a squeeze. He was not the only one to comfort her as Yamato walked up and gave her a hug, "We're proud of you, Shinano-Chan. And we're going to be waiting for you to get out."

Yawning, Hana blinked away some sleep, "That's right, Shinano-Nee." At the giggles from Shinano, she gave an embarrassed smile, "Sorry, sort of tired from last night."

With a deep breath, Shinano bowed to them, "Thank you all."

Taking another deep breath, she let it out before entering the workshop, though she did have to blink and tilt her head some at who else was there. It was Harry who spoke the question on their minds though, "Sakura-Chan? Ume-Chan? What are you doing here?"

Both Installation Girls had slightly pink cheeks, but turned to him before answering, "We're here to help out Akashi-San best that we can, Harry-Chan. Though we're not sure how much we can do..."

Akashi, for her part, waved them off, "They have dry dock facilities, Harry-Chan. Yes, they may not yet be capable of a full work up themselves, but just the usage of their facilities means that I can do quite a bit of work on Shinano-Chan quicker. Instead of twenty hours, it should only take at most ten or eleven with them helping..." Glancing, she gave a small smile at her sisters, Yuubari, and the Light Cruiser's sister, "Among others."

Smiling, Harry gave them a nod, "Thank you." With unsure look, he walked forward and pulled out the small chest he had and enlarged it before opening it, "Akashi-Oba? These are for Shinano-Chan's rebuild."

Eyes widening, the Repair Ship took one of the ingots out and examined it before furrowing her eyebrows, "Harry-Chan? There's something odd about this ingot..."
It was then that White Plains stepped forward, "That is because I donated some steel for Harry to use in them, Miss Akashi."

From where she stood, Shinano's eyes widened and she gasped, "Kaa-San...?"

Looking back at her, the Escort Carrier smiled, "Well, if you're my daughter, I thought that I should make sure that you are as safe as possible! And also that you can be as great a Carrier as I know you already are!"

Brightly blushing, especially as Harry agreed with White Plains, Shinano smiled and poked her fingers together, "Kaa-San..." Walking over, she gave her a hug, followed by hugging Harry, "Thank you... both of you."

Only shaking her head, Akashi waited for a few moments and then cleared her throat, "Well, with everything prepared, it's time, Shinano-Chan."

It took only minutes to set everything up before Shinano was floating in one of the large, bathtub sized "Docks" for Akashi to do upgrade work. Both Ume and Sakura took deep breaths before materializing their rigging. From said rigging, what looked like mechanical arms came out with a tray that slid beneath Shinano, the "Walls" coming up around her. The Twins saw both that, and Shinano's hull enter one of their drydocks. With a small nod, they took a breath and anchored her, "Okay, we're ready for the next bit."

Softly smiling, Akashi patted them on the head before placing some fairies on Shinano's stomach, with them seemingly vanishing into nothing though the Carrier could feel them moving through her corridors, "Okay, Shinano-Chan, I'm going to shut off your boilers one by one, okay?"

Humming, the Carrier nodded, "Hai." A gasp went through her as she felt her first boiler be turned off. Feeling the warm hand in hers give it a squeeze, Shinano turned to where Harry was watching, "Harry-Chan?"

With a chuckle, Harry gave the hand another squeeze, "I'll be here the whole time, Shinano-Chan. Trust me."

As she felt another boiler go offline, Shinano squeezed the hand back. One by one, she could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness as her boilers were switched off. Before the last one went out, she felt a spike of bravery and looked at Harry, "C-can I...?"

Understanding, Harry leaned over and first kissed her forehead before kissing her softly on the lips and pulling back, "Hai. And two will be waiting for when you wake, Hime-Chan."

That brought a blush to Shinano's face as well as a happy look, "Hai... my Prince..."

With that, her last boiler went out and her eyes closed in peace though there was a smile on her face. Her own rigging extending, Akashi gave a small nod, before smiling and looking at the Twins. In their spiritual landscape, the water was drained from the dry dock and Shinano's hull came to rest in place, "And we're done, it is ready."

Nodding, Akashi let out a breath as behind her, her sisters extended their rigging. Not quite to help, but mostly so that they could observe and learn. Yuubari and her sister though, got their fairies ready to help, "Let's get started then..."
_______________________________________________________________________

For most people, awakening standing on a dock would cause most to be utterly confused. But after hearing from others, Shinano just blinked and looked around until she caught sight of her hull in dry dock. All over it, dockworkers were doing their duties and work. "Wow..."

Chuckles made her turn to find a red haired woman there with an amused look in her eye, "Yes, it is rather impressive." Looking around, she nodded, "Including this whole place."

Eyes wide, Shinano gasped, "Y-you're Harry-Chan's biological Kaa-San!" It was then that she looked around and her eyebrows raised as she could see the familiar walls of the Caldera rising up. Yet, the buildings were all whole and undamaged, "Is this...?"

Walking up to her, Lily nodded, "What this place looked like before it was wrecked? It was... or is, things get confusing at times on this plane of existence after all." Holding out a cup of hot chocolate, she smiled, "You look like you could use a little pick me up."

Lightly blushing, the Carrier took it gratefully, "Um, thank you."

For a moment, Lily looked at her before shaking her head, "You really are a most precious cinnamon roll, aren't you?"

Confused, Shinano furrowed her eyebrows, "Why do people keep calling me that? I don't get it..." She frowned a bit more, "They also call Regina-Chan that as well..."

Rather than get an answer, she just got a laugh from the deceased witch. After a few minutes, Lily calmed down, "Don't worry about it too much, Shinano. I don't and I know that Harry doesn't either, he finds it adorable." At the flustered look, she smiled, 'She really is adorable, though...' Giving the Carrier a look over, she internally shook her head, 'Poor Harry when he really starts getting into the teenage years.'

Meanwhile, Shinano just sipped the hot chocolate and found it was really good. And somehow, no matter how much she drank, it didn't empty much, "How...?"

Looking at that, Lily snorted, "Just a little gift, don't worry too much."

With a small nod, the Yamato hummed and happily sipped more hot chocolate as it was good after all. As she observed the area, she noticed a small warship out on the harbour of the Caldera, "Um, is that...?"

Just glancing in the same direction, Lily smiled, "Is that me?" At Shinano's hesitant nod, she smiled, "It is as a matter of fact. And James is out on it as well if you want to come and visit."

Frowning, Shinano shifted a little, "I don't know if I should... Hibiki-Chan said that he was a hentai and my Onee-Sans and Kaa-San always said to stay away from hentais."

That got such loud laughter from Lily, she actually collapsed to the ground, "O-oh bloody hell! T-t-that is..."

Unable to get anything else out, she just continued to laugh madly. Rather than ask, Shinano just went back to drinking her hot chocolate. Finally, Lily's laughter began to slow and stop, which made the Carrier tilt her head, "Um, are you okay? I didn't think that was funny..."

Patting her shoulder, Lily shook her head, "No, no, just me imagining James' reaction to hearing that." With a sigh, she looked at Shinano with a smirk, "James just commented on how Hibiki might well have, ah, certain thoughts about Harry while putting an image into her head regarding it."

It took a few moments, but Shinano blushed and shifted a bit before glaring at the ship and giving a sharp nod, "That is bad because Harry-Chan is not for lewding!"

Only shrugging, the smaller shipgirl smiled, "Not for right now, but when he's an adult and your Admiral, I don't care." At the shocked look, she grinned, "I want to be a Grandmother and Grandmothers care not for where the Grandbabies come, only that they do come."

That, if anything, made Shinano blush more and mumble something that got a smirk from Lily. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, "Um... question?" Getting a nod, she frowned, "Hibiki-Chan said something else..."

Not saying anything, the red head hummed for a few moments. Then, Lily pointed at a spot on Shinano's hull, "Right there."

Blinking, Shinano turned and flushed as she spotted Harry among the workers on her hull also doing work, "Is... is that really Harry-Chan? Because he didn't remember when..."

With a glance at her, Lily tapped her chin, "Well... in a way? That is Harry and isn't. Best way to put it is that due to his connection to you, there's a... representation of him that his magic forms during the reconstruction process. So, yes, it is him as his magic is a part of him, just not the whole part."

Shinano closed her eyes and thought about it for a few moments before her eyes snapped open and her mouth opened in realization, "Oh! So it is sort of a Servant like those games."

Now it was time for the witch to be lost and confused, "Uh, bloody say what now?"

Brightly smiling, Shinano nodded, "You know, Heroic Sprits on the Throne of Heroes! You summon a sort of copy of them from it that is them, but not at the same time as a Servant! Which means that is Harry-Chan's version of a Servant! And he is a Heroic Spirit!" Blushing, she shuffled her feet some, "Because, um... he's our hero after all..."

Utterly lost still, Lily blinked before shrugging, "Uh, right, I guess that you can look at it that way?" At her happy smile, she scratched her head, 'Not really sure what she meant though...' Hearing mutters from Shinano, the witch raised an eyebrow, 'Or why she's wondering if he would count as a Caster, Rider, or Ruler...' Seeing Shinano turn back to her, she raised an eyebrow, "Yes, dear? Something wrong?"

However, the Carrier shook her head, "Not something wrong, just wondering something." At her nod, she continued, "Um, why can't you come back? Harry-Chan... Harry-Chan really misses you and wants to meet you."

Sadly smiling, Lily sighed, "I wish that I could in a way. But..." She waved a hand, "I can't."

Frowning, there was a hint of steel in Shinano's gaze, "Can't or won't?"

Blinking, the smaller shipgirl took a step back, "Um, what?"

With a deep breath, Shinano gestured in a random direction, "Sayaka-San's Imouto, Momo-Chan is a Natural Born! And she died just a few years ago and returned, so why can't you?"

Only giving a sigh, Lily gave a small shrug, "Momo is a bit of a special case in that there was a ritual involved with her death that was never finished. Hence, it gave her something of a tether to go back to life. I don't have that." Scratching her chin, she gave a sigh, "As to the second... I'm not really sure that there would be all that much for me to go back to." Seeing Shinano narrow her eyes, the witch made a motion with both hands, "Harry's been without me for nearly thirteen years now. I love him, I really do. But... Nagato has done an excellent job and I don't want to put a wedge between her and him if I did come back. Besides which? I'm... not even sure that I would be able to be a mother to him. I would come back without memories of the afterlife you know. So to me, I would be returning to the find that the just over a year old toddler that I gave my life for was a fourteen year old, one with a life all his own and settling into it."

Narrowing her eyes, Shinano frowned, "..."

Just meeting those eyes, the witch shrugged, "Besides which? What about James? I would... he would be a fairy on me, I know that. But still, he would still be gone. What if I went and screwed everything up with my son with a compromised emotional state? Especially with my grief for my husband?"

Still meeting Lily's eyes, Shinano still frowned, but shook it off before crossing her arms, "I don't agree."

All she got though was a shrug and the two lapsed into silence before Lily suddenly chuckled, "You know? I really do like you. Beneath your warm, cinnamon roll self, there's a core of real steel. Perfect for my son."

That brought a blush to Shinano's face and she looked around already knowing that the previous conversation was dead and Lily was changing the subject by giving her approval. Not wanting to do anything to lose it, the Carrier looked for something else and blinked some as she realized something, "Where are my pilots?"

Waving a hand around, Lily shook her head, "They're training elsewhere actually." At the odd look, she chuckled, "Time here works differently. Normally, a refit like you're undergoing will take months of work. And yet, it takes hours. That is because time can be stretched out, thus your pilots can get training elsewhere before they come back to you."

Considering that, the Carrier frowned, "I see..."

However, the next words from Lily though caught her attention, "You might need it due to certain, ah, improvements."

At that, Shinano blinked, "Um, improvements?"

Lily crossed her arms, "You know how your hanger is split into two separate ones, right? One like Taihou's and the other is fully enclosed?" When Shinano nodded, she continued, "The enclosed one is getting a small expansion charm on it to make it bigger, and allow for you to have more planes, though not much more. Maybe... two dozen more."

Eyes widening, the Yamato stared at her, "T-two dozen more..."

There was something in Lily's eyes that made Shinano blink, as if the other woman was amused about something, "Oh yes. All the better to protect your future Admiral with." Then she pointed to where some magicals removed the armor on her hull and replaced it with new, "Also, you know that old armor joint issue that made it somewhat easy for you to be harmed by torpedoes?" Getting a nod, she continued, "The Twins handed over some information they had regarding the improvements that were come up with for the A-150s that the magicals worked on. Such as getting rid of the joints in a way that did not compromise anything, and also fixing the haphazard way that your armor was done."

Feeling her armor getting stronger as new plates were fitted without compromising the rest, Shinano stood a bit straighter. As she watched, time seemed to speed by as she was worked on with new armaments and the like added to her. The whole time she chatted with Lily, with the witch making teasing comments that made her blush, but also smile. All too soon though, she felt the work done and could see the dry dock slowly being flooded, "Is it time to go?"

Softly smiling, Lily nodded, "It is, Shinano dear. But that just means that you're going to go back to my son, your future Admiral."

Tears in her eyes, the Carrier sharply nodded before pumping her fist, "Hai! I will!" Shinano then leaned forward and hugged Lily, the smaller shipgirl returning it, "Thank you, Lily-Okaa-San... I appreciate it and..."

Patting her head even as the surroundings began to fade, Lily smiled, "You are very welcome. And I am looking forward to many, many grandchildren." She winked a bit and her next words made Shinano blush, "Especially with what is going on with you and Regina~"

Only nodding, Shinano waved at her as the fog surrounded her and she closed her eyes while feeling her boilers light up one by one. When she opened them, it was to see Harry there looking down at her, "Harry-Chan..."

Chuckling, he gave her a kiss on the forehead and one on the lips, "Hai, welcome back, Shinano-Chan."

All Shinano did was smile brightly at that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Taking a large bite of the roast beef sandwich, with the meat having been made and cut by Harry while White Plains had made the sandwich itself, Shinano happily smiled as she chewed. As she swallowed, the thirteen year old wizard gave her a small grin, "I don't need to ask if it is any good."

Rapidly shaking her head, Shinano hummed as she took another big bite in order to refill her fuel tanks and the like, snickers coming from Harry and White Plains. The Escort Carrier then turned to Ume and Sakura with a small smile, "Hopefully you're enjoying the sandwiches as well."

All they did was bow with small blushes on their faces, "H-hai."

Hoki swallowed a bite of her own sandwich as she finished it off, "Your sandwiches are always great, Kaa-San." Taking another, she licked her lips, "So good..."

Meanwhile, Megumi and Kokoro just shrugged to each other as they still could not understand how someone looking like an eleven year old was somehow the adoptive mother of a group who all looked no younger than eighteen. When they had asked Hana, she just shrugged and claimed it being due to the mysterious powers of escort vessels... Which had only confused them all the more.

Though they agreed that the sandwiches were good.

When the door opened, all the shipgirls, Sakura and Ume as well as Harry stood and bowed before saluting Goto, who returned it. Once he sat down, he looked over at Akashi with a small smile as Ooyodo sat next to him on one side and Nagato on the other with Kongou between them, "So then, I take it that the Rebuild was a success?"

Sighing, Akashi gave him a small smile, "To be honest? It was beyond a success. With Ume-San's and Sakura-San's help, we managed to perform a complete and utter rebuild of Shinano-San. One that I would have had to work at for most of a day, if not more to perform. Every bit is functional."

Just nodding as he opened a folder, the Admiral hummed, "So among other things, the armour belt...?"

Akashi smirked at that, "Fixed." She then frowned, "I can understand that in the rush due to the war that they were hasty, but there were aspects that were weakened. But..." Her smile returned and she gave a nod, "We fixed the issues with the joint that made her vulnerable to torpedo attacks. And we also added the various pumps and such that Yuubari developed based on the American ideas of DamCom."

Said Light Cruiser gave a small shrug and smile, "Hey, it was a lot of work, but we can spread it out among the fleet and make things even better and more survivable. Especially when combined with actual lessons."

Humming, Goto flipped to another aspect, "I see here that you also increased her hanger? So she has more planes?"

It was Sakura who answered that, "Hai, it is a common enough trick for magical Carriers. It.. did not do much, but our people performed the best we could with our lack of experience. And it helped that part of the hanger was enclosed and separate from the rest."

Only nodding, Goto continued to look through the pages of upgrades and they were covered. With a small sigh, he gave a bemused glance at Harry who sheepishly shrugged at the unasked question and then back to Akashi, "So... what happened this time out of the norm?"

Rubbing the side of her head, the Repair Ship sighed, "Honestly? I should have expected something seeing as part of what the metal Harry-Chan supplies came from White Plains herself, donated."

At the surprised look, White Plains gave a small shrug, "Back in the States, some of the girls give up pieces of metal to be used when their sisters and such are rebuilt. I know that Miss Enterprise did so for Yorktown and Hornet, in a way to gift them with some luck considering her namesake." She then gave a shrug, "It was not that much metal, just some nuts and bolts, a few slivers, that sort of thing."

Giving her a look, Akashi shook her head, "Well, that was more than enough to actually do something alright." At the interested look, she pulled out a piece of paper, "Let's get started on the easiest aspect. We were installing our version of the 40mm guns that the Americans used and that we started to produce in the last days of the war. Shinano's are basically doubles based on that and roughly as effective as the American originals from what I can see, yes, that means she has American fire control for all her guns." Continuing, she smirked a bit, "She is also equipped with what looks like an American radar. If I had not known any better, I would say that it was based on the ones that I saw Midway-San have when she came in."

Upon hearing that, Goto ignored the shocked looks and leaned back with a hum. After a few moments, he gave a small nod, "That is very good news actually, because that makes you more effective, Shinano-San."

Lightly blushing, Shinano only nodded and turned back to Akashi who continued, "Another thing is that she has one thing that I had been planning based on... documents we recently received from an alternate source regarding Akagi and her having night fighting abilities. Mainly, lights along her runway pointed at it to allow for night flighting capability. Granted, we're still working on those planes-"

Suddenly, she was interrupted as the Carrier in question raised her hand, "Um... I actually have some planes that could fight at night?" She furrowed her eyebrows and nodded, "About a dozen? And my pilots are trained for them."

Everyone blinked at that and shared a look. Clearing his throat, Goto gave her a look, "Would it be possible for us to actually see them in action?"

Closing her eyes, Shinano was quiet before standing, "Hai, but, um..." Poking her fingers together, she looked at the plate still full of sandwiches, "Could we bring the food with us?"

All that did was make Goto chuckle, but he nodded just the same in agreement which made Shinano very happy.

Not long afterwards found them walking towards the Carrier Range. While, yes, the Sun was sinking towards the horizon it was not quite dark yet. Something that they were all glad for. Partway there though, White Plains suddenly waved, "Enterprise! Hey, Enterprise!"

The Grey Ghost walked over with a smile on her face, "Hey everyone." She turned to regard Shinano and paused for a few moments before a look of surprise appeared on her face, "Huh... nice rebuild, Shinano."

Blushing, Shinano bowed a bit to her, "Thank you, Enterprise-San."

White Plains, meanwhile, walked up to Enterprise and pulled on her sleeve some, "We're just heading over to the range to see Shinano show off her awesome new planes. Apparently, she can perform night fighting abilities!"

A big grin on his face, Harry chuckled, "Yeah, it makes Shinano-Chan even more awesome than she was before!"

Eyebrow raised, Enterprise looked at Shinano and gave her a small smile, "Night fighting, huh? Now you got my interest, Shina." Patting the taller Carrier on the arm, she gestured towards the range, "Let's go and have a look at them."

Upon arriving, they noticed that Kaga and Akagi were both there practicing. Once it was explained, the two Carriers gave a nod and stepped back, with Kaga smiling, "This is very good to hear, Shinano-San. I look forward to seeing what you may have."

With a small bow to them both, Shinano summoned her rigging and brought out her bow before picking one of her normal arrows and going through the Kyudo motions. Moments later, one of her Shidens was shooting the target full of holes and rapidly climbing into the sky. Watching, Akagi gave a warm smile, "Very good, Shinano-San. You have certainly trained your pilots well."

Lightly flushed at the praise, Shinano shot another arrow which became another Shiden to make sure that everything was well. With a breath though, she grasped another arrow and knocked it, feeling her elevator raise the plane to her flight deck. Leaning back against the wall, Enterprise was watching with a slight smile before seeing the plane and doing a literal double take, with only those near her hearing her shocked voice, "What the fuck...?"

Releasing the arrow, Shinano smiled as it resolved into single engine plane with a four bladed propeller that snarled as it flew into the air. One of the targets were riddled with gunfire while another one was hit by rockets as the plane climbed into the sky. Furrowing her eyebrows, Kaga looked at the plane in question with a frown, "While painted in Japanese colors... that is not a Japanese plane, it looks American."

Beside her, Akagi gave a nod, "Hai, though I do not recognize it... perhaps a late war Carrier plane?"

Everyone turned towards White Plains who scratched her head, "Um, it sort of looks familiar? But... I don't know from where? Because I've never flown it."

The sound of flesh meeting flesh as well as steel hitting steel made everyone turn to where Enterprise was facepalming. Somewhat amused, Kaga gave her a smug smirk, "Is there an issue, Enterprise-San?'

Pinching her nose, the American sighed, "No, Kaga, not unless you count the fact that what Shinano has is something talked about, but never implemented. Fucking Christ, kiddo, you are damn lucky." Moments later, she pulled her fingers away and gave her a look, "But I need to confirm, so I need to see it closer."

Confused, Shinano held out her flight deck which her plane landed on. As it taxied to a stop, everyone leaned in and Goto gave a small hum, "Yes, that is definitely American. I think that I've seen it before, but... I'm not sure where."

For her part, Enterprise was observing from various angles before frowning and shaking her head, "Fuck, I was right." Looking at Shinano, she had a look of bemusement, "I don't know whether to shake your hand right now, Shina, curse the fact that for once you have the luck of the Devil, or simply go and have a drink as you just made a bunch of the girls back home cry fowl and laugh at them."

Intrigued, the Admiral straightened, "Really?"

Snorting, Enterprise shook her head, "Really." Pointing at it, she continued, "What we have here is one of the best damn Fighter planes produced by the United States of America in World War II. So damn good, we continued to use it right up until Korea. Hell, some were still being flown by the American military when I was scrapped, though mostly National Guard units." Rubbing her chin, the Carrier had a thoughtful look on her face, "It never got a Naval variant, which is why none of you know about it."

Rapidly blinking, Yamato looked back and forth before furrowing her eyebrows, "Wait... I think that I remember seeing some in the skies over Japan..."

Beside her, Nagato gave a nod of her own, "Hai, escorting American Bomber Aircraft. I remember that now."

Just nodding, the older of the two Americans nodded, "Yeah, we used them at the end of the war. Damn good plane actually." Seeing the look from Yamato, Enterprise gave a shrug, "Need to get the proper mood going... anyways, what you got there, Shina... is a P-51 Mustang."

Head snapping up at that, Goto stared at her, "A Mustang? How..."

Leaning in, Enterprise hummed as she examined it better, "Looks like a... P-51H, modified for Carrier operations." At the stares, she gave a shrug, "We never actually produced a naval version for it. But... we did work on such in the closing days of the war. Project Seahorse was to see if it was possible so that Carrier launched versions could escort Bombers through Japanese airspace. Turned out it was, but they were a bit too heavy and problems with control. And we also captured Iwo Jima and didn't need to launch them from Carriers. That said? When they started producing the P-51H variant for Operation Downfall, there was talk of modifying it for Carrier operations and even some work done for that. Then the end of the war came and that was all rendered moot."

A considering look on his face, Goto frowned, "Your opinion?"

Not saying anything, the Grey Ghost rubbed her chin in thought. Finally, Enterprise gave a nod, "Those babies have really long legs on them, which means that you can really reach out and touch someone if you catch my drift. Or have them loitering around for a very long time to keep watch as a CAP. You can also have them use bombs or the like, so all around a very good aircraft. Especially for long range strikes." Slowly nodding, she gave a slight smirk to the still stunned Shinano, "You really hit the jackpot here, Shina. A lot of the girls will want ones of their own, so expect some calls in the next few days." Her smirk then fell some to confusion, "Not sure how... unless some of that magical bullshit of yours, Harry?"

Unsure, Harry gave a small shrug, "Um, kind of?"

Meanwhile, Ume and Sakura came out of a sort of trance and cleared their throats. When everyone turned to them, they took a deep breath and let it out, "We have been examining some records and... found another possible way." At the interested look, they continued, "One was shot down and returned to Japan for testing, and the Kamo Government sent out forces to get others, wrecked or not for examination, which they did. Once repaired, there was... talk of making more for reasons that we will need to research more first. But we don't like it..." Then, they shrugged, "But perhaps that could help?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Enterprise frowned, "Maybe... the Germans did capture some and use them against us too. So not that odd..." Glancing at Shinano, she shook her head, "Maybe it is one of those odd twists of possible history they call it? Where if something could have conceivably happened, it can be used? Like how Zuikaku got that rebuild of hers that made her more like Taihou? Maybe here though it is a case where if Shinano had survived the war, us Americans would have taken her and used her, which is not impossible. Or if we needed to rearm Japan due to the Soviets or such."

Everyone just shrugged at that before they turned back to the plane resting on Shinano's flight deck and the possibilities, though Enterprise was more thoughtful than the rest due to one fact: She remembered another part of Project Seahorse...

Modified B-25s for Carrier launches and landings...

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Bread, Eggs, and Tea

23 May 2014

Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Spoiler: Bread and Egg

Masamune-no-Tokunotakai watched the love of her life and her oldest stepdaughter vanish into the RCMP post. A thoughtful smile curled her lips now that she knew the strength of Wei Ying's character after fighting alongside her through Verdun. She knew as well that going up those steps to reveal all her actions and be judged for them was in some ways more terrifying for Colombe than Verdun itself.

After all the Mill on the Meuse could only have devoured her body, her sanity and her soul. Not her family reputation and honor.

A sigh caused her to look over at the other spirit in the rental car. Mei Yuying had shiny eyes as she watched her oldest daughter and her old lover perform their duty.

Colombe at least would return to them in time from her interrogation. But Ying would be leaving here to stand in defense of Canadian homes and citizens from an evil presence as bad as Verdun.

And there were no assurances that she would return alive from her duty.

Toku cast about for something to say to help the other spirit. "Yuying-san. Since this is my first trip to Canada, is there someplace where we can observe the beauties of your country around here?"

The huli jing Chinese fox spirit blinked and refocused on the Masamune. After a moment, she barked out a laugh, and put the car into gear. "If you do not mind a little walk, I can show you a twenty-dollar view."

Toku smiled. "Not in the least. Perhaps we can make a picnic of it?"

Yuying grinned and headed for the local Tim Horton's. "Let's do that."

After a quick pass through the drive-through Toku inscribed an ofuda on the box for the donuts, Timbits, and bags of tea to keep them hot and fresh. Meanwhile Yuying navigated the traffic and headed toward Moraine Lake. "This was our first national park, Tokunotakai."

The awed Masamune nodded as she looked at the mountains and forests towering around them. "I can see why, the kami of this place and the grandeur of it are magnificent indeed."

Yuying nodded. "That is something that won my heart when I came here in 1857. It is just so free and makes you stretch yourself to expand the possibilities here."

Toku smiled as they parked the car. "Indeed so. So this Moraine Lake is worth the seeing?"

Yuying grinned mischievously as they headed up a trail along the moraine left by glaciers carving the valley out of the bedrock of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. "Oh, it's a twenty-dollar view."

Toku blinked. There is a joke with those words, I know....

She frowned and then examined the mass of rocks that they were traveling along. "So this was left behind when the ice sheets receded ten thousand years before us, Yuying-san?"

"Oh yes. They ground up part of the mountains' bones and left it here. The moraine that resulted blocked up this end of the valley that the glacier carved and allowed the lake to form from snowmelt from the peaks around it. The color is because of the glacial rock at the bottom of the lake. Now close your eyes and let me guide you."

Toku complied and felt the huli jing guide her around a bend in the path and then after a few hundred steps halted.

"Now open them."

Toku opened her eyes and cried out in wonder.
Spoiler: Moraine Lake...

In front of her a full ten mountain peaks loomed above the brilliant aqua of the lake framed by the green of trees, brown and black of the bones of the earth, and with the snow glimmering from the cloud-wreathed summits.

Tears filled her eyes at the sheer perfection of the scene in front of her, and her heart filled with the same deep joy that she had sensed before atop Fuji-san or communing with Hachiman.

She turned to Yuying and spoke in a voice full of awe. "It is beautiful, Yuying-san!! But why do you say that it is a twenty-dollar view?"

The fox smiled and handed over a banknote from her purse. Toku looked at it then started to laugh.

"Because it is!"
Spoiler: ...Is a Twenty Dollar View!

After taking photographs, Toku and Yuying found a picnic table and opened the box containing donuts and Timbits. Toku sipped her hot green tea and an eyebrow quirked. "Better than I expected."

Yuying sipped her own orange pekoe and smiled happily. "It is satisfactory when one cannot mix and brew her own blend."

Toku nodded, "Just so. When I have the chance, I shall wish to repay your hospitality and kindness with a chanoyu should you ever visit Japan."

Yuying sighed deeply. "Perhaps. That is a difficult subject for me and my family because of what Oldest Daughter endured in the War."

Toku's brows furrowed in concern. "Just so. I regret that she had to suffer under my country's madness, even though she has told myself and Colombe few details of what happened to her in Hong Kong. My family does have some responsibility for our barbarism in that dark decade. I am at fault for not acting more strongly to stop our slide into the abyss and not succeeding in convincing Kotegiri-neesama and Fudo-neesan of the folly of their positions. I was trapped by what I viewed as my proper place and role, and I failed to uphold what I knew in my steel was right."

The Masamune bowed her head to the huli jing, "You have my sincere apologies for that. Like all my kin, I seek perfection, yet I am imperfect and forever strive toward the impossible goal."

Yuying bowed in return, "I know very little of you, just that Melon has fallen for you very hard, that you are a fellow sword spirit to her, and that you fought her when my Eldest Daughter was young. But I can see why Melon is attracted to you. She has a knack for meeting and loving people who require coaxing to escape the safe but stifling burrow that they feel trapped in. Such as myself in 1854 and now you."

Toku cocked her head. "Oh? I know little of you in turn, Mei Yuying. Co-chan got you out of major trouble in 1854 with some rebels and bandits, you traveled alongside her to the ocean, and were her lover. Then unknowing of your pregnancy she gave you the tools to form a new life here alongside her firstborn. Who went to Ilvermorny and met Delilah and others and eventually ran Co-chan to ground."

A vulpine grin flickered around Yuying's lips and she sipped her tea and then nibbled on a double chocolate donut. "Accurate enough in its way. Shall we share life stories? I shall tell you of my parents Mei Zexian and Mei Tai who I told Melon about when I mourned them sixteen decades ago as a young woman fleeing their killers."

Toku's smile lit her face up and she bowed her head. "Hai. As the guest in your country, I shall go first. My fate has been entwined with Co-chan's family from the beginning, unknown to me or her at the time."

Yuying listened with interest as Tokunotaki's voice and posture shifted to that of a story teller. "For far across the Pacific in my homeland of Japan rests the Hachimangu, the primary shrine of the Protector of Warriors. There, during the era of the Warring States, on the seventh day of the seventh month of Eishō eight, five centuries before you and I shared tea here, I was carried by Takeda Nobutora, the master of the mighty Takeda Clan and ruler of Kai province who had commissioned me as a offering to Hachiman-dono. He was in rivalry with the lords of the Hojo and Uesugi Clans, and wished to gain favor in war against them."

Toku gently ran a finger across her hilt. "He commissioned me from a smith trained in the school of Masamune-sama, the greatest swordsmith of Japan. Although long dead and ascended to the Kami, Masamune-sama guided and inspired my creator as he wrought me from charcoal, fire, and iron into the same Masamune steel as my older sisters such as Honjo, Kotegiri, Fudo, Suzume, or Musashi. But there was one other smith who lived who could compare to Masamune-sama. Muramasa-sama, the Mad Smith whose genius and madness pushed the bounds of what was thought possible. He was commissioned by the Uesugi daimyo to create a blade to be a more worthy offering than I, and Muramasa-sama labored long to forge the mighty nodachi greatword known as Norimune, the Unrepentant Blade."

Yuying blinked in surprise, "Wait, you mean to tell me that you and Melon's father...?"

"Were crafted to compete with each other, yes. The day of the competition, I was viewed as the most worthy, for I incorporated the Seven Virtues of the Warrior in peerless perfection." Toku sighed. "Norimune-san was scorned for being too ostentatious, too large, and too clearly intended to do what I and the Hojo offering would do except more so. So she was cast forth by the priests and monks as flawed. Only I and perhaps no other sensed Hachiman hallow her as well as I was consecrated for He had plans for Norimune-san."

Toku sighed. "Afterward, I stayed in the shrine as a showpiece and offering, occasionally used by the senior monks for a demonstration of kenjutsu or kendo, but never actually seeing combat. Upon reaching a century of age, I manifested my avatar which you see here and was accepted as a miko, a shrine maiden of Hachiman. Then I learned the ways of the spirit but little of the outside world, for my service and oath I thought restricted me to the shrine alone. Two decades after manifesting I met the first of my sisters, Musashi-nee, the daisho long and shortsword set of the peerless legendary traveling warrior Miyamoto Musashi, who taught me the Way of the Sword."

Toky blushed and then sipped her tea. "After a few months, he moved on with Musashi-nee acting as his acolyte and pupil in the Way, and I had to stay in contact with her via letter. Seeing an individual worthy of my steel lit a fire in my heart to perfect myself to become worthy to be wielded by a suitable warrior, and in the doing I both set my feet on the way of the Sword, and also began slowly to drift from it as I began to see novice warriors less as those who should be trained and nurtured and instead not worth my time."

Toku took a Timbit and then sighed. "I progressed from learning and training through self-confidence to arrogance, and since none in the temple and no travelers could challenge me or even try with the Shogun's restrictions on dueling, I became what Co-chan would call Miko Punchable Face by the time that she showed in 1864. As she may have told you, we got along poorly at the start, for I viewed her as a foreigner unworthy of my assistance in finding her father."

Toku blushed and shook her head before draining her tea. "I was such an arrogant fool then. Unknown to us both at the time, Hachiman-dono had resolved to use her to teach us all a needed lesson and correct our courses. I needed a harsh defeat at the hands of what I thought was an inferior and unworthy foe to teach me what a true samurai, true honor, and true mastery of self was. Which I got when Co-chan goaded me into a rage and I drew myself like a common street thug, demanding that she apologize with her words or blood."

Toku's blush deepened as she continued. "She defeated me handily, and taught me that the battlefield was not the same as the dojo. Then she spared my unworthy life. However, Co-chan needed her own dose of humility and she got it at the hands of Hachiman-dono himself." The Masamune sighed happily with dewy eyes. "I have never seen anything more magnificent. Musashi-nee, and Musashi-sama's swordsmanship is masterful, but they had only sparred against each other and me to perfect the Way. Not like Co-chan, for she was totally outclassed, knew it after he beat her to the ground, and she refused to quit or be defeated, for the goal she sought of finding Norimune-san and fulfilling her oath was more than life itself in her eyes."

"However while her fighting spirit was undefeated, her body could not go on. A lesson I learned well, both that there is no dishonor in a defeat when you give your utmost in a worthy cause, and that fighting spirit alone is not enough." Toku shook her head. "Lessons that served me well after the First World War, for I did not make the same mistake twice. Then Hachiman-dono took her oath to only return when the prophecy he gave us was fulfilled, and as she left in apparent defeat, weeping inside but refusing to compromise her honor, he gave me my own prophecy that I would face her at Hachimangu once more to show if I was worthy to be her equal as a samurai in steel, skill, magic, and spirit. A challenge that I have spent my whole life since that day striving to be worthy of."

Yuying smiled as the Masamune finished the tale. "Indeed, I can see that you complete Melon, she needs someone to stand beside her and keep her grounded. I suppose that it is time for my own tale...."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

De Profundis: The Exploration And Research Logs of USS Trieste (DSV-0)
(De Profundis = From the Depths)
Entry #1

0647, 18 June 2014

National Museum of the United States Navy
Washington, DC
Spoiler: A Shipgirl's Passion

USS Trieste smiled joyfully as she signed her name and hull number into a freshly bought "Build Your Own Underwater Robot and Other Wet Exercises" book from the museum store.

"There you go, Bobby, and remember, the oceans still have things that we can all discover together." The middle-schooler smiled happily and clutched his prized book as the next child in line approached.

"Are you really a shipgirl?" The seven-year old whispered with big eyes filled with wonder. Behind her her mother took a cell phone photograph of the two of them.

Trieste nodded and pointed to her hull behind them where she had self summoned a hour and a half ago, providing the unintentional climax of All-Night Naval Movies In The Museum. "I am, that's me over there. DSV-0, USS Trieste. I'm a submersible that has explored the depths of the deep oceans where no sunlight will ever go. That's what the name the navy gave me means. DSV stands for Deep Submergence Vehicle which means that I'm intended to dive in water deeper than the tallest mountains."

"Wow." The girl gulped nervously. "That sounds scary...."

Trieste smiled in memory of being five miles down in the hadal abysses of the sea. "It can be, since I am going where no one has ever gone to find out what is there. It's cold and dark and I'm all alone in a place where the water pressure would crush anything other than my design. We actually know much more about outer space than the deep oceans today. The Abyssals and then Shipgirls have shown that the world is full of mysteries to uncover, explore, and then figure out what they mean. Every time I went for a dive, I was shining a light into the unknown, and very often I saw and recorded fish and other sea life that science had no idea existed when I laid eyes on them."

At the wide-eyed look from the girl, she asked gently, "What's your name and where are you from?"

"Bethany Spence, ma'am. We're from Denver on a vacation." Her mother said, squeezing her daughter's hand reassuringly.

She signed Bethany's Colorado Rockies baseball cap with her name and motto of Pensate Profunde. "I'm really happy to meet you, Bethany. And you should always ask questions to find out the answers. That's how all science is. We look for things and then make sense of them. Many of the great scientists who blazed the path that I helped advance a little more were your age when they asked the questions that helped all of us understand the universe we live in. 'What is this I am seeing? What does it mean? What explains what I just observed?' They asked the questions, and then went looking for answers and built me and other research vessels to explore into the darkness of the unknown and come back with treasures of knowledge."

"Wooooowww..." The girl whispered with insatiable curiosity in her eyes that matched the fire in Trieste's soul.

"It's like that. So always keep looking for answers and keep learning." A cough from the naval officer at her elbow caused her to look over at Lieutenant (j.g.) Petersen, who had been summoned from his post int he duty office in Washington Navy Yard.

"We have the car now to take you to the Pentagon to report in, ma'am." he reported.

Trieste nodded sharply and then looked at the eager children looking at her with degrees of awe, wonder, and hero-worship. "I have to go and talk to some people," there was a mass sigh of disappointment from the children and several adults, "but I want to talk to all of you about what we can all do together to explore the wonderful world that we live in. I'm going to have a mailing address and phone number set up by the Navy. Once I do that, the museum staff will be able to tell you how to get in touch with me so I can tell you about the mysteries of the ocean. I trust that your teachers and chaperones and parents will help you all contact me once I do that."

Slowly making her way through the museum, she headed for the waiting heavy truck. Taking a seat in the back, she closed her dark-brown eyes, and gasped and began to shudder slightly.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" Lieutenant Petersen asked, concern lighting up his homely face.

Trieste shook her head jerkily, holding up one finger and swallowing several times. "I... don't know..." she squeaked out finally as her eyes opened. "I mean I should be used to high pressure situations," she laughed hollowly and faintly, "I handled 15,750 psi on my hull at the bottom of Challenger Deep. But I was more terrified of disappointing those children than I was with eight tons of water on every inch of my body. I just... talking scares me sometimes."

He patted one of the twin searchlights attached to the shoulders of her deep-sea diving suit. "And you performed magnificently with them. The Navy's getting a bunch of sailors and marine scientists from those boys and girls if my experience with children is any indication."

She looked at the sandy haired officer as the truck headed for the Pentagon. "If I may ask, what experience do you have with children, Lt.?"

"Oldest of nine, ma'am. Had to herd them growing up on the family cattle ranch in Nebraska." He shrugged at her disbelieving stare.

Trieste blinked. "Nebraska. What possessed you to head into the navy growing up in Nebraska?"

He shrugged again, "I wanted something different than miles and miles of miles and miles. Do you know there's four cows to every human in Nebraska?"

Trieste shook her head. "You don't say."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Softly humming, the Abyssal PT Mothership was interrupted by a tug on her dress. Turning, she regarded the PT Imp there, "Yes dear? Is something wrong now?" Frowning, she gestured where the other PT Imps were playing a game of catch while two Abyssal Destroyers looked on, "You're not playing with your sisters after all."

The PT Imp yawned a little and shrugged, "I'm tired, Mama." Bringing up one finger to her mouth, she frowned, "We've been out and about for a long time."

Lightly chuckling, the older seeming Abyssal patted her head, "Oh, Honey, it won't be long now." She gestured ahead of them to where an island was barely visible, volcanic cone rising above the waves, "Our new home will be there now."

Clapping her hands, the PT Imp rushed over the others, "Guys! Mama says that we're nearly there!"

Her lips twitching, the motherly Abyssal smiled as her children cheered, though one of them threw their ball into the air and nearly hitting her, "Now, now, children."

Rushing over, the toddler looking Abyssal blushed, "Sorry, Mama." Grabbing their ball, she pulled it from the water to reveal that it was, in fact, a rotting human head. One that gave up the ghost as the scalp detached itself from the rest of the skull and it fell back into the water and rapidly sunk, "Aw... our ball is gone."

Gently patting her on the head, the Abyssal mothership shook her head, "It is fine, dear. We're going to get you all new balls soon enough."

Clapping her hands, another PT Imp giggled, "Are we also going to get new playmates, Mama? I like the little ones because it's so much fun when they scream and shriek." Then she pouted some, "But they always break so quick... though I like how they make everything a nice red that becomes brown."

Fondly shaking her head, the mothership chuckled, "Of course." Then, she wagged a finger at her, "Though you must be more careful with your playmates, that way they last much longer and those lovely screams will." Sighing, she shook her head, "I remember that bunch of little ones I gathered up for you bunch in the Philippines. Sadly, you went though them too quick to really enjoy it..." With a small shrug, the matronly Abyssal shook her head, "No matter, that will change soon enough once we reach the island and build up." Then she clapped her hands, "Very well, time to form up! We have a short journey before us!"

Not long after though, one of the Destroyers pulled up, "Uh, Ma'am? Are you sure that we should be heading to that island? We're not far from Japan and the humans hold islands to the north and south... also..." It looked around, "I've heard of that Bird Island. They say that it is haunted and Abyssals vanish around it. They just... disappear." A shudder went through the Destroyer, "No warning, they just, vanish with an odd scream."

Amused, the Mothership looked down at the Destroyer and patted its head, "Now, now, you're a big girl and should not be worried about ghost stories. It is just an island you understand and my floatplane looked and found nothing but some abandoned human structures close to a new lava flow. No ghosts or anything else." Chuckling, she shook her head, "Now, Mother knows best, and you should rest your mind, there is nothing to worry about. We'll land on the island and I'll make progress to create an Installation there. Mother wants you to rejoin the rest of the formation."

Internally scowling, the Destroyer did so just the same, 'You're not my Mother, you old hag. That was our Princess who died, your Princess.'

Unknown to the Destroyer, the Abyssal PT Mothership was humming to herself as she patted her stomach, 'Soon, I'll have even more children. And then will have them sink the shipgirls and humans for killing so many of the little darlings I've taken care of. Don't understand why they cannot just leave them be when they're having fun...'

The Sun was starting to set as they came within ten miles of the island. Unknown to them, on the island, two pairs of eyes were watching and both were filled with anger. Said eyes were also accompanied by a slow creaking noise.

Softly smiling as she watched the PT Imps playing, the Mothership caught flashes out of her eye and turned towards the island, "What was tha-

Before she could finish, one of the Destroyers gasped, "Gunfire! Evasive actions!

At that, squeals and shrieks sounded from the PT Imps as they prepared to run... but never got the chance.

In World War Two, to combat aircraft, the Imperial Japanese Navy designed a shell they called the "Sanshikidan", or "Type 3 Shell". Said shells were able to be shot even from main turrets of Battleships and was thought to be able to protect them. Unfortunately, they did not work and skilled pilots mostly ignored the literal fireworks of the shells. That said, they were capable of destroying ground structures very well...

PT Imps, it turned out, as well.

Five hundred feet above, the three shells detonated as inside them, nine hundred incendiary tubes ignited. Each one was composed of a hollow steel tube filled with what was known as "Rubber Thermite", which burned rapidly and detonated. For a brief moment, jets of flame sixteen feet shot out before the shell burst into a cloud of fragments filled with nearly white hot steel in a manner not unlike a monstrous version of birdshot. The Abyssal Destroyers were lucky as while they were damaged, it was not as bad as if they were a proper anti-ship shell. Meanwhile, the Abyssal Mothership screamed as the fragments burned her. But her scream was only partially for that, as the shell did its job as the PT Imps were shredded and their remains lit on fire by the shells.

As the last burning PT Imp sunk beneath the waves, the Abyssal Mothership's eyes were already glowing and she pointed at the island, "THEY KILLED THEM! THEY KILLED MY BABIES! SINK ALL OF THEM!"

Both Destroyers shot their guns at the island, but frowned as the shells bounced off something. However, before they could fire again, each one was hit by no less than three Oxygen Torpedoes to their sides and rapidly sunk. For a few moments, the Mothership stared at the spreading, burning slicks around her. It took almost a minute for her to realize that she was all alone...

When the two eighteen inch shells slammed into her, she was still staring in shock at the burning slicks.

Half an hour later found a figure waiting on one of the few beaches before the surf. Finally, a head broke free of the water followed by the rest of the teenage girl's body which was clad in a swimsuit. On the chest being "I-354". Flipping her blonde ponytail over her shoulder, she gave a smile to the female teen who was waiting, "Did we get all of them, Sora-Chan?"

The Kitsune nodded some even as she leaned heavily onto a makeshift cane, "Hai, all of them." She gave a smile towards the smaller girls who came out of the waves beside the taller and more developed girl, "Good job."

Each of the seemingly younger girls, clad in swimsuits themselves blushed. One of them, with an Tanuki tail, shifted a bit, "Um, thank you, Nee-Chan." Looking up, she gave a bright smile to the older looking Submarine girl, "But we should be thanking Samantha-Onee-Chan."

Nodding, one of the girls who looked in the middle range of the ages, around twelve, frowned, "Hai, though I am worried..."

Simply patting her head, Samantha shook her head, "Don't worry over it." Walking out of the surf, she looked towards a thick raft nearby, "Won't be long now..."

All Sora did was nod and sigh with a tired smile, "Hai, soon we're going to be heading home." Suddenly, she had a coughing fit which ended with oil-darkened blood leaking from the corner of her mouth, "Ergh..."

Quickly walking over to her, Samantha tossed one of her arms over her shoulder. Despite her legs nearly buckling, the seemingly fifteen year old took a deep breath, "Okay, let's get you back to camp. You really should not have fired that second salvo."

Grimacing, Sora the pale Kitsune shook her head, "No, I should not have. But I could not have let you have all the fun now."

A growl was all the warning that she got from a newly arrived shipgirl before a fist came down on her head, "Baka!" Throwing the other arm over her shoulders, the Tanuki also grunted, "I have no idea what you're thinking at times..."

With a shrug as the three began to climb up from the beach from a hidden path, Sora gave a sheepish grin, "Sometimes I wonder myself." It did not take them long to reach their camp, which was in fact a group of abandoned buildings on the island. Before they went in, they bowed to several piles of stone... each one a person that they had been unable to save. Before they reached the door though, an eighteen year old was there and had a fearful look on his face when he saw Sora's state, "Dammit, Sora!"

Lightly blushing at how he addressed her, the Kitsune glanced away, "I'm the strongest here even now and..."

Slumping a bit, the young man glanced at his right arm...

Or, rather, where it should have been.

Instead, the sleeve of his shirt was pinned to the rest of him making him sigh, "Yeah, though I wish otherwise..." Turning to her, he looked at her through his good eye before walking over and taking her from the two girls, "Come on, let's get you inside and some food into you. You brought her cane, right Sis?"

Rolling her eyes, Samantha held out said cane, "Right here, Bro."

Softly chuckling, Sora gave the young man a look full of care and love as they entered their shelter, "Thank you, Eric-Kun. Some food sounds really good right now..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Savato93

"Alright… that should about do it."

Sitting up from the Airfield Demon's runway-turned-surgical table, Sunny slowly and carefully worked the joints of her freshly mended leg, checking for any pain or stiffness. "Ohh, yes… that feels so much better…" she moaned blissfully.

"I'm sure it does," Nuri said as her repair tools disappeared into her rigging. "Just promise me you won't go and do something like that a second time. We can't afford to keep making stops in the middle of contested waters to patch you up."

A scoff from Sunny. "Oh, come on. What's wrong with having a little fun now and then? Besides, two Demons backed up by some of the best-trained escorts in the Pacific? Anyone who is still willing to go after us, is either stupid or feral." After a moment, she added, "Or their Princess is a callous bitch."

Nuri raised an eyebrow, sighing… before she leaned in closer to examine Sunny's foot. "...oh dear, I think my alignment was off," she mused. "I'll have to re-break the leg and set it properly…"

Sunny got the message, shrinking back a bit. "Alright, no more stupid stunts."

"Good girl." Nuri patted her older sister on the head, eliciting a displeased grumble from the battleship, and helped her up to her feet. "Now, we should be just a few hundred miles from reaching Pearl Harbor. When we get there, we can rest and refuel; after that, it should be relatively smooth sailing to Panama." Behind them, several of their sisters let out sounds of joy and relief at the thought of finishing the first leg of their trip…

It was at that moment that Wonderous called out. "Abyssal bombers, ten o'clock!"

Nuri immediately shot Sunny a glare. The battleship simply waved her off with a grimace, as her Abyssal behemoth took form behind her. "I know, I know. Me and my big mouth. Let's just get on with it, shall we?"

Like a switch being flipped, the Abyssal fleet went from being at relative ease to combat-ready in an instant. Within seconds, they were assuming a defensive formation around their flagship sisters. Just as well, for as soon as the bombers flew head-on into their coordinated AA cloud, ripping them apart piecemeal, Nuri's scouts picked up the hostile fleet itself bearing down on them—multiple destroyers and cruisers, headed by a pair of battleships, albeit with no carrier in sight.

For a time, the task force was silent, communicating every bit of information via radio to help paint a cohesive picture of the battlefield at large, letting them optimize their movements and targeting. Eventually, though, Sunny's voice broke through the constant stream of updates and advisories exchanges through their fleet, getting Nuri's attention. {Something's different about this lot.}

Stationed at the center of their task force, directing her numerous squadrons to keep her kin safe and their enemies disorganized, Nuri perked up at Sunny's remark. "What do you mean?"

{This fleet is attacking to disable, not sink. I can count three—} there was a series of muffled bangs in the distance. {four instances, now, that I could have taken a torp or two in my vitals from flanking destroyers, but they just shot at me instead. They're trying to burn our decks, wreck our superstructures, instead of dealing actual mortal damage.} A resounding boom signaled the death of one more unfortunate destroyer. {There's only a couple of them left, now.}

"You think they were trying to capture one of us…?"

{Maybe. Girls, pull back to Nuri! I'm going to go after the flagship personally, try and get some answers out of her.}

"You sure you can take her alone? Not doubting your combat prowess; just fulfilling my obligation as your sister to care for your wellbeing…" Nuri glanced around to the Abyssals returning to her side. Damage was mostly light across the board, though a couple of them were reporting disabled sensors, guns, et cetera. Things could be better… but as it stood, they could still make full steam for Pearl Harbor easily.

A warning from her fighter squadron pulled Nuri's eyes back to the skies. "Another wave!? Damn it, we've already shot down nearly a hundred craft! Either this is a full-blown carrier group, or there's a Re-class out here…"

{I'd bet good money on the latter.}

After a moment, Nuri facepalmed. "...she's trying to kill you as we speak, isn't she?"

{'Try' being the operative word.} Sighing, Nuri shifted between her various squadrons in the air, trying to get eyes on Sunny. She didn't need to look too hard—with the rest of their fleet retreating, the Battleship Demon was the only one left fighting. Sure enough, there was an enemy Re-class barreling down on her, firing as fast as she could load her guns.

Where any other Battleship Demon would have likely been risking crippling damage at minimum trying to take a Re-class battleship head-on, Sunny's age and experience put her in another league entirely, letting her dip and weave through her enemy's shell groupings with practiced ease even as she swattedwhat few bombers she had left out of the air. As Nuri watched from the sky, the Re-class closed to knife-fighting range and let loose with her full broadside, confident that dodging at such a range was impossible.

She was in for an unpleasant surprise, as Sunny dismissed and summoned her behemoth rigging in rapid succession… letting the enemy battlecarrier's shells whizz harmlessly around her as she made herself as much 'girl' as possible to minimize her profile, before quickly snapping back to full power and responding with a salvo of her own. The Re-class had no such practice imposing herself on the real world—meaning there was no dodging the perfectly-aimed shells that ripped through the armor of her main guns like paper and detonated, shredding her turrets from the inside out.

The Re-class howled in pain and rage as her other half was all but decapitated, the serpentine head reduced to burnt, mangled steel and flesh on the end of her tail. Deprived of her weapons, the battlecarrier turned and charged Sunny at full speed—likely hoping to take them both out with a ram, Nuri guessed—but Sunny wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She merely came to a stop, watching her foe rapidly draw closer.

And moments before the two collided, the Battleship Demon drew back one arm, her claws bared, and slammed it into the Re-class's chest.

Instantly, the Re-class came to a jarring halt, the air ripped from her lungs in a sharp bark. Slowly, she looked down in confusion... and let out a choked noise as she stared at the arm that had punched clean through her torso.

{Alright… listen up, you worthless, vexing pile of junk…} the growl in Sunny's voice could be heard loud and clear through the radio. {I do not take kindly to bitches like you trying to hurt my sisters.} Sunny wiggled the arm embedded in the Re-class, eliciting a pained gasp. {Right now, I have my claws around your keel. All I have to do is flick my wrist just so, and you will spend the last few hours of your life paralyzed, helpless, and in complete agony… until the ocean waves finally cause your fatally-compromised hull to break up and sink.}

In the distance, Nuri and the others shivered. Sunny could be such a sweet, fun gal most of the time… but when her family was endangered, she got violent fast. It was honestly kinda scary.

{But… I'm not incapable of mercy.} Sunny held up a finger. {I have some questions I'd like to ask you. If you cooperate, then I'll give you a quick, easy death by destroying your boilers instead. I'm sure that would be preferable to having your keel broken… am I right?}

Hanging limp on the Demon's arm, the Re-class looked back up, giving her a hate-filled glare. "Y-you think… you can scare me…?" She wheezed. "Make m-me play nice? Fuck you." She snarled at Sunny, baring her jagged teeth. "My Princess… could do so much worse to me… than anything you human-lovers are capable of."

Sunny huffed. {Well, that answers one of my questions: you know who we are.} she waved her free arm, gesturing around them. {And if you haven't noticed, your Princess isn't here. Regardless of whether you cooperate with me, you and I both know you're not going to live long enough to see her again. So why don't you just make this easier for the both of us?}

At that, the Re-class just sneered. "You stupid… naive bitches… you know nothing.

"None of us are beyond her reach."

Before Sunny could respond, there was a bright flash, and the pair was enveloped in a deafening explosion.

"SUNNY!?" Watching from the skies above, Nuri was immediately in panic mode. What just happened? Had the Re-class detonated scuttling charges? Was her sister safe!? "SUNNY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" She cried.

The fleet watched with held breath as the smoke dissipated and the water settled… revealing a Battleship Demon that was covered in burns, blood and bits of grey matter, but who otherwise looked fine. Sunny groaned as she sat up, cupping a hand over her ear. {I'm alright, I'm alright… no need to shout into the radio.} There was a collective sigh of relief from the rest of the fleet.

Sunny spent several seconds blinking, trying to get rid of the spots in her vision. She saw the Re-class floating lifelessly in the water in front of her… missing everything from the neck up. {That was no scuttling charge…} Sunny said in disbelief. {Her head just fucking exploded.}

"...What…?" Nuri tilted her head, baffled. "Only her head?"

{Yeah. And it happened just as I was starting to interrogate her.} After a moment, she snapped her fingers. {You know, this almost feels like one of those old-fashioned spy films…} Sunny tapped her cheek. {Like, the bad guys' minions would have cyanide capsules hidden in fake teeth, that they would use to kill themselves, so they couldn't spill the beans if they somehow got captured.}

Nuri was quiet for several seconds, just letting that sink in. Combined with the Re-class's final words… it did not paint a pretty picture. "Did… did her Princess set that bomb off?" She asked in a horrified whisper. "Who would do that to their own fleet…!?"

{I could make a good guess…} Sunny drifted off as she stared at the Re-class's corpse. Suddenly, she perked up. {Hold on. I think I just saw something.}

Nuri received word from her squadron that they were returning to base, pulling her vision back down to earth. "What?" She asked, as she reoriented to her normal perspective. "What is it?"

{I can see a weird mass in her chest cavity. Almost looks like… a tumor.}

Immediately, alarms were going off in everybody's heads. Tumors were supposed to be caused by cancer… but as far as any of them know, they couldn't get cancer. So where did it come from…?

The fleet waited a couple minutes for Sunny to finally return to them… with a black, fleshy mass the size of a tennis ball clutched in her hand. "As soon as we get to Pearl, this needs to get to Mother, pronto."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Warning: The middle bit of this Snip goes some extremely dark places including suicide. If it bothers you, skip past the section after the first line to the next part marked by another line.
___________________________________________

Standing at the rail of the tour boat, Eric looked at the island that they were circling around. Scratching his head, he looked towards Sora next to him, "Aren't there supposed to be whales and such around here?"

Beside him, his sister nodded as she brought down her binoculars, "And birds. But I'm not seeing any flying or hearing them."

With a small shrug, Sora frowned a little, "That is what the guidebook said." She then gestured at the unsure looking guide who was being confronted by some of the other tourists, "Even he's not sure what is going on, because there should be birds, whales, and dolphins, but... there's nothing and no sign."

Amused, Eric chuckled and looked at her, "I still don't know how it is that your hearing and sense of smell are so good."

Lightly blushing, Sora shifted from foot to foot, "Um... they just are?"

Moments later, she gave a shiver and rubbed her arms even though they were in a sweater despite the warm weather. Which made Eric frown in concern. His friend always did get sicker easier than he did and had boughts of illness when she could not even get out of bed for days at least once or twice a year, usually more. And he had overheard her parents tell his that she had been like that since she was an infant. Shaking those thoughts off, Eric places a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay, Sora?"

Grimacing, she shook her head, "I'm... fine. Just something feels really wrong, you know? Like we shouldn't be here."

About to frown and say something, the twelve year old paused and looked around as he felt a shiver go up his own back, "I... I feel that too."

Beside him, Samantha nodded, "S-same here... I really don't like this, bro."

Hearing a sudden commotion, Eric turned to find the Captain of the ship talking with the guide. There was shock on the guide's face while the Captain's was pale and looked somewhat fearful and panicked. But then, the older man rushed back to the cabin of the boat and they could feel the ship began to pick up speed, "What's going on?"

Neither of the two girls had a real answer for that.

Only three minutes later, one of the adults on the boat frowned and looked around, "Does anyone else hear that? Sounds like a low flying plane?"

At one of the railings, an elderly man pointed to port, "Look at that bird there! Never seen that one before!"

Everyone looked to see the bird that was coming closer and closer, looking like it would soar over the boat... until they realized it was not a bird. It was round and with a wide mouth that spat ghostly flame, while something was clutched in its claws. Something that it dropped into the water and began to pull up hard. Confused, Eric looked between the UFO, because that was it must have been, and where the other object had hit the water, "What the..."

Hearing a gasp from his sister, he looked at her as she had a horrified look before she screamed, "TORPEDO!"

It was, however, far too late.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, there was a massive explosion that ripped the boat in two, pretty much disintegrating the back half of the boat into a cloud of shrapnel and body parts. Eric, his sister, and Sora being both at the side opposite from impact and midway between the bow and where the boat blasted apart were thrown bodily quite some distance. Hitting the water, Eric blacked out for a moment from the impact.

When he came to, his sister was holding his head above water. In shock, Eric said the first thing that came to his mind when he saw her, "Why are you wearing a school swimsuit?"

Confused and panicked herself, Samantha shook her head, "I don't know-SORA!"

That caused Eric to twist around to find his friend spasming in the water before her head went under. Not even thinking, he dove downwards to where her body was still twitching madly as it sunk. Grabbing hold, he kicked for the surface, his muscles straining before his sister was there and grabbing Sora's other hand, for some reason, she jerked as if Sora was much, much heavier than what she really was. But neither one of the fraternal Twins stopped heading back to the surface. Just before they reached it, and the large piece of deck floating, bullets streaked through the water and Eric felt one of his arms suddenly burn with agony even as the water turned red around them and it stopped working.

However, thankfully, they were nearly at the surface and thus they were able finish their ascent. Head coming out over the waves, Eric gave a scream of agony from the pain he was in. Right as he was about to go under the water, a flawed hand grasped his and hauled him from the water, "Up, you go!" The teenage girl, who to his shock was standing on the water and had Tanuki ears and tail, paled, "Your arm!"

Coughing, he shook his head and pointed, "H-help Sora!"

Just nodding, she placed him down onto the piece of deck and, straining, pulled Sora up onto it as well with help from Samantha. Both unharmed girls panted, before they noticed that Sora still jerking around and grabbing at her chest as if she was having a heart attack.

Of course, that was when they heard the drone of more aircraft and turned to find two more heading for them. Unlike the other one, these looked alike some sort of larger creature with struts under their wings. Already shouting, Eric could only watch as the two thingsdropped two objects each as they pulled up, though not before his sister and the Tanuki shot them full of holes. There was a beat, and then another...

Suddenly, four massive shouts of water shot upwards towards the sky, and the sea between them, where most of the survivors were, turned opaque. What was worse, though, was how the people in that whitish water reacted. Their bodies jerked as if they were puppets on strings and blood spewed out of their mouths before they went limp. The four children could only look on listless and in shock. And as one body floated by, a detached part of Eric's mind noted that bits of bone poked out and their flesh was more like jello.

It was then that the corpse turned its head and demanded to know why it died and he hadn't?! It dragged itself up onto the deck along with others, with it transforming into a heavyset man, hands around Eric's throat as it squeezed and told him he should die, that it would be better. And right as he choked out his last breath-

_____________________________________________________________

Sitting up, drenched in sweat and not from the heat or humidity, Eric panted and could feel himself shudder.

Beside him, Sora woke up as well and blinked before giving him a concerned look, "Eric-Kun? What's wrong?"

Eric went to reach out with his left hand to comfort her... only to remember that it no longer was there. Shaking his head, he got up, "Just... a nightmare." Standing, he looked around the small room and let out a breath, "I'm just going to catch my breath and use the washroom."

Not believing him, the Kitsune's eyes softened, "I'm here if you need me, Eric-Kun. We're in this together."

Twisting, he patted her head, "I know, but you need your rest. Just give me a few minutes." When he got a nod, Eric clambered out of their shared "Bed", if one could call leaves and grass as well as dried seaweed covered by a blanket that, and walked to the door. Just before reaching it, he took the jug that was there and poured himself some water into a metal cup that apparently came from his sister's hull. Shaking his head, he stepped outside and sat down as he looked at the sky above before leaning back and putting his head against the cool stone of the building, 'Hard to believe it has been nearly... ten years.'

Unable to stop himself, as much as he wanted to, Eric's mind went to his dream. Every bit had happened, except for the bit where they turned into zombies and tried to kill him. The last bit though dredged up unwanted thoughts from the first eight months on the island. As if turned out, they were not the only survivors who made it to the island. Four men and two women, with one of the women having saved her daughter. Everyone else were either dead or died soon from injuries. Those first few days were horrific, and not just for the dead they buried. Said bodies had suffered some sort of internal trauma that had ruptured internal organs and broken bones. Eric's arm though was badly mangled by the bullets. Apparently; they had broken apart into tumbling fragments in the water and that was why he was not dead.

His sister and the thirteen year old Tanuki, Yumiko (or Yumi, as she told them later to call her) had these little beings that could heal him. But none of the adults trusted said beings or the two girls to heal him. So they did the best that they could with a first aid kit on a lifeboat and two weeks later, his limb began to swell and develop a smell with his fingers turning black with him developing a fever. In his delirious state, he remembered his sister screaming at the adults that it was all their fault, with them backing up. His last sight being of one of the small beings on his chest and looking at him sorrow before there was a flash of red light... and he knew no more.

When he woke two days later, he no longer had an arm and the skin where it was once attached was scarred, but closed. Not that he had much time to think about it as his sobbing sister threw herself on top of him and begged his forgiveness. Something that he felt she did not need to even ask about as he knew why she had done what she had. After that, the other survivors seemed to draw back from them. But whether out of fear or something else, Eric did not know nor care.

Granted, that was not the only thing that went wrong.

They had managed to find a radio in one of the ruined buildings which had been kept in good shape. When they turned it on though, the airwaves were filled with screams and calls for help. More horrifying, one by one each voice on the channels stopped until all they had was silence. No matter where they tuned it in, they got nothing but static... or the odd noise that made the hairs on their necks stand on end.

And then came the haze on the air. One that smelled of burning, of smoke. Something that all of them knew meant that there had to be massive fires somewhere. Most likely, with Japan burning. The very next day when the Sun rose above the horizon, it was the crimson of freshly spilled blood.

One of the men and the only other woman besides the mother, kept trying to reach someone. And three months on, they apparently had as while they were gathering some food, they heard shouting the woman came up to the rest stating that a ship had contacted them. A ship close by as well and were coming to get them. Hope and joy filled them and they rushed to where Sora was to get everything ready...

Before they could, screaming happened and they rushed back out in time to see a... creature, walk out. It looked like a pale skinned woman with glowing eyes that glared at them before smiling cruelly and walking towards them with hands dripping with blood and viscera. Chuckling, she stated that she was there to 'Rescue them'. Before she got too close, she caught sight of Samantha and Yumiko.

Right before the two of them began to fire their guns and blew her full of holes.

Ignoring her dead body, they entered the room with the radio and found it both smashed and... the bodies of the other two, though they were unable to identify who was who with what was left.

After that the other adults seemed to have... lost something. What, Eric and the others did not know, but there was an emptiness to them now. As if they were only going though the motions. Sometimes the adults would walk off and argue with each other, crying and the like. Four weeks later, something changed.

Suddenly, the adults seemed... happy, at peace. It was strange and for some reason, it frightened the kids. But they would just shrug and smile while stating that they knew how to make everything work out. How, Eric did not know, but something warned him about them.

It turned out that his instincts were right, unfortunately...

*********************************

Eric woke with a start, but not due to one of his usual nightmares. No, because he was currently in one due to the fact that he was unable to breath. Part of that was due to the weight on his chest from the heavyset man among the survivors, and also due to how his hands were around Eric's throat. Struggling, he looked up into the man's eyes and could not see any remorse.

Rather, he looked happy with a slight amount of resignation, "Don't fight it kid, trust me. We're going to make everything better." Nodding, he continued to smile and nod, "All of us are going to be safe and happy once we escape this world. The demons won't get to any of us."

However, Eric was not going just give up. Instead, he continued to struggle as the man sadly shook his head and told him to stop fighting. Vision darkening, Eric see that the other man was on top of Sora, bedridden Sora, and kneeling on her chest as well while choking her with her weakly fighting back.

That lit a fire in Eric and he could hear is blood rushing through his ears.

Knowing, already, that with one arm he could not hope to overpower the man, even if he had both arms he likely could not, the twelve year old went for another method. His hand let go of the man's arm and said person nodded, "Good, you've accepted it-"

Right before the teen's hand shot out and grabbed at a very sensitive place and squeezed as hard as he could. The resulting scream woke his sister and Yumiko. Samantha noticed the man choking her brother and reacted, throwing him into the opposite wall while Yumiko did the same with the one choking Sora. The final adult, the mother, dropped her limp daughter and stood up. Bringing out a gun, Samantha held it pointed at them as Yumiko did the same beside her with Eric's sister snarling, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE DOING?!"

The three adults blinked and the mother smiled before shaking her head with her answer chilling the four teens, "I thought that it was obvious? We're saving you all, just like I saved my daughter." She then gave a small nod, "Now, just put the gun down and we'll finish."

Frowning, the man who was choking Sora turned to the woman and hummed, "A gun would be quicker, I suppose."

Stomach churning, Eric boggled at them, 'They're insane...'

As it turned out, his sister had much the same thought, "You're insane... all of you. You were just trying to kill them!" Bringing her gun around, she pointed it at the mother, "You just killed your daughter!"

Chuckling, the woman shook her head, "No, I saved her. Now she's away from here and safe. Soon, all of us will be."

A soft smile on his face, the heavyset man shook his head, "We're all dead. You heard the radio, seen what we've seen. There's no rescue... everyone out there is already dead. But we can make sure that the Shinigami cannot get to us and take our souls. Now, just put that against yours or the others heads..."

Horrified, Yumiko stared at him before snarling, "Like hell! I'm going to make it home and I'm going to see my family! And you three can just fuck the right off!"

Each of the three adults shared a look and nodded before they charged... and found themselves in midair as one of Samantha's little people had his hand out. The pure furyon its pudgy little face could not be denied. With another wave of its hand, the three flew out through the door. Before they could get up, a makeshift barricade was already forming at the door to keep them out. Shaking, Samantha turned to Yumiko while ignoring the banging at the door, "Is she...?"

Quickly walking over to the little girl, she placed two fingers against her neck before closing her eyes and shaking her head. Gently, she closed the now sightless eyes, "Damn them..."

Blinking away tears, Samantha turned to her brother who was rubbing his neck, "Eric? Are you okay?"

Just nodding, he cleared his throat, "Y-yeah, I am..."

****************************

Snapping out of his memories, Eric pushed it away. He also pushed away the memory of the next day when him and his sister went looking for the adults while Yumiko stayed to guard Sora. And how they found their footprints and followed them... right to the edge of the cliff at whose bottom the adults' broken bodies were. A note written in the soil asking for forgiveness that they were unable to save Eric, his sister, Sora, and Yumiko.

Just rubbing his face, Eric grunted a bit as he also remembered burying the three with the others, "Damn you..."

Finally, after a few more minutes, he walked back in an laid down for what was likely little sleep...

______________________________________________________________


Gently, Eric placed his hand on Sora's shoulder, easily able to feel the bone under it, "How are you doing?"

Softly smiling, Sora chuckled a bit, "I'm doing fine, Eric-Kun. A lot better than..." Her mind went back almost a decade and a shudder went through her, "Than back then."

Just sitting down next to her, he gave a small nod, "I know, that was... terrifying on so many levels." Running his hand through his hair, he gave a sigh, "You were barely even alive, just... there. Laying unable to even lift your head much at all."

Looking down at her knees, Sora swallowed, "I know, it was worse for me. My... Shikigami or whatever you want to call them told me that because my hull was so incomplete when I woke, I didn't have boilers, just generators. And so my heart needed to handle the strain..." Reaching up, she clutched at her chest, "I was having a heart attack every few weeks."

Reaching over, Eric gave her a smile as he took her hand in his lone one, "At least we don't need to worry much about that considering things."

Suddenly, a voice cut in and they looked up to find a smiling Samantha there, "Thankfully, I found that wrecked Container Ship. Sure, the canned food got old, but the steel cans helped, especially when we I ripped the containers themselves to pieces and transported them back here." Frowning, she gave a sigh, "I'm just happy that my guess after seeing you so hungry you ate that can was correct and it did help."

Getting to her feet, the Kitsune hugged her, "And I'm happy that you did so and I have a good future Nee-San in you. Now I can help with defending and we can leave without worrying about my condition."

Lightly punching her friend's arm, Samantha chuckled, "True..." She suddenly grinned and winked, "Not that you're not already my Nee-San, not after a year ago."

Her brother and Sora blushed at that as it was no secret that the two of them were together. If anything, the time he had spent taking care of her meant that they bonded closely. Turning to his sister though, Eric grumbled a bit, "Well, you did take the others and give us some, um... alone time."

In reply, Samantha winked, "And I'll do it again if needed." With a sigh, she looked around, "Anyways... I'll just start refuelling the kids and make sure that all of them are topped up both with fuels and weapons. It is not going to be an easy journey."

Both of the other two teens there nodded, though Sora smiled, "At least you have Yumiko-Chan to help since she's the Oiler Karasaki."

Just nodding, the other girl made a sound of agreement. Meanwhile, Eric frowned, "I still have trouble believing that you're ships, or that Japan had a Submarine Tender that was also a Submarine and you're it."

Frowning, Samantha shrugged, "Kind of? My class was designed to service Float planes after all, refuel them and the like. So the magicals decided that they could serve as Submarine Tenders like some German Submarine, I think. Expanded oil tanks, fresh water, thirty torpedoes for reloads, an expanded kitchen, and trunks with expansion charms to carry food as well as spare parts." Scratching her chin, she frowned, "I think that I have several younger sisters and some older ones, though they're Tanker Submarines. Maybe I'll meet them..." With a shrug, the Submarine looked at them, "Anyways, we're going to go over everything after dinner."

That got her nods from her brother and his girlfriend after which, Samantha left.

Several moments passed before Eric left out a sigh, "I have trouble believing that we're going to be finally leaving this place."

Looking at him, Sora hugged him tightly, her multiple tails also wrapping around him, "I'm sorry... it's because of me..."

Hand cupping her cheek, Eric gave her a look, "No, it's not just because of you." Sighing, he grimaced some, "Yes, until the past few months you've been barely able to do much, but look at me! I... I'm practically a cripple. Sam would have had to tie me to her or Yumiko. And if she left, we only had Yumiko for protection and she's only got Destroyer guns at best and is an Oiler. Which also meant that Yumiko couldn't make a run for the mainland either." Leaning in, he placed his forehead against hers, "Now, I don't want you blaming yourself anymore, okay?"

Getting a happy nod, though tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, Eric kissed her deeply, one that she returned gladly. Pulling back, she sighed, "Okay, I'll try."

The two shared one last kiss and walked towards dinner.

Once dinner was done, everyone clustered around one patch of floor swept clean of dust and debris. As his sister was unfolding a map, Eric looked at the various Submarines around them. He could remember two years on, his sister in a fit of anger yelling at the sky that she could use some help supplying everyone with food from the sea since during the day, she stayed underwater catching fish.

Shortly after, a small head with cat ears popped up out of the ocean and smiled before waving. The Midget Submarine had claimed to have heard her call and come back... before becoming surprised to find that she was a little girl. And she was not the last as it seemed every other month, another popped up, sometimes just showing up for dinner out of nowhere much to their bemusement. All of which meant that they currently had nearly two dozen Midget Submarines and two larger ones.

Much to their relief though, said Submarines did pull their weight by catching a lot of fish for them to eat. And with them patrolling around the island, his sister and the two larger Submarines could patrol further, such as gathering wood from Aogashima for fuel or finding the wrecked Container Ship. They would also provide an escort and scouting portion for the upcoming journey.

Part of Eric did wonder how his mother would react to all the new daughters she now had...

Chuckling at the image, Eric turned his attention back to the meeting as it fully began. With a smile at him, Samantha took a deep breath, "Okay, we're just going over this for the final time since we're heading out tonight. The weather is clear and the Moon is just past Full. So we'll have plenty of light, but won't need to worry about any UFOs."

Arm crossed against his chest, her brother frowned, "Are we sure that the weather is clear?"

Yumiko was the one who answered as she nodded, "My Onmyouji did a reading and the chances are extremely good that it will remain clear for the next week. And nearly perfect for the next two days."

With a slow nod, Samantha nodded, "And we only need two days at most for the first leg. But we can't stay here much longer so we need to leave." Sighing, she frowned some, "We've done our best for maintenance, but time has done its job on these buildings. The last typhoon nearly ripped the last roof off. The next one likely will. And while some of us can take it..."

Everyone turned towards Eric who sighed, but nodded, "I can't."

Lips pressed together thinly, his sister nodded, "No, you can't." Scratching her head, Samantha frowned, "With how much better Sora is doing combined with how last night was the first time in nearly six months seeing one of those things around? We got a good chance, at least if we keep to the night. The Full Moon can provide us with some light and likely the last clear weather before the Rainy Season and Typhoon season set in only help our chances of getting back to Japan."

Simply nodding, Yumiko turned to the others, "Tonight, you'll need to get on the raft, Sora-Chan, and the same with Eric-Kun. It should hold the whole journey, especially as we spiked all the logs together and it has four layers." Suddenly, the Tanuki smirked, "Of course, that means that Eric-Kun will likely be sitting in your lap, Sora-Chan, not that I think that you would mind all that much~"

That caused the cheeks of the two in question to redden even as snickers and giggles filled the room.

Amused, Samantha gave her brother a wink before going back to the lap, "Now, we're going to have tow ropes held by myself, Yumiko, Ho-31, and Ho-32. Between the four of us, we actually have a chance to tow you without pushing ourselves too far. The rest will keep formation around us." There were nods of agreement before Samantha placed her finger on the map, "Now, here is where we are, Tori-Shima. We're going to start moving along the chain. Our first stop is here, Bayonnaise Rocks. The Container Ship should provide plenty of shelter for the day."

Frowning, Eric leaned forward, "I still don't like it. You said that it was driven up onto the rocks? But no oil leaks?"

Softly snorting, Samantha rolled her eyes, "Hard for an oil leak to happen when there's absolutely none in the tanks. Someone... or something drained them after it was wrecked."

A frown still on his face, her brother shook his head, "But no sign of the crew but old bloodstains and the containers were all still there. Why would those things take the people and the oil, but not the real valuable things?"

For her part, Samantha shrugged, "How am I supposed to guess." Getting a grunt, she looked at the map, "But I mainly chose it because of how long I expect to take. I don't want to be running ragged all night or anyone else. As well, it gives us shelter during the daytime when those UFOs might be out and about. They don't fly at night after all... but if we do make good time?" She moved her finger to another point on the map, "We can reach Aogashima. The village may be in ruins, but there's still places to hide."

With a frown of her own, Yumiko looked at the map and sighed, "We were always going to make a stop at Aogashima. Mainly because our next stop is further and we'd need a full night for the all out run we'd need to do." Tapping the map, she gave a nod, "Because our next stop after Aogashima is Mikura-Jima."

It was then that Sora spoke up, "Which also has a village on it... or had, in any case. But it is close enough that your radios should pick up anything on the mainland."

No one said anything, but they all knew that there was a silent "Hopefully" in there. After all, none of them knew what happened after the event that stranded them. Sometimes, those with radios would catch snippets of something, but it was always too distant, or encoded in such a way that none of their old code books worked. But... they really did not have a choice in the matter.

Which is what found the group in front of the graves on the island bowing to them, with Eric frowning, "We're leaving now, and heading home. If... when we make it, we'll let them know about you. So that they can send someone to come and take you home as well."

Of course, the only answer that they got was the night wind as the Sun sank beneath the horizon entirely. And shortly after found Eric in Sora's lap as the three Submarines and one Oiler pulled the raft out of the surf and away from the island with the smaller Submarines around them...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As the sky above fully darkened into night, leaving only the stars and Full Moon shining down as a source of light, Eric glanced back in the direction that they had come from. Part of him thought that he could just make out the speck that was Torishima on the horizon, but he was unsure if he could or if it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. The arms around him tightened slightly and he turned back to see Sora looking down at him a bit nervously, "Eric-Kun? Are you okay?"

Lips twitching, he considered his answer before nodding, "I am, just... thinking." With a sigh, he looked up towards the stars that twinkled so high above, "About how we're finally taking our first big steps home."

Glancing over her shoulders as she swam, Samantha gave him a embarrassed smile, "Sorry for taking so long, it's just..."

Sora blushed a little, "It is because I weigh so much and..."

With a sigh, the Submarine shook her head, "It's not your fault, Sora. Sure, you may weight about almost fifty thousand tons despite still being in an uncompleted state. But that's not your fault." Frowning, Samantha turned back to the ocean before them, "I'm just happy that between the four of you, we can tow you along."

On Eric's face was a small smile as he gave his girlfriend a kiss on the chin, "And I'm just glad that none of us are being left behind."

Just snorting at that, Yumiko rolled her eyes, "Yes, we're going to leave you all behind." Sighing, the Tanuki grimaced a little, "I would have been nothing but a glorified target out here with how little I have for defensive armaments and..."

Nodding, Samantha's voice was quiet, "I was a lone Submarine. Maybe I could have made the journey all the way back to the mainland on my own without being noticed. But... would they have believed me? Or would they have thought me the enemy?"

It said something that none of them really had an answer to that.

Eyes closing, Eric thought back over the various years and the arguments. And it always boiled down to the same thing, if Samantha left, she would be unable to rearm the little Submarine girls who kept up a picket around their island. Also, none of them were sure how the authorities might react to them either. For Yumiko, she was an Oiler and even Eric with how little he knew about naval operations knew that an Oiler alone out on the sea would be an easy target for any enemy that stumbled across them. So in the end... none of the two functional shipgirls who were once normal people could leave the island to get help.

Yet, what was unsaid was the worry about what would happen if they left anyone alone on the island. Samantha, her brother, Sora, and Yumiko were still scarred by what had happened. And Eric's sister still shuddered to think about what might have happened had she not been there, a vision that sometimes visited her in her nightmares.
Shaking that off, the Submarine turned her attention to their route as they made their way along the open ocean. They had picked the night mainly for two reasons really. One was that it would make it hard for them to be made out to some extent. Another was that with the Full Moon, their own picket would be able to see anything coming close. But a big part of it was aircraft, for none of those there who had been on the tour boat ever forgot how it was wrecked. And Samantha knew, as well as any Submarine, that aircraft were among the most dangerous of enemies to her kind.

All of which meant that they needed to limit their exposure and make it as hard for something to find them as possible before they reached their destination. Hence the island hopping and stopping off at different islands to for a day. It would also help in that they could stock up on supplies as Samantha and the others had done so for both Bayonaise Rocks as well as Aogashima.

On Yumiko's face was a frown as she looked back over her shoulder, "How is the raft holding up so far? Any issues?"

Examining the small raft, made of various logs spiked and tied together in layers, Eric shook his head. "It's holding up fine for now anyways. Not sure if it will last the whole way, but..." He then frowned a little, "How fast are we moving?"

Ho-32 smiled at him, visible in the moonlight, "We're moving at about ten knots, though if we're too far away, we might go up to eleven or twelve as a last moment dash. We should make it right before sunrise though and hide inside the hull." A shudder ran through her and she looked away, "I am not going to enjoy spending the day inside a wrecked ship."

Seeing that, Eric's expression softened, "Hey, Ho-32?" When said Submarine turned to him, he continued, "I'll be right there with you and I'll make sure that you're okay."
Cheeks flushing, Ho-32 looked away, "I know that, Nii-San."

That only got a smile from him.

From then on, they all chattered a little bit about various things, until finally, Samantha gave a shake of the head, "We have an issue." Seeing them turn to her, she glanced back, "We're not going to make it before Sunrise reveals us. Which means..."

Grimacing, Sora nodded, "Which means that you're going to need to speed up. How fast...?"

Quiet for several minutes, Eric's sister took a deep breath, "We're going to need to hit our full speed, or as close to it as we can get. Which means all out for the dash to the rocks."

However, that provoked a wince from her brother, "Won't that put a lot of strain on your engines though? Especially with everything else?"

Expression utterly serious, Samantha nodded, "It will. But between that and possibly getting caught out in the open? I'll deal with it..."

Yumiko gave a nod of her own, "I'm willing to push as hard as we can." When the other two towing Submarines nodded in agreement, the Tanuki Oiler turned back to Eric and Sora, "Okay, we're going to slowly speed up until we hit about fifteen knots."

Unsure, Eric gave them a look even as he knew the same thought as he was about to ask went through his girlfriend's head, "Will the raft hold together?"

Silence met him for several minutes before his sister sighed, "We can only hope and pray that it does..."

And with that, they began to speed up until they were moving at fifteen knots. There was not any more talking between them, as the four shipgirls towing the fifth's raft needed to concentrate. Meanwhile, Sora just held Eric close as the raft creaked and groaned beneath them. By the time they got close, the Sun was close to peaking over the horizon with both Eric and Sora keeping an eye out for any planes.

Thankfully, there had been none yet, though soon their attention was caught by another item which made the lone male of the group, "Is that an island?"

With a glance towards it, even as she huffed and puffed, Samantha nodded, "It is... no idea where it came... from though as... it just... popped up... thankfully... it is not... fully active..."

Simply watching the column of ash rise above the mountain peak, and how steam could be seen enveloping one part of the island, Eric frowned some as he realized something, "Is that why you chose the wrecked ship?"

Nodding, Samantha pointed to the ship that was now visible, "Got it... in one... Bro. They won't... think to look... near an active... volcano."

Despite knowing that it was dangerous, especially as there was a loud rumble and the column rose even higher, her brother simply nodded. Soon enough, they reached the ship and the large hole in the hull that was just a few feet from the water's surface, enough so that some water could get in with especially large waves. With his sister and the other exhausted shipgirls holding the raft steady, Eric helped Sora into the ship, followed by himself before helping his sister and the others in. Last was Yumiko, who lifted the raft into the hole and out of sight before climbing in themselves, just as the Sun rose above the horizon.

For a few moments, they watched it climb upwards before giving each others looks and tying the raft in place and heading further into the ship and out of sight.

Once they found a place to rest, Samantha, Ho-31 and Ho-32, as well as Yumiko, all collapsed to the floor with groans. Almost immediately, Eric was there examining them, his hands running along their legs, "How bad is it?"

Letting out a hiss, Samantha shook her head, "Not as bad as it could be. My guys are doing their best to make some repairs, but... we won't be able to do that again and will need to take it easy. At least until we can get some actual repairs done."

Just nodding, her brother didn't say anything even as he used his only hand to massage out the kinks in his sister's leg muscles. Sora did much the same with the others to help out best that she could, and also assuage the guilt she felt due to them getting hurt. Watching her, Eric frowned, "You had some of your sprites looking over the raft, right?"

With a grunt, Samantha nodded, "I did, and the raft is fine... though if we went much faster or further at that speed, who knows?" She then sighed and shook her head, "This changes some of what we had planned."

Giving her a look, Eric frowned a little, "How so?"

A hiss escaped her as she sat up before holding up her hand to stop her brother from doing anything, "Right now, we were able to prove that while we could make the run, going full power is going to leave us in a really bad state. Which means we might be going to be adding one more leg to the journey in order to be sure to make it... Hachijyo-Jima. It'll add on another day, but it is of no use if we're completely wiped by the time we reach Mikura-Jima."

Only frowning, Eric considered that before sighing, "Makes sense, I suppose."

Rubbing the side of her head, Samantha frowned for a few moments before giving a nod. Then she spoke up, "He-14, He-16, and He-21? We have need of assistance." Each of the three Midget Submarines came forward and stood at attention, "As we planned, you're going to need to head out within the hour to reach Aogashima to scout it out and make sure that no monsters are there and report back." Reaching into her swimsuit, she pulled out three juice boxes, "Here, these should get you there."

Brightly smiling, the three nodded before they took said juice boxes and began to sip the contents. The other Midget Submarines were not let alone either as they also got juice boxes from their "Nee-San", which refueled their nearly empty fuel tanks. Some of the other little brings brought over food and the like from both Yumiko as well as Samantha to feed their own crews.

After they were done, the three Midget Submarines chosen to scout left and they could hear them jump into the sea shortly afterwards. Laying back, Samantha sighed a little bit, "Bro? I'm going to get some sleep and see if we can't fix my engines or get them back up to one hundred percent."

Simply nodding, Eric brought out the blankets and placed them on the floor, "Sure, Sis. Have sweet dreams." Not hearing anything, he chuckled as almost as soon as she laid on the blankets, his sister was out and he took out a final blanket, and soon fell asleep into a nap of his own with Sora cuddled into him.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking through the darkened corridors, Eric's only source of light was the lantern that was held by one of his sister's "Crewmembers". He had woken from his nap and been somewhat restless, especially as his sister and the others besides some of the Midget Submarines were all dozing. Thus, he decided to go exploring around the ship a little with some of the Sprites, as they had decided to call them, with him and armed with sidearms just in case.

Not, really, that it was all that needed due to a lack of anything onboard or signs of such.

Mainly, what he encountered was what one would on a rotting and decaying ship. Paint was peeling everywhere and there was the smell of dampness and decay overlaying that of metal and rust. And speaking of rust, that was also something else that he often saw everywhere he looked. Large stains of rust came down from walls and ceiling everywhere he looked as well as mold and fungus. Some of the rooms he looked in had windows, and the odd moss growing here and there. As he had been told though, there was no sign of the ship's crew anywhere... well... almost no sign.

Here and there he could see what looked like bullet holes in the walls, as if someone shot at something. So too, there were large gouges in the metal as if something clawed them as well as dents. Eric stopped at one, only to discover that it was more a hole, one that went all the way through the wall and out the other side of the wall. The metal having literally punched out. Part of him shivered as he tried to imagine what happened there...

And to also ignore the small pieces of something white he could see caught in the metal.

Instead, he continued his explorations, eventually coming to the stairs and walking up them. Not long afterwards, he entered where the bridge had been. Had been, because something had blown most of it away and part of it was missing. Not going close to the edge, after all he did not know how stable it was, Eric stared out onto the hull of the wrecked ship. There was a slight tilt that was visible here. Someone, perhaps the crew, had jammed the ship up onto the rocks hard enough that nearly ten years of typhoons and waves had not shifted it. Rather, from what he could see, they had only jammed the wreck still further onto the rocks.

Part of him wondered how long the ship would be here? Would it continue to rust away, slowly possibly collapsing in on itself? Until all that was left was a pile of rusted metal on the rocks where once the ship sat? Or would an earthquake dislodge it and send it over the side of the rocks where it would plummet to the seafloor so far below?

Shaking his head after a moment, Eric took a deep breath of the sea air before letting out as he closed his eyes and simply listened. He could hear the waves crashing against the hull and the rocks. As well, his ears picked up the piercing cries of seabirds as well as the distant rumbling of the volcano that was erupting less than ten miles away. Opening his eyes though, he looked out over the deck of the ship, long since cleared of the containers that once sat there. A few had likely fallen overboard or been taken for whatever reason.

The rest though was taken by Samantha and her group of Submarines. They had ripped them open one by one and picked them for supplies. Anything edible that was still good was brought back to the Torishima, where they would be eaten by those there. At least one of the containers had contained things like vitamins, which had helped Eric not get things like scurvy. Said thought reminded him of when they discovered what could help Sora get healthier...

**********************************

With a hum, Eric removed some food from the can and held it out on a plastic spoon for Sora to eat. Something that she did so with more than a little gusto and which made him chuckle, a fact that made her blush slightly. At her look, he scratched his cheek, "Sorry, that was just... kind of cute."

If anything, that caused her blush to deepen, "Cute? Really?"

Softly smiling, Eric gave the bed bound Kitsune a chuckle, "Extremely cute."

That made her smile a bit as she looked up at him before her smile fell and she looked down, "... I'm sorry."

Not having expected that, Eric blinked at her and stared for a moment, "Sorry? About what?"

Much to his shock, tears fell from Sora's eyes, "B-because I'm such a burden, Eric-Kun. A-all I do is lay on this b-bed a-and nothing else." Closing her eyes tightly, she sobbed, "I-I'm utterly useless and... and be-because of me, w-we can't leave this p-place..." Another sob broke free from her, "I'm sorry... M-maybe you should-"

Rather than say anything, he placed the now empty can of food to the side and pulled her into a tight hug, "Don't you dare say that, Sora. Never, ever even hint at what you were about to say again! I am not going to lose you. Please..."

Feeling her heart thudding hard in her chest, the now thirteen year old girl simply nodded and held onto him as tight as she could, tears pouring from her eyes. But despite his words, Sora did hate herself. Nothing that they did could help her get better, and unless she did get better, than they were never leaving that island. Her tears though stopped as she overheard one of her little people muttering about how he wished that they had more steel to complete her construction.

Words that made her glance at the now empty cans beside her bed.

Eyes closed, Eric sighed a bit before pulling back and noticing that Sora was looking at the empty can. Part of him was amused by that fact, since her mood seemed to have swung pretty far if she went from crying to wanting more. Chuckling, he gave a nod, "Give me a moment, I'll go and get some more." Getting up, he went into the small room where they stored the cans of food and came back out only to blink. When he had gone into the room, there was at least five empty cans.

Now there was two.

About to say something, Eric watched as Sora picked up one of the remaining empty cans and bit into it, quickly eating it. Rushing over, he opened her mouth, only to find that it was gone, "Sora! What are you doing!?"

Unsure, Sora fiddled a bit with her fingers before taking a small breath, "I... my hull needs steel. And, well... that's what the cans are?"

Mouth open, the teenage boy stared at her before shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose...

*****************************************************

A chuckle escaped the present day Eric as he shook his head since, as it turned out, her eating steel did in fact help her out. Something that had weirded them all out, but... they simply shrugged it off in the end. Now knowing that, Samantha and her Subs continually came back to the ship and took apart the containers, bring the steel back for Sora to eat. Not just that, but anything inside the containers that was steel also went into her stomach. Soda and beer cans emptied and washed out before she munched on them.

Slowly, but surely according to Samantha and the others, her hull grew. And as it did so, her strength also returned and soon she was able to move around herself. By the time they left the island, she had one main turret, a few secondaries, and some of her boilers. That said, she could only fire her main turret the once as shown before she started to get internal injuries that took time to repair. Still... it was enough for them to head out.

Of course, with the amount of containers taken, there was none left on the deck of the wrecked ship. In fact, from where Eric was, he could see that there was a small dusting of volcanic ash over the deck, with the odd drift. Most likely when the wind had changed and the ash from the nearby eruption had drifted over the ship and settled on the deck. He could even see the odd spot of green, some form of plant life that had taken root.

Then, there were the scores of seabirds, hundreds of them that seemed to have nested on the deck with their cries filling the air.

For several minutes, Eric stood there watching and listening.

He was brought out of it though as he heard the drone of an aircraft and his head looked up to find a dot heading for them. Eyes rapidly widening, he quickly ducked back further inside and towards the stairs that he went down, 'Hopefully, they did not see me... the last thing that we need is someone catching sight of us.'

Roughly a thousand miles to the northeast, two purple eyes blinked underneath silver hair, "Eh?"

Looking at her, Naka-α frowned some, "Akitsushima-San? Is something wrong?"

A frown on her face, the Seaplane Tender furrowed her eyebrows in thought, "Um, I don't know?" Seeing the look from the Light Cruiser accompanying her, she waved her hands in the air, "Taitei-Chan just saw something on that container ship that is wrecked on Beyonnaise Rocks, that's all. I... don't know what it was."

Eyes narrowing, Naka-α considered things before tapping her chin, "Hmm... the one on Beyonnaise Rocks?" At the nod, she hummed in thought, "Well... from what I hear that was a target for salvagers."

Suzutsuki frowned at that, "Salvagers?"

Turning to her, Naka-α gave a small nod, "Hai. There used to be a lot of shipping containers onboard it still despite being wrecked on the rocks. And then, about five years ago, Akagi-San noticed that there were fewer. It took some time, but we noticed that they were going missing. Abyssals seemed to ignore them, so it's thought that salvagers were the ones who were stealing the old shipping containers and likely selling them. But..." For a moment, she trailed off, "But there's none left."

Upon hearing a throat being cleared, they turned to Akitsushima who shifted a bit, "Well, um... I don't want to think of it, but maybe they're salvaging other things from her wreck?" At the confusion, she shook her head, "Steel is important and so are copper and the like..."

It went without saying that the three shipgirls shared a look before one of the other Destroyers piped up, "Maybe it's an Abyssal?"

Needless to say, that did not alleviate any concern at all. However, Naka-α turned to Akitsushima and took a breath, "Have Taitei-Chan hang around the area. If they are Abyssals, they're either going to run for it, or try and shoot it down. We'll know if it is either salvagers or Abyssals in an hour."

Chewing her lip as she did not want to put her little friend in danger needlessly, Akitsushima gave a nod, "Hai, I will."

After two hours had passed and Taitei-Chan needed to return to its Tender, Naka-α gave a sigh before putting her finger against her ear, "I'll pass this back to Yokosuka..." Several minutes later, she gave a nod, "They're sending some steel hulls this way, but they're not going to be here anytime soon. But they're not too worried or in a rush either, since they'd need a pretty big boat to get back to the mainland, probably hidding in one of the holes in the hull with the Mothership probably anchored at one of the nearby islands. We're to keep up our patrol though."

That only got nods and the others continued their route as Akitsushima gushed over how proud she was of Taitei-Chan when it returned for refueling, which seemed to make it very happy.
_________________________________________________

Relaxing some now that he was out of view of the plane, Eric made his way back into the hull of the ship. With a small groan, he stretched his remaining arm a little bit, 'Should probably go and tell the others...' Noticing that one of the Sprites is gone, he turned to the others, "What's going on?"

However, the one on his shoulder just shrugs and smiles a bit, "Desu, desu desu desu desu."

Eyebrow raised, Eric frowned a little, "He's gone on ahead, huh?" At their nods, he gives a small shrug, "Well... okay then."

Shaking his head, he began to walk back while the little beings around him smile at each other and shake their heads. Yes, his mother was an American, but his father was Japanese. Besides that? They considered him a man as proven by not giving up or giving in.

While walking a little, something caught Eric's eye and he blinked a bit in confusion, "What the...?" Walking forward, he moved a hatchway into another part of the ship open and frowned at what he found, "Feathers?"

One of the little fellows with him hopped off his shoulder and examined the feathers on the floor before shaking his head, "Desu?" Turning, he gave a small shrug to Eric, "Desu, desu desu."

Considering things, Eric looked at the hallway and frowned, "I... think that this leads to the mess hall. Not sure why though..." For a few moments, he looked at his "Escort" and they looked back before nodding. With a small smile, he gave a shrug, "Well... I did want to explore a little bit more... so let's go."

It was not a long walk down the corridor before they reached what had been the Mess Hall. Quite the opposite, as they reached it less than three minutes later and Eric opened the door to find nothing there. Here and there were the very few remains of tables and the like, but... nothing more. Scratching his head, he was about to say something as he walked forward only to sputter some as he walked into a spider's web, "Ugh, what the fuck?" Shaking his head, he frowned a little bit, "I hate walking into spider webs."

Around him, the various crewmembers of his sister snickered or chuckled, with one or two laughing. Something that made him roll his eyes and was about to comment when instead, one of the fairies noticed something and pointed, "Desu!"

Seeing the feather near the door to the main freezer, Eric walked towards it while moving around the various webs here and there. It was then that he noticed that there were some bird bones as well as what looked like fish as well that were hidden in the cobwebs under the cupboards, all the while the freezer door was ajar...

A number of minutes later found Samantha tapping her arm with one finger as she frowned in thought. Finally, she stood up with a grunt, "I'm going to go and find Eric. He should have been back by now."

Yumiko frowned and was about to say something when she frowned, "Wait, I can hear his footsteps and... wait, are those your Sprites walking?"

Confused, the Submarine Tender was about to comment when Eric came around the corner and they all froze due to the Jorogumo behind him. Said Spider Yokai also froze and cringed before hiding behind him, "Um..."

Looking between the Jorogumo, who was far too big to be hiding behind him, and his friends, Eric gave a small wave, "Sorry guys... turns out that I found someone here. Meet Hinata..."

From behind him, the now named Hinata gave a shy wave, "Um, hello? I'm Hanai Hinata... or the Food Ship Hōyo...?"

Everyone just stared for a time before the other Shipgirls who had once been normal teenage girls facepalmed hard, Eric sheepishly grinning.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Watching as the Jorogumo ate the fish that they had given her, Samantha frowned as she leaned against the wall, "Hōyo, huh? I... don't know of a ship of that name."

Eyes closed, one of the Midget Submarines suddenly snapped her fingers with a gasp, "I remember her!"

Just swallowing her food, Hinata looked over at the Submarine, "Um, you do? Really?"

Nodding, the Submarine smiled, "Sure do!" She then frowned a little, "Though I heard that the Dutch wizards sank you."

A shudder went through Hinata, but she nodded, "Hai, they came underwater while I was preparing to anchor off part of the East Indies and used blasting and piercing spells on my hull from beneath. I... sank quickly."

Wincing at that, Yumiko decided to change the subject, "So... Food Ship?"

Simply humming as she finished off the last bit of fish, the Jorogumo leaned back best that she could with her spider body, "Well, hai?" At their confused looks, she lightly blushed, "Apparently, they planned to use Yokai troops for a while. But... to do that, they needed to make sure that I would be able to supply the food that some might need."

Interested, Samantha raised an eyebrow, "Really? Like what then?"

Tapping her chin, the Jorogumo smiled a little bit, "Well, among the troops they had Tsuchigumo and others that, while they can eat cooked food, its easier if they had something more... palatable." She then puffed out her chest, "So they had me built! Like my... um, Nee-San, I guess?" Considering it, Hinata nodded slightly, "Like my Nee-San, the Food Ship Mamiya, I can carry fifty head of cattle inside of me to transport live or other forms of livestock, to provide for fresh meat."

Confused for a few seconds, Samantha figured out why and barely stopped herself from grimacing, "I see."

From where he was seated beside Sora, Eric gave her a slight smile, "That is kind of neat..." He then frowned a little, "As much as I hate to ask you..."

With a sigh, Hinata looked down, "You want to know how I ended up on this wreck..." At their nods, she shifted a little bit, "Um... my Okaa-San and I, we lived with Otou-San, who was a human. He was a cook at a resturant and sometimes I helped out though I was just a little girl. And I was really good at it too!" Frowning, she gave shake of her head, "One day though, I was coming home when I stumbled on some Aurors. I'm not sure, but I was thinking that they were trying to raid some place with Yokai outside the Reserves..."

That brought a wince from all of them as both Sora and Yumiko had told Samantha and Eric all about them.

Just nodding, the Jorogumo continued, "A-anyways... they saw me and started chasing me all over the place. I hid in a container, all the way in the back of it and, um... sort of fell asleep and when I woke up, I was on a ship. One of the crew found me when I came out and took me to see his Captain. They wanted to know what I was doing stowing away on their ship and I told them some bad men were trying to kidnap me so I hid and fell asleep. Because I was only ten, they were just going to get me back home, getting me to Aogashima to be brought the rest of the way when..."

Grimacing, Eric nodded, "When those creatures attacked."

Hinata sniffled a little, "Hai... I didn't see much of the fight because one of the crew members brought me to one of the holds and told me to hide. As soon as he was gone, I transformed and climbed up to the top w-when the ship started shuddering. And then it shook hard, when I guess it hit the rocks. I don't know how long it was, but... two of these female creatures came in, covered in human blood. They were talking about something, and one of them sneered at the containers before searching around the bottom. But I stayed on top squeezed between the containers and the ceiling so they never found me..." Looking down, she shifted a little, "I... something happened and I changed. But I was so scared I stayed up there for two or three days before I was too hungry and came out. Everyone was just... gone, though there was blood everywhere. And I could see the volcano rumbling nearby and with what was coming over the radio..."

Everyone waited as the Yokai gathered herself.

Swallowing, she continued, "I... made my way to Aogashima, b-but there was no one there. And the monsters nearly got me a few times before I returned back here. Because it was safer as they always ignored it."

With a look towards Sora, who nodded, the lone teenage boy walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We can understand actually..." He began to tell their tale and soon, it was late afternoon when he finished, "... And that is about it."

Not saying anything, the Jorogumo considered everything that was said. Finally, Hinata chewed her lip a little and looked between them, "You said that you're heading back to Japan? By hopping from island to island?"

Already knowing the coming question, Samantha nodded with a smile, "You want to come with us? Because one more is not an issue."

Tears prickled at the corners of Hinata's eyes and she nodded, "Hai! Please, I'll help you however I can. I... I just want to go home..."

Once they nodded, she began to cry, which continued even as Eric held her and she hugged him back. Glancing at her brother's girlfriend, Samantha got a shake of the head from Sora. Then, she brought out some more fish, "Well, we should get eating so that our fuel tanks are all full... however that works."

Just nodding, Hinata smiled brightly as she wiped her tears away, "Hai, so we can go home."

It was after the Sun dipped below the horizon that they all left the wrecked ship and headed out towards Aogashima. This time, Hinata was helping them tow the raft after having wrapped strands of her silk around it to better keep it together. With that, they were able to have a higher speed of thirteen knots.

None of them knew that less than two hours after they left the ship, JS Kaga came up to it with some shipgirls. They radioed back that while there was no one there currently, there were signs on the ship found by the search parties that someone had been. Especially with the bones of fish and the like having been chewed. Obviously, the salvagers were somewhere nearby, though a flyby of Aogashima showed that no one was there on thermal along with no boat at the lone port and they began to go north from the island, and one ship with escort headed towards Torishima to have a look at it.

Meanwhile, with the group of shipgirls and one teenage boy, they were heading along the water towards Aogashima. Part of Eric noted how Hinata seemed to skate across the surface of the sea with her many legs, barely bothered by the weight that she was hauling with the others. Shaking that off, he decided to answer a question that he had, "By the way, Hinata?"

The Jorogumo blushed a bit, but shoved it down the best that she could seeing as he had told her that he was born in America, "Hai? What is it, Eric-Kun?"

Shifting a bit on his girlfriend's lap, he frowned some, "I was wondering about something." Getting a nod to continue, he did so, "Sam and the others have been coming and going to that ship back there for some time now. Yet, they never caught a hint that you were even there. How and why didn't you come out before now?"

While he could not see it even in the moonlight, Hinata's cheeks pinkened and she looked away, "I... was scared." At their shocked looks, she hung her head a little, "I didn't know who any of you were and, well... Jorogumo are not well liked. And you were always wandering around with guns and such, so..."

It was just a few seconds, but everyone could hear the ring of steel against steel and looked towards Samantha facepalming, "Dammit..." With a sigh, she turned to Hinata and gave her a small nod of the head, "I'm sorry about that, Hinata. Really, really sorry."

Waving her hand around, the spider Yokai shook her head, "N-no, I'm the one who should be sorry about it! If I had just tried to see who you were and why you were there... well, um..." Hinata took another breath and gave them all a soft smile, "I'm just glad that we met each other and that I took that chance."

Arms around her boyfriend, Sora chuckled, "And we're glad too. Because now we have a new friend." That seemed to be the right thing to say as the Jorogumo brightly smiled at that before turning back to keep an eye out for their destination. Once she turned, the Kitsune's smile fell a little, 'Though one who has been through as much hardship as us.'

Not even a moment later, she felt her hand gently squeezed and looked at Eric who smiled at her, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. Something that made Sora smile back at him before sighing as she placed her chin on his head and closed her eyes while keeping her tails wrapped around him to keep her boyfriend warm. A word that still made her... boilers warm nicely every time she thought of it.

Even now, she remembered how the two of them got together, three years after being stranded, they finally confessed to one another. In fact, she internally giggled, it was at the exact same time like in one of those romance manga she sometimes read. But once they realized what the other one had said, they laughed and embraced... right before sharing their first kiss. Yes, his breath was bad, but so was hers from so long with just 'Tooth cleaning charms', which did nothing about breath. And it was sloppy and unsure, as most are.

Yet, to them, it was perfect.

Two years later, as she was slowly getting stronger, Sora had talked with Samantha. And said Submarine had gotten the others to leave for a time to fish, which meant that she could have some alone time with Eric. Alone time that turned into more as they gave themselves to each other for the first time, which was a bit painful on her part, but she never regretted it. Nor did she regret any of the other times they had shared though they had worried about her becoming pregnant. Something that neither wanted to happen, but that they could not allow that not to show their love for each other. Thankfully, that worry had never come to pass...

With neither talking about their worry that, perhaps, her new state meant that she could not have children.

Opening her eyes, Sora's eyes met Eric's and the two smiled at each other before kissing. Pulling back some, she smiled as a twinkle entered her eyes, "Know what the first thing I know we're going to do is when we get back to civilization?"

Not said was how they were worried there was not one to get back to, but Eric simply smiled and nodded at that, "What, Sora?"

However, she did not say anything and leaned in to him and gently kissed his lips before pulling back. Then, Sora raised an eyebrow, "We're both going to brush our teeth several times and use mouthwash... and kiss, long and hard."

Blinking for a bit, Eric allowed that to go through his head before he laughed hard and loud at it. And he was not the only one as his own sister also laughed while Yumiko giggled and Hinata lightly blushed, through she had an amused look on her own face. The other Submarines only snickered and shook their heads at the antics of their "Onii-San and his girlfriend".

It had another effect though of lightening the mood and soon they began to chat with one another. Mainly, the Jorogumo getting to know the others besides their shared experiences with the monsters. When asked about where her parents worked, Hinata smiled, "Well, as I said, they worked in a small resturant which is in Yokohama. It, um, was not a very big one mind you. But it was really nice. Otou-San was the cook and Okaa-San manned the cash register usually or helped bring meals to people." Eyes softening, she looked towards where Japan was, "I used to spend a lot of my time there. Otou-San taught me how to cook so many things as I sat and watched. And once I got old enough, he let me do some of the things myself. One of the first things I ever did was make sandwiches, and both him and Okaa-San claimed that they were some of the best that they ever ate."

Softly smiling, Samantha gave her a happy look, "Sounds like a nice place."

Rapidly nodding, Hinata's brightened, "It is! We have the walls done in wood, Okaa-San knew an old Tanuki who was willing to do it for her. She claimed that she once saved his grandson from someone, one of the American Aurors after WWII during the Occupation..." Glancing at Samantha and Eric, she blushed, "Not that my family has any issue with Americans..."

Waving her off, Eric smiled, "Don't worry about it, Hinata. We believe you."

Briefly, the Jorogumo looked relieved before turning back and telling them more, "Well, um, the walls are done in wood and so is the floor. And we have all this old furniture as well, which makes it a really nice place and comfortable. We live in an apartment nearby as well."

Lips curling, Yumiko smiled, "Maybe once we get home, we can go and see it." Her smile then became a smirk, "And maybe, Eric can take Sora there on a date."

Just blinking, Hinata nodded some and turned to each of them, "If you do come, I'll give you all a discount on it."

That got nods, with the Submarine Tender waving a hand, "Going to look forward to it." She then began to talk about her own parents as well. The fact that her mother, and Eric's, were an English teacher made her eyes widen though she was interested since she had worked on her English to help with tourists. Yumiko also chimed in about how her mother worked as police officer and her father worked as a manager of a store in Tokyo. She had been visiting relatives on Aogashima that day that they went to see Torishima, thankfully none of whom had been on the boat.

Each of them hoped that her relatives were not killed, and no one mentioned the possibility.

At one point though, Eric fell asleep, leaning against his girlfriend and wrapped in her tails. A sight that brought a happy smile to her face as they continued on towards Aogashima and whatever awaited them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Ahead of them, Aogashima loomed before the group making their way along the ocean. Seeing it, Samantha felt her heart lighten a little bit before she turned to the others and noted that outside her brother, who was still asleep, they all seemed to feel the same way. With a nod, she turned back towards the island, 'And so, we reach the next stop on our journey...'

Part of her knew that even if they could not go any further, the island was a safe place. Much more safer than the exposed land of Torishima. Food and fresh water aplenty compared to the other island. If they could have, they would have come here as soon as they could, but the opportunity never came up.

Yumiko frowned slightly before turning to Samantha, "You've been here recently, right?"

The Submarine gave her a small nod, "Us Submarines have been visiting the island on and off. Mainly because of the fresh fruits and vegetables that we could gather." She then tapped her head, "We got maps and such of where the food on the island is, which we can gather up and eat before leaving."

Head tilted to the side, Hinata gave a small smile, "Well, depending on what they have there, I'll make us some nice meals." All of those awake gave her thankful smiles, which she lightly blushed at. After so long of being on her own, having others to talk to was... nice. But then, the Jorogumo shook off her thoughts, "What do we have on the island?"

Briefly, Samantha's eyes closed before she opened them and gave a nod, "Well, there's all sorts of vegetables on the island. Both old crops and from gardens running wild. And there's some chickens and such as well. They taste a lot better than seabird."

That got grimaces from the others who nodded, including the Jorogumo. Giving it some thought, Hinata hummed, "I might be able to make something. And leave the catching of them up to me, I'll manage that." While the others nodded in thanks, the Jurogumo licked her lips, 'Chicken... it has been so long...'

Still swimming as they moved towards where the docks were on the southwest portion of the island, sheer volcanic cliffs rising above.

Looking up at it, Samantha gave a chuckle, and when the others looked at her, she shrugged, "My Dad, when he saw it, said that it looked like how he imagined Site B did from The Lost World novel." Seeing their looks of confusion, besides Sora, she smiled, "You know, the sequel to Jurassic Park?"

Confused, Hinata frowned some, "Jurassic Park?" At their nods, she thought back to the movie and looked at the island, "Um... that island doesn't look much like the one in the movie, maybe a bit?"

Lips twitching, Samantha shook her head some, "No, they changed how it looked for the movie. Apparently, in the original book it was inside of a crater, like Aogashima, with high crater walls protecting the inside where the dinosaurs were." Flashing her new friend a grin, she chuckled, "So sort of neat."

For her own part, the lone Tanuki among the four girls who were once normal, for a given sort anyways in the case of three, nodded, "That is actually sort of neat, Samantha-Chan."

It was not long after that they reached the dock where, once, ships had come to the island. Years before, there would be ships docked there as well as fishing boats, the only safe anchorage in the island. People would be heard going back and forth talking and the like. There would be noise, including ships' radios and the sounds from people's homes...

Now, however, it was as silent as the grave for so many that it was.

Once Eric was woken up, the group clambered up the remains of the dock and looked around. The concrete structure that was the docks themselves were in ruins with holes blasted in them by shell and by bomb. Here and there, small groups of holes marked where high calibur bullets had punched through the concrete.

And the rest of the island was not unscathed either as even from where they were, they could see that almost all the homes of the small village were just gone, obliterated in the opening attack. Everyone turned away from Sora, Eric, and Yumiko to give them a few moments to cry over the probable fate of their family members. Even Samantha, who had seen it herself before, felt some tears drip down her face, "Mom... Dad..."

Reaching out, her brother gave her a look. With a small nod, Samantha came over and hugged him, and was hugged not by just him but the others as they cried and mourned those they cared about. They stood like that for several minutes, just crying.

They were brought out of it though by a sound of tires coming towards them and turned to find Hinata hauling what looked like axels from a car with the wheels still attached. At the looks from the others, she blushed and gestured at the raft, "We can't leave that out on the open, so, um... we can put these under it and I'll glue them with some silk. We can pull it further into the island to hide."

Just wiping his eyes, Eric gave her a nod, "That's a good idea, Hinata. Thank you."

Softly smiling, Hinata gave the axels to Samantha and Yumiko to hold onto and then easily lifted the raft from the water. Bringing it over, she placed it on top of the axels before using silk to anchor it onto the "Frame" and reduce the chance of it falling apart. Once it was secure, Hinata gripped one of the tow lines as did Samantha and the others, this time including the Midget Submarines and they began to head into the island's interior as none of them had any wish to stay in what was all but a graveyard.

As they walked, the Jorogumo looked around them, able to see the forests and such, "I've always wanted to come here. Otou-San and Okaa-San talked about coming to here or Hachijyo-Jima. It's... beautiful here. And we always heard that the fruits and such were amazing."

Bemused, Sora chuckled a little from where she sat on the raft, due to not being able to move all that much under her own power and tiring easily, "Hai, the fruits were really good, Hinata-Chan. Like you would not believe." Licking her lips, she made a motion with her head towards Samantha, "She actually brought us fruits and vegetables fresh from here."

Lips twitching at the surprise on Hinata's face, Samantha gave a small nod, "I've got the range that I could actually get to the mainland on my own and back, but..." The Jorogumo nodded in understanding as to why she had not done that, "The fruits though were good and helped our diet."

Only nodding, the Jorogumo smiled a bit, "Maybe there might be some here even now... hmm... now what could I make..."

Each of the others shared an amused look at that until they finally reached the top of the ridgeline that marked the crater's rim and saw the interior of the island under the starlight and the light of the nearly Full Moon. All around the center, high ridges rose upwards, casting mysterious shadows along their sides. Their slopes coming down, forested and would be green in the daylight. In the center, rose a small, forested volcanic cone. Small lights, fireflies, drifted to and fro on the night breeze, creating a mystical look.

Standing (or in the case of Sora, sitting) there, they watched for several moments before turning to one another.

With a few more moments, the group slowly descended into the crater itself. As they did so, Samantha looked at the silk around the raft and then at Hinata, "Um, Hinata? I would hate to ask, but..."

Noticing the look, Hinata blinked and followed her gaze before nodding, "What do you need me to do?"

The Submarine girl gave a small smile, "Just want to know if you could put up webbing all around where we might be hiding over the day so that we can scatter leaves and such on top of it. All the better to hide it after all."

Much to her confusion, that got a giggle from Hinata, which made the Jorogumo blush a bit, "Sorry about that, but... that is kind of funny. Because my species of Yokai were, um, ambush hunters. And Okaa-San took me out into the woods sometimes to teach me the old ways, just in case they were ever needed." At the intrigued look, she shrugged, "Okaa-San was the runt of about two dozen children. So she left as soon as possible or else, um... they might have killed her." At the looks, she grimaced, "Jorogumo were like that back in the day."

Shuddering a bit, Eric shook his head, "I'm glad that you're not like that, Hinata."

At that, the Jorogumo blushed a bit, but smiled as she nodded, "So am I... because then I would not be me."

It did not take them very long to reach the crater floor and those among them with sensitive noses began to sniff. Catching that, Samantha frowned a little bit, "Is something wrong, you guys?"

However, Yumiko shook her head, "No, nothing is wrong..." She suddenly grinned a bit, "Quite the opposite actually. We can smell a hot spring nearby!"

Eyes widened at that and they shared a look. Frowning, Hinata looked around before concentrating with her rigging appearing around her. After a few moments, small beings rose up from her abdomen on brooms and shot into the night, "If there's a hot spring, my broomriders will find it."

Beside her, Yumiko did much the same, her own broomriders flying off, "Same here."

Only ten minutes found them coming to a stop beside a hot spring that gently steamed in the night air. Fingers twitching, Sora swallowed some, "Is... is it safe?"

Above the pool, those members of Hinata's and Yumiko's crew cast spell after spell to check. Finally, one of them raised their hand and smiled, "Desu!"

With a sigh, they all relaxed and looked around. Slowly, Samantha gave a small nod, "This is actually a pretty good spot, though I think that we should make camp... over there."

Pointing at a small hill, the others nodded and made their way over to it. Finding a stand of trees, they entered them and looked around with Hinata giving a nod, "This does look a bit better... all we got to do is make some shelter."

Simply nodding, Samantha gave a smile, "Then let's get cracking. We don't have much time before daytime."

Each of them shared a smile and the shipgirls headed out. They brought large branches and even parts of downed logs back, which they leaned up. Hinata would then wrap her silk around them, securing them into place and creating a sort of giant lean-to. Then, she went over the whole structure in her sticking webbing, onto which they tossed green leaves.

Finally, the Jorogumo climbed up into a tree and looked down at it before smiling and waving, "YOU CAN BARELY SEE IT EVEN FROM HERE! I THINK THAT WE'RE DONE!" Climbing back down, Hinata gave them all a smile and looked up at where the crater wall was slowly brightening as dawn came, "And just in the nick of time too."

Clapping her hands, Yumiko gave a small nod, "Hai, it really is in the nick of time." With a small look around, she raised an eyebrow, "Time for breakfast?"

However, Hinata shook her head, "Give me... about an hour or two to forage and I'll have something made up."

At their nods, she headed off into the forest and vanished among the trees. Watching that happen, Eric only shook his head and smiled, "Well... we should probably get our fire going-" Before he was even finished, one of the little beings that lived within Sora popped out and lit the small stack of sticks on fire, "... Never mind."

They all had a laugh at that.

Less than an hour later found them all crowded around the fire. They could all smell and see the eggs and chicken cooking as Hinata did her work, the shelter large enough to accomidate her. Glancing at her, Eric smiled slightly. The Jorogumo's outfit was a pink, though slightly stained, buttoned shirt and blue skirt. From her head, her brown hair fell down to her human half's lower back in a loose ponytail. At last, the Spider Yokai straightened a bit and pulled out plates that she placed the food onto, "Here, it's all done." As they took the food, she sighed a little, "I just wish that I had more to work with..."

Upon taking a bite of the eggs, Eric shook his head, "If this is what you can do with only a 'little', then you would be amazing if you had all that you wanted."

It went without saying that made the Jorogumo blush. But she had a small smile on her face as she gave him a nod, "Thank you..."

Chewing her food, Samantha shook her head, "Bro is right, Hinata. This is amazing!" Looking at the egg, she smiled, "You put onions and the like into this."

Blush deepening, Hinata gave a small shrug, "I found a garden that I'll be going back to. There were other vegetables that I can grab there and..." She gave a small nod, "I saw a few wild pigs. I can kill one and we'll have a nice meal for either lunch or dinner."

Each of them nodded rapidly at that before going back to eating as the the Jorogumo began to deed the rest of their group with other chickens that she was cooking as well as eggs.

Once they were all fed, including Hinata herself, Eric leaned back some, "So... what now?"

For several moments there was silence and the girls looked at each other before blinking and speaking at the same time, "Hot springs."

Rolling his eyes, Eric got to his feet and they all trudged to said hot spring. When they reached it, Hinata looked at her clothes and frowned a little, "Um, I really don't want to get my clothes wet..."

She trailed off as Samantha just shucked off her swimsuit and brought out a bucket which she filled with hot water before pouring it over herself with a groan. Bringing out a cloth, she began to scrub though there was no lather. And she was not the only one either as the others did much the same, though the Submarine Tender noticed the Jorogumo go bright red. Realizing why, she blushed a little herself, "Um, we've been stuck on the island for so long that, well... it stopped bothering us. Sorry."

Quickly, Hinata waved her hands some, "N-no, it is all my fault, sorry." Taking a deep breath, she did much the same as the others after gathering her courage. Simply ignoring their looks, though she blushed deeply both due to that and glancing at the others herself, the Yokai did much the same and dumped hot water over herself before doing her best to scrub herself down. On her abdomen, some of her crew came out with brushes and began to scrub as well. Without soap, it was not quite as effective as it might have been, but it still got off some of the dirt.

When they decided that they had done as well as they could, they all entered the hot spring and the shipgirls all groaned a little at the feeling of the hot, mineral rich water. For his part, Eric leaned back as Sora cuddled into his side while at the center, Hinata crouched down for as much of her to be covered as possible by the water. Something that she did well at as she curled her legs underneath her and it was quite deep. Each of them relaxing as they laid there in the hot water, knowing that the toughest part of the journey was ahead of them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

The Reward For A Job Well Done

23 May 2014

Fairmont Chateau, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Spoiler: A Huli Jing's Past

A sad bittersweet smile curled Mei Yuying's lips at the sight of Colombe d'Aubigny du Chasteler, the woman who was the sire of her firstborn , her Shǎguā -- her life experience as a Canadian citizen for a century and a half automatically translated the pet name as "Silly Melon" -- walking through the door of the hotel room next to hers in the arms of another.

She could not fault Colombe for her selection of Masamune-no-Tokunotakai, truly. Which was perhaps the bitterest realization of the day. She had spoken truly to their daughter when she told her Little Clever Fox that what had happened between the rapier spirit and her was a long gone wonderful dream between two young people in love with each other.

She stepped inside her room, closed the door and then leaned against it with a deep sigh.

People who had each moved on from those magical days and nights together where they were the world to each other.

That time when a scared and traumatized young girl clutching her oath to keep a priceless treasure safe from unworthy hands and a foreigner bound by nothing more than her own ethics and word of honor traveled the length of a China wracked by war, rebellion, and a loss of the Mandate of Heaven by the tottering Manchu Dynasty.

Now that foreigner was a hero tempered by loss, suffering, betrayal, and the other experiences that had scarred her soul in the process of refining her into a true hero of legend.

A hero that Yuying wished with all her heart had been born Chinese or called to defend the Middle Kingdom so she could have unburdened herself completely to Colombe as they fled one step ahead of the Taiping God-Worshipers and their compatriots in the Heaven and Earth Society.

But that potential path was was long gone, and truly Yuying could not fault Colombe for following in her father's footsteps as a servant of the Shinto Protector of Warriors. It would be the height of hypocrisy to do so when she herself had trained to follow in her own parents' footsteps from birth.

She had known that this day would come when she saw the spark of righteous determination Ying had in her eyes as a young girl when Amah finally told her of her true parentage. Not least because she had seen that same spark in Colombe's eyes and then her own.

Unbidden, words from Master Kong's teachings rose up in her memory.

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."

She barked a laugh as she walked to her bed and sat down on it.

Colombe had that in full, as did Wei Ying... and so did she thanks to their inspiration.

With that she gestured her hands and chanted in Chinese. The wards and alarm spells that she had cast in her hotel room after checking in flickered to life in layer after layer of magical characters. She carefully examined them, and then nodded.

Finally she opened her suitcase and took a very deep breath. The omens of what was coming to threaten her Eldest Daughter were troubling at best. Which is why she had come to see her face to face, perhaps for the last time.

With that she removed a plain wooden cosmetic box from the suitcase. A pouch of incense sticks and a rosewood incense holder of a fox followed to be placed on the table. Last two slips of rice paper were removed.

She took a deep breath and cast additional privacy charms. Finally satisfied that she was as private as she possibly could, she placed a stick of incense in the holder.

As the incense lit, she placed her hands cupped under her open mouth and shifted to her true form of a humanoid three tailed fox. She closed her eyes and coughed up her fist-sized Spirit Pearl from where it normally lay in her liver, then whispered to it.

A pale mist flowed from it to the cosmetic box which blurred, and shifted to its true form.

In place of the wooden box, a writing kit one chi in length and a half-chi in width crafted from a single piece of the finest pure blue jade and ornately decorated and engraved with five-clawed dragons by a master craftsman rested.

Yuying knelt and performed the three obeisances and nine kowtows to the writing kit before placing her hands upon it. A pause and then enchantments three millennia old shimmered to light up and down its length as the lid opened. Inside a brush stand carved of blue jade, a natural ink stone formed of mutton-fat blue-white jade, and a writing brush carved of the blue jade and tipped with the golden whiskers of a dragon waited for her.

Yuying arranged the ink stone and brush on its stand before her with the formal, ritual motions taught in the Book of Rites.

She then took a deep breath, remembering a day a century and a half before when she had revealed the Mei family's oath to hold the Writing Set of the Shi in trust for the next fated person who would assume the Mandate of Heaven. The look in Ying's eyes as she was sworn to carry on her maternal lineage's sacred duty. Her daughter being consecrated to Guān Shèng Dì Jūn, and the words of her oath of service to the Middle kingdom and the Celestial Court inscribed on the blade and scabbard of her true body, of her very soul by this brush in the hand of her mother.

She then closed her eyes and began to weep as she thought of her long-dead murdered parents, the country that she had elected to exile herself from in pursuit of her duty, her deceased husband, sons, and younger daughters, and her fears for her eldest child. A single tear fell from her muzzle and landed in the cup of the ink stone, which began to glow. It shimmered, and filled with the vermilion ink that had since time immemorial been reserved for the tianzhi's requests to the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Yuying dipped her brush in the ink and began to write a humble petition addressed to Guān Shèng Dì Jūn requesting that he protect and strengthen Wei Ying as she fought the yaojing forces of chaos, madness, and evil to defend the helpless. All that a mother's love for her firstborn could do, she would do for her Little Clever Fox.

And in a room an ocean away deep within the Middle Kingdom, a set of eyes opened from meditation. Xiao Chaogui's clawed hand grasped the glowing piece of masterfully carved blue-green jade that was the Chuán Guó Xǐ as it reacted to the use of another of the Five Treasures as he had the image of blue lakes and great mountains form in his mind. His voice hissed "Those who worship the demon devils are truly the pawns and slaves of the demon devils; from the moment of birth they are deluded by devils and at the day of their death the devils will drag them away."

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

RCMP Station

Lake Louise, Canada

3 June 2014

"Thank you for your time Miss du Chasteler." The magistrate shook Colombe's hand as the bailiff handed back her peace-bonded sword. "We shall contact you if any further clarifications are needed, yes?"

Colombe nodded wearily. The past days had been hard as she exposed all her actions for well over two centuries to the scrutiny of magical law enforcement. "Ying... Chief Superintendent Wei said that this would get adjudicated by the ICW. Do you know when it will be decided on?"

The Mountie shrugged. "We have a hearing for early July. Until then, try to stay out of trouble, eh?"

Colombe laughed. "I'll try, but... well you saw."

"Indeed we did. For the record, our judgement is that you obeyed the spirit of the law, generally." With that the door opened and Colombe headed outside to the waiting embrace of Tokunotakai.

Yuying watched their reunion and then nodded to her. "I got a letter from Ying this morning. They are still working on containing the wendigo outbreak in Stillwater."

Colombe gave a worried smile. "I see. Well I shall write to her wishing her well. I know how much letters to the front matter to a soldier on deployment."

Toku chimed in. "I shall offer my support as well. She is certainly deserving of that. But for now, let us show you around this beautiful country before we have to go our separate ways."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Kneeling on the dirty floor, Tenryuu frowned as she looked around the room in thought. "Hmm..."

A voice suddenly made her turn to find Tatsuta there, "Well? Did you find something, Nee-San?"

For a few moments, Tenryuu glanced around the room before nodding, "There's definite signs that someone has been living here. Look over there." She pointed towards mats of dried seaweed and grass, "Those are definitely beds of some sort. And this whole room has no dust. You would think that more than ten years since someone last visited, this whole place would have dust all over it."

Scratching her chin, the other Light Cruiser only nodded, "Hai, one would definitely think so. But why would they be here?"

Only furrowing her eyebrows, Tenryuu shook her head, "Now that is a very good question, and one that I don't know the answer to. Which bothers me to no end."

Right then, Inazuma's voice called out, "KAA-SAN! WE FOUND SOMETHING! COME QUICK!"

With a shared look between them, they rushed out to find Inazuma with Akatsuki looking at piles of stones with several JMSDF personnel who were muttering to each other. Walking up, Tenryuu frowned a little bit, "What did you find, Ami-Chan?"

The Destroyer pointed at one of the larger, flat stones, "Look, those are graves, Kaa-San. All of them..."

Eyes widening, Tenryuu scanned them and cursed, "Shit, there has to be at least two dozen, but how do you know-" It was then that she noticed writing on the flat stone which was not much more than a name and a prayer for the one who laid under it, "Hmm... can one of you confirm this? Because I know there were no graves on this island."

Slightly grimacing, one of the sailors nodded and headed back to the RHIB on the shore, "I'll head back to the Fubuki and get a shovel."

As he left, Inazuma called out, "AND GET ONE OF THE SUBMARINES HERE, NANODESU! THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING UNDERWATER SINCE WE GOT ODD SONAR RETURNS!"

That only got her a nod and soon they were gone.

Less than two hours later found Tenryuu looking down at a grinning skull, still mostly buried in volcanic ash. Closing her eyes, she said a small prayer for the lost soul before straightening. Finding Verniy and Ikazuchi coming back, she turned to them, "You two find anything?"

Glancing a bit at the dug up grave as they reburied it, Ikazuchi grimaced some though it was not the first dead body that she had seen, "Hai, we did, Kaa-San." She jerked her finger back the way we came, "We noticed some of the soil in an area disturbed and started digging. Found all sorts of fish and bird bones as well as what looked like eggshells as well as shells of crabs and the like. Someone's been eating here and doing so for a long time."

Eyebrow raised, Tatsuta turned towards her sister and frowned at the thoughtful look on the other Light Cruiser's face, "What are you thinking, Nee-San?"

Her own eye narrowing, Tenryuu shook her head, "I'm thinking that, perhaps, it is not salvagers that we're looking for..."

Four hours later found them, and RO, inside of the JS Fubuki's waiting room gathered around photographs and the like. One some it showed what looked like the bow portion of a vessel blown in half that laid about two hundred and fifty feet down. Nothing behind it after a certain point, which made the Fubuki's Captain frown, "What ship is that?"

His XO answered after looking at some notes, "That would be one of the tour boats from before Blood Week. They used to come by Torishima with tourists to see the whales and the like. But this one was confirmed to be lost just after contact with Iwo Jima and the like was lost but before the other Izu Islands came under attack."

Slowly, finger tracing the map of said islands, Tenryuu nodded, "Seems about right. The Abyssals during the opening days rolled up the islands in a few hours on their way towards where they would fight the First Battle of Tokyo Bay."

Glancing at her, the Captain frowned, "You're thinking survivors? For this long?"

With a hum, Tenryuu gave a small nod, "Hai. And it is not impossible as there were survivors from WWII hiding out on islands in the Pacific for decades after the war was over. Still though... pretty damn badass nonetheless."

Inazuma looked at everyone else there, "But how did we miss them, Nanodesu? The Carriers often perform flybys to check on the islands for Abyssal activity. Shouldn't they have picked up someone living here?"

No one had an answer for that question. But then, Verniy's eyes widened and she looked back at the map, "I may have an answer." At their looks, she tapped the map, "We didn't have partial control of the sea around the islands until about two years into the war. Until that time, the Abyssals patrolled up and down looking for survivors and killing them."

Cursing, Tenryuu growled as she narrowed her eyes, "Which would make any survivor gun shy. They would assume that any aircraft were Abyssal after the first few times of being attacked. And more than that, if they only came out at night when the Abyssals did not fly aircraft, that means that we would have missed them as well."

The Captain of the Fubuki scowled, "Shit. They have either the best luck in the world or the absolute worst. I don't know which it is. But..." He frowned a little bit, "Why now? Why leave this island now and how?"

Finger tapping, RO spoke up, "There's been little Abyssal activity since three years ago. Maybe they thought it safe to make a run for the mainland. As for how... maybe they found or made a boat? We did find wood chippings nearby."

A frown on her face, Tenryuu placed her finger on the map and traced it, "Okay, so they headed out from Torishima and stayed at Beyonnaise Rocks in the wreck there for shelter. We're talking more than a hundred miles journey there, most likely during the night. Considering what we found there, they likely rested for a few days. Their next destination would be..." She tapped her finger at one point, "Aogashima."

Nodding, the XO looked at his Captain and then walked towards the phone to contact the bridge, "We should reach the island just after dark." His expression became sorrowful, "We not looking for illegal salvagers... we're looking for survivors."

With a nod of her own, Tenryuu jerked her thumb towards the door, "Me and the Kids will head outside and provide escort."

Moments later, they all headed out to perform their own thing.

_________________________________________________________________

Looking up as the Sun slowly sank towards the rim of the crater, shadows lengthening, Eric gave a small smile, 'Almost time to head out.' His smile was only partially due to the fact that they would be heading out soon and partially due to the smell that tickled his nose, "That really does smell good."

Hinata gave a small smile with a slight blush as she turned the dead pigs on the spits they were on with two of her legs, while her human hands worked at peeling some fruits that they had found, "Thank you, Eric-Kun." For a brief moment, her blush deepened before she went back to cooking, "Hopefully it tastes good."

Bemused, Samantha gave her a look before turning to the pigs whose skin had began to brown and crack some, "Somehow, I doubt that it won't taste any good. Because right now, that looks like one of the most delicious things that I've come across and smells like it too."

Rapidly nodding, one of the Kuwasu Midget Submarines smiled up at her, "It really does, Hinata-Oba-Chan." Then, she licked her lips some, "How did you ever learn to cook so good?"

Softly smiling, though she had a shy look at being called "Aunty", the Jorogumo hummed, "Actually, my Okaa-San taught me." At the looks, Hinata had a look of fond remembrance, "She used to take me out into the mountains during the warmer months to teach me what it meant to be Jorogumo. Which included hunting and how to feed myself out in the wilderness. Otou-San would sometimes join us since during hunting season, Okaa-San would bring back wild game for him to cook in our resturant."

Tilting her head to the side, Sora tore her attention away from the cooking meat as hard as it was and turned towards Hinata, "By the way... how did your parents meet? If they ever told you, that is? Seems... a bit odd, no offense"

Just blinking, Hinata sheepishly chuckled, "Right, I forgot to mention that..." Looking up, she smiled, "And I don't take offense, like I said, I know well the reputation that Jorogumo have nowadays, even with most of us being far better than what our ancestors were." Taking a few moments, the Spider Yokai began, "Well, my Okaa-San, like I said, was a Jorogumo. She used to live in the Alps, mainly minding her own business. That was until the 1980s when there was a real push by the Magical Diet to crack down on Jorogumo and Tsuchigumo remaining in the mountains outside the Reserves after a few sightings. Okaa-San said later it turned out to have been an illegal acromantula farm that was the problem, but she still had to flee the Aurors. At one point, she hopped onto a train and laid herself down on top hoping to escape..."

Voice soft, the Kitsune Battleship gave a small nod, "The Reserves are awful places and my Okaa-San mentioned that for some species, even death is perferable to being sent to them."

Not saying anything for a moment, Hinata sighed before thinly smiling, "Hai..." Then her expression brightened, "But it was lucky for my Okaa-San as she met my Otou-San. You see, my Okaa-San arrived in Osaka during the early nineties. Due to various reasons, she was not really able to have a good job, most of them were low wage. She had the choice between shelter and food. For food, she just made due with vermin as well as pigeons and such." Ignoring the grimacing, she continued, "My Otou-San was also in Osaka at the same time. You see, he was studying at a culinary school there. Sure, he knew that he would never become a chef at a highly ranked resturant, but then all he wanted was his own small one and to perhaps pass it on to any children he might have. One day, as he was walking home from class with some food leftover, he found this shabbily dressed woman on a bench in a park in the rain. He told me that she looked so depressed that his heart went out to her and so he walked over and held his umbrella up above her head until the rain had stopped. And hearing her stomach growl, my Otou-San handed her the leftovers he had, which she basically devoured to his amusement.'

Knowing where this story was going, Yumiko chuckled some, "That woman was your Okaa-San, wasn't it?"

Slowly, the Jorogumo nodded with a small smile, "Hai, it was. Because the rain had taken so long to stop, the two of them sat there and talked. My Otou-san found out that my Okaa-San basically worked odd jobs and the like, such as stocking shelves, and that was the first real meal she had in three days. Being as he was learning to be a cook, that did not sit well with him and he told her that he often had leftovers from his culinary classes and she was more than able to have them. After all, his own parents were not well off and had taught him to always pass on one's good fortune. So every day, he would come by with food for her to give and the two would simply talk. He even found out where she had lived and told me that he fell in love with her, and she told me that she fell in love with him. Though she was certain that it was not to last due to being a Jorogumo."

For several moments, she did not say anything which made Sora tilt her head, "So... obviously, she was wrong. Which then begs the question of what happened?"

Humming as she continued to gather her thoughts, Hinata glanced at her friends, something that made her heart swell, "Well, one evening, my Okaa-San was waiting and found that he had not arrived. Her instincts told her that something was wrong and she rushed along the route that she knew he followed." At their confused looks, she giggled a bit, "Once, she actually followed his route and found his school and the like." The Jorogumo's expression fell, "But... she found him not far away actually, on the ground and bleeding out while two men stood over him, one with a knife that was covered in his blood as the other went through my Otou-san's wallet looking for money. She figured that they were drug addicts or what have you needing money for their next fix."

That got winces from the others before one of the Midget Submarines leaned forward, "What happened next, Oba-Chan? Did she save him?"

A small smirk on her face, Hinata giggled darkly, "She did, though the two crooks did not enjoy it. First, she grabbed the two of them and held them up in full Jorogumo form... according to her, they literally pissed themselves and, well, let's say they should have worn the brown pants." Giggles and snickers erupted from the others, though Sora and the older teens did have a small shudder at imagining what an angry Jorogumo would look like. But then, their friend continued, "Anyways, Okaa-San then hung them out of view and gagged them before rushing towards the hospital. She placed Otou-San just out of sight of the cameras and screamed as loud as she could, which brought people running with her hiding up above them watching. Once they took him inside, she went back and... taught the two crooks a lesson."

Frowning, Samantha furrowed her eyebrows, "Did she...?"

Just shaking her head, the Jorogumo chuckled, "No, she did not kill them or even really physically harm them. Okaa-San just scared the ever loving heck out of the two of them. Stuff like dangling them off a nearby six story building and letting them drop nearly to the ground before her silk stopped them. Or, at the end, anchoring them against a concrete wall and picking up a dumpster, one of the large ones, and slamming it into the wall less then a foot from their heads while crumpling it. Apparently they fainted several times with her waking them via slapping their faces, but that time she left them there, transformed back into a woman, and screamed while looking into the alley and running away. She watched from a few blocks away as the police arrived to take them down, though she ran when the Aurors arrived."

Despite themselves, the others felt a bit sorry for the muggers.

Meanwhile, Hinata continued her tale, "Well, three weeks later, my Okaa-San received a knock on her door and opened it to find my Otou-San. Apparently, he had been released from the hospital a week earlier and tried to wait for her at their usual spot. According to her, when she let him in, and after he put the food he brought down, he gave her a hug and told her that he was thankful that she was safe... and that she looked different than the last time he had seen her. Turned out, he had seen her true form and was not bothered at all by it. Also asked to see it now that he was not partially unconscious from blood loss. Okaa-San said that she sort of freaked out, but he calmed her down by kissing her and telling her that he did not care. And even when she transformed into her true form, all he apparently said was that it was a good thing that he liked legs the most when it came to a woman's looks."

Only facepalming, Eric laughed at that, "Did he really say that? Seriously?"

Grinning a little, Hinata giggled, "Hai, he apparently did say that, which flustered Okaa-San to no end. But... it was about then that they began to seriously date and a year later, the two of them married before having me after moving to Yokohama and starting my Otou-San's resturant."

A chuckle escaped from Yumiko for a moment before she suddenly paused, "Wait, you said that the Aurors were involved? How did he not get Obliviated?"

Now smirking a bit, the Jorogumo gave her an amused look, "Apparently, one of their junior members came by since they knew that a Jorogumo was involved. They interrogated him about seeing a 'Spider woman' which one of the 'Witnesses' had stated they had seen and rescued them. He scoffed and told them that this was not a comic book and that Spiderman did not exist... or Spiderwoman before commenting that the idea of a Spiderwoman from the comics in real life was sort of hot. When they continued, he just told them that he had not seen a Jorogumo, because those don't exist and he was not a drug addict... then asked why one of them had three eyes, which they figured was because of the drugs. Must have decided that he really was unconscious."

In reply, Eric shook his head before a thought occurred to him, "Whatever happened to the muggers?'

Blinking, Hinata thought it over before giving a small shrug, "They went to jail and still are there from what I know of due to all the charges laid against them. No idea what's happened to them..."

Right at that moment, in a Japanese prison, one of the guards rolled his eyes as he heard hysterical screaming before going to check. Stopping in front of one of the cells, he sighed at the two there, "Dammit you two, what the fuck is your problem now?"

The two of them were scrambled up onto the bunkbed and as far into a corner as possible while pointing at the floor, "THERE'S A BLOODTHIRSTY MONSTER! RIGHT THERE, OH KAMI IT'S COMING CLOSER! GET IT, GET IT!"

Slowly blinking, the guard looked to find a tiny little spider on the floor just walking around. It skittered a bit closer to the bed, making the two prisoners scream louder even as they cried about not wanting to die. A fact that made the guard close his eyes and pinch his nose, "We really need to get the two of you actual professional help for your arachnophobia, honestly..." Then he paused, 'At least it is not like the time they ran down some Yakuza because one of them had a spider drop down from the ceiling in front of him... and the Yaks found it funny enough to let them off with a light beating.'

At the same time, Hinata frowned a bit, 'Why do I feel like I should be cackling evilly at someone?' Considering it, she shook her head before testing the meat and giving a nod, "Okay, time for dinner!"

Nearly faster than she could blink, and much to her amusement, the various shipgirls and one teenage boy were there with the plates she had given them. Pulling out a knife from inside her clothes, she began to carve pieces of cooked pig off and handing said hunks to the various people. Hinata took the remaining parts and began to eat herself. Eyes closed, Sora groaned a bit, "So good..."

Opening her eyes, she watched as Hinata blushed, "Um, thank you..."

Everyone chuckled a bit as she went and tore a large hunk of beat with the sharp teeth in her mouth right off the bone while hiding her embarrassment.

 

[darthcourt10]

WickedestCard

So...I got a silly little semi-canon, semi-non canon omake that was on my mind cause I like I said I got back into building model kits though I did add a little bit of character at the end so hopefully this is a fun little read for everyone.

----------------
Gambier's Weird Dream


A certain floofy haired escort carrier smiled happily as she sat in the pilot seat of a USN F-4 Phantom II while her boyfriend sat behind her as her radar operator as she took him out on a cruise flight. She wasn't sure how she managed to convince her superiors on greenlighting this but that didn't matter as she increased the thrust to the engines and climbed up into the sky. While Gambier Bay's fairies were trained on the upgraded versions of the Grumman Wildcat she was able to fly more advanced planes herself such as the so called "Triumph of thrust over physics" she was currently in. Over the radio, she heard an excited 'Woo' as she and her backseater climbed rapidly.


"Alright, we're going to be leveling out at 18,000 feet and then gain airspeed. So get ready to go supersonic okay! You're gonna love this" Gamby said with confidence as the jet fighter reached the desired altitude and she banked the wings a bit to help level out the aircraft.


"Copy that Gamby, though I'm gonna enjoy this now matter what since you're here," came the response, causing the blond to blush slightly. Still she pushed the aircraft faster over the ocean, reaching a solid 80% of the speed of sound when suddenly her radar operator came through the radio.


"Hey, Gamby? This radar system is fully online and functional right? Because it's showing something coming at us fast...from our 4 o'clock!" came his steadily worried traffic as her eyes widen in surprise. That couldn't be right because she knew there wasn't supposed to be another flight near this flight path and they were still very much within sight of the California coast so it shouldn't be Abyssals. Still her instincts kicked and and her first priority was to spot the bogey and second was to make sure that the two of them were safe. She cranked her head back trying to spot the radar contact and when she saw a flash of bright red Gambier Bay rolled the plane over to the right harshly.


As she finished her aileron roll she looked up to her 2 o'clock and felt her heart drop. There, easily going faster than the speed of sound was a bright red MiG-21 with black stars painted on its wings as it clawed for more altitude. This was her worst nightmare, this bogey now became a bandit. Gambier Bay now had one objective, make a break for San Diego and to get the two of them to safety.


"Hold on! Try and get the ATC on the radio, I'm giving it everything she's got!" Gambier Bay declared as she gained a determined look on her face, she wasn't going to let anyone down this time. She had too much riding on this and she wasn't going to lose someone so close to her if she had anything to say about it. Not this time.


Gamby rolled the F-4 to the right and dove towards the ocean and engaged the afterburners. Quickly she and her backseat felt the G's hit them hard as they accelerated, the fuselage rattling as the crack of a sonic boom would have been heard and she yanked the stick into her gut. She could hear the groaning from behind her as the two of them pulled hard G's but she managed to level out about 3,000 feet above sea level, over 1,000 mph and kept the afterburner going. She could make it, she knew she could make it to more friendly airspace.


"Bandit launched missile! Break, Break!" her boyfriend called out, fright clear in his voice as Gamby did just that, rolling right and giving the elevator all it was worth. Luckily her efforts were rewarded as the missile streaked past them.


"This isn't going to be enough Gamby! We need to transform, hold on!"


"Wait, WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN TRANSFORM!" Gambier yelled over the radio as suddenly the cockpit twisted and the wings folded in odd directions. She felt the fuselage shift underneath her feet as well and soon she feels the entire aircraft settle in a completely different form still flying through the air.


"Behold! THE PHANTOM BAY!" came the triumphant battle cry from her longhaired companion as she now sat underneath him in the pilot's chair.


Looking through the now futuristic screen she saw the mecha (which was too big to be from the F-4 they were just in) had a twin Vulcan cannon set up on it's right forearm as well as a third Vulcan mounted over the shoulder. On it's left hand it had a missile module as well as small thrusters that came from nowhere on its legs and feet. All of which made no sense as she was flying an unarmed Phantom.


"Gamby, you handle flying I'll handle the weapons! Now break left!" the now weapons officer said as Gambier did just that, dodging an incoming missile. Looking down she now noticed that the controls of the mecha were different as well as she held a glowing golden ball in each hand yet she flew the mecha skillfully.


"Alright, here he comes! For a gun run, get ready to dodge at the last minute and I'll get the shot in"


"Gotcha...I'll get it done!" Gambier yelled back as she concentrated on moving just enough to dodge the cannon rounds heading at them. The two of them knew that the MiG would need to get close to really make use of it's gun. The escort carrier could hear her boilers running hard in her ears as she looked at the Soviet built plane and as it flew at them near it's top speed she hit the controls for the thrusters and side-dashed to the left and swung the body around.


"Gotcha bitch!" came the confident response the mecha's right arm tracked the jet fighter and the Vulcans roared to life as hundreds of rounds ripped through it's fuselage. It burst into intense flames as it spiraled out of control towards the ocean and the two pilots sighed in relief.


"Ha...that was close. Good job Gamby, you really are the b- wait...I've got another contact on radar GAH!" he started to say when the mecha rocked and warning lights came on as damage readings came up in front of them.


Looking up they saw that there was a large spaceship that had fired a beam weapon at them and was bearing down at them. Gambier Bay tried to get the mecha to fly out of its range but it's controls were sluggish and the thrusters were having a hard time picking up power. The Phantom Bay's armor wasn't going to stand up to a lot of punishment from a proper warship.


However, a bright light was seen above them and powerful beam of energy impacted the warship and powered right through it. Soon explosions were seen erupting around the hull when it suddenly it's reactor detonated and the ship was ripped apart by the sheer explosive force. As Gambier Bay worked the controls to keep the Phantom Bay steady through the shockwave though thankfully the thrusters finally came back online and she was able to fly out of the way of the debris. As they flew up and above where the ship was they saw a Gundam transform into a jet and fly away.


Then all around them the surroundings melted away as they could hear the roar of a cheering crowd as they looked at the platform where their model was standing. Looking around even more confused than before she let out a startled yelp as she was lifted up by her boyfriend's sweeping hug. Still in the corner of her eye she saw another young woman picking up the model of Wing Zero and with a confident smirk walk away.


"We did it Gamby! We did it!" came his happy voice as he spun her before putting her back down. Still she was glad to see the look on his face of them winning whatever they were doing and just as she saw him lean forward she felt as if she was falling down.


"Huh?" came Gambier's confused and groggy response as she woke up suddenly in her bed. The blond escort carrier blinked as she tried to get used to the darkness. A quick check of her bridge told her it was still early, around 0400.


Finally as she got her bearings, she took a look around her room and saw on the table the model kits that were being worked on by the two of them. She smiled as she remembered that she had managed to find a store that still had a good selection of Gunpla, or Gundam plastic model kits, so close to Christmas. Granted as she, White and Shin'you browsed the rows of boxes Gambier Bay noticed that most of the kits were of the ones more popular in the States and the West than in Japan but that made sense as it was one located in Yokosuka after all. It did mean that she could find a good Gundam that were more familiar to him. Finally she settled on two kits in Wing Zero and HeavyArms Custom and got ready to get them sent back.


It turns out her present turned out to be a couple of model kits as well as he had gotten her both a F2M-2 Wildcat and a F-5 Tiger along with paint and custom decals so that it could fly the colors and squadron numbers from her own air crew. Gambier had a smile that lit up her face when she opened the kits. She knew full well that her hull and flight deck weren't suitable even for late war aircraft let alone the powerful jets that would come to define air power. Currently, South Dakota was thinking that she and her sister ships through copious use of MSSB could possibly fly the F8F Bearcats. But with these she could say that her crew could get a supersonic jet on her deck. It was a bit silly, yes but it was a nice thought when she realized that he had wanted to build all four of them together.


She admitted that she snorted before breaking out into giggles as her boyfriend nonchalantly said he didn't trust his own hands to not snap the plastic. Looking over to the door to her small living room area she giggled as he insisted he'd sleep there as to not give her Taffy mates more ammo to fire at him. However all of this also brought another shopping memory to mind when a few certain battleships got wind of her shopping for her boyfriend and declared that'd help with making sure 'they're youthful love will burn bright over the winter holidays' and she blushed when she realized far too late she had been dragged to a swimsuit shop. Luckily White was there soon enough to help her out of that jam.


Still, figured she'd go back to sleep for a while longer. Tomorrow she was going to take him to the Summoning Ceremony on base and she'd had to help escort him and a few other to where the view area was. She fell back asleep with a smile on her face as the thought of being able to spend the afternoon with him again.
----------------------

As a quick note, I'll probably do a couple other silly or cute thing before getting back to Solie and the CDP stuff as well as including Trieste. Granted that doesn't mean that the silly can't include Trieste and others such as the Smols as I've been a bit behind actually writing them for a while now.

Either way, what do you guys think?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking at the Sun that hung a little above the horizon, Eric turned and regarded the others before letting out a breath, "Well, I guess that it is time to go then."

With a swipe of her claws, Hinata detached the raft from the wheels and axels beneath it before carrying it over to the water. Setting it down, she held it in place while looking towards the Sun herself, "Is... this really a good idea? Sunset is in about an hour and..."

A grimace on her face, Samantha walked over and placed a hand on the Jorogumo's thorax, "And we'll have two hours of somewhat light, yes. But..." With a sigh, she shook her head, "We had considered heading to Hachijyo-Jima before meeting you because of how much strain it put on our engines. But with you and how you wrapped the raft in silk..."

Considering that for a few moments, the Spider Yokai gave a small nod, "You think that we can get to another island closer to the mainland."

Just nodding, Samantha gave a small smile, "Yeah, it is pretty much a straight line from here to Mikura-Jima. If we go at fifteen knots partway, we should reach it just after Sunrise tomorrow."

Internally, Yumiko did some internal calculations and gave a slight nod, "Hai, if we go all night at that speed, we should make it about then. And after that... we'll be picking up radio signals probably between here and there that will tell us more."

Helping Sora onto the raft, Eric smiled at them before getting on himself, "Sounds good to me." A laugh escaped him and he shook his head, "Heh, a bunch of Swiss Family Robinsons we are."

Somewhat lost as she helped push the raft out onto the ocean, Hinata looked at the others, "Swiss Family Robinson?"

The Submarine Tender snorted some as she attached the towlines to herself while the others did the same, "A book that Mom has and we read. Pretty famous piece of literature, in it there's a family who gets stranded on an deserted island. And they make due with what they have while flourishing." Considering, she gave a sound of surprise, "Actually, in the book they were stranded on the island for about ten years."

Head tilted to the side, Sora chuckled a little bit, "Eric-Kun told us all about various books about castaways like us that he read about, the dork."

Glancing at her, Eric snorted, "But you still love me."

Lips curled upwards into a smile, the Kitsune kissed him before pulling back, "Hai, I do." Then, she smirked a bit, "My dear man Friday."

Snickers came from the others which made Hinata blink in confusion as she knew that there was a joke there before she shrugged it off, "Maybe when we get back, we'll read them." Various others nodded in agreement and she took a look towards the west. Noticing everyone looking at her, she took a swallow and smiled, "Okay, let's weigh anchor."

Nods met her and so the various shipgirls smiled before they headed out with the raft behind them as they resumed their journey at twelve knots.

As the Sun was setting though, about three hours later, the JS Fubuki anchored offshore and her helicopter went up before flying over the island. Shortly after, it landed with DesDiv6 with both Tenryuu and Tatsuta as well as some boarding party personnel onboard with the eyepatch wearing Light Cruiser looking at the pilot, "There's a heat source nearby, you said? Up on that hill?"

Just nodding, the pilot pointed, "Hai, it is just up there and the ship's keeping an eye on the dock in case they go there."

With a nod, Tenryuu patted the helicopter, "Thanks, keep it warm." Sword sheathed, she looked around before shaking her head, "Lovely place this is... always wanted to come here when I was younger."

Chuckling, Tatsuta gave her sister a look as they made their way towards the site of the odd heat source, "Oh?"

Softly snorting, the other Light Cruiser spread her arms wide, "Why wouldn't I? This place is a tropical paradise..." Tenryuu's expression fell a bit, "Or, rather, was."

Head tilted to the side as she considered that, Tatsuta patted her sister on the shoulder, "Well, perhaps when the war is over and they rebuild, we'll come back and see it then."

That brought a smile to Tenryuu's face and it did not take them long to reach the location. One of the personnel furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over the shelter, "Okay, this is pretty damn good for what might be a few hours worth of work. But..." Looking up at the leaves suspended above, he poked them, "How the fuck did they find a spider's web this big?"

One of the others jerked his thumb at the outside of the logs, "Not just there, but also here as well, Sir." Taking one of the threads, he wiggled it around a bit, "Strangest thing that I've ever seen in my life."

Eye narrowing slightly, Tenryuu frowned as she stepped inside the shelter to find that the coals were just barely glowing, "We just missed them. But spider silk..." Crouching, she examined the ground and her eye lit up projecting a beam of light that lit up the inside, "Hmm... What do you girls figure?"

Looking around themselves, Akatsuki pointed at a log that was laid across the shelter, "Well, it looks like there were at least seven different people sitting here." Pointing at a flat rock, she gave a nod there, "And two more there."

Just humming, the Light Cruiser nodded, "Sounds about right for me..." Standing up, she walked over to the coals and swept them up, "Give it about... four hours, tops, since they left."

Surprised, one of the boarding party shifted his shotgun a little, "How do you know that, Ma'am?"

Grinning a little, Tenryuu shook her head, "Me and the girls? We've been to a number of the islands over the years. Sometimes, we catch people out on them and using them to hide. Smugglers, salvagers, and some of those Reclaimer idiots. Once we even came across an Abyssal cult that was functioning as wreckers, fuckers." Her grin turned savage, "That was fun when we dropped on their heads with special forces."

Their own expressions savage, the personnel only nodded in agreement while privately wishing that they were involved themselves.

A shout though made them turn and they all came out of the shelter to find one the men having kicked some dirt to reveal a chewed pig's head, with other what had to be pig bones as well as bloody feathers. Nodding, Tatsuta hummed a little, "They must of caught them from the escaped livestock." Internally, she shared a sigh of relief with her sister, 'Which means that if we're right, there's less danger...'

Minutes later, they were at the nearby hot spring and found more signs that were there with Inazuma taking pictures for later proof. Crouched, Tenryuu looked at the holes poked in the wet ground and shook her head, "Okay, I think that we can confirm there being at least eight or nine of them. But..."

Scratching his head, the Lieutenant of the Boarding Team frowned, "Ma'am? What made those holes in the ground."

For a few moments, Tenryuu considered them and then sighed, "There's spider silk for the structure of the shelter, and strong shit as well. We also know that in the mess hall for the container ship, there was a lot of silk found with bird bones and fish bones wrapped up in it. Now this... I think..." Pausing, she frowned, "I think that we're dealing with either Jorogumo or Tsuchigumo. At least one with the survivors."

That provoked a reaction from the boarding party and they jumped away from the holes. One of them gripped his gun as he looked around, not entirely sure how effective they might be, "You mean the spider Yokai that eat people? Those ones?"

Just scratching under her eyepatch, Tenryuu shrugged, "One in the same. But I heard from a Kitsune that their reputation is overblown nowadays. Most live among humans and don't harm them." Seeing the looks, she grinned, "Welcome to the Moonlit World, folks. And there's no Clocktower to give us Enforcers for help, but we're practically Heroic Spirits, so nothing to fear."

Each of the boarding party personnel shared a look before they went back to the helicopter as they had a group to catch.

Less than an hour later, the Fubuki was underway and Tenryuu was in the briefing room with the Captain and XO shaking their heads at what they had just been told, "A Jorogumo..." Taking off his hat, he gave a sheepish chuckle, "Should have expected that since we got a three legged crow nesting onboard."

Bemused at that fact, the eyepatch wearing Light Cruiser looked at the map before them, "The world's gone strange on us and it's not done yet. But the issue is now finding them, we can make a search pattern, but despite what some might think that is still a massive amount of ocean to cover.'

Also looking over the map, the XO frowned, "Hai. People think that it is easy if you have a general idea of where a normal sized ship might be. But even the coast guard with a radio beacon transmitting coordinates can take time to find a ship in trouble. And we don't have that."

Ikazuchi frowned a little, "Hopefully, they don't get into the twenty mile boundary limit around Hachijya-Jima before we catch up to them."

Frowning, the Captain looked up at her, "More magical oddness?"

However it was Tenryuu who answered, "You could say that. A number of signs point to the fact that someone has taken up residence on the old island. And from what we know? It might be an actual dragon, possibly a child of Ryuujin that's holed up in the hotel there."

Briefly, it looked like the Officers there were going to ask if they were kidding, only to see the looks in the shipgirls' eyes and deciding not to. Instead, they began to plan on how they were going to find one speck of a raft in the middle of the ocean at night. Their only advantages being that they knew which direction it was likely to go in.
__________________________________________________________

Night had long since fallen and the group was slowly making their way across the ocean. Looking off to the side, Eric pointed, "That must be Hachijyo-Jima."

Also looking in the same direction, Sora smiled, "Hai, that does seem about right for the position." Looking towards Samantha, she raised an eyebrow, "Samantha-Chan?"

Glancing over her shoulder, the Submarine nodded after a moment of checking her maps, "You're right, that is Hachijya-Jima. Which means that we're nearly at the midway point-" Suddenly, there was lights flashing in the distance and she frowned, "Something's heading this way, from the island."

Everyone became nervous at that with them considering whether to make a high speed run for it.
However, that became moot as a few minutes later, Hinata pointed, "There! There's something disturbing the water!"

At that, Samantha paled though in the night no one could see it, "Holy shit... that's enormous..."

The wake of whatever it was came to a stop just thirty feet from them before the water parted to reveal a massive, draconic head that rose above the water. Said head was big enough that it looked like it could swallow a train, with teeth several feet long. All of it, though to their astonishment, was composed of clear water. It seemed to observe them all for several moments...

Before it opened it's mouth and lunged.

For a few moments, they were covered by water and there was an experience of vertigo before the water disappeared and they found themselves, and the raft, on a carpeted floor. The water disappeared leaving the floor dry as a bone before they heard a gong sound and looked up from the bottom of the staircase that they were on. They could see various Yokai around them, some of them in ceremonial armour.

Of course, that was when their attention was drawn by a woman walking down one of the side staircases. She was dressed in what looked like the finest silks with her hair held in place by jeweled ornaments. But what caught their gaze was the massive, elk-like horns that rose from the sides of her head and how her lower body was that of a serpent. That, and what looked like a ghostly version of the dragon that had brought them there. Beside Eric, Sora softly whispered to him, "A Wani... No one do anything, we must have Trespassed into her territory."

A chuckle made them look up to the dragon who gave a nod, "You have, and now you are before the Court of Akiye-Hime, for that is who I am. Daughter of Otohime, granddaughter of Ryuujin." Those names made them all pale, "Now, speak so that my Court may know of whom you are and why you have trespassed in Our Domain."

Needless to say, they all shared looks and turned back to her with Eric bowing, though he noted she glanced at where his arm used to be, "My name is Baker Eric, son of Baker Ellen, a teacher and with me are..." He introduced each of them by name before taking a deep breath and bowing deeply again, "We're sorry for trespassing as we did not know that this was your domain, milady. All of us were stranded on an island, Torishima, for some years. And we are making our way home to Japan."

Lower half curled onto a pillow, she tilted her head some and smiled, "Interesting, so you were stranded on the Bird Island? We know of this place, though tell us thy story and We shall decide."

Bowing, Eric took a deep breath, "Myself and my sister, Baker Samantha, were in Aogashima with our parents visiting almost ten years ago now, along with our friend, when we wished to go on a tour boat to see Torishima by ourselves, which our parents allowed..."

He continued to tell his story as the various Yokai and spirits in the Court listened, Akiye-Hime above them all. A tale of hardship and survival, of care and dispair. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he slowly ran down to the present.

Several moments passed while the Ryuu considered what had just been told to her. Finally, she smiled, "Rise, rise before the Court of Akiye-Hime. For We have heard your story and it has moved Us. Truly, an epic of survival and the indomitable will you have all shown that perhaps I shall see shown in a play." Thoughtful, she nodded, "We shall allow for you to leave, but not before we shall have you dine with us, for I know that my Ojii-San would frown upon not giving you hospitality." Seeing them open their mouths, Akiye-Hime raised a hand, "Please, do not worry about your state within Our presence. For our own Chichi-ue was but a normal fisherman when brought to our Haha-ue's home." With that, she stood and bowed, "So please, simply concern yourself with food and drink for a time as we spend a few hours."

It went without saying that none of them said otherwise and simply followed her into a dining room and she motioned for them to sit while various foods were brought forth. As they ate, she asked other questions and expressed some surprise at the fact there was a Jorogumo Kami among them, which made Hinata blink, "But... I'm not, a Kami I mean. Sure... I am kind of a ship, your Majesty, but..."

Chuckling, there was a twinkle in Akiye-Hime's eyes and she shook her head, "No, you are a Kami. Perhaps a lower ranked one, I suppose, but still a Kami." Lips curling, she hummed a bit, "We wonder what the reactions of the Jorogumo to one of their own rising to such heights will be though... and look forward to the years to come."

While still disbelieving, Hinata only shook her head and said nothing else. For Eric and Samantha, though, they finally recognized where they were and bowed slightly to her, with the Submarine Tender speaking, "Your Majesty, my Onee-San and myself recognize this place. Is this not the Hachijo Royal Hotel?"

That brought a proud smile to the Ryuu's face, "It is indeed. When we came upon this place after the shadows from the sea rose, We fell in love. Hence, We have decided to claim it as our Palace above the waves and had Our subjects repair it." Her eyes became sorrowful, "Though few were the ones We managed to bring into the safety of Our Domain here. Still... We do have hopes and love Our Palace, away from the one of Our Esteemed Family while Our followers perform their mission." Looking around, she puffed herself up some, "We hope that our Ojii-San, Haha-ue, Oba-Sans, and Ojii-Sans enjoy it. Though if you wish, you can come and see Our Grounds."

Sharing a look, they just nodded and bowed while stating it would be their honor.

Of course, what they did not expect the beauty of the grounds, or the rebuilt town nearby. One where Yokai of all sorts, spirits, and even a few humans lived. People rescued by Akiye-Hime and her forces. According to her, her family outside of her was not able to do much due to restrictions, which her being half-human could get around.

Finally though, the hours had gone on for some time and she brought them back to their raft. Motioning them onto it, she smiled, "We have enjoyed our time here, and We hope that we can call each other friends at the least and perhaps see you visit sometime soon."

Getting confirmations, she made a motion with her fan and the waters rose up around the raft and the water surrounded them. When it fell apart, it revealed them a distance from the island with only Akiye-Hime before them and they bowed with Eric speaking to her, "Thank you, your Majesty for your hospitality."

What they did not expect was for giggles to escape her, "Do not worry, my friends. You may call me Akiye-Hime. For you have earned such through your deeds, may they live on in legend." And, I shall give you both two gifts and I shall also ask of a boon." Reaching into her Kimono, she removed something that she tossed to Eric, "A gift, to help you in your life. The second gift is to look to the Sun and it's servant, for an Eagle shall appear followed by those it guides and they shall take you home." Taking a deep breath, she then bowed to them, "As for the Boon, I ask that when you arrive home, you tell the authorities that Hachijyo-Jima is my domain as I am searching for my Chichi-ue, for he is still alive somewhere. If they wish to send a representative, they are welcome to do so. Especially if it is my Itoko."

With that, she bowed and turned into water before vanishing.

Several minutes passed while they looked out where the dragon had vanished. Turning to the others, Eric blinked, "Well... that happened." As they shook their heads in disbelief, he turned to the wrapped package and his jaw dropped at the giant pearl inside, roughly the size of his fist, the surface iridescent, "Uh..."

Eyes wide, they just shared a look at that.

__________________________________________________________

On the bridge of the JS Fubuki, who like her namesake was the first for a Destroyer in that she had railguns, laser CWIS, and a fusion reactor powering it all, was her Captain. If you had told him even three years ago he would be standing on the bridge of such a ship, he would have asked you if you had smoked something recently. But, now? He loved his ship and gave the bulkhead a little pat and could also swear there was a small tremble under his hand. Then, he turned his attention onto their current mission.

Upon hearing that there were illegal salvagers at a known wrecksite from Blood Week, him and his crew had headed there escorted by DesDiv6, but were beaten by the JS Kaga. Instead, due to what had been found on the wreck, they headed towards Torishima to investigate there. What they had found there stunned them all.

Survivors... from Blood Week had been living on the island for ten years it seemed.

After that, it turned from a law enforcement mission to a rescue mission. From there, they tracked whoever it was to Aogashima, just missing them apparently. They had gotten something on the edges of radar when it went into the area of restricted waters around Hachijyo-Jima. But by their own calculations, whoever it was would be just going around the island. And now, the sky was lightening with sunrise less than fifteen minutes away.

However, suddenly, the Captain was drawn out of his musings by a tug on his pants and looked down. As usual, there was nothing there, but he felt another tug and hummed some, "Yes, Fubuki-Chan? What is it?"

Feeling another tug, he allowed himself to be pulled across the bridge by the invisible spirit of his ship, much to the amusement of his crew. Now, granted, Fubuki-Chan had not done it to just them either, as she had also did so with other members of the crew, often when she needed them to notice something. And all of them treated her, though they could not see her, as a little sister or daughter figure. Leaving plates of cookies and other baked treats out for her or a bowl of ice cream. Vanilla being one of her favorites.

Chuckling as he came to one of the bridge windows, the Captain looked out it, "Hmm? Is there something that you need me to see?" There was a tapping sound on the window and he tilted his head some, 'I wonder what has her attention?' Looking out the window, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when he noticed the three legged crow that the crew had adopted as a mascot of sorts. It seemed to stare him in the eyes before lifting off and flying out to the side and circling back.

Once it did so after a few times, the Captain gave a nod and turned to one of his crew, "Lieutenant Nakamura?" When said Officer looked at him, the Captain nodded towards the crow, "Send out the UAV and have it follow Utsuho-Chan. Use the infrared... also, have the ship turn in the same direction while informing Tenryuu-San."

It said something that none of them questioned the Captain, simply performing their jobs to the upmost efficiency. Down on the deck, one of the ScanEagles was placed onto pneumatic launcher and moments later, it was in the air and flying behind the crow as it flew, the Fubuki turning behind it to also pursue. On the bridge, the Captain merely waited for some time before the UAV operated spoke up, "Sir? We're detecting multiple objects on radar. Seems like at least two are Capital Ship length, one is around Light Cruiser in size... and possibly one Submarine. Contact in five minutes."

Slowly striding across, the Captain stood behind the UAV operator and watched the onboard camera as the sea passed by. On the infrared camera, the crow, nicknamed "Utsuho-Chan" by the crew, blazed with heat, guiding the way. But they could also just pick up a heat source ahead. And then, on the high resolution optical camera, a speck appeared.

A speck that resolved into a raft being pulled by, apparently, shipgirls including one that looked like she had a spider for a lower half, a Tanuki, three Submarines, and with a Kitsune holding a young man on the raft. Behind the Captain, the XO ordered the helicopter in the air and then nodded.

For his part, the Captain also nodded and then looked around, "We found them... now let's bring them home."

Sharp nods came from the crew as they went to their duties as cheers and celebration would come when they had them onboard, and not sooner.

With Eric and the others, they looked up towards the odd object and the crow that cawed before the words of the dragon princess came back to them and they slowed down. And when minutes later, a sound made those of them who grew up in the modern day gasp and Samantha laughed with tears coming down her face, "That's a helicopter! Holy shit, that's a helicopter!"

Less than a minute later, the helicopter appeared and soon slowed above them as they looked up in amazement. It lowered some and one of the crewmembers gave a thumbs up before dropping out and landing in the water. With just a glance towards the Jorogumo, he swam over and grabbed hold of the raft, "Do any of you have need of assistance?"

The group shared looks and just laughed even as they cried.

And they were still laughing and crying when the Fubuki appeared over the horizon steaming towards them at full speed as the various Midget Submarines clustered around them, DesDiv6 joining them and the helicopter circling around them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Matter Of Correspondence

Castle Moulbaix

3 June 2014

Ehren du Chasteler lowered the recently purchased dip pen from her latest letter that she had written and surveyed her calligraphy. Her eyebrows narrowed minutely as she surveyed her handiwork and compared it to the ideal that her mother had set.

A worthy attempt but not up to the standards that she set for herself.

She shook her head. Practice made perfect after all.

Mr. Ronald Weasley
Passel House

3 June 2014

Sir,

I am writing to inform you that I and my family will be visiting England from the 19th of June through the 7th of July. While I shall be visiting my cousins the first two weeks of the planned trip, my schedule is free the weekend of the 5th and 6th of July. I am hopeful to catch a Chudley Cannons match that weekend, along with my mother Colombe and sister Claire if you can make arrangements to purchase tickets.

I was thinking for ease of travel to and from the game, along with hopefully celebrating a Cannons victory that we could stay the weekend at your residence or a hotel nearby. Please respond so I can finalize the planned travel itinerary.

In conclusion, I hope that your studies of magic and naval engineering are bearing fruit for you. I include a copy of a treatise Mother picked up in China on the nature of enchanted items and machinery along with translation notes from the Chinese courtesy of my sister as we convalesced after Verdun. I am hopeful that I shall see you and Jean Bart soon.

Your friend,

Ehren du Chasteler

She nodded in satisfaction at her message, and then began to seal the letter with powder-blue sealing wax.

Finally addressing the letter and sticking it to the scroll that she had had magically copied thanks to Kasuyu, she headed up to the top of the tower to the owl roost.

Two pairs of gold eyes blinked at her as she entered, and she smiled before handing over a fresh hand-prepared rodent sausage to each owl. "Guten Abend, Uhu, Bubi."

A hoot answered her as she knelt to carefully observe the two eggs that Uhu was brooding in the nesting box that Miho had built for them. "I must ask your mate to deliver these letters for me, Uhu. The one with the scroll goes to Ronald Weasley at Passel House. The one without is my correspondence to Cousin Draco at Malfoy House. Until Bubi returns, I shall sit and keep you company and well fed."

Another hoot answered her as she pulled out the thick leather falconer's glove that Misaki and Chihiro had located for her in the attic. Her fingers rubbed the heraldry of Grandpapa du Chasteler stitched into the tooled heavy leather, and then extended her arm. Bubi flapped and leapt from his favorite perch to her arm and clucked as he nuzzled her ear with his beak.

She smiled at him gently and then tucked the scroll into the enchanted pouch that a post owl carried on the job, followed by the separate letter. "Are you ready for your visit to England?"

A bob of the head answered her as she opened the door to the roof with her free hand and then ducked outside.

Her heart beat faster as the wind blew her hair around her face as she placed it into her face. She braced herself with one hand on the stone rampart of the castle wall with a deep breath to center herself as Bubi half spread his wings, tickling her cheek with one of his primary feathers.

As her breath left her lungs then she flung her gauntleted hand up and out with a twist of the torso and legs to help Bubi take to his domain of the air. The sight of her owl taking to the air brought tears of joy to her eyes as he circled her once and then flew off into the setting sun.

She rested both hands on the stone of her home, watching him fly freely as her reminiscent smile lit up her face.

While it was true that the young girl who had left home on her own for the first time to England was no more than a memory held by her and her family, seared away in the experiences of England and then Verdun which has stamped themselves on her steel and her soul, she was also more than she had been then.

She was both closer to Claire in her understanding of how precious and beautiful her beloved innocent sister was and also further apart, as she had endured an ordeal that would have broken her sister. She understood Mother better as only a fellow combat veteran could be, and was closer to her big sister Ying, aunts, and had even forged a relationship with grandmother Norimune based on shared experiences.

Even...

Her thoughts strayed to her earliest memories of a blond-haired man with gray eyes clad in the field uniform of the Waffen-SS.

Of courage under fire, devotion to duty, true belief in what he had been taught. She knew that it was a terrible lie that had destroyed him, but he believed so brightly in it.

Of his fervent belief in the words that were engraved on her blade, on her heart, and her soul.

Words that she tried to redeem.

Meine Ehre Heisst Treue

Vati....

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

Khohlo ea Marena a Mararo

June 8th, 2014
Spoiler: Vati and Tochter

Helmar Wolff sipped from the beaten-gold goblet on the table in front of him and then narrowed his steel-gray eyes with blood-red flecks at Cortana. "Repeat that." The flickering torches lit up the private banquet hall and glittered on the silver highlights of his midnight black SS uniform.

The blond headed avatar of the legendary sword took a deep breath and responded in her flat soprano voice. "Your agents among the wizards' government in Africa have confirmed the newspaper reports of matters at Verdun. We have names for all the participants to go with their photograph along with information."

She placed her finger on a blowup freeze frame. "RCMMP Auror Wei Ying from Canada. A senior member of the Canadian magical community who is well-regarded in ICW circles."

The finger moved to the green-eyed and chestnut haired young woman who was talking with Wei Ying in the photograph. "MACUSA Auror Colonel Delilah de Breuil. A classmate of Auror Ying from Ilvermorny who was frozen by a temporal accident. Very well connected in the Magical American government as the daughter of Jezabel de Breuil, one of the founders of MIB."

Wolff steepled his fingers in front of his face and spoke with controlled fury in his voice. "Also someone who knew Her personally in 1942. The one next to her is the Ifrit that killed my Master. Very dangerous, both of them."

Cortana nodded. "Yes, Zamarad is the name of the Ifrit. The two with the carved chest are Sabah and Andraste. No other names were given to the Aurors who let them pass under Auror Ying's orders. The young man behind them is Nightbane, and the woman with him is Tsukiakari. The ICW had no other information on them."

Wolf nodded. "And the Asian women?" He asked thoughtfully as he idly licked a sharpened canine.

"Masamune-no-Tokunotakai and Muramasa-no-Norimune. The second is a Japanese sword spirit of that oversized blade you see with her. Similar to myself. The first is unknown, but research noted that Masamune was a legendary Japanese swordsmith, so it is highly likely that she is also a blade spirit. Norimune has a long record of actions serving as a magical mercenary and troublemaker." Cortana reported, tapping the photograph. "Tokunotakai may be an apprentice or ally of Norimune."

Wolff leaned forward, with a hungry gleam in his eyes. "And now we come to it. The du Chastelers."

"The girl is Ehren du Chasteler. No other information is given about her, although her physical resemblance and name suggests that she is the daughter of Her." Cortana's voice was flat as she pointed to Ehren's determined face.

Wolff inspected her face minutely his eyes gleaming. "Mein Tochter...." He closed his eyes then opened them. "A perfect specimen of Aryan maidenhood. Once I correct the woolly headed lies and falsehoods that She has no doubt filled my dear child's head with, she will be second only to us among the Herrenvolk as my loyal subordinate after I grant her the Gift of purging any tainted weak blood from her."

He pulled out a creased snapshot of Ehren buckling her Stahlhelm to her head from his uniform pocket, the shield of the SS clearly visible on it. "See even now the great truth of existence which Der Führer taught us calls to her."

Cortana nodded jerkily. "And for Colombe du Chasteler?" A folder marked with ICW seals and the Magical Government of Uganda and with Colombe du Chasteler's name inscribed at the top was placed in front of him.

Wolff's eyes glittered as he began to read the ICW's file on Colombe and his lips curled in savage glee. "Oh, I have such wonderful plans for Her..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking at the group of laughing and crying people, Tenryuu gave a small smile. She waited until they had calmed down and turned to her, an easy grin on her face, "Yo! I'm the Light Cruiser, Tenryuu, first of the Tenryuu Class..." Glancing at some of them, she gave a small nod, "But I also go by the name of Matsuda Ryoko." Tenryuu then pointed at her biological daughters, "These are my daughters, Ami and Aki, better known as the Akatsuki class Destroyers Inazuma and Ikazuchi. And my other daughters, Akatsuki and Verniy as well as my Nee-San, Tatsuta, the other Light Cruiser." Placing her hands on her hips, she smirked, "We're here to bring you home."

Wide eyed, Samantha gestured at herself, Sora, Yumiko, and Hinata, "W-wait, some of those were normal names. Does... does that mean that you're like us?"

Head tilted to the side, Inazuma blinked, "Um, if you mean if we were just ordinary girls before becoming shipgirls, than Hai."

Utterly lost, the Jorogumo frowned, "Ship... girls?"

Just nodding, Tenryuu smiled, "That's what they call us. I mean..." Scratching under her eyepatch, she hummed, "The official title is Kantai Musume, Fleet Daughters. Though most just shortened it to Kanmusu. Shipgirls is the basic English translation and so... became the most common, of course."

Chuckling, Eric gave a nod, "Our Mom would agree since she was an English teacher."

Samantha than took over and cleared her throat, "Well... I'm Baker Samantha, I-354 Submarine Tender." Ignoring the raised eyebrow and figuring it was due to what she was, she continued, "That is my brother, Baker Eric, Yamada Yumiko or the Oiler Karasaki, beside me is Hanai Hinata or the Food Ship Hōyo. And on the raft with my brother is Tsukuda Sora-"

Now looking away, the Kitsune took a deep breath, "Just... call me Sora-San or Tsukuda-San, please."

Eyebrow raised at that and how those there did not comment, Tenryuu merely nodded and continued to listen and write about the names being given to her. Finally though, Samantha was done with it, only for Ikazuchi to speak up, "Wait, Baker? And your Kaa-San was an English teacher?" At the confused nod from the two siblings, though it looked like they had begun to realize what was about to happen, the Destroyer frowned, "Is her name Ellen?"

That made both Eric and Samantha turn to her and gasp with the male of the two nodding, "Ellen?! That's our Mom's name!"

With a swallow, the Submarine had a look of hope in her eyes, "Our Mom... she's alive?"

Frowning a little, Tenryuu hummed and nodded as she noted the blonde hair that both had, "Hai, she's alive. And now that I think about it, she did mention that she lost two kids during Blood Week with your names... took a toll on her." When Akatsuki asked when that was, she shrugged, "One time when both of us went out drinking alongside Takao, Maya, and Nagato as well as Kongou. Got her a little depressed... until Kongou tried talking to her in English, but was drunk so it was more Engrish. Which Ellen kept trying to fix until she got so frustrated she said that she was going to throw a bunch of tea into a harbour. And then Kongou got angry and started to talk like one of those Whatchamacallits... Chavs. Went downhill from there."

Both Eric and Samantha facepalmed at that. Meanwhile, Sora only nodded with a small smile, "Sounds like Ellen-Oba-San." Turning towards Inazuma, she frowned, "How do you know her?"

Softly smiling, Inazuma giggled, "Baker-Sensei works at the local school and teaches English. She also gives classes for us shipgirls as well."

Relieved, the two siblings just nodded.

However, Hinata had a frown on her face, "Um, Tenryuu-San? Can... I ask you question?" Getting a motion to continue, she did so, "You mentioned something called 'Blood Week?' What did you mean by that?"

Grimacing, the Light Cruiser let a hiss escape before sighing, "Well, it has to do with what else was going on the day that I assume that you were stranded and we'll give you a full debrief on the Fubuki. But to clear some things up... things went to shit for some time."

That only got her nods and the group turned to the closing Destroyer. Not long found most of the group on the stern of the vessel with the only one left in the water being Hinata. It went without saying that DesDiv6 was confused as the Jorogumo picked up the now empty raft and placed it onto her back as her "Fairies", as they had been explained the little beings were called, secured it. Docking her head to the side, Akatsuki frowned, "Hinata-San? Why are you doing that?"

With a small smile on her face, the Yokai smiled a bit bashfully, "It carried us this far. And... it does not seem right to just leave it out here to drift and be smashed apart."

Verniy considered this for a few moments, and then nodded, "Da, that would not be Khorosho." She then smiled, "Need some help?"

Head tilted to the side, Hinata considered that question before shaking her head, "No, that's fine. They have it secure, so give me just a moment." To the confusion of those watching, she crouched. Moments later, their confusion became surprise as she leapt upwards and into the deck, easily absorbing the recoil as she landed. With a nod, she smiled, "And there we go."

One of the sailors backed up and blinked which caused Hinata to cringe. But then, Eric laughed and shook his head, "Okay, that was pretty awesome, Hinata-Chan."

Lightly blushing, the Jorogumo smiled just the same as others chimed in, "Thank you, Eric-Kun." Walking over, she looked over her shoulder to where the raft was secured, "Um... where do you want me to set this down?"

Right then, before anyone else could speak up, another voice did, "Actually, you can set it down in the hanger in one of the out of the way areas." The ship's Captain nodded towards one of the other sailors, "They'll take care of it considering that it deserves as much honour as we can give it for its journey."

Almost immediately, all the new shipgirls came to attention at seeing his uniform and saluted, "Sir!"

Simply smiling, the Captain returned it, "From what I hear, it should be I who is saluting you." Bowing a little, he chuckled, "I am Captain Hashimoto, Commanding Officer of the Fubuki Class Destroyer, Fubuki herself. Welcome aboard, all of you."

They all bowed some at that before straightening, "Thank you."

Gesturing for them to follow once introductions were done, he pointed out where they could set the raft down. Once they did so, Hashimoto gave them a once over before frowning at Hinata. For a moment, she thought it was because of what she was but then, the Captain sighed, "I deeply apologize, Hanai-San, but the ship's corridors were designed for those who were not much wider than a human. Please accept my apologies for the problem."

Deeply blushing, Hinata waved her hands around, "There's no need for that! Um, give me just a moment..." More then one set of eyes widened as her thorax and spider abdomen shrunk and seemed to merge with the rest of her body, the spider legs retreating into it. At the same time, her pedipalps lengthened slightly and the exoskeleton on them melted into smooth, human skin as they became normal legs.

Very long legs, some of the sailors noted.

Once she was done, the transformed Jorogumo straightened put her skirt and took a deep breath before smiling, "There we go. I haven't used this form since, well, um... you know."

His lips twitching, Hashimoto gave her a slight nod, "Of course. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the meeting room for a briefing and to explain some things about the world at large." He gave a look to one of the younger sailors there, "If you wish for something to eat, just ask. It is likely to take all the time we have as we get back to Yokosuka to handle it."

Yumiko frowned a little and looked around, "Not quite sure, but... some food would be nice."

The lone Jorogumo then spoke up, "As long as it does not have caffeine in it, I'm fine." At the odd looks, she scratched her cheek with an embarrassed expression, "Caffeine is kind of like alcohol is to normal people for us Jorogumo. So if we drink something like strong coffee, we actually get drunk."

Everyone blinked at that with Akatsuki frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side, "Huh, that is a shame. Because coffee is an adult drink for very elephant ladies."

Raising an finger with a tired expression, Ikazuchi sighed, "The word is elegant, not elephant."

Akatsuki just gave her a look, "That was what I said, elephant."

Bemused at the argument, the recently rescued teens and younger shipgirls shook their heads. Eric then glanced at his girlfriend and turned back to the Captain, "Sir? If possible I would request for toothbrushes, toothpaste, and mouthwash."

While a little confused at the request, or why the larger Kitsune was blushing badly and the other girls rescued were snickering, the Captain gave a small nod, "Of course."

There was a part of him that did wonder about that, but he put it aside for the bigger question. Mainly, what had happened to them and to confirm their identities, though already their pictures were being sent through the database back in Yokosuka to match them with pictures of them when younger. And deep within the Fubuki's engine room, one of the technicians there worked at a console before looking towards her beating heart, which was contained with several super powerful magnets. Inside the field, charged atoms fell inwards towards the center of the space at a high rate of speed, faster and faster until they collided, producing energy.

And the small, marble sized orb of plasma, an artificial star in all but name, grew until it was the size of an small orange, giving off heat and light that further powered the Destroyer as she began to go at her top speed back to Yokosuka.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

An alarm began to beep in the darkened room only for a slender, female hand to reach out from under the covers and slap around for it. Finally, said hand hit the alarm and silenced it, with the owner of said hand being revealed to be Ellen Baker as she sat up and stretched, "Urgh..." Feeling her shoulder pop nicely, she sighed, before a male hand grasped her and pulled her back down, "Ken!"

Her husband just mumbled to her as he kissed her neck and wrapped his arms and legs around her body, "Lets just ignore that for a few more hours... no work or anything."

More amused than anything else, Ellen whacked him, "Come on, Kenny. We both have work as much as we wish otherwise." Prying his hand from her, she began to get up, only to be dragged back down, "Oof!"

Smirking, her husband pulled her close, "Work can wait."

Only rolling her eyes, Ellen sighed, "Really? We're doing this?" Getting a mumble, she smirked some, "And yet, here I was the more active of the two of us last night."

Unable to help himself, Ken chuckled, "Very true, Ellen-Chan." His smirk widened as she shuddered at the feel of his rough hand brushing against her smooth skin under her shirt, "Mmm... but you tired me out."

Eyebrow raised even as she felt her cheeks flush, his American wife gave him a sigh, "Obviously not enough." Kissing him, Ellen pulled back, "But we still have work and also..." Her gaze became hooded, "I suppose that this means that you don't want to shower together, hmm~"

Laughter escaped from her as Ken perked up at that.

Forty minutes later found him cooking breakfast as Ellen was watching the previous night's game on a tablet. Ken had to smile at the big grin on her face and the sparkles in her eyes as she watched the game. His amusement only grew as she pumped her fist a few moments later, "Go Sox, go!" Seeing a homerun, she jumped, "YES!" Almost immediately after her outburst, she flinched, "Er..."

Pausing himself, her Japanese husband listened to see if anyone else had been awakened. At hearing nothing, he turned and gave his sheepish wife a look, "Ellen-Chan..."

Weakly chuckling, Ellen looked away from him as she paused the video and took a sip of coffee, "Um... opps?"

Just shaking his head due to long since being used with his wife being a hardcore fan of the Red Sox, Ken simply shook his head and chuckled, embarrassing her more and getting a slap to the shoulder from her. Soon enough, the two finished their breakfast and made their lunches before spending what little time they had left with each other. It was the quiet moments that they had that they enjoyed before the busy day swept them away. Just the two of them drinking coffee and making small talk.

Finally, they drained the last of their coffee and looked at the time. With a sigh, Ken gave Ellen a soft smile, "I'll try to get home at a decent time, Ellen-Chan... or at all. But with the work we're doing at MLIT..."

Huffing a bit, Ellen just frowned, "I really wish that you could tell me what this big project that they've got you working on is." Upon seeing him open his mouth, she held up her hand with a small smile, "I teach at a school where there is a large number of students, Ken. Trust me, I know a little about classified things." Briefly, she remembered that one elementary student who popped ears and a tail who she saw. Something that lead to a very long chat from personnel on the base and certain secrets being told to her, though she did not mind nor did the other teachers. She brushed those memories away, "There's things that I know that I wish that I could reveal to you, Ken."

Gently cupping her face, her husband nodded, "I know. And trust me, when the day comes? I'll tell you everything. But what I'm helping to work on will change a lot of lives, Ellen-Chan. And for the better." The memory of some of the pictures of the "Youkai Reserves" went through his mind along with the anger at them existing before he shoved them into the back of his head, "A lot of lives."

Quickly washing and rinsing their mugs before placing them into the dish rack to dry, Ellen sighed, "Well... time to head to work. But first." Turning, she began to walk to the second bedroom of their two bedroom apartment, "We need to say goodbye to the kids for the day."

Behind her, Ken gave a nod and followed her as she reached the door and opened it. Inside was a child's bedroom that had two beds in it, one on either side of the door. Flicking on the light revealed that the room was basically split in two. On one wall was a number of posters for movies and idols, and on the other some boy band that was several years old. Each bed was also different with one having blue sheets and the moon, while the other was pink with flowers on the comforter along with stuffed animals...

However, no one was sleeping in the made beds, a fact that made the couple's hearts ache from an old pain.

Licking her suddenly dry lips even as she felt her eyes tear up, Ellen looked towards a framed photograph, "Good morning, Eric, Samantha. M-Mom and Dad are heading out to work now for the day. We'll be back by evening, myself at least. And then I..." A tear spilled down her cheeks as she forced herself to smile, though her lips were trembling, "T-then I'll tell both of you how my day has been, hmm? A-a-and Dad will do the same when he gets home too. We'll spend time with you both just like we always do okay?"

Slowly nodding, Ken gave a weak smile of his own as he supported his wife, "N-now, both of you be good, okay? Eric? Take care of your sister while we're at work. And Samantha? Take care of your brother, you know that he needs someone to have his back."

A small sob escaped from Ellen as she nodded, "T-though you'll have he-help from Sora with that, Sam. She'll help take care of your brother along with y-your Auntie Miho and Uncle Takuma since her parents would n-not be far." By this point, the tears were falling freely both Ellen's and Ken's eyes at the memory of their friends who also went missing along with their daughter. Trembling, the American walked up and pressed two fingers to her lips before touching the photograph of her son. Something she repeated with her daughter's, "A-a... and remember. Mommy and Daddy love you so very much and are so proud..." Swallowing last the lump in her throat, she continued, "Please continue to watch over us and k-know that we both miss you so very, very much..."

Pulling his wife into his arms gently, her husband nodded, "As your Mother said, we miss you every day. Please... just keep smiling down on us. And we hope that you have a good day."

With that, he reached over with trembling fingers and turned out the light before they backed out of the room and closed the door. Before it was fully closed, he paused and looked at the light which shone on the picture of his children as his wife sobbed into her chest. And he could feel his heart breaking all over again before nodding and closing the door fully.

Face still buried in his chest as hot tears ran down her cheeks, Ellen sobbed, "I miss them... I miss my babies..."

Gently stroking her hair, Ken kissed the top of her head before laying his head against hers, "So do I, Ellen-Chan... every day I draw breath. But they are in a better place, a happier one. And they watch over us every day." With a sniffle, but not saying anything, Ellen nodded before he guided her to the sink, "Now let's wash those tears away..."

Once that was done, the two left the apartment to go to their jobs, though not before saying goodbye once more.

They were not the only ones as in one Reserve, two Kitsune looked down at a picture from a wallet of a young female Kitsune smiling up at them as tears dripped down their cheeks. Both of them had known what would happen if they took their two No-Maj friends through the Floo Network. But they had done it anyways to save them. All they could now was that the two were safe, and that their missing children were happy wherever they were. Gently, the male of the two took his sobbing wife into his arms and nuzzled her.

In Tokyo, a female Tanuki police officer along with her husband who was also a Tanuki, paused before the small shrine. In it was the picture of a young, female Tanuki smiling up at the camera. Both of them whispered to the picture that they loved her and hoped she had a pleasant day before bowing to it, eyes wet and pain in their hearts. And when they got to work, they sat down at their desks which had a framed photograph of the same little girl.

And, in Yokohama within a loft above a small restaurant, an adult Jorogumo woke from slumber as her husband also joined the world of the living. Sharing a soft kiss, the two quietly left their bedroom before showering and changing, literally in the case of the Yokai. Then, they began the process of opening their restaurant. Though not before sadly smiling at a photograph of a young girl who was shyly smiling in it. Beneath the framed picture was a small plaque. Gently, they touched their fingers to it and softly whispered some words before they nodded and went about the process of opening up their business and getting ready as the Sun rose.

Meanwhile, as the morning wore on, various people in the JMSDF were at work confirming something amazing and a fusion powered Destroyer came ever closer to Yokosuka...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing at the front of her classroom, Ellen Baker walked back and forth with an open book in front of her. But instead of looking at it, she was instead looking at her class as she spoke.

"...
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

With a small smile, she closed her book and nodded to the class made up of mostly Japanese students who were listening or taking notes, "As I mentioned, that was the poem by the poet Frost Robert called 'The Road Not Taken'. It is one of his more popular poems and many see it as being just about following your own path, not following others'. But there is more to it than that as a matter of fact."

One of her students raised his hand and she nodded to him, "What do you mean, Baker-Sensei?"

For a few moments, Ellen hummed before answering, "The poet himself stated that it was a 'You have to be careful of that one; it is a tricky poem-a very tricky one' and he is right. Look at the difference in the last lines between what the narrator sees as the present, and him looking back on it. That sigh, for instance? Is it a sigh of regret for what he did? Or is it one of satisfaction with following the path less travelled by? Is the Narrator considering, at the end, what could have happened if he chose the other path, or is he happy that he did not? He could well be of the sort that looks back on every decision made wistful for what could have been."

Another one of her students raised their hand, this time a female, "So the poem can itself have different meanings depending on how the person reading it thinks?"

Just smiling, Ellen nodded, "Exactly, which is one of the reasons why it is so popular. In a way, it perfectly encapsulates life. Many times, one will come upon a crossroads and be given a choice between different paths, much like the Narrator had. When you do, what path will you chose? Will you, when looking back, be able to sigh with satisfaction? With sadness? Perhaps wondering what would have happened if, instead, you had taken the other path? A path... less travelled by?"

The rest of the lesson passed and soon enough, it was over and the class rose and bowed to her with her bowing back. A smile on her face, she bid them good day after assigning homework and left the room with the chatter of students behind her. Once the door was closed, she leaned against the wall with her eyes closed and a happy smile on her lips. Eventually though, she pushed off the wall and began to walk towards her next class as she mused on the differences between her experiences as a student back in the United States and here in Japan as an English teacher. Back in the US, it would be the students walking to different classes, but in Japan, they stayed pretty much in the same classroom and the teachers switched between them for lessons.

Partway to her next class though, one of the older teachers met up with her and began walking alongside her, a kindly smile on his face, "Have a good class, Baker-San?"

Lightly giggling, Ellen nodded as she looked over at the math teacher, "Hai, Takahata-Senpai. We were covering some of Frost Robert's poems in class today, such as 'The Road Less Travelled By'. Quite a few of the students were interested in it."

Chuckling, Takahata shook his head, "Ah, yes, I remember that poem. Definitely an interesting one, and thought-provoking as well, especially how you teach it." That got a light blush on his face before he gave her a sly look, "So, how many confessions and love notes this month?"

Much to his amusement, the American blushed heavily, "Thankfully they've toned it down." Somewhat bemused, she shook her head, "I still do not understand why I get at least one student a month confessing to me. I'm married after all."

Eyebrow raised, Takahata gave her a once over. She was wearing her usual white blouse with a blue jacket over it and brown skirt. Despite the fact that she was nearly thirty eight, the American looked at least a decade younger and even he would admit she was a beauty, 'And people comment on how Asian women don't seem to age until they're well old...' He sighed a little as he remembered that despite being American, the cheerful woman was actually well versed in Japanese culture to the point that one might think she was raised in Japan, which only improved her attractiveness, 'Ah, her husband is truly blessed by the Kami to have such a wife...' Lips twitching at the confused look she gave him at the sigh, he chuckled, "Quite the mystery."

Knowing that he was teasing her a bit, Ellen pouted which only made the older teacher chuckle more.

It was then that they noticed that the Principal came walking up to them and, upon seeing her, smiled, "Ah, Baker-Kun, I'm glad that I caught you before you reached your next class."

A little confused, Ellen frowned, "Uegi-San? Is something wrong?"

However, the fact that the Principal frowned in thought made her slightly worried, "I'm afraid that I am unsure about that, Baker-Kun. There's some representatives from the base in the Office and they asked to see you." He frowned a little deeper, "They also asked that I place a substitute for the rest of the day in your place as there is an urgent matter that needs your attention."

While the three of them were well used to the military needing things from the school due to being just on the border of the base and handling most of the students from there, this was... odd. For some reason, Ellen felt her guts twist in concern, but nodded and bowed, "Of course. May I pick up my things? I'll handle any assignments at home if possible and, if not, I shall inform you, Uegi-San."

Just nodding, the Principal smiled and bowed back, "Of course, of course."

Ellen left and watching her, Takahata chuckled, "Some students will be disappointed at not seeing Baker-San later."

Chortling, Principal Uegi shook his head, "I think not, but then who could blame them? She is the best English teacher that I have had the honour to work with." Stroking his small beard, he hummed and sighed wistfully, "What I would not give to be a young man with her as my Sensei..."

That got Takahata to shoot him a look before they shared a smile and soon went their separate ways.

Not long afterwards, Ellen entered the main office and blinked as she found Fubuki there with one of the Lieutenants for the JMSDF. Upon seeing her, the Destroyer's face lit up before she bowed, "Baker-Sensei."

Despite being confused at what was going on, the English teacher bowed back, "Fubuki-San." After introductions with the Lieutenant, who kept glancing at her, Ellen frowned, "Is something wrong, Fubuki-San? Nothing wrong with your children, I hope?"

Blushing at what the other woman had said, and obliquely hinted at, Fubuki shook her head, "No, they're doing well. And I have some hopes that some of them might be going to school in a year or two. They're both nervous and excited at the thought."

Wistful, Ellen nodded some, "Most children are, I remember Samantha and Eric..." Blinking away some tears at the bittersweet memories, she shook her head, "Anyways, you wished to see me?"

In return, the Destroyer motioned to a small meeting room off to the side, "Let's get some privacy first." Once inside, Fubuki closed the door and turned towards the teacher who sat down after a gesture, "Baker-Sensei... Ellen-San, something has come up of rather big importance regarding you."

Eyebrow raised at the change in both names and honorifics, Ellen blinked, "Something has come up?"

Chewing her lip, Fubuki gave a small nod, "It is in regards to your children, they've been found-" A sob cut her off as the teacher began to cry, "Ellen-San?"

Through feeling constricted, the American shook her head, "I-I'm sorry, Fubuki-San. I... I understand now why you called me here." Shaking with emotion, she gave her a sad smile, though tears were already running down her cheeks, "My husband and I have known that they were dead for some time, so thank you for informing me that you have recovered t-their... their re-remains..." Sobs broke free from her as she began to break down, "M-my babies are finally home and I-I can bury them properly..."

Quickly, Fubuki made her way around the table and placed her hand on the older woman's shoulder, "Ellen-San, that's the thing. They're not dead."

Stunned, Ellen looked up at the erstwhile shipgirl's face, "They're... not?" Getting a shake of the head, she felt her heart swell, "They're alive?!"

With a small smile, the Destroyer nodded, "Hai, they're alive and on my daughter... on the JS Fubuki right now coming to Yokosuka after being rescued from a raft that they had made. They've been on one of the islands, Torishima, for all these years."

Mouth working, Ellen boggled a bit before gripping Fubuki tightly, new tears springing to her eyes, "They're... my babies are alive? And... and coming here?"

Humming, Fubuki smiled, "Hai. Their fingerprints check out." Reaching into her clothes, she pulled out two pictures that she placed on the table, "We had these taken and sent for you to see them."

Trembling hands reached out and took the two photographs with the teacher gasping as she saw the two familiar, though older, faces looking back at her. Eric's was obviously of a young man of around twenty, heavily tanned and with little fat in his face. There was some light scarring here and there on his face, but nothing big. And his hair was obviously in need of a hair cut, but...

It was him, her son.

Bringing her hand up to her mouth, Ellen cried out with tears now spilling down her cheeks. With shaking hands, she took the other picture and more sobs broke free, even as Fubuki held her. In the picture, a face not unlike her own though with more Japanese features looked back. Unlike her brother, her skin complexion was still paler than average, but she was obviously a beautiful teenage girl. It was obviously her daughter, but she looked back at Fubuki, "H-how is she so young though? S-she's E-Eric's twin sister...? So she should be the same age."

Gently rubbing the other woman's back, Fubuki took a deep breath, "Samantha-San, as it turns out, was a Natural Born and awoken during the attack that sank their ship with her being a Submarine. As did Sora-San, though things went wrong there." Already knowing the silent question in the teacher's eyes, the Destroyer pressed her lips together thinly, "She stayed with them because she was unsure what was happening back in Japan, and did not want to leave either her injured brother or friend behind to what could be their deaths."

Eyes closing, the teacher grabbed hold of the Destroyer and simply cried, "I'm so proud of her... b-but how injured...?"

Sighing, Fubuki held her gently, "I'm afraid to say that Eric lost his right arm in the original attack. Hence, he was unable to hold onto her effectively and it was only recently that they were able to make a run for it back to the mainland with another survivor, some shipgirls that were Midget Submarines that spontaneously summoned themselves by them, and finding another survivor hiding in a grounded shipwreck the next island over. We managed to find them between Hachijyo-Jima and Mikura-Jima. In fact, they had almost reached the other island."

Ellen chuckled through her happy tears as she held onto the shipgirl, "I don't care, F-Fubuki-San. My son and daughter a-are alive. Tha-that is all that ma-matters in the end." Pulling back, she took the Kleenix offered to her by the Lieutenant and wiped at her eyes before blowing her nose as she tried to bring herself back together. Though she was still crying, "H-have you talked with my husband? Ken?"

With a small smile, the shipgirl nodded, "Hai, we have. He's being picked up from work as we speak and the other parents are also being informed. Though..." Fubuki frowned a little, "We have not been able to find Sora-San's parents and they are listed as missing, presumed dead."

Only nodding, Ellen sniffled a bit, "H-hai. I remember the attack on Aogashima when the Abyssals showed up with a Battleship. Shells fell all around us and the two of them looked at each other before grabbing Ken's and my hands. They started dragging us to a building that they stated would be safe and... and I remember flames swirling around us... " Furrowing her eyebrows, she frowned, "And... next thing I remember is that Ken and I woke up in one of the field hospitals just outside of Tokyo. They stated they found us walking around in a daze, though I don't remember that." With a deep breath, the teacher looked up the now deeply frowning Destroyer, "We never could figure out how we got from Aogashima to Tokyo within apparently hours, but we did."

Chewing her lip, Fubuki looked down at her, "Ellen-San, you know about Yokai and such, right?"

Briefly looking at the Lieutenant who blinked some, the American nodded, "I do, after all I was let in due to having seen one of the elementary students drop his disguise for a few moments by accident. But what does that-" Let it not be said that Ellen Baker was not intelligent as she connected what she had been told in that meeting with what had happened with her. Her voice was one of horror and dismay, "I... I was obliviated, wasn't I?"

Now grimacing, Fubuki gave a small nod, "Hai, it seems so. And Sora-San is a Kitsune so..."

Hands clutching her head, Ellen felt like screaming in both grief and pure rage, "THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS! I'M GOING TO GET MY BASEBALL BAT AND CLOBBER THE FUCKING SHIT OUT OF THEIR HEADS THAT THEY CALL BRAINS!" What followed was a number of curse words and the like which made even the two Naval personnel, who was well used to such things, widen their eyes. The human Officer even took a step back at how descriptive the teacher got in what she wanted to do to those who arrested her friends. Descriptiveness that the shipgirl ascribed to her being an English teacher. Finally, Ellen wiped at her eyes and turned towards Fubuki, "They shoved them into one of those Reserves, didn't they?"

Lips pressed thinly, the Destroyer sighed, "I would think so, yes. Most likely they got you off the island via Floo. Which means that we'll be making a few contacts with people on the other side of things..." She chewed her lip some, "Though that does beg the question of what to do with Sora-"

Ellen cut her off with a shake of her head, "It's in their wills that were opened after the Courts declared them dead two years after Blood Week. If anything was to happen to them, my husband and I would be Sora's guardian... not that she needs such at her age, I suppose. We did much the same for Eric and Samantha." Placing her head in her hands, she sighed, "They also didn't have family, so they left everything to us and it's all in storage right now."

Only nodding, Fubuki gave her a slight smile, "I see."

They waited until the American managed to fully pull herself back together after the revelations that had shaken her world. But then, Ellen had gotten up and left with them though she paused as the Principal looked towards the two JMSDF personnel and then back at her, "Baker-Kun? Is everything fine? We, uh, heard shouting..."

Despite herself, Ellen gave him a smile, though watery, "Hai, I just got some good and bad news..." Taking a deep breath, she let it out, "But the good news is... they found my children and the child of a friend, alive."

Eyes widening, the Principal stared at her for a moments before a wide smile crossed his face, "That is very good news." Pausing, he gave her a shake of the head, "Do not worry if you need to take a few days off, Baker-Kun, we can cover for you here."

That just got him a nod and a bow from the teacher and soon they were on their way towards Yokosuka Naval Base though Ellen wondered about her husband... who clued in regarding their friends much like she had and nearly busted his knuckles slamming his fist into the table.

At roughly the same time, Kashima with another Officer was in a small resturant in Yokohama with two parents staring at a picture of a face, though older now, that they never thought they would see again. It did not take them long to close up the resturant before they headed towards a nearby school to pick up someone. And two Tanuki were at the same time being flown towards Yokosuka on military helicopters as well...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

AN: As a bit of an aside... I was listening to this song when writing the last part:
It fits it quite well considering the subject matter.
_________________________________________________________________________

Looking out the window from the meeting room, Ellen gently blew on her cup of coffee while keeping a watch on the harbour. Sometime... any time now, the ship with her children were going to come into view. While, yes, the pain in her heart had lessened some, it was still there. And she knew, somehow, that it would not vanish until she could hold her babies in her arms once more. Hold them, and tell them how much she, their mother, loved them and had missed them all these years. Part of her wondered what had happened to them, how they had changed...

And that hurt, that for all these years she was not there when they had needed her the most.

One of her hands clenched tightly and shook before she put it down. Inside her, emotions warred with each other and not just those brought up by what had happened to her children. Some, quite a bit, was due to the realization of what had happened to her friends. Closing her eyes, Ellen leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window pane. She could remember meeting the two of them when she had first come to Japan with her husband.

Ellen, at the time, had been a bit unsure of things. She had wanted to be a teacher, an English teacher with her having just finished her degrees, a Major in both English and Teaching. However, some schools had told her that she was overqualified for a job there. It had not been until her husband, who had gotten his majors in engineering and infrastructure work, as well as a minor in mechanics, mentioned that Japan was always looking for qualified English teachers that she had considered going there.

Shortly after their children were old enough, Ellen had accompanied her husband back to Japan on short trips to see the country that gave birth to him. At first, his extended family had not been too fond of the "Gaijin" despite what her Father and Mother-in-Law did or said. But if there was one thing that she was not afraid of, it was hard work. She polished what Japanese she had learned from Ken up until she was nearly as good as a native speaker. At the same time, she had taken every lesson about Japanese culture that she was taught to heart.

It had paid off when Ken's grandmother, who had lost her husband to Americans, greeted her warmly and called her "Granddaughter" on one trip. She had also stated that despite being born in America, she might as well be Japanese, though a bit perky. Ellen... was not afraid to say that she had cried at that moment due to finally being accepted.

Thus, when he suggested getting a job in Japan to teach English, she had accepted it full heartedly.

Granted, she was still a bit nervous internally as this was not going to be a short trip, but... she was happy. Her brother also came along because he wanted to learn Asian cuisine and eventually opened a small resturant before Blood Week with his Chinese-Japanese wife that served Chinese cuisine. Both of them had since gone back to the United States and reopened in Boston, and she was thankful that they were safe.

As for her, almost as soon as she had applied for a job at the school just outside of Yokosuka Naval Base, she had gotten it. The Principal had nearly blurred so fast with accepting someone of her qualifications and who also knew enough to fit in with the local culture. It was there that she met Sora's mother. Despite that, it had taken her time to fit in with the school staff. Her first real friend though was the Phys-Ed teacher, Miho Tsukuda. Almost from the very start, the two had clicked after talking about baseball. Miho wanting to know more about American teams and her about Japanese ones.

Much to the amusement of their husbands, they were just as fanatical about their favorite teams as the others. Miho being mad about the Hanshin Tigers and her with the Boston Red Sox. Granted, both women had glared at Ken when he commented that perhaps it was because both teams were cursed that they got along so well...

He had slept on the couch for a week because of that.

Once, Ellen had managed to convince her friend to go to a Red Sox game, which she had brought the whole family too. At the time, she had not been sure where her friend had gotten the money, but now she had an idea. Still, they had fun in Boston and, when they came back to Japan, Ellen had taken her family to a Hanshin Tiger game. Which had been a thing that cemented their friendship and often the two would go to baseball games together with both families growing very close.

Having noticed the mutual crushes their children had, Ellen had asked if there would be an issue. Miho had snorted and shaken her head before stating she had no problem with their children getting together. Though she expected it would be years before they needed to discuss joining their families.

Now looking back, Ellen could see that many times, Miho and her husband had looked like they wished to tell her and Ken something. A secret of some sort that they were keeping, but never could keep the nerve. Once, when the two of them were cuddled up one night talking, Ken had stated that he thought that, perhaps, the two might have connections to a Yakuza family, but not be involved. Something that was not impossible with how much money they seemed to have at times. Upon them being declared dead though, along with the will was a sealed envelope that Ellen was supposed to open due to being the declared guardian of Sora in their will.

She had never gotten the courage to open the envelope to see what was written, including the fact that their will hinted that it contained the secret that they held for so long as she felt it was not right for her to know.

With a sigh, Ellen came out of her thoughts and looked out towards the harbour, "Don't worry, Miho... I'll make sure that your daughter is well taken care of now. I failed you once, I won't do so again..." Lips twitching, she giggled a bit, "And who knows? Maybe I'll get some grandkids with fluffy tails out of it."

That thought made her smile and she sipped her coffee at the image in her head. Suddenly, the door opened and there was Ken, his own eyes red from some crying. Upon seeing her, he smiled, "Ellen-Chan..."

Quickly setting the coffee down, Ellen ran across the room and practically jumped him as she hugged him. It was only him grabbing the doorframe that stopped them from tumbling back as she buried her face in his chest while he wrapped his arms around her, "Ken... they're alive..." Looking up into his face, tears brimmed in her eyes, happy ones, "Our babies are alive and... and will b-be home soon."

Brushing her hair to the side, he had his own tears before gently kissing her, "Hai... our son and daughter are finally coming home, Ellen-Chan. And we'll be there to greet them." Swallowing thickly, he nodded, "We'll both be there and hold them close and tell them how much we love them and missed them."

Not saying anything, Ellen nodded against his chest before sighing as she felt a bit of tiredness in her limbs as everything began to catch up to her. But she did not, and would not, allow for exhaustion, physical or emotional, to take her until she had her children in her arms. Moments later, an unsure voice spoke up, "Um... hello?"

Looking up, the English teacher noted a woman who looked to be in her early thirties beside a similarly aged man. Said man was slightly heavyset, but not too much and Ellen suspected that he was a cook of some kind due to that look being around him thanks to experience with her own brother. Pulling away from her husband, she smiled and bowed as did he, "Hello, I'm Baker Ellen and this is my husband..."

Her husband smiled a bit, "Hagihara Kensuke, but my friends call me Ken..." Tone turning dry, he smirked at his wife, "Except sometimes my wife here calls me Kenny."

Cheeks puffing out, Ellen gave him a look that made him laugh. But, she noted the two new adults relaxed some. The man chuckled a little and shook her husband's hand, "I'm Hanai Hikaru and this is my wife, Yui." Heading mumbles, he shifted a little to reveal a younger girl of about seven who was holding a five year old boy's hand, "And this is our daughter, Tsukiko and our son, Natsuo."

A small smile on her face, Ellen crouched down, "Hey there." When they gave a wave, she chuckled and stood back up before looking at the two adults, "You have very lovely children, Hanai-San."

Getting a nod from the two, she was about to say more when she felt a small tug on her skirt and looked down to see the young boy looking up at her, "Um... Ellen-San, can I ask a question?" Simply smiling and telling Natsuo he could ask, the boy scrunched up his face in confusion, "Why do you have a different name than your husband?"

That got a wince from his parents, and Yui turned towards Ellen, "I am so sorry, Baker-San."

However, much to her surprise, the other two adults chuckled and the blonde haired woman waved her off, "Don't worry about it, children will ask questions and I promote that being a teacher." Ignoring the widened eyes, she turned back to the little boy, "I have a different name because it was something that the two of us chose when we got married when very young. It is also why our children have the same family name as me."

While curious, the boy only nodded before his attention was grabbed by cookies and he dragged his older sister over. Glancing at the other man, Ken cleared his throat some, "I... take it that you've been brought here because the Fubuki will be bringing your children home?"

Jumping a little, Hikaru gave a small nod, "Hai? Though how..." It took only moments for him to realize and he gave them a nod, "You as well?"

Softly smiling, Ellen sighed, "Two, our only ones. We... thought that they were killed during Blood Week."

Expression understanding, Yui reached over and gently squeezed her shoulder, "We understand, Baker-San."

Not long after, another couple arrived, the female of which was in a Tokyo police uniform while her husband was in a business suit. After the other two couples introduced themselves, they nodded with smiles and bowed as the husband spoke, "I am Yamada Yusuke and this is my wife..."

With an easy smile on her face, the woman smiled, "Lieutenant Yamada Noriko of the Tokyo Police Department." Holding out her hand, she shook the others with them returning the gesture, "Pleased to meet you. And unless I miss my guess, we have one more couple..." Voice trailing off as she noted the saddened looks of Ellen's and Ken's faces, though she did raise a mental eyebrow at the flash of anger in the American's eyes, she slowly blinked, "I... take it that you know of what happened?"

Eyes closing as she centered herself, Ellen opened them and gave a sad smile, "Miho-San and her husband, Genji, were friends and we know that they would have wanted to be here. But... we'll take their place for them."

The other two couples simply nodded at that and gave sad smiles as they believed she meant that the two were dead.

For the next forty minutes, the three couples talked and got to know one another. Part of Ellen thought that they had even formed tentative friendships due to their shared situation. But then, the door opened and Captain Yonehara walked in. Giving Ellen a nod after she greeted him, he motioned for the table and they all sat down, though the children were chewing on some treats, "I'm sorry about the delay, but this is... a rather extraordinary situation, you have to understand. And we are contacting various people regarding it to clear up any issues." He glanced at Ellen who narrowed her eyes briefly but soon relaxed. With a nod, he looked down at the papers before him and paused before giving a sigh, "First, I feel we need to clear the air about a certain subject."

A frown on her face, Noriko furrowed her eyebrows, "Oh?"

Hands clasped on the table, Yonehara shook his head, "It has to do with your children and a fact regarding some of them, and I do not just mean being shipgirls. But it is one that all of you know about and are cleared to know. About the existence of another, hidden side of the world and in particular the existence of Yokai."

Nearly all of them froze, except for Ellen who gave a small smile, "Well, I do teach a number at my school. Aki-Kun is quite the adorable little Inugami after all, and for a Kitsune, Haru-San can hold her drink, or so I assume."

Jaws dropped, the others turned to her and Ken blinked, "Wait..." Bringing up his finger, her husband pointed at her, "You know about Yokai existing?! What the hell, Ellen-Chan!? For how long?!"

With a hum, the English teacher considered her answer, "For a few years now actually. Like I said, some of my students are Yokai and a few have had... issues... keeping the disguise up. All of us teachers were informed since we have children from some of the major Yokai clans such as the Ono Clan."

At that, the others relaxed some before Noriko looked between them curiously, "So you both know about Yokai? And magic?"

Slowly, Ellen nodded with a small smile, "We do, as a matter of fact, or at least I am assuming my husband knows." Giving him a raised eyebrow and a frown, "And I think that it has something to do with that project of yours with the government."

Looking at Yonehara, the Engineer got a small nod and he sighed, "The Non-Magical government is planning out to clean up the Reserves when the Statute falls in a few years while letting the Yokai that wish to move out, re-enter Japan as a whole. Mostly infrastructure stuff like rail and roads to them as well as sewage and water."

If anything, the other Yokai relaxed more at that. Sharing a look with her husband, Noriko released her disguise with her ears and tail popping out followed by her husband. Yui looked unsure for a moment before backing up and also releasing her transformation as did her daughter. While both Tanuki were surprised to see a Jorogumo, when they looked at Hikaru, he shrugged, "One hundred percent human." Standing, he reached up and kissed his wife best that he could as she was crouched down, "And fully in love for nearly twenty five years."

Chuckling, Ellen had a twinkle in her eye, "Guess that explains why you wouldn't drink the coffee then."

Just scratching the back of her head, Yui nodded, "Hai... I don't want to meet my daughter drunk."

That made the others chuckle or lightly laugh. Hearing a throat being cleared, they turned towards Yonehara who brought out a folder with a sigh, "Now, we're still gathering information regarding some things, but..." He opened them to reveal copies of a picture before passing them over. All the adults reacted with widened eyes at the sight of the raft being pulled by Yokai shipgirls except for one Submarine with one boy being held by a Kitsune on said raft, "Now, they've identified which ships they belonged to..."

What followed was a half hour meeting filled with more questions than answers, which Noriko commented was normal this early in the investigation. After all, they didn't have all the answers yet. A frown crossed Yusuke's face as he examined the picture, "May I ask why Sora-San has what looks like nine tails?" Glancing at Ellen, who was frowning, he continued, "From my understanding she is not even a century old yet."

Grimacing, Yonehara shook his head, "That is one of the questions that we don't have an answer to yet. But some of our experts think that since shipgirls are Kami, they can affect that sort of thing. Though they also think that she does not have access to what a full Kyuubi would have in their abilities. It mostly denotes their spiritual power."

Only nodding, the Tanuki hummed a bit.

_____________________________________________________

Having gotten the word that the Fubuki had entered the harbour, the three families had practically rushed out the door. Outside, waiting for them, were a number of cars that took them to where the Destroyer was going to be tied up, which the group watched shortly after arrival. It was only because of her husband's hands on her shoulder that Ellen didn't rush forward as the gangplank was lowered. The sound of the wood meeting the concrete was loud in her ears, nearly as loud as the sound of her own heartbeat.

And then... the world went silent as Eric appeared at the top of the gangplank.

Eyes wide, Ellen began to tremble as Samantha appeared behind him and so did Sora, the three being the first off the ship. Their movements were in slow motion as they walked down the gangplank, silent. And then, Samantha's eyes met hers and gasped with the world rushing back into being as tears sprang to her mother's eyes at her next words, "Mom... Dad?"

Bringing her hands up to her mouth, Ellen sobbed, "Sam... Eric..." Then, before she knew it, she was running across the concrete as the two young adults rushed down the gangplank, also crying. When they got off the gangplank, their mother was already there pulling them into a tight, warm hug, "Eric, Sam! M-my babies!"

The two siblings brought up their own arms and hugged their mother just as tightly back, their faces buried in the crook of her neck as hot tears ran down their cheeks and sobs broke free from them. Walking up, tears running down his own cheeks, their father flung his arms around them, "Samantha-Chan... Eric-Chan..."

Still sobbing, Ellen pulled back just a touch to look at her children's faces. Fingers traced cheeks and such that were familiar and not as she choked a little, "You're real..."

Just nodding, even as he felt his own throat constrict, Eric chuckled, "Y-yeah, Mom... we're real. I..." Burying his face in his mother's neck, her scent filled his nostrils and made him feel like he was a little boy again, safe within her arms from all the dangers of the world, "We're home..."

With a sniffle, the English teacher choked back a laugh, "Y-yes, you are. B-both of you... F-finally, you-you're both home."

Her husband just swayed back and forth, "We're so, so sorry... w-we never knew that... that you were..."

Only shaking her head, Samantha sobbed, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Dad. W-we should have done something before now. B-but we didn't know and..." Almost unable to talk due to the emotions bubbling up, she still forced herself to finish, "We're sorry about having you worry and think that we were dead, and... and..."

Stroking her head, Ken kissed her hair, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Samantha-Chan. Absolutely nothing. We love you and we're j-just happy that you're back. That you're alive and that we can tell you that."

Face still buried in his mother's neck, Eric nodded, "W-we're happy too, Dad... we love you two and m-missed you every day. P-please don't be angry..."

Gently kissing his cheek, Ellen shook her head, "Oh, Baby... we could never be angry with you. Not about this, we love you too much..."

Wiping at her eyes, for all the good it did, Samantha sniffled, "M-Mom, I... because of me, Eric is.. is..."

Ellen noticed her son look down and looked at where his right arm had been, and was now gone. Part of her wanted to wail about it, to scream in anger at the heavens for whoever allowed this harm to come to her son. Instead, she reached up and cupped his cheek ('When had he gotten so tall...?') and shook her head, "As I told your father when you were born and I held you for the first time... you're beautiful and perfect, Eric. And nothing, absolutely nothing changes that. You hear me? To me, nothing is wrong with you."

His eyes widening at those words, Eric felt a fresh burst of tears and hugged his mother as tight as he could with one arm as she whispered soft words of encouragement to him through her own sobs.

Inside her heart, Ellen could feel that wound, raw for so many years, slowly heal and close. Each tear taking more and more of the pain away. Because now, after so long, she could hold her babies in her arms. And in the end, that was all she had wanted.

Out of the corner of her eye though, she could see Sora shift from one foot to the other unsure. Disengaging a little, Ellen looked over at the Kitsune who had a heartbroken look on her face, "M-my Kaa-San and Tou-San are..."

Bittersweet smile on her face, the American could not help the thought that went through her mind, 'You two should be here...' Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, "If they could have been here, Sora... they would have been. But..." Opening her arm, she smiled, "Come here."

For a few moments, Sora stared before her eyesight became blurry and sobs broke free as she ran for the comforting arm, "E-Ellen-Oba-Chan!"

Tears running from her eyes, Ellen blinked, "I am so sorry, Sora... b-but I promised your parents to be there for you. And I swear that I will be. Please forgive this old woman for not doing so before..."

Eric's arm around her as well, the Kitsune let out a wail, "OBA-CHAN!" Pulling back a little, she shook her head, "Y-you have nothing to apologize for..."

With more sobs wrecking her body, she held on tight to the woman who had become an aunt to her for so long..."

And theirs was not the only reunion going on as both Yumiko and Hinata rushed down the gangplank and towards their families. The Tanuki was the first to reach her parents, the two older Yokai pulling her into a hug, "KAA-SAN! TOU-SAN!"

Holding her daughter close, Noriko shook her head, "We are so, so proud of you, Musume... you are so very strong..."

Beside her, her husband nodded, "Very strong... stronger than we could have been."

Lips trembling, Yumiko shook her head, "I-I'm only as strong as y-you both made m-me..."

Sobs breaking free, her parents just held her close to them.

Coming to a stop before her family as tears stained all their faces, Hinata looked at her parents and then at the two younger children who looked up at her in awe. She was unsure what to say and it seemed her parents did not know either though Yui covered her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. Then, Tsukiko stepped forward, "A-are you our Onee-Chan?"

To Hinata, it felt like her boilers were about to burst as she nodded, tears dripping down her face, "H-hai... I'm your Onee-Chan, Hinata." Looking from one to the other, she sniffled a bit, "Wh-what are your names?"

With a glance at their parents, her younger sister swallowed even as she began to tear up. After all, her parents had told both of their children about their older sister who they described as being very brave and smart and beautiful. And now... she could see for herself that every word was true. Slowly, she nodded though her throat felt like it had something in it for some reason, "I-I'm Tsukiko..."

From beside her, feeling somewhat shy, the young boy nodded, "A-and I'm Natsuo..."

Looking from one to the other, Hinata smiled, "Natsuo-Kun and Tsukiko-Chan... wonderful names for a-a wonderful O-otouto and Imouto..."

Eyes widening, the two stared at her before they began to cry and wail. Then they threw themselves into their sister's arms, "ONEE-CHAN! ONEE-CHAN!"

Gently, arms that could tear apart tanks wrapped themselves around them, to envelope them in protection of her steel, "I-Imouto... Oto-Otouto... Onee-Chan is here, finally home..."

Moments later, her parents joined the embrace as they began to cry themselves.

Up on the mainmast, the Spirit of the JS Fubuki looked down and held her clenched hands to her chest, "Utsuho-Chan... this feels... I feel so happy that my reactor feels like it could burst!"

Beside her, the crow looked at her and the ship spirit could see a ghostly woman overlaying it who placed an arm over her shoulder before the crow spoke, the ghost's mouth moving with the words, "And so you should be, Fubuki-Chan. Because of you, three families are once more whole. This... love... is truly powerful."

Just nodding, the Fubuki's spirit looked down at the shipgirl who shared her name. Said shipgirl was looking up at her with a proud smile on her face and a nod, which nearly made Fubuki-Chan's reactor's internal fusion glow all the more brightly in pride, "I... just wanted to make Kaa-San proud and do my best..."

Almost as if he had heard her, the Captain of her hull patted the rail gently as he looked on at the reunion with a small smile, "You did good, Fubuki-Chan. I'll make sure that there's some of those ice cream sandwiches, made with fresh cookies from the oven, for you as a reward. And barbecue pork for Utsuho-Chan. You both did good and I'm proud of you."

The two beings straightened and puffed out their chest in happiness, though they continued to watch the teary reunion down on the dock with smiles as did the Fubuki's crew, proud that they were part of it.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Eventually, Ellen sniffled as she pulled back a little and turned to the crew of the Fubuki who was lining the rails and watching with smiles along with DesDiv6. She noted that one or two of the crewmembers from what she could see had wet cheeks as well though the shipgirls were smiling with tears of their own in their eyes. Turning fully, the American blinked still wet eyes at them before standing at attention in a near perfect salute, "Thank you... thank you for bringing my children home."

Behind her, her children as well as Sora and her husband also came to and saluted them. At the same time, Yumiko and her parents did as well as Hinata's family, though the younger members were a bit unsure. Lightly smiling, the Captain saluted them back followed by his crew as he nodded, "It was our great honor to do so, Baker-San."

With a small nod, Ellen walked forward and reached out to place her finger tips against the ship's hull, "And thank you, Fubuki-Chan. You made this mother very, very happy." Part of her could almost swear that the hull warmed under her touch with a slight shudder. But she smiled nonetheless before turning towards the shipgirl who shared the same name, "You must be proud of your daughter, Fubuki-San."

For a brief moment, Fubuki opened her mouth as if to say something before closing it. Becoming thoughtful for a few seconds, she smiled and chuckled as she looked at the steel hulled Destroyer, "Hai, I am very proud of my daughter, Ellen-San. She has done my name well and with great honor."

Up on the main mast, the spirit of the warship looked down at her mother and felt her cheeks heat up before she grinned and threw her hands wide as she cheered, her horns blasting, "Eeeeee! Thank you, Kaa-San!"

There was a small smile on Fubuki's face as she turned back to Ellen and shrugged.

In return, the American shook her head before sighing and walking back to her children and pulling them into a hug again. Looking up at the Captain, she smiled before calling out, "I heard that the raft that carried them is still on board?"

Lips curling, Captain Hashimoto moved aside a little and nodded, "Hai, it is. And if you wish to come and see it, permission granted. We will be moving it off ship soon to a place where it can be stored due to the honour it has accrued."

Just nodding, Ellen walked back onto the ship followed by her family as did the others. It did not take them long to reach where the raft was, in an out of the corner part of the main helicopter hanger. Bending down, the English teacher placed her hand on it and bowed her head as she closed her eyes, "I... do not know if you have a spirit yet, Raft. But these are strange times that we live in, and if you do have one... know that you have a Mother's eternal thankfulness. You brought my Son and Sora home across the sea. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

With another nod, she stepped back and each of the adults walked forward one at a time and thanked it.

Shortly afterwards, they entered the meeting room that they had left to find Goto there as well as Ooyodo talking with Captain Yonehara. Turning to them, the Admiral smiled and bowed to the group, "I am Isoroku Goto and allow me to welcome all of you home."

Bowing back, Eric glanced at his friends and nodded as he spoke for all of them, "Thank you, Isoroku-San." He grinned a little, "It's good to be home finally."

Just chuckling, the Admiral shook his head a little, "I imagine so." Gesturing at the chairs, he continued, "Please, have a seat since we have quite a bit to go over. Since I imagine that you're hungry, I've already sent for some food for a late lunch as I expect that we might be here for a while as we need to do a full debrief."

A frown on her face, Yui glanced at her daughter and turned back to the Admiral, "Is that really all that necessary? From what we were told, they explained what had happened to them on the ship. Do we really need to have them relive that?"

Glancing at the youngest non-shipgirls there, Goto shook his head slightly, "Not all of it, for... certain reasons."

Ellen understood that parts of the tale was rather dark and not really for the ears of children. However, that was when Hinata's father spoke up, "Natsou-Kun? Tsukiko-Chan? We have some food packed in our car, perhaps someone could accompany you to go and get it?"

Both kids were about to argue that fact when Kongou flipped from one of the ceiling vents, making Ellen twitch. But the Battleship ignored that and went into a pose, "Born in Britain and raised in Japan, I'm the Battleship Kongou, Dess!" Grinning, she winked some, "I'll accompany such fine youngsters out."

The two children just looked at her in pure awe and soon enough, they left.

For several moments, everyone was quiet before Yusuke, Yumiko's father, looked up at the vent and craned his head to the side to get a better look, "How did she...?"

Just blinking, his wife also frowned, "I... don't know? That should not have been big enough for her to get through, and yet she did."

When she looked towards Yui, the Jorogumo shook her head, "Don't look at me, I may be a Jorogumo, but I could not fit in that space."

About the only one who was not confused was Ellen who pinched her nose with a sigh, causing them to turn to her, "That is because that is Kongou-San. It is best not to ask..." Her eyebrow twitched a bit, "At least she has not interrupted one of my classes to be inane again..."

Rather amused, the Admiral leaned back with a small smile, "Ah, yes, I remember that. You threatened her to have the Boston Tea Party happen in the harbour here. She went on about it and asked that I arrest you for threatening to go through such a war crime."

As Ellen's husband shook his head in amusement and both Ellen and Goto chuckled, Ooyodo looked towards the ceiling with a long suffering look. Eventually though, the Light Cruiser cleared her throat some, "Perhaps we should take advantage of the time we have before they return to speak of... certain matters."

Only nodding, Goto sighed, "Of course." Turning, he regarded the teens, "Perhaps you could give us an overview of what had happened?"

With a glance to their parents, the group began to slowly tell their story. Upon hearing of how he lost his arm, Ellen gripped his hand and held it. But her face paled at being told how close he had come to dying at the hands of the other survivors, and what they had done afterwards. Closing her eyes, Noriko sighed and shook her head, "Despair is truly a terrible thing for what it can drive a person to. I am not angry with them... but I do pity them."

Beside her son, Ellen simply nodded in agreement as did Goto, Yonehara, and Ooyodo.

Continuing their story, the group of young adults watched as the Admiral made several notes on a notepad he had. What was in it, none of them could see, but they could see the Light Cruiser nod every once in a while. Finally, their story came to an end and Goto leaned back in his chair with a small frown, "I will admit, I am not quite sure why the radio signals were so scrambled for you back there. They shouldn't have been."

Leaning against the wall, Tenryuu frowned a little, "You know... when we went to Torishima, we noticed the same thing happening." Eye narrowing, she scratched her chin before blinking as one of her crew remembered something, "Beyonnaise Rocks..."

Eyebrow raised, Yonehara frowned as he leaned forward, "What about them?"

The Light Cruiser turned to him and shook her head, "Maybe it was the eruption? Sometimes, volcanic eruptions can mess with radio signals because of lightning in the ash cloud. Fills up the airwaves nearby with static. And since that place has been erupting since just after Blood Week."

Considering that, Goto closed his eyes in thought before nodding, "I suppose that is as good an explanation as we have for now." With a sigh, he turned to the group and frowned, "I assume that Captain Hashimoto has already filled you in about much regarding the current circumstances of the war?"

Samantha grimaced a little as she looked towards her mother, "He did, and... I'll admit that there are things that make me uneasy." At the nod, she continued, "The name for the monsters, Abyssals is okay. I mean, it fits now that I think about it. But... the idea that some of them have joined humanity..."

Reaching over, Ellen gave her daughter's shoulder a squeeze, "I can understand how you feel, Samantha. Trust me... but I will state that Hoppou is different from most as are her family. And if the war is to be over sooner..." Getting a frown, she shook her head, "Just give her a chance, that is all that anyone can ask."

Only nodding, the Submarine sighed a bit before Yumiko spoke up, "Um, Teitoku?" Getting a nod, she frowned slightly, "What happens to us now?"

Not saying anything, Goto leaned back some as Yui frowned and spoke, "What do you mean what happens now? You come home."

Before anyone could speak up, the lone American adult sighed, "They're going to join the fight, aren't they?" When the other two couples went to speak up, she held up a hand, "I know how you feel, God... trust me. But I have been around shipgirls for a very long time as a teacher and... I know how they think to some extent. They simply cannot just walk away."

With a small sigh, Ooyodo nodded, "She is unfortunately right." Motioning with one hand, she shook her head, "It is perhaps an artifact in regards to our last lives that we feel the need to do something. A lot of Natural Borns, when they are Awoken, do feel the need to go out and help."

Looking at her daughter, Yui noticed her looking troubled and felt tears prickle at her eyes, "But... we just got you back..."

Hinata opened her mouth, only to close it and look at the others, "Kaa-San, I... I was alone on that ship for so long. And the others were on that island for just as long." Clenching her fist with the sound of steel under strain, she let out a breath and looked her parents in the eye, "I can't just sit back and not help, because doing so could mean that someone would have suffered like I had. And like you have for all these years. I-I'm sorry, but I just can't stand here and not try and stop that."

Eyes widening, her mother stared, "Hinata-Chan..."

Getting up, Yumiko looked at her own parents, "I agree with Hinata-Chan, Okaa-San, Otou-San. Maybe I don't understand everything, about why I'm a shipgirl. But..." Voice turning gentle, she looked at her mother, "You're a police Officer, Okaa-San. Protect and Serve... that is what I want to do."

Not saying anything, both Samantha and Sora nodded even as Ellen held her daughter's hand. After a few moments, Hikaru spoke up and looked at Hinata with a sad chuckle. He could still see the small girl that he used to give piggybacks to and teach how to cook, "When did you grow so strong."

A small blush, Hinata looked him in the eyes, "I learned it from you, Tou-San."

When her father turned to him, Goto gave an understanding nod. Leaning back, the Admiral took a deep breath and let it out, "I will state though that there are other ways than sending them out to fight. As Yumiko-San, Hinata-San, and Samantha-San are logistics, they will be kept away from the fighting. Yumiko-San and Hinata-San, for example, can be kept on the base. And Samantha-San can keep inshore and not too far away." Pausing, he looked at Sora and smiled slightly, "As for Sora-San? Until her hull is built, she is going to be kept away from any fighting at all."

Lightly blushing, the Kitsune in question looked down, "Hai, I understand."

The sound of a throat being cleared made them all turn to Yonehara who furrowed his eyebrows, "Sora-San? May I ask what ship you are? From the reports, you appear similar to a Yamato, but... you won't give your name."

Just wincing, Sora grimaced, "I... do not wish to have the name I do because it is something given by arrogant men." Seeing the looks, she stood up and sighed while bowing, "I... am the Yamato-Kai ship, Onogoroshima, the name given to me by the Kamo Government as I was being built."

For several moments, no one said a thing before Yusuke grimace, "I understand now why you did not wish to give you name." Shaking his head, he groaned, "The Kamo government was insane and arrogant. Somehow, though, I am not surprised that they gave such a name to you."

Ooyodo pinched her nose and bit back a groan at imagining just how many supplies will vanish down their new Capital Ship's stomach. Instead, she took a deep, calming breath before letting it out and turning towards her, "If I may, what are your specifications? In general?"

Blinking at that, the Kitsune took a few seconds to consider, "I... was built based on A-150-A4 plans. My hull is a somewhat stretched Yamato style with eight twenty inch guns in four double turrets with a displacement of... they estimated to be about seventy eight thousand tons. My belt is about nineteen inches thick, single piece and with a speed of twenty seven knots."

Everyone was somewhat silent at that. For the civilians and one police officer, it was due to being somewhat confused, but thinking that it was big. For the military members, it was more the sheer amount of insanity that they just heard. Slowly, Goto shook his head some, 'Definitely insane...' One bit though, made him blink and go over what she just said, "Shikigami?"

Lips pressed thinly, Sora nodded, "Hai. It was one of the ways that the Kamo Government decided to get around crew requirements that they were going to institute. Every ship was going to have three dozen Onmyouji who would each control about fifteen Shikigami. That would give each Capital ship over five hundred extra crew for the more simple duties." She shifted a little bit unsure, "But... I was never completed and was scrapped by ICW Occupation Forces at being about forty five percent complete."

However, Goto only made a sound of interest. Before he could say anything, the door opened and Kongou returned with the two children who rushed over to their Onee-Chan and began to talk about everything as the Battleship wheeled in a cart filled with food, "Lunch!"

Chuckling, the Admiral smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Kongou." Turning back to the group, he took a deep breath, "Now, I am sure that you expected to head home, but there are other things needed. Firstly, and most importantly, all of you need a full check up due to being away for so long. We do not need medical complications popping up." Getting nods as even the adults understood that, he continued, "Most likely, there will be an observation period as well, so a few days. That also brings up the next part..." A small smirk appeared on Goto's face, "I am going to assume that you all wish to have a long, hot shower afterwards as well as perhaps hair cuts or what have you. All of which will be provided to you, though I assume that the shipgirls among you will also like to visit the Repair Baths to get rid of any damage that has built up. We will, of course, provide to your needs for as long as you wish. Which includes a warm, clean bed tonight."

That caused eyes to widen, but those who had been stuck in the Izu Islands just brightly smiled and nodded rapidly as they dreamed happily of hot showers and the like...

 

[darthcourt10]

lt_agn02

Finally managed to get back to writing this!
________________________________
Sitting in the admiral's room, Aso felt the sheet of paper bulge out at her. The walls of the room started to collapse as it got smaller and smaller. Sweat poured down her forehead as the word "Reassignment" danced a jig over and over in her head. Her breathing began to accelerate as she tried to hold her tears back. The room fell around her until she felt the walls and the ceiling squeeze her into her chair.

From her desk, Admiral Shimada set down her teacup to look at a carrier hugging herself in fear.

"…Aso? Are…are you okay?"

The girl looked up at her CO, the tears and snot dripping from her face. "A-Admiral…please…please don't do this!" she begged. "I-I'll be good! I'll be good, I promise! Please…please don't sent me so far away!"

"Aso, calm down and listen to me. You will just be there on loan for six months. We are not abandoning you or kicking you out, you follow?"

"I-It's Pearl Harbor! Even if you take into account their ship girls playing nice over here, that doesn't change the fact that Americans never forgive anyone that does them wrong! If they find out a Japanese carrier will be staying there, they're going to kill me and mail my head back in a box!" she protested reaching up to protect her neck. "After everything I said, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually did!"

"You're overreacting," Shimada countered with a groan on her lips. "You've seen Enterprise and Yamato friendly with each other. You know that the JMSDF can, and often does port calls there." The admiral narrowed her eyes. "Heck, I know for a fact that you're a fan of Louisiana-san's sweet potato pie."

Aso puffed out her cheeks. "That was Houshou-san's wasn't it?"

"Where do you think Houshou-san got the recipe in the first place?"

Aso's eyes narrowed, then she looked away, a small blush on her face.

Shimada leaned forward. "Now before you get too riled up, you're aware of the situation that Pearl Harbor is in, correct?"

"I…I have a vague idea. It's under siege by Abyssals, right?"

"Good. That makes explaining things easier." The admiral narrowed her eyes. "For some reason, despite the siege, they were able to stay alive even with supply routes cut."

Aso's eyes widened. "Seriously? That's impossible! They're so geographically isolated that they could fall the moment the Americans ran out of supplies!"

"I'm aware of that," Shimada noted, "but the fact remains that between the day they were cut off from the world and the day trade was reestablished, they did something. I don't know what it was, but by some miracle, by the time we arrived there, the actual death toll was far lower than the catastrophic death toll we predicted. Yes, there were hungry people. But they were hungry and, most importantly, alive."

"H-How is that possible?" the carrier asked. By her recollection, Hawaii itself went black for two years. Two years without so much as a single supply ship! She suppressed a gulp. Without her occasional assistance, the food situation at the yokai village was such that it could last one year, and that was being very generous.

She put her hand to her chin. It didn't make sense at all. The village was one thing. Depending on the season and the crops, they could last quite a while without outside input. One bad season could spell disaster of course, but in the end, it's just a small village by comparison. With most of its resources going purely into agriculture. They have enough food stocks to last a bad harvest. An entire island chain is a totally different ship. With millions of residents, they shouldn't last more than a few months.

"Maybe they're using magic over there?" she asked. "I heard that the gai – I mean, Nagato's son – could multiply food."

Admiral Shimada shook her head. "It's a possibility, but the fact remains that this…'Statute of Secrecy' thing is actively preventing American magicals from taking action." She leafed through the folder on her desk, then pulled out a photograph. "This was the aerial reconnaissance photograph taken before we broke the siege." Then she pulled another picture out. "This one was from before the war."

Aso took both of the pictures in hand. The older photo from before the war was the Hawaii she was familiar with. At least from the pictures on the internet and the books she read. Sunny beaches, a bustling metropolitan city, that kind of thing. Then she looked toward the newer photo. Immediately, the carrier noticed something oddly different.

The city was leveled, obviously. The Pearl Harbor Naval Base was razed to the ground. If it was just that, she would have shrugged. War was war after all and cities being leveled aren't all that uncommon. However, near the bottom of the photograph, something odd caught her eye.

Offshore, the carrier spotted several elliptical structures in the water. She cocked her head as she tried to look closer. "Admiral, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think…I think they might be some sort of… protected area?"

Shimada nodded. "I talked to the Americans. They said it was some kind of aquaculture that the Native Hawaiians whipped up. There was something like it in Kaneohe before the war."

"Aquaculture…maybe these are what kept the islands alive?"

"That's what I'm betting on," the admiral commented, "but the real issue I see is the quantity. Even with modern technology, it would take more than just two years to build just one. These are all over the islands." She leaned forward, her eyes meeting with the carriers. "I'm not just sending you to Hawaii on a whim. If I wanted to just punish you, a week of Alaskan convoys is more than enough. However, because you decided to look into things like agriculture and infrastructure, that changes things."

"…Ma'am?"

"You have six months," Shimada told her. "Disaster relief, infrastructure, industry, and agriculture. Learn as much as you can." She pointed to the pictures. "Furthermore, I want more info on these protected areas popping up around the islands. If Japan could use them in any way, we need to bring over as much information as possible, understood?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"I must warn you, Aso. You better make sure you learn. Your yokai village will be the guinea pig for any ideas you bring over."

The carrier's eyes went wide at what the admiral just told her. "W-Wait…you can't mean…"

"That's the point. Based on the info you bring back, they could be the first to reap the rewards of your hard work." The admiral crossed her arms. "If you're insistent on helping them out so much, you should at least be willing to take full responsibility by learning how to help them rebuild properly." Shimada leaned forward. "Now then, answer me honestly. For the sake of the yokai village, are you, Aso of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, willing to do that?"

Aso gulped. Until now, she was helping. Just helping. She didn't want to cut into their autonomy. The village leaders had their own ways of dealing with everything and she respected that. But if she were to take a more active role officially, there was a non-zero chance that she might step over lines that couldn't be crossed. And yet, despite everything, there was this opportunity. The chance to help make things better. To learn more about how to rebuild from the ground up.

The carrier steeled herself, then answered. "I'll do it."

Shimada nodded. "Excellent. Go to your room and pack everything you need. Houshou should have a copy of the standard packing list, should you have any questions. The convoy leaves tomorrow at 12pm sharp."

The carrier stood and saluted, excusing herself from her room.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

De Profundis: The Exploration And Research Logs of USS Trieste (DSV-0)

Entry #2

0953, 18 June 2014

Office of the Oceanographer of the United States Navy

Trieste entered and snapped to attention, saluting the dark skinned and gray haired bespectacled admiral waiting for her. "Sir, DSV-0, USS Trieste reporting as ordered."

Rear Admiral Thomas Foster returned the salute. "At ease, Trieste and welcome back to us." His voice was filled with the molasses-smooth drawl from his youth in the Deep South.

Trieste smiled. "It is good to be back, Admiral. Even if I will be of no use fighting the Abyssals, I will serve to the utmost limit of my capabilities."

Admiral Foster smiled, "No need for combat duties for you, we have enough ships to hold the line. You should know that the bulk of the World War Two US Navy is coming back to fight for us once again. Plus the Japanese, British and other fleets are manifesting as well."

Trieste nodded in acceptance of those words as something inside her unclenched then nibbled her lip. "A personal question, if I may inquire. Destroyer Escort Five Three Five, USS Lewis. Is she back yet?"

Foster tapped a query into his desktop computer and smiled at the response on the screen. "She is back and working the Seattle-Japan convoy runs currently. Why are you interested in her?"

Trieste blushed cutely and tapped one boot clad foot against the carpet like a bashful schoolgirl. "She was one of my primary support ships for the Project Nekton deep oceanic dives in the 1960s and I got along well with her, sir. She's a friend. Honestly the only person I am close to, since I have no real sisters who have manifested. It may be a long time before Alvin or Trieste II come back and they are the closest relatives that I have. I'm used to being alone, especially on a dive of course."

"Aha. I will make a note of that and see if I can get use of her when the time comes." Admiral Foster scribbled the note and then gave Trieste a measuring look. "In brief, while we are holding off the Abyssals and building up our strength to reclaim the oceans from them, we have a bigger problem. We have questions that need answers. What the Abyssals are, what they are capable of, where they came from, and most important, what don't we know that we should know in the depths of the ocean? Are the Abyssals a precursor of something greater from the depths that will menace us all?"

Trieste nodded along as her expression became focused, "Which is where I come in, Sir. You need someone to look and shine a light on those mysteries and get answers."

"Exactly. Are you on board, Trieste?" The admiral's tone was challenging as he looked at the young dark hared shipgirl in front of him.

Trieste snapped to attention with a crash of steel and saluted with a determined look. "Yes, sir!"

Admiral Foster returned the salute and then stood up from the desk. "Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, state your full name and service designation..."

"I, USS Trieste, Deep Submergence Vehicle Zero" Trieste's eyes glimmered with saltwater tears as her electrical motors picked up a notch with solemn pride.

"Do solemnly swear..." The admiral spoke the words of the commissioning oath that he had taken decades before at Annapolis from memory.

"Do solemnly swear." Trieste's voice was hushed with the solemnity of this moment to her.

"That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States..." His eyes stared into hers, measuring the spirit in front of him.

"That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States." Trieste thought of Lewis's stories of the War and the cost of these words in brave ships and braver men. Costs that Lewis and her sisters had shouldered willingly as she would now.

"Against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;" The admiral's fatherly voice was hushed in turn by the meaning of these words to him.

"That I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;" A saltwater tear trickled down Trieste's cheek from the emotions coursing through her now-shipgirl body.

"And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter." An involuntary smile lit up Trieste's face at the thought of being ordered to explore the secrets of the oceans on her dives as she repeated the words.

"So help me God." The Admiral finished with suspiciously shiny eyes behind his glasses as he saw the character and purpose reflected in the shipgirl's face in front of him.

"So help me God!" Trieste said, feeling the weight of those final words as greater than the crushing depths of the ocean at the bottom of the world.

Admiral Foster's face gave a warm welcoming smile. "Then let me be the first to welcome you to the United States Navy, Lieutenant Commander Trieste!" He extended his hand, and she shook it, the glove of her deep-sea diving suit firm against his palm.

Trieste blinked the tears out of her eyes. "Glad to be on board, Admiral Foster. Um, sir, you should know that since the start of my awakening I have been picking up a repeated infrasonic melody on my hydrophones."

The Admiral blinked. "You are picking up music too low in pitch for humans to hear?"

Trieste nodded. "Yes sir, it's repeating with variations, and my crew of faeries has confirmed to an 83% probability that it matches an observation that I logged on the Nekton dive into Challenger Deep in 1961. Target bearing analysis puts it on a rough heading corresponding to that segment of the Pacific as best that I can tell."

She walked over to a Mercator chart of the Pacific hanging on the wall and drew her finger across the map into the Central Pacific. "I think that I can use my Gertrude sonar telephone to re-transmit it into a rough format that humans can hear."

The Admiral nodded sharply. "Do it, Commander."

A faerie clambered out of the steel neck plate of Trieste's suit and gave her a thumb's up. The a moment later, a haunting, ethereal, alien song embodying loneliness and allure filled the office.
Spoiler: The Siren Song

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Tale of Two Dinners

Ishikawa Restauraunt, Shinjuku, Tokyo

April, 2014, Immediately After The Reserve Inspection Tour
Spoiler: A Cluster Of Spiders

Shigeru Miyata looked up from the menu as his daughter Naomi entered the private room that he had reserved. One look at her face, even with her mask up, caused him to sigh behind his own public persona.

I was afraid of this.

She knelt on the far side of the table and placed her order. The waitress bowed and departed, letting Shigeru center himself.

The elderly civil servant gave Naomi a firm look as she pulled out her wand. "Wait until she returns with the sake and dinner, then we shall speak, Daughter."

Naomi nodded sharply. "Yes, Father."

Once the food and drink were served, both father and daughter cast privacy wards. The moment that the last symbol flared to life and Shigeru cast a lightning discharge to short out any nomaj listening equipment, he looked at Naomi. "How bad is it?"

Her voice was furious. "Worse than I feared, much worse. There are no less than six shipgirls present. And it is only by the especial grace of Kannon that we have not had them lead a massive breakout."

Shigeru stared in shock. "Six, truly?" He repeated in a slow voice.

"Truly. A pair of Inu who were small carriers, and a trio of Kitsune who are small destroyers. The last is an Unawakened Nekomata. They are all very close to the Healer, who is a good man, thankfully, and the only reason -- the only reason! -- that things have not gone straight to Jigoku! There was a cholera epidemic that the staff covered up and downplayed as they sheltered in safety!!" Shigeru turned pale as Naomi elevated her voice.

"Healer Haruto risked his life to save who he could. It is only by his skill and dedication and the especial grace of Kannon, Amaterasu-Omikami, and the Seven Luck Gods that they only lost two hundred thirty eight!! De Breuil has experience with Cholera and said that it could have been well over three thousand or more if he had not nearly killed himself with karoshi(overwork) to save as many as he could!!! If he had failed, or if the plague outbreak had been more serious, the first indication we would have had would have been when the guard post was leveled by the shipgirls and then they swarmed out of the Reserve!!!" Naomi's eyes flashed as she released all the stress, anger, fear, and shame that she had been keeping bottled up through her inspection tour.

Shigeru steepled his fingers and listened impassively as Naomi continued to vent her concern, the glitter in his dark eyes and his paler than normal skin the only sign of his own distress.

Finally Naomi's words trailed off, and Shigeru spoke. "I see. You have written your unvarnished observations down, Daughter?"

Naomi nodded jerkily, "Yes, Father. I was going to prepare a second report full of the usual pablum about Nikko Reserve, but I... just cannot."

Shigeru sighed. "Unfortunately, I need you to prepare that to leak to the people who we need to keep in the dark just a little longer. You must understand that as long as they just have suspicions that you found things are slightly worse to Nikko, then you are protected. If this is made public, the government will fall in the scandal and that will complicate the situation immensely."

Naomi stared at Shigeru. "Complicate the situation!! How can you say that!?"

Shigeru smiled. "Easily." The smile vanished instantly and his voice grew stern. "However, if the government falls, Kyoto will have an unavoidable delay in funneling resources and manpower to the reserves. With an interruption of the subsidies we arrange for the local leadership there and payment to the guards and Healers plus shipments of foodstuffs, medicine, and other supplies, a breakout attempt is certain as the inhabitants feel that they are cut off and left to swing."

Naomi winced. "So what do we do? I checked the Deathwatch ward status and Jukai-B has had a spike in deaths. Six hundred three in the last week. They have an epidemic ongoing right now."

Shigeru spoke in a firm voice. "I will arrange for several Healers to be sent there along with an emergency shipment of medical supplies tomorrow. Or Chief Healer Ogata will be in divorce court tomorrow night after his wife finds out about his bastard daughters with his secretary."

"As for the rest, give me a copy of your true report, I will make sure that it gets to the right hands in Kyoto and Tokyo to make necessary changes. Write up a second report filled with pablum and any useful suggestions that Councilor Ito can push with no political cost and give it to him and send me a copy through the normal channels," Shigeru sighed and drained the last of his sake, "and we will both light incense to Kannon to bless our efforts to buy time and stave off disaster."

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

Honmoku Makado Mamematsu

Yokohama, Japan
Spoiler: And A Convocation of Cutlery

Ying looked at the small family-owned restaurant across the street from a school and glanced at Delilah. "Del, your contact is here?"

Delilah nodded as she entered. "Yes, this is where we are to meet Honjo and Aunt Chisuheri."

Ying blinked. "Another of Grandfather Norimune's sisters?"

Inside there was a slightly heavy-set cook behind the counter fixing seafood, and a rather leggy brunette woman manning the cash register.

Delilah nodded as they took a seat at a corner table with their backs to the wall. "Yes. Chisuheri got religion around the time Sis was born and is now a card-carrying Buddhist monk and a pacifist. Before then, she was a vampiric berserker. No, I don't understand it either, but that's the story. Now she is a senior member of the Japanese Non-Human Rights Organization which is pretty much what it says on the can."

A voice sounded from the door as a silver haired lady in a tailored business suit walked to their table. "Who is your friend, Delilah-san?"

Ying bowed and responded as Delilah pulled out her cellphone to take a picture of Chisuheri's face. "Auror Wei Ying of the Royal Canadian Magical Mounted Police, and the oldest daughter of Colombe du Chasteler, Great-Aunt Chisuheri."

The Buddhist's jaw dropped briefly. "And here I thought that Umi-chan had been sniffing her potion fumes when she told me that Colombe's daughter arrested her."

Ying smiled smugly, "Yes, it is part of a plan to resolve her legal difficulties. Once she is able to get out of the wheelchair and travel, I will be escorting her to a magistrate who can take her testimony about all the incidents that she was involved in so that she can tell her side of the story."

Chisuheri blinked as a pair of young-seeming women, one with light hair and glasses and the other dark-headed with sharp golden eyes entered to join them. "Wait. Colombe is in a wheelchair? What happened to her?!"

Delilah opened her mouth, noticed Honjo and a friend entering earshot, and closed it with a snap as she smiled smugly and shifted her phone to take a picture of the new arrivals.

Ying, unaware of the identity of the last two tsukumogami, promptly dropped the bomb. "Masamune-no-Fudo happened to Father. She and Colombe beat each other within an inch of their lives and are convalescing at Moulbaix."

Delilah took a picture of the brief shocked look as Honjo groaned and the mystery sword's eyes narrowed. "Fudo-nee no baka. I am unsurprised. Let me guess, Toku-chan was unable to prevent the fight?" Honjo spoke in a weary voice.

Delilah nodded, giving Ying a look to be quiet. "Yes, I was there and Fudo called out Colombe for a duel over Tokunotakai's honor. Full power, and while it was in the warded salle d'armes with no outside witnesses, both of them are pretty battered and getting medical attention from Kasuyu and Tokunotakai. Plus Ying's younger sisters Claire and Ehren. I should introduce my niece. Wei Ying is Colombe's oldest daughter, a school classmate of mine, and my counterpart north of the border in Canada."

The mystery woman spoke in a cool, precise tone. "Fudo's eldest sister Masamune-no-Kotegiri. I am assisting Honjo-nee with the political matters that bring us together."

Ying and Delilah bowed their heads. "I am Muramasa-no-Norimune's youngest daughter, de Breuil Delilah and du Chasteler Colombe is my eldest sister. Ying and I recently found out our family relationship, and I recruited her to assist me with the digging."

The conversation paused as the brunette approached the table. "Welcome to Honmoku Makado Mamematsu, I am Hanai Yui and I shall be your waitress. May I interest you in our house special?"

Once the orders were placed and Yui departed, Delilah and Ying pulled out copies of their reports from the Ryukaku Reserves after privacy wards were cast. "We were able to piggyback on Miyata Naomi's inspection tour. Apparently her Councilor wanted a no-bullshit look and she got us in. There's good news, bad news, and really bad news."

Honjo passed the her copy of the report to Kotegiri, who started to read. "Please, elaborate." Her eyes sharpened behind her glasses.

Delilah sighed. "The good is that the Healer assigned there is a miracle worker who is the kind of hero I wish that we had more of. He sees the Yokai there as people and is moving heaven and earth to take care of them on a shoestring. Also he's insanely popular, and would be a mortal lock for mayor if he wanted to run, which he does not. He just wants to fight disease and save people."

Honjo glanced at Kotegiri as Chisuheri rubbed her chin and spoke. "Anything that we can do to help him?"

Delilah nodded. "He has friends on the mainland who are supporting him, and he is being very creative with what he is doing such as getting nomaj medical supplies to supplement the authorized magical shipments. Brilliant really. Hinata Haruto is his name. I think that helping him would be best be done through local channels if we can steer a well-connected donor his way. I have access to some funds on the nomaj side that I can send your way immediately to support him and others, Aunt. I'll make arrangements with people I know stateside to get a revenue stream going either directly or through some cutouts if you can have your treasurer drop me a call or an owl."

Ying chimed in. "He is also using nomaj vitamins to ward off nutritional diseases. I have a great-great-grandniece who is married to the CEO of a chain of drugstores back home. I shall speak to her and arrange shipments in bulk from Canada as charity to be distributed through Great-Aunt Chisuheri's organization."

Chisuheri smiled. "That's good. Now what's the bad and worse?"

Delilah scowled. "The bad is that someone in the Reserve Bureaucracy has it out for Healer Hinata. When we arrived, one of the guards was violating procedures by giving him the third degree. And this is not the first time that it happened to him. There was at least one other incident that resulted in several guards giving him a beating in his clinic. Supposedly it was to find out about smugglers, but he is smart enough to be selectively blind and deaf and does not ask questions he does not want answered."

Kotegiri's eyes glittered and her thin razor edged smile chilled the air. "Tell me that you have names of these guards, de Breuil-san."

"Miyata mentioned a report on that incident and looks to be trying to dig up the details. The worst is that we dodged a massive bullet with that. For now. When we went ashore with Hinata-san, the local Yokai were watching us like foreign invaders and if any of us had made anything resembling a hostile move aimed at him, we would be fish food at their hands. The really bad part is that there are at least six shipgirls on that reserve, one nekomata, three kitsune, and two inugami. With the kitsune and inugami both related to each other, sisters I think, and romantically involved with the Healer. Which shows that they have good taste, if you ask me." Delilah's face was grim as she continued. "If that utter shithead takes another shot at Hinata and connects, you can expect to see riots there backed with naval artillery."

Ying spoke with banked anger in her voice. "In addition, conditions that the jorogumo family that Father helped escape described are apparently endemic through the Reserves. There was a near-miss on a cholera epidemic on that island not too long ago," everyone present winced with their own memories of the dreaded lethal disease as Ying continued, "Thanks to Hinata and some of the members of the community who volunteered and worked with him as his assistants the death toll was only two hundred thirty eight instead of thousands. And the poor man mourns all two hundred thirty eight individually."

Honjo's eyes flashed and she looked at Kotegiri, who nodded sharply. "Rest assured that what can be done to fix the situation will be done, de Breuil-san."

Delilah sighed and rubbed her temples. "Thank God for that. It needs to be done yesterday too, since we only have to get unlucky once for this powder keg to blow."

Everyone nodded and then waited as the waitress came with their food orders.

As she left the conversation resumed as Delilah began to eat her seafood catch of the day special. "I don't know if we can get into another tour if another is planned. I expect that Miyata-san will write a fairly scathing report too, and she was asking about ideas to stretch out the money for the Reserves as far as possible to do the most good. Unfortunately, I'll need to put a leash on Sis again once she heals up and we still need to handle the legal mess that she is in.

Honjo nodded and poured sake for herself and her sister. "Rest assured that the Diet will drop the matter of your sister's actions here soon enough. Expect that the paperwork gets misfiled as well for your borrowing of Akutoku's car." Chisuheri chuckled at the memory of that memorable first meeting with her nieces.

Ying glanced at Delilah only to get a 'not now' look from her aunt. "Thank you, Honjo-san. We will be returning to Moulbaix soon, and I need to speak to my mother and some other associates in New York sooner rather than later. For starters, Ying and I both need to make sure that no new fires are burning in our backyard and check our own enclaves. Once I do that I'll pop back here and touch base with you and your friends, Aunt Chisuheri to arrange access to what resources we can provide."

Kotegiri spoke in a curious voice. "Toku-chan is well?"

"When we left, yes. As I said, she is helping nurse Fudo and my sister back to health." Delilah responded after a sip of her sake. "She is getting along well with Colombe's family too. Sis has arranged to employ the family that she rescued there while giving them a hand up to make a new life for themselves. Just don't be surprised if she comes back knowing how to play a piano thanks to Claire."

Kotegiri gave a warm smile. "When you see Toku-chan next, please relay the message that Honjo and I are quite proud of our imouto's actions and that we support her travels." Kotegiri's voice cooled noticeably as she continued. "Also let Fudo know that when she returns to Japan, I wish for her to see Honjo immediately upon arrival. If she is foolish enough to take precipitate independent action involving Toku's recent travel, inform her that she will answer to me and my First Master personally. Those exact words."

Both Chisuheri and Honjo paled slightly at Kotegiri's words, and Delilah blinked. "I shall give her your message by tomorrow. Speaking as someone who has to ride herd on my idiot sisters more often than not, I wish you the best in herding cats with Fudo."

Kotegiri smiled serenely. "It is a matter of steel and velvet to herd nekomata." She nodded to Honjo who had her own serene smile. "And selecting a strong right arm to act alongside my own efforts. So, I am curious about your oldest sister, especially the things that did not make it into the ICW files. You said that you are the oldest child, Wei-san?" Chisuheri leaned back and cocked her head as the shift to familial gossip.

Ying nodded. "Indeed. I have two younger half-sisters, du Chasteler Claire and du Chasteler Ehren. The first is the spirit of her piano who manifested in 1990...."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking down the hallway, Eric gave a quiet sigh of relief as he noted that his parents and the others had gone for a quick trip to the commissary for some needed toiletries for him. Just some actual soap and shampoo, though... as he rubbed his chin and felt a slight bit of stubble there, he hoped that they brought him a razor and actual shaving cream. Sure, the fairies that belonged to his sister and the others could conjure something like shaving cream, but they didn't know any spell to shave.

And that meant that he ended up having to use a shaving blade which took a while to learn and get used to even as their crews taught him.

Granted, he always wondered why every time, Sora would lightly blush and look away. But that was beside the point, he supposed. Part of him wondered which was better, which was why he was willing to give it a try.

Besides the fact that he needed a shave, and that for the first time in nearly a decade he was going to be able to have a hot shower with soap and shampoo, there was one other reason that Eric was somewhat relaxed as the adults had gone to get the toiletries. Mainly what he noticed from their reactions. Hearing him sigh, Samantha gave him a look, "Something wrong, Bro?"

A grimace in his face, her brother considered not answering for a few moments before he sighed, "Sam... do I stink?"

No one said anything for a few moments, but Samantha's voice came out extremely dry, "No, you utterly reek." Sniffing herself, she gave a small shrug, "I probably do as well to be honest... so do the rest of us." Grimacing a little, the Subgirl shook her head, "We've only had rain showers and the odd pool of water... well, besides the ocean. But no soap or anything so I wouldn't be surprised if all of us stink to high heaven.

Scrunching her nose, Sora leaned in and sniffed her boyfriend for a few moments before frowning, "I... don't think that he smells that bad." At their amused looks, she turned away, 'He smells... like a male.'

On Eric's sister's face was a small smirk, "No, I suppose that to you he doesn't stink.."

Lightly blushing, Hinata cleared her throat, "I don't think that he smells that bad either, though, um... it has been several years for us all."

There were nods at that before Samantha stretched some as they reached stairway that they were supposed to use and walked up it to a door, which they opened, "That is true enough, I suppose. We probably just stopped noticing it after a time." The group walked into where they were told the "Repair Docks" were, whatever those were. Looking at the showers, the Submarine nodded to herself and walked into the shower room, "Let's get out of these clothes and nice and clean... God, I'm going to scrub my everything down until I'm redder then an apple just to make sure that I'm clean."

Chuckling, Eric shook his head and shrugged as he walked in after her with the others following, "You're not the only one, Sis. I'm going to be getting clean as well..."

It was ten minutes later that their parents showed up and arrived at the shower rooms. With a sigh, Ken looked at his wife and took the basket of male toiletries into the male side. However, he came out less than a minute later looking puzzled, "Ellen-Chan? This is the shower that we were supposed to go to, right?"

Eyebrow raised, the English teacher frowned, "Yes? The girls will be able to get checked out by Akashi and Eric can go into the examination room to be checked out by the base doctor." Frowning, she shook her head, "It is a good thing that the repair docks have both types of rooms just in case they are ever needed."

Unsure, Ken looked around, "Well... Eric's not in the shower room and I don't see him around."

About to answer, Ellen frowned and thought it over before wincing, "I... have an idea where he might be actually. Just wait here."

Ignoring the confusion, she walked into the girl's side. Unknown to the others, as soon as they had entered, they had started to shed their clothes and uniform. The Submarines had it easiest with the only thing they had on being swimsuits. Hinata was the next easiest as hers was just an apron, skirt, and blouse along with the rest.

But Eric's was a somewhat dirty sailor's outfit with one sleeve pinned to his side. It was not too easy to get it off for someone who only had one hand to use, which is why Sora walked over and undid the pin, "Here, Eric-Kun, let me give you a hand."

Sighing a bit, he gave her a small smile that made her boilers skip a little, "Thanks, Sora. I wish that I could help more, but..."

Expression softening, the Kitsune kissed him before pulling back, "Hai, I know." With a small smile, she gripped the bottom of his shirt and helped pull it over his head, "Now, let's get the rest of this off you."

As they did so, he groaned a little, "Sounds good to me." Looking at the shirt, Eric scrunched up his nose a little bit, "Uh, Sam? Not sure if they're going to be able to get it cleaned... sorry, Sis."

However, the Submarine in question just waved him off, "Don't worry about it." Tossing her swimsuit into a basket, she shrugged, "I'm not and nor are my boys."

As the fraternal twins were talking, Sora took a moment to look over her boyfriend and licked her lips. Due to the living on the island, there was pretty much no fat at all on him, just lean muscle under tanned skin. Something that, personally, she had no issue with. Not in the slightest as a matter of fact and something that she had voiced and shown many a time. Shaking that off, she noticed that he had finished and gave him a look, "Mind giving me a hand, Eric-Kun?"

With a chuckle, her boyfriend started to help her as well, "Not at all. With that Kimono of yours, you need more than one person helping you get changed into or out of it after all and I don't mind."

Placing her hands on her hips, Samantha snorted, "Yes, we all know that well enough."

Just giving his sister a look, and getting a tongue stuck out at him, Eric rolled his eyes as he helped the best he could, "Real freaking mature, Sam. How old are you?"

Samantha smirked a little at him, "Twenty or so, and looking younger..." Looking at herself, she shook her head, "Which sucks in all sorts of ways to be honest. I mean, how much has my aging slowed down?"

Only shrugging, her brother shook his head, "Who knows? I mean, they probably do here because shipgirls or something, but you would need to ask."

Before his sister could reply though, his mother entered the shower room, "Eric? Are you..." Upon seeing them, she blushed and rapidly turned around, "Eric! What are you doing in here?!"

Confused, Eric blinked and looked at the others, "Uh... getting ready for a shower? What else would you be doing in a shower room?"

For a moment, Ellen closed her eyes and pinched her nose, "Yessss... but I meant more about the fact that you were in here with your sister and the others. After all, you're a boy and they're girls."

Scratching his head, her son frowned for a few moments before wincing, "Ah, right..." Glancing at the others, he chuckled a bit weakly, "I, um... it doesn't really bother me?"

From where she was, Yumiko gave her own shrug, "Or us, really. I mean..." She looked at Eric briefly before shrugging, "We've basically seen each other so many times over the years in various states, well..." Frowning, the Tanuki furrowed her eyebrows, "We just don't notice. Back on the island we had to go outside during rainstorms and scrub down, or do so in the ocean. Sort of hard to become embarrassed around each other after years of that, right?"

With a deep breath, Ellen nodded, "Right, I can understand that... just... give me a moment and I'll go and get the soap and such for you." Several moments later, still not looking, she set down the various baskets down on benches, "Okay, that one is Eric's..." The American pointed at one basket, "And these are for the rest of you."

They thanked her and she left before Eric walked over and grabbed a bar of soap and sniffed it, "Huh... smells nice actually."

Giggling softly, Sora hugged him from behind with a smile, "So... I do your back and you do mine, Eric-Kun?"

Needless to say, that got her a grin from him and eyerolls as well as giggles from the others.

Meanwhile, Ellen had caught those last words as she left and raised an eyebrow, 'Well... I think that answers my question of those two.' Internally, she giggled, 'Good, they fit so well together and will give me plenty of babies with fluffy tails!'

As she came out, she was met with the other parents who were various degrees of uncomfortable. Yumiko's father looked about ready to rush in there with a scowl on his face as his wife tried to calm him. Seeing that Ellen was alone, he frowned, "Where's your son? Don't tell me..."

Just sighing, Ellen shook her head, "They're all taking their showers now together. But, well... they don't see an issue."

Frowning, Noriko glanced at her husband before turning back to the teacher, "They don't? How...?" It took her only a few seconds before she sighed, "Ah, right... because they were alone on the island, correct?"

Slowly, the American nodded, "That's correct. Things like modesty took a backseat to survival there, so they're not bothered in the slightest by being naked around each other." Ellen scratched her chin in thought, "I mean, it is not all that unexpected... you see that sort of thing in literature plenty of times where that just falls away to the wayside of things." Lips twitching, she motioned with her hands and shrugged, "At least they still wear clothes?"

On Yusuke's face was a small grimace, "Not that it helps much..."

Rolling her eyes, Noriko punched her husband in the arm, "It is not that bad really, and no different than things were in our youth." Shaking her head, she sighed a little, "After all, mixed bathing was not an issue back then and some Yokai onsens still have it."

Eyebrow raised, Ken looked at her, "Really? But that would mean..." Frowning, he tilted his head as he considered them, "That you were around before the Meiji Restoration when mixed baths fell out of favor..."

With a chuckle, the Tanuki police officer smiled, "Normally I would say don't comment on a lady's age, but... hai, both me and my husband were born before that. I was born in 1780 and my husband was born in 1790."

Yui raised her hand a little with a sheepish look, "I was born in 1840 myself." Looking thoughtful, she turned to the doorway to the shower room, "While I am not sure about you... I don't really see an issue with this. But then, I'm Jorogumo."

Arms crossed, Ken sighed a little, "I suppose that this actually hammers home the fact that they are going to have to learn to live away from the island, which might well be as big of a challenge as survival was."

Each of the parents nodded at that, even as they resolved to help their children all the more.

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Weasley's Warship Workshop 9

Due to a procedural mishap Ron had several hours after his visit with Jean Bart before he needed to return to Hogwarts. With his father still busy that meant the easiest place for him to go was Passel House. Where Warspite just happened to be off duty and waiting to welcome him, along with a very eager Summer.

The visit with Summer had been enlightening, as the Battleship Princess was much more… docile when he went to check on her with Summer. She'd even responded to several questions that weren't exactly directed at her but had proved useful in the end. Summer seemed pleased with that as well and in the end Ron had put several of the very basic strengthening runes he'd learned onto the back brace, which seemed to work as intended.

That had left only part of his time for Warspite and though he knew it was a blessing to be able to see her at all, Ron wished he had more time to spend with her. It certainly didn't help that he was still somewhat distracted by the activities of earlier in the day. Namely his time with Jean Bart on the motorcycle.

"Ron are you alright?" Warspite asked as Ron somewhat absentmindedly moved one of his chess pieces.

"Of course." He said on instinct, before realizing that Warspite was looking at him quite seriously. "Why?"

"Look at the piece you just moved." Warspite's voice had taken on a somewhat sarcastic tone, her eyebrow quirking.

Actually looking at the board in front of him caused Ron to blink, as he'd just moved one of his bishops into striking range of one of Warspite's knights to take a simple pawn, with no further exchange easily available for him.

"I might have a bit on my mind." He admitted sheepishly, looking back up to Warspite.

She sighed, shaking her head as she picked up the knight in question as if she was going to move it but merely held it in her hand and pointed it at Ron.

"Why don't you tell me about it then. We have time." Warspite reached out for the handsome wooden box used to contain the pieces, placing the knight in the appropriate slot while indicating the game was over for now.

Letting out a bit of a sigh, Ron began to sort out his pieces as well while he did his best to marshal his thoughts. Eventually the pieces were all in the box and the board was put away, leaving Ron with Warspite looking at him and no other distractions. All it took was a further quirked eyebrow and he began to talk.

"You know how I went to see Jean Bart today?" He started.

Warspite simply nodded.

"Well, we went to eat of course. It's just… we took her motorcycle to the cafe and back." Ron flushed a bit at the memory

Warspite's eyebrow had just lowered, but almost immediately rose again. "Yes and…?"

"And…" Ron found his mouth going dry but he soldiered on. "And I had to ride behind her. With my hands around her. Which… was distracting." He found himself fighting down a blush of mixed embarrassment and humiliation, looking down at his feet.

Warspite's eyebrow didn't lower but a small smile came to her face, which Ron did not manage to see before his self imposed impairment.

"You found her attractive." Her voice made the words a statement and not a question.

"...Yes." Ron sounded quite upset at himself for that.

"Did you do anything untoward to her?" Warspite managed to keep her tone level for the moment but she couldn't help but let the smile widen slightly. She knew it was a rough moment for Ron but between the silliness of it, to her at least, and the fact that he had brought it up to her in the first place she couldn't help it.

"No!" Ron's voice came out a little louder than he meant it to, his head jumping up to see Warspite grinning at him. "I… I mean… I'd never." His tone trailed off at the end, somewhat surprised to see Warspite looking at him like that.

"I know Ron, I know. Come here for a moment." Warspite's voice softened and she raised a hand to him even as she stood, gesturing for him to follow her, which he did immediately. It was only a short distance to a small love seat that had been put in the parlor, which Warspite pulled him down onto.

Ron blushed more despite himself as Warspite's hand wrapped around him, pulling him up against her side. In other circumstances he might not have noticed but her he could not ignore the fact that Warspite felt like a woman against him, anymore than he could ignore the scent of oil and steel that was a part of her just as much as any other ladies perfume. The fact that he'd never met a perfume he truly liked only made it that much more distracting.

"If you couldn't tell already Ron, I'm not upset at you. Not in the slightest." Warspite's voice had a relaxing tone to it, the hand not around Ron's waist reaching up to run lightly through his hair.

"Why not?" He asked, his blush going down slightly but not fully, his head leaning slightly into her touch.

"Why should I be?" Warspite countered, her tone taking on a bit of humor. "From what I understand Jean Bart is attractive Ron. Even for a battleship she has very graceful lines and I'd be an idiot to think you wouldn't notice that."

Ron made a small noise of agreement, his head nodding under her fingers as Warspite switched from stroking to lightly scratching at his head.

"Since you didn't do anything untoward to her, there's nothing to worry about. She didn't say anything did she?"

Ron paused for a moment and then shook his head. "No, she didn't say anything about that."

"Then that matter is closed." She said, leaning down to place a kiss onto his head, which finally relaxed Ron enough that his body stopped tensing against hers.

There was silence for a moment as Ron soaked in Warspite's presence, the battleship doing much the same to him.

"I might even have to send her a thank you note." Warspite said idly, looking down as Ron looked back and up at her.

"Why?" Ron asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"She marked out another thing we're going to have to deal with." Warspite said with a smile. "What was that delightful term they used in Japan? Ah yes, "skinship.""

Ron's cheeks started to flush again, though it remained at a thankfully low level.

"Skinship?" He said. "What do you mean by that? Isn't that..." He paused, flushing slightly more.

"Not exactly like in Japan Ron." Warspite said with a small grin, placing a finger down and playfully touching his nose. "Not for a while. We have to consider propriety after all."

Ron nodded, which drew a bigger smile from Warspite for a few moments.

"What I meant was that I don't want you to be unfamiliar with me. We spend little enough time together as is, so when we get the chance we should do more things like this." She squeezed him up against her side again, causing him to flush. Cutely in her opinion but the poor boy was already going through quite a bit.

"So… we should be closer." Ron said, starting to grasp what she meant. "Not inappropriately but..."

"But I want you to be able to touch me without being afraid to." Warspite said, nuzzling closer to him. "You have desires and thoughts Ron. That's normal. It's what you do with them and how you react that is what matters."

Ron nodded to her, relaxing against her side.

"I understand." He said. "I think."

Warspite grinned to herself, soaking in the feeling of him and shaking her head.

"Does that mean I should have skinship with Duke as well?" He asked.

"Eventually." Warspite said, her voice turning amused once more. "We should break the idea to her slowly though. She's not quite as adventurous as I am."

Ron snorted but didn't say anything more, causing Warspite to grin again and lean down for one more kiss on his head, as another thought passed through hers.

She might have said it in idle fancy but the idea was not a bad one. It was high time she met Jean Bart in person. Ron might not have noticed anything from the French ship but Warspite knew Ron had a way about him… which he most often simply didn't notice. Best to see for herself.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
AN: Not my longest or best but I wanted to get something out again before I got too stale. Hope you all enjoyed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Secrets

Janine Tarkan grumbled as she made her way through the supermarket. The things she'd need to discuss with her sister were wide and varied and she'd rather prefer that her sister was stuffed and thus less likely to explode at her. There was only one problem, her sister was a big eater. So she'd need to prepare big meals. Looking over the shopping cart, she grinned. Lasagna was always well-received by her sister. Sure, it would be a big one, but considering the amounts her sister could shovel down her gullet, she didn't expect it to last three days.

Firing off a message to her sister that she was coming over for a talk and some food, Janine began packing her purchases into bags.

One quick apparating later, she was in her sister's flat in Rostock and began to prepare the lasagna.

Over in Wilhelmshaven, Aisha Tarkan stared at her mobile before heaving a deep sigh. Getting up from her desk, she absentmindedly patted the Wolpertinger sleeping on one of her filing cabinets.

Making her way over to Hartmann's office, she greeted Kaiserin. "Is the old man in?" she wanted to know.

Kaiserin nodded. "Yeah, be careful, he's currently handling Bismarck's little ones. I think he also expects his son to deliver him grandbabies sooner or later," she whispered conspirationally.

Aisha chuckled. It would be a while yet before Hartmann junior would settle down for this. There was a war on, such things took priority. And there was still decent odds on Hartmann and the Hippers actually calling the whole thing quits. Friends, maybe with benefits, but nothing more.

Shaking off her musings, Aisha looked at the office. "Anything big coming up?" she wanted to know.

Kaiserin checked, before shaking her head. "Nah. The tailor has an appointment later, but knowing the old man, he'd pay to get out of that one," she gave back.

Aisha shook her head. "He gets to be promoted to Grand Admiral, but tell him he has to be fitted for an uniform and he's doing his level best to pretend he isn't there," she mused. "Well, I'll have to see him now," she said before knocking at the office door.

"Come in," it came from the inside.

Entering the office, Aisha had to fight very hard to salute. The soon to be Grand Admiral had two babies in his office, was in the process of feeding them and was rather smeared with baby food.

"Admiral," Aisha managed to get out, barely.

Hartmann nodded. "At ease. So, what exactly is burning?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing on base. It's my sister, she sent me a message that we need to talk and she's making lasagna," Aisha gave back.

"How serious are we talking?" Hartmann wanted to know.

"She's making lasagna. She wants me to be unlikely to blow up, regardless of what she tells me," Aisha explained.

"So she has big news," Hartmann concluded.

"Definitely," Aisha agreed. "And considering how out of the blue this comes, that she makes heavy food and didn't even check where I actually am, I'm thinking very bad news," she laid out.

Hartmann nodded, while feeding the babies. "Do you want someone to accompany you?" he wanted to know.

Aisha shook her head. "No, she'll just clam up and we won't get anything out of her. Unless it's literally bad enough that she no longer cares if a third party knows immediately," she explained.

"Well, let's hope it isn't that bad," Hartmann mused. "And considering that you said she didn't check...," Hartmann trailed off.

Aisha nodded. "She's in my Rostock flat, so I need to go there," she gave back.

"You do that. Keep me informed about the things she tells you. The more we learn about the magical side of things, the worse it gets," Hartmann mused.

Aisha nodded. "Indeed, sir," she agreed.

Twenty minutes later, Aisha's Audi barreled down the A 29. Thankfully there wasn't a lot of traffic, allowing her to hit the gas. There was a 4 hour ride in front of her and her sister better had some very good reasons to call her with this short of a notice.

Five hours later, Aisha finally pulled in the parking lot in front of her second home.

Getting out she saw the neighborhood's tom sunning himself on the steps. Seeing her, he jumped up and began rubbing himself on her legs. "Come here, tubby," she greeted him affectionately, lifting the purring tom up. "You got heavier," she accused him with a grin.

The tom simply purred and rubbed his head against her chin.

After a bit, she reluctantly put the big cat down. She needed to face her sister.

Making her way up the stairs, she was greeted by one of her neighbors. "Oh, is something happening?" the old woman wanted to know.

"My sister decided that today was the perfect day for her to visit from Berlin, no matter if I'm actually here," Aisha grumbled.

The woman laughed. "She needs a man to settle down with," she commented.

"I don't think my sister is made for that. She manages to neglect plastic flowers enough for them to wilt," Aisha joked, making the old woman give a barking, fox-like laugh.

"That bad, huh?" the old woman chuckled.

Aisha nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "Anyway, I've had a five-hour drive, I need to rest a bit," she excused herself.

The old woman smirked. "You do that, deary. I'll have to drag my man out of the cellar again. He really should stop playing with his model trains, he's going to be ninety soon," she grumbled.

Aisha laughed lightly. It was a familiar complaint, one she'd heard for over twenty years now. "You do that, Miss Fuchs," she agreed before going up another set of stairs and cursing her cheapskate teenage self for chosing a house without elevator and her lazy-ass twen self for not actually moving out.

Opening her door, her nostrils were hit by the aroma of tomatos, cheese, meat, basil and oregano. The scent alone made her mouth water.

Going in, she saw her sister sitting in front of the TV, watching some crime show.

"Lasagna is basically ready," Janine said instead of a greeting.

"Hello, good to see you, how have you been?" Aisha shot back at her younger sister.

"Yes, yes," Janine gave back.

Aisha shrugged. It was familiar. She went to her bedroom to get some comfortable clothes, the evening already promised headaches, the least she could have were comfortable clothes.

"Wine?" Janine shouted from the living room.

"Nah, I'll take water," Aisha shouted back.

The meal itself was peaceful, both sisters eating in silence.

Finally, Aisha finished her third helping and leaned back. "Well, I'm full. Roll me over to the couch, would you?" she joked at her sister.

Janine took that as her cue. Getting her wand, she began to weave privacy and other spells.

Aisha sat heavily on the two-seater, mustering her little sister. People were always surprised by them being sisters, what with Janine being almost a head smaller than her rather tall sister. Aisha had worked for everything in her life. She had ambitions, ambitions that currently included to one day become Grand Admiral herself. Janine had none of that. She had undeniable talent, if her marks from the Brockenakademie were anything to go by, but she lacked ambition. She wanted a job where she could kick back and wait for retirement, a job she seemed to have found years ago. Aisha knew that her job was technically important, but not viewed as such these days.

"Okay, what I'm about to tell you really should not reach the allies, otherwise I'm basically dead," Janine began dead serious.

Aisha groaned. "What a way to start off. Okay, what do you mean, allied governments?" she wanted to know, leaning back a bit.

"You know, the allies. Russians, French, Brits, Amis and their lackeys," Janine explained as if talking to a small child.

Aisha sighed long and drawn-out. This was going to be hell. "So, you want me to not tell our allies about things that may potentially concern them?" she wanted to know.

"Why would you? Those are internal matters, their meddling is not welcome," she explained. "Also, they are not our allies. In fact, we have finally cast off the last thing tying us to their yoke," she added.

"I'll regret asking," Aisha grumbled. "What did you maniacs do?" she wanted to know.

"Nothing big," Janine reassured her sister. "The Archmage finally did what his predecessors should have done in the 90ies and left the ICW," she said. "Not like we had a voice there, anyway. So we are finally rid of that stupidity, nothing stops us from throwing out all those damn foreigners and we don't need to hear their whining about this or that," she explained.

Aisha paled. "You maniacs," she said tonelessly.

Janine looked at her sister. "What?" she asked.

Aisha pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, you're telling me, you're not just turning away from the rest of the magical world, but also working on ensuring the rest of the world doesn't talk to you again? And you might actually throw out foreign nationals?" she asked incredulously.

Janine nodded. "It'll be great, no more whining about "Help us with the abyssals!" or "Verdun is waking up! Do something!" or any such drivel," she gave back. "It's not our problem and we're not going to spend lives on saving some foreigners," she added decisively.

Aisha wondered if she would be able to survive the evening without committing sororicide. Or telling the Bundeskanzleramt that they should say screw the statute and topple the magical government right now.

There was isolationism and then there was this. Dig a hole to hide in, build a wall, keep everyone they don't like out and then wait in their hole for the rest of the world to die.

"What was this about Verdun?" Aisha wanted to know.

Janine shrugged. "Some necromantic entity in Verdun stirred. The Frogs complained that we should help them with that," she stated dismissively. "The islanders also whined about some Ascension Ritual in the North Sea. Honestly, it's their countries or their waters, what do we care?" she asked exasperatedly. "We don't go to them and whine about needing help to exterminate the corn demons, do we?" she asked rhethorically.

"Corn demons are real?" Aisha asked in surprise. It was a story from their grandparents they had been told about, rye aunts living in the rye fields and hunting disobedient children in the bad old days.

Janine nodded. "A real pain in the arse. Intelligent enough to know they're hunted. Still, should take only 2 more seasons and those pests are finally relegated to museums and folk tales," she gave back. "At least if the projections hold true," she added quickly.

"Are these beings sapient?" Aisha asked slowly.

"Does it matter?" Janine shot back. "They're carnivorous and humans are a preferred prey for them. They die within days in captivity anyway," she countered. "But, no, they are not sapient, they're about as smart as the smartest dog, so about as idiotic as a meter of country lane," she went on to reassure her sister.

Aisha was far from reassured, the dismissive way her sister talked about it rubbed her wrong. "Any other species you're taking care of?" she wanted to know, leaning forward. This all was a trainwreck and her sister's attitude really didn't help.

Janine shrugged. "Sure, mostly smaller pest species like erl kings. The scrats aren't a problem and you have to give one thing to Grindelwald, he made our job in that regard way easier. Waterpeople for example used to be a plague and drowned hundreds each year. There's very few nixes and necks remaining these days and they're basically dying out due to no longer being able to find mates in their rivers and lakes. Have to thank the Unkönner industry for that one, the pollution started and basically finished what Grindelwald made policy," Janine laid out.

"Wait, wait, wait, you're saying that nixes were killed off by pollution?" Aisha asked incredulously. She knew enough about all the negative effects of pollution, but hearing that it drove a magical species to extinction was something else.

"It was interlocking factors. Pollution weakened them, the Archmages in the late 19th/early20th really didn't like them drowning swimmers as it broke the statute so they started to pressure them into polluted rivers, Grindelwald decided to stop half-assing it and had all those that couldn't be used as labor killed and after the war, the only thing changing was that we couldn't enslave or kill them any more. No one cared about letting them live anywhere non-toxic. From what I heard, MACUSA and a few others used the idea to break a few restive water dwelling beasts of their own. Force them into toxic rivers, let the pollution do the rest," Janine explained. "Sure, some fled, either into the sea or another country, but that means they're no longer our problem," she added.

Aisha stared at her sister, horrified. She shouldn't have been surprised, the magical world did get up to some really disgusting things in the name of secrecy, but gloating about driving a species basically to extinction and its method being called an inspiration was horrifying. And the worst thing, though unknowing, the industries that had polluted the rivers for decades had helped, had enabled this atrocity. She didn't want to know how many magical species had been broken or killed in that way, crushed between the statute and muggle pollution. And she couldn't really doubt it. Too much data had shown what pollution had cost the world, there was no rational reason to believe that magicals would have been exempt from the damage done.

"Honestly, the biggest pest problem these days are the industrial sprites and their descendants, the office sprites," Janine dropped, unaware of her sister's pondering.

"Industrial sprites? What?" Aisha asked incredulously.

Janine nodded. "Yeah, there's nature sprites, basically pest fairies. They live in the woods and have basically vanished these days, the acid rain basically did them in," she laid out. "Some of those sprites had migrated to the cities in the early 19th century and they began taking up residence in factories. It changed them. These things have insect-like wings in the woods, the factories changed their wings and hair to metal. Their nests made of things they could scrounge up in factories as well. Very annoying to get rid off, as things that reliably kill their woodland relatives don't even register to them as toxic," she grumbled. "Anyway, they stick to factories, power plants, dockyards, machine shops and such environments. From them a second branch split off that inhabits offices. Not as agressive as their industrial counterparts and far easier to kill, but far better at hiding and far more dispersed these days," she laid out.

"So, let me get this straight, you people are currently doing your level best to exterminate a lot of magical species for being pests," Aisha began only to be interrupted by her sister.

"We exterminate the dangerous ones. Species that prey on humans exclusively or mostly exclusively. Industrial sprites for example are an annoyance and basically only a "would be nice to get rid of them," thing. Erl kings, corn demons, such things are getting hunted. They're an active threat to humans, so they need to go," Janine laid out. "We'd go after vampires and werewolves as well, but there's difficulties with that," she added helpfully.

Aisha groaned. This whole situation was fractally terrible. She'd have to alert Hartmann, who in turn would have to alert the Archministry of Magecraft to get confirmation that Magical Germany was not, in fact, currently going on a genocide run of sapient beings. It was bad enough that they were conducting extermination campaigns against non-sapient beings for being pests. And that was not why she had come here. She'd have to focus, otherwise they'd be here all night and she'd really like to get some rest at least.

Looking at her sister, she fixed her with a glare. "This is all terrible, but not why you called me here," she ground out.

Janine stiffened. "If you can't guarantee that this won't leak to the allies, I won't tell you more," she finally gave back.

"Why?" Aisha finally asked. "They're our allies as well...," she trailed off, remembering what her sister had dropped earlier in this conversation. "You're not operating under those ideas. To you, every foreigner is an enemy and everything they do is a threat to the nation. Even living," she realized.

"Well, they are," Janine confirmed glibly. "They may have pretended to be allied to us, but honestly, that was bullshit from the beginning. They just wanted a battlefield none of them would feel bad about destroying beyond any chance of recovery," she added.

"So you sit in your ivory towers, paranoid about foreigners that may not even hate you any more, hating their very existence and doing your level best to keep them out," Aisha stated darkly. "And so the cycle continues, you hate foreigners because they are foreign and thus inherently hostile and thus hated enemies. Wonderful," she groaned.

"I do not share your paranoia," Aisha finally ground out. "France has been a great ally, Britain is an ally, the Americans are our allies and even the Russians are. We're fighting a war for humanity's survival together. You people on the other hand do gladly turn your backs on other nations in times of need. So, tell me, did you help the Poles during Blood Week?" she asked accusingly.

Janine bristled. "Of course not," she shot back. "We had needlessly spent hundreds of people on killing abyssals already, always pressured by our so-called allies to help them, the only thing we did was evacuating whoever we could in Germany, not that those numbers mattered," she added. "Sure, the Allies whined at us, but we could finally start ignoring them. They were too busy at home to meddle in places where they don't belong," she finished.

Aisha shook her head. "And that's what it all boils down to, isn't it? As long as it doesn't directly hurt you, you're more than willing to just watch others die," she forced out.

"So, what happened to convince you that I should know?" Aisha asked, leaning forward and fixing her sister with a glare.

Janine shook her head. "If you don't reassure me, I'm not telling you anything," she insisted, clamming up.

Aisha brought her fist down on the table between them. "God damn it, Janine!" she shouted. "Does it get through your skull that I may actually want our neighbors to survive, that I don't consider screwing them over at every opportunity to be a worthy goal?" she roared.

Janine flinched back. "Do you think I want to be here?" she finally asked. "Do you think it's fun having you sit there, act as if you understand? These people are our enemies and they will act against us given any pretext!" she shouted back. "We can not afford to let them have any pretext," she finished.

Aisha looked at her sister. "You seriously believe that. You seriously think that the other magical governments are going to declare war on you given half the chance. Nevermind that blowing them off ever since Blood Week and now even walking out of their club would have seen ample opportunity for them to do something about that," she shouted.

Janine shook her head. "They were in no shape to do that," she objected. "Now they are in shape and they will attack us," she insisted.

"Why? Why would they attack you? It's not like you're letting loose some monster on the world...," Aisha trailed off as her sister flinched. "That's it, isn't it? Something broke loose and it's bad enough that you fear the allies will invade you over it. God damn it, talk, Janine!" she demanded.

"If the allies find out about this, the Archmage will have my head. And I mean that literally!" Janine shot back.

"I can not promise to conceal stuff from our allies that may negatively impact them," Aisha laid out severely. Sagging back on the two-seater, she massaged her nose. "I can protect you, worst you have to come live on base with me," she offered.

"Extend the offer to my colleague," Janine demanded.

Aisha shrugged. "Sure," she agreed. It would be a hassle, but securing witnesses to the crimes of Magical Germany was in itself worthwhile.

Janine sagged down, collecting herself. "Okay, how much do you know about the magical slave factories of the Reich?" she wanted to know.

Aisha pondered the words. "There were more than the one in the Spessart, weren't there?" she demanded to know.

"Yes. Four remain in Germany, the ones outside were, as far as we can tell, all destroyed. Thankfully, none of the research fell into the wrong hands," Janine explained. "Now, the status of the Spessart factory is basically mirrored by the other three," she continued. "Currently, the order is to destroy them completely, both the tanks and artillery pieces built there and the workforce. Now, that is basically hitting roadblocks every other day. Ward schemes flickering and needing to be fixed, the people working on it getting replaced with almost clockwork-like regularity and above all the Archmage's office exerting pressure so shit gets done," she explained. "Also fair warning, that Spessart factory? Better buy up the surrounding land quickly and erect a fence. We can't fix those wards any more and they will come down within a year," she added as an afterthought.

"What do the factories have to do with that?" Aisha wanted to know.

Janine shrank into herself. "Well, we didn't just build planes and tanks. We also had harbors and ships," she admitted. "Their purpose was to help force England into submission and to control the Baltic. We wanted four harbors. We had three," she admitted. "There was Frosthafen in the Baltic. It was basically finished in time to be given up as untenable. The only thing there should be a rotting harbor," she continued.

"Where is it?" Aisha wanted to know.

"Off the Estonian coast, perfectly situated to interdict all shipping into Russia and to monitor the Russian movements into the Baltic," Janine explained.

Aisha groaned. An island like that? A perfect apple of Eris. But it was a dead island and decaying, at least if her sister was to be believed. Small mercies, she supposed. "And the other two?" she asked.

"There is Sturmhafen, it's north-east of Shetland and east of Faroe," Janine continued. "It had begun to build U-Boats as it was intended as an U-Boat harbor. West and East Germany worked together to destroy the workforce there in the 50ies. We also scuttled the submarines there in the Norwegian Sea. That harbor was also decaying, but recently, Abyssals have made it their home. Judging by where they roughly had to come from and their behaviour since they got there, they went too close to Azkaban. It doesn't look like they want to leave their harbor anytime soon," she explained.

"Any idea what types?" Aisha wanted to know.

"Not really. These harbors are warded against scrying spells, it already takes some creative use of the monitoring spells to get what information we have," Janine admitted.

"Now tell me one thing. What motivated your governments to work together in the 50ies and destroy the submarines in Sturmhafen?" Aisha asked with genuine curiosity.

Janine groaned. "Politics," she bit out. "Okay, this is a bit involved. Basically, both sides of the divided Germany had knowledge of these harbors. And unlike the tanks, which we were aware were quite useless by then, magical submarines or surface ships would be a different beast. Both sides feared claiming Sturmhafen, because the only remaining escalation would be claiming Kalthafen. By removing Sturmhafen from the equation, only Kalthafen remained, basically a tripwire that the other side was planning something big and was tapping into all it could possibly get its hands on. It would basically tell the other side that the colonials and Ivan were about to throw down and we would have to batten down the hatches. Also, we really, really wanted to keep every bit of knowledge and research from the allies," she laid out.

Aisha nodded. "Okay, and what is it about Kalthafen?" she wanted to know.

Janine got up and went into the kitchen, getting herself some water. "Kalthafen was supposed to have a sibling harbor in the North Atlantic near the convoy routes to Britain," she began. "And while constructing Kalthafen and its fleet went comparatively smoothly, its opposite harbor was never built, partially because we lacked a suitable island or island chain to base the planned southern fleet out of," she told her sister. "We did however finish Kalthafen and its fleet. Only, without a southern pendant, it was mostly useless in the minds of its planners. So, the fleet was ordered to wait for further orders. Not that it really mattered, most everyone crewing these ships and working dockside were undead slaves anyway. The end of the war saw four of the five people who were authorized to give the order to set sail get executed, those that would have received the orders are dead as well," she laid out.

Aisha pondered that. "So, what went wrong?" she wanted to know.

Janine sat down heavily across her sister. "Kalthafen has gone active," she stated plainly. "The fleet has sortied twice already. Once shortly before the Ascension Ritual in the North Sea, the second sortie a day ago. The first was small, the fleet basically left the harbor and did a small round trip. The second brought them quite a way from their harbor. Considering all angles, we're pretty sure we're dealing with a minimum grandmaster level necromancer here," she elaborated.

"Grandmaster. I'm guessing this is bad," Aisha mused out loud.

Janine nodded. "Yeah. I'm about ready for journeyman level. From journeyman it's up to Young Master, Master, Old Master, Grandmaster. People like Grindelwald or that British guy are at the level of Archmaster or Archgrandmaster. You have to have a lot of talent and a lot of time and a lot of research objects to reach Old Master. Anything above that means dedicating your life to it and being an unicum. Most necromancers stay around Young Master. From what I know, the necromancers we have are at most Masters and a few Old Masters. The grandmasters that didn't manage to make themselves scarce were executed and Grindelwald is still sitting in Nurmengard, though that is getting debated as well, might be better to just off the old codger," she rambled. "So, either we have a grandmaster who turned up after the war and who learned the lesson of not being seen, or it's one of the few that managed to go into hiding. Could also be their offspring. Final option would be a lich or vampire," she added before trailing off when seeing her sister's shocked face.

"You are what?" Aisha demanded to know.

"What?" Janine gave back.

"You're telling me you're doing necromancy as if it was completely normal!" Aisha said slowly.

Janine shrugged. "You can learn a lot of things through necromancy. Häscher for example have to know at least some basics for forensic purposes," she explained. "Murder investigations tend to be so much easier when the victim itself can be asked questions and they tend to not lie," she added. "Also, dealing with small pests is far easier that way. No more looking for insect spray for one," she continued with a small maniacal laugh. "Finally, the construction of the harbors involved a lot of necromantic rituals, so to keep watch over them, you have to actually know what they did back then and what the various readings actually mean," she finished her explanation.

Aisha continued staring at her sister. "Why would you chose such a field?" she finally asked. She couldn't believe it. Sure, her sister had always been somewhat off, but going and practicing necromancy. From everything she knew this was basically black arts and somewhere around extremely blasphemous.

Janine shrugged. "It was interesting. Also, it's hilarious, so many people seem to think that Archnecromancers and such do it in self-study or by travelling the world looking for knowledge in far-off, remote places. That's not the case and in most cases wasting time. There's whole libraries filled with necromantic works and studies and reports and experiments and what have you. No need to go traipsing around the roof of the world to find a hidden castle atop a fivethousander. Chances are, even if there's a castle, the library has been either torched or moved to one of the necromantic libraries. Sure, you might find the notes of a dead Archnecromancer here and there while searching, but that's really more down to luck than anything else," she laid out. "Most necromancers are either trained by a master or it's part of their education, either secondary or tertiary," she continued. "Now, many nations have flat-out banned the practice completely, some have officially banned it without ever doing anything to actually enforce the ban and continue teaching at least some of it and a few nations didn't even bother banning it. They may not necessarily teach it, though," she explained patiently.

Aisha shook her head. It was interesting. That kind of explanation was so like her sister. And one thing made sense. There being libraries and schools where Necromancers could study their craft. Her sister had a point, running through remote areas in hopes of finding the notes of a long-dead necromancer had to be an incredibly long shot.

"We'll have to deal with that another time," she promised her little sister with a sigh and a shake of her head. "What ships do you have in Kalthafen?" she wanted to know, trying to get this evening back on track. There were so many things to unpack, things that would need dealing with, in some cases relatively quickly and then there was the nebulous deadline of the statute collapsing. It was bad enough that they couldn't put a definite date on that, there were conflicting forces both in the magical as well as the mundane world either trying to preserve it for just one more day or trying to blow it up just that bit earlier. Kalthafen's fleet, crewed by undead slaves? If it was seen, it would shatter the statute in about the worst possible way, Nazi-era warships crewed by people enslaved by the Magical Nazis wreaking havoc on the oceans.

Janine looked at her sister. "It's one aircraft carrier, three battleships, five heavy cruisers, six light cruisers and around fifteen destroyers. The carrier and two of the battleships are foreign designs, the rest of the ships is based on German designs. The German battleship is the third Bismarck-sister, the other two are an Imperator Nikolai I we seized during World War One and managed to hold onto, the other is a North Carolina-class built after acquiring her plans. The carrier is a Shokaku-class," she began. "We've never been there, to be honest. There was no need," she continued. "Now, we're going to have to check on all three harbors, ascertain their status and worst comes to worst, we're going to need a fleet to destroy Kalthafen," she finished, sagging down.

Aisha boggled. "You may need a fleet? Anything else?" she asked incredulously. "I can try to limit how many people are briefed on Kalthafen's existence for now, but if you need an actual battlefleet, that won't be possible. That will go up to the EMK and likely to Nato as well," she laid out. "It would be a serious committment of our forces and we'd likely have to look at allied back-up. Either Wandering Princess and her fleet would have to come with us, or the French and Brits would have to commit forces. Hell, we might have to tap the Americans. Because right now, we only have Tirpitz as a fast big-gun boat. Bismarck is still on maternity leave for over a year and rebuilding the twins with three-eighties may not be worth it," she explained. "Don't get me started on the CV and cruiser situation. At least we're not going to run out...," Aisha trailed off. "U-Boats. Okay, that might work. We might be able to take the fleet out with U-Boats, but before we're going down that discussion, I need you to gather the intel. Find out what is going on in Kalthafen and report back to me," she ordered her sister.

Janine nodded. "Will do," she said listlessly.

Aisha looked at her sister. "You okay?" she asked carefully.

Janine shook her head. "Not really," she gave back. "I've just betrayed my country," she said glumly. "It'd need a miracle for the allies to not hear about this. And once they whine at the Archmage over this, he will be able to work out that it was either my colleague or I who blabbed about Kalthafen, especially as he is unaware of Kalthafen's activity. I don't think I'll be able to go home after this," Janine finished.

Aisha boggled. "The Archmage is unaware?" she blurted out.

Janine nodded. "Yeah, we simply concealed the first sortie. We thought that it was something else. Now we had to conceal the second one as well, otherwise there'd be questions," she laid out. "Why do you think I ran to you like I was still six years old? I have no idea what to do!" she admitted. "This harbor and its ships were supposed to rot away!" she shouted.

Aisha flinched back, she hadn't expected that. "Could it be shipgirls?" she asked carefully.

Janine looked at her sister with incomprehension. "Shipgirls?" she echoed.

Aisha nodded. "They have been around long enough, after all," she laid out. "Though, were they maintained?" she asked curiously.

Janine scratched her cheek. "Well, we are dealing with professionally done necromancy and technomancy here. They definitely were maintained, the draugr in Sturmhafen had to be destroyed before the ships could be destroyed, after all," she mused. "So, depending on how much infrastructure remains, the harbor could have fully operational yards and factories to supply parts," she finished.

Aisha groaned. "Oh boy," she let out. "So, your battlefleet not only has a safe harbor, it also has the means of doing major repairs. But, to come back to my question, could these ships have awoken as shipgirls?" she wanted to know.

Janine shrugged. "I don't think so," she admitted. "From what I know, you need a ritual for them to appear," she added.

Aisha shook her head. "There's other ways. You can have natural-born shipgirls and there are the spontaneous manifestations. Or they can get thrown at you by a Canadian harbor refusing to wake up," she laid out. "Though, to be fair, the closest I could see would be a spontaneous manifestation. Though that usually involves abyssals as a clear and present threat to human settlements," she added.

Janine shook her head as well. "Nothing there should be able to conduct such a ceremony, Kalthafen waking up would at the least make waves comparable to Scapa Flow manifesting, far more likely we'd be looking at Halifax levels of magical quakes and I seriously doubt anything there can actually give birth," she countered softly. "I know you mean well, but it's better to look at the facts and they tell me, things are going to be bad," she added.

Transfiguring an old newspaper into a pen and piece of paper, she wrote down coordinates. Tapping it with her wand and muttering a few words, the paper sealed itself. "If I don't report to you in person, assume that I am dead. The paper itself will unseal itself within thirteen days. In it are the locations of Kalthafen, Sturmhafen and Frosthafen. Send shipgirls there to claim or destroy them," Janine said, while handing over the paper. "Good luck," she said and vanished with a crack.

Aisha sagged down putting her hands over her face. "Can't even properly say goodbye," she groaned. And it left her to figure out what to tell her parents. "Sorry, Janine is presumably dead due to some magical World War Two relics being not as dead as hoped," was definitely not a good option. "You better come home, because I want to kill you myself for that stunt!" Aisha growled at the empty room.

-x-x-x-

Well, this ballooned into an info-dumpy piece of garbage with little action, yet, I can't really trim it down without making it feel constricted and unnatural. Janine ultimately doesn't want to talk about the stuff she spilled. So she stalls, dumps unrelated trivia to head off her sister's wrath and generally doesn't get to the point. And as annoying as it was to write and is to read, it feels more natural to me that someone who's out to evade stuff will actually try to evade and drag out things. And Aisha doesn't want to force the issue, as she knows her sister. She needs her to talk herself into a corner and into actually spilling the beans, lest she clams up. She can get forceful once she has talked herself into a corner.

 

[darthcourt10]

Year Three - Prisoner of Shipping Part 4d

START

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

After several minutes of deep thought regarding what their children had gone through, Ellen remembered a question that had occurred to her. Turning to the other parents, she cleared her throat a little,. "If I could ask you all about something that is kind of bothering me..."

Eyebrow raised, Yusuke gave a slight nod, "Sure, Ellen-San, go ahead."

Just nodding, the teacher frowned a little, "It is about how our children are magical warships. One of the things that the Admiral mentioned was that they know of a number of them..." Pausing as they simply made noises of agreement, she continued, "How many were there? And how did you have so many? From what little I know, the magical side has a much smaller population."

For several moments, none of the Yokai said anything, just quietly considering their answer. Noriko finally sighed and shook her head a little, "There's... a number of reasons for that. One thing to remember is that while it is true that the population on the magical side of things is lower than on the non-magical side, we still have a hefty amount. Especially us Yokai since sometimes normal humans can become such under certain circumstances if requirements are met."

Crossing his arms, Ken frowned slightly, "I remember old stories that my Obaa-Chan used to tell us when we went to visit her in the mountains. About Yokai and the like, such as how sometimes people were transformed into such."

Slightly smiling, Noriko chuckled, "Some of those stories are not too far off when one gets down to it." Her smile falling, she sighed, "But as to us Yokai, we actually outnumber magical humans, probably three to one if not more. We're also longer lived so even something like a child once a decade does not bother us too much. After all, we'll always be able to have children for a few hundred years, which adds up in and of itself."

Intrigued, Ellen blinked, "Huh... that does sound interesting."

Yui frowned slightly in thought before grimacing, "Some Yokai also have large amounts of children. Multiple births are not uncommon among Kitsune, Tanuki, Nekomata, and the like. My... Okaa-San had eight or nine children before me, though I was only a few days younger than most of my siblings. But... us Jorogumo don't have the numbers that we once did either."

Grimacing slightly, the female Tanuki turned back to Ellen, "No one is quite sure about the pure numbers mind you. Because a lot of us Yokai live in the Non-Magical world, and others live much like the old ways up in the forests and the like. I know of at least one clan of Kitsune who dug an entire system of tunnels in one hillside and live their lives like normal foxes, with no one the wiser for the most part. But... the Diet does publish some figures."

With a small nod, Yusuke took over, "By their own estimates, there's about six or so hundred thousand on the magical side, mostly either in the Reserves themselves or the Shanty towns just outside of them. The Yatsugatake Mountains have a large reserve in them... with towns around them of Yokai that were 'Released' from the Reserve, but resettled just outside of them, or who went there because they did not have skills to be able to live fully in the outside world."

A scowl on his face, Ken glared at a wall nearby, "The... uh, non-magical government knows about them. We're going to be doing stuff like bring in water, electricity, sewage, and schools to those places. Let me just say that some people are very angry and want things to be upgraded as soon as possible so that they can live like any other Japanese person."

Eyebrows raised, the two Tanuki shared a look at that before nodding. Noriko then turned back and bowed to him, "That would be a great help." Waiting until he gave a slight nod and a bow back, she sighed, "But it also ties into the whole issue of the... Magical Navy, you could say. As you can guess, the Reserves are really overcrowded. And in the build up to the War, the Kamo needed bodies to pad out it's numbers. To that end..." She trailed off ro a moment before sighing and continuing, "To that end, they decided that they needed a navy because of various hidden islands. But they did not have enough personnel to handle it, so they came up with an idea."

Straightening, Ellen frowned, "What sort of idea?"

Once more, Noriko shared a look with her husband before turning back to the lone humans, "The idea was to put forward a proposal to the Yokai as a whole. If one was to serve for ten years in the Magical Imperial Navy, and later the Magical Imperial Army, they would be given a free ticket out of the Reserves along with immediate family. As well, they would be given a small parcel of land and be paid... some of the land would be in places like Sakhalin and in China for example. And that once the war was finished, when the Magical government took over Japan to rule beneath the Emperor with the Statute fallen, we would no longer need to hide. Of course that, along with the chance to get out of the Reserves meant that a lot of Yokai jumped at the chance."

Her husband grimaced as his tail twitched, "It was considered a great offer, and to Yokai, ten years was not a huge deal. And it was not just male Yokai who joined up, but female ones as well. Tens of thousands signed up just for the chance to get out of the Reserve system..." Glancing at his wife, Yusuke sighed, "We were two of those, unfortunately to our everlasting shame. I was in the Army, though thankfully in the rear and my wife was a secretary, so we weren't directly involved in anything. Still..." Remorse was on his face and he shook his head, "A lot of our fellow Yokai joined up for the chance of freedom. Pretty sure that upwards of sixty percent had joined up near the end. Of course... at the end of the war, MACUSA and the ICW cracked down even harder on us Yokai, sending greater numbers to the Reserves during the occupations."

A far off look on her face, Yui sighed, "Those... were dark days, indeed."

Looking between them, Ken furrowed his eyebrows, "Wait... if that was true, and I am assuming that you had numbers even then... Couldn't you have fought back? Stopped them?'

Bitter expressions appeared on the faces of the Yokai there and they glanced at each other. Turning back to the human couple, Noriko grimaced, "The issue is that us Yokai were never... well, really all that united." She shrugged a little at the looks, "You got rivalries and grudges that go back centuries between different groups and families. Sort of hard to ignore when one Kitsune's father killed yours about two centuries before in a duel, while your sister killed someone else's sister because she found her in bed with her husband five hundred years before. We have very long memories after all, and long lives which provide a lot of fuel to cause a lot of issues. Kitsune, traditionally, do not get along with Inugami or Tanuki as well as Itachi. Because we're rivals, if you were."

Ellen tilted her head a little, "What about the Clans?" At their surprised looks, she scratched her cheek, "I've taught some from the Ono Clan, the Kaku Clan, and so forth. So..."

Lightly chuckling, Yusuke shook his head, "The Clans are unique in that they generally present a united front regardless of their species or what have you. They buried the hatchet a long time ago, as the saying goes, and now attack one and the others will jump in. The Magical Diet prefers to ignore them for that reason. They don't have official power, but unofficially and traditionally? They hold a lot of sway in the Yokai communities." He then gave a small sigh, "But yes, because of that you had a larger navy than one could have expected. Especially with aquatic Yokai and the like joining up."

Just nodding, Ellen and Ken continued their chat.

Meanwhile inside of the shower room, Sora sighed as she leaned into Eric, who she embraced from behind as the nearly steaming hot water cascaded over them both, "That feels so good."

Tilting back his head, Eric gave her a kiss that made her hum before chuckling, "It really is." He then jerked his thumb back to the small stool that they had been using before, "Come on, let's get all soaped up again. We got years of grime on us and just the short showers on the Fubuki was not enough to really get clean."

From where she was scrubbing down one of the giggling Midget Submarines, Samantha gave him a look, "No, not really. They were what, five minutes tops? Enough to get some stuff washed off, but not too much. This though, it is a lot better." Looking down at the squirming Submarine, she nuzzled the Yokai Subgirl, an Otter Yokai from her tail, "Right?"

Bright smile on her face, the Midget Submarine nodded, "Hai, Onee-Chan!" Turning, she gave an equally happy look to Eric whose back was being scrubbed at by Sora, "You're going to be all squeaky clean, Onii-Chan."

Unable to help himself, Eric laughed some, "Of course, especially with Sora helping me." That got him a kiss on the cheek from said Kitsune and a smile. Shortly after, he was gently working shampoo into her tails as she gave out a small purr, "Feels good?"

Sighing, Sora nodded before giving him a hooded look over her shoulder, "Hai, Eric-Kun. Mmm... feels really good."

Lips twitching, her boyfriend shook his head before his gaze returned to what he was doing. Every once in a while though, Eric did give his girlfriend a look over. To his eyes, Sora was beautiful in every way. Yes, she was a bit too thin and a little bit sickly looking, but he did not mind that much though he did think her rather curvy. And now, she was looking a bit more healthy with the grime and salt washed off her. With the dirt removed fully, her skin was pale and smooth with her brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders having regained some lustre while two fox ears on her head twitched as she worked shampoo into said hair.

And in his hand was one of her nine tails that she had. He could remember the night that it had happened, when he could no longer hear a heart beating in her chest, just the rumble of two or three boilers. To their astonishment, her one tail split first into two the first night and then four the second, and finally eight before a last tail appeared. Something that had freaked her out a little as she was far too young to be a Kyuubi. Though, best that they could figure, it was more her spiritual weight as it were than anything else.

Eventually, he shook that off and stood up, helping her to her feet, "Well, let's go and rinse off again."

Giggling, Sora's eyes twinkled some as she turned and hugged him. Something that showed that she was actually about a head taller than he was, which had been another surprise when she started growing to such a height. Sometimes, his sister teased him about liking tall girls, which he rolled his eyes at.

Currently, her eyes were gazing into his before she leaned down and kissed him. Pulling back, she sighed a little, "Hai..." She then smirked a little, "And you'll need to help me wash out my tails as well."

However, all that did was make him grin as he followed her, promising to make sure that all the shampoo got out.