Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Holding a glossy red fruit between her clawed fingers, Taiyang hummed a bit before slowly pushing it between her lips and then biting down. For a few moments, she chewed just as slowly, thoughtfully, and then spat out the pit and swallowed the flesh. Then, she gave a small nod with a smug smile on her face, "Quite delicious, these European cherries! Much more sweeter and larger than the ones that I am used to as well, Mikon!'

More than a little amused as she walked past, Goldie simply nodded as she dumped a basketful of cherries into the container being used for them, "Indeed, they are! Umu, I remember some soldiers in the Roman Legions enjoying such fruits as well on long marches."

Just humming a little, the Dao nodded some, "True, an army forges on it's stomach, though perhaps it may be less so today than before." Pausing, Taiyang looked towards the blonde sword spirit, "Hmm... you do seem quite loyal to the Potter family, is there more to such a story than them rescuing you from the Goblins?"

Glancing at her, Goldie had a slight smile before she lowered her voice, "There are many reasons. But... there is one in particular though the Praetor does not know, nor do the others."

Eyebrow raised, Taiyang hummed a little, "Is he related to your first Master? The Great Caeser?"

Lightly chuckling, the Roman Blade shook her head, "Nay, he is not. But... there is a relationship, one that I sensed when Geoffrey Potter picked up my blade. For my memories are long indeed, and I remember my Imperator having a young, Roman boy at his side. One whom was tasked with keeping my blade sharp, and helping the Imperator put on his armour. Geoffrey... shared blood with him, I could tell." Looking out onto the land around them, Goldie took a deep breath, "He is long since bones and dust, but he served my Imperator well. Thus, I serve his well now."

Thoughtful, Taiyang tapped her chin in thought as she looked at Goldie, seeing another part of the ancient sword now.

Slowly, she gave a nod as she also looked out onto the orchard where various people were working at harvesting the cherries. Not just Harry and the other teens, but also the shipgirls. In various trees, one could see fairies having set up a pulley system to raise and lower buckets which they filled with fruits as they scurried among the branches. Slowly, but surely, filling up the various containers being used to transport them back to the manor for processing.

But what caught Taiyang's eyes were the other members of the Potter Armory, joining in with the harvesting with smiles and chuckles of their own. From Dracul using her shaft to allow for some of the teens sitting on it to reach branches to pick fruit from, to Vala humming some song as she plucked ripe fruit from where they hung. Though the foxy Dao had to blink as Catherine walked up to one tree, knocked on the trunk, and softly spoke to it... right before a mass of cherries fell out of said tree much to the confusion of everyone else.

Eyebrows furrowing, the Dao frowned, "How...?"

Amused at the expressions that had gotten, Goldie chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, "It is best not to ask, my friend. Just know that it is Cathy and that is all, Umu!"

Only nodding, despite her confusion, Taiyang looked back at Goldie with a thoughtful look on her face, "You know... I heard the one named Juuchi speak of what she would do if she caught the one named Peter. And I know what I might do, as my Master is quite... upset... with him. But what about you or the others?"

Rubbing her chin, the Roman sword hummed a bit, "We each have our own thoughts on what to do with the traitor to our family. For he was treated as family by them, and yet ended up stabbing them in the back like a spineless coward." Goldie's eyes flashed and yet darkened for a moment before going back to normal, "Some are fairly simple, Dracul mentioned draining him of his blood, Bill has mentioned simply finding a tree and some rope, while Sabah and Andraste mentioned that they have a number of poisons. Vala, I believe, mentioned the blood eagle while Big Iron and Amalie wish to just shoot him. And Nightbane? He mentioned just feeding him to the Monster on the Meuse."

Eyebrow raised in amusement, Taiyang glanced at the others, "I see... and while I can understand what Juuchi might do, I take it that Catherine would do something different from what I can understand?"

With a chuckle, Goldie gave her a cold smile, "Catherine would forgive him... which, perhaps, would be the worst possible thing from her. As it would drive the Rat to the depths."

Head tilted to the side as she considered that, the other sword spirit nodded before pausing, "What about Tsukiakari? I take it that she has her own ideas?"

For the first time in the conversation, Goldie looked away, "Ah, well... Tsukiakari is... interesting in that way. I am Roman, and yet I find myself impressed with some of the ideas that she has come up with. Very... impressed."

Cocking an eyebrow, Taiyang considered asking for more details, but decided that it would be better not to. Then, she tilted her head a little, "And you?"

A frown on her face, the Roman sighed and shook her head, "Ah, that is complicated as some methods are out of my hands. While I do not follow the diety that Catherine does, I do respect her and thus crucifixion is out as is burning due to what happened to her Master. Normally, I would then follow the normal methods for Patricide, but it would be cruel to the animals and dogs are quite well liked in this era. Thus, I could not wrap him in a burlap sack with a rabid dog, vipers, a cock, and the like before throwing it into a river."

Intrigued, the Dao rubbed her chin, "So what would you do?"

The smile that appeared on Goldie's face was not nice at all, "Well, did you know that there are spells that prevent an Animagus from returning to their true form? I would find a large cauldron..." Spreading her arms, she continued, "And then cast the spell on the traitor before throwing him into it with one of those centipedes in Japan, the Mukade. Truly, a Roman way of dealing with such a creature as he."

Right then, a bright smile lit up Taiyang's face, "Oh, I quite like that idea..."

Some distance away, Natsumi blinked and looked over to where Taiyang had a gleeful look on her face as she talked with Goldie as the two went back to where they had been picking cherries, 'Should I ask what she is so happy about?'

From deep within the back of her mind, Tamamo spoke up, 'No, it is best that you do not.' A sigh then escaped her, 'Though I am quite happy with how our Harry's home here looks. It is quite nice.'

Bemused, the two tailed Kitsune continued plucking cherries, 'Because of the size of the property? The food that is grown here? Or the home itself with how the inside looks?'

Much to her amusement, Tamamo's answer was simple, 'Yes.' After a few moments, she continued, 'I will state that I quite enjoy the inside of our Harry's manor. The wood is very nice as is the furniture. Though, perhaps, we should see what sort of furniture we can get for his room as we shall share it during visits.'

Lightly blushing, Natsumi only nodded some, 'Well, Harry-Chan does have a selection of furniture from China and Japan in the shed...'

That only got her a hum from the ancient vixen.

Not even a few minutes later, their attention was caught as Harry let out a laugh and turned to see him shaking his head in amusement, "Kenshō, what are you doing?"

Said blade was crouched and looked over her shoulder with a blink and a large smile, "I'm just following this toad, Master! He's bounce-bouncing along!" Those close enough could see that, sure enough, there was a toad on the ground in front of Kenshō. After a few moments, it did a few hops and the Kogatana spirit followed, "Ribbit! Ribbit! Come on, Mister Toad! Ribbit!"

Unable to help himself, Harry started laughing as he facepalmed, "Kenshō, leave the poor fellow alone. He's probably out for a snack."

Tilting her head to the side, Kenshō considered that before nodding and waving to the toad, "Okay! Bye, Mister Toad!" She then turned and began to hop back towards Harry, "Ribbit! Ribbit!"

Of course, that only got more smiles and laughter from the others. Especially when she proceeded to snatch some cherries from Harry's basket and gobble them down with a grin despite Harry playfully scolding her. A sudden shout made everyone turn to Yae who had facepalmed. Something that made Harry raise an eyebrow, "Something wrong, Yae-San?"

Shoulders slumped a bit, the Kendoka nodded, "Hai... one of my cherries just got stolen."

About to ask, Harry opened his mouth only to pause as he caught sight of the thief. Lips twitching, he coughed some, "Well... I think that our friend has been hanging around you for some time watching. And you didn't see an issue with tossing him some of your sandwich earlier.'

Pout on her face, Yae made a motion with her hand, "But I didn't expect him to steal some of my cherries, gozaru!"

Leaning against her true self, Dracul chuckled a little, "Well, he wanted a little bread and no cheese, but didn't get any."

Head tilted to the side, Kenshō blinked as she looked up at the spot of yellow in the branches, "Um, Master? What is that?"

Now looking up at the yellow bird in question, Tsukiakari grinned a little before answering for Harry, "That, Kenshō, is what is known as the Yellowhammer. Also known as the writing lark."

Mouth open wide, the Kogatana nodded, "Ooooh!" Then, she bounced around a little, "Hey! Hey! Maybe it will write something for us! Mou..."

Needless to say, that got chuckles from everyone, though Yae still had a pout on her face from the cherry being stolen.

A few hours later, the Sun slowly set towards the horizon and everyone began to pack up the last couple of baskets. Under the trees, it was already twilight and the shadows began to grow. While tired, there were still happy smiles among the teens and others as they chatted.

Suddenly, Uesugi blinked and looked down as she scratched her head, "What in the world...? What are you now?"

Coming over, Harry came to stand beside her before blinking. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked down at the two animals that were scrounging around the bottom of the cherry tree trunk for fallen fruit, "Hello there." Still smiling, Harry looked over to the reincarnated warlord, "Unless I'm mistaken, those are hedgehogs."

Rapidly blinking where she was, Okita came over as well, "Wait, hedgehogs? Really?" Upon catching sight of them, she crouched down and put her hands on her knees, "Aw, they're adorable."

The other teens joined them, though standing a short distance away from the animals and began to film them. From where she stood beside Harry, Kenshō tugged at his shirt some, "One of them is pretty small..."

Only nodding as he patted her head, Harry chuckled a little, "That is likely her baby, born this year and maybe just a few months ago."

Part of him was amused as the various girls all cooed a little before Iku walked away and came back with some cherries that she tossed over. More smiles grew as they watched the two animals waddle over to the fruit and begin to munch down on them even as the others talked excitedly.

________________________________________________________________

After the group had another rest, they entered the final timeloop of the day. Which found Usagi wiping her forehead clean of sweat as she worked at the bush in front of her. Plucking some glossy dark blue or black berries from the plant, she considered them as her nose twitched. Those behind her noted, with more than a little amusement, that her cotton tail also twitched a bit.

Of course, not knowing this, the rabbit Yokai tossed back the berries and chewed on them thoughtfully for a few moments before nodding, "Hmm... sweet, yet tart." Smacking her lips, Usagi happily hummed, "So good..."

From where she was picking from a bush next to her, Natsumi snickered a little, "You're absolutely loving this trip, aren't you?"

Grinning back, Usagi shrugged some as she plucked some more berries from the bushes, "Can you blame me, Natsumi-Chan? No real adults around bothering us too much, all of us having fun with things, my friends here with me, and lots of sweet, sweet fruit to eat." Puncturating her words with another berry put into her mouth, she shook her head as she chewed, "This is practically paradise for a teenage Inaba."

That got her a laugh from her Kitsune friend who shook her head, "I'm sure it is." Sighing softly, she looked around and her expression softened as her gaze caught sight of Harry and Kenshō working at some bushes, "It really is..."

Just nudging her with an elbow, Usagi smiled, "Thinking about when you'll be bringing your own Kits here, hmm? Ones with black hair and green eyes most likely."

Blush on her face, Natsumi gave her a sheepish smile, "That obvious, huh?"

Shaking her head, the Inaba smile grew a touch, "Kind of, but I've known you long enough to guess." With a small shrug, Usagi looked around in thought, "Not that I don't blame you really. I mean, Harry-Kun is a good man, and going by this place? You'd have a very happy life and I hope that you will have as many children as you would if you were an Inaba like myself."

Tone dry, Natsumi gave her a look with some snark, "Gee, thanks for that considering how large your families get. My poor hips..."

With a laugh, Usagi winked at her, "Hey, at least it would be a very happy marriage in such a case, eh?"

Only shaking her head, her long time friend sighed, "Sometimes, I wonder." Tilting her head some, Natsumi gave her a raised eyebrow, "Surprised that you haven't even grumbled a bit regarding Harry-Chan and not having a chance."

However, Usagi snorted at that, "Because I'm not that sort of person, and Ayaka-Chan wasn't quite that serious and you know it. Now, if you mess up, which I think is about likely as Izanami-Sama and Izanagi-Sama declaring that they are married and happily once more with no problems, maybe Ayaka-Chan will actually make a move." Ignoring the snicker from Natsumi, and the soft thanks, she gave a shrug, "Besides, the field is too filled there as it is."

Thankful expression on her face, Natsumi nodded, "Thank you-"

Before she could finish, the rabbit Yokai waved a hand in the air, "If I was going to go after anyone? Might be a son of yours." Waggling her eyebrows, she licked her lips a little, "The fox would be caught by the rabbit in that case."

Groaning, Natsumi facepalmed before pulling back her hand, which left a few spots of blackcurrant juice on her face, "Really, Usagi-Chan? I mean, seriously? You too?"

Completely and utterly unrepentant, Usagi shrugged, "What can I say? Onee-Chan told me things about her Kitsune boyfriend~" Then she chuckled a little as her friend facepalmed again, this time with a blush, "But really? Any child of yours and Harry-Kun's would be a heck of catch. Both of you are good looking, kind, intelligent... basically what one would want in a significant other."

Simply sighing, Natsumi still had a slight smile on her face, "Well, maybe..."

Her friend then gave another shrug, "Besides, to be honest, Natsumi-Chan? We're Yokai, and all of us will live a long time." Pointing her thumb at herself, Usagi continued, "Myself? I can look forward to five, six hundred years of life easy. More if I follow some of my relatives into some Kami's service. Twenty, forty, even fifty years is nothing when you get down to it. Not to mention, our families are pretty close to each other. So there's no issue there binding our clans yet closer through ties of marriage."

Not saying anything right away, Natsumi considered that for a few moments, "True... and I suppose that the same could be said for Ayaka-Chan as well." Blush appearing on her face, she cleared her throat, "But still, we're talking about future children here."

Just smirking, Usagi hummed, "True, maybe one of my children with one of yours. Once more, I would not be against such a thing if it happened." Feeling a poke, she looked over at Natsumi, "Hmm?"

A smirk of her own visible, Natsumi pointed, "Relative of yours?"

Eyebrow raised, the Inaba looked in the direction mentioned and then gave her snickering friend a shove at the sight of the European hare hopping across the property.

Unlike with the other fruits, thankfully, the collection of the ripe blackcurrants took a lot less time. Which meant that, despite having started in the morning, they were done well before the Sun would set. Hence, the group left with them conversing between themselves about various things.

Curious look on her face, Yae blinked some and came to a stop as she looked at what looked like a small hill, "Hmm?"

Looking back, Harry blinked for a moment as he slowed to a stop followed by the others, "Yae-San? Is something wrong?"

Moments later, the Kendoka flushed a bit and waved her hands some, "Sorry about that, Harry-San! I was just noting the holes over there and was wondering about them."

Rather amused, Harry chuckled a little, "Those? That's where the local badger family lives."

Eyes wide, Yae looked towards the hill, "Badgers live there, really?" At the nod, she gave a small gasp, "Gozaru..."

Before anyone said anything else, a reddish head poked out followed by the rest of the fox it was attached to. Said fox came springing out onto the property but gave a curious look towards Natsumi and Taiyang before continuing. Eyebrow raised, Okita looked towards Harry, "I thought that you said those were badger burrows? But that was a fox..."

In return, said wizard shrugged, "Hai, they are. Here in Europe, you sometimes get foxes and badgers sharing burrows."

Giggling, Kenshō's eyes lit up, "So cool..."

About to say something, Harry paused for a moment and then smirked, "Want to know what else is cool, Kenshō?" At her nod, he gestured for her to follow and lead them to a patch of ground covered in various plants, "These are."

More than a little curious, the Kogatana leaned down and looked at the plants before tilting her head, "What are these, Master?"

Patting her head gently, Harry crouched down, "These are mint plants actually and right in front of us are peppermint. And over there..." He pointed at another spot, "Those are spearmint."

Nobu blinked at that and bent down herself to examine them, "Huh... mint plants?"

With a hum, Harry smiled at her, "Hai, mint tea is an excellent digestive after all, especially for an upset stomach. You can also chew the leaves to freshen your breath some..." He motioned with one hand towards the plants, "There's also all sorts of potions that they can be used in, not to mention for cooking like mint sauce on lamb and the like."

Tapping her chin, the reincarnated member of the Shinsengumi hummed, "So there's a lot of uses for them?" At his nod, Okita frowned a little, "Should we pick some leaves then?"

For a few moments, Harry considered that before nodding, "Sure, that sounds good to me. If nothing else, I can make us some chilled mint tea for after dinner. Now, the best leaves are..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Fly Me To The Butterklavier

Statio Tranquillitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis 0° 41′ 15″ N, 23° 26′ 0″ E

July 20th, 2044
Spoiler: A Dream Of The Moon

"Magnificent Desolation."

That was what the second man to set foot here had said to describe what he saw to the millions listening to him across the Earth.

Gray dust and rock.

A sky the ebon black velvet of primal Night.

Stars as bright diamonds of light, not blurred by an atmosphere.

Pieces of ancient scientific equipment placed nearby waiting patiently for their makers to return for them.

A flag standing erect, the pristine red, white, and blue cloth strangely unmoving as if it had been frozen in time for eternity.

A spider-like platform resting on four spindly legs covered in gold foil that led up to a flat top with a round hole in the center..

One corner had a short ladder that stopped well above the dust and rock that had stood here since time immemorial.

At the bottom of that ladder was a single footprint in the dust.

A footprint whose outlines were as clean and razor sharp as the moment seventy-five years ago when it had been made by the first foot to touch the soil of another place than Earth.

Next to that footprint, a plaque rested on the leg of LM-5 Eagle.

The top showed the globe of Earth and below it a message in English
HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH

FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON

JULY 1969 A. D.

WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

At a distance a newer, larger structure stood. Carefully constructed to never disturb the artifacts and site that it overlooked, it was filled with figures looking through the wall that was a single panel of foot-thick transparent steel thanks to alchemy and magic.

In solemn silence, a crowd of hundreds stood there, a tithe of the millions watching this ceremony.

Shipgirls.

Humans.

Magicals.

The Greek Deity whose name had been invoked for the journey to this place, standing holding his wife's hand.

Even three Abyssal Elder Princesses.

The Princess of Children Lost at Sea. Her crimson eyes were large and wondering as she held her Mother and Big Brother in her mittened hands, surrounded by her family.

The Princess of the Unknown Secrets of the Sea. Her eldritch dark and disturbing not-eyes were perhaps turned toward the unexplored stars looking down upon them as they had since the first man looked outside the circle of firelight to the strange lights in the darkness as they called to him. She stood inhumanly tall and graceful in her black dress next to Solie, Riles, and Trieste, all voyagers who had walked within the inky abyss in the deepest depths of the Sea, with something that might have been an enigmatic not-smile upon her knowing not-lips.

The Princess of the Atlantic Gateway, Porta Abysseum Atlantia. She stood surrounded by her court and daughter with a reverent expression that none had ever seen before upon the Empress of the Atlantic as the magical clock at the top ticked down the seconds in a countdown.

Finally it reached 02:56:15 UTC.

A voice sounded through the speakers, saying words that had been spoken 75 years ago that instant in this place.


As the words ended, on the lunar plain outside slender fingers touched the ivory and ebony keys of a master-crafted enchanted Bösendorfer piano.

Uncaring of the lack of atmosphere, the spirit of the piano, clad in a dress patterned on a NASA spacesuit with the commemorative patch of the Apollo 11 mission began to play Ludwig von Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 14. in C# Minor "Quasi una Fantasia" with all the skill and passion in her frame. Enchantments glimmered from her body to allow the sound of the Moonlight Sonata to be heard by the audience here and a world away as hammers fell slowly and gently in lunar gravity to caress her strings.

Next to Claire, Tony's bow found his strings as he, dressed in a matching suit patterned on a spacesuit too, joined his wife in a duet performance on his Stradivarius violin body to make a beautiful, haunting, hopeful, magnificent quiet melody filling the silence of the Moon. A melody that could never be played within the surly bonds of Earth.

As they played to honor with their magic those brave and visionary men who had taken the first step to the waiting stars with nothing more than their minds and hearts, the priceless blue, green, brown and white jewel of Earth shone down upon them all.

For the Eagle had indeed landed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- More of Father Jacques with credit to Sunhawk2 . Now that little bombshell left for Colombe was found, we get on with getting the Chapel back in service. But as for problems in this crazy family, like Mother, like Daughter.

The Bells of Ath V

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

22 August 2014

Eventually, Colombe regained some composure as her tears ceased to flow.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, firmed her jaw, and bent down.

She picked up her sister's final letter gently and carefully refolded it.

Her soft voice whispered quietly into the stillness. "Non, Marie-Claire. I never deserved a sister so special as you. Ma sœur." With that she placed the folded letter in her bosom next to her heart.

Fr Jacques finished his quiet prayer, then smiled softly. He knew when to speak, when to keep silent, and while he would address this later in private, now was… not the time. Instead he gently urged his other helpers to help him inventory the cabinets, giving Colombe space to grieve for what had once been.
Spoiler: Restoring The Sacristy

"Ehren, would you be so kind as to start over there…" he gestured to the top cabinet furthest away from the wardrobe.

"Jawohl!" Ehren said, snapping to attention.

"And Claire, would you please help this old man with these lower cabinets, my knees are not what they once were." he smiled gently at the piano.

Ehren gave her shorter sister a look. Claire nodded, then began to help Fr. Jacques while standing ready to provide Piano Hugs if Mother needed them once more.

Claire opened one of the lower cabinets and smiled. "It's a wine rack, Father. Sunk into the floor." A wave of cold air from a cooling spell caused visible goosebumps as she pulled out a dust-covered bottle and rubbed the label. "Châteaux… Blanc. 1869?" The piano read the label and then placed it on the counter

Toku bent next to Claire and chanted in Japanese, her hands moving in an arcane pattern. A floating golden light formed and in response all but one bottle glowed a matching shade. "That one that is not glowing is bad, Claire-chan. The other three are still good to drink." The miko said before dismissing her spell.

Claire thanked Toku in her gentle voice and then poured the now-vinegar down the drain of the uncovered sink.

Ehren touched the cabinets and frowned. "There's a security spell on this cabinet up here and it's locked. A similar keyhole to the linen cabinet." She waved her wand and a band of Latin words appeared in a faint silver glow across the cabinet. "See if there is an inscription on the key, please Father?"

Ehren's brow wrinkled as Fr. Jacques headed to her. She puzzled out the Latin.

"Thesaurizate autem vobis thesauros in cælo, ubi neque ærugo, et vermes demolitur et ubi fures non effodiunt, nec furantur?" Ehren spoke hesitantly as she stumbled over the unfamiliar language.

"Matthew 6:20" the old priest replied absently as he examined a key on the ring stamped with Mt 6:20, deciphering the symbolism easily. "And if I recall my symbolic logic correctly… this should be the proper key." he smiled as he bustled over and unlocked the cabinet. "It is an excellent lesson for everybody, of course. Earthly possessions and treasures fade and tarnish, but those of heaven are eternal."

"Oui, they are," Colombe said absently, wiping tears from her eyes, "as are the memories of those who touch our lives." She touched the letter tucked into her bosom. "That should be the cabinet for the sacred vessels. I cast that anti-theft locking spell in 1718, in fact." She gave a wan smile as she finished. "One of the first charms and wards that I mastered in my First Year."

Ehren opened the cabinet doors and then gasped at the spotless gleams of the antique silver and golden objects within. "Father, I think that I should not handle these." She whispered respectfully and stepped back.

He chuckled slightly, then looked over to Claire. "Would you be so kind as to fetch my valise?" he asked her in his cracked old voice.

"Of course, Father!" Claire said and dashed out of the room in a one-piano stampede.

Meanwhile Ehren unlocked the other top cabinets on that side to reveal a chalice from the mid 1800s, along with a masterwork solid silver crucifix with calm assurance and love on the sculpted face of Christ, four communion-plates, a solid gold paten, and a set of eight heavy solid silver candlesticks etched with the Cross which were arranged small to large like a ladder in sets of two.

Colombe whispered with tears in her eyes. "Papa's altar set…. Thank heaven that Hippolyte never sold it like he hinted that he might be forced to 'handle the debts of the family' upon occasion." She gave a watery smile of joy.

Claire returned with the valise in both hands as her mother spoke.

"Praise God for small mercies and miracles then, yes?" the old priest replied, gently resting one hand on Colombe's shoulder for a brief moment and giving a slight squeeze. He did, in the silence of his own thoughts, wonder whom the old chalice had belonged to, but that wasn't something he would voice here.

He then turned and smiled, taking the valise and setting it on the counter. "My thanks." he said to Claire, bestowing a kind smile on the piano, then he opened the bag. "Just in case any of them count as relics, I will do this… formally." his eyes twinkled a little.

Colombe chuckled. "I could not say if they are holy relics; I certainly thought so as a girl though! I do know that all but this chalice were enchanted by me with durability, hardening and anti-tarnishing charmwork at Papa's request and are pure silver and fine gold."

"And so…" he drew out a pair of albs and set the neatly folded garments aside for now, then drew out a highly ornately stitched stole which he draped around his neck with a whispered prayer. "Ordinarily this is overkill, because at most these would be 3rd class relics and should simply be handled with respect, however I shall treat them for now as if they were 1st or 2nd class."

He then drew out a humeral veil which he also draped around his shoulders with a further whispered prayer.

Meanwhile Tokunotakai watched the process in respectful silence and with extreme interest in her eyes.

He then bowed slightly towards the cabinet and carefully withdrew each piece, handling them using the humeral veil as if it were a towel to protect the object from direct touch, and examined each one carefully, especially the base. "Did your family priest teach you the distinction between relics?" he asked Colombe with a slightly quirked eyebrow as he finished.

"Oui, Father," Colombe replied, closed her eyes, and then began her recitation from memory, her French slipping into the aristocratic accent of her youth, "A first-class relic is the body part of one of the Saints such as the finger bone of St. Louis of Toulouse that rests underneath the altar in the chapel. A second-class relic is the saint's clothing or other item used by the Saint such as the Sword of St. Catherine used by her and Saint Jeanne d'Arc. A third-class relic is an object that a first or second-class relic has touched such as this chalice should it be touched to the Sword."

Absently she rubbed her bottom, smirked smugly, and muttered an editorial comment. "Did I do it right this time, Father Louis?" Ehren's lip twitched minutely, Toku had an even more serene expression on her suspiciously calm face, and Claire giggled musically. Colombe opened her eyes and looked at the room.

Fr Jacques chuckled slightly, having heard the muttering. "Just so, just so." he replied, eyes sparkling with wit. "I see you were catechized properly!" He then turned to the girls who were helping. "As they are not relics, they simply should be treated with respect. Ehren, Claire, if you two would be so good as to fetch some soap and cloths so as to clean them properly we can get that squared away."

"Jawohl, Father!" Ehren snapped to attention and led Claire out. "I shall also get us something to drink from the kitchen."

He then turned to Colombe and smiled after the children left. "I hope you would not object if I were to… proselytize with the youngsters? I would not wish to do so without your permission." Left unspoken, of course, was that he'd do so either way, he just wanted her permission for maximum politeness. Meanwhile he reverently removed and refolded the humeral veil and alb, replacing them in the valise for now.

Colombe chuckled. "Not in the least. I do have to notify you, though that the Imps are behind in their education because the schooling in the Reserves was… poor."

Toku sighed and elaborated. "Nearly nonexistent, honestly. Apprenticeships, or whatever books and newspapers could be smuggled in for lesson materials at the best. And given the choice between food or medicine to save lives and books.... The conditions are those of the Edo era… ahh the 1700s in Europe."

Colombe agreed as she made a wry face. "Of course they did not know French at all. I cast a spell on both to assist with that and Chi-chan in particular has a superb brain and has been enjoying my library. Misaki is more the tomboy. So while they are nine years old, their schooling is closer to the age of six at the moment. They're catching up quickly in the local school, though." She finished with smug pride in her wards.

"Then perhaps it is a good thing that my college years were spent studying to be a teacher, before I fully accepted the call to the priesthood. I had ambition to be the headmaster of the school in Ath, after all." the old priest's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Perhaps out of a desire to prove that a scapegrace like myself could sit where he who tanned my britches once sat, yes?"

Colombe barked a laugh. "That thought crossed my mind the first time I sat behind Papa's desk instead of standing in front of it while he audibly questioned where he went wrong as my father yet again, yes." She grinned, "Claire, as you can tell, will be delighted to join the Faith should you explain it to her. Especially the hymnal and the possibilities of a pipe organ and a choir."
Spoiler: A Dove's Confession

The smile faded and she spoke seriously. "Ehren… is a much thornier road to the Cross. If I may have your word of confidence on what I shall reveal about her?"

Fr Jacques nodded with a smile. "Claire is a wonderful girl, and I can already tell that Ehren has had far too harsh of an introduction to the sad state of this fallen world." He paused for a second. "While I will consider anything you say to me to be under the seal of the confessional, perhaps it would be best if you were to simply confirm my own observations rather than bare your daughter's secrets to me?"

Colombe nodded, "With the caveat that I may include some matters that you may not have guessed that I as her parent feel are relevant to your mission here to bring her healing?"

Toku meanwhile glanced at the two. "I'll head to the chapel door and keep them from overhearing, Co-chan. Just break the privacy seal once you're done." At Colombe's nod, she left after placing an ofuda on the frame of the sacristy door.

The old priest simply nodded. "I have worked with some of the Kriegsmarine girls who passed through Boston before the trivial detail that I'd passed mandatory retirement age a decade ago finally caught up with me." he said, crooking a brief smile. "But she is carrying the burden of the Nazis upon her shoulders, feeling the guilt and burden of their many crimes upon her own shoulders as a consequence of how she came to be. If an object awakening is in any way similar to one of the unbuilt shipgirls awakening, then she may have initially thought nothing ill of her origin, only to be truly shattered and horrified upon learning the bitter truth. If she is anything like one of the girls who for some reason was summoned in the US rather than Germany, upon learning the truth she may have tried to harm herself."

Colombe nodded sadly, "Accurate as far as it goes, Father. However, there are some factors that exacerbate that problem." She sighed. "Tsukumogami, to use the Japanese term for us, gain the ability to form an avatar after reaching a certain age and the process is hastened by coming in contact with a person of significance, similar to a second-class relic, thinking of it. I have actually met the spirit of the Sword of St. Catherine in fact but we shall talk on that anon. In Claire's case, she was played by Claude Debussy in 1890, while in Ehren's case…."

Colombe took a deep breath and spoke in a flat voice full of tears. "She was presented to the top graduate of SS-Junkerschule in 1937. By Adolf Hitler. Personally. Helmar… her first Master was a loyal and honorable man, a member of a Prussian Landjunker family, and a brave soldier. I met him in 1941 while I was working for the Resistance and entrapped and betrayed him rather than work harder to sway him from the bright shining path to Hell that he was following with his stubborn loyalty and honor."

Another deep breath. "Ehren is at least somewhat aware of the good times that he and I shared before my betrayal of Helmar. Afterward he was turned into a vampire." She rubbed her abdomen. "We fought again in 1942 and I can tell you without betraying my magical oath that during that fight, Helmar used Ehren's true body on me and nearly killed me, I was unconscious with her stuck in my gut when I was magically transported out of the deathtrap we were in. That is how she came into my possession."

Colombe sighed. "Worse, the day that Ehren manifested her avatar in 2013, I first saw her in SS uniform next to Claire, did not realize who she was, and attacked her with a Sikh kirpan dagger to save Claire. Wrongfully, since Ehren would never harm her Big Piano Sister and fought to allow Claire to escape the madwoman that she thought that I was. Then when she found out about the Final Solution…."

Colombe bowed her head and wept, "I caught her trying to deface the heraldry on her hilt with a power grinder. If I had not stopped her, I would have lost her and even with magical healing and Kasuyu's skill it was as close then as it was when Helmar nearly gutted me in 1942. All that has made her extremely wary to trust and never trust uncritically, yet deep inside her she needs to cleave to a cause greater than herself. So while I hope you can save her soul, it will be a very rocky road."

Fr Jacques nodded seriously. "She will save her own soul, as I can already tell that she is a good person who simply needs to learn to trust herself once more." He smiled slightly. "And trust God, but God is patient in that regard." He took a deep breath, bowing his head and praying silently. "Thank you for that insight and history, it will be very helpful. And…" his eyes sharpened just a bit and he reached out, gently catching the rapiers chin and lifting it. "Tell me, my child, did you act out of malice towards Helmar?"

Colombe gave a sad smile. "A little, perhaps. I was afraid that I was falling for him, especially since I was already in a long-standing serious relationship with Lyra Potter until she died of old age in 1949. Most importantly, my oath of sworn service to Hachiman prevented forsaking the Allies to join him. Afterward, not until he kidnapped Ehren several weeks ago. When I realized that he was alive and had kidnapped her, I journeyed to Africa to save Ehren, yes, but also to end him once and for all." Colombe paused, visibly realized something, and spoke. "Ehren had to deceive him to… do what she did to assist in her rescue, but I do not know the details. My relationship with her is… strained thanks to my missteps as her mother. Claire, or perhaps Draco or Niobe -- Ehren's closest friends -- would be the only others that might know what happened during the week that she was under her Vati's eye."

The old priest just shook his head. "That isn't what I asked, my child. Malice isn't being somebody's enemy and acting because of that. It isn't opposing somebody when they need to be opposed. Malice is when you do evil simply because you can, in depraved defiance of doing good." He looked into Colombe's eyes. "So again, tell me, did you act in malice towards Helmar, or were you both caught in the chains of duty in this fallen world."

Colombe visibly thought as her spine straightened, then spoke in a sad and ashamed voice. "Gagging Helmar the way that I did when I took his identity before accomplishing the mission, yes. I should not have done that to end our relationship with such a cruel and humiliating betrayal and it was unnecessary. I should have knocked him out first to make him think that I had been abducted by the Resistance. Otherwise, as much as I hate myself for the actions that I took then, my duty and honor demanded them and I had no other choice that I could see. So I acted in malice then."

He pursed his lips slightly. "So like all mortals you, to use the vernacular, screwed up." he smiled then, his eyes twinkling just a bit. "So… as penance, perhaps, for a mortal sin... think upon the infinite Mercy of our Lord and Savior while teaching the children how to say the rosary properly." Her eyes widened as she realized that she could do something for her children that when in her youth only men could perform.

Then his smile became just a trifle… smug… "I even…" his hand darted into the valise and drew out four jewelry boxes. "Brought along some from the United States, already blessed even." then he handed them over.

She took the rosaries and gestured, causing them to pop and vanish. "I sent them up to my room so I can begin my lessons for the children after we finish getting you moved in and the chapel handled. Is there anything else you needed to speak to me about in private or shall I notify Toku to bring the girls back in?"

"Not for myself, my child." he replied with a smile.

Colombe visibly thought, then flicked her fingers at the ofuda which caused the ink on it to fade and vanish. "Nor can I. I shall be speaking more in private later, of course. My door is always open if you need to speak to me. And... Father, thank you."

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

Well, time for me to be helping and not halping.

Here is the next part of Nagato chan's saga:

Settling In

With Uehara removed from the equation, the five Japanese Setgirls were now placed under Lieutenant Kirby's command. It did not surprise Goto that the man had a light touch in the role. Kirby understood that, though willing to do their all, these girls were not bred to battle and quite frankly, their own wellbeing, which had been badly neglected, came first. Both Nagato and Yamato insisted that their namesakes would live with them. However, Upon speaking with Carrier Division One, Kirby realized that their household dynamic was different and perhaps not suited for Amagi and Akagi. Not that Akagi and Kaga were anything other than wonderful individuals but having two or three setgirls dropped into one's house could be disruptive and not the best for all concerned. However, Hosho stepped forward to claim the three carrier-sets. Apparently, the mother of Japan's carriers wasn't done being a mother. She could also teach them and Hornet and 'Hermes' (Actually the SS Mamari) how to be more convincing carriers.

Of course, the battleship sets could also benefit from such training but Admiral Goto didn't have a battleship to spare to teach them. Fortunately, Lieutenant Chalmers had HMS Centurion. Centurion had experience on being both a decoy AND a functioning battleship, so was the best teacher available for a full class of would-be battlewagons. The class would soon be joined by Nevada and 'Pennsylvania' Pennsylvania actually was more Arizona than Penn but with one Arizona already here, the other gracefully accepted her secondary identity.

In the meantime, while the higher-ups contemplated what possible uses they might have for an ersatz battlefleet, Chalmers and Kirby decided that a stand-down was in order to allow the girls to concentrate on acclimating to the new environment.

Unfortunately, this had the side-effect of reminding Enterprise that she was not even potentially useful as a decoy. She neither physically, nor temperamentally resembled her battle-hardened namesake. However, she agreed to help work at the cafe in her available time. It wasn't glamorous but it was service. And making a difference was the one thing she was about.

As for Nagato-chan, she was a bit overwhelmed. THE Nagato... Calling her 'daughter'! And meeting her family... She only hoped they would like her. She would show them that she was willing to work hard! She would be a credit to her family! She had to be!

Her mother knew the signs well. She had been there once before with Harry. Like Harry, Nagato-chan was an innocent, diligent, and devoted soul taken advantage of by a so-called guardian entrusted with her care. In time, she hoped they could instill Nagato-chan with the self-worth she deserved. In the meantime, Nagato intended that Uehara, Gendo, and anyone who had a hand in this shame would be expunged from the JSDF with prejudice.

For Nagato-chan, entering her mother's home was more intimidating than a massive fleet of Abyssals bearing down. That time, it was so obviously clear what she had to do. Her orders had been to abandon the children and seek shelter. Sure, she could have lied and told them she and Amagi were going to go face the Abyssals but not only would that have been a lie, it still would have left the children who placed their faith and trust in her alone with the dread of monsters looming. It would have felt like abandoning her duty and worse, betraying the innocent trust given her. She couldn't do that.

But now, just as part of her looked to her mother's home with excitement, another part of her was scared. They were her mother's family, so they HAD to be nice, right? It felt silly, made in the image of the Mighty Nagato and she was scared, intimidated. She wanted to hide behind her mother rather than face the introductions to the rest of her new family... Of Nagato's family.

It shouldn't be so scary but she could feel her heart and the boilers she didn't actually have, pounding in her chest.

Her mother put a gentle, calming hand on her shoulder.

"Nagato-chan? This is Harry."

Nagato-chan smiled shyly at the messy-haired boy. "Hello, Harry."

"Hello," Harry replied. Nagato-chan despite her size, definitely felt like a little sister to Harry. When their mom had explained how Uehara had treated her, Harry had been livid. One Vernon Dursley in the world was enough! The thought that people in the Defense Forces could behave that way to their little sister had not set well with either Harry or Hoppou. Harry knew that his mom was prepared to go... What was New Jersey's expression? 'Balls to the wall' to see Uehara and his supporters broken.

He was pretty sure mom only intended that in a career sense and not a bodily sense but it was tempting to envision a world where his mom could do what part of her so badly wanted to do. What only the presence of Warspite and Yamamoto himself had kept her from doing to Uncle Vernon the day she had found Harry, locked in his cupboard. Well, His mom could only do so much, legally speaking, against the Dursleys.

This was different. Uehara had made a lifelong enemy of someone who had both the standing and authority in his own uniformed service to come down on him like a mountain. Admiral Goto suspected that Uehara and Gendo were junior, card-carrying members of the 'I HATE SHIPGIRLS' club that was still part of the JMSDF.

They had been losing ground steadily for years and spectacularly when those who had tried to set up Captain Tanaka had been exposed but there were obviously still some out there. Goto had seen Uehara's service file and though he was regarded as loyal and punctual, one of his instructors had remarked that 'Uehara is functionally intelligent but has the imagination of a dead fish'. He was a man who was never going to see command, even in a world without shipgirls but their existence gave him a scapegoat, Nagato-chan and the others had merely given him a handy target. And Someone had let him.

Well, they were the ones in the crosshairs now.

"And this is Hoppou!"

Hoppou looked curiously at Nagato-chan. She knew that this girl who looked like mommy was not so powerful but still, Hoppou could sense the battleship in her heart. In some ways, she reminded Hoppou of Regalia.

"You need a hug!" Hoppou gently embraced the much taller but more fragile girl around her waist.

Nagato smiled as Hoppou hugged her new sister. Shiromizu and the other members of the household would be around for introductions later. Except for one smol presence who looked up at Nagato-chan with an appraising look.

"Gato! Gato gato gato! Gato!" Minagato asserted.

"Um? Thank you." Nagato-chan replied, somewhat intimidated by the sheer force of personality of the smol.

"Gato!" The smol gave a thumbs up.

"Well!" Nagato exclaimed. "It seems we need to do a little shopping. Two changes of clothes is an overnight bag, not a wardrobe, honey."

"Um... I don't want to be a bother..."

"Young lady, you will never be a bother. You are family and you're home. Besides! I figured we'd go to the beach tomorrow. You'll need a swimsuit."

"... Um... Momma?" Nagato-chan looked visibly distressed.

"What is it, honey?"

"I'm afraid to go into the water. I don't know how to swim..."

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And what we need... More Fluff!

A Valiant Few

In war, few are the commanders who believe they have plenty enough troops on hand. Fewer still are those who aren't looking for at least just a little more. The same can be said for the officers in charge of the Kanmusu Actress Corps. With the unlamented Lieutenant Uehara removed from the picture, Lieutenant Kirby, USN, and Lieutenant Chalmers, RN, were joined at Yokosuka by Kapitanleutnant Langsdorff. His girls, led by Atlantis, had been armed commerce raiders in their past lives. In this one, that made them uniquely qualified to defend convoys.

The sudden appearance of Atlantis or one of her sisters in a convoy had come as a nasty surprise for more than one Abyssal raider. So just as Chalmers' Decoys trained to look and act as dangerous Capital Ships, Langsdorff's girls trained to look and act as innocent and helpless as possible. These joined HMS Centurion, Leftenant Chalmers' new Secretary Ship, and another girl who would make Chalmers' life more interesting from this point forward.

After meeting success in finding girls like Tirpitz (A) at Pinewood. Other attempts to find and summon back setgirls met with mixed results. Like Above Us The Waves, Submarine X-1 was a British production about X-craft attacking a German Battleship. Efforts involving undisclosed persons in the magical community, assisted by actual returned X-craft had netted the return of three more faux X-boats. But even with the help of Deutschland and Admiral Scheer, attempts to summon the film's primary antagonist, a panzerschiffe named 'Lindendorf', had completely failed as there was simply not enough 'ship' in the sets for the pocket battleship.

The same thing happened when attention was turned to a number of films covering the infamous 'Raid on Alexandria' of November 1941. The Silent Enemy, Hell Raiders of the Deep, and The Valiant all covered the events but only with The Valiant, was any success obtained. The maiali craft were simply too small to manifest but enough of their mother sub, Scire and the battleship Valiant had been created to manifest. Considering the result, the actual battleship Queen Elizabeth, who was accompanying her sister HMS Valiant, was probably relieved that a version of her did NOT manifest as her sister now had an exact double who swore that she was an English Battleship but behaved very, very Italian in her tastes and mannerisms. Fortunately for HMS Valiant's sanity, her double was quickly packed off to Japan. Unfortunately, upon her arrival, Valiant (A) found her new 'Ammiraglio Chalmers' to be one English thing that was EXACTLY her taste.

"Even Centurion can't calm her down! She insists on preparing ALL my meals... Italian style, naturally. Luckily, she disappears every day at the same time for an hour. If it weren't for that, I doubt I'd be able to get a chance to taste English food at all!"

"Every day, hmm?" Goto asked. His amusement being tempered with a faint warning bell going off in his head.

"Yes, sir. Three O'clock on the dot.

There was something about that time, Goto thought. The warning bells were getting louder. Then he realized that someone else had also been missing at the same time of late.

"AMMIRAGIO!!!" A tall, busty blonde leaped onto Chalmers. Kongou stood there grinning.

"Welcome to my world, Leftenant," Goto sighed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- This ones from Sunhawk! Many thanks to Yellowhammer for helping me bring Fr Jacques to life. It's been humbling and pleasing to see the reaction so far to my first foray into writing a priest.

The Bells of Ath VI

Castle Moulbaix

22 August 2014

Finally the last cabinet in the sacristy was opened and the contents surveyed. Ehren made copies of the list of needed supplies and actions in her precise and neat hand in triplicate.

Meanwhile Colombe led the procession back to the grand hall. They paused to admire the sweeping grand marble staircase flanked by polished stone banisters spiraling down from the balconies on the second floor and surmounted by the portrait of Jean Francois du Chasteler.

She spoke as they walked. "The first floor has your rooms next to the chapel along that hall with the bottom floor of the castle library at the end of the hall, the library takes up the northwest tower and has a staircase to the second and third floors." She winked. "Should the damp weather and old age take a toll on old bones, when I was severely injured in 1871 and had to use a cane or wheelchair, I installed a magically enchanted chair on the stairs that transports you up or down. I shall show you it anon to take the strain off you since the castle is extensive and much of the activity is a floor above your rooms. I had to use my wheelchair again after Toku's older sister Fudo visited to have words with me about her sister's relationship with me." The rapier grinned smugly as her daughters and lover rolled their eyes at her. "I still beat her easily and decisively in our duel."

Toku sighed and pinched her nose as she muttered in a tone full of fond love. "Fudo-chan no baka." She then continued. "Fudo-nee is hotheaded and overprotective but we love each other dearly. I am the youngest of my family -- the youngest Masamune that has manifested and she is my big sister and the closest of the Masamunes to me. She got the wrong idea about Co-chan's relationship with me after our first meeting in 1864 and somehow decided that Co-chan was a threat to my virtue; not helped by the clashes that Co-chan's father's family had with mine. When we rescued the Fujii family we had to magically leave Japan in a hurry with them, and Fudo-nee misread it as Co-chan beating me up and kidnapping me."

With immense dignity Fr Jacques simply allowed the comment about old age, bad knees, and sore backs to slide off of him like water off the back of a duck. "I will have you know that I am perfectly capable of handling stairs, my dear." he said simply, with immense gravitas. "And unlike what I am sure a certain young priest may have implied, I am also allowed to use my own knife and fork." His eyes started twinkling then.

"Jawohl, Father!" Ehren snapped out in a military bark with a twinkle deep in her eyes. "A set of silverware shall be promptly requisitioned from castle supplies for use in our priest's duties! I shall prepare the paperwork forthwith so Alles in Ordnung!"

"If only my nephew were so wise and understanding." the old priest replied. "Thank you, my child. Do ensure that the forms are filed in triplicate, yes?"

"Aber Natürlich!"(But of course) Ehren snapped to rigid attention with a heel snap as her sister giggled musically and shook her head with a happy smile. "Auf Ihren Befehl(On your command), Priester!"

He simply chuckled, reaching out to bless Ehren and Claire with amusement in his eyes.

Colombe laughed and Toku smiled, then guided the procession down the first floor corridor. "About half the castle is effectively closed down, Father." Colombe explained. "After I returned from the Great War I lived alone until Kasuyu manifested and then my daughters appeared beginning in 1990." She ruffled Claire's hair before resuming. "For various reasons I was keeping a low profile so no large numbers of servants like the Castle is designed to house and of course the family had dwindled to just myself. I expect that to change in the future since many of the reasons not to live here openly are about to end."

She opened a set of wood double doors and walked into a trophy room with elephant tusks, lion heads, a French and an Austrian battle flag from the Napoleonic Wars, and displays of African, Indian, and Chinese weapons. "The family mainly is using the east wing, with us sleeping and having sitting rooms above us on the second floor, but my trophy room here, the dining room through it, and the kitchen at the end have extensive use. As does the ballroom on the north side of the first floor. It is one of our primary social spaces, Claire in particular likes to play there and in her music room, which is what we call her sitting room."

Claire smiled and spoke in a voice filled with joy and wonder. "The garden, pond, and trees through the windows are so beautiful, and that was where Debussy played me." Her shy smile became positively angelic. "That's where you and the rest spar, Mother, and I can watch you and play music for you to make you happier."

Ehren gave her sister a nod. "The light through the windows is just right for me to read stories to the children too." She gave a minute lip twitch. "Misaki enjoys playing in the rafters overhead as well." She ran her hand over the hardwood map table with a visible smugly satisfied smirk on her lips.

Fr Jacques simply nodded along to the commentary like a proper guest. "It is a good thing to see that the manor is still loved and lived in despite the difficulties. Too many others have been abandoned or turned from their original purpose." he smiled faintly. "And that banister on the grand staircase would have been an irresistible temptation to sin when I was a tad bit younger." his eyes at this point were twinkling so furiously that one could be forgiven if they mistook him for a clean-shaven and much younger Dumbledore.
Spoiler: A Matter Of Castle Rules

Colombe got a very suspicious cough and blush at the mention of the banister. Claire grinned impishly like an ebon-haired pixie. Ehren spoke somberly in the tone of a judge passing sentence. "Ja. There have been strict rules about no unassisted human flight using that banister as a Skisprung(ski jump) for centuries."

A glee filled cry of childish delight punctuated her words, followed by a thump. "Or unassisted Tanuki flight."

A second cry of joy was followed by a thump. "Or unassisted Jorogumo flight."

Throughout it all, Ehren's face and voice were totally deadpan.

"Do these rules forbid, say, unassisted dagger flight, or perhaps unassisted piano flight?" the old priest asked with a sly little smug smirk.

"I have no available data on the optimum flight characteristics of a grand piano on a Skisprung. To date the research team has been shockingly amiss in supplying requested data. Despite continual pleas, someone is hoarding data sets from joint Germano-Austrian experimental runs." Ehren replied phlegmatically and solemnly as Claire covered her mouth to stifle the giggles.

"Shocking, simply shocking." Fr Jacques bestowed a mock serious look upon Claire. "I believe that some of the communications ratings back in the day would be horrified at the lack of communication taking place concerning such vital information."

"Ach so, but what can you expect from an Austrian too much in love with the good life and not Proper Prussian Efficiency?" Ehren replied, still with that deadly solemn voice and controlled face.

Suddenly, Ehren's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably as a piano in the distance began to play The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze.

Toku's already suspiciously serene face became utterly sphinx-like.

Colombe opened the door to the dining room and spoke in a dry tone. "I think we should see about lunch before certain junior individuals in residence are tempted to commit mortal and venial sins involving a banister that the Marchioness of Chasteler and Moulbaix certainly has never slid down." A beat. "There's no proof anyway." Another beat. "Or witnesses." A third beat. "Or co-conspirators."

Fr Jacques smirked, positively smirked. "So since Tuesday?" he replied in an urbane voice, then swept past Colombe into the dining room with all the grace and dignity of a mighty sailing ship under full sail.

Toku's Masamune Resting Bitchface became that of a graven image.

They walked into the dining room, which was dominated by a large hardwood table with places already set in front of hardwood chairs, with two places not having a chair. Fine blue and white antique china and polished silver cutlery stood in serried ranks on the table, aligned with cloth napkins.

Colombe explained to Father Jacques, "Miho and Misaki prefer to stand in their natural woman-spider form for meals."

She cocked her head. "The castle has an extensive wine and brandy cellar and we of course have juice, water, milk, and can get sodas and the like from the grocers of Ath. As well we have tea and coffee."

Ehren coughed and the others looked at her. "Ja, I have a suitable precise espresso machine for my preferred Kaffee blends."

One eyebrow quirked up. "Would it be a stretch too far to assume that your setup is capable of brewing proper Navy coffee?" there was a definite tinge of hope in the old priests voice at that.

Colombe nodded, "We shall have to make some minor arrangements such as a dedicated pot, but yes. My younger sister Jacklyn is the expert in the family at brewing that black crime against nature. Ehren is the family expert for coffee and Toku for tea."

Fr Jacques merely sniffed at the description of Navy coffee. "I would have you know, my dear girl, that Navy coffee has served the cause of Freedom and Liberty for generations and shall always stand ready to defend us all against…" his eyes twinkled again as the children stormed into the dining room in a thundering horde. "The hordes of perdition."

Miho followed them in, now shifted into the form of a beautiful and leggy Japanese woman in a knee-length modest maid's dress. "Misaki-chan! Chi-chan! Wash up first! Then you can get a plate in the kitchens and pick what you want for lunch!"

The two Imps nodded and headed to the kitchen under her gaze.

Inside it Nongqawuse, dressed in a light shirt and khaki shorts supervised the last touches of the luncheon. "The candied apples are ready." She declared laconically before moving around the monstrous stainless steel bulk of a professional espresso machine marked as 'Ehren's Kaffeemaschine des Lebens'(Coffee Machine of Life) on a magnetic sign with a neatly lettered retort written beneath it: "Keine Klaviere erlaubt!"(No pianos allowed!)

Kasuyu, now shirtless and in a Scottish kilt pulled out a side of roast beef while the household washed their hands in the clearly original sink. The kitchen was a mix of old and new with modern appliances and electricity, but also antique bronze and cast iron pans and kettles hanging from hooks over the medieval stone ovens and a set of hollow brass tubes poking from the ceiling to a head high position over the counter which had plates at one end and assortment of waiting dishes laid out in trays, pans, pots, and plates waiting to be loaded for the hungry.

The old priest murmured a prayer under his breath while he washed his hands fastidiously, then dried them as well before getting in line for a plate with the others, taking no precedence at all. He may be a guest, but he was a priest. Once he had filled his plate he took the indicated seat between Claire and Miho and across from Chihiro and Misaki and folded his hands in front of him. Once the others had seated themselves he spoke before anybody could dig in. "Shall we give thanks for the bounty before us?"

"Certainly." Colombe said. "Since we have a variety of faiths brought together here, we do rotate the duty at meals. I suppose you can take Claire's turn in the rotation for today." She winked as Claire smiled and bowed her head for the blessing.

"Of course." he bowed his head then crossed himself "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." he paused for a moment, then continued reverently. "Father of us all, this meal is a sign of Your love for us; Bless us and bless our food, and help us to give you glory each day through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

A chorus of amens answered him and then the table began to dig in with gusto.

Claire hummed a Bavarian drinking song musically next to him in a happy voice while across from her Ehren methodically demolished one serving at a time between sips of espresso. Meanwhile he noticed that both Jorogumo, now in their spider-woman forms, had selected extensively from the meat dishes available (a smoked venison sausage was especially popular) while Chihiro had a more balanced mixture of meat and fruits, including a very large helping of cinnamon apple slices that had been prepared from some of the morning's harvest from the orchard. Curiously, both of the Jorugumo had a bowl filled with what appeared to be chocolate-covered beans, with Misaki's being noticeably smaller.
Spoiler: A Chat With The Spiders

Fr Jacques ate with appropriate decorum, glancing around the table, then looked over at the two Jorugumo. Patting his lips with his napkin, he waited for a suitable break and then looked over at the younger of the pair. "So, Misaki is it? I understand that you enjoy climbing things, yes?" he asked with a bit of a twinkle in his eyes.

The young spider giggled and nodded happily as she spoke in a delighted voice. "This castle is the absolute best! It has rafters and hiding places and walls and stairs and vents and banisters! And we can hunt in the attic!"

Chihiro nodded eagerly in agreement. "And books!"

Across from her her older sister gave a fond smile and responded. "Indeed she does. Us Jorogumo enjoy climbing and spinning our webs, like the spiders that we are descended from."

The old priest smiled at that. "Sounds like you are able to have a great deal of fun." he then leaned down a little and grinned. "Did you know that in America there are stories of somebody who got bitten by a special spider and got the abilities of a spider?"

"Ooooo!" Misaki said, her eyes wide and intent on him. "That's amazing!"

He nodded. "Indeed, he's called…" he dropped his voice dramatically "The Amazing Spider-Man. He has the strength, speed and reflexes of a spider, scaled up to human size so he is super-strong. He slings webs in order to swing around the city and fights crime and evil supervillains."

Ehren spoke dryly. "And with great power comes great responsibility, ja? Or as Mutti says, Noblesse oblige." She sipped her coffee calmly as she gave the priest a cool stare that communicated without words that she had sunk the knife in his back to the hilt before he noticed her strike.

Fr Jacques simply lifted his own coffee cup in salute to the dagger. "Indeed, the concept is universal. After all, Our Lord teaches that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, and that one who seeks to have power, first must learn to serve the least in creation."

Ehren raised an eyebrow and responded in that dry tone. "Quite. So, should I start calling you Onkel Ben? Claire piano-napped me to watch all three movies in a marathon shortly after I manifested. She enjoys the music of Danny Elfman. Among many others. Such as John Williams." A beat. "Are you aware that it is physically possible to watch all six Star Wars movies nonstop at a sitting when she gives you that pleading look?"

Claire finished humming Das Hofbrauhaus and then swapped tracks to Norman Gets the Boot from the first Spider-Man movie.

"A fine musician and a wonderful composer, both of them. And indeed, there was one time when we were cruising in circles off of Pearl when the chief's mess decided to put on a Star Wars marathon like that. Jar-Jar is most certainly the true dark lord of the Sith." The old priest replied, smiling over at Claire for her fine taste in musical accompaniment.

He then glanced over to Chihiro and grinned. "While not quite as… on point. The same comic book publisher that does the Spider-man stories also has a series which features a talking raccoon-like alien named Rocket Raccoon."

"Ooooo!" Chihiro squealed around bites of candied apple slices. "Do you have any manga volumes, Father Jacques?"

"I can do better than that. I just so happen to have a certain DVD in my valise that my grandnephew gave me, which has a movie which features Rocket in it." he replied with a faint smirk.

"Can we watch it?" the Imps asked in chorus from eager faces.

Miho smiled at him and spoke with a note of approval. "I see that we have a webweaver here. Clever, Father."

Claire then chimed in curiously, "Who did the music, Father?"

Ehren just raised an eyebrow and commented to no-one in particular. "Once my chores are done, I suppose I shall provide moral support for Claire."

"Tyler Bates wrote the score, but most of the music is made up of classic rock and roll songs." he replied to Claire, even as he winked slightly to Miho.

Claire smiled happily and began to eat her sausage. Ehren meanwhile continued her methodical demolition of her meal.

Miho turned to Father Jacques and spoke to him in a husky voice that made him think of the saying about spiders and parlors. "I see that you have questions about us, what we are?"

"Indeed I do, but I would not wish to pry where it may be unwelcome." he smiled. "After all, it may be seen as quite rude to ask certain questions out of ignorance and it would not do to darken such a fine meal with such."

Miho's smile widened. "Perhaps after the meal and the movie then? I would prefer that my presence and those of my children were not public knowledge. While us Jorogumo are no longer what we were in folklore during the past, our reputation is not the best." She winked and breathed in and out in an oddly enthralling rhythm. "Do me a favor and pick up your spoon?"

The old priest quirked an eyebrow and did just that. As he did, the spoon flowed like quicksilver through his hands in an orange liquid to reform just to the side of where he had picked it up. He could feel the cool fluid cross his fingers and vanish. She winked at him.

"How marvelous!" he said with a broad smile. "A truly magical gift. You either transfigured the spoon in some way or, perhaps…" he tilted his head a little "A cunning illusion, wrought by a mistress weaver of webs?"

"The latter actually. We are mistresses of the webs of illusions and deception, among other things. Although many of our powers are inborn, or at least require multiple limbs to weave our strands of truth and fiction, others are able to be taught to those friends who we favor if they have the gift like we do." She nodded to Ehren, who was drinking her coffee out of a cup made of a starry night sky with a cool stare on her face and an eyebrow raised. He hadn't even noticed the change in her beverage

"A great gift and a fascinating talent." he said with a smile. "Granted, one that would spark many hours of wonderful debate and hair splitting over the ethics of it all. Perhaps when we have a few free hours we could discuss that, as I'm certain that you have thought of such things far more than I."

"Most certainly when our duties permit such a conversation, Father." Miho said while Ehren nodded along with the spider's words. "I recommend that we invite Tokunotakai-sama along, for she has a keen mind and has thought deeply on the subject."

Ehren nodded sharply as her cup shimmered and returned to normal. "Ja, she does." Ehren spoke phlegmatically as she placed her cup down and then cut another slice of her sausage.

"Please, let me know when it will be convenient, I am looking forward to a good philosophical discussion. Surprisingly, for some strange reason deep philosophical and theological debates were not a common feature of my time as a chaplain, aside from arguing with Connie over whether or not her being personally blessed and sanctified by the Pope made her Catholic." his eyes twinkled with amusement.

Ehren raised an eyebrow. "We can discuss at breakfast tomorrow what would be a good time then? I fear that I have a prior claim on my free time related to a movie involving heroic raccoons and young friends wishing to experience them." A pause. "And a sister looking for more tunes to transcribe for our rock band to cover. I have hopes that one of the artists who are featured is Sabaton."

"I regret to inform you that the newest music in the movie dates from the 1970s, so before Sabaton were born," he solemnly replied.

"Ach, so." Ehren responded agreeably. "Such is life. I am sure that Claire shall be finding something of merit from the soundtrack then. I defer to her expertise in such matters." She stood for a refill on her espresso. "Does anyone need more drinks or additional food from the kitchen?"
-----------------------

When the meal had concluded, the old priest waited a beat, then bowed his head in prayer once more before picking up his plate and carrying it to the kitchen to be washed. His eyebrow raised as he noticed Colombe began to wash the plates at the sink with clear experience, drying them with a summoned floating ball of fire. "So…" his voice was just loud enough for everybody to hear. "Ms Toku, could you be so kind as to show me the room I shall be privileged to stay in while our dear hostess and expert dishwasher gives the young ones the gifts I brought for them?"

The children's eyes lit up and Claire looked interested. To his lack of surprise, Ehren revealed nothing in her non-reaction.

"Oui, Father. I shall do so. Ahh, remind me later to show you the use of the third key on the keyring, the one etched with the Keys of St. Peter." Colombe said with a wry smile as she racked Ehren's plate in the cabinet.

Toku bowed to him gracefully. "Mochiron, shisai(Priest, of course). If you will follow me?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Within the clearing, the only sound that could be heard besides the songs of birds, the whispering of the breeze in the boroughs, and the burbling of a nearby brook was the crackle of flames and the hissing of juices dripping into the burning logs. As well, besides the smells of summer, one could also smell the scent of cooking meat over an open flame. Humming thoughtfully, the young, messy haired man jabbed a knife into the side of a boar cooking over the fire before nodding to himself with the smile of one who did a good job as he turned it, 'Just about done.'

Hearing the sound of strings plucked, the young man turned with a smile towards where his companion was lounging as she played a crwth.

Unlike most women, however, this one from the waist down was a horse with greyish fur. For a few moments, the messy haired man just simply observed the centauress as she played. The dappled shadows of leaves and branches playing across her body as she did so. Eyes trailing along her form, he felt his smile grow. Upon her head, waves of blonde hair fell down to midback, kept away from her ears with leaf shaped ornaments. Her ears, pointed and nearly as equine as her lower body, twitched a little as the smile played along her full lips as her fingers worked the instrument's strings.

Meanwhile, her shirt, which showed just some cleavage and hinted at her bosom, rode upwards some, exposing her well muscled stomach while hiding her equally muscular arms within the voluminous sleeves. Limbs that the young man had seen pull back a yew bow fully and put an arrow through plate with ease. Yet, they were so gentle when handling him and his as shown when she had lifted one of his younger cousins who had injured his ankle to carry him home. The skin that he could see was lightly tanned, with just a hint of freckles upon her face, but glistened in the near evening light due to the sweat of exertion from the day's hunting. Here and there one could see slight scars as well, showing that she was willing to live a life as adventurous as his.

Gaze continuing on, the young messy haired man could only hum as he came to the equine portion of her body. To his eyes, it was as beautiful as the rest of her. Sleek muscle under soft, greyish fur, equal to any horse of any king. Legs that could carry her at a run faster than many steeds bred specifically for such as well! Which he well knew from his own experiences from riding upon her back.

Where the two halves met, one could not see much, however. For she wore a dragonhide skirt of sorts where her humanoid portion met the equine, one that had pouches along it. Belts ran from said skirt along her equine body to another leather covering that ran over her hindquarters, concealing it from sight. He could still remember her amusement at it and the reasons behind it, though she did accept it as it had been embossed with designs. Still, he knew under the first skirt that tanned skin eventually seamlessly melded with that of the furred hide of the horse, something he had felt time and again.

A chuckle echoed out before a voice that reminded him of soft, warm leather spoke up and broke him from his thoughts, "Ah, Joachim, you're staring again." His gaze went to the female centaur's face and found her with a slight flush, though there was still amusement in her brown eyes along with something else, "Do you not have anything better to do with your time?"

Lightly chuckling, Joachim gestured around them, "At the moment, my dear Elm? Nothing. But then, I always make time for such wondrous acts such as observing you. Time wasted, it is not."

Once more, Elm laughed before flashing her teeth at him in a grin, "Such a silver tongue that resides within your mouth. One must wonder if it is that or your magic that is the most dangerous aspect of you."

Just laughing himself, the Potter winked and grinned back at her, "Ah, well, that is a good question, is it not?" Joachim then gestured at the boar cooking, "But, sadly, I must turn my attention away from such things. For it is time to eat!"

Simply nodding as she placed her instrument into a pouch, Elm rose to her hooves easily and walked over before laying back down once more, "Indeed? Well, it would not be thankful to the wild if we were to waste such a meal." Pulling out some rough, wooden plates along with bread, she handed him one which he took before bringing out two wooden cups which were filled with wine, "Let us eat and be merry."

Unable to help himself, Joachim winked at her, "Ah, but that is but my secret, Elm. With your company, I am always merry, eating or not." That got him another laugh and he cut a large hunch of meat to place on the female centaur's plate, which she then took up and tore into. Nodding to himself, he cut some meat for himself before drinking the wine to wet his mouth. With a gesture to the boar, he picked up the hunk of meat and bit into it before chewing, "You know, one might become jealous of you. Your skill with the bow is second to none, as with your beauty."

Winking, the Centauress nudged him, "Perhaps, but then I am a centaur! It is to be expected that I am good with the bow. As for beauty? That I am unsure of." Then she smiled and shook her head before taking another bite and a swig of wine, "But it gave us quite the run, yet here we are eating it!"

Only humming, Joachim smiled back at her as he chewed, "Indeed we are, though it was your skills at the hunt that allowed us to. Alas, mine are not as well to do as yours."

The answer he got was more laughter from his companion, "Perhaps I should teach you more then!" Her grin became teasing and her next words got a laugh from Joachim, "It would not do for you to get lost and starve when journeying to the next village without I, your faithful companion!"

It was something of a running joke between them, where he would complain about her making his skills look bad, yet then she would answer back that it came naturally and she could not help such. Yet, both knew that there was no heat behind his tone, for he had accepted that a long time ago. Rather, it became something that they would tease each other over.

After a few moments, however, Joachim's smile faded a little as he thought over her last words, 'My companion...' With a sigh, he took a bite of meat, "Do you ever regret it?"

Understanding what he meant without more needing to be said, Elm shook her head, "No, I do not." Turning, her brown eyes gazed into his hazel, "I will never regret saving you that day or what happened after. You are a good man, Joachim, and saving you was the right thing to do whether or not you are human."

Grimace on his face, the young man's gaze went to a scar on her flank which resembled a burn, though long since healed. One that he remembered making her limp when it was fresh though it was a lesser wound on that day, "Yet... here you are, all but exiled from your home... your family... and your people."

Expression becoming soft, Elm shook her head as she took his hand in hers, their rough skin and callouses rubbing against one another, "An exile that I accept freely, though it was forced upon myself. If saving a life is not right? Than I have no problem being in the wrong, especially as it was your life." Leaning down, she smiled at him as her thumb rubbed along his knuckles, "I saved you for it was the right thing. Then, as it was the right thing and a matter of honour, you saved me in return. Never doubt that. As for being home and with family..." Her eyes glistened as they met his, "That is in the here and now."

With gentleness, he turned her palm upwards and kissed it as his eyes met hers before grasping it, "Thank you, though it is still something that I feel guilt over, my Elm."

Unable to help herself, Elm laughed as she smiled, "Perhaps one day, I shall make you understand then."

Reaching up with one hand, Joachim moved some strands of hair behind one of her pointed ear with a slight smile of his own, "Perhaps you shall, though only you would know by looking at the stars which shine a light which is matched and surpassed by those in your eyes."

Once more chuckling, the Centauress gestured at the meal, "Now, enough of such things. Let us enjoy our meal in companionship! It is a time to be merry after all."

That got her a hum from her male companion and, soon enough, the meat was gone as was the bread and some of the wine.

With a soft hum, Elm stood up and smiled after he cleaned off the plates and washed out the goblets with them going back into one of her pouches. Taking a few steps forward, she hummed before looking over her shoulder, "Daylight shall last for a time more, Joachim. Perhaps it is best to go to the brook and wash ourselves of the day's dust from the road? I could use the help."

Blinking for a moment, a wide smile appeared on Joachim's lips, "Of course, my Elm. It would be my pleasure."

A laugh escaped from the female Centaur and she grinned, "I suspect so!" Galloping some, she laughed again, "Now quickly! If we are to have time to dry in the sun!"

Shoulders shaking, Joachim laughed as she chased her, "Ah! But the quarry flees from the hunter! With hooves blessed by Artemis herself! Yet, I shall catch you!"

By the time he caught up her, however, she was already at the brook and removing the straps that kept the leather on her equine body, hanging said pieces onto a tree branch. Shirt loosening, Elm looked over her shoulder at Joachim with a small, knowing smile as it pooled around her humanoid waist before she placed it beside the leather. For a few moments, the two watched each other before the Centauress walked into the brook, water reaching her equine knees, and then belly, before then covering most of her.

Briefly, she bent her knees to allow for the humanoid portion of her body to get wet before standing once more and turning in the water. Part of her was pleased that Joachim had already removed his shirt and placed it beside her own. Dipping her hands into the water, she brought them up and allowed the liquid to run over her sun kissed skin before her eyes became hooded, "Are you not coming in, Joachim? The water is most pleasant and cool."

Leaning against the tree and bare from the waist up, the Potter looked her over for a few moments before humming as he stroked his chin, "Ah! But I wish to enjoy the sight before me." Broadly grinning, Joachim spread one arm away from his body, "Hark! What is before me? Is it a dream? One of the Ancient Grecian tales? Where a hunter comes upon a nymph bathing in a spring?" Then, he shook his head, "Only to be cursed? Alas, but one has already befallen I! The arrow has struck true for something truly precious has been been taken, never to be given back."

Despite her laughs, Elm's cheeks still darkened and she grinned, "And her, but what is in front of me if this be a Grecian dream? Perhaps one as blessed by Apollo, for his arrow has also struck true!" The , she shook her head and gave a splash, "Now, leave aside that silver tongue, or perhaps gold, and come in to wash the wear of the road away."

Not needing to be told twice, Joachim removed his breeches before walking into the water with a slight shiver. Soon, it reached his chest and he had to swim somewhat. Upon reaching Elm, he placed one hand on her back and the other in one of her hands, the Centauress smiling down at him, and receiving one in return as they enjoyed the cool, flowing brook.

__________________________________________________

Night had fallen and the only illumination besides the Full Moon and stars above was the crackling fire. Leaning against Elm's equine half as she brushed her hair, Joachim watched the flames devour the wood with sparks climbing into the darkness. He was pulled from his thoughts as Elm's fingers threaded into his hair before she spoke, "You're worried, Joachim."

Glancing up at her, he smiled a little, "Is it that obvious, my Elm?"

Slowly, Elm shook her head some, "Only to one such as I whom knows you." Her gaze softened a little, "You are worried about the upcoming wedding to Lucinda, yes?"

A grimace appeared on Joachim's face before he snorted, "You, perhaps, are a Centaur, Elm. But that woman? She is a nag."

That got him a snort from his companion who shook her head, "I would go further and wonder if she perhaps has the blood of an ass in her. But then, asses are hard working, if temperamental, unlike her." Her understanding look returned, "But you are worried about more than just that."

Slowly, Joachim nodded as he turned his attention back to the flame, "It is the Malfois, Elm. While I can understand the Wizard's Council wishing to end the feud between our two sides, there is more I feel. Part of me fears that the Malfois were involved in the decision through their gold or other methods. And it reminds me far too much of what happened with the Williamson's."

Voice soft as she continued to run her fingers through his hair, Elm leaned down, "What happened, my Joachim? What happened that worries you so?"

His own voice nearly a whisper, the Potter frowned, "They, too, feuded with the Malfois, but in Normandy. They convinced the King to create a marriage between one of their daughters and the heir of the Williamson's. However, the other males of the family died or could not produce heirs, and thus the Malfois in a generation gained control of the land once belonging to the Williamson's with only their cousins' the Weasleys, holding on due, some say, to fertility magic of some sort in their line. That was but two generations ago.

Now understanding, Elm frowned a little, "And you worry that they may, perhaps, be attempting the same with the Potters?" At his nod, she was silent for a few moments before looking at the stars. Joachim stayed silent, allowing her to read them until she nodded, "Speak to your Grandmother in the orchard, the Queen. Her magic will prevent theirs from interfering in your family and she will gift protection. Her price will come in three generations as she will seek to renew the ties between your families. One that will bring no harm to the Potters..."

Noticing the look on her face, he took her hand and gently kissed the palm, "You see something else. Something that concerns you, my Elm, my Companion. Because you seem conflicted."

With a shuddering breath, Elm looked down and her eyes had unshed tears. Wetness that Joachim wiped away with his thumb, "Indeed, my Joachim. The marriage will not be happy, but persevere, for it will not last. But with the end, so too will one come to my brother and one will almost come to the Malfois. Yet... while the stars will not tell me fully, they say that there is a brightness in the future for us. Still... I weep for what will happen to those I once called mine. Banish me, they did, but my heart still remembers them from before."

Shifting to his knees, Joachim cupped her cheek before pressing their foreheads together, "Dearest Elm, you weep for you are a good woman. And no matter what, that is what I see when I look at you. My Elm, my Companion who walks beside me always, my Protector, and the one whom I shall protect in turn."

Arms coming up, Elm wrapped them around her waist as tears dripped down her cheeks, "And I thank you, my Joachim. My Companion whom I walk beside and carry when needed. The one whom protects, and is protected in turn. A good man."

Opening her eyes, brown met hazel as the two continued their embrace under the Stars and Moon.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And a touch more on Valiant:

How Are You?


Lieutenant Chalmers had gradually begun to accept his position as the object of Valiant's overzealous affections. He admitted that her cooking was actually quite good and having the attention of a confident, beautiful woman certainly did wonders for his ego. But there was one thing that still bothered him.

"Valiant?"

"Sì, mio ammiraglio?"

"How are you here? How? From what I know, you shouldn't be here. You ought to simply be memories of the cruiser Abruzzi."

Valiant smiled, serious for once. "No, my admiral. Abruzzi, she is like my mama. Of course Valiant is like my mama but... There was more than that which created me. Without Valiant, I would not exist and without Abruzzi, I probably would not exist, but I am more than just what my mothers gave me. I suppose because I am an idea given form? An idea fed from a number of sources. I admit I would wish for a sister, perhaps but such was not meant to be, I think." She smiled. "But the life I have will be a good one! And that means taking care of my admiral! Who knows? Maybe I do not have a sister. But maybe I will be a mother, yes? And carry the children of my admiral? I will tell you a thing."

"Oh?"

"My Burning Love is real. Beyond that, it doesn't matter."

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And more catching up with the setgirls!


Training Begins

HMS Centurion stared coolly at the motley line of girls in front of her. Word had come down that all the actress types were going to get special training to perform their roles. Rumors had it that the brass were planning something. All Centurion knew is that she had a motley lot of civvies to try to turn into convincing battleships. She did have help: USS Illinois and USS Recruit stood next to her but due to the nature of their construction, there were certain things they couldn't help with. So of the twenty-four motley girls lined up in front of her, sixteen were her direct problem. Judging by their appearance, Illinois and Recruit would have an easier time with their eight. The setgirls at least knew how to wear their uniforms properly. The Decoy girls had all been civilian ships in their past lives and tended to regard military courtesies with amusement.

"I am HMS Centurion! I will be your chief instructor for this course! These are USS Illinois and USS Recruit! They are serving as my assistants. If they give you an order, OBEY it!" She looked down the line, eyes locked on SS Tyrolia. "All of you may notice that I am wearing the patch of HMS Anson and not my own 'Centurion'. That is because in this class you will all respond to your cover names ONLY." She frowned. "ORUBA! Take two steps forward!"

As she expected, one of the girls stepped forward.

"WHAT in the name of the Crown do you think you are doing?"

Oruba froze like a deer in the headlights. "Ma'am?"

"There IS NO Oruba in my class! There is HMS Orion! You respond only to your cover name. If addressed by any other name, you do NOT respond. Understand me, Orion?"

"Ma'am! Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Get back in line."

As she complied, 'Vanguard' spoke up. "Ma'am? If the need arises, do we address you as Centurion or Anson?"

"How can I be Centurion when Centurion is three places over on your left? However, OUTSIDE of class, you may address me as Centurion."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Now, I will call your assignments out by squadron number. You will line up one, two, three, four in your squadron. Right. Now! First Battlecruiser Squadron! Tiger! Queen Mary! Invincible! Indomitable! Come on now! you're not on holiday!" She urged them on. "Second Battle Squadron! Iron Duke! Marlborough! Revenge! Resolution!" She watched them sort out. By Jellico! Why am I cursed? "Alright... Third Battle Squadron! King George V! Centurion! Ajax! Audacious!" These girls seemed at least marginally together. "Fourth Battle squadron! Orion! St. Vincent! Collingwood! Vanguard!" These were her personal headaches. The others, the true actresses would work with Illinois and Recruit.

"Fifth Battle Squadron! Yamato! Nagato! Tirpitz! Valiant!" These girls seemed a bit more responsive if unsure of themselves. "And the rest of you! Sixth Battle Squadron! Arizona! Pennsylvania! Oklahoma! Nevada!" Again, the actresses fell in tight.

"Today! We will start with the basics of how to hold a formation!"

Over a little way, Atlantis smirked. HER girls were ALL professionals. They merely needed to practice their combat techniques and brush up on their deception methods. Rather than a ponderous formation, she had her girls gather in an informal circle.

"Hello. As you know, I am Atlantis. I have worked with some of you before. Others I do not know but we will hopefully get better acquainted. We are Armed Auxiliary Cruisers! We are the wolves in sheep's clothing! But this time! We will protect the sheep. You are not schoolgirls and I will not treat you as such. You are proud fighting ships. However, we may have to train to work with the..." She looked over at Centurion's charges with a smirk. "Less trained and professional. So we will work hard to make up for their shortcomings..."

A little bit away from these groups, Hosho sat calmly with her new adoptive daughters, including Hornet. Hornet was much closer to her new girls than the battleship types. It just made sense. She smiled as Mamari walked over to join them. "Welcome! Mamari! Or do I have to call you 'Hermes'?"

"Mamari is fine, Miss Hosho," she smiled.

"Good! Today we will start with the basics, my children! Carrier 101!"

Enterprise stood, staring at the various training groups disappointed. She could not even convincingly pretend to be a fighting ship. She was famous and named after the legendary Grey Ghost and her successor. The first Space Shuttle was named in her honor, in turn and she felt useless! She didn't notice as the battleship Nagato walked up to her.

"When trained, they will be a most convincing force!" She smiled as her daughter's battle squadron executed a tight battle turn, just as it should be done!

"Yeah."

"However, there are other means of fooling the enemy," Nagato said conversationally. "I understand you have a particular talent for voices?"

"Well, I guess I picked it up from Jimmy," Enterprise replied, not seeing where this was going.

"Excellent! Come with me to the radio room! We are going to teach you how to 'fleet'!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A/N - Well, there were several requests to see Father Jacques and the Cinnamon roll Miko have a nice chat. Also we find out a secret of Moulbaix. As always, I'd like to thank Sunhawk2 for Father Jacques. That said, this one, along with our prayers for a swift and complete recovery for his father is for Savato93

The Bells of Ath (VII)

Castle Moulbaix

22 August 2014
Spoiler: A Priest And A Miko Walk Into A Castle….

Toku walked with Father Jacques along a short hallway past the back stairs and then opened a door into the ballroom. "We are taking the scenic route that we did not earlier, Father."

The old priest smiled as he accompanied the katana spirit. "I see." He commented as he looked about, admiring the artwork and architecture as they walked along. "I've always loved old buildings."

Toku gave a serene smile and nod as they slowly walked through the ballroom, "Indeed, they have character. I must ask, you visited Japan in the past, yes?"

"A port visit to Yokosuka in the 1980s, a few to Sasebo in the 90s. Never was stationed there, however." He confirmed affably.

"So ka. If you had visited the Shrine of Hachiman in Kamakura you could have seen me. As I am appearing to you now as a miko and senior instructor in kendo and kyudo there, or my true body when I was put on display at festivals." Toku said in her serene and calm voice.

"Sadly I never was in port long enough to do much in the way of tourism. I was in Sasebo during Momijigari in 1990, but we were only in port long enough to refuel en route to the Gulf during Desert Shield." He shrugged, having managed a passable pronunciation of the festival name… for somebody who barely spoke any Japanese beyond a few phrases learned out of curiosity decades earlier.

Toku gave a small smile. "Well if you wish to rectify that lost opportunity, I would be delighted to show you the gardens of the Hachimangu in late September as the leaves change just before my duties at Kannazuki. Or, if you prefer, you could visit for Hanami in the spring for the cherry blossoms."

The old priest pursed his lips at the unfamiliar word. "Is that another temple from the Shrine of Hachiman?" He inquired.

Toku's smile widened. "Actually not. It literally translates to 'the month when there are no gods', and falls in October traditionally. All the kami leave their shrines to congregate at Izumo Grand Shrine in Shimane, ascend to the higher heavens, and stay there for the passage of the moon before returning to their shrines in Japan. In fact, I am actually a kami, the spirit of my blade, as Colombe and her daughters are the spirits of their items. In a theological sense, you understand." She waited for his nod.

"When Co-chan and her daughters visited me in Japan last month, Hachiman-dono personally manifested to perform a tea ceremony for us and deliver certain instructions. He warned Ehren to prepare herself for what turned into the events surrounding her kidnapping. Or at least I hope that is all, prophecies can be difficult to understand until after the events come to pass. As for Co-chan and I as His Blades, subordinates to him, we are to report to him in Izumo Grand Shrine for the month, along with Co-chan's father and our fellow Blade Muramasa-no-Norimune to receive further instructions and be rewarded for our efforts to protect innocents."

"I see," the old priest replied, pursing his lips thoughtfully before smiling. "If I were some of my old colleagues of whom I would never speak ill, as their faith was quite evident behind their strong opinions, I would have to make grand statements of fire and brimstone and condemnation." His eyes twinkled a bit. "So let us pretend that we've completed that step of the conversation. After all, throughout Scripture there are references to the existence of gods other than God."

He smirked, an expression that Toku rated as almost a full Juuichi Yosamu. "But as a military chaplain, I am well familiar with differing chains of command. So long as we all are serving the Light of Truth we are serving the Word." He continued.

Toku's own serene smile grew to one almost worthy of her beloved elder sister Masamune-no-Honjo as he spoke. She nodded. "A very valid way to see the situation we find ourselves in. I would venture to say that the sworn duty of a warrior to fight with valor and honor, but only in the service of good ends while protecting those weaker than him who need him to act as a shield against cruelty and oppression is as objectively good a command no matter if it is delivered to him by Hachiman-dono, Guan Yu, or St. Michael, yes?"

She winked and then continued. "During the Meiji Restoration, I rededicated myself to Bushido and began to look outside Japan for similar philosophies, since I had been informed in no uncertain terms that true honor and true bushido could be found other places than the Land of the Rising Sun. Other cultures, other nations, have their own gifts which are as great as my homeland. Something that you are no doubt more familiar than I am with your more extensive travels, since I have only ventured outside Japan in the last few months and even then only here and to Africa and Verdun."

Fr Jacques simply nodded in agreement. "There is a reason why theologians and priests wrestle so hard over seemingly trivial questions, because the great questions are so objectively obvious that they defy our…" smirking… smirking… "sophisticated and erudite analysis. I'll have to grace you with the history of the Agnus Dei(lamb of god) sometime, you'll probably have to chase down your eyeballs after they roll out of your head. And the less said about filioque("and from the Son/Nicene Creed) the better… but I digress."

Toku blinked in puzzlement at the Latin and mouthed 'filioque?' curiously to herself as they walked down the hall to the library. She waved her hand as they approached the door and it swung open to reveal walls of bookcases filling the octagonal tower with a staircase ascending to the floor above.

The old priest simply chuckled. "To be continued, yes?"

Toku gave a soft laugh and nodded. "Most certainly to be continued. I thought that you would find it of some value to know where to find Chi-chan and often Ehren when she is tanuki-napped to read to the young ones. Another good place is wherever Claire is, of course." Her blue green eyes twinkled in her serene face as they stepped inside briefly to look around. "Oh and there are a few good books inside, or so I have been told."

"If I may ask, are there any… delicate subjects in regards to the yokai I should know about? I would prefer to not stray into any minefields without prior warning." He asked as he gazed about appreciatively at the old books, looking far younger than his years at the sight of so much reading material.

Toku's serene smile widened minutely at his clear appreciation for the treasures available. She guided him to a pair of chairs in a conversation nook as the door behind them closed and clocked itself at her magical command. "The Tanuki are tricksters rather like the Kitsune fox-spirits. Sometimes malicious, especially to the foolish, arrogant, and cruel, but also benevolent to those who are good of heart. Ahh, their females are known for exceptionally large bosoms when they mature, just as their males have been known to use their testicles as drums or an umbrella since they are of a great size. Or such is the folklore, which in this case is accurate enough."

"In this case?" Fr Jacques questioned, although one eyebrow was twitching suspiciously along with his lips at the rather… earthy descriptions. He'd been around enough SEALs, however, to keep the natural reaction of clenching one's legs together at the description of testicle-drums to the barest twitch as well.

Toku's lips thinned as she nodded when he took the hook that she had inserted in her explanation. "For the Jorogumo, though, folklore is different. The name means 'Whore Spider', and the folklore are traditionally tales of a lone young man who meets a beautiful woman traveler, or a maiden living by herself. He falls for her grace and beauty, is drawn into her webs, she seduces him, and then she kills and eats him like a spider would a fly when she transforms to her true form that you saw at lunch, that of a half-woman half-spider as opposed to the human form that she shapeshifted into."

The miko took a deep breath. "At one time, centuries ago, this was true enough for the majority of the species. As always there were outliers, just as there are with humans or any other sentient being. However, recent events have changed that in positive ways, although that was certainly never intended. Are you aware of the Statute of Secrecy, Father?"

The elderly priest nodded "It's come up quite often, often in conjunction with some of Connie's antics… like when… well, that would be telling but suffice it to say that her conflicts with MACUSA were amusing when you were outside the blast radius."

Toku nodded. "Just so. The Statute came late to Japan, shortly after the West forced itself into Japanese affairs with Perry and others. In order to conform, and with extensive pressure from the ICW, the magical species of Japan were rounded up into reserves to keep them out of the public eye and prevent breaches. Including the Jorogumo."

Toku's voice became sad and compassionate. "Those Jorogumo who were not killed outright in what amounted to a purge that swept through Japan. The survivors were effectively forced to adapt or die. Those who could not temper their impulses to be magical serial killers of humans or yokai for food and for mates were identified and slain. The survivors like Miho's deceased mother and grandmother changed their culture, learned restraint, and are able to coexist with humanity. The few survivors who ate animals rather than humans by preference, and could control their baser impulses. I suppose what happened was like -- forgive me for the comparison -- selective breeding to create a specific breed of dog for a purpose." He listened with a sad expression upon his face.

Toku wiped tears from her eyes and then continued in a sad voice. "So in this case the folklore is largely inaccurate now and Jorogumo society is quite a bit healthier than it was. That said, they are hated and feared in many quarters because of their terrible past and the stories of them killing humans. One reason that they were not driven to extinction is certain body parts and fertilized eggs can be used in potions and magic so they were useful to the powers of the day. Misaki has been shielded from such abuses by her big sister, and the concern for her was what caused them to risk torture and death to escape the Reserve that they were in."

Toku gave a wan but proud smile as she finished. "Co-chan was incensed when she found out, as was Ehren-chan, as shocked and horrified as I was to realize what was going on. I should conclude that by making you aware that the non-magical Japanese government is aware of Miho's story at the highest levels and is acting to correct the situation for the Yokai. The Fujii family are serving as part of the staff on paper while my sisters and others in Japan act. In reality Co-chan is helping them adapt to freedom while providing them the resources to make good their own lives when they choose to. Enough money in a trust fund from Co-chan's pocket to open their own business once the Statute falls, with their clothing, education, room and board all paid for so they have stability to rebuild their lives until they are ready to depart. If they so choose freely. Just be warned, that if you gain their friendship, you can expect them to weave you a gift from their silk, be sure to show gratitude when they do; it is a symbol of extreme respect."

Fr Jacques had bowed his head near the start of Toku's explanation, and there was a suspicious moistness in his own eyes. "I certainly shall." He murmured, then crossed himself as he murmured a soft prayer for the suffering of innocents. "Even if some of their ancestors were monsters, it is a major teaching of the Church that the sins of the fathers do not descend upon the heads of the sons. And to abuse thinking beings in such a way is always a grave sin in the eyes of a merciful God."

He took a breath, his eyes firming and a hint of fire showing behind them. "Please convey to them that if they ever wish to speak of their experiences that I am available. It is one of the most important duties of a priest to bring healing of the soul, after all, as I am certain you are aware."

Toku nodded gratefully and yet with matching steel in her firm gaze as she spoke of the duties that both had chosen to be sanctified to perform. "Indeed it is one of the most important duties that I have as well. They have talked to me about certain matters, and I shall relay your kind offer to them."

She smiled serenely as the steel in her eyes was sheathed again as the topic changed. "As for the rest of it? As you saw at lunch, Jorogumo and Tanuki both have great skill at illusions, and Ehren-chan has some significant talent in the field. I know that Miho is subtly proud of her, and regrets that some of the more advanced techniques need more legs than the two that Ehren possesses to weave properly. I hope that this answers your questions on this matter. Shall we open your rooms now?"

"My thanks, and it does." He managed a smile. "So give this old man a moment…" He took one last walk around the library, sharp eyes quickly cataloguing a few interesting titles, then nodded to the katana-miko. "Lead on, my dear."

Toku smiled, gestured, and two of the leather-bound books he had expressed interest in floated behind her. "I believe that the bookshelf in your quarters may need these? To explain, while you should handle the books with respect as always, the enchantments on them make them far less fragile than their age otherwise would suggest. Some of them are in other languages, Co-chan is the one for the Hindu, Greek, Persian, and Arabic texts, while she and I are literate in Chinese should you need a translator."

Fr. Jacques' eyes sparkled as he tucked Jean-Francois' schoolboy copy of Donati's edition of the Summa Theologica for the theologians of the Dominicans under his arm. "I could stand a good book to read."

Toku smiled, nodded, and stood, walking to the door then down the hallway which had made an L-bend at the library. "Sadly, the organization of the library is somewhat lacking, and there is an additional floor to it over the room we were just in. You may wish to entice Chihiro to assist you by acting as a junior librarian. I recommend peanut butter treats as payment for her procuring the location of wanted titles. The best baker of the same is actually Ehren." Her eyes twinkled in her serene face. "I leave the specifics of such bartering as an exercise for the listener. I have a source for peanut-butter filled anpan(sweet roll), and no you shall not get it from me, Father!" Her voice at the end was teasing

"Ahhh, so I shall have to initiate her in the mysteries of the Dewey Decimal System then." His eyes twinkled merrily. "At least such is far easier to grasp than the subtle nuances of some other topics I've had the pleasure of trying to teach young people in the past." a smirk… a veritable smirk. "Remind me to someday regale you with tales from my days teaching seminary and having to gently correct young men as to their understanding of St Augustine."
Spoiler: Rooms For A Priest

Toku reached a door down the hall from the one for the chapel and opened it. "Your rooms, sir. As for me, I could tell my own stories of kendo instruction and the moral underpinnings of same."

She walked inside and gestured to the revealed sitting room. The room was cozy with a polished hardwood furniture set with blue velvet cushions. On the facing wall, a fireplace was flanked by window. To the left, a fresco painting of Luca Giordano's The Liberation of St. Peter dominated the wall, flanked by a bookshelf on one side and a small private altar in a niche with a crucifix carved from oak over it.
Spoiler: The Painting

To the right a door led to a bathroom with a toilet, a cast iron tub and showerhead, and a second door to the bedroom with wardrobes, a dresser, an oaken prie-dieu(prayer desk) in red velvet, and a large four poster antique bed along with Fr. Jacques' luggage waiting for him. Persian wool rugs in bright geometric colors covered the hardwood floors, and a cast-iron steam radiator with a pair of framed religious prints over it completed the furnishings.
Spoiler: Prie-dieu

Toku bowed to the priest as they walked through the suite. "Here are your rooms. Co-Chan and the others opened and renovated them while we waited for the Church to respond, according to her. Please let Kasuyu or Co-chan know if there are problems with the steam heat, water, or electricity, since that was all done last week to add this room to the castle's systems and has not been tested."

The old priest brightened visibly as he examined the rooms before bustling over to his valise and opening it. "My dear, would you be so kind as to assist me with something?" he asked as he drew out a set of folded linen cloths from within the large valise.

"Certainly!" Toku exclaimed and walked to his side. "How may I assist?"

"Could you assist me with placing these," He indicated the set of folded cloths, "onto the altar? It is always easier with a second set of hands." he smiled.

Toku smiled and assisted him to prepare the altar. She spoke as she finished. "I must tell you that if you wish for different furnishings, the castle attics are open to you and are quite extensive. In fact the imps and Miho enjoy visiting them to explore. Also, there is a set of Post Owls roosting in the Owlery at the top of the northeast tower who belong to Ehren. They will be used to transport mail to and from her at Hogwarts."

Fr Jacques shook his head, even as he busied himself with his valise to finish setting up the altar. "There is no need, this is far more luxurious than I am accustomed to in fact." He smiled slightly. "I would likely have been most content simply sleeping in a cot in the sacristy." He grinned a bit boyishly. "Wouldn't be the first time, right after Blood Week the rectory at the base in Boston was uninhabitable, so myself and six other chaplains set up cots in the sacristy of the base chapel. And I am happy to report that I do not snore."

"Neither do I, according to Co-chan. Supposedly." Toku replied with a serene smile.

"You do and your feet are cold in the mornings, To-chan!" came Colombe's voice from the door. She walked inside with a smug grin. "No problems with your rooms, Father?"

"Now, now, my dear child." Fr Jacques tutted with admirable aplomb. "I may be a priest sworn to celibacy and chastity, but even I know that it is impolite to infer that a lady snores."

"Fortunately, I am no lady but a Masamune." Toku replied evenly. "Is there something you needed, Co-chan?"

Colombe nodded and closed the door. "One of the keys on the ring has the Keys of St. Peter etched in them, would you please retrieve it and then touch it to the painting of St. Peter?" She gave a smug smirk. "I'd prefer not to give the Imps ideas about this little secret of the castle, they are a handful already."

The elderly priest drew out the keyring, picked out the indicated key, then with a slightly lifted eyebrow touched it gently to the painting on the wall. "Even at their most mischievous, children are a blessing from God, my child. And remember, you once were one yourself."

As the key touched the painting, it animated while the door to the hall locked itself. Saint Peter and the angel walked to the painted dungeon door, which opened at their approach. Toku watched with interest and murmured. "Some children never grow up but just grow old."

As Saint Peter passed through the dungeon door, it expanded and became solid, becoming an archway in the solid stone of the wall. A lantern with an Everburning Candle hung from a hook to illuminate the revealed passage and on the far side, a similar closed door awaited as the passage led to the left down a flight of stairs.

He blinked, then he blinked again, visibly intrigued. "Amazing."

Colombe said, "True, true, I did the enchantments for this during the French Revolution for my brother's priest. I would prefer to not have the Imps dig up my flowerbeds looking for more secret passages to play within."

"A noble aspiration, my dear, but do you truly think that they will spend this much time in a castle and not start imagining secret passages behind every tapestry and wall?" Fr Jacques replied with an amused expression on his face.

Toku sighed fondly. "Having seen them at play? I do not think so; I know so."

Colombe smirked and pointed. "The door there leads to the sacristy, the back of the walk-in linen cupboard in fact. To open any door in this complex, touch it with the key. Passing through this arch with the key or touching this key to the wall causes the wall to return to stone and the painting to become its base state. At the bottom, the passageway to the right at the T junction leads to a hidden door that is one way within a boulder in the forest. To the left...?"

She grinned as smugly as her aunt Juuchi would. "You have no doubt noticed the marble grand staircase? That stone is hollow inside with well-hidden peepholes and voice tubes under spells of non-detection that also muffle sounds from within. A small room awaits there with water ever-flowing through a basin to drink and relieve oneself, a small box with bread and cheese in stasis spells, a stone prie-dieu, a Bible, and a cot for a priest to rest upon while the soldiers search in vain. The barely obvious 'priest hole' you saw in the Sacristy is a diversion. Surely where one is and is empty, there cannot be two in that castle, non?"

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

Settling In: The Prank


While eight hours a day were devoted to classes and training, and Nagato-chan had never even imagined just how complicated being a REAL battleship was! It made her admiration of her mother all the greater, Nagato's new daughter began to adjust to her new life. Frankly, she easily could see that she was the most boring person in the house. She was actually a bit intimidated. It was an odd feeling, like the lone mortal in a house of gods.

But today was special. She was supposed to meet with Yamato-chan and the other Japanese setgirls down at the base pool. Their new moms had been as livid as Nagato when they found out that none of the girls even owned a swimsuit, let alone had been taught to swim. Again, a skill which their commander had deemed 'unnecessary' to their duties. It was time to remedy that. Of course, Nagato was able to provide one of her swimsuits. Nagato chan blushed a bit as she put it on, somehow it felt too big for her despite her mother assuring her that it fit, perfectly. But Nagato chan was nothing if she was not determined to work hard and be even more like her mother. At least as much as possible.

With Hornet-chan assisting, the girls were introduced to the shallow end of the pool. Though initially fearing that she would simply be washed away, Nagato chan trusted her mother and got in. She began to remember the feel of the big water tank at Toei. That felt strange because she remembered being with more than just Amagi-chan but it also reminded her that she was in no danger of sinking or being swept away. Hoppou chan stood at deckside, watching her new sister, privately making notes. It was almost time for lunch and Regalia would be joining them, especially after the incident with Regalia disembarking her executive officer and completely forgetting to eat at all! There would not be a repeat of this. Briefly, Hoppou wondered how this worked for Nagato-chan. She would have to send one of her construction imps to see what he could find out. But for now, Hoppou had an introduction to make.

"Sister? Come meet Hoppou granddaughter! Regalia! This is Nagato chan! Sister, this is Regalia!"

Regalia bowed in front of Nagato-chan. "Is great aunt broken, grandmother?" She could detect no sign of boiler activity, no electronic emissions... It was odd.

Hoppou shook her head. "No. She is not broken. She is different, much like you are."

"Hello, Regalia" Nagato-chan said. In truth, she did feel a little broken... or rather... simply unfinished. She knew what her mother told her but still, she couldn't help feeling like a charcoal sketch of a Rembrandt.

"Regalia is learning to become a repair ship, after a brave but very foolish effort to save one of her aunts. We are VERY fortunate that we had two girls to fix and not two to mourn. But that is why Regalia is learning to do these things safely!"

"I promise, grandma! Never again!"

"Good!" Hoppou answered firmly. "And also, Regalia will take note that it is time to eat!"

"Yes, grandma!"

Hoppou's mother nodded firmly and looked to Yamato and Hosho. "I think the girls did very well today! Let's go get some lunch." after a moment, Nagato noticed that Harry was looking very intently at his mother and new sister with mischief in his eyes.

"What are you thinking, Harry?" She asked her son with a raised eyebrow.

"Just that Ashigara is making curry again."

Nagato winced at that. Ashigara's curry was tasty but the spice was just too hot for Nagato to handle. But Harry had an idea.



***


About ten minutes later, all hands watched Nagato and Harry walk into the mess. "Ah! Curry!" Nagato smiled and took a large helping. As everyone cringed, they watched as she offered some to her daughter who politely declined.

"No thank you, mama! Harry promised to make me lunch and I don't want to miss that!"

"Alright then, dear," Nagato replied and demolished three bowls of curry. "I don't know why I'm so hungry today. At least the curry is mild."

"Mild?" Ashigara said, tasting her curry in confusion. It seemed spicy enough but three bowls of The Hungry Wolf's Special Curry should simply have been WELL beyond Nagato's ability to handle. Maybe it had to do with the secretary ship's last refit. Or maybe... Ashigara began grabbing spices to give her curry enough bite. Soon, sweat was coming off Ashigara's forehead. She took a taste...

"GAH! FIRE! IT BURNS!!!!" She began to drink water as she tried to smother the raging inferno.

"Milk for that, dear." Hosho admonished, passing her a tall glass of dairy that smothered the fire like foam on avgas.

Finally, Ashigara stopped burning and coughing enough to see everyone grinning at her. "I see even the Wolf has her limit!" Nagato observed as she took her headband back from her daughter, handing back the purely decorative one that Nagato-chan had. "Now, Harry. I believe you were going to make lunch!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A Duet Under The Chestnut Trees

Passy Cemetery, Paris

Centuries In The Future

There are many who rest eternally here.

Heroes.

Villains.

Sinners.

Saints.

The Mighty.

The Meek.

Poets.

Artists.

And last but certainly not least, there are those blessed with the gift of music.

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

Among the graves, some stand out.

A writer has a tomb shaped like her studio.

And then there are a pair of enchanted statues that stand together flanking a funeral urn engraved with just a G-clef that contains the mingled ashes of husband and wife.

To one side, a messy haired young man with a sparkle in his carved eyes and a happy smile upon his face plays the piano from memory in his suit.

Fingers of warm bronze caress keys of onyx and ivory marble in the eternally frozen instant between the notes that he plays.

His face is alight with the passion and love and joy and life of the music that he plays as he looks at the other statue.

Meeting his eyes, a young woman in a sculpted onyx dress, matching her short ebon-black hair, gives an equally happy smile filled with matching passion and love and joy and life.

Ivory marble fingers are frozen in their gentle eternal caress of the bow and the strings of a bronze violin, a violin the exact color of the young man's hair that she plays for eternally.

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

As the stories say, when the chestnut trees bloom, the gentle rain falls to veil the City of Lights, and the Eiffel Tower lights up as day turns to night, that is when these magically preserved statues play the most heart-breakingly beautiful duet that the passer-by shall ever hear in his life.

The notes of Claire de Lune whisper through the air in perfect harmony, filled with mystery and passion and joy and life and love and longing.

It is impossible to say where the piano ends and the violin begins then as the soft moonlight illuminates the statues in their endless duet.

As the stories say, when their duet plays, Claude Debussy, who wrote Claire de Lune and rests nearby, smiles within his grave and thinks of a perfect moonlight night with his fingers on the keys of a piano as the moonlight turns the water of the pond that he looks at the purest argent.

When their duet plays, all the canines of Paris look toward the figures eternally playing with knowing looks of love and respect in the eyes of Man's Best Friend.

And who are these statues?

The passer-by will read a simple inscription.

ANTONIO STRADIVARIUS POTTER ---------- CLAIRE BOSENDORFER DU CHASTELER

DEPARTED ON THE HONEYMOON

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

I'm going to post some more because I need to smile.


Central Casting


The subsequent days found the latest hard plucked fruits of the Hollywood program arriving. Lieutenant Kirby and Leftenant Chalmers were told that they might get a couple more subs or so but no one expected anything larger. The history of film was vast but the naval genre not quite as large as some would think.

As it turned out, Chalmers was getting eight of the new arrivals placed under his command. The biggest was Giulio Cesare, she would be rooming with Valiant. Three submarine sets: U-96, U-47, and HMS Sea Tiger. SMS Blucher was a bit of an eccentric, and three would be merchant ships: Jervis Bay, City of Glouchester, and San Demetrio. Lieutenant Kirby, for his part, greeted USS Juneau and USS Marblehead and three carriers: Saratoga, Yorktown, identified as Yorktown 1.5 and a very quiet Japanese Carrier. There were also a couple of Catgirls. Airships, he corrected: Macon and Los Angeles.

"You're Saratoga?" Kirby asked, greeting the tallest of his new charges.

"Yes, sir! built by MGM in 1931 for 'Hell Divers!' I made Clark Gable a star!"

"I thought that the film was all footage of the real ship?"

"Well, you can't exactly set a prop F8C-4 Helldiver on fire right next to the island, or reenact lowering a zeppelin onboard. There were some closeup shots where Wallace Beery had to run in and out of the island from and to an 'idling aircraft' that had to be done with sets too. Not like DiveBombers with Errol Flynn."

"Well, I would think you'd be joining the other Saratogas?" He said, referencing the actual CV-3 and CC-3, who were happily engaged to their dearest.

"I'd rather not be a third, cardboard wheel, sir."

"Understood." He turned to the second carrier. "You're Yorktown?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why is it Yorktown 1.5?"

"Well, Yorktown 1.0 is CV-5. I played a lot of her roles. But I LOOK like CV-10, which is Yorktown 2.0. So I figure, split the difference! Anyway! I'm here and ready to help!"

"Glad to have you." Kirby turned to the last carrier "And, You have two names listed. But both are scratched out?"

"Hiranamu and Shinaru. Both are equally wrong. So it really doesn't matter," she replied quietly. "I was in a few films all looking a little different but all so audiences could see me blow up. So it really doesn't matter."

Kirby glanced over at Hosho, who bore a rare look of consternation. He was aware that names like Hiranamu were gibberish. Obviously, this could not be allowed to stand. Briefly, he considered Koryu and Ryukaku. Both had been names that were erroneously reported by Naval Intelligence early in 1942 but he rejected these as he thought of the new Soryu class submarines he had read about. One name suggested itself from that list.

"From now on, you're Zuiryu. Miss Hosho?"

"Zuiryu?" Hosho smiled. "I think that is a good choice. Now, Zuiryu, come! I will teach you many things! The most important thing is that you are beautiful and valuable, my child. Now come and I will introduce you to your sisters!"

As Hosho led the surprised girl away, Saratoga smiled at her new CO. "That was good thinking Lieutenant!"

"A good self-image is important, don't you think?" 'And with hers, I'm just glad we got rid of Uehara before she arrived.'

"By the way, skipper," Saratoga asked. "Is it true that Nagato is here? I've seen some of her work and I'm a bit of a fan!"

"She's Secretary Ship here," Kirby confirmed.

"Oh! I wasn't meaning her, though she's pretty cool too. I mean Nagato who did Tora, Tora, Tora. I heard about her and her partner staying in a potential combat zone to look after those kids! Iron men and wooden ships, hell! She must have ALL the steel and brass!"

Kirby chuckled. "She's here. You'll meet her soon enough."

"Great! She's a real pro at this business!"

"So, Admiral?" Los Angeles posed, one furred ear turned down.

"It's Lieutenant," He said mildly. "What can I do for you, Los Angeles?"

"Seeing how the original ZR-3 was used as an experimental carrier, do I go with Macon and the other carrier types or will I room with Juneau and Marblehead as a 'scout'?"

"I think I want to keep you and Macon together, so you two plus Saratoga and Yorktown. Juneau and Marblehead will get the room next door."

"Somebody, hide the video player," Yorktown groaned. "Those two will be watching All-Purpose Catgirl Nuku Nuku till the wee hours."

"It's 'All-Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku', thank you." Macon corrected.

"To-MAY-to... Po-TAH-to! Whatever!"

And so, not including Training group Atlantis, which had never been part of the Morale and Spirit Project, Yokosuka was now home base for fifty-eight actresses. One of them, HMS Centurion, was a REAL battleship in every sense of the word. Seventeen more were actual cargo ships. One was a skilled human actress, and thirty-nine were setgirls. Everyone expected a few more minor players might turn up but little else, though Hornet had heard Commodore and Recruit talking about 'Bobs' and how much of a job they were going to be to handle and just what were they going to do with them!

The girls in Yokosuka were a generally friendly lot, Saratoga thought the next day as she sat in the mess hall and munched a hamburger. Hornet chuckled in amusement as Sara pulled a little figurine from her pocket and set it next to her plate.

"What's that?"

"Oh! My Nagato figure! She brings me good luck!"

Hornet looked around and noticed Nagato chan and the other Japanese setgirls come in from swimming class with Hosho mama. Yorktown grinned as Hornet called out to them.

"Over here!"

Zuiryu nodded and led the others over. It just seemed safer to sit with other setgirls, rather than with REAL carriers like Zuikaku or Kaga. She also wondered why Soryu san had called Zuiryu the 'Reverse Aso" and whether that was good or bad. As they sat down, Nagato chan noticed the little figure by Saratoga's plate.

"What's that?"

Much to Hornet's amusement and expectation, Saratoga flushed as she hurriedly snatched the figure up and put it away. "I um... I'm starting a collection!"

"And just how many figures do you have in your collection, Sara chan?" Yorktown asked, grinning.

"Um... One."

Most of the girls laughed as Nagato chan smiled warmly while Sara blushed bright red. Then Hornet leaned back and gestured as Battleship Louisiana walked in with Shinano. "Ladies... Let us contemplate our existence for a moment. Ask yourself, how it is, that Louisiana and I both exist. But while I was crafted in the form of a Yorktown class carrier... If ever so incompletely... Louisiana is based solely on the rough plans for a ship. Not a single ounce of metal laid down and while SHE is an actual battleship, I am only a pretend carrier?"

"Because of intent," Amagi pointed out. "We were never intended to be more than facsimiles."

"Perhaps," Hornet conceded. "But I wonder... IF one were to supply intent, could enough magical potential cause a set type to manifest as a real ship type?"

"Possibly, but the known instances of completely paper ships manifesting involved sacrificing lives," Amagi replied. "That's a high price."

Hornet nodded. "True on that."

"So? Why aren't there more of us?" Oklahoma asked.

"Well! Think about it. Sara... Look at Nagato chan here." Hornet indulged in a little bit of teasing as she lectured, smiling as Sara again blushed looking at the Daughter of the Big Seven. " She was about as complete a set as you could imagine! Except for the time factor, she's a textbook case, and the wizards fixed the time thing. On the other hand, Deutschland and Admiral Scheer went over to Pinewood studios with high hopes of calling, I think her name was supposed to be 'Lindendorf'. They got nothing. They had a nice model. They had actors, but the only full size set was an office that could have been on a ship or shore base or anywhere. Nothing to define a 'ship' Same thing with the Queen Elizabeth in all those Italian frogman movies. A wall with a name plaque and a logbook just wasn't enough."

"What about me?" Zuiryu asked.

"You're the culmination of the same vague idea repeated sufficiently to give form. Each time, a bit more of you."

"Unlike Enterprise," Saratoga agreed. "Two movies filled with footage and you would think if I'M here, there should be an E too!" She looked over at the starship Enterprise. "No offense, I mean."

"None taken."

"Thanks," She replied. "But I mean. Both ships had HUGE amounts of movie film shot and that color work on Dive Bomber was BEAUTIFUL! But they never needed a set. Just a backscreen where they ran film of the real thing."

"Unless it's a case like Valiant?" Yorktown suggested. "Maybe their nets aren't being cast wide enough?"

"Could be," Hornet allowed. "It could simply be a case of finding enough critical mass."

"So, are there any more like us out there? You figure?"Arizona asked.

Hornet nodded. "I think at least one more big player and if we can find her, she'll already be in Japan," Hornet said looking right at Nagato-chan.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"I'm done, Natsumi-Chan."

Jumping a little, Natsumi rapidly blinked as she looked up from the book to find Harry standing there shirtless, hair still damp from his shower with a towel hanging over his shoulders, "O-oh, okay, Harry-Chan."

More than a little curious, Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at the title of the old, leatherbound volume that the Kitsune was holding, "Huh... something wrong, Natsumi-Chan?"

Lightly blushing, the teenage girl shook her head as she noted some of the shipgirls in the room giving her interested looks, "Nothing's wrong, Harry-Chan. I..." Pausing for a moment, her gaze went back to the page that she had been looking at, "Um, I found this book on the shelves and noticed it had a lot of art in it so I was looking through it."

Walking around the rocking chair that his friend was in, Harry looked over her shoulder and blinked some at the sight of a ink drawing that was on the page. It was obviously a rough sketch... if one could call rough something that looked like it was from an art museum. Said drawing was of a young, messy haired shirtless man leaning against a tree, looking down at a centauress in the water with a smile. Said female Centaur also had a small smile on her face as she looked up at him, torso bare like his. Said drawing, unlike most, was not enchanted however.

For a few moments, the teenage wizard looked at it before slowly nodding, "Huh, that must be one of the drawings of Joachim, my ancestor." Looking at Natsumi, Harry smiled a little, "Remember, Natsumi-Chan? I did say that he was an artist as well as a hunter."

Only nodding, Natsumi flashed him a smile, "You did, actually." Turning one of the old, vallum pages, she revealed another drawing, this one of what had to be Elm carrying Joachim upon her back. He had his arms around her human waist, fingers interlocked with his body pressed against her back with one of her hands covering his. Both of them looking at each other with expressions of love, "There's so many drawings of him and Elm... or just her in here."

Leaning against the rocking chair, Harry nodded a little, "Well, from what I read, he did claim her as his muse in regards to his art. And it was mentioned that he made quite a few paintings and drawings of her, and even used a spell to make copies of said drawings to be hung..." Pausing, he rubbed his chin some, "I'm pretty sure that they're somewhere around actually."

Slowly nodding at that, Natsumi had a slight flash of inspiration as she turned to one picture in particular. It was of Elm armoured up for war alongside Joachim on her back. Her equine portions were covered in horse barding. The peytral resembled a roaring dragon, the wings stretching back along her body, but in a way that Joachim's legs would be protected by the thick metal as well. Her hindquarters were protected by metal plates that had the Potter coat of arms embossed upon them, declaring her alliegence for all to see.

The Kitsune was still amused by the fact that rather than a magpie, the bird on the coat of arms was a raven, which still was a bird that collected shiny objects though she raised her eyebrows at the fox that was there as well.

Besides the normal barding, one could also see strips of metal over her legs, as well as studded leather that covered the portions of her equine body unprotected by metal armor, likely enchanted. Absolutely no part of said body was left unprotected, which said much about how much the Potters, and Joachim in particular, valued her. Not to mention, her humanoid body also had armor in the form of plate with a shield on one arm, and a lance held in the other. Though Natsumi also noted a heavy mace at her side, obviously to be used with her much stronger than human strength.

On her back, Joachim was also armored though he had a buckler in one hand, and a sword in the other. The two had expressions full of protectiveness at each other as they gazed into each other's faces, but with grins that Natsumi recognized. And how could she not, as she had seen similar ones before on Harry's face when the chips were down and he was gazing at her. Needless to say, the picture cut a dashing one, of a lord and his female centaur knight.

For a few moments, Natsumi looked down at the drawing in thought before a smug, foxy smirk appeared on her face, "Harry-Chan?" Getting a hum from him, she glanced up at his face and gestured at the picture, "Would you happen to have a copy of this picture?"

Rubbing his chin, Harry considered the question for several moments, "Maybe? I'd need to check..." Then he gave her a curious look, "Why?"

Grin on her face, the Kitsune barely kept from snickering, "Well... I thought, perhaps, that Ayase-Chan might enjoy the picture. She does like the tales of Samurai and the like, and Knights are the European equivalent..."

While he suspected that there was more to it than just that, Harry slowly nodded, "Well, I can see if we have a copy. And maybe put it in her room or something." When she hummed, he raised an eyebrow, "Anyways, what about the picture had your attention?"

Just glancing at the others, Natsumi nodded a little, "I was using an Onmyoudo spell, one that lets you glimpse at history behind an object which I learned from someone." Harry simply nodded as he could guess who that was, though he blinked at the blush that appeared on Natsumi's face, "Though, um, it showed me the event in question that it was modeled off of. Because the emotion from said time was so strong, it seeped into the drawing of that time."

Considering that, the fourteen year old wizard smiled a little, "Huh... now that could be neat." Suddenly, remembering what some of the pictures likely were, as well as the one that Natsumi was looking at, a blush sprang up on his own face, "Um, though maybe one should be a bit more careful..."

That only made the Kitsune nod a little.

Moments later, Harry shook off his blush and looked at her, "By the way... could I ask to borrow your time turner, Natsumi-Chan?" Seeing her ears flick in curiosity, he gave her a chuckle, "I want to get started on dinner, so..."

Understanding, Natsumi smiled back at him and placed the book aside. Then, she reached to the chain around her neck and handed the time turner to him, "Here you go, Harry-Chan. I'll see you at dinner then."

With a nod, the fourteen year old boy placed the chain around his neck and paused for a moment. Quickly, he leaned down and kissed her, which surprised the Kitsune for a moment before she closed her eyes and leaned into it. When he pulled back, Harry had a smile on his face, "Thanks, Natsumi-Chan."

Slowly blinking, Natsumi gave him a smile, "You're welcome, Harry-Chan. See you... well, in a few hours for you."

Lightly laughing, he nodded before walking out the door.

Gently closing the book, Natsumi put it carefully back on the small bookcase it had come from, 'I have to admit... that was an interesting vision.'

Humming in the back of her mind, Tamamo chuckled, 'Indeed it was, Natsumi. And it showed more of the past of Our Harry's family. Most intriguing...' A sly, teasing tone entered her voice as she continued, 'Especially certain aspects~'

Needless to say, the younger Kitsune remembered said aspects and flushed, 'ERO-KITSUNE!' Just getting a laugh, she huffed before gathering up her clothes. However, Natsumi then paused as she looked at the others, "So... how are we doing this exactly? In what order?"

From where she was, Hachi just looked over at her with a bemused look, "Well, we are just taking showers for now, the baths come later. And since we're all girls..." She gave a small shrug, "I mean, the shower is big enough for most of us."

Each of them considered that before nodding and gathering up their clothes as they walked into the bathroom together.

It was not long before they all left the room, refreshed some and their old clothing in the hamper to be gathered up later and washed. Partway down the hall, the door opened to the room being shared by Ayaka, Usagi, and Yae with the lone human teen coming out first. Her own hair somewhat damp, the Kendoka smiled a little and bowed some, "Are you ready for dinner as well, Natsumi-San?"

Only nodding, Natsumi gave a chuckle, "Hai, and I'm looking forward to Harry-Chan cooking." Licking her lips, the Kitsune smiled a little, "I can't wait..."

More than a little curious, Yae tilted her head to the side, "Is Harry-San a good cook then? And... what sort of food is going to be there?"

Bright smile on her face, Iku patted her stomach some, "Actually? Harry-Chan is a very good cook! He's been doing some work in the Mess Hall for years now."

Eyes wide, the teenage human blinked, "He's worked in the Mess Hall? And for years? Gozaru..."

Adjusting her glasses, Hachi hummed, "Hai, and he's cooked some great meals." Thoughtful, she gave a hum, "Since we're in Britain, however, Harry-Chan is likely to cook British dishes. And those are pretty good, though some can sit a bit heavy on your stomach."

Suddenly, Uesugi spoke up as she joined them, "Hopefully not much meat. I'm like Usagi-Chan in that I am a vegetarian."

That got her a pat on the shoulder from Nobu who pointed at her friend with her free hand, "She's Buddhist after all and really into that no meat stuff. Not even fish." Then, she grinned and jerked her thumb to herself, "Unlike me, I don't mind meat."

Lips twitching as the other Warlord shrugged off the former Oda's hand with a grumble, Usagi shook her head, "Actually? Harry-Chan's pretty good for stuff like that as you've seen. I mean, he cooked up some good stuff before." She then licked her lips, "I'm looking forward to whatever he might make."

Meanwhile, Natsumi noted the others had joined them and they resumed walking towards the stairs to reach the dining room. Becoming thoughtful, she looked towards Uesugi with a slight frown, "Um... I know about Usagi-Chan and such, and I've seen you with milk, but... what about eggs and dairy?"

Just nodding, Uesugi chuckled, "Either is fine, though I prefer eggs to be part of baking more than anything else."

Everyone simply nodded in agreement before they continued to chat about various things. Of course, as they were going down the stairs, Ayaka spoke up, "By the way, does everyone have their swimsuits? Because I have mine on under my clothes for when we go to the pool out back." Then, she grinned a little, "And I can't wait to try out the jaccuzi that you mentioned, Natsumi-Chan."

Hands behind her head, the Kitsune snorted a little, "You're not the only one, Ayaka-Chan. I can't wait either." Then, she gave a small shrug, "We're probably going to watch some movies after though. I got some DVDs of old Ungaikyō Films movies from Chichi-ue."

Confused as the other Yokai lit up and began chatting, Okita blinked some, "Um... Ungaikyō Films? Never heard of them..."

Kaku turned to them and made a motion with his hands, "They're an old magical film company from the 1970s and lasted until the 1990s. Mostly, they made films using shapeshifting Yokai to resemble characters of popular No-Maj media and used magic to construct sets for them as well as illusions and the like. They were pretty popular because, well, most of us Yokai and a number of magicals spend a lot of time in the non-Magical side of the world." For a moment, he grimaced, "They were shut down during one of the crackdowns in 1995. But enough of their stuff is still around that some people transferred the films over to DVD."

With a nod, Natsumi smiled some, "I got their Space Battleship Yamato live action film as well as Super Dimensional Fortress Macross."

For several moments, Nobu just stared at her before wiggling a finger in her ear. Pulling out, she gave her friend a look, "You said live action, right?" At the amused nod, she blinked, "You mean to tell me... they made a live action Super Dimensional Fortress Macross film!?"

Unable to help herself, Ayaka laughed, "Hai, they did!" She made a motion with her hands as they continued to walk, "They even made scaled down sets of the actual Macross, one for when transformed and one when not. They did stuff like use Kudagitsune transformed into the characters while normal Kitsune played the Zentraedi and Maltrandi for scenes where the two met for example. Heck, they even had a few Zentraedi ships constructed too for scenes and stuff."

Jaw dropped, Okita boggled a little, "Holy shit... so they used illusions and everything?!"

Humming, the lone Tanuki placed his hand behind his head, "Hai, as well as transfiguration for the sets and the like."

Suddenly, Uesugi frowned some even as she crossed her arms, "Wait... is that sort of thing even legal? I mean... considering things?"

Only waggling her hand, Usagi shook her head, "Grey area. I mean, you couldn't exactly contact the copyright owners for permission. But... they still sent them money owed for usage of their series, even if said owners never really figured out where they came from." She then gave a small shrug, "They were pretty great and even ran a few theatres... until the Diet shut them down for 'Threatening the Statute'. Most just figured that it was due to the fact that they might have pissed someone off. Though some people have remnants of their sets."

That last bit was said with a look towards Natsumi who sighed and gave a look back, "Our Chichi-ues are Otaku. Do you expect any better from them?" Then, she turned back to the humans of the group as well as the interested shipgirls, "Anyways, they actually followed the actual stories of the series closely, with some bits cut out. The Macross one is more a trilogy combining the series into three films. Still awesome though."

Not long after, the conversation died off as they entered the dining room and sat down at the large table there. Moments after they did so, a humming Harry came out of the kitchen, "Hey, everyone. Hope that you're hungry."

Even as they answered him with grins, Nobu and the other humans of the group blinked as plates came floating out... with pies on them.

Scratching her head, the former Uniter of Japan frowned, 'Pies?'

However, Harry had his arms spread wide with a grin, "Panpakapan! Steak and ale pies for dinner!"

Taiyang cocked her head to the side curiously, "Steak pies... Harry-San? What are those?"

With a chuckle, the wizard gestured the pies to place themselves in front of each person except for Usagi and Uesugi, "They're pies with steak and beef gravy inside of them. I used ale as well." Then, he turned to the two not yet served and two more plates came out and placed themselves in front of them, "And for you, Woolton pies."

Eyes widening some, Usagi rubbed her hands together, "Woolton pies... those are the vegetable ones, right? Where the vegetables are in vegetable gravy?"

Grin on his face, Harry nodded some, "Hai, that's right." With a final gesture, a pitcher came out and set itself on the table, "And butterbeer to drink as well."

Now, it was Nobu's turn to rub her hands together, "Okay, I can't wait! Let's dig in, itadakimasu!" Using a fork, she took a piece of the pie which had some steam on it and blew on it. Once it was cool enough, the former warlord put it into her mouth and closed her eyes happily, 'Ah... so good.' Opening her eyes, she turned to Okita and nearly laughed as said former Shinsengumi had her eyes closed in bliss as she happily chewed, 'And it looks like Okita-Chan is liking it as well."

Eyebrows furrowing, Yae took a goblet filled with butterbeer, though she blinked as said container was an odd silvery color, and took a sip before blinking and taking another, "Mmm... tastes like that... like that American dessert?" Furrowing her eyebrows, she nodded, "Butterscotch! That's what it tastes like, Gozaru!"

Looking at her, Okita took a sip of her own drink and her eyebrows rose, "Hai, it does taste like that!"

It went without saying that dinner was soon demolished and everyone waited as Harry went back into the kitchen. Not long after, he returned with a plate that had fluted glasses on it, the top being wide. But what caught the attention of everyone there, which included Taigei, Ryuuhou, and the others working in the kitchen, was what was inside of it. It was a creamy dessert that was coloured pink with swirls of red.

Upon setting down the plate, Harry began to hand out the desserts, "And now for the raspberry fool, made with the fresh raspberries that we picked."

Okita had to rely on everything to wait until everyone was served before she picked up her spoon and dipped it into the creamy dessert. Placing it in her mouth, those around her swore that there were sparkles in the air by her head as she flushed, 'Sooo good...'

More than a few of them snickered at that before turning to their own dessert. However, they agreed... it was delicious.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Well, I hope that all the readers enjoy this one as much as Sunhawk and I enjoyed writing it! We have Old Master Prints, gross violation of the traffic laws by the Pastor's chauffeur, and some explanation of what is going on between two people becoming friends.

The Bells of Ath (VIII)

Castle Moulbaix

25 August 2014
Spoiler: A Conversation Over Coffee

"Is there a problem, Father?" Colombe glanced at the somewhat visibly shaken priest as he entered the kitchen for breakfast.

Past her at the stove, Kasuyu sipped Navy Coffee from the newly dedicated pot for it from his 'Axe Man' mug. He raised an eyebrow at the taste before rumbling thoughtfully and flipping a pancake.

As for the rest of the castle residents?

The Imps were happily eating apple preserves on toast.

Claire was buttering and toasting bread for everyone while she hummed Johann Strauss' Wine, Women, and Song between drinks of her Kaisermelange.

Nongqawuse and Miho were talking quietly as they prepared another rasher of bacon that had been brought up from the freezer.

A very bleary-eyed Ehren with exceptionally bad 'bed head' was yawning and scratching herself under one arm as she stared at the espresso machine filling her second cup of Kaffee with the expression of a man lost in the desert seeing an oasis.

In other words, it was a normal Monday morning in Moulbaix.

"Nothing serious, merely finally realizing where I'd seen those prints before that are in the chambers you so kindly provided me. I confess that I never would have thought I would sleep in the same room as Rembrandt prints." the old priest said, as he poured himself a cup of good, honest Navy coffee.
Spoiler: The Priest's Prints

Colombe blinked and cocked her head at his words as she puzzled out the meaning.

The franc then visibly dropped when she turned whiter than the glass of milk she was drinking. "Rembrandts? Truly? I picked them out of Papa's collection of old prints because of the subject matter of Christ's ministry and the Crucifixion." She spoke in a shocked voice as her mind visibly whirled. "Papa loved prints and came back with them every time he took a trip; Ehren picked out three of his for her room. I never paid much attention to them despite Papa and Ian both trying to get me interested...."

With that, Colombe turned with rather wild eyes to boggle at a Prussian Zombie who was now showing faint signs of resurrection as Ehren placed her now empty cup under the spigot and punched in the command to refill. Ehren yawned and replied absently to her mother's frantic question as she watched the Schwarze Bohne des geistigen Lebens(Black bean of spiritual life) pour into her cup again. "Ja. Der Meisterstiche(Master Prints). Ritter, Tod, und Teufel, Melencolia I, und Der heilige Hieronymus im Gehäus alles von Albrecht Dürer." (Knight, Death, and the Devil, Melencolia I, and St. Jerome in the Case all - by Albrecht Dürer)

Upon hearing that her youngest daughter had original copies of the three most famous masterwork prints of one of the German Old Masters hanging over her desk unknown to her before that instant, Colombe did the only rational thing that she could.

She fainted on the spot.
-----------------

Enroute To Brussels
Spoiler: A Drive To Brussels

Most people Fr Jacques' age would be trembling in terror, gripping the armrest, and screaming for the insane driver -- who he had seen drink six cups of coffee during breakfast -- to slow down.

Most people his age hadn't been in cars driven by shipgirls.

For nearly all of them speed limits were gentle suggestions easily ignored, lane markings vague guidelines, and traffic laws for the weak. But for some of them speed limits were seen as challenges... as were lanes... and roads... and other motorists. And don't get the good Father started on some of the sailshipgirls who seemed to think driving in a straight line for too long was a Bad Thing and instinctively 'tacked' all over the road.

In comparison to all of that, Ehren's driving was… soothing. Fast, yes, but the level of displayed skill more than made up for it.

Besides, he was a priest, he had faith that they wouldn't in fact hit that car in the opposite lane when Ehren darted like a jackrabbit that had just consumed its own weight in amphetamines around a Polish semi that evidently thought the speed limit was 20 kph shortly before merging onto the main Lille-Brussels highway.

Or that if they did, it would be because it was their time to report to God anyway.

Ehren smoothly slid her mother's Audi R8 coupé 5.2 FSI quattro (based on Audi's Le Mans race car) back to her proper lane and accelerated once more like a German rocket. She then spoke in her cool, precise voice. "Do you mind listening to music as we drive?"

His voice was placid, cheerful even. "Of course not, my child. Music is one of God's greatest gifts to man."
Spoiler: Ehren's Driving Music

"Danke." She gave another lip twitch and punched a control on the dashboard. He was somewhat unsurprised when a piano playing a frenetic piece was what she selected. Ehren tapped a finger on the steering wheel in time with the music and she actually cracked something that might be a very small smile.

Father Jacques had his suspicions about the identity of the pianist -- singular -- playing that piano duet piece.

"Did you know that Constitution actually prefers that style of music to what most people assume she enjoys?" he mused with clear mischief in his voice. "People forget that frigates were the fast and aggressive ships of their day. Many more modern girls have learned to their regret not to challenge her at Guitar Hero."

Ehren chuckled wryly. "Ach so. Like Jean Bart then." Her lips twitched again as she spoke in that cool precise voice. "I met her during a minor contest of skill across the length of southern England when I was sent to London on business. She is quite skilled on her motorcycle." She then paused for a beat to aggressively pass a car before resuming. "Mutti was rather unamused when I notified her of that in my report and muttered darkly about the Curse of the Du Chasteler Daughters that apparently her Papa had placed upon her."

Fr Jacques just chuckled. "Well, I do know it is said that daughters are God's way of punishing parents for the shenanigans that they got up to when they were children." he replied with a laugh.

Ehren gave a small lip twitch and responded dryly. "Some of Mutti's questions during my debrief after I returned from London were quite oddly specific while dealing with the possibility of incidents in taverns that catered to traveling nobility. Potential romantic incidents as well as those that would involve police involvement if a fast exit from the area was not imminent."

"I see," the old priest responded, his own lips twitching. "No doubt this was solely due to literary examples and hearsay rather than personal experience." he continued with great seriousness.

"No doubt." Ehren said, equally deadpan. She then paused before continuing in a slightly more serious tone. "I do know that Mutti was expelled from the wizarding academy of Beauxbatons in 1724. Although I do not know what prompted it, honestly. She just said that she is proud of me and has confidence that I shall do better than she did at school. She has her broken wand framed and mounted in a place of honor in the upstairs hallway near my room."

He nodded, thinking quietly for a moment. "So I take it Beauxbatons is the French school, yes?"

"Ja. It is." Ehren confirmed before explaining in a precise voice. "There are three major European ICW-recognized schools. Mutti and Grandpapa went to Beauxbatons in southern France. There is also Durmstrang somewhere in either northern Europe or the Carpathians that primarily takes in pupils from Germany, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and similar. Lastly, there is Hogwarts in Scotland, which is where I shall have an avatar attending with my true body starting in September." Her tone clearly invited that she would answer his questions.

One eyebrow quirked upwards. "Multiple avatars? Am I safe in assuming that this is due to your nature as being the spirit of a dagger?"

Ehren's cool smile widened microscopically, "Indeed it is. Spirits such as myself and my family must manifest in reasonable proximity to our true bodies. However, there are some workarounds that can be used. For instance, Claire has a locket containing some small pieces of her true body -- shavings and screws from her case and one of her original steel strings -- that were later regenerated by magic. She uses that to manifest outside Moulbaix without having to move her full piano body around. As for myself, Great-uncle Kansha is a set of Japanese cooking knives who regularly manifests several avatars when cooking in the kitchen. I am using what he and his sister Suisei have taught me of his ability plus a hilt pin of mine that I regenerated to manifest back in Moulbaix while I have this body manifested using my primary Ehrendolch body.…"

She broke off, frowned for a moment in clear thought, and then resumed, "I should be currently playing Schubert's Fantasie in F Minor as a piano duet with Claire 'now' in the music room, which is an adequate challenge to improve my ability to manifest, control, and sustain multiple avatars. I shall reintegrate the memories of this avatar with those memories when I contact myself again when we return to Moulbaix. Think of the me 'here' as one of two identical containers holding one spiritual liquid that is actually 'Ehren'. My memories and experiences with you today are additional fluids added to one of them. Then they will be poured back into their original containers after being fully mixed when I merge with myself again. This is also a test run for doing so at a greater distance while at Hogwarts starting this September; I shall be meeting myself via mailing a hilt pin back and forth then."
Spoiler: Ehren Prepares For Hogwarts

"Fascinating, ever since I first encountered the supernatural I have been astounded at the sheer variety of things that are possible." he chuckled slightly. "It is truly a great gift, cherish it, my child, just remember to give thanks to He who gave such blessings unto you." Preaching came naturally to the old priest, after all, and he never missed an opportunity to slip at least a little wisdom in.

Ehren lip-twitched and spoke in a serious voice. "I am indeed thankful." She paused, clearly weighing her next words. "I would not have gone to Hogwarts if I could not find a way to also keep Claire company. I have literally known her from the moment I manifested an avatar. She and I spent over four decades together in Mutti's study aware of each other even before she manifested in 1990. Even now, I find it somewhat psychologically difficult to be away from her for this errand, and I know that she feels the same about me even with my many many flaws and failures." Ehren actually gave a warm and shy smile for a brief moment. "She is truly an angel from Heaven that I do not deserve to have met."

Fr Jacques simply nodded. "None of us deserve the blessings in our life, but the Good Lord gives them to us regardless. Just remember, that for all the blessings she bestows upon you every day, you give her equal blessings by simply being you." he settled back into the car seat a little as they knifed through the light early morning traffic like a shark through a school of herring.

Ehren nodded sharply and spoke in a self-evident tone. "She does admit that I am her favorite audience to serenade, and she feels safe and protected around me."

"And I have seen how you make her smile, how you inspire her to exceed herself, and how she craves your attention and approval." the priest pointed out with a faint smile.

"She does?" Ehren asked curiously. She then frowned thoughtfully. "I confess that I don't see the evidence of that…."

"Does she not look to you to see your reaction to her playing? Does she not play your favorite songs in the hope that it makes you smile?" he asked gently.

"Of course she plays for her audience and watches them. She does like Wagner and the other great German composers as much as I do as well," Ehren said, visibly thinking through the statements. "I do enjoy duets with her, they are both quite enjoyable and also push my abilities so I am a better musician. Talent is nothing without hard work; Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen!"
(You can take poison on it!)

"Sometimes it takes somebody looking in from the outside." he mused. "To see the forest, rather than the trees. When you and your mother and those lovely children are all in the room as her audience, does she not still play the great German composers and look to you for your reaction?"

"Ach so." Ehren said in that thoughtful tone, gears grinding away as she spoke more than half to herself. "She always knows exactly what to play when I am… troubled… too." Ehren's voice became a bare whisper. "I know that she shall never hurt me because of what I truly am."

"Now, if I am reading this infernal machine correctly…" he nodded to the center console GPS display. "We should be on time for the meeting with the Bishop. And I saw you entering the address for the supply store into the machine as well, yes?" He knew that there was a time and place for addressing the traumas of her life, and now was not the time -- nor the place.

"Natürlich!" Ehren responded automatically as her voice returned to normal. Her eyes flicked to the display and then she downshifted to nominally obey the posted speed limit. "Seventeen minutes is well within standards for our travel time. You should have adequate time for your business there before we must visit the supply store. A question, though. Is the chalice you are carrying not part of Grandpapa's Communion plate?"

"Actually no, it isn't." Fr Jacques replied. "When a priest is first ordained it is customary for either his family or the diocese in which he is ordained to provide a suitable chalice, which is consecrated by the Bishop in a suitable ceremony."

He sighed then. "Therefore, this chalice would have belonged to Fr Pierre before his untimely demise. Fr Paul tells me that there was a will filed in Ath designating that Fr Pierre wished his chalice to go to a Cistercian priest he was friends with in the event of his death, but said priest has also gone to report to the Faith Triumphant in his own turn."

Ehren nodded thoughtfully. "Ahh, I see. So this chalice belonged to the last priest before you, and since it has been so long," she visibly thought while passing a car then resumed, "it goes to the Church then, perhaps to a new priest needing one who otherwise would go without?"

Fr Jacques nodded "Indeed, as it is still fit for use, in excellent condition, it remains consecrated and thus would be a treasured piece for one of the poorer seminarians to receive as his chalice."

"Very good!" Ehren exclaimed. "I have access to an inheritance separate from what I shall get from Mutti's estate. Would it be proper for me to sponsor a scholarship or three for the poorer seminarians? If so, I can prepare the paperwork while you are in the meeting with the Bishop and pay out of my personal funds to start it."

The old priest smiled at that. "If you feel called to do so, then yes, it is most appropriate. Many excellent young seminarians rely on the charitable generosity of the faithful to complete their training."

"Sehr gut." Ehren said, and stopped at a light. She glanced over at Fr. Jacques. "Can you direct me to the correct place to get the process started then once we arrive?"

"Certainly, although I confess I am not sure who the director of vocations is in the diocese at the moment. The diocesan offices would know and, by sheer coincidence I'm sure." his eyes sparkled a bit. "They are located in the same complex as the cathedral we are going to."

Ehren smiled briefly, "Quite efficient. I shall do so and report back to provide you any assistance with matters once I complete arranging the scholarship paperwork for those in need. As a noblewoman, while I am granted much, I am called upon to do more with what I have been given." In that instant, she looked just like Colombe as she spoke from the heart.

"Excellent to hear, my child." he smiled. "Just to let you know, once we leave the cathedral I'll be the only one carrying the valise. It is traditional that only a priest handles the ampullae when they contain the sacred oils, after all. And when it comes to liturgy…" his voice became rather droll "I am quite traditional indeed."

"Sacred oils and liturgy, Father Jacques?" Ehren asked curiously as she accelerated after the light changed to green. "I confess that I know next to nothing about Catholicism. I have not taken the time to study it, although I do plan to do some research since it is of importance to you and Mutti."

He nodded, having expected the question after all since he had prompted it in the first place. Sneaky priest was sneaky. "There are three separate oils that we will be picking up, one for each of the ampullae. The oil of catechumens, the chrism oil, and the oil for the anointing of the sick. All three are blessed for their particular purposes on Holy Thursday by the various bishops and distributed to the churches within their dioceses."

"The oil of catechumens is used to anoint converts to the Faith, as well as for priests during our ordination. It symbolizes the ancient custom of anointing honored guests and dignitaries with oil as a sign of favor from on high." he continued the explanation as they were slowed briefly by a knot of heavy traffic.

"The chrism oil is widely used, not simply for baptisms but for the consecration of objects and places as well as for confirmation. It too is symbolic of the ancient customs of anointing with oil. Moreover, the oils used to make chrism have deep symbolism as well. Olive oil, after all, is rich, effusive, and long-lasting, thus appropriate symbolizing the effusive fruits of grace. Moreover it is mixed with balsam, which gives a sweet fragrance to the oil, symbolic of the sweetness of virtue." he smiled as he glanced over at his driver before continuing the explanation.

"Finally, the oil for the anointing of the sick is specifically and specially blessed to be efficacious in spiritual healing of those facing the trials of mortality. Health of the spirit is no less important than health of the body, after all, in those in extreme unction it is a means of soothing the soul." he concluded.

Ehren nodded along with an expression of concentration as she listened intently. "I see," she said as he finished, "that is of significant importance since myself and the rest of the household are spiritual entities in large part. Shipgirl repair fluid works on me as it does on shipgirls, in fact. That is actually how I regenerated my hilt pins. I do hope that it is not needed anytime in the future by our household, though." She then spoke in a rather dry tone, "I suspect that the oils of chrism and catechumens may be needed by a certain priest in the future if all goes well with his plans, ja?" For an instant, a small smug smile almost seemed to flicker around her lips.

The old priest chuckled slightly, "Did you know that there was a very slight, but measurable, improvement in repair times when I or one of my colleagues in the Chaplain Corp blessed the repair fluid than when we didn't, hrmm?" he asked with a smile. "And while I wish I could say that it was only when I or one of my fellow Catholic chaplains performed the blessing that it happened that was not the case. And perhaps, perhaps. I would be a poor shepherd to the people of this world if I did not anticipate opportunities to bring more souls to Our Lord and Savior, no?"

"A poor shepherd indeed." Ehren agreed in that dry tone. She then spoke in a very controlled tone as she pulled into the parking lot for the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in downtown Brussels. "I confess that I have a need forged into me to believe in something far greater than I can ever be alone. But after seeing for myself where misguided belief and blind devotion can lead those foolish enough to believe in the wrong thing, I wish to weigh my decisions very carefully before giving my loyalties. Cathy told me that the same wings that can soar to Heaven can descend to the Pit after all, and I have seen that, to my great sorrow." Her voice was very flat with an undertone of heartbreak under the iron control.

"Only the brightest of God's angels could become Satan." the priest replied with a slight smile. "And Judas Iscariot was the most zealous of our Lord's Apostles before his fall." he looked over and smiled at the dagger spirit. "And that is very wise, my child, to listen, not just with your ears. To learn, not just with your mind. To watch, not just with your eyes. Only the soul matters, in the end."

Ehren nodded silently at his words as she turned off the car. "I should hope that I have gained a small amount of wisdom from my experiences." she finally said in a thoughtful tone, then nodded to him as her voice became dry once more. "I do suspect that the Bishop may be slightly irritated if you are late to your appointment though, and I know that Mutti shall be disappointed in me should I tempt you into unpunctuality. I shall, therefore, get the door for you." She gave a visible lip-twitch at that last.

He chuckled. "Then I would simply remind him of the multiple times he was late to meetings with myself when he was my student. There are advantages to old age, my child." his eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief.

Ehren barked a brief but heartfelt laugh as she hopped out of the car to get the door for him as she escorted him to his appointment. "So I see…"

 

[darthcourt10]

Shinr

In a nondescript alley during midnight, a man was muttering to himself close to the street.

"Fools, all of them." Said a remnant of Tokyo Diet who refused to see the writing on the wall as he took out a pendant "With this Time-Turner, I will make things right."

As so he turned a few times, and watched as the people on the street rapidly go in reverse as the time re-winded.

And then someone walked out from behind him, wreathed in material darker than the shadows, writhing on them as they proceeded towards the streets, uncaring of the ongoing time manipulation.

The man, already terrified at the impossible, has gone bone-white as for the moment the figure lazily turned their head to look behind them without breaking stride, their eye looking through him with sheer callous indifference, before exiting into the streets and around the corner, thankfully out of sight.

When Time finally finished rewinding, the man sat crumpled on the dirty alley, soiled in his own fear, his plans forgotten. Some time later the aurors will find him and take him into custody.

Before, Meanwhile or After depending on your PoV

"What am I looking at?" asked Norimune as she wathced Kagotsuruhe in her Super-Dementor get-up, thankfully just the looks, without the crushing terror aura.

"I really don't know." Chisuheri replied as she maintained the monk versions of Notice-Me-Not and Avoid-Me spells. "It started when Kotegiri sent a letter with a request to help in some matters..."

"You mean offloading some of her SUBMIT OR DIE work that she can't personally attend to?" The Unrepentant Blade mock-clarified.

"...And after some recon, Kago decided that this is a best way to do it." The Bloodlust Blade answered.

"By slowly walking backwards for, what, 10-20 hours?" Norimune asked with some incredulity.

"...Yes." Chisuheri stated with a hint of bafflement.

----

A/N: This little piece started with a desire to write something about Lord K's OG Muramasa Swords, who are sadly under-utilized lately. Initially, it was about the gang with Kotegiri's and/or her Boss' sanction going full Beat 'Em Up (inspired by recently released Streets of Rage 4, even planned to use some of the OST) on the local Yakuza with a chip on their shoulders against Tokyo Magical Diet who overstepped their bounds when said Diet fell, starting at the bottom of their skyscraper HQ and going up, culminating in a fight against the top enforcer, a thousand-year Pheasant Yaoguai with enough combat experience to give the Muramasa armory big trouble. Didn't work out.

Then all of the Time Turner usage made me think of a scenario when some Otherwordly Being who exists outside time popping out like above during a Time Rewind. But that is kinda too big of a plot-point for an omake.

So I kind of combined the two into what we have here.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And this will almost catch up the setgirls snips...
Fortitude

Enterprise had never been to Kushiro before. Of course there were LOTS of places she had never been but there would be time for sightseeing later. Once the war was over. Today, she and Lieutenant Kirby were setting up part of 'Operation Fortitude'. They REALLY need a different codename for this, Enterprise thought. Though her part in it and the reason they were in Kushiro was the less blatantly titled 'Operation Stentor'.

Entering the Operations building, they were greeted by Destroyer Akebono, who addressed Kirby. "Admiral Tanaka is waiting to see you, as is the shitty battleship you asked for." She then looked at Enterprise. "And who are you?"

Enterprise smirked, puffing out her chest a little.

"I'm the United Starship Enterprise, registration number NCC-1701," She smirked. "Our mission is peaceful."

Akebono only shook her head. "Another nutcase! Just like the shitty battleship! You two will get along fine!"

"Really, Miss Akebono, I find your tone... Most illogical."

Akebono only scowled at that. Finally they reached the plotting room. Akebono groaned as she realized Settsu was dressed as Musashi... Pre-refit Musashi...

"Admiral Tanaka, Lieutenant Kirby. And the tall ditz says she's the starship Enterprise."

"She is," Kirby corrected. "She may be a setgirl but she and Miss Settsu may be a vital part of 'Operation Fortitude'."

"We need a better name than that," Tanaka noted.

"Once put into effect, they were thinking of calling it 'Operation Divergent'," Kirby replied. He gestured to the giant map of the Pacific. "Your clearance is considerably higher than mine, sir but it doesn't take much to see despite some successes and a few lucky breaks, this war is far from over. And despite what some of the more optimistic people might think, we can still lose this war. As you may know, Intelligence suspects that the Indian Ocean is going to go full Red on us again and we'll be getting major pressure on Australia and the Malay Barrier. When that comes, you better than I know that we'll need everything we have to meet it." He gestured to the map. "To help take pressure off that area, the Joint Planning Board wants to retake Bougainville and neutralize Solomons Princess."

Tanaka nodded. "The only problem is that according to what we know, Solomons Princess has allies in the region."

"Yes sir. So an attack against Solomons Princess has to be prepared to handle reinforcements from the neighboring Princesses."

"And we simply can't mass THAT much firepower for a single operation," Tanaka summed up.

"Yes, sir. So what we intend to do is create the illusion we're gunning for Carolines Princess. If we can convince them that the Carolines are our real target, they won't reinforce Solomons Princess in time and we can hit her with a smaller force."

"Stupid," Akebono commented. "If you don't have the forces to attack Solomons Princess, you don't have the forces to go after Carolines Princess and they'll know it."

"Which is why we're going to convince them we DO have that fleet," Enterprise replied. "We're going to convince them we're amassing a HUGE fleet whose SOLE purpose is to take out the Carolines." Enterprise changed her voice to that of a proper English Battleship. "To do thot, we will need individuals who can play many parts." She said, looking at Settsu. "Settsu says YOU are the battleship for the job. Is she right?"

"Settsu is most wise," 'Musashi' smirked. "I will give it my all!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Well this has been a fun arc to write and I'm a bit sad to see it end (there's an Epilogue to go here, this concludes the main Bells of Ath so Fr. Jacques and his crazy 'parishioners' are about to pause). For a bit. As always, I'd like to thank Sunhawk for Fr Jacques and getting the Catholicism right. Thank you all for reading this one! - Yellowhammer/Sister Jeanne

Bells of Ath (IX)

Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, Brussels, Belgium

25 August 2014

No sooner had Ehren and Fr Jacques crossed the threshold into the narthex of the Cathedral than a whip-slender spare nearly bald priest who looked at least as old as Fr Jacques approached.
Spoiler: Two Old Warhorses From Seminary

"Ahh, Fr Kline!" Fr Jacques smiled broadly at his fellow priest. "They finally dragged you back from Paraguay?"

The elderly Jesuit embraced Fr Jacques warmly. "Indeed, although it appears I shall be returning." he grimaced slightly. "We can talk about that later. The Bishop asked me to meet you and inform you that your meeting will go on somewhat longer than planned." He glanced curiously at Ehren, frowned as if she reminded him of someone, then clearly put that aside.

"That is quite acceptable, Father Jacques." Ehren responded in her normal cool voice. "I shall head to the Diocesian administration building that you pointed out for me on the walk inside and begin setting up the scholarship for seminarians as we discussed on the drive over." She straightened up with a heel click and offered her hand to Fr Kline. "Ehren du Chasteler at your service."

The Jesuit took the hand with consummate Old World Grace and Manners, and bowed slightly to the young butterdagger. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fr Emil Kline, Society of Jesus." he introduced himself with a trace of a smile. "While Fr Jacques terrorizes his old students en route to the Bishop, I would be glad to introduce you to the people you would need to speak with about such a sponsorship."

"My thanks sir." Ehren responded with an equally slight smile then nodded to the amused Fr. Jacques. "I shall let you commence with the terrorizing of lazy and slow barely adequate former students forthwith, Father!" With that she fell in alongside Father Kline.

Fr Jacques merely rolled his eyes and rested one hand on Ehren's shoulder in benediction. "I would caution against Jesuits bearing gifts, my child, but sadly Fr Kline has long been set in his ways. I strongly advise counting your fingers and toes before you let him out of your sight."

Fr Kline merely looked even more dignified than before. "I most assuredly have no idea what you are speaking of, Father. And lingering jealousy over my superior mastery of Latin is unbecoming."

"Jawohl, Priester! I shall be counting the fingers and toes before departure. Auf Wiedersehn!" Ehren responded with a twinkle in her steel blue eyes and an admirably serious face and voice as she left Father Jacques to his fate.

She turned to Father Kline as they walked outside. "As I told Father Jacques, I have a modest inheritance and wish to establish several scholarships for poor seminarians. There is apparently a growing need for priests if they are causing such elders as yourself to fill holes then?"

For a brief moment Fr Kline looked positively antediluvian. "Indeed." he said a bit heavily. "While I was in South America for Blood Week, the Church here in Europe took very heavy losses, so we are even more desperate for vocations than usual." he led her towards the administrative offices as he spoke. "Several seminaries were destroyed in the initial wave of attacks, and worse many priests here in Europe were on Spiritual Retreat at a major retreat center in the Baltic which…" he grimaced and shook his head. "The Enemy won a fleeting victory that day."

Ehren gently patted his shoulder and spoke softly but with steel in her voice. "I did not experience Blood Week directly, but Mutti was in Antwerp on business that day. She said that it was as bad as anything that she ever experienced. As for the Enemy scoring a fleeting victory, that is the way of warfare and strife. The first blow is not as important as who strikes the final blow, and I for one intend to ensure that our side shall be the ones who administer the coup de grâce. We all have our parts to play to make it come to pass."

The Jesuit nodded, smiling again slightly. "Indeed, and the Good Lord has certainly inspired many young people to step into the breach." He sighed. "Which is a balm to this old Jesuit's soul." he then visibly shifted gears. "So I understand from the Bishop that Fr Jacques has found yet another way around retirement?"

Ehren spoke dryly. "Indeed so. I am a member of the du Chastelers of Moulbaix and Mutti, the Marchioness of Moulbaix and Chasteler, decided that the family chapel in our ancestral castle was long overdue for reopening after she met Fr Jacques at Mass in Ath. The Bishop agreed and he is now ministering to us in the castle and the nearby village of Moulbaix." Ehren's lips twitched. "Mutti is old-fashioned and has rediscovered the faith of her childhood, it seems."

He nodded. "Animam meam convertit"(turned my soul) he said, glancing over to see if the girl accompanying him recognized the Latin. Once a Latin teacher, always a Latin teacher, and he'd taught Latin for well over 40 years.

Ehren was clearly baffled at the Latin behind that near-perfect cool poker face. "Ahh, I see." She clearly didn't see but was being polite. "So, If I may inquire, what is Paraguay like?"

He bestowed a look, the unamused look of a teacher seeing right through one's facade of understanding to the ignorance beneath. "Warm, the people are much in love with life and the Lord despite the poverty and corruption all around them. We do what we can, but it is always a struggle against those who profit off of the misery of their fellow man."

To her credit, Ehren handled his look better than some students twice her age. As he spoke of the people who oppressed their fellow man, her blue-gray eyes subtly hardened to steely chips of frozen ice in her controlled face, which reminded him even more of that lady named 'La Paloma' who had assisted the Society in Paraguay in 1992. They both shared that zealous burning fire to fight the Enemy wherever the Cross guided them.

"I see. I assume that there is a great need for our support to ministry programs there then?" Ehren's voice was cool and precise. Clearly she was working out how best to deploy her resources for maximum effect, Fr Kline decided.

"As always, the need exceeds the supply. The Society of St Vincent de Paul does excellent work amongst the lay organizations, for example." he shrugged slightly. "There are other groups who also work amongst the poor, ranging from the large multinational charities to a number of local organizations and individuals who do good work in His Holy Name."

Ehren nodded along. "If I may impose, once you arrive and see where the needs are greatest, if you write to me, I shall be delighted to send some of my inheritance to provide support. I would prefer for such matters to be handled with eyes on the ground rather than at a great distance." She gave a minor lip twitch as she elaborated. "Auftragstaktik."(Business tatics)

"In that case I would commend the Vincentians to you, for they always work through local parish councils rather than from the top down." the Jesuit commented mildly. "And they have a rather favorable… what is the term… teeth to tail ratio, I believe is the phrase?"

"Sehr gut." Ehren agreed. "That is always for the best, After all, to quote von Clausewitz, Männer sind immer mehr geneigt, um ihre Einschätzung der Stärke des Gegners aufschlagen zu hoch als zu niedrig, so ist die menschliche Natur.(Men are always more apt to pitch their assessment of an opponent's strength too high than too low, such is human nature) Therefore it is preferable to place resources where they achieve the most impact toward the goal."

They arrived then at the administrative offices, and Ehren spent a good half hour working with them to set up the scholarships in question, while the old Jesuit spent the time in a small chapel nearby.

Ehren was pleasantly surprised with the efficiency of the staff present and included an additional bequest to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and, after a moment of thought, a second one for the Society of Jesus' educational ministries in Paraguay. While it would be a modest financial strain for her, she felt that it was the right thing to do to help start making amends for her past failures. Service, after all, was a great virtue and she was held to a higher standard by virtue of her heritage; those were truths that both halves of her nature could agree upon.

She hummed a Wagnerian aria from the first act of Siegfried to herself as she neatly arranged her copies of the forms and receipts together in a file folder that she had pulled from her subtly space-expanded pocketbook. After all, good fortune happens when opportunity meets with preparation, she reminded herself with an inward smile that she let become visible on her face after a momentary reflection. With a small satisfied smug smile and nod, looking for all the world like the cat who had gotten into the cream, she then headed to the chapel to rejoin Fr. Kline for the planned tour of the cathedral itself.

Ehren's timing was exquisite, or somehow Fr Kline had known that she was coming, because the old Jesuit rose from his knees right as she reached the door, crossing himself as he did so. "I trust Mrs Peeters took good care of your requirements, Ms. du Chasteler?" he inquired as he turned and moved to join her once more.

"Ja. She did. The staff was quite professional and helpful." Ehren agreed and smiled. "Thank you for asking. Shall we proceed to the cathedral tour?"

Fr Kline gave his tight little smile. "Certainly, please follow me." he replied.

As they walked outside Ehren's head suddenly snapped up at a flicker of motion near the spire of one of the bell towers Her steel blue eyes zoomed in and focused on a bird preening itself on the north tower's gargoyles. "Father, there on the north tower one terrace below the summit! I believe it may be a Wanderfalke!(peregrine falcon) It is certainly a bird of prey roosting there." She pointed it out for him with excitement in her voice.

The old Jesuit squinted a bit, his eyesight was not quite what it once was, especially at a distance. "Ahhh, well spotted. This Cathedral is the happy home for a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons, which have been resident for several years. If I am not mistaken, that is one of the youngsters from last year's hatching. If we are fortunate that fine fellow may well grace us with some acrobatics today."

As they watched the tiercel took flight, catching a thermal spiral and beginning to rise as fierce yellow eyes scanned the streets and parks below him for any pigeons foolish enough to share the air with one of nature's marvels. Ehren gave a shyly happy smile and filmed the falcon as it finally vanished. "No acrobatics it seems, Father, but I would not care to be the next pigeon who decides to fly over the roof of the cathedral. I believe that our friend there has decided that it is time to procure lunch on the wing."

Fr Kline simply chuckled slightly, nodding. "Indeed." he said, folding his hands behind his back as he resumed his course towards the Cathedral proper. "Have you ever toured a Gothic cathedral before?"

"Nein, I have not. The closest I have come is Castle Moulbaix, which was rebuilt to its final form in 1889, from the seventeenth century building." Ehren said pedantically. "The original castle was constructed in 1310, but of course one would not use Gothic architecture for a fortress."
Spoiler: Cathedral Of St. Michael And St. Gudula VR Tour

She stepped inside and gasped in awe. "It's so full of light and space!" Her eyes rose to the vaulted ceiling, apparently suspended from Heaven above her. "It's beautiful!"

He smiled faintly "Indeed, that is precisely what Gothic architecture is supposed to invoke in those experiencing it. The soaring vaults are meant to represent the soaring heights of heaven for the faithful and the sculpture and ornamentation are meant to show the glory of God in the Highest."

"I can see that," the awed dagger spirit whispered as her eyes took in the majesty of the cathedral, "it is quite impressive. The more so done over generations. Is that correct, Father Kline?"

"Indeed, 300 years or so for the main construction, with details and side chapels being added in for several centuries further." Fr Kline replied, nodding towards the visible side chapels.

"Three centuries? Very impressive." Ehren murmured as they continued the tour.
Spoiler: A Dispute Between Seminarians

She took a picture of a stained glass window with her phone then pointed at the visibly shaken priest who was walking to join them. "Oh no, Father Jacques looks terrible! Was ist los (What's going on), Father?"

Fr Jacques looked at Fr Kline with a lifted eyebrow. "You knew about this, didn't you." he said levelly. Not waiting for a response he took a deep breath and explained. "Evidently thanks to my towering seniority and the earnest recommendation of the pastors of the region surrounding Ath, His Eminence has decided to bestow…" the sarcasm was audible… "the title Vicar Forane upon me and has directed that I take up the deanery of the region."

Ehren blinked in confusion. "Is not dean an academic rank in a college?" She asked curiously. "I take it this is an unwelcome promotion?"

Fr Kline took the opportunity to murmur a farewell and strode away, looking as serene and unruffled as ever.

"Damn Jesuits." Fr Jacques muttered. "And yes, but the academic rank was inspired by the ecclesiastical office of dean. And I much prefer ministering to people over ministering to…" the loathing was obvious… "paperwork."

"Ach so." Ehren said, then gave a small smug smile. "Is it permitted for you to have a volunteer assistant to help with the paperwork then? I shall have an avatar in Moulbaix after I leave for Hogwarts and can easily schedule myself to help you manage the forms and reports." A beat. "Claire shall be providing the music for the office while I work though."

The old priest smiled faintly, settling the valise in his grip. "Perhaps, although such a lay assistant would need to spend time familiarizing herself with the relevant canon law sections and diocesan norms." he replied, a bit of the familiar sparkle and twinkle returning to his eyes.

Ehren raised an eyebrow. "I can assure you that the Audi is sufficient to hold the needed books, and I suspect if I ask, you can assist me in becoming familiar with the relevant canon law sections. Übung macht den Meister."(Practice makes perfect)

He then grinned as a thought suddenly hit him, looking almost like a schoolboy again for a moment. "Would you be so kind as to go and unlock the Audi, and I shall… procure… the required texts." then he muttered "Least he can do after saddling me with this."

"Jawohl! Let me know if you shall need assistance in carrying the law books." Ehren said as she snapped to attention.

He, in turn, simply squared his shoulders and turned to go back to the Bishop's office.

Several minutes later, he emerged from the Cathedral with a large bag over one shoulder and his valise in hand, walking surprisingly swiftly for an old man. A few moments later Fr Kline burst out of the Cathedral in hot pursuit only to be left frustrated as the Audi pulled up in front of Fr Jacques, the bags were loaded into the back with indecorous haste, and the old priest turning to bow slightly to the huffing and puffing red-faced Jesuit before entering the vehicle himself.

"Hit it."
Spoiler: A Butterdagger Getaway Driver

Ehren floored the gas to accelerate away from the Jesuit like a Teutonic rocket.

She then looked over at him coolly as they stopped at a light and raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry, glancing at the bag that he had departed the cathedral with that had not gone in with him. Her face throughout was admirably deadpan.

Before Fr Jacques could reply to the look his cell phone went off, and the old priest simply pulled it out and accepted the call. "Your Eminence, a pleasure hearing from you so soon." a pause. "I am simply following your last instructions to return to Moulbaix once the supplies for the chapel are procured… yes, yes… Fr Kline's canon law books?"

Ehren's lip twitched suspiciously as she accelerated through the intersection at the light change, upshifted, and floored the gas again. "Really? You don't say? Shocking, simply shocking. Have you asked Fr Kline if he loaned them out? Ahhh, do you remember nothing of my lectures back in seminary? What you do unto others shall be done unto you. I do remember your… Yes, Your Eminence, unfortunately I would be in violation of your instructions to obtain needed supplies and return to Moulbaix immediately if I were to do that. I do believe that our mutual Jesuitical friend has plenty of time to pick up a fresh copy if he needs them so badly. Of course, Your Eminence, I will speak with the Marchioness when I return. Good day!" he then, with a self-satisfied smirk that looked like it probably belonged to a subthief, hung up the phone.

Ehren raised an eyebrow and spoke in a cool and controlled voice. "The supply store forthwith and then we pick up something to eat enroute to Moulbaix?" She paused and her lip twitched. "I do think that it would be better for the peace and tranquility of the meal and the digestion if we could procure the food outside Brussels, though. Unless you have food preferences different from those of Father Kline, natürlich."

Fr Jacques nodded gravely. "Indeed, a wise plan my child, a very wise plan." even as he spoke his cell phone went off again with a different ring tone.

"Ahhh, Fr Kline! Always a pleasure to hear your voice!" he was smirking even more now. "Oh? I'll be sure to remember that. Tell me, Father, on that note, where does trying to ambush a fellow priest fall on that scale? Give my regards to His Eminence, Father!" he hung up again.

"I daresay that I have suitably repaid my Jesuit friend for his conduct in this affair. No doubt he shall try to get back at me at some point, a most un-Christian motivation I am sure." he grinned.


Ehren chuckled. "Some music for the drive back to Moulbaix, Father Jacques?" At his nod, she tapped a button on the center console and a jazz tune played. She then flicked open a set of sunglasses and put them on. She spoke dryly as they passed a police cruiser. "Do you by chance have a half pack of cigarettes while we are on our mission from God? I have a full tank of gasoline, after all and it is a hundred and six kilometers to Moulbaix…."
--------TO BE CONTINUED--------

A/N - Sunhawk2 here! Just the epilogue to go, and before anybody asks, yes Fr Jacques did get tacit permission from the Bishop for that little caper. After all, Fr Jacques and Fr Kline were roommates in seminary….

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

But let us not linger here! For now the Saga of Nagato chan returns!

Reconnaissance Raid


Yokosuka was possibly THE most secure base in Japan. It was also the logical place to hold the Allied Command's Prisoner of War Number One: Jingo, Also known as East Indian War Princess, currently awaiting trial by Military Tribunal. And THAT was perhaps the reason she was NOT being held at Yokosuka. Currently, she was being held in an abandoned mine, deep underground with a 10-Kiloton going away present under her cell in case she tried to escape. Not that anyone believed she would attempt to escape. She HAD surrendered of her own free will after an escape from her home base in which she used herself as a decoy to ensure the survival of both her fleet and the humans she had once aspired to rule. Her efforts in saving a passenger ferry had also not gone unnoticed but for now, she was still a prisoner of war and a potentially very dangerous one at that.

From Jingo's perspective, it was all necessary. Her trial would be the first for an Abyssal. Jingo believed in the rule of law and she would prove that she considered the rules applicable to her as much as anyone. Even knowing that it could possibly mean her death. She was aware that the Yamashita Rule was in place as well. Under the Yamashita ruling, she could be convicted of any crime committed by anyone nominally under her command even if she neither ordered it or was aware of it.

"So? If they give you a death sentence, how do suppose they'll do it?" Ruiner had asked Jingo during one of the long days of their escape from the Indian Ocean.
Is there actually a rope that can support the weight of an Abyssal? I know lethal injection and the gas chamber are out. Electric chair? Nah! It'll tingle your hair but nothing else I bet! Nah! Best to go with a firing squad! How many shots do you think it will take? Will they use AP or High Explosive rounds? Incendiaries maybe?"
It had not given Jingo comfort.

Strangely enough, neither had their separation. For Ruiner WAS interned at Yokosuka, her long-range transmitters disabled, her magazines unloaded and with shipgirl faeries overseeing all operations, ready to scuttle her at a moments notice if needed. Other than that, and with a tracking bracelet supplied by Hoppou, Ruiner was assigned quarters and allowed use of the base dining hall and recreational facilities. Not that she used them much. It just wasn't the same without the boss lady to egg and tease. It was quite lonely and she truly did fear for her princess and that she might 'Fair and Honorably' work her way to an execution.

Of course, Jingo's death would be quite satisfying for quite a large number of Abyssals. The only thing is that they would prefer to do it themselves rather than trust the humans to do the job. Sub-Continental Princess had promised great rewards to whoever brought Jingo's head to her and now the first eager volunteers were going to have a go at it. First, they had to find her, of course. The Battleship Demon and her heavy units would stage an attack to draw out some of Yokosuka's shipgirls while Destroyers and PT Imps snuck into the base to locate Jingo and escape. THEN the fun could begin.

As the first alerts sounded, Nagato-chan frowned. Classes were over for the day and she had been looking forward to helping her mother fix dinner. Her mother had firmly proclaimed that instant ramen did not in itself constitute a proper diet for her daughter. Unfortunately, the alert meant that her mom was being called to battle. Nagato chan did not allow herself to contemplate the possibility that her mother could be hurt or killed. Her mother was Nagato of the Big Seven and would ALWAYS come through! It was as certain as gravity for her.

It did mean that she would have to make other plans for dinner. Saratoga had said something about getting pizza. She wondered what that would be like. Of course, Miss Hosho was still on base but she already had five girls to feed... Four anyway, since Hornet was apparently in on this 'Pizza Night' Sara had said that with what looked like the final girls coming from the states arriving, it would be a nice welcome party! So, Nagato-chan and Yamato-chan met up with Sara chan.

Sara was showing around the five new arrivals. Much to her surprise, they HAD finally succeeded in getting Enterprise. Learning from the successful summoning of Valiant, the Americans had realized that 'DiveBomber' was too narrow a focus to provide presence beyond that of the original Grey Ghost herself. Still, THIS E was a much more wide-eyed version of the famous carrier. E-chan was a sweet girl. So was Lexington, Like the actual carriers, it was amazing how much 'Little Lexy' and Sara-chan looked alike. Then there were the Princeton girls. One patterned off CVL-23 and the other off CV-37. The smaller one always seemed to have soot or dirt on her clothes, no matter what. The last was Pensacola, a cat-eared girl who was a twin of Los Angeles.

Sara smiled as she greeted Nagato-chan and Yamato-chan. "Hornet and Yorktown are finishing with the food preparations. Hornet figured we'd order plenty of everything! Any leftovers we're sure somebody will take!"

"Thanks for inviting us Sara-chan! We don't know how long it will be until mama and Yamato-san get back. "

Sara blushed again. She knew how amusing everyone thought they were but it was okay. Nagato-chan was nice. "Of course!" She answered, ignoring the grins on the new girls. "What about your sister and Shiromizu?"

"Shiromizu said something about going to check on Harry and Hoppou was with Regalia. I think they were going to join us later."

"That sounds good!"

They walked only a little ways back to the carrier dorm when they heard the growling of vicious animals. They stopped, startled as a set of red eyes peered out of the bushes. Naturally, a normal shipgirl could have made quick work of such small fry. But, while stronger than humans, setgirls still were nowhere tough enough to fight PT imps and sure enough, the PTs, despite their initial hesitation, sensed the fear in the 'shipgirls' and knew, instinctually, that they had an edge. Soon, a pack of them had gathered.

Nagato-chan and Yamato-chan knew they were at a disadvantage but they also knew that battleships PROTECTED the carriers from anything that got close. That was their mission. "Sara chan, get behind us," Nagato said quietly, thinking how she could possibly fight a REAL warship, even one so small.

The first PT lunged at E with a snarl. Acting on instinct alone, Yamato chan grabbed for it and willed her full weight down on in. Even as a sets, both Yamato and Nagato were fairly massive and it showed as Yamato pinned the PT and pummeled it with her fists. As the second PT charged at Yamato, Nagato chan slammed into it with full force. Unfortunately, that wouldn't do anything to save them from the other PTs that now moved in for the kill...

Until a foot of Abyssal steel crashed down on the head of one of the PTs, shattering it like glass. "Alright you little chicken shits! I've been waiting for something that needed killin' and you ugly fucks will do just fine!" Ruiner said announcing herself and grabbed two more PTs, one in each hand and smashed them together. She grinned at Nagato-chan and the others. "Nice style kid! Oh! Geez! I think the crazy boss lady rubbed off on me! I'm turning into friggin Captain America!" She grinned at the last PT, which backed up nervously from the Ru-class.

Ruiner smiled and her foot lashed out, kicking the PT under the chin with nearly 100,000 shp, launching it into the air, the jaw shattered on impact, the body flying. "And look at the hangtime on that baby!"

Soon, Tenryu and Tatsuta arrived as the alarms sounded across the base. The destroyers and remaining imps did not last long after this. Finally, the 'all clear' sounded.

Ruiner smiled at Nagato-chan and the others. "So! What's cooking?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Bare feet slapped against polished stone and the sound of chatting could be heard before it suddenly stopped. Having entered a room, everyone paused as they took it in. Looking around, Yae's eyes were wide, "Is this the pool, Gozaru...?"

Lightly chuckling, Harry rubbed the back of his neck some, "Um, actually? This is kind of the public bath for the mansion. Though... it could be used for an indoor pool when the weather outside is not suitable."

Glancing at him, Nobu gave a small snort, "I wouldn't have thought so."

Walking further in, the former warlord took in the sight of the room. In the center, was the currently empty pool/bath. Stairs were at either end of it along with stone benches along the side where one could sit. Not to mention a shallower area where an adult could lounge or younger children could sit without worry. At one end, there was a small trough that came from a small hole, obviously where the water would flow into the pool, though there were smaller faucets around it as well. From where she was, Nobu could see a thermostat for the water itself.

However, what truly caught her attention was the rest of the area.

The pool's floor had a mosiac on it almost like the bottom of the sea, and around it rose fluted columns to the ceiling. What really caugth Nobu's attention, however, were various statues that were around the pool. Some were of marble and others of bronze. Coming to one, which showed a woman lounging with her tunic exposing part of her chest, with a pot from which something poured at her side, Nobu gestured at it, "What is this called now?"

Coming up to it, Andraste smiled a little, "This was actually a gift to the British Potters from the French Branch of the family. It's a casting done of Antoine Coysevox's Nymph with Shell done in bronze and enchanted with anti-tarnish charms."

Eyebrows raising, Usagi pointed at another statue, "Now, that one I know, it's the Venus de Milo, right?" Her ears twitched a bit as she cocked her head to the side, "Though, uh... this one has one of her arms? And holding an apple?"

Jin was also examining the statue in question and scratching her head, "Huh... wierd." Turning, she jerked her thumb at it, "So what's the deal with this? Because it feels old and new."

Lips twitching, Carnwennan walked up with a slight grin, "Because it is, also it is partially the original."

At that, everyone including Harry paused while the Mizuchi looked at the dagger spirit, "Wat."

Unable to help himself, Carnwennan grinned a little, "Do you know the story behind the statue itself?" Getting head shakes, he chuckled, "The original statue was found by a farmer and his son in a cavity in the ground. The thing is, he also found fragments of the arm as well as the plinth that it stood upon. Said arm is the one here as is the plinth."

Jaw dropping, Shiromizu boggled, "W-what?! Did a Potter steal it!?"

That got her a snort from the Arthurian blade, "Not at all, rather they rescued it." At the confused looks, Carnwennan shook his head, "See, the French actually threw away the actual arm fragments because the statue looked better without it in their eyes. And the plinth, they tossed because the date on it showed that it was from after the Classical Period, and thus of less value. Johnathan Potter, whom I was in possession of and was using me to settle some... unfinished business regarding those whom had killed the French branch, had heard of the discovery." He then gestured at the statue, "He tracked down the plinth as well as the pieces of arm before spending money to get a lost wax casting using plaster. Bringing all three back, he then put them together here with the arm repaired and added to the plaster cast. Which... he then enchanted to be as resistant as the original marble."

For several seconds, really almost a minute, everyone outside the armoury stated at him before turning to look at the statue.

Eventually, Jin scratched her head with a small frown, "Huh... that's actually kind of neat. Well, in a magpie way."

More than a little amused, Carnwennan laughed some, "It is at that, Jin." Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Taiyang looking around with a thoughtful look, 'I wonder what she thinks of this...'

Within said Dao's mind, meanwhile, she was actually very impressed with the room in question, 'Oh yes, Master definitely made a very good choice with this husband. A very good one indeed~ This truly is a fine bath fit for her, Mikon!'

At the same time, Natsumi could hear Tamamo purring in the back of her mind which made her internally snort, 'I take it that you're impressed?'

Said being answered her back with a laugh, 'Of course I am, Natsumi. How could I not? Though... this truly is a bath that many an Emperor would be quite pleased by. Very pleased by... as am I.'

But, soon enough, they left the bath/indoor pool behind and made their way outside to the main pool. Eyes wide, Nobu walked up to the edge after dropping her towel onto a chair, "Wow... Haha!" Hands on her hips, she shook her head, "This place is as large as a community pool!" Turning, the former warlord had a grin on her face, "What do you think, Okita-Chan-"

Okita just smiled as she gave her friend a push, shoving the other girl into the water, "Hmm... I think that you talk too much, Nobu-Chan~"

Laughs escaped from the others as they watched Nobu flail in the water before she turned and gave her friend a glare, spitting up some water, "Just you wait, Okita-Chan... wait a moment."

Pausing, the former head of the Oda opened her mouth and sucked some water in before blinking. After a moment, she spat it out with an odd look on her face. Watching from the side of the pool, Uesugi gave her a look, "That's disgusting, Nobu-Chan, don't do it."

However, Nobu just raised her hand before turning to an amused Harry, "The water... it's not chlorinated."

When everyone turned to him, the wizard shrugged and nodded, "Magic." Lightly chuckling, he grinned a bit, "There's magic on the pool to keep the water clean without needing chlorine. Also wards around the area to keep wild animals and insects away from it as well just in case. So the water is always clean."

Reaching into the water, Jin pulled out a handful of water which swirled in her hand in an apple shape. She then took a "Bite" of it before nodding, "Damn, this is water from that well. And also damn good water as to be expected."

Just chuckling, Goldie placed a hand on her hip, "But of course! The Praetor's family chose this spot because the well contains a spring of mineral water! Truly Roman to use such, Umu."

Yae blinked at that and turned to look at Harry in amazement, "You have you own mineral spring? Just for yours and your family's use?!" At his amused nod, she shook her head, "Gozaru..."

Spotting Kenshō at the edge of the pool in her goldfish themed swimsuit and water wings, Harry hummed as he walked towards her, "Of course, we're here for more than to admire the water..." With a burst of speed, he picked up the squeeling Kenshō in his arms, "Like enjoy the water!"

Eyes wide, the Kogatana looked at him, "M-Master?"

Grin on his face, Harry had a gleam in his eye, "Ready, Kenshō?" At her shake of the head, he laughed, "Right! Well, let's go... One to for the money... two for the show..."

Now struggling, and squealing, Kenshō tried to get out of his arms, "Master, don't dunk me!"

However, he winked at her, "Can't do that~ Three to get ready... and four... to... go!"

And with the last word, he leapt into the water with a squeaking Kenshō, "MASTER, NO!"

Laughing as the sputtering blade popped out of the water, Harry swam away. Of course, he did note that, for some odd reason, Natsumi, Iku, Hachi, Taigei, and Ryuuhou all had blushes on their faces and sparkles in their eyes. Not to mention how some of the others were amused at both that and what he did. But he mentally shrugged that off as he went into a backstroke to get away from Kenshō who was splashing everything as she tried to swim after him, "You're going to have to do better than that, Kenshō!"

Pout on her face, the little blade spirit tried harder, "I'm going to get you, Master!"

Unfortunately, all she got was more laughter from Harry as he swam away, soon joined as the others all jumped in.

The Sun eventually set below the horizon and everyone left the now cooling pool water for the hot tub. A sigh escaping her lips, Yae laid back as she felt one of the jets of water cararess her with a heated stream of bubbles. opening her eyes, she hummed a bit as she looked around. At various points around the hot tub, there were groups of three stone dragons in a circle. In the middle, supported by their wings, were softly glowing crystal balls which illuminated the area, "Gozaru..."

Suddenly, Ooi spoke up from where she was sitting with one arm around Kitakami's shoulders, "Hey! About time you got back, Otouto!"

Everyone turned to where Harry was walking with two trays floating behind him, grin on his face, "Well, sorry for talking so long, Yuuko-Nee." It missed no one's attention that Ooi's face lit up with joy at that before he continued, "Anyways, figured that we could all use something a little nice out here."

Intrigued, Nobu raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of the pitcher and cups on one of the plates, "Is that the mint tea that you were talking about?"

Lips curled into a smug smile, the wizard nodded, "Hai, it is and freshly made as well. Also..." He gestured to the other plate which had a bowl filled with what looked like chocolate, "I thought that we could also all enjoy some After Eight chocolates."

Curious, Yae furrowed her eyebrows, "After Eight?"

With a hum as he reached the pool, Harry slipped into the waters with a sigh before answering, "Hai, they're a type of dark chocolate covered mint made here in Britain. They're really good."

Intrigued, Okita looked over at him from where she was beside Nobu, "Huh, well... I wouldn't mind trying some."

From beside her, Uesugi had a teasing smile on her face as she snorted, "He likely had you at Chocolate." Moving away from the small splash from her friend, she turned towards Harry, "But I would not mind trying some either."

The other teens from Japan nodded and gave their own agreements.

Slowly, the plates were floated along and Nobu took one of the cups of tea from it as well as one of the wafer shaped chocolates. Humming, she closed her eyes and took a sip of the tea, allowing for the taste to wash over her tongue as she considered it. After a few moments, the former warlord opened her eyes and swallowed some, "Hmm... this is quite good tea."

Beside her, Okita nodded before taking a bite of her chocolate, happy look on her face, "And so are these chocolates!'

While bemused, Yae looked at her own tea and chocolate before biting into the confection. She could taste the somewhat bitter chocolate followed by the sweeter, minty filling. Humming, the Kendoka looked at the chocolate in thought as she chewed, 'I wonder if Sensei would like chocolates like this?'

Nearby, Taiyang took a sip of the tea and nodded to herself as she could tell that besides the slight hint of honey to sweeten, there were different types of mint leaves used. Which all helped to create a very good, to her, herbal tea. The chocolate was also good, which she was enjoying alongside the hot tub itself. Feeling the hot, mineral rich waters swirling around her made the Dao sigh a little as she closed her eyes and sank down happily until the waters reached her neck, 'Ah, yes... so good~ Mmm... this time is much better than before I was sealed.' A slight smirk came over her face as she imagined various nobles and Emperors with their reactions to the chocolates and the hot tub, which made her giggle a little, "Oh yes, this is wonderful for this foxy blade~"

Meanwhile, Harry was sitting back with Natsumi and Iku leaning into his side with happy smiles as they enjoyed the evening air. Suddenly, he hummed as Taiyang spoke up, "Hmm? Sorry about that, Taiyang, I wasn't paying attention."

Just wagging a finger at him in amusement, the Dao smiled, "You really should pay more attention when someone asks something, Harry-San! But as to what I was asking..." She glanced around and tilted her head, "I was wondering where we were in Britain."

That made Harry blink for a moment before realizing what she meant and smiled, "Actually, Godric's Hollow, where we are, is in the Cotswolds in South Gloucestershire." Raising a hand, he pointed in one direction and then in another, "In that direction is the County of Bristol, and in that direction you reach Somerset as well as Bath, England where the Romans built baths using the hot springs there." The teenage wizard then pointed towards the North, "To the north, across the Bristol Channel, you have the Forest of Dean and beyond that, Wales, where King Arthur once ruled."

While part of Natsumi was suspicious as to why her sword wished to know where they were, she kept quiet about it. Ear flicking, Ayaka blinked and looked towards Harry as she bit down on another chocolate, "Natsumi-Chan mentioned about going to Bath and bathing in the hot springs there."

Humming, the fourteen year old wizard nodded a little, "If you want, since tomorrow is a break day, we could go and visit. Look at the old Roman ruins there and stuff... but most of the hot springs are not safe for bathing outside of magical places and those could be problematic to go to."

Intrigued, Usagi raised an eyebrow as she looked at him for a few moments before nodding, "The Quidditch World Cup?" At his nod, she sighed a little and leaned back, "Because of course that would be a cause of it..."

Arms propped up on the sides, Goldie gave her a smile, "But you can still look at the ruins, Umu." She waved around one hand with a chuckle, "As with all things Roman, they have lasted."

Head tilted to the side, Kaku hummed a little, "Are there any nearby?" Seeing the curious look given to him, he shrugged, "I mean, your family has lived here for a long time, right? Godric's Hollow is supposed to be pretty old."

For a few moments, Harry had a thoughtful expression on his face before nodding, "There's an old Roman road nearby. In fact, part of it leads from here to the village and has been used even over fifteen hundred years since it was built. As for my family..." He frowned thoughtfully, "It is kind of true that they have been here a long time. The first Potter was Hardwin and he lived here in the 1100s after leaving his father's, Linfred of Stinchcombe, residence which was on the other side of the Forest of Dean. He married Iolanthe Peverell, who was the last of the Peverells and they trace back at least to the 700s." Utter silence met him at that and he blinked as he noticed that not just the Yokai, but also the Reincarnates as well as Yae were staring at him, "Um... what?"

Pinching her nose, Uesugi took a deep breath before letting it out, "Do you mean to tell me, Harry-Kun... that you can directly trace your family back to the 700s? That your family is that old!?"

Slowly, the wizard nodded with a confused expression on his face, "Um... hai? I mean, the Potters themselves go back to the 1100s, like I said. But yeah, my ancestry can be traced back to the 700s." He gestured to the distant village, "Heck, you can find that information in the old church books and there's a few wizarding documents that go that far back as well."

Just rubbing her face, Ayaka gave a glare at a preening, smug Natsumi who got up and plopped herself in Harry's lap, "You lucky bitch."

Raising her finger, the Kitsune's smirk only grew more smug, "Vixen, actually~"

While confused, Harry just shrugged it off though he was somewhat confused with how everyone outside the, apparently mostly amused, armoury was staring at him though he did become a little concerned a moment later, 'Yuuko-Nee looks kind of faint... is the heat getting to her?'

Moments later, however, his attention was grabbed as Kenshō spoke up, "Um, Master?" When he looked at her, the Kogatana had a confused look on her face that many of those there found adorable, "You said that your ancestor was named Linfred of Stinkcombe?"

Lightly chuckling, Harry shook his head and motioned with a finger, "Linfred of Stinchcombe, but yeah, he is my earliest ancestor on the Potter side." Rubbing his chin, he hummed a little, "He's where we got the name 'Potter' actually."

Now interested, Yae looked over at him, "He is where you get your family name, Harry-San?"

With a slow nod, the teenage wizard nodded, "Hai, you see he was a potioneer and often made cures and such for his neighbours, most of whom did not know he was a wizard. They did know that if they got sick, to come to him and he would give them a tonic or what have you that would help. He actually got quite rich, though he never flaunted it. But... he was usually seen in his garden, tending the plants. Or, as they called it, 'Pottering along the garden', which got him the name 'Linfred the Potterer' among the locals."

Eyebrows raising, Nobu hummed in thought, "I see, I see... and then it was shortened to just plain 'Potter' then?" At Harry's nod, she chuckled, "Can't be helped, though it seems that your family has done good work since with his example."

Blinking, Yae frowned in thought, "Huh, that makes sense... and is very neat, Gozaru."

Just stretching, Harry sighed a little, "It is." Then he looked around before nodding, "Anyways, tomorrow we'll be going sight seeing and getting away from the fruit picking for a while."

It went without saying that got him happy sighs from the other teens, which made him laugh.

__________________________________________________________________

Taking off his shirt, Harry hummed a bit as he was looking forward to a nice, hot bath. Yes, he had gotten clean in the shower, but that was something quick in order to be able to cook dinner. Not to mention the pool and such as well. Hence, the teenage boy could not wait.

Which was why when he heard the door open, he paused for a few moments before pulling off his shirt entirely and turning with a wide eyed look.

Mainly because right there was Iku and Hachi as well as Natsumi walking in. The Kitsune had a slight smile on her face as she made her way towards him before kissing his cheek and beginning to take off her clothes as well. Pausing for a moment, she raised an eyebrow and looked at him, "Something wrong, Harry-Chan?"

Shaking off his surprise, Harry gave her a slight, though unsure, smile, "No, nothing is wrong, Natsumi-Chan." Glancing at Iku and Hachi who set their wooden tubs filled with toiletries to the side though they had blushes on their face, he smiled a little bit more as he came to a realization, "I take it that we're all taking a bath?"

A light smirk on her face, the Kitsune nodded, "Hai, best not to waste any water, right?"

Lightly chuckling, Harry gave her a nod, "That is true enough." Every so often, he glanced over as the two Subgirls took off their swimsuits from the pool. Though the fourteen year old split his attention between Iku and Hachi along with Natsumi who was beside him, "So, um..."

Just looking over her shoulder, Natsumi smiled a little, "Well, I think that while you are doing my back and tails, Harry-Chan, they can do your back and hair? And maybe return the favor when they're done?"

Considering that, he looked over at the two shipgirls who nodded before he smiled, "That does sound pretty good, Natsumi-Chan, and I don't mind it."

At that, Iku and Hachi relaxed a little, with the blue haired Subgirl smiling brightly, "We're fine with that, Harry-Chan, Natsumi-Chan. Right Hachi-Chan?"

The blonde Submarine nodded at that, "Hai, Hacchan doesn't mind either." Just a few moments later found her watching as Harry dumped warm water over himself while Natsumi did the same in front of him. Soaped up cloth in her hands, she glanced at Iku who had shampoo in her hands. Gently, she reached out with the cloth and began to soap up Harry's back, blush deepening a touch, 'We're doing it... we're actually doing this!'

Beside her, Iku also had a blush as she began to work the shampoo into Harry's hair, 'This... this is so nice...'

For some reason, however, doing so had her actually relax as she did it, eventually humming as she worked up the suds with her singing snitches of songs. What made it even better was the obvious enjoyment that Harry was taking from it if his soft sighs were anything to go by. Every so often, she caught sight of him looking at her over his shoulder with a happy smile on his face. It made her engines thrum each time all the harder.

With Natsumi, the Kitsune had her eyes closed in pure enjoyment as she felt Harry working in shampoo into first her hair and along her ears, and then via into her tails, which thumped a little. From deep in her mind, came a soft, happy sigh, 'I... have so missed this.'

Humming thoughtfully, the younger of the two raised a mental eyebrow before she came to a realization, 'Your husband.'

She could almost feel Tamamo nod back, 'Indeed, Natsumi. My husband... we bathed with each other, and often. I remember him gently cleaning me as I did in return. They were... happy times, untainted even now. Such memories are bittersweet, I believe that you could call them. And I miss such even now, miss him. But... right now, I am... content.'

Very slowly, Natsumi gave a slight nod, 'As am I.'

Both Kitsune had soft, happy smiles on their faces, mental or otherwise, as Harry continued his work in cleaning their tails and then back.

Eventually, however, both parties were done with their duties and the teenage boy handed Natsumi the cloth so that she could continue on her own, taking the one that Hachi had been using. Once he was done, and rinsed himself off, Harry turned and regarded the two Subgirls, "So, um..."

Gently, Iku pushed Hachi forward, "I think that Hachi-Chan should go first, Harry-Chan. Then I'll go and have my turn."

Her eyes lighting up, Hachi mouthed a 'Thank you' to Iku before sitting on the stool and waiting. Almost as soon as Harry began to work the shampoo in, her eyes drifted closed in enjoyment as she sighed. On her lips, a soft smile appeared as she felt his fingers at in her hair, gently making sure that none of it was missed. And when he removed his hands and rinsed her hair, she happily hummed, which grew into a purr as she felt him began to wash her back.

Despite what their reputation had been, the blonde haired Submarine didn't find anything lewd about what they were doing. Oh, that was not to say that she knew it would lead to very pleasant dreams, because she did. But, to her, there was nothing perverted about what was happening. It was intimate, very much so. After all, she was opening herself to Harry in a way. Right now, with how gentle he was being, it was only because her face was already wet that no one noticed the slight tears coming from her closed eyes.

While she had never told him, at least directly, Hachi had felt... dirty, due to her past. To Harry's credit, despite knowing what had happened when she was a steel hull upon her, he had never held it against her. But that feeling was still there, under her skin. Yet, at this moment, as he gently cleaned her back, the rough palms of his hands touching her soft skin as he spread the foamed suds around...

Hachi felt as if some of the stains from her past seem to be lifted from her, to be washed away with the next rinse.

Remembering what he had told her about his... relevation, she suddenly felt as if she understood exactly what it meant. Mainly because she was having her own right at this moment. Something that made the tears flow a bit more, even as her engines warmed in her chest. And when he was finally done and had washed away the suds, Hachi felt as if some of the dirt from her past had also been clean, leaving her fresh.

Softly sighing, Hachi turned and opened her eyes as she saw his meet her own blue eyes with his emerald green. He didn't care, and she could truly see that, and the warmth and love in his eyes that she could see in that moment was for her. Reaching up, the Subgirl gently cupped his cheek with her hand before leaning forward for a kiss which the two deepened slightly. As she pulled back after a minute, lips parted slightly, there was a shininess to her eyes, "Thank you, Harry-Chan..."

Gently taking her hand in his, he nodded with a smile, "You're welcome, Hachi-Chan." Leaning forward, he kissed her again and pulled back, "But I should say thank you."

Lips curling, the blonde shipgirl shook her head some and moved back before taking the soaped up cloth in order to finish the rest of her. In her mind, she chuckled, 'I wonder about that, Harry-Chan... I wonder...'

With a deep breath, and a smile towards Hachi, Iku sat on the stool and looked over at Harry. Feeling suddenly shy, she blushed a little with her voice soft, "Um, it's my turn now, Harry-Chan..."

Only nodding as he brought her toiletries forward and picked up the bucket filled with warm water, Harry smiled, "Hai, I'll be gentle."

That only got him a smile from Iku, "I know that you will be, because it is you."

Due to turning, she missed his expression soften and his eyes become slightly damp. As the warm water doused her, the blue haired girl closed her eyes and purred as she felt his hands begin to work the shampoo into her hair. Already, she felt herself relax at his touch, his nails lightly scraping at her scalp as he worked. Unlike with Hachi, Iku didn't really feel dirty, but she still felt exposed in a way to him that she had never been before.

And she liked both that, and how he was handling her.

Happy hums came from her as she leaned back a bit, to help him more easily clean her hair. Like with Hachi, it felt intimate to her, and deeply so, but at the same time there was nothing sexual about it. Rather... it felt emotionally so. As if she could feel his love and care for her. Even the way he ran his fingers through the strands of her hair as he rinsed them felt oh so wonderful and close.

Needless to say, as she felt him get to work at washing her back, she only relaxed happily even more. Part of Iku realized that at the same time he was soaping her up, his fingers were gently working at any tense spots that they found in her muscles, almost unnoticable. Tense spots that relaxed soon under his touch. As he finished with her back, and deciding to be a little greedy, she lifted up one arm which she heard him chuckle at before he went to work on that and on her armpit followed by the other.

Finally, however, he was done and rinsed her back, arms, and shoulders clean of suds, leaving her feeling refreshed.

As with Hachi, when Iku opened her eyes the sakura petal shaped pupils were practically glowing. And like with her friend, the blue haired Subgirl turned to face Harry, happy smile on her face before leaning in for a kiss which he returned gladly. No words were shared, as none were needed as the two pulled apart with smiles on their faces, only happy glows in their eyes and slight blushes on their cheeks even as Harry handed her the cloth to finish.

Moments later, with all four clean, they entered the bathtub which Harry had filled with water and repair fluid. Part of Harry was surprised when Natsumi moved aside in order to allow for Hachi and Iku to cuddle up to his side, their heads on his shoulders as their arms went around his waist. The fourteen year old gave the Kitsune a questioning look, but she simply shook her head.

Granted, she noticed the grateful looks that Iku and Hachi gave her, which she nodded slightly at, which caused their smiles to grow in return.

It was a half hour later that found them leaving the now cooler water of the bath behind, both Subgirls telling them to go on, and that they would be there in a moment. Once Harry was out the door, Hachi gave a soft, happy sigh, "That was..."

Beside her, Iku nodded with her joyful look, "Wonderful, Hachi-Chan." Turning to her friend, she smiled, "That was even better than what I ever expected."

Only nodding, Hachi wiped at her eyes a little, "Ja, it was..." Turning to Iku, she took a step forward and pulled her fellow Submarine into a hug, the other shipgirl returning it, "It really was far better than expected. I feel... cleaner."

Understanding appeared in the blue haired Subgirl's eyes, but she only nodded, "Hai." She brought up one hand and brushed some damp hair from Hachi's brow before kissing her softly, "Thank you again, Hachi-Chan, for letting me share this with you."

Just giving Iku's lips a peck, Hachi hummed, "No, thank you, Iku-Chan... for being here."

The two shared another happy, soft smile, before pulling apart and getting changed. Walking into the bedroom, they paused a little, however. Beside the main bed, there was a much smaller, child's bed. Like the larger, it too was made of wood with the end of the bed rising up and curving some. The sides were also raised some, to prevent the child from rolling out by mistake.

However, what caught their attention was Harry sitting beside Kenshō, a book open in his lap as the Kogatana looked up at him with wide eyes as he spoke, "The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing..."

With a glance towards Natsumi as well as Taigei and Ryuuhou, the two knew that the others were imagining the same thing that they were... mainly their children also being read a bedtime story.

Both girls made their way quietly to the bed and sat down next to the others, Hachi lowering her voice to a whisper, "Is Harry-Chan reading the Wind in the Willows to Kenshō-Chan?"

Glancing at her, Taigei noted with some happiness that the Submarine seemed relaxed and very happy, as if a weight had been lifted somewhat from her. Simply nodding, the Submarine Tender sighed, "Hai, he is." A slight blush appeared on her face as she had the image of an older Harry reading to two girls who could well be twins, pajamas with cartoon whales being worn by the children. Then, she shook it off with a smile, "I think that Kenshō-Chan is enjoying it."

From where he was, Harry glanced at them, though he was kind of puzzled at how Hachi was recording him on the phone. Not to mention the expressions that the various girls had on their face. They seemed... almost hungry, somehow. However, he simply dismissed them and instead continued to read, changing the tone of his voice for the various characters. Until, finally, Kenshō's eyes had nearly closed as she clutched her stuffed goldfish close.

Smile on his face, he closed the book after marking the place and then kissing her on the forehead, "Pleasant dreams, Kenshō. We'll see you in the morning."

Yawning, Kenshō mumbled a little, "Mou... want to... hear more... about Mister Mole... and the others..."

Only shaking his head, Harry gently stroked her hair, "And you will, tomorrow. Now, dream of going to Toad Hall and meeting them for now."

Another mumble came from the Kogatana at that, which Harry swore sounded like "Ribbit Ribbit", but he shook it off. Placing the book aside, he turned and paused at the sight of all the girls looking at him with blushes on their faces, and happy expressions. Considering that for a moment, Harry shook it off and got into bed where he got some kisses from each one of the girls. Then, with Natsumi laying on top of him, Iku and Hachi cuddling against his sides, and Taigei and Ryuuhou spooning the Submarines, Harry pulled the covers over them and turned out the light as he laid back.

Before long, they joined Kenshō in dreamland with smiles of their own.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shinr

The bit with Natusmi having a past viewing spell via things with huge emotional connection inspired me to revisit an earlier abandoned idea, set immediately after my previous Rome snippet. Tamamo's western travels

-

Natsumi was about to retort to Taiyang about real, actual differences between business busting and civilization ruining when she felt it.

It was on the edge of her senses, and she would've missed if it wasn't so particularly familiar.

The feeling when the Time Turner does its magic.

"What is wrong, Master?" Taiyang asked after she noticed Natsumi going still.

"I felt something." Natsumi answered and then spent some time placing it, before pointing at the top of Curia Julia "Over there."

Without a word, the Dao quickly moved, looked around and then jumped to the top of the old Roman Senate. A Minute or two later, the foxy blade returned a lot more at ease.

"It is nothing serious, Master." She reported, but for some reason Natsumi heard an unheard 'much. "But you might want to see it."

"Can't you just tell me now?" Natsumi asked.

"But what is life without surprises? ~Mikon." Her servant coyly counter-asked.

Sighting, the young Kitsune followed Taiyang back to the roof. Once there, she was confused at there being nothing out of normal, before the Dao pointed at a specific spot.

Once she concentrated on that location, she discovered that was some kind of haze over it, like a mirage.

"Oooohhhhhh, haven't seen one these for uncountable years." Tamamo-no-Mae stated with an impressed voice "One has better chances of becoming an Emperor of Under Heaven than to find another one of these for the rest of their lifetime, at least for mortal ones."

"What is it?" Natsumi asked as she examined the haze.

"That, my dear, is an echo of a moment so overwhelming that it imprinted itself onto reality." The Elder Kitsune explained. "A small tear in time, one might say."

"A Tear in Time?" Natsumi asked as she looked at the Haze in a new light "This might be just my pop-culture bias speaking, but that sounds like you could jump into it and end up in the past."

"Yes, which is why these were zealously guarded." The Elder Great Youkai answered "People very quickly found out that one is infinitely more likely to butterfly away their own family and clan than those of their enemy, or worse."

"Heh, that reminded me of that one time when we tricked one ducal far-down-line spare to go back in time and erase the heir." Taiyang remembered "Somehow managed to erase the whole realm."

Natsumi scampered away.

"Don't worry, my dear, for it is dormant." Tamamo comforted "Just jumping in only worked during the Age of Gods, when the ambient magic was enough to make it be constantly open."

"Knowing that, I'm kind of surprised that we are not getting arrested right now." Natsumi said. "This thing is dangerous and is probably under heavy watch."

"Probably because nobody here even knows about it." The Dao said. "And if someone does, probably some extremely old geezer that lived since the Age of Heroes, they most likely believe it to be harmless, ~mikon."

"To expand on that a bit further, not also the state of these Time Tears lessened with the weakening of magic, but their very presence diminished as well, becoming all but invisible to all but most gifted and knowledgeable sages who knew where to look." Tamamo elaborated "While your familiarity with Temporal Magic via the Time Turner helped, it is most likely my own knowledge of these embedded deep within you that allowed you to notice it."

"So with time they became very hard to find and nearly impossible to use." Natsumi concluded

"Even if time-travel was impossible, they still had some use." The old fox explained "Sages and Scholars would study them and try to understand the nature of time and reality, Oracles and Diviners would use it as a catalyst in their attempts to examine the past and to foresee the future, and the priests and shamans used them as a connection to the deities of temporality."

"Would not be surprised if these Time-Turny gizmos were a result of such ~mikon." The Dao stated.

"Indeed." Tamamo replied "Say, Natsumi, that spell that grants you visions of past events via items with strong connection to said events."

"You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Natsumi asked.

"Come on, Master~" The Dao pouted "Just a peek, it is not like we can actually change history anyway, ~mikon."

"Taiyang is right." Tamamo supported "And I admit, ever since that Roman Sword told tales of her Caesar I've been curious on what I missed."

'Sigh' Fine, but I don't think I can actually manage it with my current skills." Natsumi conceded.

"Don't worry, me and Taiyang will help you with that." The Elder Kitsune replied "First, you-"

As so they prepared and then casted a spell to let them see into the past.

-

The first thing that Natsumi felt was the smell.

The smell of ash, of burning wood, of burning stone, of burning metal, of burning flesh.

The oh so familiar smell she was overwhelmed with nearly a decade/millennia ago.

And then she opened her eyes, and her world was nothing but bright fire.

Once her eyes adjusted to the light she found herself on the same roof of the same senate building, and then she looked around, and everywhere she looked, Rome was on fire.

Grand buildings of the Quorum were collapsing as their supports were burned or melted away, damaged aqueducts spilled water tainted with blood, the nearby rivers were covered in a burning substance, and the streets themselves were littered with bodies, human and not.

And then there were those still alive and fighting.

Plebeian Militias, roused and angry, were swarming the small but tough bodyguard armies of the patricians.

Gladiators and Mercenaries fought for a chance of freedom or riches for whoever promised it them.

Freed animals rampaging across the city, terrified by the ongoing chaos.

Individuals who took advantage of the chaos or were just trying to survive.

And then there were the opposing Legions and their supernatural auxiliaries:

Harpies who provided air support to their allies, and hunted down targets of opportunity.

Satyrs who skirmished and ambushed their victims, before fading back to the backalleys and ruins.

Centaurs, who charged and trampled their enemies under the weight of both their armor and horse bodies.

Tamed Hellhounds, smaller imitations of the infamous Cerberus, burned down everything their handlers wanted dead.

Unleashed Chimeras who bit, gored and poisoned with their three heads.

Pegasus Riders who pierced their grounded enemies or jousted up in the blackened skies.

Giant Wolves, descendants of the She-Wolf who fought against whom they thought to be an enemy of the city, ripped their prey to shreds with their mighty jaws.

The Cyclopes who wrestled their similarly sized peers for dominance or threw giant rocks at whoever drew their ire.

Giant bipedal Mastodons, heavy armored and wielding giant shields and halberds, who formed giant tortoise shield formations, repelling all who dared to challenge them.

Humans with obvious divine heritage were duking it out, the demi-gods achieving feats of superhuman ability with envious ease.

The Gods themselves have apparently picked sides as once in the while a lightning bolt, a great gust of wind, a meteor, a flood or any other act of gods aided or hindered one side or another.

Everywhere she looked there was fighting, human and beast furiously waging war on the stained streets of Rome.

And all of that paled compared to what happened below her.

At the courtyard of the Curia, there were two Men, old in age but with vitality that would shame young ones in their prime, who stood facing each other and who with their sheer presence overshadowed their respective warriors behind them.

"Sulla, my old friend." One of them started "I would like to say that I'm happy to meet you in person after so long, after months of written back and forth, but we both know that we are past that."

"Spare me the pleasantries, Marius." The one called Sulla retorted "I'm here to end this all."

"End what, Sulla?" Marius asked "To end the newly acquired rights of the plebeians, to take away their means to control their fates that was previously the domain of the stagnant and corrupt Patricians?"

Some Demi-God on Sulla's side took offense and lobbed a lightning bolt at Marius, only for a Magic User on Marius's side to deflect it back, the bolt passing Sulla by inches and striking a Mastodon's great shield.

Marius and Sulla, both of whom did not even flinch at the exchange, raised their hands to preemptively make their forces stand down and prevent from escalating, for now, without breaking eye contact.

"I see your point." Sulla admitted "For the bad apples had certainly spoiled most of the good senatorial bunch."

"If you know that, then why resist me?" Marius asked "Why fight on the side of the gluttons who would rather flatten Rome under their fat?"

"Because everything I see right now, this chaos." Sulla gestured around him "Proves that we need to prune the Patrician tree, not uproot it and replace it with a Plebeian bush, a mob unready for the heavy responsibilities of ruling."

"But how could they be even be deemed ready, if the Patricians don't even give them a chance to learn and train in the first place?" Marius countered "Believe me, if a more peaceful path was possible I would've taken it, but you know full well that this social chariot race was rigged from the start."

"I know." Sulla acknowledged with resignation "And for what it is worth, I believe that it is possible for the plebeians and patricians to be equal in matters of government and make it work, but it is not something we will see in ours', or even our grandchildren's' lifetimes."

Silence reigned in the courtyard, and it seemed like the ongoing chaos quitted down in anticipation.

"Then we have nothing more to discuss." Marius stated. "Prepare yourself, my once most capable Legate, one way or another, this ends tonight."

"Of course, my Consul." Sulla replied.

After that, they started walking towards each, the pressure mounting and overwhelming all present as they approached closer and closer.

What happened after, Natsumi had no idea, for she blacked out.

-

When Natsumi opened her eyes, she found herself resting her head on Taiyang's lap, intact and definitely not burning modern Rome around them.

"Had a good nap, ~Master?." Taiyang asked.

"Yeah." The young kitsune replied. "That was quite something, wasn't it?"

All Natsumi could hear in response was heavy, labored breathing.

Concerned, she looked inward and saw a heavily breathing, just as heavily blushing, disarrayed kitsune with hands on her face with half lidded eyes that Natsumi could've swore had little images of dripping hearts in them.

"Why!? Why did I not depart five centuries early!?" Asked a lust-crazy fox "Why did I make myself suffer with the limp brood when I could've sampled their robust, dexterous and willful forefathers!?!"

Natsumi said nothing, just made a bee-line for the nearest source of cold water.

-

A/N: Heavy liberties were taken with Marius' and Sulla's personalities and circumstances.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And more Nagato-chan!


A Mother's Comfort

"Teitoku," Nagato said, her voice mixed between concern and anger upon her return. After luring them out, the Battleship Demon exchanged shots at range before making smoke and escaping. "How could this have happened? First Harry and now Nagato-chan have been threatened on base by these monsters!" She spoke the last word with hate and contempt.

For his own part, Goto was only slightly less angry. HIS base had been attacked and his charges, his people, had been at risk. Only the fortuitous presence of Ruiner had prevented the death of Nagato-chan and the others. "This wasn't just a raid like the first time," Goto noted. "They very deliberately feinted us. They weren't just staging a raid," He looked at Ruiner, who stood with Kongo and Kirishima flanking her. "They were searching for something or somebody. Weren't they?" It wasn't a question.

"The Boss Lady has pissed off a lot of Abyssals. Her mother at the top of the list but yeah. I'm sure they were expecting her to be here."

"Will they try again?"

"Since I think you may have done too good a job running down the ones that got onto your base? Probably. If any of them got away to report that the Boss ain't here, then maybe not but until then, I expect so. Subcontinental Princess is a murdering bitch but she won't risk HER ass going this far out of her way to try getting through the toughest defenses on this side of the Pacific. She's an insane monster, not an idiot. But I watched her crush the skull of her oldest daughter and smile while doing it simply because she was getting too popular with the rank and file. That was a business decision for her. What the Boss Lady did? This isn't about business and I'm sure she'll promise anything to anybody who can get the Boss for her."

"I see," Goto said and turned to Oyodo. "This has happened twice. There will NOT be a third time. Use whatever we need from the discretionary fund. We don't have time to argue with a bunch of bureaucrats and politicians. We'll start with improving the passive barriers while we get more lights, motion sensors, Infrared detectors... I want a new security center. I want every centimeter of our perimeter monitored. THEN we'll look into other defenses. I want this base so tight that if the ghost of Erwin Rommel were to inspect our defenses, he'd say 'Damn!'. Do you read me, Oyodo? If you can't find what you need, come to me and we'll find it. If cost is an obstacle, come to me and we will make it NOT A PROBLEM."

"Yes, Teitoku. But what about the manpower to monitor these things and people to man any active defenses we try to set up?" It was the one flaw in the idea: All the equipment Goto wanted set up would be useless without people to monitor it, maintain it. And the base staff was stretched tight enough as it was.

"That's my responsibility. I'm going to cash in some favors but that's what they're there for." He looked at Nagato and Yamato. "The rest of us will handle the office for now. The girls are all with Housho right now."

"Thank you, Teitoku." Nagato replied simply and nodded her thanks.

She and Yamato wasted no time in reaching Housho's quarters. Lieutenant Kirby, Susan Nakamura, and 1701 were there as well, seeing to the girls. As Housho answered the door, Nagato and Yamato greeted her with their thanks as they were invited inside. Yamato spotted her daughter sitting next to Little-E while 1701 placed the caring hand of a 'big sister' on 'Little-E's' shoulder.

"You'll be alright. It's not just me saying that. Yamato chan is right here."

Little E nodded shakily and looked at the ersatz Super-Battleship with eyes imploring a promise that she would make it safe.

Yamato chan smiled gentle reassurance. She then looked up as Yamato stepped over. Are you alright, Yamato-chan?"

"Hai! Thanks to the Kami, Ruiner-san, and Nagato-chan."

Little-E looked at the battleship. "Yamato-chan saved me. Without her, I'd be dead."

Yamato smiled proudly. "She IS a Yamato, after all."

In the meantime, Nagato-chan was holding Saratoga as if giving comfort to Sara was the one thing keeping her from falling apart. The sight of her mother brought a flood of relief to Nagato-chan.

Sara looked at Nagato-sama and then nodded and smiled at Nagato-chan. "I'll be alright now. Thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"What danger could I be in with the best battleship in the world AND her mom here?"

Nagato-chan blushed a little at that. She looked up at her mom and hugged her tight.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, mama. But I was scared! I was scared and I didn't know what to do."

"I hear you stood your ground and protected your fleet."

"I couldn't let them hurt my friends."

"Of course not."

"But Mama? Something inside me says I should feel bad for killing that PT imp. But I don't. I'm not sorry. I'm not sad. I'm ANGRY that it forced me to kill it."

"And I am angry that you were forced to do so," Nagato said, hugging her. "But you did what you had to and I am so very proud of you."
'You are a true battleship! I only hope you do not develop your brother's knack for attracting danger, my Nagato-chan!'

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

In my search for setgirls to summon, I've fairly plumbed the depths of every serious naval movie I can think of. Aside from a few Japanese girls I'm saving for later, and some 'English' ones to be mentioned herein, I think I've run the lot. Of course, I haven't called forth The Red October, USS Neptune (from 'Grey Lady Down'), or the USS Georgetown (Supercarrier) but until shipgirls from the 1970s and 80s start manifesting, their use as decoys is nil.

So that leaves the non-serious films to consider: Musicals and comedies.


Unfortunately... We found one.


We're Shipgirls Now!


Fresh from the aftermath of the PT raid on Yokosuka, Leftenant Chalmers, and Lieutenant Kirby were in Yokota to receive the latest additions to their force. With Chalmers was Valiant, who availed herself of every opportunity to accompany her 'admiral' and joining Kirby was USS Commodore. As they waited, four ladies in English uniform proceeded in line and stopped in front of Leftenant Chalmers.

"Sir!" The biggest one saluted. "Deutschland reporting for duty along with Apollo, U-37, and Sea Flower!"

Chalmers returned the salute. "We were under the impression there were five of you?"

"Yes, sir. If you count that babbling bloody Yank!" She looked at Kirby. "Beg pardon sir."

"Am I to understand there is a problem, Deutschland?" Kirby asked.

"You might say that, sir. They're still trying to get the loony off the damn plane!"

Commodore grit her teeth. "Is that so? Sir? Request permission to retrieve our absent personnel."

"Granted."

Commodore stalked up the way the new arrivals had come, rolling up her sleeves. A few minutes later, she came back dragging a much taller girl by her ear.

"You can't do this to me! I'll write my congressman about this! I'll hire a lawyer! I'll... I'll..."

"You'll shut up or I'll BOOT you clear back to base!" Commodore growled.

"As you were, Commodore."

The veteran trainer released her wayward charge and saluted. "Sir! This is Alabama."

Alabama looked at him with wide, imploring eyes. "Your Officerness! Admiral! Your Majesty! There's been a terrible misunderstanding!"

"And what might that be?"

"I can't be here."

"And why is that?"

"I'm allergic to possibly dyin'."

"It's an unsafe world."

"Don't you love your country?" Commodore demanded.

"Absolutely! That's why I want to get back to it as fast as possible!"

"You're needed here," Kirby replied.

"Please! Reconsider, Your Magnanimosity! Please! I get seasick real easy! So how about a nice, safe posting in Nebraska?"

"Seasick, hmm?" Commodore asked skeptically.

"Very much! Just looking at pictures of the ocean makes me start to sway and go green!"

"We've got plenty of Dramamine for you," Commodore replied.

Alabama looked at her forlorn.

"Just where did she come from, sir? Something about her seems familiar, somehow."

Kirby pinched the bridge of his nose. "In The Navy, 1941... Abbott and Costello. Heaven help us!"

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

Setgirl subs are subthieves and scoundrels all, no matter what flag they fly!

For the record, The Department of the Navy officially denies the following incident ever occurred...

Fly Your Colors

Admiral Binghampton was on no one's list of favorite people as he toured various commands across the Western Pacific. While the war had done much to weed out the Peacetime political officers, Binghampton was very effective as a bureaucrat and generally knew to keep his opinions to himself. He was still a stickler for 'By the Book' behavior. Something had to give...

It did.


***


USS Sea Tiger: "Now you've done it, Stingray! We know it was you who stole the admiral's underwear and ran them up the flagpole!"

USS Nerka: "Yeah! And now, Admiral Binghampton is gonna court-martial Pampanito! He's had her locked up and talking about throwing her out of the service because of your little stunt!"

"Pampanito?" Stingray demanded. "What's she in lock-up for? We may look alike but I swear, there was no way he saw me!"

"Pampanito got into it with Binghampton over some of the equipment she arranged for Wahoo's gang to get," Nerka explained. "Those knuckleheads probably swiped it themselves but she was running cover for them and now your little stunt on top of that and Binghampton is gunning for her scalp!"

"Alright! Alright! I'll fix this! Do you guys really think I'd hang a sub out to dry?"

"No... But how are you gonna save Pampanito?"

"I said I'd never hang a sub out to dry. An admiral on the other hand..."





***

"HELP! HELP!"

Nerka nudged Sea Tiger. "Look at that!" She pointed to one of the base's big cranes. A man could be seen hanging upside down from the raised end.

"Admiral Binghampton?"

"GET ME DOWN FROM HERE! YOU IDIOTS! WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE, I'LL HAVE PAMPANITO DRAWN AND QUARTERED AND THEN I'LL ARREST THE PIECES!"

"Are you saying Pampanito did this?"

"OF COURSE I MEAN THAT! YOU IDIOTS! NOW GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

"No can do, admiral," Nerka replied. "It can't have been Pampanito that did this to you."

"WHADDAYA MEAN 'IT CAN'T BE'?"

"Simple: Pampanito is in the stockade as per your orders, sir. Three destroyers and a squad of marines have been watching her around the clock!" Nerka grinned. "I'm sure they'll all testify to that at the court-martial. Are you sure you weren't sleepwalking?"

"ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY I DID THIS TO MYSELF?"

"We know Pampanito couldn't have done it! She's got witnesses. And with that, I'd hate to think of what would happen to your career sir. It might look like you had a personal grudge against a decorated combat veteran. That wouldn't look too good."

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! TELL THEM TO LET PAMPANITO OUT! JUST GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

"You're dropping ALL the charges?"

"All the charges."

"I don't think we heard you, sir."

"YES! YES! ALL THE CHARGES ARE DROPPED!"

"And you'll give Pampanito a formal apology?"

"YES! NOW GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Eyes fluttering some, Ayase blinked in the low light of her room as she woke. Yawn escaping from her, the Light Cruiser looked around the room as she scratched her head. Checking her internal clock, the Sendai frowned a bit and glanced to the window where the barest hint of pre-dawn light could be seen. For several moments, she just looked out the window before a small smile appeared on her face.

After all, the trip had been turning out to be everything that she could have wished for.

To those not involved, it had only been one day at the Potter properties at the best. But for Ayase and the others? So far, it was closer to three days with the help of the Time Turner that was leant to them. Hence, she had spent far more time than ever before with Harry. And, more importantly, getting to know the teen. Something that Ayase was very happy to do and have happen.

Over the past three days, she had conversation after conversation with Harry. While she had spent time with him before, this was far more than she had. That had meant that she now knew more about him than she had as well, which was a very good thing. And, if anything, her impressions of him had only risen in that time. Even now, the thought of those chats made her boilers warm within her chest.

Stretching a little with a sleepy smile on her face, the Sendai hummed some as she thought back to the previous few days. In a way, it seemed like a dream. Yet, it was not and she had been having a lot of fun. So what if her sisters had teased her about it, they were memories that she would treasure.

With that happy thought, Ayase pulled the covers off her to reveal herself in a summer yukata. Swinging out her legs, her bare feet touched the floor of her room, but with the minor warming charm, it wasn't cold like what some might expect. Still sleepy, the Light Cruiser walked to the bathroom before splashing her face with some cold water to wake herself up. Toweling it dry, Ayase looked in the mirror now fully awake and a smile on her face, "Good morning."

Just softly giggling, she turned around and got dressed in civilian clothing for the day. In her case, that was mainly a tank top and jeans. Something that had been suggested to her by Naka, and twisting around to look herself in the mirror, light blush on her face, she had to admit that her older sister was right. Finally, she did her hair up in a high ponytail rather than the topknot that she usually had it in.

However, about to walk out of the bedroom, she paused at a leather bound book. Picking it up, her cheeks flushed as she looked at the title, 'The Knightly Centauress and her Lord". For a few moments, Ayase looked at the cover which showed a female centaur having her cheek cupped by a man in plate. Glancing around, she hummed a bit, "Well... no one is going to be up for some time, so..."

The Sendai then left the room before making her way through the hallways. On the walls, there were softly glowing crystals in holders to provide some light. And as she passed them, they brightened for a few moments before dimming back down. Despite herself, Ayase was still impressed with them.

Apparently, a Muggleborn that Lily and James had known in school had been inspired by fantasy novels. Thus, he had set out to create enchantments for crystals that would have them absorb light during the day, and then release it at night. Any light source would do really, including candles. And since they released said light dimly at night unless someone was next to them, it made it easier to move around homes. Lily and James had invested in said project and the man had a small store in Diurn Alley which Harry had bought said crystals from.

It went without saying that a number of the Yokai as well as the shipgirls like Ayase were considering placing an order themselves.

Once she got to the kitchen, Ayase made herself a cup of tea before retiring to one of the smaller rooms on the ground floor. Said room actually being the ground floor of a small tower on the opposite side of where Catherine's skull was. According to Harry, it had been built to make the house symetrical according to the plans and to hide Catherine's presence.

Right now, however, the Light Cruiser was happy as it gave her a nice, private spot. Walking in, Ayase smiled a little at seeing the room. Like much of the manor, the walls had wood panelling on them and the floor was polished stone. In one corner, there was a small fireplace for warmth, and the large windows allowed light in with one being a bay window that had cushions for one to sit on.

For furniture right now, there was a high backed chair and a small, wooden table, both sitting on a carpet. And on the walls one could see various paintings of landscapes as well, giving the room a warm, inviting feel. Practically skipping, Ayase hummed to herself as she set her tea down on the table, cup on a dish, and then sat down herself in the chair with the crystal lights glowing a bit brighter. Opening her book, she began to read, and soon had a blush on her face as she chewed her lip some.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and she heard a warm chuckle, "Ah, I remember Lyra writing that book."

Jumping a bit, Ayase looked around with wide eyes, "Who..."

Suddenly spotting movement in one of the paintings, she stopped and stared some at the female centaur who stood there. Her shirt was of the sort worn in the fourteen hundreds, though it revealed her muscled midsection of her humanoid body, and she had hair ornaments in the shape of leaves keeping her blonde hair (which had a hint of red to it) from her pointed, almost equine ears. Her equine body, meanwhile, was a whitish-grey coloration and there was a leather skirt of sorts where her humanoid body met it with pouches. From said skirt, belts extended along her body to where her hindquarters were covered by more leather that had been embossed.

Eyes widening, Ayase realized whom she was looking at, "You're... Elm Potter... Joachim's, um, companion."

A little surprised herself, Elm nodded some though she had a slight blush on her face, "Ah, I was his companion though I never took the name Potter..." Both of them could almost hear the silent bit that she wished that she could have. Clearing her throat, though she did not need it, the female Centaur gave Ayase a small smile, "Though I didn't expect to be recognized so easily."

Lightly blushing some, the Sendai closed her book, "Um, well... we came across your tomb the other day and Harry-Chan told us about you and Joachim." Expression softening, Ayase gave her a small smile, "It was... a lovely story, Elm-San."

Her own expression softening, Elm looked out the window and nodded slowly, "It was wonderful to live it as well. Joachim was amazing, and still is if I am correct." Then she blinked and started a little, "Ah! My apologies... I forgot to ask you, your name?"

Flustered a little, Ayase stood and bowed to her a little, "I am the Sendai Class Light Cruiser, Ayase. The fifth of our class."

Placing one hand against her chest, the female Centaur kneeled a little into a bow, "Well met, Miss Ayase." Straightening, she gave her a nod, "Also, I'm sorry for startling you."

Ayase remembered then what she had been reading and blushed, "Ah, that's fine... I didn't expect it." Blinking, she looked at the portrait with a small frown, "Is... that yours?"

Chuckling, Elm shook her head, "No, this isn't my portrait. Mine is still in the storehouse, I simply decided to explore the house a little, that is all. It does get rather boring and I have to admit, I am interested in what sort of people my Joachim's descendant brought."

Just nodding at that, the shipgirl hummed a little, "Hopefully... you don't mind us?" Getting a warm smile, she understood that Elm approved of them, and nodded again before remembering what she had stated, "You remember Lyra writing this?"

That got her a warm laugh from the painting, "As I should, as she did ask myself and the other paintings of Elm that Joachim made for details. It is..." Briefly, she chewed her lip before slowly nodding, "Rather accurate let us say about some matters."

Eyes widening, Ayase felt her cheeks warm up but nodded, "I see." Tilting her head some, she set aside her book for now, "So you were here when she wrote this? And there's more of you?"

Lips twitching, Elm gave her a hum, "Indeed, because we were a favoured subject of our Joachim." Bringing up one hand, she spoke in a stage whisper, "Not that we minded much, it was good for the ego to know that he adored our form so much." Then, straightening, the Centaur nodded, "Of course, there's several of us from different paintings done at different times. Perhaps you'll meet the one where he had us fully armoured for war, though that version of us is somewhat more serious."

Shifting around a little, the shipgirl only nodded at that before frowning, "Um... could... could I ask you some questions, Elm-San? About... about your relationship?"

Unable to help herself, Elm laughed a little, "Of course! After Lyra, I doubt that anything you come up with could fluster me."

Only giving a slight nod, Ayase cleared her throat, "Well... Harry mentioned that Joachim saved you and you became his companion, his confidant... um, his knight?"

For several moments, the female Centaur looked at her before smiling softly, "Ah, I understand now." Her smile widened a little as she hummed and folded her legs under her equine body, "You're like that. Though, I suppose that such a thing is not bad..."

Needless to say, Ayase had a deep blush on her face. But, just the same, the two of them chatted for the next hour or so, with the shipgirl getting some information from the Centauress. Eventually, however, the Sendai could hear others moving around upstairs and blinked before turning to Elm, "Thank you, Elm-San. But I must be going."

Just tilting her head a little, Elm chuckled, "That is fine, I enjoyed our talk."

About to leave, the Light Cruiser paused for a moment before turning back to the portrait, "Um... I heard that it is possible for paintings to move between enchanted portraits. Would it be possible to..."

Grin now wide, Elm gave her another chuckle, "It would, all you would need is for the portrait to be linked to the others. Which is not hard at all, my dear Ayase. Simply ask Harry to cast the spell to do so for the ones here and you can bring it to Japan where I can come and speak to you whenever I wish." Bowing, Ayase smiled and left. Once she was out the door, Elm rubbed her chin in thought and a slightly smug smirk, "It seems, Joachim my Love that our descendant is quite the interesting young man... though he needs someone like her, I think."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, various people began to sleepily filter into the dining room. Already, however, they could smell various delicious foods being made which caused stomachs to grumble in want. Soon enough, Harry came out with various plates, followed by Sheff and Saki. All three placed the large plates down on the table with some of those blinking. For her part, Uesugi raised an eyebrow at what was there, "This seems a bit much..."

Having quickly filled up her plate, Hachi bit into a sausage and hummed before chewing. Once she swallowed, she looked at the former warlord, "Actually, this is normal for an English breakfast."

Somewhat amused, Harry gestured, "We got the bacon, the eggs, both scrambled and sunny side up, sausage, kippers, toasted and fried bread, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, potato cakes... well, this is a bit less than the full breakfast meal, I suppose." He then pointed at the jars, "Besides jam and fresh honey, we also have brown sauce if you want it. You can put some of the breakfast stuff into one of them and add brown sauce for a breakfast roll."

Barely waiting for the explanation, Nobu reached over and cut one of the rolls open before adding various things into it, "I'm in for that! Ha!"

Rolling her eyes at her friend, Okita also began to fill her plate as well, though she noted that Uesugi and Usagi were eating the vegetarian portions. Considering that, Okita raised an eyebrow at Harry, "Um, Harry-Kun? Is there other possible foods for some of us?"

Only nodding, the wizard swallowed a bit of his food, "Hai, there is. If you want, we could stop by Wales at some point today and buy laverbread, it's a type of edible seaweed."

At that, Uesugi nodded with a small smile, "That would be good, Harry-Kun, thank you."

Looking over the meal, Yae was thoughtful as she looked over the choices. In the end, she chose mostly eggs and bacon with some bread, but also took a spoonful of fried mushrooms. Pausing for a moment, she also took two of the kippers, "I didn't know that the British also ate fish at breakfast, Gozaru..."

With a hum as he ate some of the smoked fish himself, Harry gave her a smile, "Hai, though here they're smoked herrings. They're a bit oily, but..." Shrugging, he shook his head, "These ones are made in the traditional manner though."

Yae took a bit of one of the fish and smiled a bit as she chewed though she giggled a little at seeing Nobu attempt to shove the entire breakfast roll into her mouth.

Eventually, however, the hungry teens cleared the food from the table with help from the shipgirls. Much to Harry's surprise, Okita and Yae helped with the dishes with Nobu and Uesugi drying them while telling him to sit back. Once they were all done, the teens came out and looked to find a minibus waiting for them. Carnwennan then walked past as he tossed some keys in his hand, "So... who wants to go on a trip?"

Happily gasping, Kenshō thrust a hand into the air, "Me! Me! I want to go, Grandpa!"

Just laughing lightly at that, the dagger patted her head, "Good to hear, now... when needed I can shrink it and I already enchanted the seats for comfort. So if you feel sleepy, you can take a nap." Leaning against the vehicle, he nodded his head towards the entrance, "Of course, before we go anywhere, if you want we can take a look at the old Roman road."

Sharing looks, the teens nodded with wide eyes and began following Goldie. As she walked down the road from the property, she looked over her shoulder, "Now, the road we are on goes all the way to the village and is rather new, being built just before the Statute, Umu. The Potters paid for each bit and it leads into Godric's Hollow, cutting through some hills, which the Roman road did not."

That made Ayaka blink and she raised her hand, "Uh... wasn't the Statute made in the 1690s?" At the nod, she boggled a bit, "And that's new!?"

Unable to help herself, the Roman blade laughed, "Indeed it is! For until then, the Roman road in the area served well enough. It was straight between some of the towns and just passes by Godric's Hollow, with a smaller, much younger road between the Roman one and the town built back in the 800s." Five minutes later, she came to a stop and pushed some brush aside before gesturing, "And here we are."

Blinking, the various teens looked around before frowning. Suddenly, Nobu pointed at the pasture in front of her, "Wait, I can see some lines and what looks like stone!" Moving quickly, she made her way to the brush and bent down before nodding, "Hai! There's grass here but..."

With a nod as she came up behind her friend, Uesugi rubbed her chin, "It may be overgrown, but you can make out the road still." Bending down, the grasped at the grass and pulled at it until it lifted and revealed flat stone beneath, "Incredible... it's still here."

Eyes wide as she was now able to see the road better, Yae's jaw dropped a little. Turning, she could see it continue onwards from where they were on the other side of the road until it vanished into some nearby woods, "Gozaru..." Turning, she looked at Harry, "How old is it?"

Hands behind his head, the wizard had to think about it for a few moments before nodding, "If I remember correctly... the roads here were built around the 140s." He then gave a small shrug, "They were maintained fully until the fall of the Empire when they stopped maintaining the entire network, but... sections were still maintained. And even then, they were pretty important right up to the 1600s."

Rubbing her chin, Nobu hummed as she watched Uesugi leave the sod fall back and stood, "To think that it lasted so long that one can see it still..." Following the line of the road, the former head of the Oda considered the road before smirking, "You know, it is a shame that I did not know how they constructed such roads! Just imagine how much easier it would have made transporting men and materials. All I got was for the roads to be standardized in size."

Just coming up behind her, Goldie patted her shoulder, "Ah, but such a feat is still one to be proud of! Not all can be Roman, though from what I have read, you came closer than most, Umu."

Also considering the road, Uesugi shook her head, "You're right though, Nobu-Chan. Something like this would have been very useful."

Bringing up his hand, Harry pointed at a large, almost rectangular stone that was standing on end beside the road, "And that's the milestone."

Each of the teens shared a look before bringing out their phones with grins, taking pictures of them in the road beside the marker in various poses. None of them noting the thoughtful look on Taiyang's face, and only Natsumi knowing that Tamamo was mumbling to herself about something.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Here's a peek at yet another future Malfoy child and some boggles.

A Matter Of Model Supervillany

Malfoy Manor

November, 2029
Spoiler: A Matter Of Parental Guidance

"Come in, Son." Draco spoke and then smiled at the seven year old figure of his youngest son (until Johnston, Niobe, and Ehren delivered the next three Malfoys in five months) when Bastian trudged into his study.

"You wanted to see me, Daddy?" Bastian said absently, adjusting his glasses. He finally noticed that the expected parental figure was not alone or behind his desk. Draco was sitting in a loveseat in front of the fireplace, flanked by Mama Cleo and Mutti Ehren.

"I did, close the door and have a seat." Draco indicated a chair across from him.

Bastian blinked and then made his way to the chair in question, hopping in it as the door closed and locked. '''Kay" he mumbled, still lost in his own world of ideas and dreams to make reality.

Draco leaned forward and laced his hands together. "I'm sure you have wondered why I called for you to talk to me, Bastian." Beside him, Ehren placed a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder and took a deep breath.

Bastian blinked away an image of DOOOMBOT engineering. "Um, haven't been in trouble lately Daddy, so dunno what." He responded, focusing on the concerned looks of his parents.

Ehren took a deep breath, focusing on the young boy in his favorite Doctor Doom (or as he called it Doctor DOOOM!) T-shirt and sweat pants. "Mainly I am concerned that you are patterning yourself on supervillains as role models, meine geliebte Kinder.(my beloved child)" The precise Prussian syntax in her words caused Cleo to wince minutely, knowing full well that when disturbed that Ehren's voice patterns got even more precise as she fought for control (a trait that she had learned from her mother as a role model).

"Well, duh, Mutti." Bastian responded with all the unconscious authority of a leading expert upon the genre of Marvel Comics in general and Dr. Doom in specific. "Supervillains are the best! They do things, they make things! Not like the 'Heroes'! 'Heroes' just react to what a Supervillain does!"

His voice was the same tone that he had used to demonstrate the Pythagorean Theorem over breakfast at five (using his magically animated bacon, toast, and silverware as props for the mathematical analysis that once and for all settled the running argument among his parents whether Bastian was just heavily 'on the autistic spectrum' or a budding genius in his field of magitech).

Ehren gave a small proud smile. "Yes, of course they do dear. But I am concerned about the role models you are patterning yourself on. Doctor Doom is one thing, but there is also the Red Skull..."

Ehren's voice cooled noticeably at the mention of Johann Schmidt, the fictional villainous right-hand man of Adolf Hitler and mortal foe of Captain America. Finding that character existed when she picked up a Doctor Doom/Red Skull crossover comic that Bastian had left behind him while making a mess after reading had shaken her badly.

Ehren, after all, knew exactly where that twisted ideology led, and how seductive it was for a young and unformed mind seeking assurances in a confusing world.

However Bastian cut her off and warmed her steel heart with his words as she brought up the Skull. "The Red Skull's a loser! Doctor DOOOM wins even when it appears that he loses!"

Ehren blinked, trying to figure out the Bastian-Logic involved. "But Bastian, the ideology the Skull is peddling....?"

"It's not good for anything! When you're gonna rule the world Mutti, don't mess with that! It just gets in the way of thinking and researching like DOOOM does! He has people to handle the rest to keep them from bothering him." Bastian declared as he idly swung his feet back and forth.

Another puzzled blink from the boggled dagger.

Cleo then tried to back up her co-wife. "We don't mind you ruling the world, honey, just not like the Red Skull would."

"Well DUH! The Red Skull wants to always boss people around and have lots of noise and shouting! That wrecks getting work done. I just wanna do my stuff alone since having lots of people to boss around and bug me means I don't get any stuff done." Bastian patiently explained the Facts of World Domination (Seven-Year-Old Subset) to the clearly mentally handicapped Pod People who had replaced his normally intelligent parents.

On the faces of all three parents the same thought blazed in their faces

At least my little budding mad scientist is a loner, that's a relief.

Draco grinned and leaned forward to ruffle his sons head. "Right son. We were just a little worried that you would pick the wrong supervillains to be like. Don't be a punk like the Red Skull, be Darth Vader or Doctor Doom. Now go and get back to conquering the galaxy before dinner. You won't want to miss it; your Ma's preparing Barbecue."

Those words of paternal encouragement earned him a 'not helping!' glare from Cleopatra and a subtle elbow in the ribs from a fuming Ehren under the cool face that spoke louder that words 'not in front of the kids, Draco!'.

Bastian, bless his heart, overlooked the signs of Daddy heading toward the doghouse at Warp Nine.

"'Kay Daddy, see ya!" A pause as he hopped out of the chair. "Love Y'all! Think Santa has a Flux Capacitor that he can send me for Christmas?"

Ehren slapped her hand over Draco's mouth as Bastian headed to the door. "If you're a good boy, I'll write and see if he might have one lying around the North Pole for you!" She said in a controlled voice with definite false cheer in it.

Ehren turned to her smugly smirking husband and hissed after the door closed behind Bastian. "Don't encourage him dear. And you have between now and Christmas to enchant something that will fool him when he gets it under the tree." Cleo gave her own flat stare and nod.

Draco looked at his wives. "Zu Befehl(at your command), dear. I'll figure something out. Keep an eye on him?"

The ladies nodded. "Keep an eye on him, but it's a little-boy phase that he's going through, right?"

Malfoy Manor

November, 2052

Bastian grinned the satisfied maniacal smile of any great Man of Mad Science on the cusp of a new era of human understanding.

He settled the helmet around his head, making sure that the neural sensors made proper contact.

He took a deep breath, looked around the cockpit, and thanked his parents once again for their attempt to teach him war games to 'round him out' leading to his discovery of a new and untapped field for inspiration.

A little inspiration, a lot of perspiration, and with the right applications of highly advanced magic and highly advanced technology, well the stars are the limit.

With that he touched the glowing 'Flux Capacitor' he had gotten for his seventh Christmas that he kept as a good luck charm as a necklace under his Dr. Doom shirt. Then his hand moved to the Dr Doom bobble-head in the cockpit of the DOOMBOT ALPHA (his personal name for the project).

Dad was right, if you're going to be a supervillain, don't be a punk.

The hand moved to the switch to start his latest creation, and his happy smile widened as he flicked the switch to bring his dream to life.

The dream of a future among the stars with humanoid war machines for those pilots worthy of the title of Mechwarrior.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A/N - Well, here's the epilogue! I hope everybody enjoys my first foray into homily writing (I'm neither a priest, nor did I play one on TV, and I certainly didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.) It has been a treat to work with Yellowhammer for this, and stay tuned, because Fr Jacques isn't done yet! Speaking a bit more seriously, may the grace and peace of God be with everybody during these times.

Primo Missam (Bells of Ath Epilogue) [First Mass]

Chapel of Moulbaix, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

26 August 2014

Fr Jacques nodded to his great grandnephew Augustin Moreau and smiled happily. The ten year old lad had done what local folklore had long claimed was impossible in exploring all the way to the heart of Evil Count Hippolyte's Haunted Woods. No doubt once his exploit reached the ears of his peers, the young lads of the region would have to find a new test of courage to impress the local girls.

The old priest had no doubt that some rascal would think of something suitable in due time.

Augustin's triumph had been helped by Colombe lowering the magical warding spells that scared off the curious from reaching her castle, of course. After doing that, she had driven herself and Miho Fujii along with the Imps to the village of Ath to pick Augustin up to serve as acolyte for this Mass. He was somehow unsurprised that Augustin knew Misaki and Chihiro from school as fellow troublemakers, who no doubt were causing the principal to contemplate the virtues of tanning mischief-maker's breeches for educational purposes.

Some traditions, after all, were eternal.

Such as the Mass.

Certainly the details had changed over time. Even for an institution like the Church change was inevitable. But since Blood Week there had been a strong revival of the extraordinary form of the Mass. However, today it would be an ordinary daily Mass. Much as the old priest looked forward to saying Mass in Latin too few of the congregation here knew the language.

He resisted the urge to grin as he checked the small clock hanging on the wall. Since Blood Week there had been plenty of innovations to the liturgy. Small things. Literally. He still couldn't help but find it amusing whenever he saw lines of shipgirl faeries lining up for Communion from faerie extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. The challenges of co-celebrating with a faerie priest were equally amusing memories for the old man. But they'd figured things out, adapted, overcome, and caused a few aneurysms along the way.

Which reminded him to say a short silent prayer for the soul of a fellow priest who'd never recovered from a spirited bollocking from USS Schmitt.

Meanwhile, the chapel door opened and the du Chastelers entered.

Claire, dressed in one of her favorite blue dresses, hurried to the pipe organ to play the appropriate music for Mass.
Spoiler: A Happy Pipe Organ!

Fr Jacques had explained to Claire gently but firmly to stick to the composers and pieces that he had selected and not freelance during the ceremony. After the Mass was concluded, then yes, appropriate music of the organist's choosing could be played then.

Father Jacques, let it be said, was not unfamiliar with the foibles of eager musicians when they got the musical bit between their teeth.

Best that Claire's enthusiasm be properly contained and channeled, although he had no doubt that the music would be magnificent -- no matter what she played from the heart.

Fortunately for the Piano's happiness -- and unfortunately for her mother's bank account which had paid a premium for speedy repair service as well as a large tip induced by lethal doses of Puppydog Piano Eyes -- the expert had retuned the small pipe organ during the hours while Fr Jacques and Ehren were absent from the castle on business in Brussels. The original detuning had been done in 1870 to prevent damage to the strained mechanisms inside as they sat idle. Fortunately the preservation charms and spells on the chapel had prevented damage to the organ as it sat patiently waiting for this day to come.

One Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor later -- and a hug for the smiling expert who was contemplating a nice birthday present for the wife with the large tip that Madame du Chasteler had been persuaded to give him by his 'volunteer assistant' who was 'checking the tuning' -- and all was right with the World According To Claire. As was the case with her mother as well, judging by the fond and proud smile on Colombe's face at Claire's visible joy in making 'her new friend' happy.

Following Claire, Colombe, dressed in dark red, sat in her place in the first pew. Ehren, dressed in her normal modest black dress and pearl earrings, sat beside her mother.

Behind the du Chasteler ladies, Miho escorted the Imps, all dressed in their nice clothes, to the pew directly behind the one Colombe sat in.

Kasuyu and Nongqawuse brought up the next file and sat side by side in respectful silence.

Then, as Fr Jacques watched through the peephole in the sacristy door, Toku entered last alongside a gold haired European woman dressed in plain and worn working clothes that were nonetheless very clean and well kept. The blond smiled happily at her sight of the chapel, a smile which seemed to light up the room, and then sat beside the miko, who was dressed in a modest red dress instead of her normal robes, in the final pew.

It was time.

The antique clock chimed the hour in the Sacristy.

And the organ spoke.
Spoiler: Holy, Holy, Holy

Fr Jacques stepped back and nodded to young Augustin, who opened the sacristy door then trailed after the elderly priest as he stepped into the sanctuary. The pair of them promptly turned to face the altar and genuflected, as the music flowed gloriously and the small congregation sang along from the leather-bound hymans in the pews.

The pair crossed to stand behind the altar, and Augustin genuflected again, while Fr Jacques bent down and kissed the altar itself before stepping back, hands folded in prayer before him.

Ehren sang in her soaring crystal-clear soprano alongside her mother as the hymn reached the second verse. The lines of pain and stress and self-hatred that normally marked her face faded to near-invisibility as she was transported outside herself to something greater than she would ever be.

Tears of joy glistened in Colombe's eyes as she stood and sang, then crossed herself automatically as the last notes of the hymn faded. Standing beside her, her youngest daughter did so as well, along with Claire at the organ, and the other guests invited to stand with her.

"Au nom du Père et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit.(In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.)" Fr Jacques intoned solemnly the moment the music stopped, his right hand moving in the sweeping gestures of the priestly version of the Sign of the Cross.

"Amen" sounded from eleven throats in unison, from Kasuyu's rumbling basso profundo to Ehren's coloratura soprano.

The old priest spread his arms wide in benediction and spoke in French, "{The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!}"

Colombe and Ehren chorused as one, "{And with your spirit.}"

Fr Jacques bowed his head for a moment, bringing his hands together once more in prayer. "{Brethren, let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.}" he spoke with firm conviction, head bowed.

After a short pause he looked up, seeming to meet the eye of each and every person in the small chapel. "{I confess to Almighty God…}" he began the penitential act..

Colombe followed along, confessing her sins and shortcomings, beating her breast and then receiving absolution from Father Jacques.

The mass continued through the opening rites, with Kyrie and the Gloria, before Fr Jacques prayed the collect and seated himself.

As he did, Colombe stood and walked to the antique family Bible waiting for her at the lectern. She stopped, took a deep breath, and then spoke. "{A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians.}" She took another breath and then she read the epistle, "{Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship….}"

At the conclusion, she took a deep breath and spoke once more. "{The Word of the Lord.}"

"{Thanks be to God!}" Echoed through the chapel.

She took another breath, thinking to herself: This was so different from the last time she'd been in mass, where the priests and deacons did everything…

She then launched into the Responsorial Psalm like Fr Jacques had coached her the evening before when he'd asked her to serve as lector for this mass. When that was concluded, she stepped away from the lectern while Claire launched into a short bit of organ music and the congregation in the chapel rose to their feet in accordance with the directions in the little cards they'd all been given.

Fr Jacques as well stood, then crossed to the altar, picking up an extremely ornate gilded bound evangeliary from the altar. He kissed it, then lifted it high in front of him and walked with bowed head to the lectern, set it down, then said a short silent prayer to himself before looking out over the standing worshippers and guests.

"{The Lord be with you.}" he solemnly intoned.

"Et avec votre esprit."(and with your spirit) came the response.

"{A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew.}" he then said, then while he made tiny signs of the cross upon his forehead, lips, and breast the congregation responded with a hearty "{Glory to you, Oh Lord.}".

There was a pause, then the priest looked out, proclaiming the Gospel without needing to read it from the evangeliary. "{Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!}" his voice nearly thundered in the quiet of the chapel as he spoke.

It was a short Gospel, as they go, only 5 verses. And when he finished he bowed his head in silent contemplation for a moment before saying. "{The Gospel of the Lord.}"

"{Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ}" Colombe said in a reverent voice before sitting alongside Ehren.

Once the congregation in the chapel had all seated themselves, Fr Jacques waited, until the silence was almost pregnant with anticipation.

"{Today, brothers and sisters, we are warned about hypocrisy. About fakery. About the false appearance of sanctity. Wearing all of the outwards signs of piety but having wickedness in our hearts. It is a challenge, not simply to you, brothers and sisters, but to the entire priesthood who are entrusted with guiding you in your journey to God. Because the enemy is crafty and lurks in the darkest recesses of our souls.}" his voice was soft, almost gentle.

"{He skulks in the idea that only the outward forms matter, that simply going through the motions and being seen as Holy is sufficient, that somehow only what others think of us matters to God. So he tempts us with the easy path of hypocrisy and falseness. With the ease of just going through the motions. We are called to so much more than that.}" he paused, his gaze sweeping the chapel.

"{We, brothers and sisters, are not called to the easy path. We are not called to pretend to have faith, we are not called to fake holiness. We are called to be Holy as our Lord God is holy.}" his voice suddenly thundered. This was no fire and brimstone homily, this was passion for the Lord. "{We are called to be greater than we think we can be. We are called to do what is right and proper, not simply when others can see us, but in the dark when nobody can see if we fail.}"

Ehren's eyes gleamed as he spoke about being true and faithful when no other could see her if she failed or faltered. Deep inside her a flash of memory of her decision to resist what she knew in her steel soul was wrong even… or perhaps especially… since no one but herself would see flickered through her mind. She realized that she had been wrong when she had thought that in her darkest hour. She had not been alone back then when she was in Vati's clutches. Never alone. Her spine stiffened and her shoulders squared into the proper position for a junior officer to receive instructions.

He paused again, head bowing down. "{Many of you have heard before all of the passages about hypocrisy in the Gospels. And you have seen how often even, or perhaps especially, priests have failed to meet our calling to true Holiness in His Sacred Name. Hypocrisy is a seductive mistress precisely because it is so easy. Just make the motions, just say the words, smirking inside at how you are fooling everybody.}"

In the back, Catherine nodded in agreement, and closed her eyes, whispering a prayer to keep her in God's Grace and away from the sin of hypocrisy. She had seen the poisonous fruit of such when her Second Mistress had been martyred at the stake after an unfair trial by the 'ecclesiastial authorities' of the day.

His voice suddenly thundered once more. "{But God sees. He knows our hearts. He knows what we keep hidden. There is no lying to God, there is no deceiving God. He is with us, always. And when we are face to face with him, there will be no hiding behind legalistic trickery. No hairsplitting. No filibustering. No lies.}"

Beside Catherine, Toku nodded in agreement at the homily. Although she was from a different tradition, she could sense the kernels of truth in Fr Jacques words and respected them as much as if they were from her fellow priests of Hachiman or her sister Fudo.

"{And in that moment, all of our hypocrisies, all of our false fronts, all will stand exposed.}" he took a breath, looking across the chapel, then bowed his head. "{In truth, none of us can earn salvation, because our Savior has already purchased our salvation with His Holy Blood in the perfect and eternal sacrifice for our sins. All we must do is be what we are called to be. Simple, really. But… as we've all probably heard it said, in war everything that is simple is also incredibly hard. And we are at war, my brothers and sisters. A spiritual war against an Enemy greater than any Abyssal, then any mortal foe. This is a war fought within all of our hearts.}" he paused, then smiled broadly. "{And a war that we can, and will, with the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, win. We here on this Earth are the Faith Militant. I pray that we all will someday stand in the ranks of the Faith Triumphant.}"

Ehren bowed her head as the homily reached its conclusion. "{Amen.}" She whispered to herself. And to God.

Fr Jacques waited a moment, head bowed in prayer, then turned and returned to the altar as the congregation stood, Augustin joining him once more. "{I believe in one God, the Father Almighty…}"

The small congregation joined in the recitation of the Nicene Creed, some from memory, most reading from the cards.

The Imps grinned as Fr. Jacques turned to them with his eyes twinkling and nodded. Colombe followed the young Yokai to assist and supervise them as they went to a small table next to the door of the chapel and carefully picked up a small silver ciborium containing unconsecrated hosts and a small cruet of wine. Colombe remembered watching her brothers bring forth the offerings when they were small, and smiled indulgently as she followed behind them in order to help them keep a decorous pace.

Fr Jacques came out from behind the altar flanked by Augustin and accepted the offerings, murmuring soft prayers to the two young Yokai and smiling benevolently at Colombe before turning and taking the gifts to the altar while the Imps and rapier returned to the pews.

Colombe patted the heads of the Imps before taking her place, producing happy smiles from both.

The Mass continued through the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the congregation kneeling while Fr Jacques began the Eucharistic Prayers.

"{... In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her spouse, your blessed Apostles and Martyrs, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian…}"

In the rear of the chapel, Catherine prayed silently for her Mistresses and the other Saints in Heaven.

After Fr Jacques completed the consecration he paused for a moment, then looked up with a smile. "{The Mystery of Faith.}" he proclaimed, then joined the congregation in saying "{We proclaim your death, Oh Lord, and profess your Resurrection, until you come again.}"

Then the old priest continued the Liturgy of the Eucharist, his voice full of a joyous reverence as he spoke. The mass continued, with the congregation rising to their feet as the main eucharistic prayers concluded. "{Through Him and with Him and in Him. Oh God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever. Amen.}"

Ehren snapped to precise Prussian attention as she stood and barked out "{Amen!}" sincerely and automatically.

As the small congregation stood Fr Jacques waited a beat before smiling broadly. "{At the Savior's command, and formed by divine teaching we dare to say.}" and then he led them in the Lord's Prayer.

In the back Catherine prayed in Latin as her eyes elevated to the face of her Savior on the crucifix. Tears of joy and devotion fell from her shining reverent eyes as she recited the Latin words engraved and sealed on her heart.

The old priest's keen ear heard the Latin amidst the French, although no sign of that crossed his expression, while he continued. "{Deliver us, Lord, we pray from every evil and grant us peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.}"

The congregation replied in the traditional manner in rough unison, those experienced with the mass almost by reflex, those who'd never before been to one following along or reading the cards. The mass smoothly flowed through the sign of peace. As the small group finished with that joyous part of the mass, Fr Jacques glanced over at Claire and nodded, prompting the piano to start the next organ piece. As it played, he chanted in Latin, joined easily by Colombe and Catherine as the familiar Gregorian chant of the Agnus Dei sounded forth.
Spoiler: Agnus Dei

Beside her friend Toku listened in reverent, attentive silence. While it was not what she was used to, and the language was foreign, she sensed the centuries of tradition and striving for the Divine, to the pure and true and perfect things in an imperfect world. In the front Ehren listened in delight to her Mother's Latin chanting and her Big Piano Sister's exquisitely delicate playing of the pipe organ.

As they chanted, Fr Jacques broke the bread on the paten, then once it was concluded he lifted the paten high in one hand while with the other he brought aloft the chalice containing the watered wine. "{Behold the Lamb of God, behold He who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.}"

Colombe recited the traditional response alongside her family. "{Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,}" her voice caught in her throat as she realized how true these words are for her today of all days before she continued in the traditional response, "{but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.}"

Behind the altar the old priest bowed his head, taking up one half of the large host he had broken as part of the rite, and with a brief silent prayer raised it up then ate it, before taking up the chalice and, after another silent prayer, drinking of it. He then transferred the broken pieces of the large host to the now consecrated ciborium before turning towards Augustin and ministering communion to the young altar server.

Meanwhile, as the rest stood in silence, Colombe walked to receive the Sacrament, joined by Catherine who silently and reverently stood behind her.

Fr Jacques was slightly surprised that there were more than one practical Catholics in the congregation, but he'd luckily been prepared as he'd consecrated a few hosts in the mass, intending to place the excess in a pyx and distribute them during the week as was common for priests. So there was no obvious reaction from him, merely a gentle "The Body of Christ." as he lifted up the host before each of the communicants.

Colombe whispered her "Amen" in a small, humble voice like that of the young girl that she once was here. Catherine in turn followed suit and gave him a happy smile filled with faith and love of the Divine.

After that it was a matter of only a minute or two as Fr Jacques cleaned the ceremonial vessels carefully, then as he finished each Augustin bustled them back to the sacristy before returning for the next one. Finally he re-veiled the chalice properly, which was brought back in its turn to the sacristy by the young scamp who was being admirably serious about his responsibilities as an altar server.

Once that was done he took his seat for a moment or two, head bowed in prayer, before rising to his feet, the congregation joining him a little raggedly.

"Le Seigneur soit avec vous.(The Lord be with you)" he said with a broad smile as he turned to the small group.

They all responded "Et avec votre esprit.", some from memory, some from cards like the rest of the mass had been.

The old priest swept up his hand in the priestly form of the Sign of the Cross, as the congregation crossed themselves at the same time. "Que Dieu tout-puissant vous bénisse, Le Père, le Fils et le Saint-Esprit."(May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.)

A hearty amen followed, and Fr Jacques smiled even more broadly. "Allez, dans la paix du Christ."(Go, in the peace of Christ.)

"Nous rendons grâce à Dieu.(We give thanks to God.)" Catherine bowed her head and gave a gentle smile as she felt, just as she had felt every other time that she had partaken in the Sacrament, the gift of her Savior be placed upon her shoulders like a gentle mantle.

Cathy stood there with her head bowed in prayer as the elderly priest walked to the door and the other residents of Moulbaix departed in their turn past her.

Augustin came out of the sacristy in street clothes, joining the Imps who promptly dragged their schoolmate with them to show off 'the wonderful castle that they lived in'.

The escape of the three friends was successful, although judging by the indecorous haste that Kasuyu, Nongqawuse, and Miho departed the chapel in pursuit of them, the victory might be short-lived since their chores awaited.

In theory.
Spoiler: The Imps (+1) in Moulbaix…

Colombe watched the Great Escape with a small smile, while Ehren's face was suspiciously neutral and controlled. Claire smiled and then segued into Yakety Sax on the pipe organ as the chase began.

Then the Marchioness of Chasteler and Moulbaix walked to Father Jacques, who was watching the scene with twinkling eyes and a suspicious smile. She leaned close to the elderly priest and murmured. "I suppose that I shall have to supervise the roundup of miscreants."

A cry of childish delight and a thump from the grand hall and its banisters punctuated her words and Ehren's lip twitched as her mother resumed smoothly. "And level suitable punishment upon incorrigible miscreants for violation of castle rules involving unauthorized use of my banisters with my authority encompassing High, Middle, and Low Justice."

Ehren's lip twitched again. "Jawohl, Mutti! I shall be preparing the luncheon so that dishes shall be waiting to be washed!"

Toku joined the clump at the chapel door. "My thanks for the invitation, Father. I would enjoy discussing the fine points of the ceremony and its meaning later. After I arrange for mercy for the miscreants."

"Holy Mass is always open for guests, my dear." he said with his gentle, if impish, smile on his aged face. "And mercy is among the greatest of the virtues. Go with God in your mission." he gave a smiling benediction to the katana spirit as he spoke.

Toku bowed. "And walk in the light as well." She then departed on the heels of Colombe and Ehren.

Fr Jacques turned to look over the now opened chapel and noticed the mysterious blond haired girl waiting for him patiently. Cathy glanced at Claire who nodded and then scurried over, hugging Cathy then hugging the priest in turn. "I need to go now, Father, I have appropriate chase music to score as the soundtrack." The piano said in her musical voice. "Thank you, this was amazing."

"You have a truly wonderful talent, my child. I look forward to hearing the accompaniment." his eyes twinkled a bit. "May I commend to you the theme from The Great Escape?"

Claire's smugly mischievous smile lit up her face, she nodded enthusiastically, and then blinked her avatar out.

A second later, the start of the suggested music scored for piano began to play from someplace upstairs.

As it did, the blond walked to Fr. Jacques. She smiled warmly and curtsied in greeting. "My thanks for the Eucharist today, Father. I admit that I got much out of your sermon, and it is as relevant today as when I first understood the nature of hypocrisy."

The priest nodded his head. "Just so. Forgive me my dear, I failed to get your name."

The smile widened and grew more angelic.

Her next words caused Father Jacques' eyes to widen and his face to grow pale.

"I'm the Sword of St. Catherine, but please call me Cathy. Everyone does."


Author's Note: Yellowhammer here. I hope that you enjoyed this arc, and while I don't know if I'll ever be able to do the Fr. Jacques/Cathy conversation justice (I can say that the good Father will need to take a seat since he will be a bit weak in the knees upon hearing her thank him). As Sunhawk said, this is our attempt to bring light in a world that seems filled with darkness and needs us to remember that in the end light will come again. God Bless you all.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Glancing across the aisle of the minibus, Harry smiled a little as he noticed Kenshō dozing a little bit. The Kogatana's avatar was leaning against Natsumi, who was gently stroking the Tsukumogami's hair. Something about that sight made Harry flush slightly. And, briefly, Kenshō was replaced by a young child with messy black hair and Kitsune ears and tail.

Moments later, Harry shook that image off, even as it made his heart feel like it was thudding more in his chest. Right then, he wanted something to get his attention off of what had just happened. Thankfully, someone seemed to be listening as a report came over the radio, "{... In other news, another small earthquake has struck the Netherlands. While this is the fifth such quake in the past two weeks, no damage has been reported besides some plates falling from shelves and breaking. Geologists are baffled as to the source, though the epicentre seems to be in the area of Flevoland and shallow. Some locals believe them to possibly be rumoured tunnels dug in WWII collapsing...}"

Just blinking, the wizard frowned a little, "That's odd."

From where she had been poking a rapidly more annoyed Okita in the cheek, Nobu looked over and spoke up, "What is so odd about it? Earthquakes happen all the time."

Hachi, meanwhile, closed her book and shook her head, "Not in the Netherlands, they don't really have earthquakes there." Still frowning, she furrowed her eyebrows, "I wonder what is going on there?"

Looking up from her phone, Iku shrugged a little, "Who knows? Maybe they're right and there's tunnels collapsing there. Wouldn't be the first time."

That made the blonde Submarine raise an eyebrow, "Iku-Chan, it wasn't even built in time for the war. I went to Germany, remember? I know these things." A frown appeared on her face as she continued to think it over, "Though... I suppose that maybe Grindlewald got up to something? Magic does make things harder when dealing with that."

Needless to say, those words only got a nod from both Iku and Harry with the wizard frowning, "That... is less impossible than I would like."

It was not long after when they entered the outskirts of Bath and Carnwennan hummed as he looked around, "Hmm... it is still amazing to see how Bath has changed over the centuries."

Leaning back in her seat, hands behind her head, Jin gave him a raised eyebrow, "Oh? Familiar with the place?"

Simply chuckling, the dagger nodded, "Oh yes, very familiar." He gestured in one particular direction, "Arthur spent time bathing in the springs here. They rather helped him with various injuries despite being in disrepair. As well, I remember the Battle of Badon outside what is now the city."

Blinking, Harry sat up a bit straighter, "Wait, the Battle of Badon? Where King Arthur defeated the Anglo-Saxons? That battle was nearby?"

Lips twitching as he made a turn, Carnwennan nodded, "It was indeed, Master. I remember it quite well. We had thousands of Britons and some of the remainders of the Roman Legions on our side as well as some natives including one dragon. And the Anglo-Saxons had thousands more on their side. The Battle itself happened over the course of the day and by the end, we had broke them for at least a century." A far off gaze on his face, he gave a small sigh, "We had lost many, but we had still won and stood triumphant over the field of battle with the bodies of our foe strewn everywhere."

More than a little thoughtful, the teenage wizard frowned, "What happened after the battle? With the bodies and such."

Eyebrow raised, Carnwennan glanced back at him in the mirror, "Well, we retrieved our dead for a proper burial. Some took armor and weapons from the dead Anglo-Saxons. After that... Arthur ordered two trenches to be dug into which he had the Anglo-Saxon dead placed in before setting them on fire. Then, the ashes and burned bones were buried with a low mound over them, not that you can tell much now nearly fifteen hundred years since." His eyebrow raising still further, he gave Harry a curious look, "Why do you ask?"

Much to his interest, Harry had a slightly smug look on his face, "Well... I remember you complaining that someone took most of the evidence of Arthur's existence, correct? And the Battle of Badon is connected to him..." Waving a hand around, his expression became more smug, "So, what would happen if, say, we got in contact with the British Museum and let them know about the location? If it is still mostly undisturbed, that means that they can perform a dig and prove that it happened. Possibly with some artifacts pointing towards Arthur's existence."

Not saying anything for a few moments, the Arthurian weapon's spirit gained a smirk of his own, "You know, Master? That... may well work very well indeed. And last I checked, which was a year ago, the land is just pasture at the moment. Perhaps get in contact with someone so that I can speak to them, and I shall."

Part of Yae was still surprised that she knew the spirit of one of the weapons of King Arthur himself! Even in Japan, the King of the Britons was famous and known. As they were on the subject, however, the Kendoka decided to satisfy some of her own curiosity, "Um, Carnwennan-San? Could I ask you a question?"

A little amused at her hesitation, Carwennan nodded, "Of course, you can ask me almost anything."

Just slowly nodding at that, the teenage Kendoka chewed her lip for a moment, "Did King Arthur really wear the armor that he gets shown?" At the chuckles from the blade, she flushed, "Did I say something wrong?"

However, Carnwennan waved her off with a gesture, "Not at all, Yae-San. Quite the opposite." Still shaking his head, he chuckled again, "Despite what many people have for art, my previous Master, Arthur, did not, in fact, wear plate armor. Rather, in battle he wore scale armor which was itself over chain, something that protected him well. Otherwise, he wore boiled leather armor made from a Welsh green dragon he felled in a fight over some cattle. In either case, the armor was quite effective against most things he faced."

Rather amused, Okita placed her hands behind her head, "So in other words, all those pictures of him in that Knight armor, like in Fate/Stay Night, are wrong."

Slowly, the former head of the Uesugi clan nodded, "It does make a certain amount of sense when one thinks about it." When they looked at her, she shook her head, "I meant about drawing him in plate and such. Because that was the 'Knightly' armor that they were used to, thus to them it made the most sense."

Chuckling at that, Carnwennan had an amused look on his face, "Perhaps, though I imagine that my first Master likely would be amused." If anything, his expression became more amused a moment later, "Especially with that series you mentioned, FATE/Stay Night. After all, he would wonder how they knew about him having been a woman one time."

Utter silence descended onto the entire minibus as everyone digested that and bottled. Jin, for her part, summed up their thoughts regarding that bit of information perfectly with the next thing that came out of her mouth, "Wat."

Carwennan lightly laughed at that, "Oh yes! While King Arthur was a man and born such and died as one, there was a few months in which he had been transformed into a woman by Merlin. Supposedly, the old goat wanted Arthur to understand all his subjects including the women. Most of us, however, figured that he just wanted to piss Arthur off and prank him. It was the most likely thing to be quite honest." Rubbing his chin, the dagger frowned, "Hmm... though Arthur nearly punched Lancelot in the face when said Knight attempted to woo him... and did punch him in the face when he drunkenly commented that he should stay a woman for reasons."

Barely noticed by him, the others slowly blinked with the same thought going through their minds, 'Seriously, wat?'

Well, everyone but Kenshō, who was giggling at how silly it was.

Glancing at her with a slight smile, Carnwennan hummed, "Merlin might have been seriously considering it for his own amusement... that was, until he woke up in magic resistant chains that Arthur had somehow gotten from Morgana, and with me unsheathed and point against a certain place." Tone dry, he continued though his eyes twinkled on amusement, "Arthur did, in fact, tell him that if Merlin kept him as a girl than he, Arthur, would make the wizard practically one as well." His lips twitched a little at seeing the males cringe, "After that, well, Merlin could not move fast enough at turning Arthur back into a man."

Yet again, no one said anything as they digested that for almost a minute of pure silence. More than one eyebrow was raised, however, as Taiyang began to sadistically giggle.

Glancing at Natsumi, Harry could see her shake her head at him slightly. However, he was just too curious and thus cleared his throat, "Um... what exactly was the price that Morgana had for Arthur to be given those chains...?"

Extremely amused, Carnwennen hummed for a moment before answering, "Well, as I have said before, Morgana was a... bro-con, as they call it now. Upon seeing Arthur as a girl? She decided that being a Sis-con was perfectly fine as well. Thus, she had him... her... try on various clothing to show off in front of her for a day or two. I am reasonably certain that by the end, Arthur was... what is the saying? Ah, yes... Quite done with this shit."

Very slowly, everyone nodded at that and decided that, perhaps, it was best not to ask.

Fake smile on her face, Natsumi clapped her hands and nodded, "Right! Moving on from that and yet more of my illusions shattered..." Ignoring a dagger who was driving the minibus snickering and a certain foxy blade giggling, she continued, "We have a lot to see and little time to do it in."

Having unwrapped a blood orange, Juuchi hummed a little, "Well, that is what the travelling trunk is for."

Everyone blinked at that before turning to her, Usagi raising an eyebrow, "A... travelling trunk?" The rabbit Yokai looked back at the trunk that was in the back of the minibus, "What is a travelling trunk?"

Popping a slice of orange into her mouth, the Muramasa hummed, "An excellent question with an excellent answer."

When none were forthcoming, Tsukiakari sighed before turning into her seat, "It was something that Lily created in school as a matter of fact. And was something of the prototype for her TARDIS."

Iku blinked at that and raised her hand, "Um, TARDIS? She made one?" When they looked at her, she pointed at a smug Harry, "Harry-Chan had us watch some episodes before."

Just happily humming, the Kyu-Gunto nodded, "Hai, Mistress Lily did, indeed, create a TARDIS of sorts." She waggled around a hand, "It wasn't able to really travel through time, unfortunately. But Mistress Lily was able to have it able to jump from place to place in a similar way to the Knight Bus, but those inside wouldn't be bothered by it. One thing that she did do was mix various forms of expansion charms and thus it was the size of a house on the inside. She planned on using it to make a getaway from Britain if needed."

Eyebrow raised, Rika's tails swisher behind her, "What happened to it?"

With a shrug, Tsukiakari shook her head, "No one knows. It just sort of disappeared one day. Mistress Lily figured that it would come back at some point or another. Maybe it came alive due to the magic and such used in it..."

************************** June 13, 1999 ********************

Rubbing her forehead in the basement, Lily sighed a little as she looked at the blue police box in front of her. It had taken a lot of work, but she managed it! The inside was almost the same size as a house, with bathrooms, a kitchen, and a fully stocked pantry with food that would be kept in stasis until pulled out. It was simply the best.

Of course, there were the other charms. A flying charm to allow for one to propel it along through the air, twisting and turning as it went. Not to mention the same charm used on the Knight Bus that helped it avoid collisions and the like. There was even a charm that created a bubble of breathable air around it. Not to mention the charm that created the "Whoop-Whoop" sound so familiar.

That she was especially proud of.

Gently, Lily gave the side of the blue police box a pat which got a tremble from it, "There, there. All done." A giggle escaped her and she bounced a bit, "I can't wait to try you out!" Hearing a shout of dinner, she nodded, "Coming James!"

With that, she went upstairs happily humming. That night, however, sparkles of light appeared around the TARDIS and it faded away...

**************************** January 31, 2042 ********************

Frown just visible under the shadows of the cowl that the magical wore, he grumbled a bit at seeing the blue box materialize in the circle. Around? Various items were being packed into boxes by other magicals and magical automatons, "I hate that we're degraded to this. Grabbing lost items from the timestream to sell..."

A fellow cloaked magical snorted a little as they turned towards him, a feminine voice coming from her, "We do need the funds. Ever since the fall of the Statute, we have been on the run attempting to continue our research. And there's so many people that will pay for such things."

Just sneering as he picked up an odd card with a black lotus on it, he shook his head, "Honestly, who would pay millions for something like this?" Tossing it onto a table, he shook his head, "Something that some kid's parents tossed in the trash, now worth so much? People these days..."

Only shrugging, the witch shook her head, "Funds. Besides, we're just grabbing things that went missing and will not cause problems in the time stream-" Suddenly, her head whipped around, "The ward! Something broke through-"

Before she could even finish, the door burst in and something was tossed in that knocked them all to the ground as armoured people rushed in, "INTERPOL! HANDS OFF THE WANDS AND INTO THE AIR!"

With the chaos of the bust, no one noticed the blue box go flying off...

***************************** October 21, 2053 *******************

Mumbling to himself, Bastian frowned before some sparks flew and he jerked back. At the light from inside the console, he laughed, "Ha! And done! No one can stop Doctor Bastian DOOM Malfoy!"

A hand patting him on the shoulder made him look up at the blue haired girl in an odd cloak, "Thank you, Bastian. Amazing work. Shall we give her a test drive?"

Lightly chuckling, the Malfoy nodded and pressed some buttons. Outside, there was a "Whoop-Whoop" as the blue box slowly vanished from existence.

******************* August, 1962 *******************

Appearing on a lonely street, the TARDIS sat there before Bastian looked out the door and blinked as he noticed various people walking around without really paying much attention to them. What caught his attention, however was the cars going by as well as the clothes people were wearing. Flicking his wand, he blinked before nodding, "Huh... 1962. Experiment a success!" Hearing a boom of thunder, he looked up just as it began to pour, "Ugh!"

He yelped a bit as the blue haired girl shoved him to the side before shouting, "Hey! Over here! Come get out of the rain!" A man across the road with a newspaper over his head blinked and gestured to himself, "Yes, you! Come on!"

Moments later, the man squeezed through the door and sighed, "Thanks for that, though it might be a little..." Realizing there was room, he trailed off as he looked around, "... cramped? What the bloody hell..."

The girl giggled a bit, "Bigger on the inside, huh?"

Boggling, the man nodded as he took in the science fiction and somewhat mystical surroundings, "Um... that is putting it mildly..." Then he turned and gave the two in front of him looks, "Er, who are the two of you? What are you?"

Even though he was confused as to what was going on, Bastian placed his hands on his hips and laughed, "Ah, well, I'm a doctor..."

Furrowing his eyebrows, the man looked at the Malfoy, "Doctor who?"

Just as Bastian was about to say something, the blue haired girl winked at him, "Exactly~ And I am his Companion! Now, let's move forward in time to when the rain stops, shall we?"

Jaw dropping, the man moved forward as the girl threw switch after switch as she hummed some song, "Wait, go forwards in time?! This thing is a time machine?!"

Giggling, the girl winked at him, "Of course~" Then she blinked, "Whoopsies! Went backwards in time!" Going to the door, she opened it to reveal that people in armor were clashing before them, "Hmm... a little too far back."

Flicking his metal covered wand, Bastian caused numbers to appear before he nodded, "I believe that is the Battle of Hastings..."

Poking his head out, the man was yanked back in right as an arrow embedded itself in the door where his head had been. The girl closed said door and went to the console and began throwing switches not even paying attention as the man pulled the arrow from the door and stared at it, "Let's go forward, shall we?"

"Whoops! Too far forward!" "No, really? This was the launch for the final bit of the spacecraft to create a base on Phobos! In 2038!"

"Too far back?" "YES! THAT IS POMPEII AND VESUVIUS IS ERUPTING!"

"I think that we're nearly there..." "Huh... there's Winston Churchill. Been a bit since I saw him..." "Right, a decade or two at most."

************************** August, 1962 ***************

Poking her head out the door, the girl nodded as she noted the rain clouds breaking up, "And here we are! Four hours after we left and the rain is gone!"

Slowly, the man stepped out of the police booth on unsteady feet and looked around, "Um.. right, thank you."

Giggling, the girl shook her head, "No worries. Now, you're not going to tell anyone, right?"

Hands in the air, the man shook his head and laughed, "Nah, no one will believe me anyways. Two time travellers? They'd send me to the funny farm!"

Also laughing, the girl nodded before raising a finger, "Oh, before I forget!" Rushing back in, she reappeared with a pen and a picture of the odd booth in front of him, but black and white, "Mind giving me your autograph, Mister Newman?"

Just nodding, Newman signed the picture and handed it back. She gave him one more smile and closed the door before the blue police box vanished with a "Whoop-Whoop" sound. Scratching his head, Newman pulled out the arrow that nearly hit him in the head before snorting, "Bonkers..."

Placing it back into his pocket, he sighed a little before walking off. Though it was humming the song that the girl had been. Rather catchy.

"Hmmm-hmmmm... hm-hm, hm-hm, hm-hm..."

****************************** October 21, 2053 **************

Sighing, Bastian shook his head before looking at his companion as they were back in their original time, "What was that all about?!"

Only giggling and winking, the girl leaned towards him, "Spoilers!" Then she walked towards the console, "So, how is the temporal gear?"

A quick check made the Malfoy grimace, "There's maybe just one jump left on her before it burns out. I could maybe fix it, but-"

From nowhere, the girl was shoving him to the door and out, "None needed!" Rushing back to the console, she set the timer and threw some switches before raising a finger and looking up, "Remember what happened here! It's important!"

Then, she rushed out the door in time for the box to vanish once more into the ether. For several moments, Bastian looked where it was before sighing, "Right, best not to ask a Potter." Turning, he looked at the girl, "What now?"

Humming, the girl winked at him before walking past, "Oh, back to Japan! BB needs to save her sweet Senpai from two old hags, especially that fox! Just like a good Kohai should~"

With that, she was gone, and Bastian shook his head, "Should have listened to Grandfather and Father when he said Potters are crazy..."

******************* July 1, 1955 *********************

Unfortunately for the TARDIS, when the temporal travel component disappeared, that disrupted most of the enchantments and meant that it was unable to move. An Auror nearby took note of the obviously enchanted object and brought it to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office where it was placed in storage until 2005 when Arthur Weasley had inventory taken. One of the workers brought it out and, having fully recharged, it took off when he was distracted by MacNair glaring at him.

Eventually, the intelligence of the TARDIS realized that the creator was gone and settled quite some distance from where the home it was built it stood... at a corner near the Roman Baths in Bath, England. And there it stayed for almost a decade, the spells keeping people from noticing it even as they walked by... until, one day in August, 2014, a Minibus pulled up and teens came out.

Looking around, Harry blinked for a moment as he swore he saw a blue police box at a nearby corner before shaking it off. Behind him, Hachi adjusted her glasses, "Hacchan is still finding it hard to believe that your Okaa-San managed to create a trunk that functioned like a mobile home! That will make things easier, Harry-Chan."

Lightly laughing, Harry nodded, "Tell me about it! Mum was wicked smart after all."

With a soft sigh, Tsukiakari nodded a little as she walked, "Hai... Mistress Lily was one of a kind and a good match for Master James. Truly, she was born to become a Potter."

Looking around in interest, Yae blinked and pointed at a figure of a King, "Harry-San? Who is that?"

Just turning in the same direction, the fourteen year old wizard nodded, "That would be King Bladud, a Briton King from before the Romans." He gestured at the statue as he turned to the others, "According to legend, he came down with leprosy and had to go into hiding as a swineherd. One day, he noticed that his pigs were wallowing in the mud of the spring, which cured their skin conditions. Jumping in, he found himself cured of his leprosy and thus established a temple to the goddess of the spring here, Sulis. Since then, people have come to bathe in the waters and be healed."

Everyone nodded and took pictures before following Harry towards the museum...

None of them noticing a blue police box slowly crawling along behind them.

 

[darthcourt10]

mikelima777

Port Francois, Jacquet Island,

In the 19th and 20th Centuries, Port Francois was occupied by smugglers who kept a low profile and made sure to cover their tracks. It had helped that among their number was an experienced wizard who was able to restore and enhance the wards that hid and protected the island. Of course, they were not the only ones using the island. Demi-humans, some of whom remember the days of Francois Jacquet, returned to the island, as various magical societies continued to mistreat them. While tensions occasionally flared up between the groups, out of a mutual need to avoid the gaze from the ICW and magical governments, they agreed to keep the secret. For some, the stakes were higher, as a number of wizards and witches intermarried with their demi-humans neighbours.

However, events outside the magical world would once again affect the island. While the smuggling business was largely untouched by the First World War and was boosted by Prohibition, the Great Depression followed by the Second World War had a major impact, especially as the involvement of Gindlewald meant the war was occurring on both sides of the magical divide. With the Battle of the Atlantic stretching from the waters off Europe all the way into the St. Lawrence River and along the Eastern Seaboard, smuggling risked being discovered by allied escorts, the regular convoys coming from Halifax and St. John's, or the U-boats trying to sink allied shipping.

With the end of the war, the smugglers tried to continue, but with technology and greater paranoia among ICW members, many threw in the towel and left. By the 1980s, the only wizards and witches to remain were those with ties to the demi-humans. Many of the smaller huts and hovels built by the smugglers fell to disrepair, but many of the larger buildings, some dating to the original settlement, remained occupied. At the time, a growing concern was the increase of demi-human refugees, many fleeing what were described as "monstrous beings from the abyss."

In 2005, the world changed and so too would Jacquet Island.

Residents on the island could feel as the darkness overtook the waters around them, though the wards were able to hold back the apparent threat. But then a ship appeared, her aft in flames. It would be a traumatic sight none would forget. Despite the terrifying sight, the tattered Canadian flag still flew.

Aboard HMCS Halifax, the surviving crew fought back the unexplainable feelings of dread as their ship pushed on. An 11-inch shell had blown away the hangar, with her communications and navigation knocked out. With darkness and enemy fire around them, they fled towards an island that they had not seen before, despite the oppressive aura. They had no other choice.

The surviving crew took their chances, noticing that the enemy fire and their aura was staying away from the strange island. After several tense minutes under fire, they felt the oppressive aura intensify before suddenly fading away. Above the ship, they heard odd noises as incoming shells "bounced" off what appeared to a barrier protecting the island before them. That was before a number of humans suddenly appeared aboard in strange clothing waving sticks, creating jets of waters to control the blaze in the hangar.

***

March 22, 2014

A dozen men and women, dressed in worn-ragged uniforms, sat patiently around a weathered oak table, sitting on salvaged furniture. Sitting alongside them were various demi-humans as well as an elderly man lazily waving his wand for amusement. The planned meeting would likely have little importance, but it was borne out of tradition, a way to keep busy and keep a semblance of order despite it nearly being a decade since they arrived. One of the battered windows had a view of the port, and the largest ship to ever dock there.

The hulk of HMCS Halifax remained moored by the main pier. It was a miracle that the ship remained afloat, given the damage it had suffered. The hull was covered in patchwork repairs. Most of the aft superstructure had burned down, and the foremast remained a tangled mess, having partially collapsed onto the forward search radar. An improvised radio antenna was now fixed to what remained of the mast.

The crew of HMCS Halifax, after getting over the shock of learning about magic, went to work alongside the local inhabitants, the Chief Engineer working with the locals to produce rudimentary electricity. Some of the survivors intermarried as well. The crew also helped repair the crumbling buildings and built more shelters for the inhabitants.

While the surrounding darkness faded away, the ship was in no condition to leave, and until recently, they were completely cut off from the outside world. However, just before HMCS Halifax arrived, the designated secret keeper for the Fidelius charm had passed away after an unexplained illness. Since then, the barrier surrounding the island had slowly weakened. Just a month ago, they were able to pick up stray radio transmissions, and after some work, they were able to make a radio call for help. However, the transmission caused the weakened wards to react, drowning out the radio with static.

Just as the leader of the Halifax survivors arrived to start the meeting, carrying his battered officer's cap, they could hear rumblings from the barrier. Everyone scrambled to the feet and went to the windows to see what was going on.

Outside, the inhabitants and other crewmembers started to prepare the emergency shelters, though some went to the shoreline to observe.

HMCS Shannon, TF 301.2

"Let's see if this work..." murmured Tsuki as she watched the Selkies draw on a copy of navigation charts for the area. After it was confirmed that the designated secret keeper had passed away, it was decided to see if the selkies can reveal the island. Out of various concerns with being compromised or having unwanted attention, it had been decided that the Selkies would try to disclose the location only once the Canadians were within range. As a standby, Tsuki would be prepared to use her magical abilities to take control of the weakened wards.

Finally, they were done and showed the completed map to the nearby staff. Suddenly, it seemed like part of the sky split open, revealing an island. Even as that was happening, Tsuki tensed up.

"Ma'am?" Commander Greengrass asked, concerned.

"I think we might have some unwanted attention."

The Captain went to the communication station and pressed some buttons.

"Sir, we've got a problem."

HMCS Vimy Ridge, TG 301.1

"This is Sunray to all units, stand to. I say again, stand to."

Throughout the massive warship, the regular lights dimmed as the corridors and compartments became bathed in red. Klaxons sounded as the Captain went onto the 1MC.

"All hands, action stations, action station, man your battle stations."

Sailors donned flash hoods and other gear as they scrambled to their posts. On the flight deck, helicopters spooled up, preparing to head towards a new waypoint transmitted from the Shannon.

Several hundred metres away, Niobe pressed her earpiece and nodded.

"Right. Laurentia and Ontario on me. Nova Scotia, take lead with our destroyers. Corvettes and Frigates on picket; if you sniff a hint of submerged hostiles, knock 'em out of the water!"

"Aye, Ma'am!!"

Across the task groups, sailors and officers scrambled to their posts, with the task force commander radioing Halifax for reinforcements.

****
Comments, suggestions, feedback?

 

[darthcourt10]

Kab2

Sorry to leave you hanging about Sofia's predicament, but this one wanted to be written. As always thanks to Yellowhammer for lending me one of his OC for this two-part arc and some tweaks about it.
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A surprise meeting (I)

13th August 2014

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura, Japan

As people passed by, ones for tourism, others for praying; two figures that seemed mother and daughter stopped in front of the great stone hallway.

"Are you sure you don't need me, Yoshi-Chan?" asked the mature one, her purple hair undulating because of the faint morning breeze.

"Don't worry Yuuki-San, I will be fine. I would have come alone if I could, but they didn't let me and my brother is busy with work. So thank you for let me come here." The black-haired girl looked away, looking with her blue eyes at the imposing tree at their left. "Yes, thanks..."

'I wonder why she wanted to come so bad that she called me to come here' thought Doujigiri, Yuuki's true identity. "As I said to you I had to come here for visiting a friend, so I didn't mind. Remember, don't leave the shrine grounds while I'm gone. We will meet in this same spot in two hours, you have my phone so if anything happens call me."

"Hai, jaa ne, Yuuki-San" said Matsudaira Yoshi, who was unknowingly for Douji Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune reincarnated, as she turned to walk closer to the ginkgo tree.

"Jaa ne, Yoshi-Chan, take care" said the legendary sword, climbing the stairs of the shrine.

While she climbed it, Douji thought about the relationship she had with Yoshi and her cousin Yori in this 9 years since she saved them in Blood Week, they didn't asked her anything about that fateful day.

Granted, she didn't tell them anything too, but this Christmas that will change as she will reveal to them who she really is, her achievements, her failures, she will strip her heart for them.

Is the least she can do for those at her charge, she decided it after a long conversation between her, Tsubaki and Itami, they decided it was time to tell the truth to them.

Clearing her head of that matter, she crossed the courtyard to the dojo, arriving at the door she noticed that there weren't any shoes pointing the presence of people inside.

'Hmm, strange' thought Douji "Toku had so much fun in Belgium that she forgot our meeting?" said jokingly as she turned to see if the miko was asleep in the apartment attached to the dojo.

At the entrance of the apartment she extended her hand to touch the door when she felt a sting in the back of her hand. She retracted it, knowing that the slight sting was the protection spell giving a warning to unwanted visitors.

'Very strange indeed' luckily for her, she knew how to disable it from Toku if the need arised, she disabled the security system and saying sorry for the intromission she left her shoes at the entrance as well as her bokken-concealed self in the entrance rack.

"Toku-san, are you here?" she called, raising the voice a bit. At the lack of response she searched the small apartment for signs of the Masamune finding no clue. Very intrigued by this, she took out her phone and marked her number but just before she made the call she stopped 'Better not, now is night in there and maybe she doesn't want to be disturbed, I'll send her a text informing that I was here and if possible that she contacts me as soon as possible'

But at the same time she was sending the message, Douji didn't notice the noises that announced another visit.


Crossing the half-closed door, Kokonoe Yae turned her sight from the shoes that she knew didn't belong to her sensei to the rack where she normally could see the Masamune katana placed if her Sensei were in her home, but she saw a bokken in her place; intrigued by it, as Yae knew that 'normal' people cannot enter without her being here.

'And the door isn't forced so she got the magical unlock from Toku-Sensei, I wonder who she is, gozaru' thought Yae as she left her training bag along with a shopping bag containing some boxes from her trip to Britain.

Leaving the shoes and her own bokken in the rack she spoke, "Hello, I am Kokonoe Yae, Tokunotakai-Sensei's student, may I know who is inside her apartment?"

Instantly cursing herself for leaving the door open and not noticing the intrusion, Douji replied as she went to the front door "I'm Yasutsune Yuuki, a friend of hers, I entered because I thought she still got jet-lag from her visit to Europe" Douji decided to carefully select her words, as she didn't know how much she knew about the other side.

When she arrived at the door, she found a fourteen year-old girl with black hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in casual clothes that concealed a well-trained body.

Yae blushed a bit as she found the purple-haired woman... imposing, and not only for the stature (she was a head taller than her!) as she remembered the same thought about milk when she saw a certain vixen in Britain.

"Europe?" Yae quickly recovering her composure decided not say too much as she didn't know how much this woman knew about her sensei, so she played a bit with her words. "I knew she would be away from some days, so I suppose she has gone to see the blonde foreigner's home, the one who had French accent".

"That's Colombe-San, indeed" answered Douji "Kokonoe-San, would you mind a cup of tea while we chat? I'm sure she won't mind if I wash and replace what I use today while we wait for the reply from Toku-San." She then went to the kitchen as she pondered what more Yae could know.

'So Colombe is her name, Sensei never mentioned it, gozaru' "If you are sure that Tokunotakai-Sensei will not mind, Yasutsune-San" Yae said as she picked up the bag with the boxes, her feet driving her to the table where she and Toku-Sensei chatted a handful times in the past.

As she arrived she sat in seiza and took out the boxes, to let the woman know that she knew magic; while she brewed the tea Yae pondered about that woman, she had an air of gentleness that made her feel secure around her, but her instincts sharpened by her training told her that this woman was an expert in swordsmanship by how she moved, not a single movement wasted to do what she had to do.

And close to finishing, Douji turned her head to Yae and with a musical tone she said "Ara, ara~ Kokonoe-San, don't stare so much or I'll wear out" smiling at Yae.

Blushing as she was found out, she mumbled a "Sorry" while looking down, staring at her own legs.

"Don't worry." said the sword spirit, bringing two cups of green tea "I'm used to it." Placing one cup in front of Yae she narrowed her eyes at the sight of the ofuda-sealed containers, understanding Yae's motive, she asked "Mind if I touch one of this containers? I want to feel what kind of wizard had painted them; don't worry Kokonoe-San I won't open any of them."

Feeling that she made the right choice, Yae replied "I don't mind, I brought them from my trip to Britain for Sensei; I thought she would like it Yasutsune-San."

"Please call me Yuuki, with your permission then" she touched one of the ofuda, feeling the emotions the wizard was experimenting when she draw it.

She sensed gentleness, friendship, a lot of caring for the ones held close and a bit of... Self deprecating? She couldn't identify the last emotion because it was very faint, but she had a clear image of how the person in question was.

"The wizard who painted this ofuda is a very gentle person, he cares a lot for the ones close to him and considers friendship sacred." Said Douji, leaving the bad emotion out, it could become a problem if left alone, but she didn't know who was.

A bit amazed, Yae replied "You have described Potter Harry perfectly, gozaru"

The ice finally broken, they chatted for a while about Yae and Douji's work at the museum, after that they passed to other matters, like Colombe's relationship to the Muramasas.

"Yae-San, are you telling me that Colombe was the first foreigner that defeated Toku?" asked Douji puzzled.

"Hai Yuuki-San" Yae was telling Douji the events of the past week, omitting the reincarnates' presence as requested.


With this last piece, the puzzle that was for her Tokunotakai and Colombe's relationship was finally complete. 'So they were rivals that became friends and later more...' Douji sighed as her romantic side painted her cheeks with a bit of red, her hand holding her head with a dreaming gaze.

'I wonder what she is thinking, gozaru' thought Yae. She continued her explanation. "After the vision of her duel with Colombe faded, she taught me the First lesson of Mastery. Then she requested that I perform a kata with her hilt in her hands as I took my last step as her student and her first step as her peer. I was honored, but I was unsure until I began the kata and her steel illuminated with the seven Virtues of Bushido. She explained afterward that was not showing what was within her soul, but mine, and I was humbled, gozaru!" Yae finished her explanation, neither prideful nor arrogant about the fact.

Douji opened wide her eyes "That was an important step for you as well as for your Sensei, it reminds me when I taught my disciples, so long ago..." she let the last phase in the air while the pain and regret touched her heart. Quickly snapping out of it, Douji decided to honor this girl and her dedication. "It you won't mind, can I see you training in the dojo? I want to see it with my own eyes." 'And to see if the teacher in me is still alive after all this years'

Going along with her idea, Douji washed what they wave used and wrote a note for Toku if she couldn't read the text she sent earlier, commenting her and Yae's visit, the containers about the ofuda and what she will let Yae do en the dojo.

Finishing, she took her true self from the rack at the entrance and putting her shoes, she locked again the apartment's door.


When she arrived at the dojo, she found Yae already in motion, with a white headband on her head, the kanjis for Mastery and Learning visible in it.

'Interesting words of choice, because if you follow the Way you will learn that you will never reach mastery, you can only master yourself to continue learning endlessly, as the words with Tsubaki and Itami showed me' thought Douji, feeling grateful to her daughter's boyfriend, thanks to him she had begun to forgive herself for her mistakes in the past, but she was a long way ahead of her to do so.

After a little while, Douji interrupted Yae's training "Splendid, no wonder why Toku let you wield her, but I have a suggestion" Douji dispelled the spell that concealed her true self as a bokken, and offering it to Yae Douji said "I want to see you train with my true self as I am a sword spirit like your Sensei, I will say you my true name afterwards"

Gulping, Yae had suspected it, but took the unfamiliar tachi and sheath anyways, and securing them in her sash she felt the same way a week before, when in the same place she held her Sensei's true self, she breathed in and out.

In and out.

And in her imagination she was firmly planted in a battleground; behind her there was her parents, Tokunotakai-Sensei, Nobu-Chan, Okita-Chan, Uesugi-Chan and Harry-Chan among others she cherished.

In front of her stood an endlessly horde of humans and Yokai whose purpose was harm or kill those behind her.

The sword at her side questioned her.

'What will you do, stand or flee?'

And without hesitation Yae replied.

'I'll fight to protect those behind me'

In a swift movement born from the union of body mind and spirit, she took the hilt and unsheathed the sword, her edge shining in a purple light, with little sparks cracking the air around her.

"Impressive, only a few achieved what you did even when I trained them, I could say something about lost opportunities, but of those who I trained you have a skill comparable to Ushiwakamaru."

At her words, Yae tried to remember where she had heard that name before.

'Ushiwakamaru, childhood name of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, she is that old?' thought Yae, but then she remembered another Minamoto, one that the legend says that he could control the thunder.

Minamoto-no-Raikou.

Opening her eyes as far she could, she realized who the woman who her true self was holding was.

"I see that you recognized me" said Douji bowing to Yae "I am Yasutsuna Doujigiri, Minamoto-no-Raikou's tachi, please to make your acquaintance"
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Thanks for reading, comments and suggestions are always welcomed.