Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And another crosspost. One-two more and I should be caught up to the arc and actually start writing again. Suffice it to say,Taube is definitely Ehren's daughter.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (VI)

Halloween, 2036

Gothic Room, the Dragon's Tea Pot.
Spoiler: A Matter Of Malfoy Family Loyalties

Taube spoke with a small happy smile on her lips. "Auf Wiederhören, Mutti!"

Then, with a click, the phone connection went dead.

She looked over to her brother from another universe and to her shock, saw tears in his eyes as he wept uncontrollably. Beside Scorpius, Albus hugged his friend.

Taube blinked her own tears away and then moved around the table to join the hug of Scorpius, followed by Yuri.

"Scorpius, what's wrong?" Yuri asked gently.

Scorpius sobbed out. "M-my mother.... I remember h-hearing her voice b-before...."

Taube paled, remembering where she had seen this utterly bereft expression on a face before. On Mutti's face when she had told Taube about the death of her Vati Helmar von und zu Wolff over his grave at her Prussian estate in the Wolff family cemetery. Then Taube's jaw firmed up and her teeth clenched as she nodded once, decisively.

She would find a way to help her brother, after all, she could do nothing less for him. For Family.

Her eyes caught Yuri's and the Doki nodded with her own resolute expression, agreeing with the message in them.

Then Taube guided Albus Potter aside as Scorpius began to return to normal. She cast a quick privacy ward and then turned to him. With a jerk of the head at Scorpius, Taube leaned in and asked in a no-nonsense tone of cold command. "What happened to his mother!?"

The messy haired young man sighed and ran fingers through his hair. "It was a blood curse that runs through the Greengrass Family. Giving birth to him weakened her significantly and sapped her vital energies. She died last summer when her life force finally gave out. Scorpius and his father both were shattered by it, him especially since he grew up alone in that house of theirs with no one but his parents and his books for company until he met me on the Hogwarts express."

Taube frowned thoughtfully and nibbled her lip. Finally she nodded and looked at him, speaking with warmth in her normally cool voice. "I see. Thank you for filling me in, Albus." With that she extended her hand. "I'll help him."

He shook her hand and returned to Scorpius, sitting beside his friend.

Yuri came over to Taube's side as the dagger began to pace with that frown on her face. "{What is it, Taube?}" She said in Japanese.

Taube nibbled her lip again and responded in accented Japanese. "{I want to help him, I think the reason he is traveling in time is to gain the knowledge to go back and save his mother. But that is very risky, since one mistake and he's never born....}" Yuri nodded along as Taube resumed her pacing. "{I might have a plan, but I need more data. Research blood curses, especially any on the Greengrasses, would you? Hit the usual sites. Pirate Bibliotheca, SGO, Wizarding World, Pottermore, WikiMagic then shoot it to my phone. I need to make a call to talk to the family specialist in breaking enchantments.}"

With that she picked up her phone and scrolled through the numbers, muttering a prayer under her breath that the person she wanted was free. Finally she reached the family member she wanted on her list and punched her number in. A series of clicks and then a warm smoky female voice like liquid honey spoke in Spanish. "¡Buenos días, Pequeña Loba!"(Good morning, Little Wolf)

Taube hid a sigh at the cute childhood nickname that six-year-old her had acquired. She then responded in the Spanish that her other avatar had studied and transferred to her, "{¡Buenos días, Tía Estrella! Do you know anything about how to negate a blood curse on a family? Specifically one that drains the life from a woman?}"

A long pause on the other end of the phone, then her aunt's voice spoke once more. "{It depends on the power of the curse of course. I could draw it out of someone who was afflicted by it if and when I taste her blood, but it is like absorbing the Killing Curse. It latches onto nearby life forces and tries to drain them then. Very dangerous and difficult to handle. Why do you ask?}"

Taube grinned as the pieces came together and lied through her teeth. What the authorities didn't know, they couldn't forbid, after all. "{The subject came up during my NEWT Charms class and I thought to ask the expert I know about curse-breaking since the Professor's explanation was lacking.}"

"{I see. Well, I hope this helped you with your studies, Sobrina.(Niece)}"

"{Very much so! ¡Adiós Tía! ¡Nos vemos!}(Goodbye Aunt! See you!)" With that Taube hung up and smirked. She then punched in the speed-dial number at the top of her contacts list.

The phone rang once more and then her own voice sounded. "Hello, you have reached Taube Malfoy, I'm not here right now, but leave a name and number and I'll get back to you when I'm free."

Taube smirked and then spoke. "Something major and unexpected came up here. I need you to send a copy over to me ASAP and see if Yuri's present is done. I'll need it. Pay whatever it takes to get it done ASAP and send it too, it's of utmost importance. I'll explain what is going on when we meet ourselves, it is a matter of significant secrecy like the purchase of Lyra's naughty books."

Taube hung up on the voicemail of her other avatar that was attending Cheltenham Girl's College as a boarding student to network with other upper class young-ladies-to-be while preparing for business school. She then gave Yuri a thankful nod and grin as the Doki shot her a data packet wirelessly and began to speed-read the information that her friend with the superior computer and research skills had dug up on her smartphone.

Absently she sipped her coffee as across from her Scorpius gradually recovered. She then focused on him. "My parents will be coming soon to meet you, just to let you know. Yuri, can you please show them the Pensieve photos of them that you have on your phone while I do my research?"

Yuri nodded and pulled up a series of holograms of Taube and her interacting with the Potter and Malfoy extended families off of the data library on her smartphone. As she did, Taube continued to speed-read about blood curses between sips of coffee and bites of her pumpkin tart. Meanwhile Albus and Scorpius boggled at the magical images of Harry Potter, his Fleet, and horde of children.

Finally, the door opened, causing an end to the conversation. Scorpius stared at the distinguished man in the lead wearing a fashionable gray suit coat and emerald green and silver school tie who was holding a silver and ebony cane carved with Celtic knotwork and a light raincoat in his left hand. Light sparkled on the plain steel band of his wedding ring and from his gray eyes as he surveyed the room.

"Dad..." Scorpius gasped out, getting a smile and nod from Draco Malfoy.

To either side of Draco Malfoy, a pair of beautiful blond women entered in unison to flank him.

The one who stood on the right had her pure golden hair falling around her round and soft face in waves like those of the sea. An ornate Egyptian styled emerald and gold earring and necklace set complimented her classical peaches and cream complexion, as did her warm golden sundress. She gave the room a happy, sunny smile, her bright blue eyes twinkling. An additional large emerald sparkled from HMS Cleopatra's wedding ring as she posed with her hand on her hip like a fashion model.

The one who marched into position to the left was a stark, yet complementary, contrast to her co-wife.

Ice to fire, shade to sunlight, coolness to warmth, darkness to light.

Light wheat-blond hair in straight and orderly lines fell to her shoulders in an apparently plain, almost severe, haircut that nonetheless flattered her high cheekboned triangular aristocratic face with her sharp features. Steel-blue eyes surveyed the room with an expression of calm command and control, lighted on Taube, and then her lips twitched in a surprisingly warm small smile as she nodded in approval.

Ehren's jewelry was equally apparently plain at first glance, with pearls set in silver and highlighted by diamonds at her ears and upon her wedding ring which held a natural black and white pearl pair as the centerpiece. The severity of her style of dress was relieved by the ornate flourishes of an antique white gold and natural pearl necklace from the Baroque 1700s accentuating her pale throat. Likewise her clothing was an apparently simple black Yves Saint Laurent V-necked long sleeved but knee-length dress with white stockings and black leather ankle boots bound at her slender waist by a silver chain belt.

Taube smiled at the trio as the door closed behind them at Ehren's subtle gesture. "Mutti! Mum! Papa!" She called out joyfully.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The Sun had barely started to rise over the horizon in the Ryukyu Islands and, already, in one household in Fushūjima there was quite a bit of noise. Cooking at the small stove, Haruto smiled as he watched Chikako bounce around happily in a new dress and shirt, "Nya! We're going to the mainland! Going to the mainland, Nya~"

Chuckling a little, the Healer smiled at her, "We are, Chikako-Chan. Now settle down a little, breakfast is almost ready." Still brightly smiling, Chikako did so even as her tails twitched behind her. Lips twitching, Haruto turned back to the breakfast he was cooking only to feel two arms wrap around him and he looked over his shoulder to find Mie there, "Hmm? Mie-Chan?"

Said shy Inugami smiled at him and gave his waist a squeeze before kissing him. As she pulled away, Mie sighed as she laid her chin on his shoulder and chewed her lip a little, "Haruto-Kun... do you think that we'll be fine?"

A small smile on his own face, Haruto nodded, "I think that we'll be fine on the mainland, Mie-Chan. And that you'll enjoy yourselves."

Leaning back where she sat at the table, Hachimitsu laughed and grinned, "Trust us, you'll love it on the mainland."

Just blushing a little, Mie hummed some, "I-I guess... it's just that I've never been away from the reserve before. And while my crew was..."

Her sister nodded from where she sat with a glass of Tang, "Things have changed." At the nod, Ichika turned to the three Kitsune, "You have to remember, neither myself nor my sisters have ever been off the island. We were born and lived here all our lives so leaving it is..." She chewed her own lip, "Kind of scary..."

Blinking, Chikako's ears twitched some before she got up and hugged Ichika, "Don't worry, Ichika-Onee-Chan!" She then raised one fist and nodded with a serious, though adorable, expression on her face, "We'll protect you! And so will Haruto-Onii-Chan!"

Unable to help herself, Mikage snickered at the gobsmacked expression on Ichika's face as the Nekomata continued her declaration, 'Oh... this is the best way possible to start the morning...' Clearing her throat, she took a sip of juice herself, "Just remember that we're not going alone."

That made Haruto blink before he nodded, "That's right, Ayane-Chan is going along with us as well, isn't she?"

Humming, Haruhime smirked a bit, "Hai, she's coming along with us. And she hasn't been outside the island either."

Only nodding as he flipped some rehydrated powdered eggs, "I have a few ideas to be honest what to do with her since we got two days out there. Okaa-San and Otou-San already stated that we can stay the night at their home and they have no issue with Ayane-Chan staying with us either." He gained an odd look on his face, "For some reason, they had this weird look on their face..."

Unnoticed by him, the shipgirls outside of Chikako glanced at each other as they held a silent conversation over the short range radios they had. Haruhime frowning a little, '{You don't think that they know... do you? What we're doing?}'

With a small shrug, Mikage shook her head some, '{Normally? I would say no... but we are talking about Aoi-Chan and Hiashi-San. Considering those two...}'

A mental sigh came over the radio from the eldest of the three, '{They might well know... or at least have an idea.}' Bemused smile on her face, Hachimitsu snorted a little, '{Those two are far too sharp at times.}'

Still hugging Haruto, Mie glanced at them, '{Though are you sure about this, Mikage-Chan? Bringing along Ayane-Chan and the reason behind it?'

Leaning back, Mikage was silent for a few seconds, '{Honestly? Out of all the other girls here who have been attracted to our Haruto, Ayane-Chan is the only one who has not once crossed any boundaries on purpose. She's been professional when needed, and while she can be flirty at other times, she has never tried to get involved. Hell, remember that one time that she made us dresses for our date to that dance here? Just so that we would look good soon after we began dating Haruto-Kun?}'

For a few moments, Ichika considered that before nodding, '{I remember that actually. She just showed up and stated that we needed new dresses for our first real date with Haruto-Kun to make an impression. We all saw that she is, and was, interested in him deeply... Yet, when the chances came up she instead did her best to make sure that we made good impressions.}' Closing her eyes, the Inugami Carrier hummed, '{You know... thinking back now, Ayane-Chan has done her best to set us up right with Haruto-Kun.}'

Not even a moment later, Chikako piped up, '{That's because Ayane-Nee-Chan already decided that Onee-Chans were good for Haruto-Onii-Chan and should be with him, Nya. And that there was no way that she should get between you.}'

That bit of information made the others blink before Haruhime turned to the Nekomata, '{Chikako-Chan... what are you talking about? And how did you know?}'

For her part, the Repair Ship shrugged some even as she fiddled with her dress, '{Um... when I was on the streets I learned how to be really, really quiet. So I could sneak around and get food.}' The other girls winced at that reminder before Chikako continued, '{Anyways, I was playing hide and seek when I heard her crying. I was going to go and give her a hug and everything when I heard her Okaa-San asking what was wrong. And she said it was because she saw Haruto-Onii-San kiss you.}'

Unknown to her, the shipgirls all felt like a hand had grasped their boilers and squeezed. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Hachimitsu glanced at the others, '{She was crying... because Haruto-Kun kissed us?}'

Only nodding, Chikako shrugged, '{Hai... Her Okaa-San was also sad, because she was sad, and asked her why she didn't do anything before, because she could have ensnared Haruto-Onii-Chan. And she said that she could not have done that to him, because she could tell that he already loved you, mnya.}' Head tilting to the side, she frowned, '{I looked through a crack and she had this smile on her face that made me hurt. And then she said that she was happy, because Haruto-Onii-Chan was happy, stating that she saw a happy smile on his face after he kissed you... And then her Okaa-San hugged her and I left because it hurt to see how sad she was...}'

Rubbing her face, Ichika groaned, '{Fuuuuck me. That was... she honestly did...}' She glanced at her sister, who nodded before she turned back to the others, '[You know what? Screw it, us Inugami respect and adore loyalty. And going out of your way to help someone you love get whom they love and help said loves even though it kills you on the inside? That's beyond normal loyalty. So fuck it, we're going all in and we'll give it a shot to see what happens. If it works, great, she'll have a good man and we'll have a good sister. And if it doesn't... at least we tried.}'

Mie then spoke up some, '{Doesn't hurt that she's, what is the word? Hot, that's it, doesn't hurt that she's hot as well.}'

Each of the other adult shipgirls hummed and nodded in agreement. Chikako just blinked at them before shrugging, 'Grown ups are weird...'

Not long after, their breakfast was eaten and they left their hut as they walked out into the cool, though warming, morning air. Looking around, Haruto frowned a little bit as they walked, "Going to be another hot day..." Suddenly, his lips twitched as he looked at Chikako who was dancing beside him, "Nurse Chikako! What do we do if someone gets heatstroke?"

Blinking rapidly, and not noticing the amused looks both her and Haruto were getting, Chikako furrowed her eyebrows before thrusting her hand into the air, "Give them lots of fluids to help recover! Like, um... PediaLight!"

Chuckles escaping him, Haruto patted her head, "Very good, though it's PediaLyte, not light. Still, you are fully correct..." Rubbing his chin, he looked around, "Which means that I'm going to have to pick some up just in case I need it."

The others nodded at that even as he added it to his small notebook.

It did not take them more than a few minutes to reach one of the larger huts in the village. This one, unlike the others, this one had what looked like webbing on parts of it. Unconcerned with that, Haruto walked up to the door and knocked. After a couple of moments, there was noise inside before the door opened to reveal Ayane, "Haruto-Sama?"

Smile on his face, Haruto took in her messy hair and clothes that were askew, which got a blush from her, "Uh, Ayane-Chan? You did remember that you're coming with us to the mainland, right?"

Choking a little, the Jorogumo looked between them, "W-well, I wasn't sure if you would be taking me or not..."

In reply, Haruto frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, "Of course I was, I did promise after all." He then held up a gemstone on a small string, "Anyways, I brought the, uh... ward stone, so that they would recognize that you're allowed to leave the island."

Gently, Ayane took it before looking at it in awe as tears sprang to her eyes. It took some effort, but she nodded, "R-right, I'll be right back... give me a few minutes." They just nodded and stepped back as she went back inside after closing the door. And just as she said, roughly five minutes later the door opened to reveal Ayane there in a human disguise, her hair brushed and the like as well as a backpack on her shoulders, "Well, here I am... Haruto-Sama? Is something wrong?"

Unknown to her, the teen Healer in question was staring a little as he had never seen her in human form before. It wasn't really needed after all, so seeing her in tight, homemade pants with legs that went on for seeming miles caused him to stare for a moment before he shook himself free, "Nothing, Ayane-Chan, nothing at all. Though... did you make those?"

Looking down, the Jorogumo had a proud look on her face, "Hai, I did. I mean, it's not jeans, but the canvas that you brought really does work out pretty well. Don't you think?"

When she turned, Haruto's eyes widened a little at seeing just how tight said pants were. Light blush on his cheeks, he glanced away, "They really do look great on you."

Brightly smiling, Ayane nodded, "Thank you." Closing the door behind her, the spider Yokai took a deep breath before letting it out, "Well, I guess that we should be going now, Haruto-Sama."

Hachimitsu, however, then raised a finger with a smirk on her face, "One thing, Ayane-Chan... you can't call him 'Haruto-Sama' off the island. That would get some attention..." Her tail swished behind her as her smirk widened, "Why don't you call him Haruto-Kun instead?"

Moments later, her amusement heightened as the Jorogumo's face blazed. And when Ayane turned to Haruto, he just shrugged with a smile, "I don't mind."

Taking a deep, calming breath, Ayane nodded before smiling, "Okay... Haruto-Kun." She fell in with the others as they began to walk down towards the docks where the Kudagitsune was tied up. As they walked, she heard a rumble and turned to where an ATV drove past with a small trailer that had survey equipment on it. Watching as it passed, she hummed, "They're doing more survey work?"

Only nodding with his hands in his pockets, Haruto smiled a little, "Hai, they said that there's still a lot of work to be done before they start upgrading the infrastructure. They're already talking about a water treatment plant with clean water throughout the island as well as catchment for the rain. Not to mention better roads and the like."

Just shaking her head, Ayane chuckled a little in wonder, "I'm still amazed... all this work, for us. I... I don't quite know what to think."

Reaching over, the Healer smiled, "I know what to think. That this is about damn time."

That got him nods from the others and soon enough, they reached the Kudagitsune. Climbing down, Haruto did a quick check before helping each of the others onboard, Ayane last. Untying the boat, he pushed off before radioing the Harbour Master that he was off and then starting the engine.

At first, he slowly made his way out of the small bay that the main village sat around, and then put on speed once they were on open water before moving around the island to head towards Kyushu. And soon, the island began to get smaller behind them before he noticed that Ayane was staring at it with tears in her eyes. Concerned, Haruto reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Ayane-Chan? Is something wrong?"

Quickly, she shook her head before wiping at her eyes, "Sorry about that, Haruto-Sa... Haruto-Kun. It is just that... I've never been away from the island. Ever."

Gently, Haruto gave her shoulder a squeeze, "Ah, well, hopefully we make it good." For some odd reason, he felt that the look she gave him said that they already had. Lightly chuckling, he gave her a wink, "Besides, it's odd not to see you all teasing and such."

Briefly, Ayane blinked at that before she grinned a little, "Well, if you want..." Leaning forward, her shirt fell a little to reveal quite a bit as she practically purred, "I can be teasing~"

Massive grin on her face, Mikage winked at her, "You have our full permission to be as teasing as you want."

For a few seconds, the spider Yokai stared at her and the other shipgirls who all nodded at her with grins, "Well then, I'm looking forward to more, Ha-ru-to-Kun~"

Chikako noted that Haruto had gone red and was muttering to himself, but she simply shrugged it off. Instead, she moved to the side and put her face into the air as the cabin cruiser sped along and smiled, "Munyaaaaaa~"

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And the next crosspost arrives. Well here we go, the plot thickens, and Parental Authority Figures are Reasonable.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (VII)

Halloween, 2036

Gothic Room, the Dragon's Tea Pot.
Spoiler: Meeting The Malfoys

Lord Draco Malfoy stepped inside the room and his eyes widened in surprise.

Sitting across from him was a young man who could have been his younger self from two decades ago as a student at Hogwarts alongside a young man who bore a startling resemblance to Harry Potter. However, his messy Potter hair was more dark reddish-brown than Harry's dark black and he lacked the glasses and scar. Still, it was like stepping back in time for Draco, especially since he could remember his first civil conversation with Harry Potter in one of the other rooms of this tea shop over two decades ago.

Judging from the the sudden sharp hiss of steam release from Cleo and the subtle grasp of his hand from Ehren, they saw what he saw too.

The images of the past, of a road perhaps never taken in their lives.

"Mutti! Mum! Papa!" Taube called out joyfully. Draco refocused on the familiar face, smiled, and hugged his second daughter around the shoulders when she stood and hurried to his embrace.

"Well done Taube, well done!" Draco spoke warmly to the beaming Taube. "Your Mum wanted to give you a hug too."

He watched with a fond smile directed at his little girl as the blond haired shipgirl pulled Taube into a warm and tear filled hug.

Draco glanced to the side, reading Ehren's thoughts underneath her habitual cool mask as they made eye contact thanks to over one and a half decades of happy marriage. The Ehrendolch's spirit stiffened to attention at his wordless command, her heels snapping together. Ehren's wand appeared in her hand as she twisted her wrist. Then Ehren began to cast additional privacy wards with her normal finicky precision.

Satisfied that they would not be interrupted or spied on, Draco looked at the boys and gave a reassuring smile, extending his hand as he walked to them. "Lord Draco Malfoy at your service. May I introduce two of my four wives? The lady in gold is Cleopatra Malfoy, the shipgirl of HMS Cleopatra; the lady in black is Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy, the daughter of Marchioness Colombe d'Aubigny du Chasteler of Belgium."

Ehren finished the wards then she gave Taube a hug. The two spoke quietly in German in the hug. Ehren had a small proud smile on her face while the girl she was obviously the mother of nodded several times with suspiciously shiny eyes. Meanwhile, Cleo bustled over and hugged Yuri in turn. Yuri returned the hug as Taube's somewhat solemn face split in a happy smile as the hug ended.

The young man looking like Draco stood and extended his hand with tears in his eyes. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, only son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy in my dimension." He paused. "It's good to meet you."

That was all he got out before Draco pulled him into an embrace and clapped him on the back. Quietly, Draco said, "What little Taube has told me about you makes me proud that my counterpart from your world had such a son. Your friend is...?"

Scorpius nodded and then took a deep breath. "Al.. Albus Severus Potter, the youngest son of Harry and Ginevra Potter."

Draco boggled. "Wait, he married Ginny Weasley?" Then the elder Malfoy laughed hard enough to begin to double over at the boys' nods. "She's like a younger sister to him here! Still things clearly are different where you came from." With that observation, Draco turned to Albus and extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you Albus. Any son of Harry Potter or the Weasleys is a friend of me and mine."

Albus shook Draco's hand hesitantly. "You're... different... from what I expected." Albus said curiously. "Dad and Scorpius' Dad don't get along well at all and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione hate the Malfoys."

Draco sighed heavily and his lips twisted. "To be fair to them, I was an unpleasant spoiled brat and little git when I was younger and in school with them. But a few things that happened back then to me that caused me to grow up a bit. Not least was seeing what kind of path into darkness that I was on back then, plus realizing that I was hurting other people who needed me by being such a prat and a fool." His eyes flickered to the strong and proud form of Ehren speaking to their daughter and a fond smile full of memory flickered around his lips as he broke the handshake and waved a hand to move a chair for him to sit down in.

They then sat back down as the ladies joined them, moving their own chairs into a conversation circle.

Draco clasped his hands on his knees as he leaned forward to survey Albus and Scorpius before continuing. "Marriage and fatherhood changed me as well, and I'd dare say for the better. That said, whatever I and mine can do to help you two with your problem, I shall."

"We shall, dear," Cleopatra said a bit tartly as she sat beside him.

Ehren nodded and summoned her own chair. "Ja. We." She spoke and then glanced at Taube. "Family looks after family, always." Her steel-blue eyes surveyed the boys. "I am led to believe from my daughter that you are using a Time-Turner to repair damage to the timeline caused in an attempt to save Cedric Diggory?" Her voice grew cool and analytical at their nods. "He was Head Boy when I was a First Year in Hufflepuff and I can easily see how he could have died back then during the Triwizard Tournament."

Scorpius nodded. "That's correct. The last timeline I was in... well... Lord Voldemort was Minister of Magic and ruler of Britain."

Draco sucked in a shocked breath as his jaw clenched.

Cleo's sunny face hardened and turned resolute and determined.

Ehren's eyes became as cold as ice and as hard as steel as they flamed in her suddenly mask-like face. Scorpius shivered at what he could sense was lurking deep inside Taube's mother under that iron control.

Taube and Yuri shared a puzzled glance at the unfamiliar name.

"There, Headmistress Umbridge ran Hogwarts while you... the you there was head of Magical Law Enforcement. While I was the most 'popular' boy in school because of his power..." Scorpius trailed off with a sick look on his face. "It was HELL!" He finally snapped out as Albus placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Ehren suddenly headed over to hug Scorpius, speaking in a quiet voice filled with deep emotion. "I don't know how much Taube has said of my origin and nature yet, but I understand what that temptation is like to face. Rest assured, I'm as proud of you refusing that siren call into darkness as if you were my own steel and blood like she is. We cannot let that stand, but the risks must be handled carefully...." Ehren trailed off and glanced at the other two adults.

Cleo spoke thoughtfully as she tapped a finger against her lips. "If anyone trustworthy we can get a hold of discreetly can figure out how to mend that timeline, Bastian can. Should I get him?" Ehren and Draco nodded to her.

Draco spoke to Cleo while Ehren returned to her seat "Grab Bastian and meet us at the Manor. The younger children should be packed off to their American cousins by the time you get back and we can go from there. How did you travel dimensions, though? We need to pin that down."

Taube spoke up. "I'm pretty certain it has something to do with the Time-Turners -- we both were using one -- and the ritual chamber under the stone circle here. Some of the books in the Slytherin Library hinted at the ritual chamber having uses in Divination and suchlike." Yuri nodded in agreement. Taube then took a deep breath as she finished. "It may be linked to the date since the chamber is only illuminated today of all days when the sun rises."

Draco gave Ehren and Cleo a look of command and then a small smile and nod. He spoke. "That sounds like a good starting point. Also even if this is related to time, let's not waste any."

Ehren snapped to attention and spoke in her precise voice while Cleo headed out of the room at flank speed to take the Floo to Durmstrang. "I'll handle Hogwarts, Draco. Headmistress McGonnagal knows me well and trusts me. I shall explain our needs and fill her in. Taube, come with me and grab those books you read from the Slytherins while I raid the main library and get you excused for a 'family emergency'." Ehren's lips twitched in a brief smug smirk. "It's even true and not her fault... from a certain point of view. Mutti will be proud."

"Jawohl, Mutti!" Taube barked out as Ehren turned to her and stood from her chair.

Draco nodded sharply to the two ladies, who headed out on Cleo's heels. With that settled, he turned to the other three teenagers. "Well then, I'll handle the bill here and invite you to Malfoy Manor for the weekend while we decide how best to help you, Scorpius, Albus." He smirked, "If anyone asks, just say that you're some of Taube's du Chasteler cousins here for a visit."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- This is actually the first Ehren/Draco piece I did back on November 9th of last year. So have another look at the Good Ending for Best Ehrendolch (after I cleaned it up a bit to fix some continuity issues like the date and Ehren's scar from Vatipire being on her throat and not her cheek).

Ice After The Thaw

Malfoy Manor

February 4th, 2024
Spoiler: An Ice Princess Thaws

Draco's breath caught in his throat as he entered the Egyptian Room.

Framed in the sunlight of the windows and flanked by a pair of statues, Ehren stood with her back to him. She was dressed in a bright crimson backless silk dress with a string of cultured Akoya pearls at her throat as she surveyed the grounds where the children were playing in the snow.

He grinned smugly as he looked at the trim and regal form of the elegant young woman standing at stiff parade rest seemingly oblivious to his presence.

Time to play 'spot the dagger' in her new dress.

He immediately discarded her wrists and upper arms, since the short sleeves and creamy puffy lace would not give her ample room to hide herself.

Obviously her back was out as well soo....

His eyes slid down her hourglass waist to her hips and then her mid-thigh length skirt and black fishnet stockings. Finally he reached her black mirror-polished leather knee boots with silver trim around the top.

He grinned smugly and licked his lips as he came to his conclusion.

Got you, Ehren.

With that he stepped to her side and ran his hand up her right thigh. Steel-blue eyes sparkled in hidden anticipation as his questing hand found her garter and then touched the heraldic shield of the du Chasteler Heiress impaled with the House of Malfoy upon her hilt as she rested within the hidden sheath sewn into her garter belt.

"Right here."

She squeaked suddenly as his hand then took advantage of the location to cop a feel of her. She then leaned into his embrace, her steel blue eyes hooding as her lips curled into a smugly satisfied smile.

"So, how did you know this time, Bärli?" Ehren purred while she nibbled her lip as he continued to caress her.

He chuckled and nibbled her ear. "You tried too hard to divert the attention to those boots of yours. I know your penchant for misdirection, and that you place your sheath for your dagger on the right by choice."

She giggled happily and spoke with no heat in her voice. "Curses, foiled again...."

He then laughed as his hand slid out of her skirt to embrace her around the waist. "More to the point, I know how your deliciously deviant and subtle mind works, Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy. If I deduced where you had hidden yourself in your birthday present from the Fujiis, well, I would get a handful of something nice."

He made a point of visibly looking down the low-cut front of her dress as she gracefully turned in his embrace to face him. "And if you planned to hide it in your bosom, you would have turned to face me when I walked down the hall. I know that your hearing is sharper than a human's is, and that you are a deliciously paranoid little witch. Which has saved us all more than once. So you know fully well that it was me walking toward your back."

He gestured with the cane in his left hand, a legacy that he had adopted from his father to carry a concealed wand at all times. "Easy enough to know that with my third leg here." She raised one pale-golden eyebrow in her aristocratic face at his statements, with a smugly amused look on her face.

For long moments they stared into each others eyes, then began to chuckle in stereo.

She laughed throatily and kissed him passionately as her hands found his cheeks. "Guilty as charged, Bärli. The lingerie you just discovered is new too and I'll show it to you later tonight once the children are worn out from making snow forts and Niobe, Cleo, and Johnston join us. I have already arranged for suitable means of rehydration for us."

She then turned back to the window and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming up here. I was... indulging my nostalgia while the children are playing while the others watch them."

Draco reached up and gently traced the near-invisible scars on her throat that she had been given by her late and never to be sufficiently damned Vati as he spoke reminiscently. "The first time we spoke here. The day where you declared that you were not good enough for me. Not worthy of our love."

Ehren sighed softly as her lips curled in a nostalgic smile. "Ja. I was a foolish young girl then. More foolish than I am now, certainly. One would hope." Her voice was equally soft as he hugged her to him.

She then smiled and looked up into his eyes. "I have often said this to you and the others, but it bears repeating. Thank you for believing in me and loving me when I was finding it difficult to love myself."

Draco gave a matching smile as he responded, "Thank you, Ehren, for giving me the chance to claim your heart. Even if it was a group effort between my sister, your sisters, our parents, and my Fleet to coordinate our efforts and carry a plan to win your hand in marriage."

He then leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips before chuckling with an undertone of self-depreciation. "I find it quite ironic that my fate was sealed with Johnston, Cleopatra and then Niobe with little understanding of events, or understanding that they would not take no for an answer. Especially when I cemented their love with my efforts to build them up and draw out what I saw. Then I turned the tables on the story of my life and delivered the same to you, Ehren du Chasteler, once I saw that you were in desperate need of someone such as I. Despite your attempts to deny what you needed."

Her eyes gleamed with memories as her own shyly happy smile blossomed on her face. "Indeed I was in desperate need of someone such as you. Claire, Mutti, Ying, Estelle, Toku, Del, Zamarad, and Jackie all sustain me in their own ways, but you, my Bärli, you completed me. I didn't deserve you then, and still do not. You helped teach me that love is not about what we deserve, for we don't deserve it and all fall short in our own ways. But love is about what we accept as a wonderful gift given to us."

He spoke as he stared into her shining loving eyes. "I was a foolish boy not worthy of Johnston's love when we first met, as you well know from our stories. You through no fault of your own," his voice grew commanding and he mock-scowled as her smile widened, "had your own darkness that caused you distress. Having known your mother and family for the last years, I can say that you get your penchant to take the hard way when it is the correct way honestly."

She nodded sharply, her voice steely and resolute. "As it should always be. As I told you that day, once you find something deserving of your faithfulness and honor, as my family and yours is worthy, if you follow your honor to the bitter end, you shall never go wrong."

He laughed and scooped her up in a bridal carry with the aid of a Weight-Reducing charm as his discarded enchanted cane floated behind him. "That is why I love you so much, my beautiful Ehrendolch. Whenever I have questions as to what honor demands of me, of us, what the right way forward is, you always help us find the correct answer for ourselves since Deine Ehre Heisst Treue."

She blushed and then gave him a tender look filled with the things that she sometimes struggled to say as her arms encircled his neck.

Finally she whispered quietly with her heart in her tear-filled eyes. "And you help me in my turn express the things I'm unable to say by myself, Draco. My love."

Their lips met as he carried her into their ancestral manor.

 

[darthcourt10]

Mushapi

So here is another snippet of Siusan and Haruka. Love writing these two. If you have any questions or thoughts for a future snippet let me know.
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"And that is why if you find yourself in the woulds and you ever hear the baying of hounds whose call fills your very being with ice run! Run fast and run far until you can run no more lest Gwyn ap Nudd and his Wild hunt will claim your souls."

The children in front of Siusan cowered in fear as she dramatically raked her arm toward her captivated audiance. Haruka watched with a bemused smile. When she had noticed Siusan growing restless because of the nebulous threat permeating around her she had asked Hoshi-Dono for ideas. The Kitsune had comiserated as Siusan had begun to drive everyone a bit spare with her fretting which often took the form of cooking which while enjoyable to a degree had begun to overwhelm the Ono household. But Hoshi quickly came up with a solution which was to occupy her time at the local daycare. Like most Fae Siusan adored children and quickly became distracted enough that she could relax.

"That's not real... is it?" Asked a boy who at first puffed himself up before failing to meet Siusan's eyes out of nervousness.

"Aye, child who smells of raindrops it is very very real. The Wild Hunt and its riders go by many names and their hunting grounds cover much of Europe but I am afraid they are quite real. For this reason I implore you to run lest you become their quarry." Siusan looked at the children with eyes familiar with loss, Haruka remembered. His name had been Boyd, Siusan told her, He liked singing and playing in the woods and had a way with animals similar to herself. One night he failed to return to the Keep. The baying of hounds had been heard and the who family had shuttered up except Siusan. She had noticed that the child had not returned from his outdoor adventure. She returned in the morning with his broken body.

Forcing a smile Siusan sighed, "Well enough about that tale of caution who want to help me make some cookies." The children all raised their hands and followed her into the daycare's kitchen where the old fox began to impart the ancient art of baking.

Seeing this Haruka wanted to wrap her up in her arms and kiss her, so she did. Just a small peck on the cheek. "Are we baking some cookies?"

"Ah yeah, Lily Child's recipe. Though the Children could use a pick me up." Siusan gave Haruka a kiss back while some of the children made funny faces.

Siusan stopped to ponder her head tilted to the side considering, "Don't know if Harry Child has the recipe himself or for that matter any others so I have been practicing them until I get them right. I watched all our children so much that really its not to remember their recipes but I want to make sure I get it right before writing them down. I noticed how much Harry Child enjoys cooking for those he cares about so I thought a family cookbook featuring the recipes of all of his ancestors might make a nice gift."

Haruka looked at her love, "Ohhh, is that why you've been baking as much as you have?" She helped up one of the children so that she could help stir.

Siusan blushed, "One of the reason I suppose. It is just incredibly nerve racking, Harry Child's predicament. The lad is surrounded by extreme danger on all sides!" She punctuated her statement with a plop of cookie dough onto the baking sheet before allowing the children to copy her. "Fortunately there are enough people that love him and are protective of him that for now its not immediate. I just wish that this blasted war could end so I do not have to worry as much."

Sliding the cookies into the oven Siusan led the children back to the main room of the daycare where soon she was dragged into playing an evil dragon for the children to heroically defeat before suddenlly it turned out she was actually a princess in need of rescue. Haruka looked on a with a smile on her lips. She may have been robbed in her first life from growing old with Siusan but now she had found her lily and despite the years and pain things were slowly becoming better.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

After they were out of sight of the island, Haruto pressed a button and then pushed the throttle wide open. With a throaty growl, the Kudagitsune practically leapt forward as it sped up. Behind him, Ayane stared wide eyed as the wind really whipped up as they seemed to skim along the surface, "How fast are we going!?"

Glancing back, Haruto laughed a little, "Right now? About ninety miles per hour or so which is about seventy knots." Gently patting the dash, he grinned some, "She's a fast little girl after all."

Smile on her own face, Hachimitsu stroked the side of the boat that she was leaning against, swearing that she could feel a small shudder, "Hai, she most certainly is. And a lovely one as well."

When Ayane turned back to him, the Healer shrugged, "As for how? I got one of those supercavitating propellers on her. Also enchanted her so that she's a bit lighter with a modified flight charm so that she is able to get the most speed possible, which lets me make the trip to Kagoshima in about... three hours or so. Fast enough that Abyssals can't really target me since by the time they know that I'm in the area, I'm already leaving."

The shipgirls there only nodded a bit as they smiled some, hair whipping in the air.

For the next two hours or so, they chatted about various things and, once they were close enough, Haruto turned on the radio to give them some music. Eventually, Ayane noticed a column of what looked like smoke rising high into the sky in the distance. Blinking, she shaded her eyes with her hand, "What's that now? A thunderstorm?"

Only looking in the same direction, the wizard shook his head, "No, that would be Iōjima." At the looks from the Jorogumo, he pointed, "A chunk of the island is made up of an active volcano. No one is quite sure what happened, but the Abyssals did something when they tried to set up on the island and it's been practically blowing its top ever since. Don't want to get too close due to the pyroclastic flows heading into the sea, but it acts as a signpost of sorts." Haruto slowed the boat and shook his heads at the confused looks he got, "We're pretty close to Kagoshima and don't want to attract attention due to going too fast."

Hopping up onto the bow, Chikako blinked as she scanned the sea before pointing, "Haruto-Nii-San! Look! Right over there!"

Eyebrow raised, Haruto turned in that direction before smiling with a small chuckle as he saw a greyish-white object bobbing in the sea, "Well now, that would be a hunk of pumice." Suddenly, he glanced around before turning to Chikako as he slowed the boat, "Chikako-Chan? Could you head over and grab it?"

Confused, the Nekomata nodded as she scrambled to the side of the boat before pausing as she looked over at him. "Um, why, Haruto-Nii-San?"

Seeing the similar questioning looks, he smiled a little, "Pumice is a rough stone. However... it is really effective as a skin abrasive. Or, more importantly, for things like when reptilian and arachnid Yokai molt." Looking over at a surprised Ayane, he smiled, "Just rub it along and it can rub off dead skin and such."

Interested, Ayane looked at the rock bobbing in the water even as Chikako leapt over the side, summoning her rigging. It did not take the Repair Ship long to bring over the breadbox sized lump of stone, "Here you go, Haruto-Nii-San! I got it!"

Now looking around, Mie sent out some broomstick fliers. At the looks, she winked, "Well, there might be more floating around, so..."

Grin on his face, Haruto laughed, "Thanks, though depending on the amount..."

However, the Inugami Carrier only shook her head, "We can store them on our hulls for now, we have the room after all.:

Simply nodding at that, Haruto held the stone in his hand before turning to Ayane, "So, what do you think? Willing to try it?"

Thoughtful for a moment, Ayane took the stone and rubbed her hand along it, feeling the roughness. Molting was always a hard time when it came to Jorogumo, and it was also somewhat difficult to remove the dead exoskeleton. But this... this could help. Grin on her face, she giggled some as she hugged him from behind, "Thank you for this, Haruto-Kun, it will make my next molt so much easier~"

Blushing, the young man coughed a bit, "U-um, right then, glad to hear it."

A glance at the others told Ayane that they were more amused at how much blushing Haruto was doing and her actions than anything. So she gave him another squeeze before backing up and helping Chikako back onto the boat. Within a half hour, the group had gathered quite a bit more pumice before they came into sight of southern Kyushu. Bringing up her hand, Haruhime pointed at a some cliffs, "There's Cape Sata!"

Eyes wide, Ayane leaned against the side, "Is that... Japan? The mainland?"

With a hum, Haruto smiled at her some, "Hai, or at least the island of Kyushu. We'll be entering Kagoshima Bay in about fifteen minutes. Now then... I'm just going to contact the Harbour Master..."

Moments later, Haruto pulled out the radio as he began to speak into it. Siding up to Ayane, Mikage smiled a little at her, "Excited?"

Glancing at her, the Jorogumo stared for a few moments before shaking her head, "You have no idea, Mikage-Chan. I..." With brief look at Haruto, she took a deep breath before letting it out, "I never thought that I would leave the island. Ever. Yet here I am about to reach the mainland and... and it's because of..."

Her own gaze following Ayane's, Mikage chuckled a little, "Because of our Haruto-Kun."

Slowly, Ayane nodded some before she turned her head to look at Southern Kyushu as they entered Kagoshima Bay. Even from here, she could see some of the coastal fortifications surrounding it. For a few moments, the arachnid Yokai was quiet and when she spoke, it was in a near whisper, "I... know that it was different for you, Mikage-Chan, same with your Nee-Sans. But... it is something of a dream for us young girls born and raised in the Reserves. To have a handsome young man arrive and carry us away from them, to bring us to freedom. And for Jorogumo..." She held up one hand which became covered in chitin, "... We dream of someone, when young, who accepts us for whom we are and looks beyond the legends."

The Kitsune didn't say anything, and she could see that her sisters and the Inugami twins were listening closely.

Ayane, meanwhile, continued quietly, "I'll admit... I had that dream when I was a young spiderling. That I would find a handsome prince who would wisk me away from everything into a wonderous adventure that was on the mainland, away from the Reserve. But as I grew older... I realized that was just that, a dream of a young girl who didn't understand the world." Turning, she smiled at her friend with some tears in her eyes, "So this..."

Understanding appeared on Haruhime's face as she nodded, "That was why you were so surprised this morning when we picked you up. Because you figured that it would stay a dream and you wouldn't be able to come with us."

Only shrugging, the Jorogumo shook her head, "And can you honestly blame me? I am a Jorogumo, I know how most of Japan on the magical side sees us, as the monsters that our ancestors were. The chances of me being allowed, even now were..." After a moment, Ayane sighed some before looking towards Haruto, "Which was why I wasn't even prepared."

Gently hugging her, Hachimitsu sighed some, "You know, Haruto-Kun did argue for you to come." Seeing the surprised look, she grinned a little, "It was something to see when he argued with the guy from Kyoto overseeing the Reserve until the Statute falls entirely. His issue was that you were a Jorogumo, but Haruto-Kun? Well, his argument that there was no difference between you and a normal person, because you are a normal person, and thus safe? It won because one of the representatives from the No-Maj government was there and agreed."

Hearing that, a single tear rolled down Ayane's cheek as she hugged herself, "He... he did that, huh?" At the nods, she looked at the Healer and sighed some, "You... are so lucky to have him be your husband to be. So very lucky."

What she did not see was the others look at each other and nod. However, what she did notice was when Ichika grinned at her and winked, "Well... you know that dream?" At her confused nod, the Inugami continued, "None of us have an issue if you were to act like you were living it out. Not in the slightest."

Eyes staring, the arachnid Yokai boggled at her, "Are you serious?" Seeing the nods, she chewed her lip, "Um, you do realize what I was talking about, right?"

Lips curling into a smile, Mie shook her head, "We trust you, Ayane-Chan. So go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Only nodding, the Jorogumo smiled back at her happily.

Roughly an hour later, Ayane was staring in awe at the clustered buildings including high-rises along the waterfront, "How many people live here...?"

His lips twitching, Haruto chuckled, "Well over five hundred thousand people actually." Staying out of the way of a cargo ship which he kept a close eye on, the wizard hummed a little, "Just stay close when we get off the boat, I don't want you to get lost."

Still gobsmacked, the Jorogumo looked at him, "No kidding." Then, she smiled and hugged him, "So how close do you want it~"

Briefly, Haruto flushed but then smirked as he looked over his shoulder, "Well, this is fine. I suppose. At least this way you won't get lost."

Moments later, he laughed as Ayane went red. Not long after, he pulled up to a pier and grabbed the rope tossed by him by a somewhat burly man and tied the Kudagitsune up to the pier. The man in question looked over the girls before grinning, "Oy! Hinata-San, taking some girls on a bit of a boating trip, hmm?"

Lightly laughing, the Healer rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, well, you know how it is, Higashi-San. Decided to visit from the local islands and they wanted to experience some city life."

That only got him laughs as the man continued to tease them until they left. Watching as they disappeared towards the nearby parking lot, the man snorted some, "Lucky guy has that many hot girls." Pausing for a moment, he tilted his head a little, "Wonder which one of them is that little girl's actual Onee-San though..."

____________________________________________________________

After getting into the small van that Haruto owned, and which had slightly expanded insides making it more comfortable for all of them to sit, they were off. Bouncing in her seat a little, Ayane grinned widely, "So this is a car?"

Glancing in the mirror, Haruto found himself blushing a little due to what the Jorogumo's bouncing did, "Um, well, more a van, but hai?" Quickly, he focused back on the road, "Though it's more of a Kei Van than anything."

Curious, Hachimitsu looked back from the front passenger seat, "Hmm... I take it that you remove the seats when using it to get things?"

With a nod, the wizard smiled a little, "Pretty much, I don't need the seats myself, after all. And it makes things easier to transport. While Apparition is speedy, it's hard to hold onto everything when doing it. Besides, it was less noticeable to anyone from the Diet who might be watching."

Only listening with one ear, the rest of Ayane was focused on looking out the window at the streets and buildings. Never had she seen so many people in an area before after all. The sights and smells, as well, were nearly overwhelming. Hearing her name, she looked over to find Hachimitsu raising an eyebrow at her, "Hmm? Sorry about that..."

Just chuckling, the blonde Kitsune shot Haruto a look before turning back to her friend, "Haruto-Kun was wondering if you wanted something to eat. Since you've never been off the island before."

Nodding, Haruto looked in the mirror, "So, anything in particular that you might want to try? Name it and I'll do my best."

That caused the Jorogumo to blink and give it some thought as she thought it over. Eventually, however, Ayane nodded and smiled a little, "I think that I might want a... burger, I think it was called?" She gave a small shrug, "I've heard about it from Hachimitsu-Chan and the others who came from Outside, so..."

Rather bemused at the choice, Haruto chuckled a little, "A burger place it is."

Fifteen minutes later found him pulling up to the curb and Mie looked out the window at the sign, "MOS... Burger?"

Small grin on his face, the wizard chuckled some, "Hai, it's a good place for burgers... so then, I know what Hachimitsu-Chan, Haruhime-Chan, and Mikage-Chan would have." He winked at said Kitsunes, "After all, they used to take me here all the time." That got Haruto chuckles before he looked at the others, "But I don't know what the rest of you might want."

Head tilted to the side, Chikako ignored how the others told him to surprise them before the Nekomata perked up, "Do they have fish, Onii-San?" At his nod, she grinned widely and threw her hands into the air, "Then I'll have fish!"

Winking, Haruto pointed a finger at her, "Right, one fish burger for the cutest Nekomata. As for the rest..." He hummed some, "I have a few ideas... so I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Interested, the two Inugami as well as the Jorogumo watched as the young man walked into the fast food place. Considering that, Ichika looked at the Kitsune, "So... that's the burger place that you used to go to with Haruto-Kun?"

Haruhime grinned a bit and nodded, "Hai, it is." Licking her lips some, she hummed, "We used to go to the local MOS Burger after going to the park and such. It was always a treat to do so as well since, well... you know."

Sigh escaping from her, Mikage nodded a little, "Ah, how I miss those days..." Then, she grinned as well, "Though I am looking forward to the days to come as well."

It wasn't long before Haruto returned with their food and waving at the people inside. Getting into the van, he sighed a little as he set down the large bags, "There we go... just let me find somewhere that we can stop and eat." Once he did, the Healer proceeded to start giving out the food, "Now then, for Haruhime-Chan, we have the teriyaki chicken burger, Mikage-Chan the chicken burger, and Hachimitsu-Chan, the tsukune rice burger."

Each of the Kitsune took said burgers and, if their tails were out, they would have been wagging them. Unwrapping hers, Hachimitsu looked at her burger which instead of bread buns, had rice cakes with a chicken burger between them. Licking her lips, she grinned as she leaned in, "Come to Kaa-San you beautiful thing, you..."

That got snickers from her boyfriend as she bit into it and had a joyful look on her face. Shaking his head, he reached into the bag and pulled out the next one, "Let's see, for Ichika-Chan we have a bacon cheese burger, and just a bacon burger for Mie-Chan..." Both Inugami took theirs as he passed one to Ayane, "For Ayane-Chan, they had one of their double patties, one chicken and one beef, with bacon."

Her eyes wide, Ayane took the offered food and looked at it, "Um, thank you..."

Grin on his face, Haruto nodded, "You're welcome, Ayane-Chan." Pulling out one last item, he passed it to Chikako, "And, for Chikako-Chan, we have a fish burger."

Bouncing happily on her seat, Chikako took it and quickly unwrapped it before nodding, "Thank you, Haruto-Nii-San!" She then opened her mouth and chomped down with a purr, "A-humpf!"

Only shaking his head, even as he found it adorable, he pulled out his own burger, "And, for me, one of their spicy burgers."

Moments later, he passed each of them drinks. Those from the reserve watched in some bemusement as the Kitsune practically moaned as they sipped their sodas before looking at their own, Ayane took a hesitant sip before pulling back with a blink and sniffing some, "It fizzes? Huh..."

Placing it aside, the Jorogumo looked at her friends and how they were eating their own burger before unwrapping hers. For a moment, she sniffed it before her mouth began to water at the smell of cooked beef and chicken. Beef, especially, as it was not something that she had ever really had outside of jerky, which was good itself, especially when transfigured into something rehydrated. Though, from what she had been told, it lost something in the taste.

With a swallow, she opened her mouth wide and bit down, teeth going through the bun followed by the vegetables, and then the meat. Almost immediately, her eyes widened before drifting close with a low groan, "Ish is amazing..."

Once she swallowed, she took another bite with a groan, which unnoticed by her made Haruto pause and flush a little. Not helping matters was how the two Inugami were also making very happy noises as well. Of course, Hachimitsu and her sisters were just giving him smug smirks as they ate their own meal.

Chikako, meanwhile, considered asking them not to be so silly before shrugging it off and continuing to happily eat her own fish burger.

Swallowing another bite of her burger, and washing it down with a coke, Mikage looked over at Haruto, "Haruto-Kun? What did you get for the sides?"

At that, the others perked up and waited to hear what he had to say, though the Healer nearly laughed at the sight of the two Inugami and one Jorogumo with their cheeks puffed out. Instead, Haruto gave a small shrug, "Couldn't decide, so I went and got the mix boxes, you know? So some fries, a few pieces of different chicken, fried mussels... that sort of thing."

That only made the Kitsune nod happily and, as it turned out, those from the Reserve loved the sides as well with Ayane adoring the black pepper chicken.

Of course, when the arachnid Yokai licked the wrapper from her burger, she didn't notice the wince from Haruto, though she noted he looked uncomfortable when she handed it to him to place in the garbage as she shook her head, "That... was amazing, though..." She gave him a look, "You didn't need to spend so much money on me."

Rather confused, Haruto looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Blinking, Ayane gestured at the empty bags, "The food, it had to be really expensive due to how good it was. I mean... that is how it works, right?"

For a few moments, the Healer looked at her before wincing, "Actually? It is rather cheap... it's called fast food for a reason after all."

Now, it was Ayane's turn to look at him in confusion, "I... that was cheap? B-but it was good, and filled with meat! So it had to be gourmet, right?"

Once more, Haruto winced at that before turning around in his seat and placing his hand on hers, "Ayane-Chan, it wasn't. Food like that is common off the reserves."

Staring at him, the Jorogumo boggled before looking at the trash, "I-it is? Really?" At the nods not just from Haruto, but the Kitsune, she slumped back a little in her seat, "Huh..."

Haruto looked at her with a sad look before he looked out the window. When he did so, something caught his eye and he blinked before smiling some and opening the door, "Come on, everyone out!"

More than a little lost, the others looked at each other except for Chikako. Said Nekomata was already wiggling out of her seat and heading for the door, "Okay, Haruto-Nii-Chan! Munya!"

Lightly laughing as the others followed, the Healer patted Chikako on the head as she gave a small purr. Arms crossed, Haruhime gave him a look, "Okay, what's the big idea, Haruto-Kun? I mean, wanting us out?"

Not saying anything, Haruto helped Chikako up on his shoulders before looking towards an amused Haruhime and then pointing, "I thought that everyone might want some crepes. And there's a stand right over there for it."

Eyes widening, Mie looked over at the stand and placed her finger against her lips, "I... I've heard of crepes. But never tried some..." Swallowing, she took Haruto's hand in hers as they walked over to the stand and looked wide eyed at the selection, 'Wow...'

Minutes later found them at a picnic table that the wizard placed some privacy charms around. Watching as Mie bit into a strawberry crepe, he chuckled at the blissful look on her face, "I don't need to ask if you liked it."

Swallowing, the Inugami shook her head, "No, Haruto-Kun, I love it." Leaning over, she kissed him before deepening it. As she pulled back, Mie flushed some, "Mmm... chocolate."

Grin on her face, Hachimitsu shook her head, "Well, Haruto-Kun always did have a sweet tooth after all..." Then, she pulled him into a kiss before pulling back and licking her lips with a sly look, "And still sweet after all these years."

It went without saying that Haruto had a deep blush on his face, one that only deepened as his other girlfriends joined in.

At the same time, Ayane was also eating hers happily, even as she watched the antics with a smile. A giggle escaping her as she saw Haruhime bit into Haruto's treat, 'This... was everything that I could have hoped for.'

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And here... we... go.... All new content to write to keep going on this arc.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (VIII)

Halloween, 2036

Hogsmeade

Draco Malfoy glanced at the young boys -- no, men -- walking with him alongside his daughter's friend Yuri through the streets of the village. Inside the privacy of his own mind, he saluted mentally. While Scorpius was not his son exactly, he was someone who Draco would have been proud to call his son. The young man had definite promise and Draco was glad to see it.

Hearing of that other world, where he had never had a sister -- even one as annoying and exasperating as Nimi had been sometimes after they met -- and never met the four ladies who filled his life had been hard for him to listen to, though.
Spoiler: A Phone Call With A Taffy

He looked at the trio, and then chuckled as his phone began to ring with "Anchors Aweigh". He pulled it out, accepted the call and spoke in one long practiced motion. "Hello Johnston! The Anti-Candy Halloween Task Force has set sail?" He grinned at the mental image of the peach-haired shipgirl who was no doubt lying on her stomach kicking one foot in the air as she made her call. The shy, gentle, and sensitive woman hidden within the brash and heroic Taffy that she only allowed few outside her family to see. Such as him and the others who knew the girl inside one of the most decorated and respected badasses in the history of the United States Navy.

"Aye Aye, Muffin! Wash just left port with them. She plans to refill her candy bunkers too and have fun with her sisters while the rugrats are busy." A pause, and her energetic chipper voice became more serious. "How are things on your end?"

He smirked. "Taube's new friends are about to come over. I'll brief you and Niobe in under four eyes and they will probably be staying the weekend. Cleo's picking up Bastian so we can pick his brain. Ehren and Taube will be along separately with some spellbooks with any luck. Once we have everyone assembled we'll go from there."

Johnston spoke with a note of approval in her voice. "Aces! Taube had an avatar pop in with a warded box that she ran up to her room. She told Niobe that it was something that she had been working on that her other self asked her to pick up. Know what's up with that?"

Draco shook his head. "Not a clue, honestly. She's Ehren's daughter that way and doesn't see fit to tell her old man anything. Remember how I had to interrogate JJ when they were thirteen to find out why she was moping all the time?"

Johnston giggled and he could see her nodding enthusiastically with that happy smile on her lips. "Yeah, she found out that Seeker for Ballycastle that she had the massive crush on was actually married. Dunno what she saw in him, she could do so much better. And he wasn't even any good."

Draco shrugged as he responded. "Beats me, honestly. I rely on you and the others to fill me in on the mysteries of women anyway, honey. Or not, and you four treat me like a mushroom, keep me in the dark...."

The two chorused with matching happy smiles as they finished the saying "....and open the door from time to time to toss shit on me!"

"I'll be bringing Taube's friend Yuri and the other two over. Ready for me?" Draco asked.

There was a pause. "Give us thirty to get the house cleaned up a bit? I'll call you when we get all the toys picked up and Brand's paints stowed once more. He's really good, you think that he should pursue painting?"

Draco smiled. "He loves to paint and actually sits in with me a lot in my studio for private lessons. So yes, I'm going to see about some professional education for him if he doesn't outgrow this as a phase. It will be a hit to the wallet, but I'm going to see about the École des Beaux-Arts for him. Colombe has the in with them anyway since she knows the professor that identified her Monets and Renoirs. Remember it's not what you know..."

Johnston finished. "...it's who you know. And who you can write the big checks to! Either Ni or I will call you back when we get the house cleaned up. Seeya then, Muffin!"

"Looking forward to it, honey!" Draco said as he ended the call.
----------------------------

Malfoy Manor
Spoiler: Stahlhexe

With a bang of displaced air, Scorpius Apparated into his family's home alongside Albus, Yuri, and this version of his father. He blinked and looked around his father's study curiously.

The ambiance was a mix of familiar and alien. The layout, the paintings, and the furnishings were familiar... mostly. But mixed with them were discordant touches.

Instead of the painting of Grandfather Abrexus next to the door to the Green Parlor, a magical photograph of six young women on stage dressed in short robes, basilisk skin jeans, and with a variety of musical instruments playing in the Great Hall at Hogwarts was hung.

Curious, Scorpius walked over and examined it.

Two of the young women in the band were immediately familiar. Ehren was singing in the center with a look of desperate passionate desire and intensity in her eyes that caused him to shiver. Behind her, Cleopatra was playing a guitar flanked by a silver haired young woman and another who looked identical to Father who were backing her with identical smiles on their faces. A reddish-peach haired girl with her face painted like an Indian was energetically playing the drums. Finally a black haired girl was enraptured as she played the keyboards with her eyes closed and a blissful smile on her face. Over them all a magical illusion flickered and flashed spelling out one word.

STAHLHEXE

Scorpius frowned thoughtfully, then started slightly in surprise as Draco walked to stand at his shoulder. "That's from the Yule ball my Fourth Year. You have met Cleo and Ehren already. Niobe's on Bass Guitar, and your Aunt Nimue, my twin sister, is on Rhythm Guitar. Your Aunt Claire, Ehren's sister, is on keyboards and Johnston's 'the best damn drummer in the US Navy'. Nimi, Claire, and Cleo formed the band and roped the rest in. We still sometimes do gigs for old-times sake, but we were big back in the day as teenagers."

Scorpius nodded, not sure what to say in response to that explanation.

Draco patted him on the shoulder. "I know I'm not your father, but I'd like to share a little advice with you that was shared with me when I was your age, Scorpius. If and when you find something, or someone worthy of your love and devotion, if you follow that love and devotion to the bitter end honorably, you can never go truly wrong. Also, the harder the road to victory, the sweeter the triumph at the end."

Scorpius looked at Draco's face and saw a smile on it that made him look decades younger as he looked at the photograph. The older Malfoy was lost in memories as he spoke quietly. "Back then, when I was your age, I wasn't sure about a lot of things. Not least, my feelings towards Ehren and hers toward me; she had... has trouble expressing herself. I didn't know if she truly loved me back then, until she sang that night. Later I found out that Nimi, Claire, and the others had goaded her into it, helping her articulate feelings on their behalf that she could never express on her own as she was then. Friends are like that. As is family."

Draco's voice was hushed and filled with memories. "She felt tainted by her past, by her heritage, by her origin. She still loved me desperately and deeply, but was willing to destroy that part of herself to not cause us pain since at that time Johnston, Cleo and Niobe had all secured a place in my heart. She loved me and them enough to suffer in silence behind her masks so our happiness would not be hampered by her darkness."

Scorpius nodded and spoke. "But you married her, though."

Draco nodded, still looking at the photograph of the band. "Indeed I did. After I realized what she felt for me despite her best efforts to deny and suppress it, and after I realized that I felt the same way toward her in my turn I found out that the others loved her as I did. Well. We set out to win her hand and her heart. It wasn't easy or simple for us; Ehren is incredibly strong willed and stubborn and was badly damaged back then to boot thanks to no fault of hers. But as I learned on the day she finally accepted my courtship and my engagement ring, the harder the road to victory is, the sweeter the triumph at the end becomes. You'll find that out one day as I did, son. I have faith in you as my loves had faith in me."

A German accented female voice from behind the Malfoy father and son spoke with a note of approval and deep love. "Well said, Liebchen(sweetheart). I brought up a light lunch buffet for everyone."

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Weasley's Warship Workshop 18

A Very Weasley Christmas

Christmas 2013

Ron looked over the gathered presents once more as he and his guests for Christmas finalized there preparations. The numerous presents, from him Warspite and Duke mostly, filled several hampers. The sight still made him shake his head, as even now he still somewhat expected to have a dearth of packages under the tree instead of the plethora that his family passed around now. Certainly they were all heartfelt and his parents did their best by the entire family but the little boy in Ron was still somewhat giddy for the large pile of packages that they now passed around to each other.

"Alright. I think we're good to go." He turned to look at Duke, Warspite and Summer.

"I think so too." Warspite gave him a smile and Ron returned it. There had been some question as to whether or not she'd be able to make it but a possible sortie order had been canceled at the last minute, leaving her just enough time to make it back to Passel house.

"Uhm… Yardmaster… is… is it really ok for me to go?" Summer was quite nervous still despite numerous reassurances, the massive abyssal not so sure about meeting so many new people. Even if they were family or prospective family.

"Yes Summer it's fine. My mom said she expected you to be there, so there's no reason not too." Ron did his best to put on a gentle smile to reassure her, reaching out to touch her on the arm.

"Okay..." Summer still didn't look so sure about things but as always when he was there for her she perked up a bit.

"I'll make sure to introduce you to everyone. Especially Percy and Supprin."

Summer nodded somewhat meekly and grabbed his hand with hers. Ron knew that Supprin was about as harmful as Summer was in most cases but Summer didn't. Her experiences with other abyssals had been near universally negative as far as he could tell.

"She's nice I promise."

Ron turned to see Warspite and Duke smiling at them, Duke still with a somewhat rosy glow on her cheeks after the very successful tour by Her Majesty just the other day. Ron still couldn't believe he'd actually met the Queen but he had and he had something very nice because of it.

"Master, your Portkey is about ready." Victoria's voice cut through their little gathering.

"Thank you Victoria." Ron turned to grab some presents but they had already disappeared into various holds, much more safe for the Portkey ride that way. They'd thought about using the floo since it was only to the Burrow but Summer simply wouldn't fit that way.

A few minutes later and one semi-nausea inducing journey later found the four of them outside of the Burrow, the lights and noise coming from the interior showing the gathering was already in swing.

"Come on Summer, lets get you introduced to everyone."

Ron pulled Summer along behind him, the Abyssal following behind with an expression on her face that was half nerves, half bemusement.

Just as they made it to the door it opened, someone clearly having noticed the Portkey activation from inside.

"Ron!" cried Charlie, a good natured grin on his face, "What's this I hear about you being too good to use the Floo like…" His older brother paused, finally catching on as to who was behind him.

"Charlie, this is Summer. Summer, this is Charlie my second oldest brother. He researches dragons."

"H-hello." Charlie seemed somewhat dumbstruck looking at Summer.

"H-hello…" Summer replied meekly.

"Charlie! What are you doing leaving the door open like that!" The very clear voice of his mother came from indoors, as she bustled over and pushed Charlie to the side through sheer presence. Ron just grinned as Charlie shook himself and called for Bill, his last words being something about "again!" which Ron didn't catch.

"Ron! Summer my dear!" Mrs. Weasley bustled out of the door at the sight of her youngest son, giving him a hug and then taking Summer by the hand. "So good to see you both!" Catching sight of Duke and Warspite hanging back she turned a grin to them as well. "Welcome back to the Burrow Warspite and you too Duke."

"It's very nice to be back Mrs. Weasley." Warspite smiled and returned a small bow to the Weasley Matron.

"A pleasure as always." Duke smiled and did the same.

"None of that! It's Christmas, call me Molly!" Ron grinned as his mother took control of the situation as always. "Summer! Come on, let me introduce you to the family! Watch your head dear, the ceiling is low I know."

Ron grinned and followed after Summer and his mother, Warspite and Duke coming right after.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Abyssal Interlude

Summer was… confused. At least somewhat.

She understood the gist of things. They were going to the Yardmasters' home port to be introduced to the rest of the family and have a celebration. That was good.

What she hadn't quite expected was the sheer noise and light involved.

Ron's mother had pulled her into the main room, which was packed with red haired people of various size and shapes. She'd been introduced to all of them by Molly and then been given a seat by the fire. That made things easier for Summer, as she had her back to a wall and could keep track of everyone easier.

It especially made her feel better since she could keep track of the two strange shipgirls and the other abyssal in the room.

One of the shipgirls was as far as she could tell, relatively normal. Made of metal, she was cruiser displacement though lightly armed for her size. Summer didn't mind that, it made her less scary in her mind. Her name was something kind of funny sounding… Ooyodo? She was having trouble keeping track of all the names, though her admin department at least had them written down somewhere.

The other one was weird. For one she was made of wood! Of Wood! Summer knew how to make a boat out of wood of course since she was a shipyard. Nobody ever wanted to build one though since they could be destroyed simply by running through them with a destroyer even on a good day. She was nice though and had said something about a "Pharaoh" and "Blessings of fertility" to Summer. She really wasn't sure what those were but… Amisi… seemed nice enough.

Of course then there was the other abyssal in the room. Supply Princess was… not as scary as Summer had feared. Her Yardmaster had told her as much of course but even if he was the best Yardmaster of all time she couldn't be sure until she saw for herself. So far he seemed to be right. At the very least Summer could tell that she didn't have all that many guns compared to most abyssals of her power. She was even a base like her! Summer hadn't met another installation before.

Her musings were cut short as said Princess got up and moved towards her. Summer felt herself freeze and desperately wished she could hide behind the Yardmaster like she normally did in situations like this. Even if he was just across the room talking with the two twins whom she weren't sure were Gred and Forge or Fred and George. She was pretty sure it was Gred and Forge, it made sense for the Yardmaster to have a properly named family member somewhere.

"Hello Summer." Said the not-quite-as-scary-as-possible other Princess, who had thankfully stopped several feet away.

"H-h-hello." Summer did her best to not scrunch herself up in a ball as the other abyssal looked at her. Even if she was used to having Meanie Princess around, Meanie Princess had no guns and Summer was used to dealing with her. Supply Princess not so much.

"Percy has told me about you. I am sorry to hear how you were treated. I was treated much the same before my new Princess killed my former masters."

Summer perked up slightly at hearing that. She wasn't the only one who was treated like that?

"R-really?"

Supply Princess nodded.

"We installations… are not well thought of by other abyssals. They see us as lazy or sedentary." Supply Princess sniffed. "They are short sighted fools for the most part. Though the ones who aren't are all the more dangerous because of it. Thankfully Lady Wanko is an installation as well and treats her fleet properly. You remind me of her somewhat."

The first part wasn't news to Summer, as she'd been treated poorly as far back as she could only hazily remember. The rest though… other installations? Who had fleets?

Summer had always dreamed of having a proper fleet like she wanted but she'd never had the resources. Well… now she did but the Yardmaster was making her fix herself first. Not that she minded since he was a good Yardmaster who treated her well and gave her yummy full bodied steel instead of rusty scraps…

Realizing that the other Princess was still looking at her, Summer did her best to look pleasant instead of still nervous like she really was.

"I… I've never… met… another installation before." It was somewhat hard to admit but Summer was glad she had, since Supply Princess really seemed nice.

"I'm not surprised. The Atlantic is a bad place for our kind. In the Pacific there are lots of little islands where you can hide and build up forces. Over here..."

Summer nodded in understanding. One of her earliest memories was searching for a place to call her own, only to be ambushed by another fleet. It got fuzzy from there and she didn't particularly care to remember.

It was then that Ron came over with an absolutely enormous tray full of various things that sizzled, popped and looked absolutely delicious. He smiled at her and Summer couldn't help but smile back. The Yardmaster always made her feel better.

"Having a nice talk with Supprin?" He asked, even as he came over and sat down in her lap.

Settling her arms around him even as Duke and Warspite sat to each side, Summer nodded.

"She is… nice." Summer glanced back up at Supprin, who gave a small smile of her own.

"It was nice meeting you too Summer. If you ever want to meet Lady Wanko, I'm sure she would welcome you. Miss Hoppou as well."

Summer glanced down at Ron, who held up a piece of food for her to chew on before he replied.

"Hoppou and Wanko are nice too Summer. You should meet them sometime."

Chewing on the very tasty meat, Summer managed to nod without rocking her Yardmaster too much.

"T-then… someday I would… like to meet them."

Supply Princess nodded in return and glanced back to where her Yardmaster and fleet were.

"I will let them know. I am sure they would welcome you, as would I. Until then."

The other abyssal withdrew at that and Summer felt herself relax a bit, especially as Ron gave her another piece of food.

"Not so bad was it Summer?"

Summer nodded and made a small noise of affirmation as she focused on food for the moment, alternating between grabbing some of her own food and being fed by Ron. It was all so good! She didn't know why but it was definitely just as tasty if not more so than what Victoria gave her.

Some time later, when even she was full, the Yardmaster's family began to pass around the brightly colored packages that they'd all brought. Inside were various items that seemed to be important to each, though they varied widely. Summer of course approved when Amisi's gift turned out to be a chess set for the Yardmaster. She wasn't very good at it but with three sides she could watch him, Duke and Warspite play at the same time and that made her happy.

She didn't expect anything herself, so she was thoroughly surprised when Molly came over with an enormous lumpy package with a smaller lumpy package on top. Duke got the smaller one, while the big one got dumped on her and Ron's laps.

"I've heard big news about the two of you, so you both get the Weasley family special." Molly grinned, even as Summer went wide eyed.

"Thank you Molly." Duke took her package and opened it with a few swift movements, the wrapping tearing apart to reveal a nearly crimson colored knit sweater, which Duke smiled at. "Thank you very much."

"Now you Summer dear." Molly's gaze turned to Summer, causing her to look even more wide eyed.

"F-for me?" she nearly squeaked.

"Yes dear, now open it up, I want to see how well I did."

Summer looked down at Ron, who merely nodded and rocked the package with his hands playfully.

Now faced with a dilemma, Summer found it impossible for her to tear the pretty paper. It was her pretty paper now and so she very carefully slit the adhesive tape open with her gloves to unwrap what was inside.

Out spilled a pale blue sweater, knit much the same as Duke's was though sized for Summer. It was almost the color of her eyes and Summer felt Ron wiggling out of her lap as her valves started to leak somewhat.

"Go on dear, put it on." Molly's voice was gently cajoling.

Summer just nodded, taking off her hat long enough to put the enormous sweater on. It fit her wonderfully and it was nice and toasty and warm. She smiled at Molly.

"Thank you..." Her voice was soft but very heartfelt as she smiled at Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm glad you like it dear. Even more happy it fits properly." Molly tugged at it in a few places before stepping back, quite pleased.

It was then that the Yardmaster stepped up, holding a package that was clearly very heavy.

"This is my gift, our gift to you Summer." He nodded to Duke and Warspite who were still on either side of her. "We weren't sure it was going to be approved but Duke's friend had a word with some people and it got through just in time."

Summer nodded, having been told about Duke's friend who was called "Queen" something or other and how she was like a Princess but more. Her admin department even had copies of the papers she'd signed that said how people wouldn't hurt her and Duke's friend was on those as well.

Ron stepped forward and handed the package to her. It was wrapped in pretty paper as well, though Summer could feel the box inside was holding something.

"Open it up Summer." Ron grinned, seeming very pleased with himself.

Summer nodded, feeling something warm inside of her as she did so. Again the pretty paper was kept intact, being hidden away in one of her storage areas along with the other one. When she was finally done she had a wooden box with a dozen large ingots of steel inside, clearly enchanted by her Yardmaster like always, along with a piece of paper.

"You'll want to read the paper." Her Yardmaster's gentle suggestion drew her out of staring at the bounty of metal and Summer picked it up.

She didn't understand most of it, as her admin department hadn't quite been fully filled out yet and even then she had no concept of a legal department at all. Yet a few words did make it through quite clearly.

"Her Majesties Government… words she didn't understand yet … does so hereby authorize the Abyssal Princess known as "Summer" to construct a small number of light ships massing no more than…"

At that Summer's eyes froze, going wide and starting to flame. She looked up at Ron, even as her steam plant began to spike. It… was it? Could it be?

"Y-yardmaster?" Summer felt her voice quaver as she sought confirmation from her anchor.

He smiled at her, even more pleased.

"That's right Summer, you can build ships! Only a few…"

Summer didn't hear the rest of what he was trying to say. She didn't care what he was trying to say at that point. Even as her main plant reached full overload and her primary substation started to throw breakers left and right, shades swearing all the while as they dodged sparks, Summer reached out to grab her Yardmaster.

He was clearly surprised, putting up no resistance as she drug him into her fuel dumps. Even covered as they were his face disappeared, muffled words ceasing a few seconds later as she held him close. He was the best Yardmaster and she would show him that appreciation in a way she knew he liked, even though she wasn't quite sure why he liked her fuel dumps. At least not all the way.

Even as he started to struggle, Summer could feel a warmth starting to burn in her lower body. Foundries began to stir, the first signs of enormous coke fires being brought to life by eager shades. It had been too long since she could build properly. Too long since she'd even truly thought about building a new ship from the ground up.

Now though… now her Yardmaster had given her the best gift she could ask for. One she wouldn't even have dared yet ask for herself. He'd given it to her though, proving once again how right she was to choose him. Still holding him close, even as Duke and Warspite began to tug at her arms, Summer finally manged to speak once more.

"Yardmaster… thank you..." More heartfelt words had never been spoken.

Summer did eventually let Ron go… but not before everyone had a nice laugh at his predicament.

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

Hours later, Ron found himself seated between Duke and Warspite in a lounge back in Passel House. Summer was off with Angie, discussing the fact that she could build, leaving the trio alone for the moment.

Presents had already been given. Ron having received a very nice naval chronometer from Warspite and surprisingly, a sword from Duke. She'd promised to teach him how to use it properly. He'd given Duke a rather nice set of crystal decanters for what Warspite assured him was a very nice, if still somewhat small, alcohol collection. He'd given Warspite a hairband topped with a jeweled outline of her crest much like he'd given Duke on her clip.

Now feeling merely pleasantly full instead of stuffed, quite warm and pressed on both sides by very beautiful ladies, Ron was quite content with life.

"Did you have a good Christmas Ron?" Warspite asked lightly.

"Very good Warspite. Did you?"

"Yes. I was very happy I could make it to your families Christmas."

"I'm glad you got to make it as well." He paused a moment. "What about you Duke?"

"It was a very good Christmas Ron." Duke's slightly more mellow voice was quite pleased sounding as well, even as she swirled a glass of bourbon in her other hand. "I'm happy your family accepted everything."

"I'm pretty happy too. I'm glad everyone got along."

Smiling to himself, Ron nestled back in against the love seat they were on, closing his eyes as the days toll began to wear on him.

"Though there is one thing that would make it better."

Ron's eyes opened as Warspite's voice, filled with just a bit of teasing, reached his ears.

"Oh? What's that?"

Warspite didn't speak, instead turning towards Ron and leaning in close to his face. Of course after that Duke had to have a turn as well, which left Ron quite red by the end.

"A very good Christmas indeed…" he murmured once they were done. "A very good Christmas indeed."

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

Toulon, France. The same time.

Jean Bart stared at the papers in front of her, continuing like she had off and on for hours. It shouldn't have mattered as much as it did to her. It really shouldn't have.

There were only a dozen of them, various sketches of her internals, showing how to install boilers and where connections to steam lines should be made. She'd seen their like before, even if they were much more finely made than most. Hand drawn on paper with neat straight lines, clearly done with care. Very nice but they were just drawings.

Of course, drawings meant things. Words added context, measurements provided scale. In this, an arrow had slipped past her defenses and slammed into her heart.

"Ligne vapeur… la salle des chaudières.."(Steam line... The boiler room) She whispered to herself.

They were only words. Just words. She covered her face with one hand and let out a breath of air.

That was a lie.

It would have been true if it wasn't from him, if it wasn't so clear that the author still was struggling somewhat with the proper vocabulary in the face of complex engineering terms.

Yet it was from him and he was clearly trying. Which in the face of things made it all the sweeter to her, even if she had trouble admitting it to herself.

Sliding the papers back in the folio they had come in, Jean Bart laid it back on her nightstand and rolled back over. She needed to get some sleep, as she had yet to call Richelieu to talk about this. She wasn't looking forward to listening to her sister try to explain all the other things she thought Jean Bart should do with her tongue instead of merely teaching French to someone.
----------
AN: Hope you all enjoy what should be my final snip of HatSG 2013. Meaning I'm only about six-seven months behind now!

Comments very welcome as always.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Seated beside Chikako, who had a window seat, Ayane looked out the window as they passed building after building, street after street. Yet, despite that, her excitement had not died down, if anything the opposite happened. There was just so much to see! And every new street was just that...

New.

Which meant that as they stopped for lights, and wasn't that a surprise! That there were so many people and vehicles that one needed such things just to keep things running. Well, each time, Ayane would lean over Chikako to look out the window. Her eyes would scan the area around them, finding new discoveries each time. Part of her was excited as she could not wait to tell her younger sisters all about her trip.

Granted, she was a bit confused about how Chikako would mutter about how she didn't want a hat, but she ignored that as she was so much more focused on what was outside. Of course, besides the shops and the like, what caught her attention was the clothes people wore! While she was aware that there were a large number of styles and the like from the old clothes that Haruto brought back, and which she fixed the rips and tears of, not even she had expected that there would be this many! Never in her life had she seen so many different styles, shapes, and colors.

Frankly, it was giving her ideas as to what she should do herself come her return to the island.

When the car stopped near the outskirts of the city, the Jorogumo blinked as she looked outside to find a small store? Or at least she assumed that it was a store though she blinked at the name "Ama Exchange" on it. Haruto got out and gestured that they could follow him, which they did. As they entered the store, one of the things that caught Ayane's attention was the various things laying about, including off masks attached to tanks and the like.

Of course, her focus soon shifted when they came upon an elderly man sitting at a desk muttering as he looked through some paperwork. That was until he noticed them and looked up, a smile on his face, "Ah! Hinata-San! Back for another exchange?"

Slight grin on his face, Haruto chuckled a little, "Hai, Hamasaki-Oji-San." At seeing the curious look the man was giving the others, the Healer nodded towards them, "Some of the girls that I know. Mie-Chan and Ichika-Chan are the ones who go looking for what I bring to you."

Eyebrow raised, Hamasaki looked at the group of girls and, in particular, the ones that Haruto had gestured to before holding out his hand, "Pleased to meet you, all of you." As he shook her hands, Ayane wondered in her mind why he was missing part of a finger from the first knuckle up, but shrugged it off internally and decided it would be impolite to mention. Once he shook the others hands, Hamasaki pulled out a scale followed by a jeweler's eyepiece, "Now then, let's see what you brought me now..."

Just nodding, the Healer reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet bag which he handed to the older man. With a hum, Hamasaki opened said bag and poured out a handful of pearls into his hand. Placing them into a small bowl, he picked one up and began to examine it.

For her part, the Jorogumo blinked at that as she looked at the pearls. It wasn't her first time seeing them after all, after all oysters were pretty common around the island. Though she had noted that a number of guards used to grab any pearls that had been tossed, muttering it as payment. But she simply kept one eye on the old man who would examine each one carefully and then weigh it on a scale before making a note. Her other eye was on Chikako who was looking at the various items on display as well as the pictures of smiling Ama divers.

After nearly a half hour, Hamasaki finished his examination and looked at his notes before pulling out an old calculator and doing some calculations on it, "Hmm... ya know, Hinata-San, the prices of pearls went up a touch since the last time that you were here."

Leaning forward against the counter, Haruto tilted his head a little, "Really?"

That got him a grunt from the older man before he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, "Really." Letting out a puff of smoke, he nodded as he pulled out a checkbook, "I can give you... ¥200,000 total for it."

Not saying anything right away, Haruto rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments before nodding, "I'll take it, you know how it is after all."

Writing the check, Hamasaki snorted a little, "Hai, damn this war and all that. Was born after the last one, but I heard all the stories." Pulling it from the checkbook, he handed it over, "You take it to the usual bank and get the cash. If they give ya any trouble, well, tell them that Hamasaki sent ya as usual." With a few more pleasantries, Haruto was about to leave with the others when the older man called out and he turned only to get a nod, "Ya a good kid, Hinata-San, never let anyone tell you different."

In return, the wizard bowed a little, "Thank you, Hamasaki-Oji-San."

And, with that, he left the small exchange behind with Hamasaki blowing out some smoke before walking into the backroom with the safe in it. Sitting in a large chair, and watching video was a younger man who looked up, "You really like Hinata-San, don't ya Ojii-San?"

That got him a whap upside the head, but the old man grinned, "Hai, of course I do." Unlocking the safe, he glanced at the younger man, "You know what he does with that money as much as I do. Damn kid doesn't spend a cent on himself, and we never forget our roots, Gaki. Not once."

Stretching some, Hamasaki grunted a bit before heading back to the storefront as the younger man nodded and turned back to watching the surveillance video of the store. 'Have to admit... those older girls were smokin' hot. Especially that leggy one...'

He knew better than to say that aloud, however, especially around his "Ojii-San"...

Meanwhile, Haruto headed to the bank and got out the cash he was paid which was a quick trip. Especially when the usual elderly woman handled the transaction. Heading back to the van, he got inside and drove away before looking over his shoulder, "Sorry about this, guys, it's going to be a little bit."

Rolling her eyes, Hachimitsu huffed a bit though there was an amused look to her eyes, "That's fine, Haruto-Kun. Besides, this is what you normally do, right?"

Even as he turned, the young man nodded, "Hai, this is how my usual trip goes after all. I take what pearls Mie-Chan's and Ichika-Chan's divers find when catching them back to Oji-San there and he pays me for them. Helps out a lot... Ah, and here we are, the local magical district for Kagoshima."

Interested, those from the island got out and followed Haruto as he entered the small alleyway. There wasn't much there, just a couple of general stores such as for potion ingredients, a magical grocery, and a small clothing store among others. But the main one that Haruto headed towards was a small bank though he paused for a moment.

Upon noticing that, Haruhime frowned a little and lowered her voice, "Something wrong, Haruto-Kun?"

He glanced at them and lowered his voice, "Just a little worried, the wards might pick up that you're a shipgirl. I'm... not sure about that, and if they also pick up that you are a Kitsune, which I know that they would..."

Grimace on her face, Mikage nodded, "Probably for the best that we stay outside then."

That got her a nod and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of coins which he handed to them, "Go ahead and see if anything catches your interest. It's not much, but..." Haruto trailed off as he got kisses to the cheek and a hug from Chikako as well as Ayane before the girls walked off, 'Huh.'

With a shrug, he walked up to and entered the bank which only took a few minutes. Say what you will, they cashed paychecks from Kyoto just as fast as they did from Tokyo, adding in the severance pay... Which Haruto assumed was just a way that a number of higher ranked bureaucrats and politicians used as a way to both drain what was left of Tokyo's funds in order to not have them go to Kyoto and to also line their own pockets one last time.

And with that done, he turned to the rest of the shopping trip after meeting up with the others, which didn't take long as he stocked up on potion ingredients as well as ready made potions at the apothecary using his Healer's License. Though he did get confused looks from the others as he visited the small jewelers and bought some very cheap gold and silver chains. Confusion that ended when he visited a pawn shop and traded it for more cash.

Not long afterwards, they pulled up towards a massive building. Though what caught Chikako's eye was what was on the roof as she gasped happily, "Haruto-Nii-San! Look! It's one of those Ferris wheels, nya!"

Chuckling a little, Haruto gave her a small smile, "And later, we'll go and ride it." Part of him was extremely amused at the stars that were in the little Nekomata's eyes as she practically started bouncing. And it was not just her, but Ayane as well as the Inugami sisters also looked excited. Of course, getting out of the door, the Healer opened theirs and bowed a little, "Welcome to Amu Plaza here in Kagoshima. We have a few hours shopping before we need to head home-Oof!"

He stumbled back a little as Chikako practically leapt into his arms, "YAY!"

Just shaking his head free, the Healer set her down and patted her head before helping the others out. As she stepped out, Ayane was staring at the large building in wonder and some fear, "It's... so large. Is that really a market?"

With a hum as he placed one of his hands into his pocket, Haruto smiled some, "Hai, it is as a matter of fact. Over a hundred shops are in there."

Awed, the Jorogumo just shook her head in disbelief, "Over a hundred..."

Lips twitching, Haruto internally chuckled before holding Chikako's hand as they walked towards the mall that was within sight. Entering, he was unable to hold back the small laugh as the gust of cold air from the air conditioning made Ayane jump. At her pout, he shrugged, "Sorry about that, Ayane-Chan. Couldn't help myself with how cute you were."

Hearing that, a light blush appeared on her cheeks and she looked away, 'Cute...?'

Unnoticed by either of the two, the older shipgirls all had grins on their faces before they made their way through said mall. One of the first places that they stopped was a wholesaler where Haruto bought several boxes of vitamins and other things such as cough drops, boxes of laundry detergent, dish soap, and the like which he hauled out to the van... before the girls placed them into their hulls out of view of cameras. After that, they visited a number of other stores as well.

It goes without saying that one of Chikako's highlights was when they visited the candy store.

Looking around, the little Repair Ship gasped some before running around. Coming to one of the bins, she looked into it with an awed look. "Gemstones..."

Rather amused, Haruto looked over her shoulder and chuckled some at the sight of the rock candy that had been made into the shape of gemstones. Grabbing the scoop, he filled a small bag and handed it to her, "Here you go, Chikako-Chan. We'll pay and you can have it later."

Eyes wide, Chikako hugged him tightly, "Thank you, Haruto-Nii-San! I have all sorts of gemstones now, Munya~"

Only shaking his head, Haruto paid for some other items which included his usual order of lollipops, suckers, and Jolly Ranchers. He also bought some candy for the others, though a slight grin teased his lips when he gave a very happy Ayane some chocolate covered coffee beans, in various types from white chocolate to dark. He also bought some coffee flavored chocolate bars for her to bring back for her family.

Though he did not expect for her to glomp him tightly with his face shoved into her rather substantial bosom, though his girlfriends seemed amused while Chikako called them silly.

At one point as they walked through the mall, he noticed that the girls stopped at one booth to look at what was there as the woman manning it looked on with some amusement. However, they soon walked on, though Ayane kept looking back at it with a somewhat saddened look. Something that Haruto made note of. Shortly after, he excused himself to go to the washroom and disappeared for nearly fifteen minutes before turning.

Eventually, they reached Amuran, the Ferris wheel for the mall. Tilting her head back, Mie had wide eyes as she stared at the top, "Wow..."

Following her eyes, Haruto smiled some, "So... how are we going to do this?" At the blinks, he rolled his eyes a little, "It's four people per gondola."

With a hum, Hachimitsu rubbed her chin before gaining a sly smirk, "I think that I know how we can do it..." At the looks, she made a motion with her hands, "Myself, Mikage-Chan, and Haruhime-Chan for the first ride along with Haruto-Kun and Chikako-Chan on one of our laps. The second ride will have Haruto-Kun with Mie-Chan, Ichika-Chan, and Ayane-Chan. How does that sound?"

Both the Healer and Jorogumo blinked as the others agreed and the male of the two found himself pulled into the line by the giggling, disguised Kitsune as an excited Nekomata jumped around them.

Simply watching as the group of five made their way towards the Ferris wheel, Ichika leaned towards Ayane with a small smile on her face, "What do you think of the trip so far, Ayane-Chan?"

The Jorogumo looked around for a few moments before leaning towards her Inugami friend, "It's... amazing. Never did I think that I would have seen any of this, or if even half of the things I've seen existed. And to be given the chance..." A soft smile appeared on her face as she sighed, "Haruto-Kun is a wonderful man, and you're wonderful friends." Ayane then gave them a smile, though there was some sadness there, "You're so lucky to have one another."

Of course, that was when Ichika and Mie shared a look with each other. A look that communicated one thing... And that was the agreement that they held with the others.

Meanwhile, the three disguised Kitsune reached the ferris wheel and, after a chat with the attendant, sat inside with Haruhime beside Haruto while Chikako sat in his lap as the gondola's door was closed and it slowly rose upwards. At first, all that could be seen was the stores as they passed, but then they rose above the roof and they could see the city spread before them. Hopping off, Chikako walked over to the window and pressed her face against the glass, an expression of wonder on her face, "Wow..."

Giggling softly as she leaned against Haruto, Haruhime smiled, "It is a sight to see, isn't it."

She then turned towards her boyfriend and kissed him deeply. Almost as soon as she pulled back, Hachimitsu sat in his lap and kissed him just as deep followed by Mikage with some hand roaming going on as the Nekomata was too interested in the view of the outside to notice. Each of the three taking turns as the gondola reached the top of the Ferris wheel and began to descend. As it re-entered the mall, Haruto coughed a bit while Chikako took her seat in his lap again with a happy smile, "Well... that was something."

Near identical grins were on the faces of the Kitsune before they shared a look and spoke as one, "That is one way of putting it~"

The attendant was somewhat amused at how the three older girls were giggling madly and the young man was blushing as they exited the gondola, the younger girl shaking her head with a grin as she pulled her "Nii-San" towards the others stating that he had to take them up next. Sure enough, when Haruto arrived with the Inugami sisters and Ayane, the attendant let them into another gondola. Once it started it's ascent, he shook his head, 'Lucky bastard... wonder which one is his girlfriend though.'

Inside the gondola, to her somewhat embarrassment, Ayane was sitting next to Haruto as it rose into the air. But she was able to ignore that as they slowly passed the stores. Instead, she had the look of a child in a candy store as the gondola continued to ascend past the mall and past the roof, the cityscape surrounding them, "Amazing... this is... so amazing..."

Looking over at her, Haruto smiled some, "It really is."

Moments later, he felt a hand on his knee and turned to find Mie had moved over, and was now kissing him deeply. Something followed by her sister, Ichika. Ayane gave the two a slightly sad smile, but one also filled with happiness before she twisted around to continue to look out the window. Suddenly, the ferris wheel began to slow and the Jorogumo looked around, "What's going on?"

Chuckling, the Healer shook his head, "Nothing, just someone else getting on most likely."

After a moment, Ayane nodded and stood up a little to look out the window for a better view, especially now that they were near the top of the ferris wheel, ninety one meters above the ground. For a second, Haruto watched her with a slight blush as due to the way she was leaning and he was sitting, his face was close to something. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him blink as Mie was nodding towards the Jorogumo. Then, she held out one arm with it slightly curved and nodded towards Ayane again.

Rapidly blinking, Haruto boggled at them before bringing his own arm up and curving it, then nodding towards the unsuspecting arachnid Yokai, 'They can't be serious-' When both Inugami nodded with wide smiles, he blinked again, '... Guess they are.'

Slowly, he rose to his feet and made his way beside Ayane before placing an arm around her waist at the nod from Ichika. The Jorogumo jumped a little and looked at him, "Haruto-Kun?"

Deciding to just smile, the wizard chuckled a little as he nodded, "An amazing view, isn't it."

Briefly staring at him, Ayane noted that the two Inugami were nodding and that one made a motion with her head before leaning into the other. Gulping, she did exactly that and leaned into the Healer, "Hai... it is." Then she winked at him with a small smile, "Especially with the company~"

Face slightly red, Haruto gave her waist a squeeze, which made her squeak and blush deeper, "Odd, I was thinking the same thing..."

All the Jorogumo did was smile at that even as the ferris wheel started turning again and she was still smiling widely when they got off after returning to their seats as it re-entered the mall.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- I changed the arc title since it's turning into the Taube and Scorpius show apparently. Anyway, here's the next one. And yes, Johnston loves Popeye, go figure.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (IX)

Halloween, 2036

Malfoy Manor
Spoiler: A Lunch Conversation

"Well said, Liebchen. I brought up a light lunch buffet for everyone."

Scorpius turned at the words to see an elegant silver-blond haired woman in a midnight-blue Victorian dress with gold-set diamonds sparkling at throat, ears, and wrist standing in the door with floating silver trays carrying an assortments of breads, butter, cold cuts, cheeses and several bottles hovering behind her. Violet eyes gleamed as she smiled demurely and spoke in her warm German-accented English. "I'm well aware that growing boys at your age are empty stomachs on legs. So we fixed a platter of meats, cheeses, bread, and other fixings to make your own sandwiches."

Scorpius spoke as they walked to the table in the Green Parlor next door. "Good since I am hungry. Ahh, Niobe, yes?"

The woman's demure smile widened noticeably as she nodded and smiled in response. "Yes I am. The spirit of Seiner Majestät Schiff(His Majesty's ship) Niobe, Niobe Malfoy. I'm pleased to meet you." Her voice was refined and elegant, making him think of a bygone era. "In our little pentad, I'm the trophy wife alongside Ehren along with being one of Liebchen's primary political advisors. Cleo, Ehren and I share the Lady Malfoy formal duties; Johnston's too big a badass to do things like entertain and host garden parties, serve on the board of charitable foundations, and the like. Johnston burnishes our family by being herself, as you will soon see. It's a system that works for us all as a team as parents and as nobles."

The trays floated to the surface of a polished oak dining table dominating the Green Parlor and as they landed a fourth woman stormed into the room with energy nearly crackling off her.

Hazel eyes shone and peach-colored hair swished, barely contained by a jeweled hairclip shaped like feathers. Scorpius stared since she was in tight-fitting Muggle clothing, namely a pair of short jean shorts, tennis shoes, and a black T-shirt with a cartoon sailor with a jutting jaw, corncob pipe, and massively muscled forearm clutching a torn open tin can that read TAFFY SPINACH, 1000% WHOOPASS in his fist. Above him in an arc read 'All Men Are Created Equal' and below 'Only A Few Can Become Destroyer Sailors' above the outline of a Muggle ship.

"Muffin!!" The newcomer squealed as she jumped into Draco's waiting arms, hugged and kissed him passionately, and then looked at the others as they broke the embrace. "Hi Yuri! Let me guess, Scorpius is the blond and Albus is the one with the Potter hair?"

Yuri smiled back. "Hi, Ma Johnston. That's right."

"Aces!" The peach haired girl gave a beaming smile then hurried over and extended her hand for Albus and then Scorpius to shake. "Johnston Malfoy, spirit of USS Johnston, Dee Dee Five Five Seven and card carrying member of Taffy Three. Pleased to meetcha!"

Scorpius stifled a wince as her energetic handshake crushed his fingers a bit. "Um, what's a Taffy Three?"

Johnston's eyes sparkled as she responded. "Oh let me tell you about my first life...."
---------------------

Taube smiled slightly in happiness as she entered the Green Parlor on Mutti's heels. Headmistress McGonnagal had agreed to have her classes excused for the 'family emergency' (helped by her near-spotless school record and penchant for staying ahead of her studies) and finding the books that she needed was simple enough, even if the Slytherin library was not exactly well-organized.

So she was getting the weekend off to spend time with her 'brother by another mother'. Taube giggled internally at the fact that those words were literally true.

Plus there was one other thing.

Her other avatar had texted her back that Schützenrosendorn(Sagittarius rosethorn) was in fact ready for pickup and had paid out the costs of the forging plus a bonus for fast service. So that needed element of her plan was ahead of schedule and waiting for her. She'd just have to explain to Yuri in privacy that she would be getting the next one forged, since her planned present was needed elsewhere.

Considering the need, she was sure that Yuri wouldn't mind. Mutti and Papa when they got the bills would grumble a lot and accept it once Taube made her plans a reality.

The smile widened as she saw Mother Niobe and Ma Johnston flanking Papa as they talked over lunch. Johnston paused in her chatter to take a bite out of one of her 'Dagwood' sandwiches with meat and cheese and more meat and more cheese....

Meanwhile Mother gave Mutti a smile and nodded toward the small tray of sausages with spicy brown mustard waiting for her. Ehren sat down beside Niobe after giving Niobe a kiss and promptly poured herself a measure of Halberstädter Broihan Berliner Weißbier(Halberstadt Broihan Berlin wheat beer) with a happy sigh and a small smile. Ehren's smile grew as she added some homemade raspberry syrup to the bowl-shaped glass that this beer was traditionally drunk in to cut the sourness of the beer a little.

Taube smirked at seeing Mutti in her happy place with some of her favorite comfort food and promptly grabbed her own personalized porcelain Maßkrug(beer mug) beer stein (a gift that Mother Niobe had given to her and all her immediate siblings on their fourteenth birthday) and two bottles of Löwenbräu Münchner Dunkel(Löwenbräu Munich dark). The tray of cold cuts was targeted next and she rapidly assembled a roast beef sandwich with extra horseradish before sitting next to Scorpius and Yuri.

The Doki smiled back at her. "Good to see you again, Taube. Raiding your father's beer cellar once more?" The splash of dark amber liquid into Taube's white and gold beer stein (decorated with a painted image of SMS Niobe's hull sailing with her name painted above it and the pewter lid scuplted like an anchor) punctuated her question.

Taube paused in her response to put the fire of the bite of horseradish-covered roast beef out with the rich malt of the dark beer. "Always. After all, Mutti and Mother trained him to appreciate a proper Rheinheitsgebot(purity law) lager, and I have to carry on the tradition. I am half-German after all." She winked and licked foam from her lips after another swig of one of her favorite beers.

Yuri giggled and tapped her own glass of beer with Taube's stein. "Hear hear."

With that, Taube turned to Scorpius and nodded to him. "So, Scorpius, holding up all right?"

He nodded and leaned closer to her. "It's a bit like a dream in some ways. You're really lucky with your family. Don't ever take them for granted, Taube."

She nodded back. "I don't. Even if I want to strangle them sometimes. Listen, after lunch, you and I need to talk in private. It's about...."

Ozone-smelling smoke and an ear-splitting crack of thunder interrupted her words.

"SHAZAM!!!!"

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And furthering the saga of Princess Jingo:


A Meeting With Jingo

It was comfortable for a cage, Jingo mused. She wondered just how long it had taken the humans to set all this up for it certainly had taken longer than her journey from Amsterdam Island to outfit. Especially the small nuclear bomb set up as a 'going away present' if she should be foolish enough to try and leave their hospitality early. She would certainly have approved, were she in their place, that the device in question could be detonated from any one of three separate control stations that were manned around the clock.

Still, it was rather homey for being at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft.

Not that Jingo would ever dream of leaving without permission. It was, after all, also fairly secure from the many abyssals who would very dearly wish to see her dead. While accepting that death might still be the result of her trial, death at the hands of her mother's lackeys or other tools was definitely not in her plans.

What would I even do if I were released? Jingo wondered to herself. Write my memoirs and go on a speaking tour?

Currently, she was seated in the interview room, waiting the arrival of the attorney assigned to her defense. The clear partition between them was just a formality, of course but formalities had to be observed. She was surprised to see a tall (for a human) male wearing sunglasses and carrying a white cane. He sat down in the chair opposite her and smiled.

"I take it you've never met a blind lawyer."

"No. I take it, you've never sat in front of a living abomination?"

"You'd be surprised," he replied. "The state of being 'human' says little about ones capacity for humanity or for the capacity to act in an inhuman fashion." The man smiled. "Anyway, justice is blind. So who better than a blind attorney?"

"Well said," Jingo laughed lightly. "Just don't give me any 'left handed' compliments." She raised the stump of her arm in genuine humor. "I'm afraid I wouldn't catch it."

"That's part of what convinced me to take your case. The guilty are much more willing to sacrifice of others rather than themselves."

"Don't start lining me on the side of the angels just yet. We're here, after all, because I was party to a War of Aggression."

"The Devil," the man smiled. "Is in the details. And that's what you and I need to discuss." He held up a report that had been translated into braille. "It says here that when you established control of human settlements, You informed the inhabitants that acts of insurrection would be met with the destruction of the settlement?"

"Yes," Jingo admitted.

"Did you, in fact, ever destroy any human settlements?"

"No. It was never necessary."

"I see, And what happened to the Re class ship named 'Reaver'?"

Jingo wondered how he knew about that. Probably from Ruiner. "I sent her to secure a small fishing village. The fuel stocks and oil supplies caught fire. Reaver blamed it on the villagers and I was told that she declared that 'Since the humans had destroyed the only useful resources in the village,' she would simply destroy the rest." Had lives not been lost, Jingo would have settled for 'chastizing' the Re class but the Re had taken that which was not her prerogative to take so a harsher penalty had been required of the unrepentant Re. Jingo had to make certain the lesson sunk in with the rest of her fleet.

"I sentenced Reaver to execution by firing squad. Sentence was carried out."

"I see," The lawyer nodded. "Now..." He pulled out a file and opened it. Jingo flinched in revulsion as she recognized the photos of a Wa class transport.

"Now... It is known that many abyssal fleets, certainly the fleet under Sub-Continental Princess, used these 'Wa class' transports. For the record... Were you aware of the Wa class?"

"I was."

"Were you aware that a Wa class can only be built using a human 'plugged in' to function as its nervous system so to speak?"

"I am."

"And that said human is in a constant state of agonizing pain as a result?"

"Yes."

"Did You ever use Wa class units?"

"No."

"Did you ever consider using them?"

"Yes," She answered. "In three cases, I considered it as punishment for humans found guilty of certain particularly violent crimes."

"Why didn't you?"

"First, it was wasteful of resources. Secondly, if I agreed to do it once, it becomes much easier to do again. I aspired to rule, not tyranny."

"So, what did you do with these prisoners?"

"They were hung."

"I see. So... Without using Wa class units, what did your fleet use instead?"

Jingo actually smiled here. "Boats of course! In an island Empire, there were more than a few boats owned by the locals. We contracted our cargo work to them! After all, what good is building an Empire if you destroy the local economy in the process? We merely required that they keep their paperwork with them, have a working IFF beacon issued by us, and no weapons larger than those useful for defense against any human pirates that might set up in our waters."

"Well! I think it looks like we have a promising case..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Mushapi

Another snippet of Haruka and Siusan, a peak into a special day.
*-*-*


From her window Haruka watched as the morning fog encapsulated the village. Siusan slept peacefully in Haruka's bed and what a delightful surprise it had been to see her in this life. In the reflection of her window Haruka touched her lips as breakfast sizzled on the stove. Being reborn into not only the future but a whole other culture had been odd for the Kitsune. She did admire that if she was going to be reborn it was as a fox and everyday she made sure to thank Inari for that blessing.

It was only in the future that Haruka would come across Siusan. To hold her and comfort her as she recounted her life. And with Siusan had come the tales of her descendants and one particular young boy that seemed to be blessed by Cerridwen herself. Although Haruka had only met the lad a few times he was a sweet soul that she was proud of.

As the aroma of the grilled ayu began to drift out of the kitchen Haruka could hear Siusan begin to stir. Haruka moved the fish to the plate set upon the the breakfast table and then quietly snuck back into bed. She wanted to watch Siusan wake up, it had always been such a treat for her to see the woman's nose twitch as awareness of her surroundings caused her eyes to widen into wakefulness.

"What a wonderful smell," Siusan murmured as she nuzzled into Haruka. "I could eat you right up, Haruka." She said lightly kissing Haruka's neck.

Haruka chuckled in response even as she fought off a blush, "But then the breakfast I made would go to waste, and that would make me sad. I worked so hard on it." She began to pout.

Siusan Languidly rose from the bed pulling Haruka into her arms, "We can't have that now can we." She gave Haruka a quick kiss on the lips before she made her way to the breakfast table. Haruka watched her leave the bedroom before joining her.

"So what do we have today Haruka, I don't recognize this fish." Siusan started to pat rice into each of their bowls, Haruka poured the tea.

"Ayu, it is a type of smelt that has a rather sweet taste I thought it would be perfect for this morning." The two women starred at each other before breaking out into matching blushes.

"After all," Siusan began. "Today was the day when two young women so long ago declared their love for each other." She popped a bite of fish into her mouth sweetness of the flesh contrasted with the ever so slightly bitterness of the charred skin to enhance the overall flavor. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my Haruka truly this is wonderful." Siusan purred.

Haruka's eyes glistened. "I'm glad," she said before taking a bite of her own fish. The fish was sweet and the flavor reminded her of watermelon. She hummed happily her tail swishing behind her. She would have to thank Hoshi-dono for the suggestion.

As the fog lifted over the village below the two fox women enjoyed the first of many anniversaries during this second chance of life.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"Munya!"

Blinking, Haruto looked into the rearview mirror as Chikako practically pressed her face against the glass of the window. He was about to laugh and comment when Ayane did the same, said Jorogumo having a similar look of awe, "Oh... my..." The spider Yokai turned and pointed a little, "Haruto-Kun? What's that?"

However, it was Chikako who answered as she pointed, "That's Godzilla, Nya!"

Confused, the Jorogumo frowned, "Godzilla...?" Frowning, she tilted her head some, "I think that I remember some of those sent to the Reserve telling stories of them." Suddenly, Ayane gasped, "Oh! I remember now! A great monster Yokai who defends Japan, but can be wrathful!"

Somewhat amused, Haruto brought the van to a stop, "Hmm? So even in the reserves they know about Godzilla?"

Just giving him a nod, Ayane smiled a little, "Hai, there were all sorts of stories that some of those who came from outside the Reserve used to tell. Like the time that Godzilla fought a Mizuchi! Or the giant Sarugami who was defending his mountain!"

Needless to say, the Healer blinked a little in bemusement at that before remembering some stories he had overheard in the Reserves, 'Huh... wonder how much fodder Toho will get... or other companies considering how they took characters and such to tell stories to children.'

Only shaking that off, he looked to where Ayane and Chikako were looking and saw what looked like an almost box shaped stage with the "Open" part being a plane of glass. Inside, he could see a man sized, and transparent, version of Godzilla walking around and sometimes waving to the people or roaring with him shooting blue beams. Various people were taking pictures and the like.

A quick glimpse around showed him several trucks nearly with wires leading to the "Stage" and generators chugging which made him nod, "Ah! That would be some of the new holograms that the No-Maj have come up with." He pointed at a large sign, "See? Kagoshima appeared in Godzilla Vs. SpaceGodzilla. I know that Toho has an entire set where you can go see holograms of the Kaiju in their headquarters in Tokyo."

Lost, Ayane blinked a little, "Holograms? Is that some sort of magic?"

However, Haruto shook his head, "Not really, it is..." Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, he nodded, "They use light and things to generate images as well as sound. I saw one of the Hatsune-Miku concerts using it and said event was amazing to see the characters dancing and singing on the stage."

Tilting her head to the side, the Jorogumo shared a look with Chikako who shrugged a little bit.

Soon enough, the van continued along with Haruto glancing at them, "Anyways, we have one more stop to make before we head to Haha-ue's and Chichi-ue's home in Nagato."

Rapidly blinking, Mikage who was in the front passenger seat frowned, "Nagato? Did your parents move, Haruto-Kun?" At the amused look, she flustered a little, "I mean, we all lived in Heki after all."

Chuckling a little, the wizard shook his head, "That's right... you were taken to the reserve just before..." With a breath, he smiled at her, "A few months after you were... taken..." Mikage reached over and gently held Haruto's hand before he continued, "Heki, Misumi, and Yuya were all merged into Nagato City."

With a hum, Hachimitsu frowned a little bit, "That does make some sense... though it would be a few hours from here to Nagato, right?"

Lips curling into a smile, Haruto nodded at the question, "Hai, about four hours as a matter of fact. We'll take the Kanmon Tunnel, however, under the Kanmon Strait from Kyushu to Honshu and we'll stay the night at my family home with Haha-ue and Chichi-ue."

Hearing that, Ayane paled a little, "W-wait, stay at your family home? With your parents!?"

More than a little lost, the only male in the van nodded, "Hai? I mean, I did mention it before... Why? Is something wrong?"

Wringing her hands, Ayane looked at the others, "Haruto-Kun... you do realize what I am, right?"

That made Haruto frowned some before he sighed as he realized what was the problem, "Ayane-Chan, look, my parents already know that you're both coming and are a Jorogumo. The only thing that Haha-ue wanted to know was whether you preferred chicken, pork or beef and that was it. Oh, and worrying over whether the bath would be big enough for you."

Eyes stinging a little, the Jorogumo found that it felt like there was a lump in her throat, "You... they know that I am a Jorogumo? And... just want to know what sort of meat I prefer? I... and a bath?"

Coming to a stop, he turned around best that he could and placed his hands over hers as he looked into her purple eyes, "Hai, that was all they cared about, not about what you are, but that you're a friend of mine. While my Nii..." Briefly, Haruto looked like he had bitten into a lemon, but continued, "While Ichiro-San disliked Yokai greatly, my parents on the other hand are much like, well... me." He then shrugged and nodded towards Hachimitsu, Mikage, and then at Haruhime, "As they can tell you, they're friends with a number of Yokai and see them as people and friends. Don't know if they ever met any Jorogumo, but... they wouldn't care either."

Gently hugging her from beside her, Haruhime smiled at her, "Aoi-Chan and Hiashi-San are very good people and don't really have a hateful bone in their body. Trust me when I say that they'll love you."

Unsure still, Ayane flicked away a tear with a small smile, "I hope..." Then she gave Haruto a much bigger smile, "Thank you, though..." A giggle escaped her and she winked, "But bringing a girl home to meet your parents on the first date? Really?"

Seconds later, the Healer was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as the other girls giggled. Then, he winked back, "And why wouldn't I?" That got a flush from the spider Yokai and he laughed, 'Cute.'

Letting go of her hands, he turned back to the driver's seat and restarted the van with them soon being off.

It was only forty minutes later that they pulled into what looked like a slightly rundown warehouse on the outskirts of Kagoshima. As they got out of the van, a large and muscular young man walked out of the door and grinned some, "Oy! Hinata-San! About time you showed up."

Grin on his face, Haruto bowed to him before holding out a hand, "Good to see you, Konishi-San-Oof!"

Just laughing, the man pulled him close into a hug after shaking his hand, "Is that all you got to say, Hinata-San? Hahaha!" Letting him go, he noticed the girls and blinked, "Hoo? And who are these now?"

Regaining his wits, Haruto shook his head, "Ah, these are some friends of mine, Konishi-San." He pointed to the three Kitsune first, "These are Hachimitsu, Mikage, and Haruhime, I think that I mentioned them before?"

In reply, Konishi nodded as he rubbed his chin, "Haa, I remember now. So these are the three..." At the nod, he slapped the smaller man on the back and made him stumble, "Damn, Hinata-San, you did good. Knew that you could pull it off..."

Only rolling his eyes some, the Healer began pointing at the others, "Anyways, these are Ichika-Chan, Mie-Chan, Ayane-Chan... and finally, Chikako-Chan."

Said Nekomata walked up to the much bigger man and blinked with wide eyes, "Wow... how did you get so big?"

Unable to help himself, Konishi laughed as he was taller than Haruto by more than a head and much more muscular. Leaning down, he winked some at the little Yokai, "By eating all my vegetables and lots of milk, Chikako-Chan. Lots and lots of vegetables." Seeing the suspicious look that Chikako gave him, his grin widened and he laughed again before shaking his head and giving Haruto another backslap, "Anyways, we got your stuff ready for ya if you're here for it and not to just talk. Been what? Over a month?"

With a small shrug, Haruto nodded some, "Hai, or there about." Glancing around, he lowered his voice, "We had the whole issue with the Diet and such, you know."

Humming, Konishi frowned some as he also glanced around, "Yeah, I can guess. Those fuckers left behind one hell of a mess." Grimacing, he shook his head a little, "Wasn't no tears shed here when they went down finally, trust you me."

Curious as she followed, Hachimitsu glanced at Haruto before turning to the taller man, "Konishi-San? Can I ask you something?" Getting a hum and a nod, she continued, "How do you know Haruto-Kun?"

Just blinking at that, the taller of the two men raised an eyebrow, "How did I meet Hinata-San?" At the nods, he scratched his head, "Had to have been... a year or so after you were, well, ya know." When they grimaced, Konishi continued, "Anyways, it was at some local magical celebration. Wasn't really all that powerful as a wizard, just barely above a Squib, ya know? The other gakis were bastards to say the least, but Hinata-San told them off, even as they called him a Yokai lover."

Amused, Mikage shook her head, "That does sound like our Haruto-Kun."

Laughing, Konishi grinned some, "Ain't that the truth though? Well, the two of us became great friends and his parents helped me get into a No-Maj school. My parents didn't care much because, like I said, barely any magic. Helped him out with some supply runs and such before cottoning on that maybe I could make some money." He nodded towards the warehouse, "So I started up this little business, mostly manned by guys like me with little magic or Yokai, though I treat all of them the same, no matter what. We make runs up and down Kyushu for businesses that straddle the line, magical and non-magical."

Right then, there was a beeping sound and a man driving a truck waved at them, with both Haruto and Konishi waving back. One thing that they noticed was how said man had horns which disappeared before he reached the gate and headed out. Watching them, Chikako blinked a little, "Wow..."

Gently ruffling her hair, Haruto smiled before turning back to Konishi, "So you got this month's supply run then?"

That made the taller man snort before he threw an arm around the smaller man, "What? Have I ever disappointed you, Hinata-San? Ever?"

One eyebrow raised, Haruto hummed, "There was that one time three years back... The one when you were nearly late and I had to-"

Almost a blur, a hand clapped itself over his mouth as Konishi flushed, "Hey! I thought that we swore as men never to talk about that, Gaki!" Getting a shrug, he sighed and rolled his eyes, "Okay, maybe once, but still."

Both friends continued chatting as they walked to the warehouse and inside. For a few moments, they all stood there watching as forklifts went back and forth. That was, of course, until something dropped from above, "KUMAKICHI-KUN!"

Konishi stumbled forward from the new weight, but laughed, "Oh come on, Aichiyo-Chan! Must you do this every time?"

From his back, rose a feminine form who winked, "Hai, I must since I'm testing you to see if you'd be able to survive out there without me." Placing her hands on her hips, she grinned, "Fortunately, you can't."

Even as Haruto laughed some, the others there boggled a little at the small Jorogumo that was on the playfully complaining Konishi. The spider portion of said body was only the size of a miniature pony, and the human body was similarly small compared to the normal humanoid half of a normal Jorogumo. Granted, it was obvious that it was a grown woman, even if smaller than a normal one.

Seeing the confusion on his girlfriend's faces, as well as Ayane's and Chikako's, Haruto shook his head, "It's fine, guys, Aichiyo-Chan here is a Bonin Islands Jorogumo."

Her eyes widening, Ayane stared a little, "I've... heard of the Jorogumo from the Bonin Islands, but... never met one. Ever... Though I didn't expect one to be so, um..."

More amused than insulted, Aichiyo hopped from Konishi's back and landed, "So small?" Seeing the sheepish look she got as well as the nod, she waved them off, "Don't worry about it, I get it a lot."

Only nodding, the larger of the two Jorogumo, even though she was disguised, simply nodded. Meanwhile, Haruto shook his head in some amusement even as he remembered back to when he had met Aichiyo and his own research. The rarest of the Jorogumo, the Bonin Islands Sub-species had gotten started, apparently, when a boat containing a Jorogumo had landed on Chichijima. The sailors on board had lasted for a time, until the last was killed by the spider Yokai it was assumed. But while her descendants spread to the other Bonin Islands, the lack of prey outside of fish drove their size downwards. And other than the odd sailor who washed ashore and some Polynesians, there were not many males available either.

Which meant that, eventually, the sub-species became smaller than the normal Jorogumo and adapted to fishing for the most part, as well as taking the odd male aquatic Yokai as mates. They were also more peaceful than their mainland counterparts due to the fact that it was better to work together than apart. Shipwrecked sailors were not eaten, but rather kept by the community as a source for offspring, sometimes passed around between islands. Not exactly a good fate, but also not one where they became a meal either.

Unfortunately, the implementation of the Statute meant that many were driven off their home islands in the Bonins out of fear of the No-Maj coming across them starting in the 1830s when an American established a colony on Chichijima. The result of which was MACUSA herding them all onto an island in the Bonins and hiding it while destroying any physical evidence that they had lived on said islands. Something that had lead to many of them dying. Later, the remnants were transferred to the mainlands after WWII. Some had escaped due to their size out into the wider area of Japan though according to the last census, there were maybe only five hundred left, total.

Needless to say, Haruto was surprised when he met Aichiyo and healed her after she had been hit by the car driven by Konishi, said man having called him. It had amused him then how the much bigger man had taken care of the smaller, mostly, spider woman. And, a year later, the two got married without Konishi letting his parents know. Not that they would have cared since they had already cut all contact with him due to not having much, if any, magic.

It still amused him if only due to the fact that her human form was so small next to her husband, but they loved each other a lot.

Shaking his head free of such thoughts, Haruto grinned a little at seeing Ayane and Aichiyo get into a conversation with one another about being Jorogumo. When he glanced out at the forklifts and such, he frowned a little before turning to his friend, "Konishi?"

Just blinking, said man turned to him, "Hai? What is it, Hinata-San?"

Haruto nodded towards the floor of the warehouse, "Do you have anywhere that Chikako could stay while we go and get the stuff? I mean... normally I would not mind bringing her, but..."

Understanding, Konishi chuckled a little, "Not a problem, she can stay in the breakroom while we go and get the stuff. Some of the guys as well as Aichiyo-Chan can look after her." A light blush sprang up on his cheek, "She, uh, needs the practice for the future."

Eyes widening as he came to a realization, the Healer punched his friend in the shoulder, "You sly dog! How far along?"

Bright smile as she cradled her midsection, Aichiyo giggled a little, "A month and two weeks. We got another three weeks at least before they start to show, but..." Skittering over, she leaned against her husband with a sigh, "We're happy just the same."

Happy smile on his own face, Haruto chuckled, "Congrats, the both of you."

That got sheepish chuckles from the taller, muscular man, especially as the other girls did the same. After dropping Chikako and Aichiyo off into the small breakroom (though they had to raise eyebrows at the poster for some Idol group on the wall, with Konishi muttering about how one of his guys was a hardcore fan), they walked over to a small storeroom in the back. Flipping on the light, Konishi nodded some at the bins that were there, "And here we go, all your orders."

Walking over to one, Mie opened it to reveal small shampoo bottles which made her blink, "Huh..."

Just looking over her shoulder, Haruto gave a nod of his own, "Nice haul this time..."

Arms crossed, Konishi shrugged his shoulders, "You betcha it was. There's two bins of those..." Walking over to another bin, he opened it to reveal soap inside, "Five bins of these... even got a surprise for ya!"

One other bin was opened and the smaller of the two men stared a little, "Wait, are these... shingles?"

Seeing the disbelief, Konishi nodded, "One of the guys here, they know someone in construction. Sometimes when they're building homes or redoing roofs, they have some left over which isn't worth using elsewhere... So he got them to donate them to ya. All they want is that they get used as needed." He nodded towards a group of trunks, "Same guy got you some wheelbarrows, hammers, screwdrivers, and the like as well if you want them. All used and almost busted, but... a good Reparo means that they would be fixed right there."

In reply, Haruto shook his head before grinning, "Oh man... you don't know what this means for me."

Eyebrow raised with a slight smile, the other man shook his head, "I think that I do..."

Not long after, once they shrunk everything down and loaded them into the van, Haruto went and got Chikako from the break room.

All the way back to the van, however, the excited Nekomata was going on about what she had seen on one of the laptops, "... It was so cool though, Haruto-Nii-San! The girls were singing when they were struck by lightning, BOOM!" She hopped some and waved her hands around, "And then they were all glowy! And sang kind of funny, but so cool too! And shot beams from their fingers too!"

More than a little bemused, Haruto nodded, "I see... well, maybe we can look them up later." Internally, however, he was frowning, 'Some kind of magical group? I mean... Raiju might not be bothered by lightning, but I have never heard of them doing something like that...'

__________________________________________________________________________

Driving through Kanmon Tunnel, Haruto hummed a little before glancing into the backseat and smiling. There, Chikako was softly sleeping against Ayane with the Nekomata's head pillowed against the Jorogumo's chest. It made him smile at the sight of it and, when he looked up, said Jorogumo smiled back at him before going back to looking out the window.

Not that the Healer expected much more seeing as the tunnel had amazed the spider Yokai when she had laid eyes on it and as they had entered.

But now, the tunnel was about to end and a few minutes later the van exited into the night outside. Voice soft, he looked over his shoulders briefly, "Welcome to Honshu, Mie-Chan, Ichika-Chan, Ayane-Chan."

Looking over at him, Ayane continued to smile as she stroked Chikako's hair, "Thank you again, Haruto-Kun... for everything."

Only nodding, the Healer smiled back at her, "You don't need to thank me, I'm enjoying having all of you along after all." Getting smiles from not just his girlfriends, but the Jorogumo, he knew that he had said the right thing. Haruto then reached for the radio and turned it on, "Let's listen to something, okay?"

He got noises of agreement and, soon enough, soft music filled the van as it continued to drive along.

Yet, that was not to last as the weather report began and they turned their attention to it, "{... A major storm system is making its way up the Ryukyu Island Chain bringing with it strong winds and heavy rains. While not a typhoon, residents are still advised not to go out into the storm. Residents are also advised to steer clear of the beaches as well as wave heights will be much higher than normal. The system is expected to continue into the overnight tomorrow...}"

Frown on his face, Haruto shook his head, "Looks like we'll be staying here longer than expected. I'm not taking the Kudagitsune out into that weather if it is as bad as they're saying."

Also frowning, Haruhime wagged a finger at him from where she was now beside him, "You better not! Because we'd smack you upside the head if you even considered it! So don't you even dare!"

Only nodding, the wizard smiled some, "Trust me, I'm not about to tempt fate like that..."

Concerned, Ayane looked out the window, "I hope that everyone else is alright. Storms like that can be bad..."

Beside her, Mie smiled and gave her a small hug, "I woudn't worry too much. Remember, the No-Majs have set up a radio station and started handing out crystal radio sets to everyone. They'll know that the storm is coming long before it hits." Then, she smiled a bit more, "And besides, they're building those new storm shelters as well, that's going to be a big help when typhoons come."

Each of the others nodded in agreement and made various sounds to that end.

Meanwhile, Haruto had a slight frown on his face, 'Still kind of odd... they were calling for good, clear weather over the next day and a half...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Barricade

For lulz.
This is completely non-canon, unless Yellowhammer falls over laughing.

______________________________________________________________________________


Taking a tour through the classic muscial haunts of southern California, a violin and her lyrist - cleverly disguised as two giggling twenty-something lovers or newlyweds, if however horribly out of style with clubbing clothes dated from the 2040s - slipped into the famous red color club along the Sunset Strip for a little 'adult' time away from their children. Raising an orchestra, one instrument at a time, was usually melodic. Occasionally though, when childish tempers ran hot, it was nothing but a disharmonic racket and even they had to get away on occasion. And for this family vacation tour of North America, the couple finally called it quits in Hollywood, after the massive blow-up between their cello triplets as to which was better for movie music, Skywalker Sound, Madison Square Gardens, or Staples Center, which got a little too heated after two of the triplets had suggested that the youngest in the trio only preferred the Gardens because she could show a little more neck there and get away with it. Things rapidly devolved from sniping to all out verbal warfare, taking cues from their Muramasa heritage to reenact a three-way Sengoku Jidai inside their hotel room, before inevitably a quickly dodged cello bow whacked one of their other siblings, and the civil war was on in full.

God or not, first chair violinist and conductor of the Athens Philharmonic Orchestra or not, there were some battles even parents knew to get out of the way from. Letting the kids get their tempers out, exhaust themselves, only to then face dual parental wrath when too tired to flee, was the wisest course. On the other hand, seeing as they were demigods, that could conceivably take hours. Thus, the couple exited stage left after ensuring both locking & silencing charms were in place and that nothing in the hotel room would be damaged - something about a mother-in-law being horrified at finding out, likely via the media and not the privacy of daughter-to-mother gossip, of her grandchildren acting like, like, like a grunge band - the pair quickly made their way into town. After slowly walking past all the requisite tourist traps and giving the proper 'oohs' and 'aaahs', giving themselves time to relax, each thinking up ever more deviously evil proper parental punishments that made the other laugh, the immortally young god's wife let her hair down before they hit the real points of interest: The music clubs of legend.

And here they were. Right at the perfect time if both guessed, as the stage was filled with equipment, the lights were flashing, and a group was playing to an already energized crowd.

Up on the Whisky a Go Go stage, after playing through possibly the most infamous way to earn a thoughtless speeding ticket in the early 1980s if listening to the radio, a young man slicked back shoulder length black hair. Nodding to an older man that could have been his father or uncle off to the side, who silently smiled back with pride and gestured with both hands, wiggling his fingers a little. Giving a slight lopsided smirk back, rolling his eyes at the silent suggestion, if pausing to note a young lady at the front who was looking on bliss at his performance. Thinking twice on it, shrugging with a smile while also giving a wink to the cute willowy blonde in glasses, he launched into a solo that in 1978 changed the rock world forever. Smirking at the so called 'warm-up tune' that was still considered the gold standard for soloists, even if it had probably been driven into the ground by this point, he whispered to his strangely silent wife a joke that he knew would very likely get a desired blush from, "That guitarist better be using an older guitar, because I'm pretty sure he broke a g-string fin..."

With a maternal slap over his mouth that stunned the shocked god, with his eyes jerking to hers before stilling under a glare that silently rooted husbands in place since time immortal, Therese hissed out lowly, "If you finish that joke, you'll find out what other uses I have for horsehair when they're squeezing tight around your shorthairs. Because if you would look closer, that's our daughter gazing at him like I did at you when we met! When did she sneak out?"

The God of Music snapped his head around and paled at the realization that mousy looking girl up front, really was Jeanette Potter-Mousike, the family's normally quiet, shy, and reserved viola. Now looking on in absolute rapture at the red, white, and black stripe suited individual. Gone was the awkward wallflower that they had so often tried to coax from her shell, and in its place was a maiden in full bloom, hair band gone with her locks free flowing, mouth pressed tightly together as if biting her lower lip, while looking for all the world as if having found rapture. Somewhat worried, as his little girl never was one to look like that, let alone act like that, Apollo turned back to the man who was effortlessly holding the audience's attention in the palm of his hand as he took the solo further into experimental places that only a few had previously dared attempt pioneer.....and flawlessly mastered them.

Possessing sight beyond his own wife he looked closer, first spotting the tell-tale signs of an arm just a hair too long, teeth a bit crooked, but with a gift of sound that resonated even to his own soul and callouses that showed it wasn't merely through gift, but constant struggle and effort to further refine it, that led him to that stage. Looking even closer, what little color in the god's face drained entirely to white as the wispy form of a guitar - often copied, but truly one of a kind - floated in overlay with the lad. And what was worse, especially as a father, was seeing how Jeanette was constantly grasping somewhat uncertainly at the locking clasps to her carrying case that she was pressing into her chest hard enough to make the leather creak.

"Oh no. Oh dear grandfather no. Not him. We're never getting her back."

___________________

Apollo Mousike = One of Apollo's titles as God of Music ('Mousike' translates to 'Music'). I figured Therese would prefer it as the family name, over any of the other choices.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- For obvious reasons, Bastian is Nobu-chan's favorite Malfoy. Since it ain't Chunni if you can back it up.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (X)

Halloween, 2036

Malfoy Manor

"SHAZAM!!!!"

In a clap of thunder that shook the estate, Cleopatra appeared from the smoke holding onto the hand of a young man a year younger than Scorpius was. The newcomer had a mop of unruly light blond hair, a silver monocle sparkling with enchantments, and a maniacal grin as he wore a Durmstrang uniform under a rumpled lab coat.
Spoiler: Bastain Severus Malfoy

Niobe moaned and lowered her head as Ehren patted her co-wife on her back sympathetically with a suspiciously stone-faced controlled expression.

Albus and Scorpius boggled at the new arrival.

Yuri grinned and began to golf clap, joined by Johnston's enthusiastic claps and cheers.

Taube winced, shook her head and muttered in a long suffering big-sister tone. "Bastian, Bastian, Bastian...."

Bastian Severus Malfoy grinned at his impassive father. "Hey Dad! I've been practicing some different entrances now that I got my Apparition license. I call this one 'Go Loud, Go Proud!'. Soooo, Mum said that there's a dimensional and temporal crossrip for me to get my teeth into?" His voice was the happy tone of a little boy realizing that Santa had delivered all the presents under the Christmas Tree.

Draco spoke in a controlled 'Dad' voice. "Yes, the young men over there are Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter from a different dimension. They were looking to repair their timeline when they jumped into ours. Also, good you could make it for lunch."

Bastian rubbed his hands in glee as the monocle shifted, whirred, and began to display floating glyphs in front of his eyes as it focused on Albus and Scorpius. "Tachyon radiation traces yesss.... Mu-theta particle emission over nine thousand. Time-Turner harmonic wave degradation, yes?"

While Bastian looked at the readings and then examined the two Time-Turners used by Scorpius and Taube, he grabbed the first things that came to hand and began to assemble a 'sandwich' using a slice of cheddar cheese for the bottom and a dill pickle pilfered from Ehren's tray as the top with a slice of bread someplace in the middle. He never noticed the haphazard construction of his meal before he summoned a pad of paper and a quill and began chatting to himself in mathematics as it obediently took notes between bites.

Taube facepalmed and muttered to herself in German before draining her beer stein in one long pull.

Scorpius leaned close to his sister. "Is he always like that?"

Taube sighed and nodded her head as she refilled her beer stein. "Ja."

"He's not existing in the same world as the rest of us, right?"

"Ja."

"He can help us, right?"

"Ja."

A long pause.

"His necktie is purple and green! What House is THAT?"

A deep sigh.

"Doctor DOOM."

"Doctor DOOM?"

"Don't ask him about it. Just... don't. Trust me."

"I... see."

Another long pause.

"Why not Ravenclaw?"

"Durmstrang has equal academics to Hogwarts and a more liberal policy when it comes to allowing students to experiment and test the boundaries of magic. He's also triple-dipping at the Sorbonne and Heidelburg thanks to VR distance learning, a Time Turner, Apparition, and Papa writing a bunch of checks to keep them happy and Bastian out of trouble. He's got Mutti's work ethic and focus when something interests him and got more brains than me and the rest of the family piled together."

"....."

"Your family is weird sometimes, Taube."

"You have no idea, Scorpius. None whatsoever."
---------------

Finally Bastian's stream of observations slowed down and he blinked at the remnant of his lunch sandwich. "Hmm, kosher dill, ham, mayonnaise, onion, pumpernickel, ketchup, turkey, salami and cheddar. Interesting."

Draco spoke patiently to Bastian. "Your initial observations, son?"

Bastian focused on his 'brother' and his friend. "They are definitely dimensional travelers using temporal mechanisms. So, what's their problem?"

Scorpius coughed. "We were using a prototype Time-Turner to try to save Cedric Diggory and botched things. Now Lord Voldemort's in control of our timeline and we need to set it to rights once more."

Bastian shook his head. "Wait, you're telling me you managed to break your own space-time continuum and you want to set it back to before? Are you certain the two of you have never in the past, present or future been members of the Unspeakables?"

Scorpius blinked. "No.... Why would we be?"

Bastian sighed, "Because that's what they would pull. It never works as they intend. I can speculate good news and worse news from my observations and analysis."

Draco spoke to his son in that patient tone of command to guide Bastian along. "Good news first for those of us without the advanced degrees, son."

"Good news is that, yes, it is possible to undo the events you brought about." Bastian explained. "Specifically by travelling back and taking steps to nullify the key shift that diverted the timestream. Ideally by inducing a counterbalancing action to strengthen the desired change in the timeline. Don't just have Mum and Dad meet when you messed it up to cause a breakup, but have them meet in a more romantic setting, for instance, although that runs into Fuchida's First Law of Temporal Observation...."

Scorpius and Taube nodded along with the explanation. Then the intent amber-eyed girl spoke in turn. "You said worse news, Bastian. What is that?"

"Worse news? Taking it back to the unchanged state before you corrected it is not going to happen. The only way you can undo things that way is to use a time-turner within say about 20 minutes at best. So all you can do is prevent the issue you described from coming about, but your universe will be still be different. I suggest you watch Blackadder: Back and Forth, before attempting to fix your temporal problem. For something produced as entertainment, it is a useful 'small words' explanation of the issues." Bastian shrugged and finished off his sandwich.

Taube nodded, "I'll have the boys watch it with me before they head back to fix their timeline. That said, you can have a positive change in the results during the correction, right?"

Bastian shrugged and responded absently. "Sure, as long as you don't mess with the key juncture points in the timestream. Trying to kill Hitler before 1945 never ends well for the mage responsible as the classical example of a fated individual." A cough caused him to glance over at Ehren. "Is it something I said, Mutti?"

Unseen in the ensuing discussion, a small smug smile flickered around Taube's lips.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Navigating the narrow streets, Haruto pulled into a side street with a hum. A few minutes later, he brought the car to a stop as he pulled up to a small, walled compound, "And here we are. Finally, home."

In the seat behind him, Ayane looked nervous as she looked at the walls before taking a deep breath. Gently, she shook Chikako to wake her, "Chikako-Chan, we're here. We're at Haruto-Kun's home."

After a few minutes, Chikako blinked and rubbed at her eyes, "Mnya?" Then her eyes widened and she noticed an older man framed in the door to the compound. Unbuckling herself, she quickly opened the door and rushed over before hugging him, "Ojii-San!"

Laughing, the older man grinned as he picked up the little Nekomata, "Well, hello there Chikako-Chan! We've been waiting for you!"

Unable to help himself, Haruto also chuckled as he opened the door and got out before walking over, "Chichi-ue..."

Softly snorting, even as he returned the embrace, Hiashi shook his head, "Otou-San at most, Haruto-Chan." Pulling back a little, he gave a small nod, "You are looking well, your Okaa-San will be happy about that."

Just shrugging, the Healer shook his head some, "She will, I have no doubt." Turning, he gave a small nod to the group behind him, "You know Hachimitsu-Chan, Haruhime-Chan, Mikage-Chan as well as Mie-Chan and Ichika-Chan..." Haruto then nodded towards the Jorogumo that got out, "This is Ayane-Chan."

For her part, Ayane bowed to the older man with him returning it, "Ah, thank you for allowing me to stay the night, Hinata-Sama."

Moments later, she blinked as Hiashi snorted and shook his head before looking at his son, "What have you been telling them, Haruto-Chan?" Turning back to Ayane, he smiled, "Call me Hiashi-San at most, or maybe Oji-San." In his eyes was a twinkle as he shook his head, "Now, let's go and head on inside, hmm? Your Okaa-San has been working most of the evening to get a dinner ready for all of you."

Utterly stunned, the Jorogumo just stared for a moment before a bump caused her to jolt. Looking to the side, she saw a grinning Mikage there who winked, "Come on, that means you as well, Ayane-Chan."

Blinking away a little wetness, Ayane nodded some, "Hai..."

Grabbing her overnight bag, she followed the others into the courtyard that was ahead of her. Due to being a Jorogumo, the darkness of the night didn't bother her and she could see perfectly around her. Here and there, stone lanterns glowed in the darkness of the garden. And fireflies danced over a small pond that was there while glowing, magical lotus, opened their petals to the night. Later on in life, when Haruto was old and grey, she would tell him that in that moment his family home compared in her mind to the stories that she had heard of palaces of old, with said palaces coming out the lesser. It was something that always got a laugh out of the Healer.

In the here and now, however, she just took it all in as she followed them towards the lit front door of the traditional home with an older woman silhouetted there.

Once they reached said door, Aoi walked out all smiles as she greeted first Haruto with a hug, and then followed it up with pulling the each of the three Kitsune into a similar embrace, "Hachimitsu-Chan... Haruhime-Chan... Mikage-Chan... it is so good to see you again after so long."

Having dropped their disguises, the three Kitsune hugged her back with happy smiles and tails swishing as Hachimitsu spoke for all three, "Thank you... Aoi-Kaa-San. It is good to see you again as well."

Upon hearing that, Aoi never looked happier and she gave them each a kiss on the cheek before turning towards Mie and Ichika before bowing which they returned... and then hugging them as well, "Welcome to our home, my Musume to be."

As they tearfully nodded back, she pulled away before walking towards Ayane who bowed, "Ah, Hinata-San, I am Shirai Ayane."

Quickly giving her a bow, the older woman then pulled her into a hug, "Like I said to the others, welcome to our home."

For a few moments, Ayane stood there stiff before relaxing some and bringing her own arms up before hugging back. As she pulled back, she flicked away a tear, "Thank you, though Haruto-Kun has told me you know what I am?"

Seemingly amused, Aoi chuckled some, "That you are a very good friend of his?" Waiting until the Yokai opened her mouth, she continued, "Who just so happens to be a Jorogumo? Hai, we know." Patting the stunned spider woman's arm, she turned, "Now, you are a guest and must be hungry after your trip so I prepared a number of foods for dinner. Come along then, we need to get you nice and full." Aoi gave a small sniff, "The Kami above knows that the Reserves wouldn't be giving you enough."

Gobsmacked, the Jorogumo followed her automatically, only pausing as a green haired missile appeared and tackle hugged the older woman, "Munya! Obaa-Chan!"

Lightly laughing, Aoi looked down at Chikako with a smile as she ruffled her hair, "Indeed, Chikako-Chan." She then giggled a little and rubbed noses with the Nekomata, who grinned happily as her tails swished, "You are so adorable! Now, let's go to the dinner table, hmm? I have some Kamaboko for you after all."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh as Chikako bounced a little as she threw her hands into the air with glee, "Kamaboko! Kamaboko! We're all going to have some Kamaboko, Munya!"

The adults all shared a smile as they followed the dancing Nekomata and soon sat down around a table. Looking around, Aoi frowned some as she turned back to Ayane, "I hope that there's enough room here for you dear if you feel the need to stretch your legs, as it were. I cast some expansion charms, but... I am unsure if that was enough."

Waving her hand, the Jorogumo blushed a little, "No, no, this is fine, perfect even! I'll just stay in my human form for now." Pausing, Ayane smiled a little and bowed, "But thank you, just the same."

Both older adults bowed back and soon, food was passed around.

As a bowl was placed in front of her, the Jorogumo blinked and looked up, "Um..."

Giving her son a knowing glance, Aoi smiled at Ayane, "My son happened to mention when I asked him that you liked pork. As it turned out, I know the recipe for tonkotsu ramen as he loved it when he was younger."

Just clearing his throat, Haruto looked away, "I... just liked it, okay?"

Hachimitsu snorted a little bit as she turned to him, "That is like saying water is wet. Every time we didn't go to MOS Burger, you wanted to go to the local ramen stand and eat some tonkotsu ramen. Every time." Now blushing, the Healer gave her a betrayed look, only to get a smirk back before the Kitsune chomped down on some of her own ramen and gave a low moan. Quickly swallowing, she gave Aoi a happy look, "I've missed your ramen so much, Aoi-Chan."

With a giggle, Aoi waved her hand, "Stop, you're making this Obaa-San blush." Then, she shook her head a little, "Though it is not hard as I used to work at a ramen stand... until I met my Hiashi-Kun one day when he came to eat there during a lunch break from the Diet." Winking at the others, the older woman leaned forward before speaking in a stage whisper, "Every day from then on, he would come to visit me. And one day, asked me to marry him!"

Blushing a little, Hiashi ignored the giggles before kissing his wife on the cheek, "And every day with you has been a wonderful one, my lovely wife."

Tails twitching as she watched this, Chikako simply continued to eat her ramen with a happy smile, 'I'm glad that Obaa-Chan and Ojii-Chan are happy.' Then, she turned towards one of the kamabako and began munching on that as well, 'Yummy fish!'

Soon enough, the ramen was gone into hungry stomachs and soon, they began eating the other foods there. For her part, the Jorogumo was not alone in being unsure whether to eat or not as the two Inugami were as well. Especially as they were each given a steak to eat. When they looked at Aoi, she just winked and commented that with magic, a little can go a long way.

Cutting a piece off, Ichika took the small piece of steak and dipped it into the small bowl of steak sauce before eating it. Almost immediately, she groaned a little at the taste of said food. Swallowing, and ignoring the similar sounds from her sister as well as Ayane, she cut off another piece, 'This... is a great welcoming meal...'

Once the last of the food was gone, Aoi left for the kitchen and brought back some bowls that she placed in front of them all, "Now, I know that shiruko is normally served in the winter, but Haruto-Chan has always enjoyed it and I thought that some of you might want... to... try it?" She blinked a little and frowned, "Mie-Chan? Ichika-Chan? Ayame-Chan? Is something wrong...? You're all crying..."

Just swallowing, Ayame rubbed at her eyes, "Y-you did this... for us? And Haruto-Kun? I..." She looked down at the traditional dessert with blurry eyes, "I... I heard of shiruko, b-but never..."

Reaching over with tears in her own eyes, Haruto's mother placed one slightly wrinkled hand on hers, "Oh, dearie... Hai, I did make it for you and for the others, because I felt that you would enjoy it."

With a sniffle, Mie looked at her with a smile, "Really?"

Softly smiling, Aoi reached over and placed a hand between her ears, "Really, because you are our Haruto-Chan's precious people. And so you more than deserve a lovely treat when coming home."

That only made more tears flow, but smiles grew just the same. And when those from the reserve tried the dessert? One that they had never had, but had overheard guards talking about? But that had been made for them with love?

Never... had they had something so sweet and delicious.

___________________________________________________________________`

A soft, happy sigh escaped from Hachimitsu as she dumped hot water over herself and washed away the suds from her body. Shaking her head a little, she blinked her eyes open with a hum, "Now that feels nice..."

From where she was lounging in the bath already, Mikage grinned a little, "It's nicer here in the bath, Nee-San." Stretching her arms over her head, she grunted some, "Our bath in the reserve is nice, but nothing compared to this."

Mie dunked her head under the surface before rising back up, "Hai, though it is really nice just the same since we built it together."

That got nods from the others who were either in the bath or were getting washed. Sitting behind Chikako and doing said girl's hair, Aoi smiled a little, "That is always a good thing." Looking at the Yokai, she sighed a little good naturedly before shaking her head, "Still, I wish that I was as youthful as you all are."

Bemused, Haruhime wagged a finger playfully at her, "You're not that old, Aoi-Chan! Only, what? Forty five?"

Giggling a little, Aoi winked some, "I won't say that you're wrong... but a lady never discusses her age."

Rapidly blinking, Ayane looked over at the witch with a surprised look, "You're in your forties?" At the nod, she frowned, "Huh..."

Eyebrow raised, the witch hummed a little, "How old are you, Ayane-San?"

That made Ayane blink before she shrugged a little, "Myself? I'm about fifty. Still pretty young for a Jorogumo, but..." She gave a shake of her head, "But then, my age doesn't make me an Elder at our Reserve."

Interested, Aoi tilted her head a little, "Oh? And what does?"

Simply rubbing the back of her neck, the Jorogumo chuckled a little, "Well... the bigger thing is that I'm the owner of the local clothing store and, well... there's not many of us who are successful merchants in a way. Which meant that when talk of a new Elder came up, the others agreed on myself being asked to join."

A small snort escaped from Ichika as she smiled, "Haruto-Kun is kind of an Elder."

Chuckling, Ayane shook her head with a small smile, "Only kind of because he doesn't want to accept the job as he believes that he's not worthy of it. Though..." Placing a finger against her lips, she winked, "Don't tell him that's why we keep inviting him to meetings as an 'Advisor'...'

Various giggles, laughs, and snickers escaped from the others at that even as Aoi smiled, feeling happiness and pride rise in her for her son. Looking down though, she had to bite back a giggle as she worked in the shampoo into Chikako's hair as the little Neko had a look of happiness on her face, "Nya, nya nya nyaaa~"

Unable to help herself, however, the witch did laugh as Chikako sang using "Nya", which made the little Yokai blink, "I'm sorry dear... you're just too cute."

Head tilted to the side, the Nekomata blinked, "Munya?" Moments later, she felt warm water washing over her and rinsing the shampoo from her hair, "Nyaaaaaa~"

Even as the last of the water dripped off Chikako, Aoi smiled and patted her butt to get her moving towards the bath, "Now, you go and have a nice soak with your Nee-Sans, okay?"

Bright smile on her face, Chikako nodded, "Hai, Obaa-Chan! I'll go and do that, nya!"

Lips twitching, the older woman sighed a bit before cracking her back. Aoi then turned towards where Ayane was and frowned slightly, "Dearie, you can transform into your normal form. I made sure that the bath was large and deep enough at one end to cover you."

At that, a bright blush appeared on Ayane's face, "Ah, well... I wasn't sure..."

With a glance at the others, who nodded, she let her transformation cancel and turned back into her usual form which had a spider's body as her lower half. Much to her surprise, Aoi simply smiled at her, "There we go, much better." Humming, she frowned a little, "Though I suppose that it is a bit hard to get your back done..."

However, a snicker made her turn towards Mikage who had a number of fairies with brooms and buckets, the last of which they filled with warm soapy water as the Kitsune winked, "We can take care of that, Aoi-Chan."

More than a little bemused as she watched the fairies clamber onto Ayane's spider half, Aoi chuckled, "My, what useful little fellows they are."

One of them nodded to her with a smile and gave a pudgy thumbs up, "Desu!"

Then, they went back to work scrubbing down the Jorogumo as said Yokai worked on the rest of her body that she could reach. Meanwhile, Hachimitsu leaned against the side of the bath, "Trust me, Aoi-Chan, you have no idea at all how useful they are. Trust me, they're extremely useful when we use them."

Just chuckling, Aoi gave a nod, "Ah, I see. That is good to hear."

Stretching a little, she went over and began filling buckets with warm water for Ayane and passing it to her once she was ready. As she dunked herself under one, the Jorogumo sighed a little before the fairies did the same with the rest of her, which made her hum a little in enjoyment. After all, out on the reserve, hot water was precious and while Haruto did supply soaps and shampoos as much as possible, they were still used as sparingly as possible since one needed to heat up a bath and then soap up.

Granted, everyone was rather happy when they managed to work up some public shower units that could be used for a quick scrub down using designs that the Healer had found.

Not too long after, Ayane gently made her way into the bath before slipping into a deeper end and curling her spider legs under her body, which brought the water level with her chest. Frown on her face, Aoi shook her head some, "Still not deep enough, I see."

Blushing a little, the Jorogumo waved her hands, "N-no, this is more than fine, Aoi-San. Trust me, I like this quite a bit."

For a moment, Aoi narrowed her eyes some before sighing, "Very well, but that means that I will need to work on it some more for the next visit." She gave a laugh at the flustered look that the Jorogumo sent her before calming down and sighing, "It is good to meet my son's girlfriends and future wives in person, though Chikako-Chan is more his daughter."

Lightly blushing, Chikako blinked some and gave a "Nya", though she had a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Ayane had a much brighter blush on her face and couldn't look either Aoi or the other women in the bath in the eyes, "Um... m-me and Haruto-Kun are not like that, Aoi-San. We're just friends after all."

Eyebrow raising, the witch gave her a look, "Hmm, just friends, eh? Could have fooled me."

However, Ayane shook her head, "No, I'm just a friend." Pausing for a moment, she gave the lone human in the room a look, "Wait... why did it sound like that did not bother you?"

Softly snorting, Aoi gave her an understanding smile, "Because, it would not bother me if you were his girlfriend, Ayane-Chan, nor become his wife."

Rapidly blinking her purple eyes, the spider Yokai boggled a bit, "It... wouldn't? But I'm a Jorogumo..."

One eyebrow raising nearly to her hairline, Aoi gave her a once over, "Truly, I had not noticed." Then she shook her head and walked over before sitting on the rim of the bath. Reaching over, the witch placed one hand on Ayane's shoulder, "But no, that does not bother me as it is obvious that you care. My son is many things, but a fool who thinks with his lower head he is not. He sees you as someone precious and that is more than enough for me." Looking around, she gave a small nod, "And that goes for all of you."

With a glance towards the stunned Jorogumo, Mie smiled a little and looked back at Aoi, "Why though?"

For a few moments, the human woman was silent before speaking in a soft voice, "Did you know... my own Okaa-San was a Yokai? A Tanuki, as a matter of fact."

More than one eye widened at that, though only the Kitsunes were not surprised. Haruhime nodded a little, "Hai, you told us that."

There was a sad smile on Aoi's face as she leaned forward a little, "My Okaa-San was a wonderful woman, but she died when I was but five years old during a raid. I was born as a human leaning Hanyou, thus never had any signs. And back then... it was not good to be known as the child of a human and Yokai couple. Hiashi-Kun, bless his heart and soul, wasn't bothered by it, but... I never really spoke of it. I-Ichiro-Chan..." Tears slipped from her eyes before she wiped them away, "He wouldn't hear of it when I told him, declared that there was no way Yokai blood ran through our veins. I should have guessed then, but..."

It was not any of the Kitsune, nor the Inugami or Nekomata who moved, but Ayane. The Jorogumo placed a hand on Aoi's and gave her a comforting smile, "You could not have known, and you were his Okaa-San, no one could blame you for loving your child."

Lightly smiling, the human woman placed a hand over hers, "Thank you, Ayane-Chan, dear. I am getting better now, though the pain will always be there." With a deep breath, Aoi let it out, "Of course, as I said, due to that any of you being Yokai does not bother me. I do not care if any grandchildren I may get are human, have fluffy tails and ears..." She then turned to the Jorogumo who tears up at her next words, "Or have eight lovely legs." Aoi then winked a little, "I have seen those pictures that No-Maj took of jumping spiders and they are cute little things after all. So that would not bother me at all."

Somehow, despite there not being much room, Ayane sunk into the water until it reached her nose as her face was bright red. When she glanced at the other grown women, to her surprise it was not the expected annoyance or anger. But, rather smiles and smirks as well as chuckles. Not helping was when Ichika gave her a knowing wink, which made her cheeks blaze all the more, 'They're... they're not bothered?'

After she rose back above the water, Aoi patted her shoulder and gave the others their own pats. Though instead of a pat, she hugged a giggling Chikako to her and kissed her cheek before she left.

Once she was gone, the Jorogumo continued to stare at the door in confusion, "Um... I did not expect that."

Just shrugging, Haruhime shook her head, "That is just like Aoi-Chan, to be honest. But like we said, she's a good person."

Frown on her face, Ayane turned to them, "Did... did any of that bother you?"

Gathering Chikako close, Mikage allowed the Nekomata to pillow her head on her chest as she gently stroked the hair of the smaller girl, "Should it?" Looking at the others, she tilted her head a little, "Because it didn't bother us, not really."

That only made the spider Yokai blink, "Ah..."

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and Haruto stepped in, which made her blush as she noticed he only had a towel around his waist. Giving them a smile, he chuckled a little, "Enjoying the bath?"

Leaning back in it, Haruhime groaned as she stretched her hands above her head, "We are, trust you me." One eye open a crack, she smirked as Haruto followed her movements before she relaxed as he dunked himself in water, "It has been so long since we have had a proper bath,"

Even as she said this, Mie got out of the bath and made her way over to Haruto, "Do you want me to do your back, Haruto-Kun? And maybe your hair?"

A smile on his face, he looked over his shoulder as he soaped up one cloth and handed it to her, "I would appreciate that, Mie-Chan." As she began, he sighed a little, "Now that feels good..."

Grin on her face, Ichika snickered a little as she propped herself up with her arms to look over the edge of the bathtub, "Heh, I bet that it does." She then gave a wink, "After all, Nee-San is one of the most wifey of us all."

That got her a stuck out tongue from said sister even as the others playfully complained. Sitting where she was in the tub, Ayane smiled some as she enjoyed the atmosphere, 'Now this is nice... like I am a part of this family.' Watching as they playfully teased each other, and Mie especially, over who was the best wife made her smile grow. Of course, that was when she felt a poke and looked to find Haruhime there, "Hmm?"

With a look around, the red haired Kitsune leaned towards her with a sly grin, "Hey, you should keep an eye on Haruto-Kun right now. Especially as Mie-Chan is about to rinse him off~"

It took only moments, but soon, Ayame found herself blushing as she looked over to see that. The sight of the water flowing across his body as Mie cleaned him of suds caused her hearts, the one in her chest and the one in her thorax, to pound even as she bit her lip some. She had to admit, even to herself, that it was not just his personality that was attracted as the hard work he did around the Reserve most certainly showed in his physique. Just the type that she really liked as well.

However, when he got up and stepped into the bath, taking off his towel before sinking in, the Jorogumo felt like her face was about to catch fire even as she could not help but stare a little and lick her lips. Of course, Ayane froze moments later and looked towards Haruhime, except said Kitsune winked at her. Something that puzzled her even as she enjoyed her first proper bath... and the company that she had.

Granted, she did tease Haruto as she got out of the bath before him, allowing him a full view of her even as she grabbed a towel to dry herself off... Something that he returned when he used his wand to create a stream of hot air to dry her exoskeleton as well, which got a shiver from her. Transforming back to her human form, she slipped on the Yukata that she was given until she got to their rooms...

Or, rather, room as Aoi had only one ready for them which was Haruto's, something that got said witch amused glances from the Kitsune as she apologized for it.

Transforming back after slipping on her "Sleeping" skirt to take the place of the bottom of the Yukata rather than tear the pants, Ayaka settled in after setting up some webbing. Her last sight was that of her friends all cuddled up together, though she had the odd image of them joining her on her web as she drifted off, the image of them all cuddled together with her, and a number of young Jorogumo and humans with purple eyes as well as ones with the features of Haruto's girlfriends also there to meet her in her dreams...

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And Taube is Mutti's daughter in truth so has a plan so cunning she can stick fox ears and a tail upon it to call it Taiyang, Mikon~!

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (XI)

Halloween, 2036

Malfoy Manor
Spoiler: A Sibling Discussion

After lunch, Scorpius followed Taube through the familiar corridors of his ancestral house. He blinked as she reached a particular door and then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked him as she unlocked it with a spell and then pushed the door open.

"Back home, this is my room." He explained, still giggling. She stared and then started to laugh too, joined by an identical laugh from inside.

Scorpius boggled at seeing a second Taube sitting in a metal and leather desk chair next to a bookcase reading a well-worn book bound in faded tan leather. The second Taube looked up, closed the book, and nodded to them. She stood up with a swish of her green and black plaid skirt, adjusted her green, black and white necktie and green wool sweater and then looked at Taube.

"I hope that you know what we're doing." Taube's second avatar said to her other self.

Taube nodded silently and then embraced herself.

Scorpius sensed something fundamental pass between the two.

Tears fell from both and then the Taube in green's lips curled in a small smug smile. "Twenty-Three then?" She said quietly in a resolute voice full of steel.

"Ja, you will be Twenty-Three in our plan. Family looks after family...." The Slytherin Taube said quietly with tears in her eyes.

"....with loyal and honorable service followed to the bitter end." The second one finished for her in that steely voice. "Auf Widersehen."

Gold letters flashed from the book's spine in the light of the desk lamp as she set the book down on her desk next to a small wooden box, an ash wand and a small steel pin.
GADSHILL EDITION.

The Works of Charles Dickens

In Thirty-two Volumes.

With Introductions, General Essay, and Notes

by Andrew Lang.

VOL. XXI.

The second Taube stepped back, stood straight and proud with steel in her spine, and then extended her hand. "Scorpius. My other half will explain about me. I'll see you on the other side, brother." Her voice was calm and controlled with an undertone of steel-deep determination.

Puzzled, he shook her hand.

Then she stepped back and vanished with a crack of Apparition.

The steel pin on the desk glimmered next to the book.

Curious, he leaned over her desk, opened the book, and read the words that she had underlined on the page aloud while Taube closed the door and cast multiple privacy charms. "'Keep where you are because, if I should make a mistake, it could never be set right in your lifetime.'" He gave a puzzled look at the clearly well-worn and well-loved book with carefully written margin notes in Taube's hand and that passage underlined

Taube smiled as she walked to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Yes, Charles Dickens could turn a phrase. I have a plan that may be able to save Cedric Diggory when you repair the timeline and save your mother too in the mending, but you will have to trust me."

He looked at her with dawning hope in his eyes. "H-how?" He gasped out, grasping her upper arms with desperate force. "Tell me!"

She smiled smugly and told him.
-------------------------

After she finished speaking, he looked at the desk again.

Slowly he opened the box there. Inside, glimmering with magic, a dagger rested. Its basket hilt was forged of bronze in the shape of twin roses and their thorn covered vines, and the pommel was a single sphere of amber, matched by two smaller amber droplets in the center of the roses.

His wand waved as he cast a spell. "Lumos!" The sphere of light was formed and immediately vanished as the magical energies were drawn into the steel of the blade to be consumed.

Taube smiled with pride. "Isn't Schützenrosendorn beautiful?"

He nodded in awe. "But how...?"

Taube unbuttoned her shirt sleeve and rolled it up. Scorpius stared at the forearm sheath built like a spring-loaded bracer and carrying a second dagger with the pommel as a snarling silver wolf's head with amber eyes. "This is my true body like I told you about, Brother."

Taube blushed as she unsheathed herself and then handed herself over hilt first for him to examine. "My Aunt Estelle is another dagger who was forged as a spell breaker three centuries ago. I commissioned Schützenrosendorn from the son of the smith that forged her, she's dwarven make too and another spell breaker. Originally she was intended to serve Yuri as her weapon to protect Minato and the other Dokis, but...." She trailed off and gave a sad smile. "To quote Sir Phillip Sidney as he lay dying of his gangrenous wounds and saw a fellow dying soldier desperately thirsty for the water that he had just been given, 'Thy necessity is greater than mine.' Or, as Mutti would put it to me, Family supports Family with faithful honorable service unto death."

He nodded and hugged her after handing her true body back. "Thank you for everything. I'll handle the rest of your plan. I swear."

She smiled and hugged him back. "Good, I'm glad that you have the Polyjuice Potion that Professor Snape gave you before he got captured in that other timeline. I'm not that skilled at Potioncrafting yet and besides I had him for DADA anyway."

He chuckled. "It's my best subject honestly." Then he sobered and looked into her amber eyes. "Taube, I'll probably never see you again, but I wish that I had a big sister like you. Strong, brave, cunning, hot -- never mind I said that!" He blushed and they broke down in laughter.

Finally the giggles subsided and he looked at her once more. "Thank you again."

She smiled. "You're welcome. I wish I had a little brother like you, you've got steel in you deep down. Honestly, this Rose girl doesn't know what she's missing out on in my opinion. If you want, I can give you a few tips that might help her notice you."

"Anything!" Scorpius said desperately.

Taube gave a confident big-sister grin as she steered him to sit beside her on her bed. "First and most importantly, be confident and don't be discouraged by setbacks. You only fail when you give up. Attitude's half the battle, go in worried about losing and you are more than half defeated, think about your paths to victory and how you will triumph instead. Also she is like you, we put our shirts on one arm at a time just like boys do. She's got her weak points and school subjects too that you can help her with just as she can help with yours...."

Finally a knock on the door interrupted the sibling advice session. Ehren poked her head in. "Dinner's ready you two!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Blinking his eyes in the early morning sunlight, Haruto was the first of the group to wake up and looked around. A soft smile appeared on his face as he looked at each of his girlfriends, as well as Chikako who was nestled in the cuddle pile of girls on and around him. Of course, his eyes then fell upon Ayane who was sleeping in her web beside the others. Her lower body had lowered itself to the silken lines of said web with the legs curled up beneath her. Meanwhile, her human half was leaning forward with her arms wrapped around her body.

Despite how uncomfortable the position looked, the Healer could tell that she was gently sleeping away the morning. Yet, it looked like, to him, that Ayane was having a nice dream considering that she had a soft, happy smile on her face. Seeing her right now, calm and peaceful, as well as content? It made Haruto smile as well himself.

Of course, he went over what happened the previous day at the same time.

He had enjoyed the day before after all. While the three Kitsune along with Chikako were from outside the Reservation, in the case of the triplets enough time had passed that things had changed. And with the Nekomata, she had mostly lived on the streets and thus not had the chance to really enjoy things. Which meant that there had been things that had awed them to say the least about how the non-magical world was now like.

But it was the three who were born and lived all their lives in the Reserve that really caught his attention. The two Inugami as well as the one Jorogumo had only known the state of living in the Reserve, one that was barely any better than what had existed in the Edo and Meiji Era in most of Japan. Yet, compared to modern Japan? It might as well be an entirely different world for them. Even Mie and Ichika, who had memories of their crews, had been utterly shocked as well as amazed at how outside the Reserve was.

Needless to say, Haruto had enjoyed every minute of their time together outside the Reserve. To see the wonder and awe in their faces as they took in the sights or, in the case of those who had only every known the Reserve, the taste and smells of food that was common outside said Reserve? It had made his heart soar to see it and had turned a somewhat boring routine into something fun. Mind going back over the previous day, a happy smile bloomed on Haruto's face even as he swore that he would do it more often for them.

With that, he began to scratch Mikage behind the ears which made them twitch as she happily hummed in her sleep while he began to think back over the previous day. Besides the excitement and such shown by the various girls, he still managed to fit in time with each of his girlfriends. Not just with them sitting in the front passenger seat, but also through small stops and the like. Often, him with one or two would wander off and spend some time together.

Granted, said moments often turned into make out sessions, which he was not about to complain about in the slightest at all mind you.

But yes, he spent time with all of them as they travelled in sort of mini-dates. However, that was not what was making him think. Rather, what was making him think was some of their actions regarding one of their group, which made him look over at the still sleeping Ayane. More than once, they had moved aside to take care of Chikako and give him and the Jorogumo some time to spend together. One example was when she was looking over some new fashion magazines, which he proceeded to buy. Another was during the Ferris wheel ride when Mie and Ichika had him hold Ayane close as they looked out over the cityscape of Kagoshima.

And, Haruto had to admit, he had quite a bit of fun around the spider woman. Not only was she a good conversationalist even with her limited education, but very intelligent. At times, she could be a tease, and sometimes sprinkled her conversations with innuendo. The Healer would also be a fool, in his mind, how she would tease him in other ways. Like hugging him from behind with her breath tickling his ear as she spoke to him, which he was not about to complain about as a guy, especially as none of his girlfriends seemed to really mind all that much. Or how she often wore shirts that were either loose, which meant that when she leaned over he got a view. And when she wore button down shirts, the first few buttons were usually undone as well.

Though, when it came to business matters? It was like a switch was flipped and she was all professional. After all, she had done the tailoring for his outfits, which meant that she had done his measurements. Yet, when doing so, not once did the playful, teasing "Onee-San" personality come out. Each pin was put into place carefully and safely as to not jab him. And he had to admit, when they were done and she would take in her work with an expression of pride on her face, it made her beautiful in different ways.

Of course, afterwards she would revert to her teasing self and often make comments that flustered him regarding how lucky any woman would be with him... though, looking back, he noted that she seemed somewhat sad about that.

Now, Haruto did enjoy the times when he teased her back and managed to get some direct hits in. While her teasing, flirting, personality was, dare he say it, sexy? The times that he got her back were ones that he treasured as she sometimes got flustered. And a flustered Ayane in his mind was a very adorable one to say the least. One that he loved to see and treasured when it happened since it was not too common... which also made this trip a very good one as he had seen it often. Not to mention how he found the childishly excited Ayane to be equally as adorable as well.

Hand now gently scratching behind Hachimitsu's ear, he considered things. Now, he was not an dense idiot and could see that she was attracted to him. Indeed, a number of Yokai back in the Reserve were attracted to him and that was plain for him to see. But most of them carried on their flirting too far, unlike with Ayane. Not to mention, some of their parents hinted or outright mentioned that they would make him good wives or lovers. Something that often brought a blush to his face when it happened though it had toned down greatly since he had gotten together with the three Kitsune and two Inugami. Part of him suspected that his girlfriends and wives-to-be were a good reason for that.

Which is why he was somewhat puzzled over what was going on right now with Ayane. He had his suspicions, but... it couldn't be that, right? Already, he considered himself extremely lucky for what he had. Yet... he could not help but wonder if his suspicion was correct.

As well as what he might do if it was.

Unfortunately, he had still not come to a decision by the time that the girls laying on and around him woke up. Between kisses, Haruto watched with some amusement as Chikako slipped out of the cuddle pile and mumbled as she stood up and rubbed her eyes. Moments later, he became even more amused as she dropped down to all fours and stretched out, her fingers curled in even as she bent her back, "Nyaaaaaa~" Hearing snickers and giggles, the Neko blinked her eyes and looked over at them, "What's so funny, munya?"

Lips madly twitching as she fought back even more giggles, Hachimitsu shook her head, "It's nothing, Chikako-Chan." When the Nekomata tilted her head in confusion with a loud "Nya?", the Kitsune had to bite back a coo, 'So adorable...'

Freed now from the weight of his girlfriends, though he would never put it that way, Haruto also stretched before getting up. Noticing that Ayane was still sleeping, he looked over at the Kitsunes and Inugamis, each of whom gave him a nod and a "Go on" gesture. With a small shrug, the Healer walked over and placed his hand against Ayane's shoulder, "Ayane-Chan... it's morning." Getting a mumble, he shook her a little, "Ayane-Chan, time to get up and greet the new day-Mmphgf!?"

Moving quickly, the Jorogumo grabbed him and pulled him off the ground before embracing him. This, unfortunately, meant that his face was shoved into her chest. Not helping matters was how her Yukata had loosened over the night, which gave him something of a view of her "Valley between peaks" as it were.

Due to the giggles and quiet laughter behind him, Haruto knew that no help was coming from that direction, not to mention the sound of someone fiddling with a camera, and so sighed, 'Of course they would be enjoying it...'

The Healer ignored the part of his mind muttering that he was enjoying it as well to say the least, even if it was true. Moments later, the still mostly asleep Ayane pulled him even closer and sighed as she nuzzled his head, "Haruto-Kun... my Haruto-Kun..." About a minute later, she finally woke up enough to open her eyes with a smile on her face, 'That was a nice dream...' It was then that she felt something and looked down through bleary, but rapidly clearing, eyes, "Hmm?"

Which was when her eyes met those of Haruto... who currently had his face stuffed into her cleavage due to how tightly she was holding him.

Neither did anything for a few moments, but Haruto watched as her face slowly grew red with said blush crawling down her neck and fully across what could be seen of her body. Something which made him blink a little, 'Huh... never seen her blush that much. And she does look cute...'

Seconds later, he was dropped and the Jorogumo placed her face over her hands, 'Ahhhhhhhh! What was I doing!?' Peeking out from her fingers, her blush grew as Mikage gave her a wink and Ichika a thumbs up, 'Gaaaaaaaah! Someone wrap me up and leave me in my web for eternity... please...'

It was a still embarrassed Ayane who sat down for breakfast a couple of minutes later in her fully human form. Unable to look at Haruto without blushing heavily, the Jorogumo instead decided to concentrate on the food and blinked at seeing the eggs in the form of omelets, bacon, some sausage, as well as grilled fish along with the usual rice and miso soup, "Um... this is quite a lot of meat..."

Lightly laughing as she poured some tea for a thankful Mie, Aoi smiled at her, "Well, you are all carnivores, are you not? And big eaters to boot! So I thought that it would be best to make sure that you had the protein needed." She gave Ayane a wink, "While you are not so much in some ways, you are still too thin."

From where he sat reading the morning paper, Hiashi nodded a little, "And do not worry about the amount of food. Aoi-Chan is quite capable at using duplication on the stores of food that we do have and we have prepared for this after all. So have as much as you want."

Happily gasping and smiling brightly, Chikako gasped as she looked down at her own plate with starry eyes, "FISH! FISH FOR BREAKFAST!"

Giggling softly, the lone witch at the table reached over and ruffled her hair between her ears, which made the Nekomata close her eyes in happiness, "Of course, just for you. Now, eat all your mackerel, a growing Nekomata needs her fish to grow big and strong!"

One fist thrust into the air, Chikako gave a sharp nod, "Haaaaai, Obaa-San!"

With a small sigh, Haruto gave his mother a look at that, "Really, Okaa-San? You're going to spoil her you know..."

A smirk on her face as she went back to ruffling the young Neko's hair, Aoi hummed, "It is the duty of a proper Obaa-San to do exactly that, Haruto-Chan. And how could I not do such? Just look at this adorable Koneko-Chan..."

Eyes closed in bliss as she rocked back and forth with the strokes, said Nekomata sighed happily, "Nya... nya... nya... nyaaaaaa~"

Biting her lip, Ayane snickered a little, "That is so adorable it should be illegal."

The others snickered and laughed at that while making sounds of agreement.

_________________________________________________________________

Looking into the side mirror of the now larger van that was being driven, Ayane blinked some before turning to Haruto who was driving said van beside her, "So, Matsumoto-San gathers together used oils and grease from restaurants... which he then gives to you?"

With a hum as he turned a corner with one final wave to said man, Haruto smiled a little, "Hai, he's one of the guys who do it." At the odd look he got, the Healer shrugged, "Believe it or not, most places would simply toss them or dump them down drains or what have you. Heck, the restaurants and such practically pay him to take said used oils. He gives me barrels of the stuff since I showed him how to transfigure it into fuel oil or oil for use in lanterns and such. Matsumoto-San makes a mint off selling it to the magical side as he can get it cheaper than anyone else and make a tidy profit."

From where she was seated behind them, Mie hummed a little in thought, "That does make a lot of sense. Lanterns and such are still used on the magical side of things. Though..." A frown crossed her face, "I do wonder what he'll do when the Statute comes down and things on the magical side begin to modernize."

That got her a shrug from the lone male in the van, "Actually? Matsumoto-San thinks that he could likely expand his business. Transfiguration is easy between related materials as long as they're not precious. So transforming cooking oil and grease into something that could be used for lubrication or fuel stock? Really easy as it turns out and can be done in large amounts at once."

A frown on her face, Chikako stuck out her tongue a little, "Ick... I don't like the taste just the same, Haruto-Onii-San." She then pouted a little and crossed her arms, "I don't like drinking it."

Gently patting her head, Ichika chuckled some, "We don't like drinking it either, Chikako-Chan. But it is one of the easier ways for us to be resupplied..." Then, she shrugged a little, "Hopefully with that naval base on Kikaijima, we won't need to worry about that much."

In the front seat, Haruto nodded some, "That is the hope anyways." He then turned back to an interested Ayame, "Anyways, it still helps since when transfigured into fuel, it can be used in boilers and such."

Stretching a little, Mikage hummed a little, "So where to next, Haruto-Kun?"

Tapping a finger against the steering wheel, he tilted his head a little before nodding, "Next one will be to the local port." At the interested looks, he smiled a little, "I know a person who works in the dockyard there offloading ships. It's where I get all the old pallets and such for wood. Hopefully you girls won't mind as it usually takes me a while to repair the wood."

Much to his surprise, that got a snort from the shipgirls, including Chikako. Then, each one brought up a hand to reveal the fairy that was in said hand who then waved their wands to create sparkles. Amused, Hachimitsu gave him a look, "If it is help that you need... we have plenty."

Unable to help himself, Haruto laughed a little, "I forgot about that..." One eyebrow raised, he gave them all looks, "As long as you don't mind helping, it will help a lot."

Yet again, that got him snorts and he shook his head a little.

Not long after, he was waved through a gate and headed towards an old warehouse. Pulling up, he saw an older man there waving to him, "Yo! Hinata-San!"

Lightly laughing, Haruto waved back at him, "Takahashi-San!" Bringing the van to a stop, he walked over and clasped the man's arm as he did the same, "Good to see you."

Amused, Takashi gave him a snort even as he grinned, "Good to see you as well, Hinata-San." Noticing the girls getting out, he gave his friend a light shove, "Think that it's a good idea bringing some real lookers with dockworkers here, Hinata-San? Some of them might try and get a date."

Ichika snorted a little as she put a hand on her hip, "Sorry, Takahashi-San, we're all taken."

Eyebrow raised, the dockworker looked at her and then at Haruto before shaking his head, "Wooo, you damn lucky dog." Clapping the other man on the back, Takahashi gestured for them to follow, "Anyways... we got one hell of a haul for ya."

When they walked in, Chikako had wide eyes at the tall stacks of shipping pellets as well as broken crates and the like, "Wow..."

Chuckling as he adjusted his hat, Takahashi nodded, "It really is something to see. What you see here is all the old, busted pallets and crates we can't make use of anymore. So we store them here until it's time to get rid of them."

Simply nodding, Haruto reached into his wallet and began to pull out a wad of bills after counting them, "This should be enough for them."

Being given them, the dockworker counted the cash before nodding, "Looks good, take as much as you want."

Eyes narrowing a little, Haruhime looked at him, "And if we were to... empty the warehouse."

That only got her a look before Takahashi grinned, "Guys won't ask any questions as we know about certain... facts, shall we say. But hey, the more you take the less we need to pay someone to take and dispose of them." He then nodded towards a few crates in the corner filled with what looked like bent nails, broken screws, and shavings of metal, "Over there are all the nails and shit we sweep out of the containers and the like if you want them, same deal.'

Just nodding, Haruto smiled at him and shook hands, "Thanks for this, Takahashi-San."

Only clapping his shoulder, the other man grinned, "Not a problem, Hinata-San. Now, if you excuse me, I'll go and get some paperwork done. Don't cause any trouble while I can't see any of you..."

With a wink at that last bit, he walked through a door and it closed behind him.

Rolling up his shirt sleeves, Haruto brought out his wand and looked at the others, "Well, let's get to work then."

Everyone thrust their fists into the air with a cheer. An hour later found said warehouse having had nearly half of all the broken crates and pallets now gone. Working together, the magical fairies of the group had helped Haruto, first repairing the pallets to an unbroken state, and then using magic to separate them into individual pieces of wood with the nails going in their own crate for use later. Tons upon tons of wood that were slipped inside Mie's and Ichika's hulls to be handed over to the Reserve upon their return.

Not enough to cause much issue for them as shipgirls, but still quite a bit. Haruhime had taken the crates of scrap nails and such and had her crew strap it to her hull, they would provide the blacksmiths back in the reserve with a lot of metal to make tools and the like from. Holding five such pallets above her head, Ayane used her spider legs that came from her back to help her climb down from the stack before movement made her look to the side with a bemused smile, "Chikako-Chan? What are you doing?"

His eyebrow raised, Haruto also turned and snorted a little at the sight of the Nekomata sitting behind a crate with two larger ones on either side, "Chikako-Chan?"

Looking over at him, Chikako raised one hand, "Look, Haruto-Nii-San! I have a workshop now! Give me lotsa rock candy, munya!"

If anything, the Healer became more amused at that before shaking his head as he laughed a little, "Well, if you want them, you can have them."

That got him a cheer from the Nekomata as she thrust her hand into the air.

An hour later found them leaving the shipping yard, the warehouse now far emptier than it had been with Takahashi thanking them for the job cleaning up. Once they left the gate behind, Haruto looked over at Mie who was now beside him and Ichika with a slight frown, "How are you girls doing? Any issues?"

Both of the Inugami shook their heads with slight smiles, Ichika answering for them both, "None at all, Haruto-Kun. Our crew shrunk the wood and tied them into bundles at the back of our hangers. So they're safe and secure."

Smile on his face, Haruto nodded at that, "Thank you, Mie-Chan, Ichika-Chan." The two girls smiled back at him as he continued onwards, "Well... that did save a lot of time for me. Only place left on my list is... a wood mill up in the mountains." Glancing in the mirror, he shrugged a little, "It's where I pick up the sawdust as well as branches that I bring back for fuel. They have plenty."

Leaning forward, Mikage hummed a little, "What should we do then?"

Just considering the question, the Healer gave a small nod, "Whatever you all might want to do, actually. We'll have plenty of free time, especially as I haven't gotten the call yet that my order is in-" Right then, Haruto's phone went off and he flipped it open, "Hinata Haruto here, how can I help you? Oh, it's in? Really? Thanks! I'll be by in a few hours to pick it up. Thank you again."

As he flipped it close, the others gave him a look of curiosity with Haruhime blinking, "What was that for, Haruto-Kun?"

Grin on his face, Haruto winked at her, "You'll see~" At her grumble, he laughed, "Let's just say that it is something that I had built based on something that I saw in a book. And it will be very useful for myself in the Reserves." When he glanced in the mirror and somewhat to the side, the wizard could almost swear that he saw question marks above their heads. However, he still would not answer their questions and only told them to wait to see, 'I wonder how they'll react...?'

Like with the warehouse full of pallets, the shipgirl's magical fairies helped him craft the sawdust into blocks and then put them away, which was much easier. Same with placing the branches into bundles that went into old, beat up trunks with expanded insides. Once they were done, off they went again...

 

[darthcourt10]

AntonioCC

Okay, this is something that I have been working for quite some time. It¡s sort of a prequel to my other snippets (which I'm still working to continue them) as well as setting some story elements for later.
=================================================================================================================
Rota Naval Base. Quarter's section. September 9 2013.

Battleship España, known as Espe by her friends, awoke with a start, looking wildly around, until she realized that she was in her quarters in Rota.

"Another nightmare?" a voice she knew very well said from the door.

"No, the same one, my sisters killing each other as I could only watch." Espe said with a sigh, as the Battleship Pelayo got close to her and gave the younger shipgirl a hug.

"I can't imagine what you must feel." Pelayo said, still hugging the younger battleship.

Espe didn't answer immediately, basking in the warmth of her momboat's embrace.

"Thanks, for everything... Mom." she finally said as she disengaged from the older shipgirl.

Pelayo, known as Pel, rolled her eyes, but she couldn't avoid a slight motherly smile to appear on her lips, before sighing.

"As much as I'd like to stay here, you must get ready, there is a summoning in one hour." Pel finally said.

"Ah, yes, the opening of the new Summoning Chamber." Espe said as she got up and removed her nightshirt, before starting to put on her uniform.

"Yeah, we get to be the first ones here." Pel said with a nod, "And not only us, Trini and Mercy will be here, as well as a delegation from Germany. Mom... I mean Numancia, couldn't make it, unfortunately." Pel added, referring to her own momboat, Spain first armored frigate, "She is still busy with that mess in Cartagena."

"Mercy is back from the States?" Espe asked, smiling. She and the older Unprotected Cruiser got along very well.

"Yes, and this time for keeps." Pel said, with a smile, as they walked out of the Barracks.

"So, the situation with the Americans has finally got sorted out." Espe said.

"More or less. There was some deal under the table, but everything is resolved." Pel said, adjusting her glasses up her nose, before she started to grumble under her breath about how some things never change.

Espe wisely decided to stay silent, waiting for her mother to finish her grumbling, while her thoughts went back to the dream she had about her sisters. The immediate meaning was pretty obvious, as her sisters had ended fighting on opposite sides on the Spanish Civil War, but she couldn't avoid thinking that there was something that evaded her about its meaning. So focused was she in thinking about the dream that she missed Pel talking aloud again.

"What?" Espe said, "Sorry I was lost in my thoughts."

"That was pretty obvious." Pel said, and then pointed to the building in front of them, one of the newer buildings in the base, "We are almost there."

Espe looked around, smiling as he noticed the people who was coming. The old Summoning Chamber dated from the early days and it was actually not bigger than a classroom, so few people could attend to the summonings. The new one was far bigger, as could be guessed by the number of people that was arriving to the location. And then she saw something out of the corner of her eye that stopped her in her tracks.

She turned around and saw a couple with two daughters, a young girl, who looked ready to run around at a moment notice, and a teen, who looked distracted, talking to an older woman in a wheelchair being pushed by another woman with Asian features. The couple was quite different, with the father being as American as they come, tall, fair haired and with blue eyes, with a bearing that screamed military despite his civilian clothes, and speaking surprisingly good Spanish, though with a noticeable accent. The mother, on the other hand, was short and curvy, with dark hair and olive skin, and if the accent was any indication, she was local, her Gaditan accent being as strong as her husband American one. The young girl was cute as a button, with dark hair in a pixie cut, a white t-shirt and pink overalls.

But what had called her interest was the older girl, thirteen or fourteen years old, with a build that indicated she had mostly inherited her father swimmer physique, with hints of her mother curvier build. A hair color that went from dark blonde to light brown depending on the light, blue-grey eyes, the color of the sea, she noticed, and a pretty face that showed she smiled a lot. She wore a navy blue t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. But all of that took a back place to the ghostly carrier hull she could see around her. The hull was too indistinct to notice any features, but it seemed to be a light aircraft carrier, and giving the circumstances of her parents...

*Do you think she could be...?* Pel said to Espe through the radio.

*Dédalo? I think that there is a good possibility. Of course, she could prefer to answer as Cabot.* Espe answered, with the mental equivalent of a shrug. *Do you know the woman in the wheelchair?*

*Carmen Díez-Japón, from a well-to-do local family, they have vineyards and a winery. The woman pushing the wheelchair is Sakura Hayashi, her assistant.* Pel said, *There are more things about them, but I would have to talk first with Captain Romerales, before saying more.*

'Wizards,' thought Espe, knowing fully well the main task of the Navy Intelligence captain on the base
---***---

A few minutes before

"Miranda! Stop right there!" Lourdes "Lou" Martin said, running after her younger daughter together with her oldest, Dana.

Daniel Martin, USMC (retired), hobbled as best as he could with his prosthetic leg after his family. As he turned a corner he saw that his wife had managed to reach her, but not before she crashed, if he was reading the signs right, on an older woman on a wheelchair, pushed by a younger woman.

"Sorry, ma'am. Miranda is a good girl, usually, but..." Lou was saying, but she trailed off as she got a good look at the face of the older woman., "Doña Carmen?" she said in a surprised tone.

"Yes, and you are... Lourdes Martínez, right? Sebastián's grandniece?" Carmen said.

"Yes, Doña Carmen." she said, "I came back with my husband not too long ago... ah, here he is."

Answering his wife's prompt, he walked with as less of a limp as he could toward where they were.

"Thanks God you caught Miri, Lou. I can't go too fast with my leg as it is." he said, and then he looked at the other two women, "Good morning, ma'am. I'm Daniel Martin..."

"Lourdes' husband, yes, I know." Carmen said.

"And you are...?" Daniel asked.

"Carmen Díez, Mister Martin." Carmen said

"Sakura Hayashi, Ms. Díez aide." Sakura said.

"Doña Carmen is sort of related to my family." Lourdes said, "You see, ehm,..."

"My would-be-husband, and father of my only son, was Lourdes great-uncle Sebastian Martínez." Carmen said, closing her eyes and sighing, "He died a week before the wedding, when the plane he was piloting crashed."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Daniel started to say.

"Don't worry," Carmen said with an understanding smile, "You would not have any way to know." She then looked to the side, "It seems that we are going to have company."

They looked to the side to see two women approaching. Correction, not just two women, two shipgirls, the Battleships Pelayo and España, which were pretty well-known thanks to being the face of the Spanish shipgirl program.

"Doña Carmen, good to see you here." Pel said, giving a quick look to the older girl, "We were going to attend the ceremony when we saw you here."

"I come to every Summoning Ceremony since they become open to the public," Carmen explained, and then asked, "Have you ever assisted a summoning ceremony?"

"No, we live quite inland, actually, so..." Daniel said, trailing off.

"Daddy, can we go to the ceremony?" the younger girl said, "I have always wanted to go to one, please? Pretty, pretty please?"

"Yes, dad, can we go?" the older girl asked.

"...Okay." Daniel said, with the resignation of a father that knows that his daughters have him wrapped around their fingers, "But, Dana, Miri, behave. There is going to be a lot of important people, and you don't want you to behave like cousin Bobby at Aunt Daisy wedding, right?"

"Yes, dad." both girls said at the same time, "We'll be good."

He nodded, though he looked at his wife, with a commiserating look, clearly resigned to her daughters antics. But before he could say anything, one of the shipgirls, España he thought, called to somebody that was behind them. He looked back and saw a group of women, who were probably shipgirls too, as three looked too young for their rank in a modern uniform, probably German Navy if he wasn't wrong, another was wearing what looked like US Navy Dress Whites, with Lieutenant rank, and the last woman wore an honest-to-god Revolutionary War era uniform, complete with three-cornered hat.

Once the presentation were done it turned out that the German shipgirls were three U-boats, U-109, U-208 and U-374, and the other two were the USS Reina Mercedes, which had apparently had been a Spanish ship captured during the Spanish-American War and served as a barracks ship in the US Navy for many decades, and the older ship had been the Spanish flagship at Trafalgar, which went by the name of Trini, as her full name was quite a mouthful. They talked a bit before heading toward the summoning chamber, the shipgirls haven't decided to broach the subject of Dana's nature later, after the summoning.
Rota Base Summoning Chamber

Ursula Fischer, also known as natural-born U-109 shipgirl, looked around with interest, while the supplies were placed in a daïs to the left of the Summoning pool. The floor plan of the Summoning Chamber was not all that different from the one on Wilhelmshaven, the only one she had seen, but the decoration was another thing entirely. While the anchors, cannons and battle flags were expected, and the couple of incense burners hanging from the ceiling fit with the almost church-like ambience of the chamber, it was the mosaics decorating the walls and the ceiling what had caught her attention, as they depicted scenes of myth and history depicting nautical events, it represented a well muscled man fighting against one monster with three heads, six arms and six legs, or it was three monsters joined at the hip?.

'Whatever,' she thought, as the musicians started to take their places into another daïs, opposite from the one where the supplies had just finished to be placed. Interestingly enough, there was a full orchestra, most of them military musicians, clad in a mix of Spanish and American dress uniforms, but it was one of the few civilians attracted her attention, a short, curvy, black-haired woman wearing a black and white dress in a traditional style, carrying a guitar case, who was waving at somebody in the audience. To her surprise, it was the older woman with the group of shipgirls, Carmen Díez, who waved back.

"Who is she?" Ursula asked.

"Teresa Ruiz, she is family, and a really talented guitar player." Carmen said, and then added, almost as an afterthought, "She is invited regularly to play on summoning ceremonies here in the base."

She was going to answer but she fell silent when the base commander and the head of the american contingent stepped into the central daïs, and the ceremony started. While the officers did the petition for whatever spirits to came back, the musicians started to play. At first they played a arrangement of some kind of military march, not unlike many she had heard in both her lives.


But as the officers finished just as the march did, one of the guitar players in the orchestra, wearing a Spanish enlisted uniform, with the rank of a Chief Petty Officer, stood up and got near a microphone, looked at the woman who had attracted her attention before, who nodded with a smirk, and she started to play again the guitar, the sound of it having changed somehow resembling now something close to an electric guitar, while the man started to sing.


As the song neared its end, the material started to disappear, dissolving in flecks of light, that rose into a whirlwind over the water on the pool, glowing progressively brighter and brighter as the audience could feel a heaviness in the air, that suddenly dissipated as the whirlwind of light exploded, blinding the audience momentarily.

When they could see again, four women, no, four shipgirls were now standing on the center of the pool. Giving the swimsuits two were submarines, one of them a dark blonde Type VIIC U-Boat that looked awfully familiar to Ursula, and the other an American one, Balao class, if she was not wrong. One of the other two was an unfamiliar destroyer, a brunette girl wearing a green uniform, but it was the final woman who had become the focus of everybody's gazes, not only for her looks, but because she was clearly a battleship, and one that she hadn't seen on both her lives, though her hull resembled somewhat a smaller version of the British Queen Elizabeth class, down to the two close funnels in the center and four twin 15 inches turrets.

"Type VIIC U-boat U-573..." the U-boat said, looking around, "...or you can call me G-7 or S-1, ready to serve. This is Rota, right?"

"Yep." the other sub said, looking at the admiral who were approaching them as much as the pool allowed him, "USS Kraken, or maybe you can call me García de los Reyes, or S-31. Ready to kick ass!."

"Cut it out, you two." the destroyer said, with a long suffering sigh, before saluting the admiral, "Destroyer Velasco, Alsedo class, admiral, sir."

The fourth member of the group looked down, holding her hands over her bountiful chest.

"Battleship Reina Victoria Eugenia, sir." she said, "I don't have any experience, but I'll do my best."
Mayda Island. Somewhere in the Atlantic

To the casual observer the island would look as a volcanic island, where nature was steadily reconquering the surface after the last eruption, with the only clue that it had been inhabited in the past was a low-slung building on a natural bay that was placed halfway on dry land, half way on water. A more in-depth look would note some things that would clash with that theory, such as the melted remains of buildings close the one that still stood, and signs of fighting on the outer walls of the remaining building. Such hypothetical observer would haven't lasted long, though, thanks to the current inhabitants of the island, a small Abyssal fleet.

One of the members of that fleet, an Abyssal light cruiser was towing an Wa-class to the berth inside the building where the Princess had her work space. On one side of the chamber was a row of makeshift cells where seemingly inanimate Abyssals were lying down on cots. The destroyer repressed a shiver, those were the ones who had failed the Princess were kept in mothballs to serve as test subjects for her experiments.

She looked ahead, seeing the area where the Princess conducted what she called experiments. Right now she was checking on a Demon she didn't recognize at first, but then she remembered that one of the battleships had vanished a few days ago. Well it seemed that she had ascended.

'Wonderful, just wonderful.' She thought, sarcastically. The few battleships in Mother's fleet were horrible bullies, if we excepted Rikki, who was more aloof and standoff-ish than anything else. It seemed than the former Ta-class would become even worse now.

As she approached the pier, she saw one of Mother drones appear from inside the Battleship Water Demon rigging, skittering with its eight spider-like legs over the rigging before jumping on Mother shoulder and disappearing inside her.

"I think that I know how to improve your armor, Tarasque." Mother said, in the cheerful, childlike tone she always used, even when vivisecting one of her children, "But I'll need to test in some of your sisters before I do."

"All right, Mother." Tarasque said with a shrug, before jumping onto the water and speeding out. She kicked her with a smirk as she passed to her side, but fortunately it was only the usual bullying from Tarasque, so while it hurt, it seemed not to have made permanent damage, which the other Abyssal was perfectly capable to do, even before ascending.

She stopped there, nonetheless, waiting for Mother to notice her arrival. Her Princess was small, like a human child of ten or twelve years, wearing a white and black dress that had made some of the human prisoners call her Psycho-Alice, a moniker that she felt was not wholly undeserved, and her white hair falling to the sides, collected with a black bow on her back. The only discordant note in that image was the black, spiky choker she always wore..

"Ah, Tori, come here." Mother said, looking at her briefly, before examining the transport, "Is this the older one?"

"If the logbooks are corrects, it is, mother. She was made by the Northern Horde Elder Princess Fleet." Tori said, trying to keep the façade of professionalism.

"Really? Interesting, I had no idea any of the ones I inherited from Mother had survived so long." the Princess said, before smiling in a way that would have made Tori to run for the hills if it was directed to her. "You can go now, but don't forget to tell Sofia to come here in a couple hours. I need to check that useless sub engines."

"Yes, mother." Tori said, and sailed out as fast as she could without looking as if she was running away, specially as Mother drones started to swarm over the poor Wa-class, getting inside to examine every nook and cranny inside her hull, for whatever project had tickled her fancy.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- I want to shout out to Harry Lefferts pointing out that I screwed up my characterizations here bigtime. Consider this as me fixing the obvious plot hole that he brought to my attention. I'll be doing the old part 12 as 13 to get this fixed and delete/repost it to not fuck up the sequence.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (XII)

All Hallows' Day (1 November), 2036

Malfoy Manor
Spoiler: Meeting The Potters

"Nervous, Albus?" Scorpius asked his friend as they walked down the hall from breakfast.

"A bit, Scorpius, a bit." The young man replied, vainly trying to put his messy hair into some kind of order absently. "Your parents are so different; I wonder how different mine are here, growing up in Japan and all..."

"Well, I'll stand beside you, you know. You're my friend." Scorpius said, patting Albus on the shoulder reassuringly. "Family looks after family and friends look after friends, you know."

Finally they reached the great hall. Draco Malfoy was standing there with Yuri and Taube chatting nearby with her mother Ehren. The elder Malfoy leaned on his cane. "I'll be using a Hermetic spell to open a Gate between here and Potter Manor. Once it's stabilized just walk through it and you'll be there. Taube and Yuri are coming with you as well, just so you know." As the teens nodded, Ehren fingered a gold coin glimmering with magic before tucking it away in the pocket of her business suit.

Taube smiled. "Yuri and I will help introduce you to the family, at least until she sees Minato-chan." The older Doki elbowed the grinning Malfoy girl in the ribs as she continued. "Then she's going to abandon us for Minato-chan cuddles as is right and proper."

Albus ignored the squabble and took a deep, nervous breath as Draco cast his spell. A silver shimmer the size and shape of a door flickered into existence in the air. The shimmer wavered, then flashed into being, forming the image of a gravel path leading toward a manor house's gardens. "Go now!" Draco grated out, and Ehren promptly hurried through, appearing on the gravel.

Taube, Albus, Scorpius and finally Yuri followed suit. Behind them the Gate slammed shut as the image of Malfoy Manor faded.

The five walked to the door and as they approached, it opened. Standing there was a messy haired man in glasses dressed in the white undress uniform of a JMSDF Rear Admiral with a beaming grin. "Good to see you!"

Albus dashed forward into his father's arms. He teared up at the parental embrace. "Dad...."

After all the more things changed in this dimension, some things remained eternal.

Harry gave him a proud smile. "Welcome home, Albus. Now, let me introduce you to all your new siblings and parents and you can tell us about the other me in your dimension...."
------------------------

Potter Manor

Scorpius leaned against the wall and looked at the hall filled with Potters.

Albus had not lasted long in his company, for it seemed that Harry... this version of Harry... wanted to show him around so he could introduce him to all the wives and children in residence.

One of the first ones they met inside was a redheaded young man about a year older than him named 'Minato Potter' surrounded by three older girls -- two pink haired girls (Natsuki and Sayori) and an emerald green-eyed girl with long brown hair named Monika. Yuri had been immediately pulled into their circle and judging by the hugs and kisses exchanged this was the Doki-doki Literature Club that she had mentioned.

Taube broke away from a conversation in German with three blond women in their twenties. She smiled at him as she walked over with them in tow. "Relax, Scorpius, I know this can be overwhelming but you're among friends here. Let me introduce you to some of Mutti's close friends who were sometimes my babysitters growing up. Here's Hanna Potter, she's the shipgirl of Lutzow..."

Hanna extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Scorpius. Taube spoke highly about you to us."

The second blond girl adjusted her glasses after shaking his hand. "I'm Hachi, but you can call me Hacchan. You're a bibliophile too?"

Scorpius nodded, relaxing somewhat. "Yes, yes I am."

"Good, let's get out of the crowd and hit the library." Hachi said, steering him through the chaos of the family reunion with the ease of long practice.

The third girl, with blond hair and a deep tan grinned and hugged him as they entered the library. "I'm RO-500, formerly U-511. I'm glad that I was off patrol to be able to meet you."

Scorpius gave a somewhat relieved smile as he began to relax. "So, what are your favorite books...?"
------------------------

Taube smiled at the sight of Scorpius, nervous and overwhelmed no longer, talking about literature with Hachi and Hanna. She then took a deep breath at the sight of a pink haired woman with two twitching fox ears who had just entered. She walked over with a smile for one of her primary tutors in the uses of her abilities. "Aunt Taiyang. You got my message that requested a chat then."

Then Taube hastily took and held a deep breath as the Blade of Tamamo-no-Mae embraced her, mashing her head into her bosom. "Taube-chan, Mikon~! What is giving you trouble?"

Taube sighed and then nodded to the others after working her way out of Marshmallow Hell. "I need privacy for this one. If it gets revealed, I'll not be able to carry out my plan."

In a flash they Apparated to a hill with a Grecian temple -- the tomb of Joachim and Elm Potter -- overlooking the orchards. The elder dao cocked her head after casting a privacy charm. "Now spill." The bubbly flirtatious voice was totally absent and her bronze eyes were firm and resolute.

Taube sighed and sat down on a bench in the temple. "I'm sending an avatar back with Scorpius and Albus to help mend their timeline. I'll... never get that part of me back. I think the rest of me can survive the shock; Aunt Kyoshu survived worse according to what I heard as family rumor. Also...." Taube trailed off and looked at the sculpted centaur and human resting together eternally as her voice faded.

Taube finally spoke with quiet resolution. "According to Bastian's analysis, the death of Cedric Diggory in their timeline was a key point. Without his death as a martyr to rally around for inspiration, the opposition to Voldemort will never crystallize until far later and with worse results. As it was, things apparently stood on the edge of a knife for Harry Potter and the rest then. And while I have the means to hopefully heal his mother Astoria Malfoy of her Blood Curse by drawing it out and absorbing it before it kills her, that would leave her in a world where Voldemort won unless steps are taken to prevent that. I will never let that happen to my family. Never."

Taiyang placed a clawed finger under Taube's chin as the rush of words trailed off. "A Thanatos Gambit?" She said after probing the younger spirit's thoughts.

Taube nodded in response to the question.

Taube then swallowed several times before whispering. "Here's where you stop me, isn't it, sensei?"

Taiyang turned to look at the monument. "No."

The Dao spoke thoughtfully as she looked at the centaur. "Human sacrifice is considered among the darkest and most powerful forms of magic. Destroying a sentient being's potential, promise, and very future to empower yourself is black indeed and stains the soul forevermore. That's how our version of Voldemort created his Horcruxes. But...."

A ball of ebony foxfire flickered into existence above a clawed palm and shifted from dark fire to purest silver light. "A sacrifice willingly given out of love and faith and compassion is equally great and powerful in its own ways. Even, or perhaps especially, when it is unmarked and unremembered by history and those whom it will touch."

Taube stood and hugged her teacher. "Thank you." Her lips quirked in a small smug smile. "I always did love my Dickens, after all."

As the two blades vanished to return to the party, the echo of Taube's whisper rustled the grass.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Time to get this dumpster arson on the road (with a side of Honor Before Reason because Taube is Colombe's granddaughter and Ehren's daughter). Deleting/reposting this to fix a plot hole HL pointed out to me.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (XIII)

All Souls' Day (2 November), 2036

Malfoy Manor

Taube took the small circular golden amulet from Bastian. "So this will allow memory transference?"

"Yeah, the Eye of Agamotto will do that, Sis." Bastian responded, tapping his prototype artifact. "It's a copy and paste of memories for those people who suck at Legilimency. You're a half-decent Legilimens, though, so why do you need it?" He blinked at his older sister.

Taube glanced at Albus Potter. "I need it so Albus will retain his memories of his time here. When they jump back to his dimension he will fade since his father was killed before having him. Then when Scorpius fixes the timeline by repairing his meddling with the Second Task, Albus SHOULD reform, but he would have no memories of the time that he spent away, right?" Her voice was carefully controlled and calm with an angelic innocent expression that would have immediately raised alarm bells with her parents if they had not been distracted with giving Scorpius last-minute briefings while showing their memories of watching the Triwizard Tournament's Three Tasks to help him correct what he had thrown out of balance.

Bastian, bless his heart, was totally clueless -- just as Taube had planned.

"Oh yeah, that. Yeah he would need a C&P download of the gap in his personal timeline. That's actually good thinking, Sis." Bastian shrugged. "You must be related to me. Anything else for me before I head back to Durmstrang and catch up on my Transfiguration studies? Oh hey! I got my Animagus license! Wanna see?"

Taube muttered under her breath as she nodded with a forced happy smile on her face, "I wish I wasn't related to you sometimes...."

She then resisted the urge to facepalm as Bastian shifted to his Animagus form of Doctor DOOM, summoned a throne-like floating chair, and posed grandly as he sat in it. "Behold the power of DOOOM!!"

Taube stifled a groan before politely clapping with that forced smile on her face.
--------------------

Taube finally pried herself away from her brother with the help of Johnston's distraction since DOOOM needed to 'lose the armor so he could wash his hands before dinner'. She headed to where Scorpius and Albus stood. "Here's the amulet Bastian promised, Albus. Wear it, and think of the memories of us you want to store in it, then once your timeline is restored, have your other self wear it and Scorpius will activate it with the spell Bastian taught him."
Spoiler: Bastian's Amulet

Albus nodded and then hung the amulet around his neck. As he tapped it with his borrowed wand, the orbs around the center sphere moved. Then the line in the center opened to expose a green glowing gem. A silver stream of memories flowed from Albus' temples to the Orb, which snapped shut.

The young Potter blinked several times. "Wow, that was... WOW." He took it off shakily and handed the amulet to Scorpius who placed into the pack next to the pin, dagger box, and wand that Taube had given him that morning.

Bastian grinned broadly. "It works!! YESS! It works!!!" He fistpumped and did a victory dance as the others stared at him.

Taube slowly spoke. "You didn't test it, did you?" Her voice was that of a person asking a question that she knew the answer for already.

"Not on human subjects, but I ran the calculations and spell design twice, Sis."

Several hands met faces in forbidden romance.
--------------------

Spoiler: A Final Parting

Finally, it was time for Scorpius to go. He hugged Taube, and his gray eyes stared into her amber ones. Quietly he spoke. "You've given me so much, and I don't know what to give you back. Once I go back, I won't ever be able to return here,. Even if I tried, after I do... what needs to be done... I'll be giving up this prototype Time-turner and accepting my punishment from my father." His voice broke. "I'll never see you again."

Taube gave a sad smile, "Just remember me fondly and do your best to live up to our family's legacy with honor, brother. I'll never know whether or not you succeeded, but I know that no matter what you'll do your best for us."

She hugged him once more then stepped back and brushed tears from her eyes. Her spine stiffened and her heels clicked together. Her chin raised and she spoke in German as their eyes met for the last time. "Und jetzt ist es Zeit, auf Wiedersehen zu sagen."

He gave her a smile back and spoke in halting German. "Auf Wiedersehen." With that he walked to where Ehren, Draco, and Albus were waiting and took their hands.

With a crack of displaced air, they vanished as they Apparated to Hogsmeade.

Taube took several deep breaths and visibly braced herself mentally and physically.

Niobe walked to her side and spoke in a concerned voice. "Taube. What is it?"

The young dagger spoke absently. "I don't know how this will work but...." Suddenly her eyes widened and she screamed at the top of her lungs as every muscle in her avatar spasmed.

Taube half-collapsed, only saved from the floor by Niobe's sudden grab. Johnston and Yuri hurried over to help support Taube as she writhed in pain, whimpering uncontrollably as waves of agony passed through her.

Bastian followed and waved his wand, frowning at the displayed glyphs from his monocle. "Hmm, mana flow through a subspatial cross-dimensional wormhole... There, it's stabilizing as the wave harmonics equalize in the quantum flux. Fascinating. Truly fascinating. I'll have to look into this." He grinned happily. "This gives me some ideas."

"BASTIAN!" Johnston snapped as the sobbing Taube clung to Niobe and her. "What's happening to her!? In English, dammit!"

Bastian was still looking at the displays. "The spiritual energies that make up Taube had an element of them pulled into another dimension. There's an energy drain through a subspatial rift in what would correspond to her soul. It's stabilizing though as the energies rebalance... and there. Down to a steady trickle at the Planck constant. Sustainable unless the rift is opened wider to drain more from her." He spoke with extreme laser focused interest as he watched the analysis of what was happening to the soul of his older sister.

Finally, Taube's screams of agony trailed off to whimpers and then she raised tear-filled eyes and gave a smug smile full of triumph.

Niobe stared into her eyes and spoke with steel in her concerned voice. "Taube. What did you do?!"

Taube breathed deeply, fighting down the throbbing spiritual agony from the other avatar that was lost to her forever now. "What I had to do, Mother."

Draco and Ehren appeared once more without Albus and Scorpius. They rapidly hurried over to Taube's side. Taube looked into Ehren's shocked steel-blue eyes and something passed between them as Ehren knelt to help support her. The Ehrendolch gave her daughter a nod full of a mixture of pride, respect, and exasperation.

"What honor demanded of me." Taube finished as she was helped by her family and friends to her waiting bed to begin to recover from the drain on her energies and the piece of herself that she had lost forever.


"What honor demanded of me to save family...."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting in the booth, Ayane looked around somewhat nervously. All around her, there was the buzz of conversation that could be heard. Of course, this as her first time in such a place like this with so many people around.

Thankfully, for her, a few moments later a hand reached over the table and placed itself on hers, "Hey, Ayane-Chan." When she looked up and her eyes met Haruto's, she calmed down a little, "There we go, just relax, there's nothing to worry about."

With a deep breath, Ayane relaxed a little, "Right... sorry about that."

Gently stroking her knuckles with his thumb, Haruto smiled at her, "That's fine, Ayane-Chan. No one would blame you for being a little bit frightened as this is, well, somewhat outside your comfort zone."

However, the disguised Jorogumo shook her head as she looked at the others even as she flushed a little bit at the feel of Haruto's hand on hers and what he was doing. It did calm her though, and the others smiled at her softly, "Well, we all wanted to try this, so..."

The smile on Hachimitsu's face turned into a grin, "Trust us, you'll love it."

Only nodding, Ayane turned to her drink and looked down in it's dark depths. From what she had been told, this "Coca Cola" had caffeine in it, though not enough really for more than a really light buzz. Bringing it to her lips, she took a sip and hummed a bit at the fizzy sweetness that invaded her mouth. With a sigh, she set it down and waited, still looking around.

Every so often, however, she turned to Chikako who was coloring in some picture that was given to her as a child with crayons.

Part of the Jorogumo suspected that if she had been undisguised, the Nekomata would have had her tails twitching along with her ears. As it was, however, she was still adorable as she stuck her tongue out from between her lips. Only shaking her head, Ayane took another sip of her drink. Thankfully for her nerves, their meal arrived soon after and she blinked a little at seeing the "Pizza" that was in front of her.

Once the waitress was gone, and Haruto set up the spells to hide their conversation, Ayane looked down at the extra large meal with furrowed eyebrows, "So this is pizza? I've heard of it from some of those from outside, but..."

Chikako tilted her head a little bit, "Munya... I had some before, but they were all from the dumpsters."

Needless to say, the others grimaced at the reminder of how Chikako had once lived on the streets. Shaking it off, Mikage smiled at her, "Trust us, Chikako-Chan, this is much better than those pizzas."

Rubbing her hands together, Haruhime licked her lips, "It has been so long since I have last had a pizza... and this one looks good for a meat lovers..."

Head tilted to the side, Mie shared a look with her sister before looking at the pizza, "What sort of meat is on it?"

Amused, the Healer pointed at them, "Let's see... besides the pepperoni, we have dry cured ham, pork belly, a little bit of ground burger spread among it, beef jerky that's been shredded, normal sausage, Vienna sausage, and bacon." He then nodded towards a much smaller pizza in front of Chikako, "On that one, you have shrimp, clam, anchovies, and some fried fish."

Eyes closed, Chikako smiled brightly, "I have fish, Munya!"

Winking at her and lips twitching, Ichika grinned a little, "You'll let us have small pieces of it, right, Chikako-Chan? Hmm?"

Her eyes now narrowed, the Nekomata gave her a suspicious look, "I'll think about it. But only small pieces if I do, nya!"

Upon hearing that, everyone chuckled a little before they turned to the larger pizza. Taking a slice, Ayane considered how to eat it before looking over at Haruto and the three Kitsune. For a moment, she observed how they were eating their own slices and noted that the two Inugami were doing the same thing. Then, she opened her mouth and took a hesitant bite.

Almost immediately, her eyes widened at the taste. There was of course the somewhat sweetness of the tomato sauce with a slight spiciness to it, not to mention the cheese which she liked. Beneath that was the crust, but there was also the meat. Pulling away, with strings of cheese following her, the Jorogumo chewed as said strings snapped before swallowing.

For a few moments, she stared at the food even as she licked her lips free of sauce. Hearing a chuckle, she looked up to find Haruto smiling at her, "Well? What do you think?"

Lips curling a little, Ayane chuckled herself, "I like it, and I think that the others will too when you have it for your wedding."

Reminded of the fact that he had planned for his wedding to have burgers, fried chicken, and pizza, Haruto chuckled, "That's good to know..."

With that, they both went in for another bite.

Meanwhile, Chikako opened her mouth wide and lunged forward towards her own slice, "A-humpf!" Chomping down, she began to chew happily, "Mnya, mnya, mnya..."

Needless to say, both pizzas as well as the sides soon vanished down into hungry stomachs. Of course, after that came dessert in the form of something that resembled a pizza, but with an yellowish color, brown crumble on top, and lines of icing across it. For a moment, Ichika had a look of puzzlement on her face, "Um, what's this now?"

The waitress glanced at Haruto before nodding, "This is our peach dessert pizza made with peach filling, brown sugar crumble, and icing on top. It is one of our seasonal choices and we hope that you enjoy."

Only nodding, the others thanked her and she walked off.

However, much to Haruto's amusement, it was not just those from the Reserve who were hesitant to try it. Lightly chuckling, the Healer took one of the slices and bit into it with a hum, "Mmm... that hits the spot."

Much to his great amusement, the next one to try a piece was Chikako who sniffed it curiously for a few moments before chomping down, "Mnya... mnya... mnya..." She then opened her eyes and swallowed before taking a deep breath, "It's good, Munya!"'

Sharing a look between them, the older Yokai all took their own pieces from the dessert pizza and began to eat them as well, and happily at that. By the time they left, while the shipgirls were not really close to filled, Haruto and Ayane were pretty full. The Jorogumo also feeling a very slight buzz from the Coca Cola's caffeine as well. Though she did blink a little as another group got their pizza, "Yandere pizza...?"

Just blinking at that, Haruto looked over and winced at the sight of the pizza that seemingly covered by what he could tell was very hot peppers. The mention of very spicy sausage as well as the spices used in the sauce, and the cheese, only made him mutter a prayer in his mind for the poor fools eating it, 'Though that is a very apt name, I suppose...'

As they passed by a second hand store, however, the Jorogumo slowed down and stopped. Something that was noticed as the others also came to a stop and looked back at her. Eyebrow raised, Mie walked up and looked in the window, "Ayane-Chan? What caught your attention?"

Practically jumping away from the window, Ayane sheepishly chuckled, "It's nothing."

When he saw her glance back with a look of longing, Haruto narrowed his eyes a little and walked up to the window. Looking through the window, he ignored Ayane telling him that they should continue on when his eyes caught sight of something. Eyebrow raising, the Healer pulled back and looked at her with a knowing eye, "It's the sewing machine that's in there, isn't it?"

Upon seeing the blush that appeared on the spider Yokai's face, the others also got knowing looks. Finally, she sighed and slumped her shoulders a little, "It's... well..." She raised her hands some, "I've really only sewn with my hands, and I always wanted a machine to use, but, well... the chances of that?" Ayane then nodded towards it, "And it's a treadle, which means that I can use one of my legs to power it."

For a few moments, Haruto was silent before he glanced at the others, all of whom smiled and nodded. Then, he grabbed Ayane's hand and pulled her towards the store, "Well then, it's your lucky day, Ayane-Chan. Because you're getting it."

More than a little flustered, Ayane sputtered some, "H-Haruto-Kun! You don't need to do so and-"

She was cut off as she was dragged fully into the store to the amusement of the others. A few snickers escaped from Hachimitsu before she walked in, and several moments came out with the keys to the van, "I'll go and bring around the van..."

Even more amusement was had when a starstruck Jorogumo walked out with the sewing machine on a trolly. Carefully, they loaded it onto said van with them crawling in after... when Ichika pulled it into her hanger. Chewing her lip, Ayane looked at the Inugami, "It's... safe, right? And secure?"

Lightly laughing, the Inugami gave a nod, "Hai, it is secure, so don't worry about it being damaged." She then jerked her thumb at herself, "Some of my crew used one before, so... they'll be able to teach you how to operate it."

Haruhime gave Ayane a pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry, myself and Mikage-Chan have also used one before. So we can teach you as well since we know the basics." At the thankful look, she smiled, "You'll be handling it like a pro in no time..." Suddenly, the Kitsune frowned a little, "Sort of surprised to see a new one though..."

Beside the Jorogumo, Haruto shook his head, "I'm not, they became kind of popular." Seeing the questioning looks, he shrugged, "Back after Blood Week, due to attacks, you sometimes had power outages that lasted for days to say the least. Along with things like cutting power to turn off lights for blackouts? Well... along with other things like that, non-electric appliances made a comeback." The Healer frowned a little and scratched his head, "They're still producing them last I heard because they became a sort of retro thing or something like that and a lot of older people know how to use them and are making money repairing clothes, so..."

That got interested blinks from the three Kitsune with Mikage humming, "Huh... that is sort of neat."

With a glance towards her, Hachimitsu walked up to Ayane and gently nudged her. When the Jorogumo looked down at her, she smiled before whispering, "Go ahead, Ayane-Chan. None of us will mind at all."

It might have been the caffeine that was still in her veins, or something else, but the Jorogumo nodded and walked over before a surprised Haruto in a hug followed by kissing his cheeks. Her face feeling like it was on fire, Ayane pulled back a little, "Thank you, Haruto-Kun... this means a lot for me."

Rubbing the back of his neck with a light blush of his own, Haruto just chuckled a little, "I'm glad that you liked it."

All he got in return was a massive smile that was so big it looked like it hurt even as his girlfriends also smiled and nodded.

_____________________________________________________________

Unable to really do much except drop the blocks of sawdust into the expanded trunks, Ayane blinked a little as she looked up at the massive silo-like structure, "So this is where you get the fuel?"

With a hum as he continued to work alongside a number of the shipgirl fairies, Haruto smiled, "Hai." After he waved his wand, he held up a brick-like object, "I basically just take the sawdust and transfigure it into, well... a compressed version about the size of a brick. Then I put them into the trunks there, and each is the size of a warehouse. When I get back to the Reserve, a quick enlargement charm quadruples their sizes..."

Blinking a little, Chikako nodded, "Which means that they burn for a long time, right?"

Gently patting her head, the Healer chuckled, "Hai, they can burn for a couple of hours. Heck, a doubling charm also adds to the amount. So then everyone gets enough fuel that they're able to go for month of hot meals or baths."

A thoughtful sound escaping from her, Mikage watched as a number of her fairies produced more bricks that they floated over to a trunk, "You know... it is pretty smart. I wonder why they don't do that here?"

Haruto gave a small shrug at that, "I asked them once and their response was that while they can, and do, it is still a bit of work. But they don't mind me coming here and taking as much as I want of the sawdust, same with the branches as they just see that as waste that they need to get rid of anyways, so..."

That got him nods from the others as they continued to work for the next hour until they were done and left with more than enough fuel for the reserve for the next month or so.

Glancing back at the retreating sawmill in the rearview mirror, Haruto smiled a little before looking to where Chikako was excitedly chatting with Ayane who was smiling at the younger Yokai. His eyebrow raised a little as he overheard the Nekomata asking all sorts of questions about clothes and the like with the Jorogumo answering them as well as stating that she would not mind Chikako coming by her shop to learn about sewing and the like. Only shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the road as he drove down it, "Just one last thing and we're done."

Interested, Ichika looked over from where she was in the front passenger seat and raised an eyebrow, "So we'll finally know what the secret that you're holding is?" At his laugh and grin, she rolled her eyes playfully, "Fine, don't tell us then."

Simply shrugging, her boyfriend smiled a little, "Sorry, you'll see soon enough. But I think that you'll be very happy with it..."

Only grumbling, the Inugami shot him a look before stretching some, "Mmm... still, looking forward to some free time." Ears flicking, Ichika looked over at him, "Though considering that we're stuck on the mainland until those storms clear up..."

Frown on his face, Haruto glanced over at her, "Any word on them? I mean, besides that they're a line of storms..."

Behind him, Hachimitsu grimaced and shook her head, "That's just it, they seem to be a normal line of storms making their way up towards Japan. Nothing more or less, no Abyssal activity according to our new radios."

Looking up from her chat with Ayane, Chikako nodded, "Hai, Haruto-Nii-San! Nothing about them being anything but normal storms."

With a shrug of her own, the Jorogumo sighed a little, "I mean, it is the tail end of the rainy season after all. So... something like this isn't odd." She then grimaced a little, "And at least it's not a typhoon..."

The others nodded at that, thankful for that little mercy, especially Haruto. There were some old stone warehouses built before the Second World War when the dry docks had been built there for the magical navy. Said warehouses had been built to hold ammunition, and thus built with stone, interlocking walls that were two meters thick and reinforced with armored steel doors several inches thick themselves. Due to how fortified and strong they were, the Reserve used them as storm shelters when the typhoons roared through the area. Even if the rest of the buildings in the Reserve were wrecked outside the guard station, they stood strong enough that they were generally undamaged in the high winds and debris flying through the air. Even storm surges were not an issue as the Jorogumo and Tsuchigumo often sealed the doors shut with their webbing and added webbing higher in the warehouse in case water began to flood through. Something that happened extremely rarely as they were on high ground.

However, the Healer did shudder at how they were also the designated shelters in case of a tsunami as there was no area on the island high enough for proper protection except for a very few hills. Everyone hoped that the walls and armored doors would be able to withstand the waves if it happened, helped by how the wards around the island would weaken any tsunami by forcing it to expend energy when they were struck. Probably not enough to actually save the island, but... those on the hills and maybe in the warehouse would have a better chance of survival.

Rapidly shaking off his morbid thoughts, Haruto turned back to the conversation and steered it elsewhere. In particular what he was picking up as he let them guess. Granted, the wizard did laugh at Chikako's comment of it being a big tuna (or, in her words, a "huuuuuuge tuna, munya!").

Only about a half hour later found the van pulling into a small garage that was open. Getting out, Haruto smiled at the man who met them as said person wiped their grease covered hands on a rag, "Sakurai-San."

The man grinned back before bowing a little, "Hinata-San! Good to see you." Walking over, he shook Haruto's hand firmly, "Good to see you, picking up your order?"

Just chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck, Haruto chuckled, "Hai, I decided to come by and grab it since I was in the area. Get it out of your way and such."

Moments later, Sakurai snorted some and shook his head, "Bah! It's not in my way, not in the slightest." Walking over to a tarp covered object, he grabbed said fabric and yanked it off, "Got the painting done three days ago along with the enchanting."

Behind Haruto, the Yokai all blinked at what was there. At the front was what looked like a recumbent cycle, though a bit higher than usual, which looked like an adult sized tricycle. But what caught their attention was at the back, where there was a sort of trailer attached with a large box... one painted in white and with a red cross painted on it. Walking up, Mie examined it closer, "What... is this?"

Smile on his face and a proud expression, Haruto chuckled a little, "This... is the first true ambulance in the Reserve." He then gave a small shrug, "I mean, it's not much, but..."

Just blinking rapidly, Hachimitsu looked at him, "Ambulance?"

With a chuckle, Sakurai patted the vehicle, "Hai, human, or Yokai powered as needed." He walked up to the back and unlatched the door and stood there with his hands on his hips after opening it, "Expanded the inside so it's the size of a small room, placed some charms so that anyone going inside wouldn't feel the bumps and such. Heck, added some of those No-Maj battery powered lights as well."

Humming, the Healer walked into the "Ambulance" and looked around. In the center, there was a small table that could function as a bed that was nearly ten feet long, with a crystal that he could cast a light spell into in order to keep it going so he could use magic to heal. In one corner, he could see a hospital gurney as well as a wheelchair. Under his feet, rather than a wooden floor, it was tile instead though charmed to not be slick no matter what. Haruto could even see some seats along the side for family to sit in.

Very slowly, Haruto nodded as he took it in with a smile, "This... is very, very nice." Walking over, he shook Sakurai's hand, "I can't tell you how useful this will be for the Reserve."

A snort escaped from Sakurai as he shook the Healer's hand, "Don't mention it, just let me know how well it works, okay? Worked quite a bit on her for everything." As he watched the others examine the inside, he glanced towards Haruto, "Anyways, also added a small flight charm to it so you can really put the boot to the pedal like the No-Majs say. Won't go high, not anymore than, say, fifteen feet, but damn... it will let you ignore roads and the like to get somewhere real fucking quick."

Only nodding, the Healer smiled, "Thank you."

The others only shook their heads as they came out, though with smiles on their faces as they watched Haruto make the payment for the work done, this time with what he had gotten from Kyoto for "Upgrades to his Clinic". Granted, they did wonder how the No-Maj doctors and such who were supposed to arrive on the island might take it...

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Rest Assured that I shall be doing more stuff with Taube and Bastian (I love the scene-stealer a lot!) at some point down the road. But time to put a bow in this one.

A Malfoy And Dagger's Excellent Adventure (Epilogues)

Epilogue I

All Souls' Day (2 November), 2036

Malfoy Manor

Ehren's steel-blue eyes burned and her hands balled on her hips as she glared at the girl lying in the sickbed (having been hustled there by Cleo and Johnston). She took several deep breaths, letting the red in her face subside somewhat, and then continued in her precise Prussian German with her voice cracking on the edge of self-control. "{I raised you better than this Taube Lupa du Chasteler-Malfoy!! Where did I go wrong as your parent?!?!}"

Ehren's eyes briefly widened in her face at the sudden memory of Colombe saying those exact words to her as she stood at attention in front of Mutti's desk in Moulbaix after meeting Draco Malfoy. The thought 'Mein Gott, I have just turned into Mutti!' flickered across her face briefly and then was ruthlessly quashed as the habit of a lifetime of iron self-discipline and self-control reasserted itself. As much as she currently wanted to throttle the stupid out of her oldest daughter.

Taube winced and spoke in a weak voice as she focused on Ehren's love and concern-filled eyes through the waves of pain from permanently severing a part of her soul from herself. "{N-not so loud, Mutti...}" she whimpered.

Ehren's heart went out to her child in such visible distress once more. She took a deep shuddering breath to help fight down another wave of murderous black rage directed against the enemy responsible for the suffering that her own steel and blood, her family and kin was enduring.

Unfortunately, she reminded herself once more, Taube's self-sacrificial streak of pigheaded stupidity couldn't manifest to be properly bled out with her Ehrendolch body on the carpet in her room. God and His Saints knew that image was so tempting. But if she succumbed that easily to the siren song of her cold murderous wrath, she wouldn't be Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy.

In deference to her child's injuries -- and more importantly, her undeniable maddening heroism -- she did lower the volume of her voice from the prior shill shriek at the top of her lungs before she continued the necessary lecture and correction. "{You could have been lost to us -- lost to me!! -- for good with your actions, Taube Lupa! You're staying in that bed until I and your other parents decide upon suitable punishment and you're healthy! I shall be manifesting an avatar to watch over you and pick up your homework to be done so you do not fall behind in your studies! No visitors, and no entertainment until told otherwise!!}"

Taube groaned weakly. "{Yes, Mutti...}"
-----------------------------

Epilogue II

Alternate Timeline Two

24 February 1995
Spoiler: A Sacrifice....

"Protego!"

An ash wand slashed up sharply in the casting gesture for the Shield Charm.

A wave of invisible force surrounded the form of Cedric Diggory as the young wizard stood at the edge of the lake in his swim trunks. Seconds later, another hex cast by the alternate of the young man next to the caster hit the invisible barrier around Cedric and deflected away.

Unknowing as of yet of the actions surrounding him, the young wizard cast the Bubble-Head Charm and dove into the lake to rescue Cho Chang.

Amber-gold eyes met gray eyes from where they floated on a 'borrowed' broom under a series of concealment charms. "That's one down, now for your mother, Scorpius."

1 April 1995

Astoria Greengrass walked alone down the fourth floor hall from the study area where she had just spent the last hour studying Potions privately with Draco Malfoy. She blushed at the thought of the older boy as he bent over her shoulder to help guide her with his notes about Shrinking Solution.

As she walked along humming happily, a mirror silently opened behind her. Inside the secret passage was revealed a young man with hair of Malfoy gold who stood next to a blond figure cloaked and masked like a Death Eater.

The young man's eyes widened at the sight and then he looked at his companion and nodded shakily.

"Stupefy!"

Astoria staggered from the Stunning Spell. Her eyes widened as the Death Eater loomed over her and drew an enchanted dagger.

She whimpered in terror as her skin parted in a shallow cut the length of her forearm. Blood gushed across the stone as an evilly glowing dark crimson mist spiraled out of the wound to be sucked into the glowing steel.

The Death Eater staggered and breathed heavily. Then her head cocked at a male shout from behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" She half turned to see Draco Malfoy staring at the scene in shock.

As the last of the mist faded, the Death Eater staggered to the mirror and slammed it closed behind her.

Through the one way glass she saw Draco send a message spell down the corridor as he hurried to the side of Astoria to hastily heal her injury.

Taube pulled the hood back and spoke in a pained whisper. "Let's go!"

As Scorpius Malfoy activated the Time-Turner he looked at his sister in concern. "Will you be OK?"

Taube du Chasteler-Malfoy hissed to herself through her gritted teeth. "Just a little longer...." She gave a smug but weak smile as the enchantments took hold for their penultimate jump through time.

As they arrived in Scorpius's present, Taube whispered out a verse of poetry in a sad voice that caused Scorpius to tear up as he recognized the meaning.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."

Fumbling fingers pulled out a hilt pin crafted of Muramasa jewel Kruppstahl, and slid it home into a notch in the handle of her spare ash and unicorn hair wand.

A gasped out spell transfigured the wood around it to make it appear as part of the wand that she would be buried with in the next... and final... step of her plan to make right what was wrong with her willing sacrifice.

They hurried to the Quidditch pitch where -- a quarter-century before -- the final task of the Triwizard Tournament had taken place.

As they stood upon the spot where the hedge maze had been, Scorpius paused. "Taube. You know that you don't have to go through with this." He spoke with desperate intensity and worry in his voice. "You already saved Mother, I'm sure that she and Father would love to have you as my older sister as much as I would."

Taube sighed, shook her head, and spoke in a pain-filled voice. "It's too late for me. I'm dying, Scorpius." His eyes widened in shock and horror. "The Blood Curse I absorbed from your mother is killing me by inches. Maybe if all of me was here I could handle it. But every moment that passes rips more of my soul, my essence, away. All I can do now is choose the manner and time of my death."

He hugged the trembling girl as she whispered in a nervous voice. "I wish it wasn't this way too, but I can't do otherwise and stay true to myself, my heritage, and my honor. I can make my life here... and my death... mean something and that's not a bad epitaph to have, is it?" She gave a wan smile as she finished before she buried her fears and pain once more behind the mask of smug confidence. "Leaving this world a better place when I depart than when I arrive."

He swallowed and nodded, seeing in her now the visible signs of his mother's last pain-filled weeks as Astoria slowly faded away into death. "Mother told me once that seeing Father stand up to his parents to marry her was the bravest thing that she ever saw. I just wish that she could have seen you tonight, Taube."

Taube smiled in relief at the heartfelt message in his words and then spoke in a resolute voice. "I do too. Scorpius. I'm giving you and her a better life with my sacrifice. Make the most of it, and remember me fondly when you do, please?"

He swallowed, unable to speak, then slowly nodded.

Finally he whispered. "I will, Taube. I promise."

"Good." A deep, pain filled breath and then words of confident reassurance. "It's time, Scorpius."

One last hug between siblings as they departed for the fork where the path that they had walked together would split them apart forever.

One last thought from a young woman of the words that she had read upon the final page of one of the great works of English Literature, describing the sacrifice of a heroic man who gave his life upon the guillotine to make the people he loved happy.

"What I have been thinking as we came along, and what I am still thinking now, as I look into your kind strong face which gives me so much support, is this:—If the Republic really does good to the poor, and they come to be less hungry, and in all ways to suffer less, she may live a long time: she may even live to be old."

"What then, my gentle sister?"

"Do you think:" the uncomplaining eyes in which there is so much endurance, fill with tears, and the lips part a little more and tremble: "that it will seem long to me, while I wait for her in the better land where I trust both you and I will be mercifully sheltered?"

"It cannot be, my child; there is no Time there, and no trouble there."

"You comfort me so much! I am so ignorant. Am I to kiss you now? Is the moment come?"

"Yes."

She kisses his lips; he kisses hers; they solemnly bless each other. The spare hand does not tremble as he releases it; nothing worse than a sweet, bright constancy is in the patient face. She goes next before him—is gone; the knitting-women count Twenty-Two.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."

The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many faces, the pressing on of many footsteps in the outskirts of the crowd, so that it swells forward in a mass, like one great heave of water, all flashes away. Twenty-Three.


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

Epilogue III

Alternate Timeline Two

Hogwarts

2 May 1998
Spoiler: ...For A Better Future

Two young men appeared in the Potions Storeroom. The blond haired one waved his wand in a shield pattern after drinking a vial of Veritaserum.

"Finite Incantum!"

The older boy stood up as the Full Body-Bind Curse that had been cast on him faded. He leveled his wand at Scorpius. "Right, talk. What the bloody hell is going on?"

Scorpius took a deep breath and began to speak. "I'm Draco Malfoy's son from the future. Lord Voldemort's back and going to attack Hogwarts tonight in the final battle of the Second Wizarding War. Taube, my sister, exchanged places with you to die in your place at Voldemort's hands three years ago. I promised your father Amos and your niece Delphi that I'd save you; your father was shattered by your death."

Cedric blinked. "Niece?! I can't have a niece, Ma and Da both are only children!"

Scorpius paled and he muttered to himself. "She's up to something! But, later. I was planning to take you back to just after today so you would be able to live out the life that you deserved, but I can't just stand by and let other people fight those battles. Not anymore! It's what my sister would have done in my place, after all. I'm going to help defend Hogwarts from Voldemort's attack and I have a trump card that might save someone else." He touched the sheathed dagger at his hip.

Cedric visibly thought and finally nodded. "Right. Either you're crazy or..." He paled as the Head Boy badge he wore began to hum. "Hogwarts is under attack! You're not crazy." His jaw firmed. "I won't let it happen, but I'll want the full story from you later on."

Scorpius took a deep breath and drew his wand and then the enchanted spellbreaker dagger. "If we survive, I'll tell you everything and show you my memories of what happened. I give you my word of honor. Right, what now?"

Cedric paused at the sound of female voices and hurrying footsteps from outside. "That's Cho Chang's voice! No way she won't fight the Death Eaters." He looked at Scorpius and snapped out orders. "Cast some concealment charms and let's link up with her!"


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

Epilogue IV

Alternate Timeline Two

Malfoy Manor

2 November 2030

"...And what happened then, Daddy?" The young girl fought off a yawn and smiled angelically at her parent.

The blond haired man with scars across his cheek causing his lips to curl in a permanent smile -- caused by a Sectumsempra Curse cast by Bellatrix Lestrange as he dueled her in the Battle of Hogwarts -- replied to the young girl with copper-blond hair and blue eyes with matching love in his eyes.

"After we beat the Death Eaters? Well, Cedric and Cho got back together and are happily ever after married. I popped back to my time and got into a lot of trouble; your grandma and grandpa were furious with me. Less furious when they found out what had been going on and were able to stop Delphini Lestrange, but I was still grounded for YEARS!" He chuckled.

"And they made you eat your veggies for dinner too? Yuck!" A small pout from his daughter.

"Yes I had to eat all my veggies then. So I could grow up big and strong like your mommy and Uncle Albus and Uncle Cedric and Auntie Cho." Scorpius admitted

"But I don't wanna grow up. I wanna be your little princess, daddy!" A massive yawn as blue eyes fluttered closed.

A cough at the door as Rose Granger-Malfoy stood smiling at her husband as he gently tucked their firstborn child into bed before turning the light down.

"You'll always be my little princess, Taube." Scorpius whispered and then kissed her forehead as Taube Granger-Malfoy drifted off into childhood fairy-tale dreams of princes, princesses, and heroic deeds to defeat great evils.

Scorpius quietly walked to his wife, kissing her as they closed the bedroom door. Rose smiled gently and cradled her swelling stomach with Taube's next sibling growing within. "That story, Scorpius?"

He nodded. "That story. She's old enough to start to learn about her namesake and realize that she can be a hero like my sister was too when she grows up."

"A hero like you are, you know, dear." Rose gave him a fond smile and sighed. "When they opened the grave after Cedric came back, there was no body. Just that wand you have mounted in your study. I wouldn't have believed you if Albus Potter didn't vouch for your story, and the amulet and dagger backed it up with further proof. But at the end, even Mother had to admit that you were a hero."

He nodded as they walked to the library in the house. "It seems unbelievable to me sometimes. But then I look at my mother and my younger siblings. I look at you. I look at our friends in the Diggorys. Then I remember who made it all possible. Then I remember her last request to me, to make the most of this life that I was being given."

His lips curled in a bittersweet smile. "I hope that I'm doing a good job to honor her sacrifice."

Rose nodded and squeezed his hand. "You are, my love. You are."

They sat down together in his favorite chair by the crackling fireplace in the library. He opened a well worn and beloved leather-bound book and began to read as his wife cuddled into his side. Firelight flashed to illuminate the gold letters on the spine.
GADSHILL EDITION.

The Works of Charles Dickens

In Thirty-two Volumes.

With Introductions, General Essay, and Notes

by Andrew Lang.

VOL. XXI.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only...."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking out of the building and munching the last of the popcorn, Ayane looked towards Haruto, "So... that was a movie?"

Smile on his face as he walked, the various shipgirls taking up "Escort Positions" around them, the Healer nodded, "Hai, it was." Pausing for a moment, Haruto looked over at her, "I hope that you enjoyed it though..."

Just blinking at that, Ayane gave him a look, "Enjoyed it? I loved it!" She spread her arms a bit before sighing as she clasped her hands together, "Though it was somewhat bittersweet... what with Marnie and Anna."

Only nodding, Hachimitsu chuckled, "Hai, but that is how Studio Ghibli does their films." Head tilted to the side, she had a nostalgic expression on her face before she looked over at Haruto, "Remember that time you watched Spirited Away at our home?"

Grin on her face as she hopped onto Haruto's back, Haruhime had a great big smile on her face, "Oh! Or how we watched Howl's Moving Castle? You had such an adorable look on your face..." If anything, the grin widened as she poked his cheeks, "Like right now with that blush on his face."

Looking away, Haruto's voice was nearly a whine, making the others laugh, "Please... stop..." Then, smirk on his face, he looked at the girl on his back over his shoulder, "Haruhime-Nee-Chan..."

Said Kitsune, however, flushed and buried her face in the crook of his neck, "Haruto-Kun... no fair... we're dating and you call me that!?"

If anything, his smirk grew more sly, "What's wrong... Haruhime-Onee-Chan? Don't you, Mikage-Onee-Chan, and Hachimitsu-Onee-Chan still like being called that."

Now all three Kitsune sisters were blushing and looking away with Mikage muttering under her breath a little, "Calling all of us that sort of thing still..."

His smirk now a grin, Haruto leaned towards her as he whispered into her ear, "And you love it, don't you...?"

A whine escaped from Mikage's mouth as her face went bright red and she covered her face in her hands.

From where she was walking, Ayane giggled into her hand as she enjoyed the byplay. Pulling away, she had a happy smile on her face as she looked back to the "Theatre". It had been her choice of where to go, and the others agreed with going to the theater. Back on the Reserve, she had heard so many amazing things about movie theatres, and so wanting to go to one made her day.

Of course, one of the issues that came up was which movie they should go and see. Something that was harder than one might think due to all the choices that were available. Hachimitsu had been somewhat interested in something called "Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals" as it was based on some game she had played, muttering that they better have had someone called Cecil right. They had overheard people leaving about how awesome it was, but in the end they decided that they would go with "When Marnie Was There" due to how Chikako was there.

Granted, Hachimitsu was happy when Haruto mentioned that they could go to a showing another day, maybe on Amami.

There were also other films that were showing, which had caused even the Kitsune to tilt their heads some. Mikage had been somewhat amazed at how there were a lot light hearted films and not so many horror. Though she had nodded when Haruto pointed out that due to the war, people needed things to smile about.

When watching the trailers, however, they had all snorted at a trailer for some American film. Apparently, some goth guy who was picked on by various "Popular guys" got separated from everyone else... and picked up by the Abyssals who thought that he was the legendary "Abyssal Admiral". It was something called a romantic comedy, which confused Ayane, but she had shrugged it off and snickered from what little was shown. Especially the end with the guy in question with wide eyes on a chair surrounded by Abyssals.

Stretching a little, Ayane didn't notice that Haruto was looking at her as she did so, or the smirks on the other adult females' faces. What she did notice was how Chikako, who was between her and Haruto, was excitedly chatting about the movie as they walked. Something that brought a smile to her face. Especially when she noticed how the Healer was treating the little Nekomata. Internally, she sighed a little sadly, 'He's going to be a great Otou-San...'

It was not long after that they got into the van and drove off. Though, much to the Jorogumo's surprise, they pulled into a small parking lot and Haruto nodded, "Okay, we're here."

More than a little confused, the Jorogumo furrowed her eyebrows, "Um, where is... here?"

As he got out of the van, Haruto smiled over at her, "Well... I figured that you might like a little treat as it were. So... I brought you to a coffee shop." He then shrugged a little, "They have all sorts of different coffees, so..."

Lightly blushing some, Ayane felt her heart beat faster in her chest as she got out. But then, she walked over and leaned towards him which made her shirt fall open a little, "My, my, Ha-ru-to-Kun~ Do you really want to get little ol' me drunk, hmm?"

Hachimitsu hummed a bit as she walked by, "Well, you did give him tours of the Ayane Range of peaks earlier~"

The sound of hands meeting faces could be heard as the Jorogumo clapped her hands over her bright red face, "Uuuuu... Did you have to bring that up?"

Only snickers and giggles met her, and when she looked, the Kitsune and Inugami were all smiling and winking at her. Hanging her head a little, she walked towards the coffee shop, though once they were on the sidewalk, Haruto leaned towards her and whispered a bit, "It was a rather nice tour though..."

For a moment, Ayane blinked before she realized what he meant and went red again, "Guh..."

Needless to say, it took a few seconds for her to reboot. However, she quickly walked in with a blushing face, though a slight smile tugging at her lips. Something that Haruto noticed and smiled back about. When she stopped and looked around, he gave her a chuckle, "Never been in one, have you?"

Shaking her head even as she looked around in interest, Ayane gave him a slight smile, "Um, never thought that I would have a chance." Taking a deep sniff of the air, her nose could smell the coffee and the like. She watched as the others put in orders for their own drinks, Chikako getting a iced hot chocolate, which was sort of strange to her ear, but she shrugged. Head tilted to the side, the Jorogumo frowned, "What would you suggest? I... can see a lot of choices after all..."

Hands in his pocket, Haruto tilted his head back a little in thought before turning to her, "That depends, what do you feel in the mood for? Something hot? Cold?"

With a glance outside, the spider Yokai shook her head, "Something cold, it's too hot out really for a hot drink right now, and... I can get hot coffee back in the Reserve."

Considering that, Haruto hummed a little, "So an iced coffee then?" Getting a hesitant nod, he glanced at the menu and walked over to where the others were waiting and held up his hand, "One medium iced coffee, dark, and two large expresso frappé please."

Behind the counter, the cashier nodded, "Of course, Sir. It will only be a few minutes. Would you like one of our baked goods with that...?"

A couple of minutes later, they left the coffee shop and re-entered the car.

Seated in the front passenger seat, Ayane picked up the "Frappé" that she had been given and examined it. Sure, she had heard of "Iced coffee" before, what Jorogumo hadn't? But she had never gotten the chance to try some before. The closest that she came was some instant coffee that some of the guards would trade for silk. It went without saying the Jorogumo gave them lower quality silk, but they knew that the guards found the idea of drunk Jorogumo funny and she had heard tales that some Reserves had guards who would give a lot of coffee out just to get a number of the spider Yokai there addicted, or pay them for certain... acts.

Just shaking that off, as well as the fact that a small part of her mind muttered how she would not have minded performing such acts with the Healer beside her, the Jorogumo brought her lips to the straw and took a small sip. The first thing that Ayane noted was the coolness of the drink as well as how smooth it was. As well, there was the lovely taste of coffee, along with sweetness from the milk and sugar that was added.

It was, quite honestly, a lovely drink.

Pulling the straw from her lip, Ayane licked her lips some and hummed a little, "Thank you, Haruto-Kun... Now this is a lovely drink."

Only chuckling, Haruto smiled at her, "Hai, and you won't have to worry as it's only thirty minutes to my house..."

More than a little thankful, the Jorogumo nodded at that and smiled at the thoughtfulness...

________________________________________________________

Disappointed look on her face, Aoi gave her sheepish son a raised eyebrow, "Really, Haruto-Chan? You had to get her drunk?"

Almost everyone in the room sipped their drinks and looked over at the very happy, and drunk, Jorogumo who was finishing off her second expresso frappé with the normal flush on her face that a drunk might have. It didn't help matters that Chikako was being held by said Yokai with a huffy expression on her face. Especially with how the back of her head was smothered in Ayane's chest as the Jorogumo tilted back and forth with a laugh.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Haruto chuckled a little, "Uh... I didn't think that it would affect her that much, Okaa-San. I mean, I've seen her drink coffee before back on the Reserves, so..."

Extremely amused, Haruhime snickered a bit, "Uh, Haruto-Kun? Did you forget that's instant coffee? Not an expresso? Which, you know, has a lot more caffeine in it...?"

For a few moments there was silence before Ichika laughed a little, "You did forget? Didn't you?"

Hanging his head, Haruto sighed a little, "Hai... Ugh, I'm a baka." Frown on his face, he looked over at the swaying Jorogumo, "You don't think that Ayane-Chan will be angry with me when she's sober, do you?"

It wasn't either his mother or his girlfriends, nor Chikako, who answered him.

The one who did was actually Ayane who swayed as she stumbled over to him, "Naaah, I wouldb't be angry with you, Haruto-Kuuuun~" Giggling, she smiled a little with a happy hum, "I like you too much-Whoops!"

Stumbling, she began to fall and was caught by Haruto who fell back. Wincing a bit, Haruto looked down at her, "Ayane-Chan? Are you alright?" Feeling his shirt get damp, he blinked even as he felt the arms around him tighten, "Ayane-Chan?"

Voice soft, the Jorogumo gave a weak chuckle, "Thas... That's how you are, always caring. So kind..." A sigh came from her as she sniffled, "I just wish..."

With a glance at the others, Haruto brought his hand to her head and stroked it, "Ayane-Chan? What's wrong?"

Briefly, the arms tightened, though not enough to hurt him with a small, choked sob, "Jus... me." Rubbing her face into his chest, she sniffled again, "It hurts... hurts a lot and..." Pulling away with tears going down her face, she looked at the quiet Kitsune and Inugami, "You're all so lucky to have Haruto-Kun as... as your boyfriend and husband. Seeing him look at you like that... hurts, b-but I'm happy for you."

Hand still stroking her hair, Haruto's voice became softer, "Ayane-Chan..."

A choked laugh came from the drunk Jorogumo, "Sss'okay, really... Imma Jorogu... Jorogum... a spider woman. S'hard to find someone who cares like that, ya know? Bad reputations and all tha... So I know that..." Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned against his chest, "S'not my place, never will be. B-but I'm happy tha' you're happy, Haruto-Kun... and that my friends are happy... an tha' helps. Jus wish..." With another sniffle, Ayane smiled a little before opening her amythst eyes and glancing at a wide eyed Aoi, "Ya treated me like family... an' that makes me happy even though it is just a dream..." Eyes closing again, she sighed, "A happy one..."

The only thing that Haruto did was continue to stroke her hair as she sighed. Soon enough, however, she drifted off to slumber with the others looking between themselves. Only when she was fully asleep did Haruto pause his hand's movements. Looking down at the small smile on Ayane's face, and gently rubbing the dried tear tracks away, the Healer spoke without moving his gaze, "Hachimitsu-Chan? Haruhime-Chan? Mikage-Chan? Mie-Chan? Ichika-Chan? I... think that we need to have a talk. But you already know about what, I think."

For her part, Hachimitsu bowed a little, "Hai, and before you say anything... we already knew, but never thought that this would happen."

Haruto hummed a little, "So ka..." With a sigh, he tore his eyes away and looked at each of his wives to be, "Well, I want to know more..."

Meanwhile, his mother got up and looked bowed a little, "I'll go and get started on dinner then, it will take some time yet." She got a quiet thanks and some nods before she left. However, Aoi had a slight smile on her face, 'Now... I'm proud of you, Haruto-Chan...'

_______________________________________________________________

Groaning, Ayane lifted her head a little and blinked, "Ugh... what the hell..." Hearing a small chuckle, she opened her eyes to find that she was in the room that they had been using and that Haruto was nearby, "Haruto-Kun?"

Voice soft, the Healer nodded, "Hai, it is. How are you feeling?"

A grimace on her face as she rubbed the side of her head, Ayane shook her head a little before wincing, "Well, I have had better... uh, days? Mornings?"

Sighing, Haruto glanced towards the window, "Well, nights, the Sun just set outside after all." Turning back to her, he bowed a little, "I'm sorry for what happened, I did not know that the drink would affect you that much..."

Lightly blushing, the Jorogumo turned away, "I... it's fine, I'm actually something of a lightweight myself." With a deep breath, she blinked as Haruto got up and held out a vial, "Hmm?"

His lips quirked a little into a smile, Haruto chuckled, "Hangover potion, it helps with caffeine hangovers as well as with alcohol ones. It should clear up any of the more painful symptoms alongside the metabolism spell."

Popping the cork and draining it, Ayane sighed as she felt the headache and such of her hangover fade away, "Metabolism spell?"

The Healer shrugged a little bit, "It's... a little trick that us Healers have when we need to speed up someone's metabolism. We sometimes use it for injuries to speed up healing, which also means the person needing to eat more. But... it works well when cast on someone whose drunk as it helps them get sober quicker, without the aftereffects of the sobriety charm."

Frown on her face, Ayane blinked a little, "I, um, see." Looking around, she frowned some as she tried to figure out where the others were, "Did I do anything embarrassing? I'm... something of a clingy and happy drunk after all."

Clearing his voice, Haruto scratched his cheek, "Well... that is..."

More than a little confused, and somewhat worried, the arachnid Yokai tried to search her memories. Unlike some, she did have a good memory of what she did when drunk, not that it happened many times. So how bad was it-

Right then, she remembered and felt her cheeks blazing before looking down at the floor, "Oh, I... um..." Internally, she continued, 'All but told you that I loved you.' Something wet rolled down her cheek, "Heh, well, I..."

A hand entered her vision and she looked up to find Haruto was holding out his hand. The wizard then smiled some, "How about we go for a walk, hmm? Just a short one."

While confused, Ayane trusted him and so clasped his hand. The two walked past the dining room which had the Kitsune and Inugami in it, each of whom smiled and nodded at her. But then, Haruto lead her out into the back and into the garden. Above the walls, one could see the reds and oranges in the sky from the setting Sun turning into the deep blues and indigos of evening. It was a sight that caused Ayane to smile slightly at the beauty, especially as the first few twinkling stars appeared.

Upon reaching a small bench by the pond, the wizard sat down and patted the spot beside him. Once he was seated, he leaned forward with his hands clasped beneath his chin, "It's beautiful, isn't it? I used to come out here and just... think, when I was younger."

Looking around the small garden, Ayane smiled a little bit more, "Hai, it is beautiful." When she looked at the pond, she could see a Koi rise to the surface and snatch a mosquito before submerging. Her mind was then brought back to what happened, "Haruto-Kun, I..."

Not looking at her, Haruto frowned a little, "After you fell asleep, I talked with the others, you know. Asked them some things that confirmed a few things in turn for me. Important things." With a deep breath, he let it out, "How long have you loved me for?"

Weakly chuckling, Ayane looked down at the surface of the pond and could see their reflections in it, Haruto with a serious yet thoughtful look, "That's... not exactly a good question to ask a girl. But... if I had to say... it was four months after you arrived in the Reserve. When my youngest Imouto became ill. Remember that? You walked right into our house, not a care that you were surrounded by Jorogumo... and worked for hours until her condition began to improve. Every day, you returned to our home and spent an hour working until she was healthy again. And I asked you..."

Slowly, the young man nodded, "You asked me why I did that, wasn't I scared of you all being Jorogumo? After all, no other Healer would have come..."

Just thickly swallowing, Ayane's eyes softened, "And you told us that they were fools, because we were people in need and it was the Healer's Oath that anyone that needed medical help should get it. As far as you were concerned, you only saw a sick child that needed assistance. Nothing more, nothing less..." Gaze far off, she sighed, "I... think that I started feeling something then."

Only nodding, Haruto hummed, "I see."

In return, the female Yokai next to him shook her head, "Maybe... or maybe not." Letting out an explosive sigh, she blinked away some wetness, "But that was just the seed. After that, seeing your kindness, how you cared for all of us... The times that you were hurt because of that, and from your fellow wizards... It was the water for the seed. And the times that we talked and the like? Where you didn't show any digust towards what I am? The times when we talked, laughed, and the like? That was the Sun that shone down on the seed, making it grow."

Frown on his face, Haruto turned to her, "Why didn't you ever tell me, Ayane-Chan? That you loved me?"

Tears coming down her cheeks, she lightly laughed though there was sadness there, "Anyone could see where your heart truly belonged except for fools, Haruto-Kun. Your expression when around Hachimitsu-Chan, Mikage-Chan, and Haruhime-Chan? Especially after you met them again? And then, later, Mie-Chan and Ichika-Chan? It was easy to see where your heart belonged." Shaking her head, Ayane had a thin smile on her face as she looked at him, tears dripping, "There were a few on the Reserve who considered it, getting between you and them, you know. Who thought that maybe they could seduce you, and why wouldn't someone consider that? You're a wonderful man, Haruto-Kun. And someone who will be an equally wonderful husband and Otou-San to any children you might have. You've proven that time and again. But... not one of them succeeded, and I wouldn't even try."

Eyes filled with sympathy, Haruto looked at her, "Huh..."

Reaching up, Ayane wiped at her eyes with a sniffle and she looked at him with a broken hearted smile, "We Jorogumo are... are thought of as seductresses. Creatures that could, and would, break men to our wills, stealing them away from their wives and significant others for our own hungers. But..." Sighing, she looked away, "But that's not me, Haruto-Kun. I might flirt and tease, but nothing more. Not like that." Eyes closing, the Jorogumo gave a weak chuckle, "They say... that when you love someone, you only wish for them to be happy. And that is what I wished, that you would be happy even though it was not with me, but I could live with that pain, that hurt, as long as I could see you smile. That... that is all I want really, to see you smile and happy with those that you love."

Not saying anything for a moment, the wizard swallowed, "Why... did you not even try? You could have..."

Bitterly chuckling, Ayane turned to him and spread her arms while gesturing at herself, "Look at me, Haruto-Kun. This... this is not what I look like. My form is that of a monster, a woman with the lower half of a spider. Compared to them... what could I give you?"

Slowly, Haruto got up and walked a few steps. Gently taking her hand, he helped her to her feet, "Ayane-Chan... transform, please. Into your true form."

Confused, she blinked some, "I... Haruto-Kun? But why..."

Looking her in the eye, Haruto smiled, "Please."

Unsure, Ayane nodded and, after shucking off her pants so that they would not be damaged, she took a deep breath before releasing her transformation. Her form returning to it's natural one as she did so. For a few moments, she looked down at him, still holding her hands, "Haruto-Kun..."

However, he didn't say anything right away. Instead, he looked her over, each portion. Not just her humanoid one, but also her spider half. Letting go of one of her hands, he reached over and laid it on one of her eight legs, bristles under his palm tickling it as he stroked along it and made him shiver, "Do you know what I see, Ayane-Chan? Right now?"

More than a little lost, though her hearts were pounding, Ayane shook her head, "I... no? What... what do you see?"

Turning his attention back to her, Haruto smiled, "I see... a beautiful woman in front of me." He saw her eyes widen and her chest jerk as her breath froze in her lungs, "I see a beautiful woman in front of me. One who is caring and has a big heart... or hearts, as it may be. Because no single heart could contain the amount of love and care that she shows and has shown. Who is loyal to her friends. A woman who is intelligent and funny. One who can tease and make me flush while also getting a laugh from my lips. Who looks downright adorable when flustered." Glancing over towards the house, he chuckled, "Sort of like how Hachimitsu-Chan, Mikage-Chan, Haruhime-Chan, and Ichika-Chan can be..." The Healer turned back to her, "Seems... I have a type, as it were."

Unable to believe what she was hearing, what it could be that he is saying, Ayane trembled a little even as she tired to keep the hope from causing her hearts to explode as it felt like, "I-I... Haruto-Kun... are you... are you saying that..."

Lips curling into a soft smile, he chuckled as he gently pulled her lower body lower, "Well... I am attracted to you. And the girls agreed, so... how about this for an answer?"

Now with her low enough, Ayane only had time to feel him bring the hand that had been on her leg gently against her cheek before his lips claimed hers for the first time. Nearly immediately, her purple eyes widened in pure shock at the feel of the kiss before they closed as she brought one shaking arm up to his shoulders and then the other. In reply, Haruto placed his other arm against her waist and pulled her close. Neither of them opened their mouths to the other, no tongues brushed against the other, yet Ayane's legs collapsed underneath her just the same as tears fell freely down her cheeks

When the two separated, a similarly teary eyed Haruto smiled at her, "So... was that a good answer?"

For a few seconds, the Jorogumo stared at him before laughing even as she sobbed, holding him close, "H-hai, th-that was a g-good an-answer, H-Haruto-Kun... a v-very good answer..." Burying her face in his neck, she smiled so widely that it hurt, "A-are you s-sure that..."

Gently, Haruto took her chin in his hands and lifted her head off his shoulder while turning towards her, and then kissing her. This time, he did deepen it a touch before pulling away from the stunned Ayane with a smirk, "Pretty sure."

That only got him another sobbing laugh as she held him close.

 

[darthcourt10]

lt_agn02

Taking a sip from the bottle, the protected cruiser Despatch couldn't bring herself to give two fucks that her drink was just a bottle of lukewarm green tea that Aso bought at the nearby NX. Compared to the energy drinks and instant noodles she had to deal with, even the travesty of decaf coffee mixed with a gallon of milk and sugar would have been extremely refreshing.

"Thanks, Aso," Despatch groaned. "I needed that…"

Nervously looking around, the carrier brought up the first thing that came to mind. "Despatch-san, what is going on and what's with all the paperwork?"

Once again, a groan left the girl's lips. "I thought I would be able to take things easy, but look at this! This is all the stupid, repetitive, bullshit disposable paperwork that everyone drops the moment Abyssals appear over the horizon!" The cruiser picked up one sheet. "I mean look at this! How are we supposed to keep track of sandbags and gravel?!"

As the cruiser continued to rant about the amount of trivial paperwork left behind, Aso flitted her gaze around the room. She wondered how much of it was either optional, duplicates, or actually necessary. Gravel and sandbags for repairing runways and roads, obviously. But puffed cheese snacks? Were those worth all the hassle of submitting a supply form for? And what about the...actually, never mind.

The girl did not know why the US Navy needed several hundred thousand extra large non-lubricated condoms. Nor did she want to know. If there was even a use for those things in a survival situation like Pearl Harbor was in right now, she would love to hear it.

"...Anyway," Despatch continued, "you're not here to gloat about your stupid farm, are you? Of course you're not. What is it?"

Clearing her throat, Aso placed her requisition form on the table, allowing the protected cruiser to pick it up. The latter glanced at the sheet and scowled as she read off the items being requested.

"Fish food? Fish food?!" Despatch growled. "We need to increase food imports here and you want to waste precious cargo space and monetary resources on FISH FOOD?!"

"Despatch-san, we need that for the fish in the aquaponic system!" Aso countered. "We can't keep importing fresh produce like we're doing! What happens if something happens to the supply line?"

The cruiser glared at the sheet of paper and grimaced.

"Are you shitting me, you backstabbing Jap?! It's necessary? How the fuck is it necessary?! We're not running some sort of aquarium here, sweetheart!"

"It's not an aquarium! It's a fish farm!"

Despatch paused. "...A what?"

"It's a fish farm. The tilapia are close to the right size to eat, but we can't get them to that size without food."

The girl considered that for a moment, then turned to the carrier. "Exactly how much fish are we talking about here?"

Aso put her hand to her chin. "The logs said that the pool had over a hundred and seventy thousand."

The papers fell from Despatch's hands. With the papers, she felt her jaw hit the floor at the number. This wasn't some simple "oh, look at the fishies" aquarium at the greenhouse. Whatever kind of operation Aso was running, it had to be serious for that much fish to be stuffed into some repurposed swimming pool and get the Navy's seal of approval.

"That was last harvest though," Aso continued without acknowledging the cruiser's agape mouth. "The records say they put some sort of expansion charm before I got here, so there's probably a lot more than that this time."

The cruiser simply stared dumbfounded at the carrier's admission.

More?!

Seriously? More?! And with some magical bullshit involved?!

The cruiser slammed her head onto the desk with an audible thud. Due to its shipgirl-grade build, the only damage was, fortunately, a face-shaped dent in the steel. Thinking was too hard. The girl tried to voice a protest, but nothing came. She didn't even have the strength to retort against the part about magic, let alone how magic might actually be real.

"...Ugh…" she groaned. "...Whatever. I'll mark this one as urgent. But, Aso, if you're bullshitting me with this, I'm gonna put you on the Panama Express to New York faster than a bull goring a Spaniard."

The carrier suppressed a gulp. While she didn't understand the second part and questioned why a bull would attack a man from Spain, she fully understood the "Express to New York" part.

It meant having to go farther from home than she ever was!

She was getting used to Pearl Harbor, too! But having to go all the way to the other side of the world? A shiver ran down her spine. That was a thought that scared her most of all. She was already uncomfortable being so far away from Japan. But at least Hawaii had some trace of familiarity. She was even able to get some nice rice balls and miso from a nearby supermarket when she was running errands for Tsushima Maru and Bowfin.

But New York? The carrier couldn't even picture it, no matter how it's portrayed in the media. She would be a stranger in a strange land with nobody to rely on and nowhere to go. She hastily nodded in assent before getting up and leaving the room.

Before she could leave, however, she turned back toward Despatch and her paperwork. The cruiser brought the bottle of tea on her desk up to her lips, but as she drank, she turned the bottle upside-down. Before she knew it, she was chasing after the last precious drops of green tea like water in a desert. Her face scrunched up as she turned dejectedly to the case of energy drinks next to her.

Aso stopped moving when her hand met the doorknob.

Her thoughts turned to the reason she came to be in Hawaii. It was supposed to be a punishment by Admiral Shimada, sure, but it was also a mission to bring back information. Since it was a mission and all, did that really mean she had to go it alone?

If she had someone with her, maybe the world outside Japan would be a little less scary.

Turning to face the cruiser once more, the carrier took one step forward. Sure, they had a terrible start as far as things go, but seeing the cruiser suffer like this, even if she deserved it, didn't sit well with her. Sure, Despatch was a stupid gaijin that pissed her off with her star-spangled bullshit. But at least the two of them knew where they stood.

Even if she's a total baka gaijin, Aso thought, at least she's somebody she knows.

At the very least, Aso could go home and say she offered an olive branch.

"Um...Despatch-san?" Aso asked.

The girl never bothered to look up from her paperwork. "What? Weren't you about to leave?"

Aso took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"I...I just wanted to ask...when my work at the greenhouse is over, I have to look into a few things around the islands. Do you...want to come with me?"

Despatch set her pen down and looked up at the carrier. "Me. And you. Galavanting around Hawaii. I suppose I'm just a bodyguard then, right?"

Aso's spine shivered slightly. "...Hai? There are going to be others though, so not just us."

The cruiser raised her right eyebrow. "Far away from all this paperwork?"

Despatch saw Aso nod her head. "Hai. There really isn't paperwork. It's...more of an...I guess you could call it a covert assignment? Admiral Shimada and Admiral Smith wanted me to look into..."

A pair of hands slammed onto the table with a bang. Before Aso could jump in surprise, Despatch had already cleared the table and angrily held the carrier's shoulders with an iron grip.

"WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU ASK SOONER?!" Despatch desperately yelled, shaking the devil out of her victim. "I don't care if you make me dress up like a damn monkey! GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As she walked back into the dining room, Ayane flushed as she was met with claps and whistles from the others there. The wolf calls from Ichika really caused her flush to deepen. But what truly, utterly shocked her was something that happened after that...

Mainly, Aoi walking up and giving her a hug, "Welcome to the family, dear."

For a few seconds, the Jorogumo was stunned before she brought up her own arms and hugged the woman back, "Thank you... Aoi-San." The two women shared a smile before Ayane turned to the other girls there, "Do any of you mind about this...?"

Her arms crossed over her chest, Mikage snorted a little, "Mind? Considering yesterday and today?" She gestured at the others before grinning a little, "We were hoping that something like this happened."

Getting up, Mie walked over and hugged her before kissing her cheek, "Welcome... Nee-San."

That got a chuckle from Ayane and she allowed herself to be pulled to the table. However, what she was not expecting was for Hachimitsu to have her sit right beside Haruto. Getting a look from the arachnid Yokai, the Kitsune rolled her eyes with a slight smile, "We've gotten a lot of time with him as it is. You haven't." Then, she gave a small shrug, "Besides, there's something great with sitting beside him as you share a meal."

Lips twitching, Ayane chuckled a little and looked to her new boyfriend, "I suppose so." Just a few seconds later, she blinked at a bit that Haruhime stared which made her furrow her eyebrows, "I... what was that?"

One eyebrow raised, the red haired Kitsune gave her a look, "I said that we'll be postponing the wedding until next spring. So you'll have plenty of time to get our wedding Kimonos made."

Slowly blinking, Ayane frowned, "I... thought it was that. But why next summer? I thought that it was going to be before the new year?" At the looks she was getting, she leaned back a little, "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Hachimitsu gave her a raised eyebrow before poking the side of her head, "Ayane-Chan? We said that we're getting married. That includes you by the way." She then shrugged a little as she shook her head at the stunned spider, "Will be a few more months of waiting, sure. But all of us will get married together in one ceremony."

Upon hearing that, the Jorogumo trembled a little as her eyes became suspiciously wet, "And you don't mind?" The snorts and looks, as well as smirks, were enough of an answer and she laughed a little as she wiped her eyes, "Thank you."

Gently, Mie reached over and smiled a little, "It's fine, Ayane-Chan. After all, you do need some time with Haruto-Kun beforehand to get settled in how our relationships have changed, the same with us." Then, she winked with a little giggle that escaped from her lips, "Not to mention, it gives Haruto-Kun time to pick out a ring and you to design your own wedding Kimono~"

Despite blushing, Ayane laughed a little at that, "I suppose that is true as well." Humming, she became thoughtful with a far off look in her eye, "I do have a few ideas to that end..."

Each of the other women giggled at that. Suddenly, they noticed that Haruto was getting up and Mikage blinked at that, "Haruto-Kun? Where are you going?"

The Healer just smiled at that before grinning, "I'll be right back... Just give me a few minutes."

Once he was gone, Hachimitsu frowned and narrowed her eyes, "He's up to something..."

Lightly giggling, Aoi smiled a little before sipping some tea, "It is rather easy to tell when my son is up to something, I suppose." Humming, she glanced towards the doorway, "I wonder what it could be..."

With those words, she sipped her tea with a secret little smile as she ignored the others asking her questions.

Not that it had continued for very long as soon, Haruto returned with a grin on his face and paper bag beside him. A paper bag from which he took several wrapped objects and placed them in front of each of his girlfriends and one in front of Chikako, "Here you go."

More than a little lost, Ichika looked at her wrapped object and blinked, "Um... what is it?"

However, her boyfriend simply chuckled and motioned her on, "Go ahead and open it. I think that you'll like it...'

Still confused, the group shared looks before opening the gifts to reveal jewelry cases which they opened. Almost immediately, there were gasps as they lifted the gifts that were inside of them. Hand clasped over her mouth, Hachimitsu lifted hers up to the light to reveal it being a fox head pendant with citrine eyes, "H-Haruto-Kun..."

When she glanced at her sisters, she could see said Kitsune lifting similar ones, except the colors of the eyes were different. Haruhime's was ruby and Mikage's was a dark sapphire for example. Meanwhile, the two Inugami had pendants that had a wolf with gemstones matching their eyes on them. Excitedly, Chikako began showing off her own pendant that was a cat with amber eyes that matched her own.

But then, they heard a gasp and turned as Ayane removed her own pendant which was in the shape of a silver spider, except for the abdomen which was an amethyst that glinted in the light.'

Turning, she looked towards Haruto who smiled back at her, "I hope that you like all like them, I noticed you looking at them the other day, so..." He gave a small shrug, "I thought that you might like them as a gift. Had the chains enchanted so that they're much harder to break."

Just swallowing, the Jorogumo looked down at the pendant that slowly spun at the end of the necklace, shining in the light of the dining room. Yes, it was the sort of pendant that would not cost much for someone who lived in Japan... That was, unless they lived in the Reserves. Because then it would be a precious gift to say the least.

Of course, that was when Ayane realized that he had bought it before her drunken confession, as a gift and even more tears dripped from her eyes. Right there and then, she knew... no matter what other jewelry she might have in her life, no matter how expensive said pieces might be... This would be something that she would treasure for her entire existence.

Feeling a hand on her thigh, she looked over to find Haruto looking at her, "Ayane-Chan?"

About to turn to the others to silently ask, the Jorogumo paused as she remembered her new relationship and smiled as she placed her hands over his shoulders, "I love it..." Then, she kissed him, deepening it almost immediately as she did so, his own hands coming up to her hips before she used one hand to move them back. After a minute or two, she pulled back breathing hard and a flush on her face, "Doing such for a Jorogumo... you live dangerously, Haruto-Kun~"

Lips tilted into a smirk, Haruto kissed her again before pulling back, "Well, I did hear that a spider's mates always bring gifts to distract her..."

Moments later, that got a laugh from Ayane and she shook her head while grinning widely, though part of that was the fact that his gaze kept going to her chest as she panted a little from the make out session.

However, she smirked and moved back some as her boyfriend got a tap on his shoulder from Mie, who then pulled him into a deep kiss as well. Moving a little back to watch, she hummed as each his other girlfriends kissed their boyfriend. Granted, part of her reason was that she was also watching said girls as much as she was watching Haruto, 'Mmm... they really are quite beautiful... heh.'

Chikako, however, just gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as she thanked him before letting go and going to her seat. A titter made them all flush as they remembered that Aoi was still there. Said woman was grinning widely as she watched, "Well, I think that soon after the wedding I will be getting a bunch of cute little grandchildren." Turning, she wagged a finger at Chikako, "You make sure to be a good Onee-Chan with them, okay?"

Said Nekomata nodded sharply and saluted, "Hai! I will be the best Onee-Chan for them, Munya!"

Just putting his face in his hands, Haruto sighed a little, "Okaa-San..."

Yet, he still had a smile despite that.

______________________________________________________________________

The van pulled into the parking spot and Haruto unbuckled his seatbelt while glancing towards Ayane who was looking around curiously, "I thought that we were done with the errands?"

Unable to help himself, the Healer chuckled a little, "This? It's something that I had been planning on for you when I decided to invite you along on this trip." Smiling, Haruto shrugged some as he turned to her, "Which I'm happy that I did."

A light blush to her cheeks, Ayane giggled some, "Thank you." Then, her purple eyes met his and she kissed his cheek, "And I'm happy that you did as well."

Only nodding, Haruto glanced back at the others who winked or smiled before they got out of the car. One thing that the eighteen year old noted was how all his girlfriends were wearing their pendants, which shone and glinted in the morning sunlight. Granted, he could not help but stare a little as they all stretched in various ways, though it had not been a long drive. Something he could tell that they were doing on purpose by the slight grins and smirks that they gave him, which made him internally sigh, 'They're going to lead me to an early grave...' Then, he smirked himself, 'And I would not have it any other way.'

Walking around the side of the van, he walked up to the Jorogumo and held out a blindfold, which made her blink as she took it, "What's this for?"

Eyebrow raised, Hachimitsu hummed some, "Well, I would have thought that you would have realized what a blindfold was..."

That got her a sigh as well as a swat that she dodged. Looking back to the blindfold, Ayane put it on and hummed a little, "So... now what?"

She could feel Haruto gently take her hand and begin to lead her somewhere, "Just trust me for a few minutes."

Just softly smiling, Ayane turned towards him, "I think that I'll trust you for far longer than a few minutes, Haruto-Kun..."

From the giggles, she knew that very likely her new boyfriend (and that word was still making her smile widely) was flustered. Placing her arm around his waist, she let him guide her where he might. She could feel herself guided through a door before they stopped and Haruto reached up to her blindfold, "And... we're here."

Blinking for a few moments, Ayane gasped as her eyes adjusted to the light level. Eyes wide, she looked around the store which was absolutely filled with fabrics of all sorts. From where she stood, the Jorogumo could see not just canvas, but also denim, khaki, cotton, and the like such as leather. Along one wall were spools of yawn of all sorts, as well as smaller spools of thread. Not to mention all sorts of beads that could be threaded into fabric and the like.

It... was like heaven to the Jorogumo.

Utterly shocked, Ayane turned to Haruto who smiled, said Healer giving her hand a squeeze, "Welcome to a fabric wholesaler that I found." He then shrugged some and chuckled, "You can buy what you want, there's enough money left over for quite a bit. So... go wild."

Very slowly blinking, Ayane stared at him before pulling him into a deep kiss. Pulling back, the Jorogumo growled at him, "Dammit... I have to wait until the damn wedding, otherwise..." She nipped a bit at his neck with another soft growl, knowing that his pulse was speeding up, "I would throw you down, wrap you in silk, and make sure that neither of us left until satisfied." With another deep kiss, the Jorogumo pulled back with swollen lips before turning with a predatory grin, "Chikako-Chan? Let's go... we got hunting to do and I'm going to teach you more of what you need to know..."

Happily bouncing after her, Chikako nodded, "Hai, Ayane-Onee-San! I'll learn all I can to make the best outfits, Munya! And get lotsa rock candy for them too!"

Meanwhile, Haruto stood there completely frozen with a red face. Beside him, Mikage tilted her head a little in thought, "Huh... guess we know what one of her switches are..."

Around her the others nodded slowly as did Haruto.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Unrolling some fabric, Ayane hummed a bit as she rubbed her thumb along it, "Hmm... this is good linen."

Just poking her head over the top of the table, Chikako blinked, "It is?" Then she tilted her head a little, "Wouldn't white get dirty easily?"

Lightly chuckling, the Jorogumo patted the Nekomata on the head, "Hai, that is very true as a matter of fact... however, it is nice and airy, which helps on the island due to the heat. Besides which..." She pointed to another table, "You can get different colors of linen as well, which helps. And, if needed, one can embroider clothing to give it a bit of a... pop as it were."

Head tilted to the side, Chikako frowned, "Um... like with beads and stuff?"

With a nod, Ayane smiled at her, "You can embroider with beads, but you can also do it with normal thread. Once you get good enough, you can make all sorts of designs." Looking at the fabric in her hand, she considered it, "This, for example, could make for a nice blouse. You can add some embroidered stitching in places such as along the hems to improve the look."

Eyes wide, the Nekomata was taking notes with her tongue sticking out some, "Hai! I see!"

Unable to help herself, Ayane giggled some which got her an odd look from Chikako, but she waved it off, "It's nothing." When the younger Yokai shrugged, she continued, "Anyways, you can also use buttons and the like to add to the design and make it look better. Some of the people back on the island are very good with that. For example, making buttons from mother of pearl."

Closing her eyes some, Chikako nodded a little, "I see..."

Gently moving her along, the older of the two smiled indulgently. After all, it was not often that someone was interested in clothes and the design of such. So she did not mind passing it on, though there was the slight traitorous thought that it was also practice for the future when she had her own children. Something that made her glance towards Haruto and smile a little as she imagined said children.

Simply shaking that off, however, Ayane examined some more linen, "Now, one thing is that there's many types of linen. For example..." She raised one finger, "I have made use of sailcloth for clothing. It wears well over the years and for those who work a lot around the sea, it makes for wonderful work clothes."

For a brief moment, Chikako closed her eyes before happily gasping as she nodded, "You also made swimsuits out of them!"

Lightly chuckling, the Jorogumo nodded some, "Hai, I have, and they are good for that as well actually since they can last a long time. Most of the dyes, however, I come up with using what I can get back on the island such as indigo, which we grow in small amounts. Most of what I used, however, was old clothes that I sewed up."

Blinking for a moment, Chikako frowned, "Like the old jeans that you made into shorts? Haruto-Nii-San really seems to like it when Onee-Sans wear them."

That made Ayane pause for a moment before smirking some as she considered her current form, 'Perhaps I should make some jean shorts for myself...' Shaking it off, she smiled and nodded, "Exactly, though I've managed to use the scraps for other things. Always keep your scraps because you never know when they might be of use."

Eyes wide, the Nekomata nodded as she wrote down in her little notebook, "Always... keep... scraps..."

Meanwhile, Ayane moved on to another roll of fabric and examined it, "Bamboo linen? Hmm..." Then her eyes caught sight of something and lit up, "Felt! Ooo! I can use that..."

Not far away, Hachimitsu was snickering as she watched the Jorogumo excitedly go through the store looking at the various fabrics with joy lighting up in her eyes, "I think that someone is enjoying herself."

Softly snorting, Mikage shook her head at what her sister had said, "Can you really blame her, Nee-San? This has to be nearly a dream for her." Turning to their boyfriend, she cast a quick illusion around them and kissed him. As she pulled back, the blue haired Kitsune smiled at the stunned young man, "You have no idea how happy that made her."

Glancing at Ayane, Haruto smiled a little bit, "Actually? I think that I do..."

By the time that they left the store, Ayane had bought a number of rolls of fabric, a box full of thread, and another, larger box with buttons of various types and beads. All of which made her happier than a clam. Of course, then they went to a second hand clothing store where another whirlwind happened. Much to the amusement of the staff there, she asked if there were any clothes that they considered too damaged to be worth much, and were shown to the bags of "Rags" which they let her have for cheap.

It went without saying that she was a very happy Jorogumo when they stopped for ice cream after.

A rather bemused expression on her face as she licked her own cone of soft serve, Mie hummed some, "Is that okay for you? I mean..."

Glancing over at her, Ayane snorted some as she licked some more of her ice cream, coffee flavored, "It is like having rum flavored ice cream for a human. The taste is good, but there's not enough there for a buzz."

That only got her nods from the others as they continued to eat their own ice cream. Taking a bite of his sea salt flavored treat, Haruto hummed some, "Well... tomorrow morning we head back to the island. The storms end this evening, but..."

From where she was beside him, Haruhime nodded, "It's best to give it several hours to settle down." Then, she looked around with a small smirk, "But... I don't think that any of us can complain about it considering what came of it."

Light blush on her face from the reminder, the Jorogumo of the group still smiled and leaned against Haruto and kissed him, "Mmm, I don't regret it myself."

Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, Haruto chuckled some, "I don't regret it at all either.

Brightly smiling, Chikako chimed in with her own thoughts, "I got a new Nee-San out of it too! So it was good too!"

Chuckles answered her with the Healer patting her head before he turned to the others, "Anyways... we do have one thing left." At their interested looks, he smirked some, "I managed to book us a hot spring this evening. We can enjoy it before going back."

Eyes widening, Ayane looked at him in awe, "A... hot spring? An actual hot spring!?" When he nodded, she became thoughtful, "I... never thought that I would get the chance to enjoy one. I mean, I like hot baths like anyone... but a hot spring?" Lips curling some, the arachnid Yokai looked at her boyfriend with a happy smile, "You're going to spoil me."

In reply, Haruto met her own smile with one of his own, "And that's my job, and I'll do my best." His expression softened a little, "You, Mie-Chan, and Ichika-Chan missed so much having lived on the Reserve all your lives. If I can make you happy by letting you experience it now? I'll gladly do that."

Looking at her ice cream, the Jorogumo looked at the two Inugami, "Mind?"

At the shakes of their heads, Ayane leaned in and kissed him, deepening it almost immediately. Pulling back, she watched as Mie then kissed him deeply almost as soon as she had pulled back, followed by Ichika who growled into the kiss. Then, Ichika nibbled his ear some, "You make it... so damn... hard... to wait... Haruto-Kun. Hot... kind... loyal... courageous... smart... fuck, I want you so bad."

Despite the blush on his face from both her declaration as well the nibbles, Haruto coughed some, "Well... you're going to have to wait until after the wedding for that."

Pulling the ice cream away from her mouth, Chikako grinned, "Then, I become an Onee-San, Munya!"

Everyone paused at that and glanced at each other as the Nekomata went back to her ice cream.

Suddenly, however, a gleam entered Ayane's eyes and she moved behind their boyfriend. Pressing her chest against his back, which provoked a blush from him, her lips ghosted along his ear, "Oh yes... we can wait for that until we're married... But that does not mean that there not other methods for us to blow off some steam as it were, Ha-ru-to-Kun~ And ones that can be just as fun and nearly as enjoyable~"

All the Healer did at that was blink even as he felt his heartbeat quicken at the predatory looks he got, 'I... suppose that she has a point there...'

Later that night, Mie groaned as she slipped into the heated, mineral rich waters of the hot spring, "Ahhhh... this is good.'

Glancing at her, Haruto smiled some as he leaned back with the water reaching his shoulders, "Mmm, this is rather nice." Tilting his head, he looked up at the stars twinkling high above, "I'm glad that you finally are experiencing this."

That got him a kiss from the Inugami before she moved aside for her sister to take her own turn at him. As the two pulled back, they heard the door open to the washing area of the onsen before first one long, spider leg came out followed by another. Fully coming out into the open, Ayane smiled a little shyly, though she liked the fact that Haruto was looking at her with a look of awe with some hunger in her gaze, "Are you sure that this is okay?"

Quickly shaking off his thoughts, and shoving them aside, Haruto tried to ignore the fact that his newest girlfriend was nearly naked in front of him, "Hai, it's fine. This hot spring is for larger Yokai after all with a bench here and a deep spot for bigger Yokai." Looking her over again, part of him was amused at how she wore a towel around her waist, partially supported by her pedipalps. The rest of him, however, was interested in other things such as the towel hanging from her shoulders and how it just barely hid certain things from view, "So... come on in and enjoy the water."

Only nodding, Ayane walked the rest of the way to the hot spring and slipped one leg, then another, into the water. Soon enough, the spider portion of her body was covered by the water and she sighed as she sank up to her arm pits, "O-ooooh... no wonder people enjoy these so much..."

Chuckling some, the Healer nodded, "Hai, they're always a nice treat."

He glanced over to the side where Chikako was currently in Mikage's lap, head against the Kitsune's chest, before the sound of movement made him turn to find that Ayane had moved forward and was now with her arms on his thighs keeping her above water as she leaned towards him, "Mmm... a treat is right." Shifting a bit, she held her arms above her head and stretched, fully conscious of where his eyes went, "Ah... this feels good."

Feeling her pedipalps moving around his waist as she moved forward, Haruto hummed as he cupped her cheek with one hand and placed the other around her waist, "Hai, it does."

With those words, he then proceeded to capture her lips for a minute or two with his own before pulling back. Of course, it did not end there as Haruhime sided up beside him and proceeded to show her appreciation followed by her sisters. Meanwhile, Chikako moved aside and smiled as her tails swished through the water, a happy smile on her face even as she dozed some.

Of course, the others would have been embarrassed if they had known that her thoughts mainly revolved around many little sisters and brothers with fox or dog ears and tails, or little sisters with lots of legs.

___________________________________________________________

Morning sunlight and bird song woke Ayane from her slumber and she hummed happily as she stretched some with a happy sigh before adjusting her Yukata. Eyes still slightly glazed from sleep, she looked around and her gaze fell upon the sight of Haruto asleep on his futon with the others. Almost immediately, a smile bloomed on the Jorogumo's face at seeing that as the memories of the past few days bubbled up and she sighed.

Still smiling, she leaned forward until her humanoid body was horizontal to her arachnid form. Not once did she ever think that she would have gotten the chance that she had, and it was one that she was going to hold on to. Despite being certain that her dream would never happen, it had. And now, she was in a relationship with the man that she wanted, and who she had wished would be the father to many children.

Right now, however, she pushed aside such things to simply enjoy the moment that was before her, seeing her love in gentle slumber. It was just so peaceful as her eyes trailed along the scene, drinking in every bit like a person in the desert might a glass of water. Committing it all to memory for the future to revisit in later times.

Part of the Jorogumo wished that she was part of the cuddle pile before her, truly. But at the same time, despite how their relationship had moved, she did have some boundaries still. And one of those was sharing his bed like the others were at the moment. Now, that was not to say that it would not happen, because it would and she was looking forward to it. Oh, was she ever looking forward to it.

Ayane knew, however, that their relationship could not move forward that fast, not yet. It would get there, and she awaited that day with baited breath. But while she was a hungry and thirsty little spider, she knew that patience was needed and would be rewarded greatly indeed. Hence, simply enjoying the little moment.

Of course, when her gaze fell upon the other girls outside of Chikako, the Jorogumo smiled softly. Each one was beautiful, perhaps some of the most beautiful in the entire reserve. And yet, they accepted her, which made her happy that they felt that she could join them.

Gaze coming to a stop on Hachimitsu with how her Yukata had fallen open a little, Ayane licked her lips some as her eyes took on a slightly hungry gleam. No, she most certainly did not mind sharing with literal Kami. And looked forward to enjoying her time with the others as well as she had hit the jackpot, as they said, with that.

Eventually, however, the time came for the others to wake and they greeted her, Haruto with a loving, though gentle, kiss. The other girls greeted her with kisses on the cheek, with Ayane returning them. With some final goodbyes, and another lovely breakfast, the group left to head back to Kagoshima where they boarded the Kudagitsune once more and headed back to the island.

By the time they got back to the Reserve, the Sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. All of them were thankful that the village did not look worse for wear considering things, and various friends were there to greet them. In fact, Ayane's mother was there along with some of her sisters, including the one that Haruto had trained in first aid to help him in the clinic when needed. Smiling, the Jorogumo's mother scanned her daughter before raising one eyebrow, "Well now, you seem happy. Did something happen?"

Suddenly gaining a wicked smirk, Ayane laughed, "You could say that..." Turning towards Haruto, she proceeded to kiss him deeply, it turning into a near make-out session before pulling away and grinning up at her surprised mother, "Something really good."

With wide eyes looking on, Hachimitsu threw an arm best that she could around the Jorogumo's waist and winked, "She might be moving out of your home soon after all..."

Almost immediately, cheers and wolf whistles met the pronouncement as Ayane's mother smiled happily. Though Haruto's girlfriends laughed at the sheepish, embarrassed expression he gained as more than one Yokai playfully heckled him about leaving some for them. Meanwhile, his new, Jorogumo girlfriend leaned into him with a bright, happy smile, spider pendant around her neck sparkling in the light of the setting Sun...

 

[darthcourt10]

Kab2

One more snip about Sofia.
------------------------------
Lifting herself from the ground Sofia was in all fours, a trail of mixed blood and oil running down the corner of her lips, slowly dripping on the ground, her cap was taking dust near the blood pool that was getting bigger.

Coughing a bit of blood that stained her broken wand, she surveyed the situation she was in. "Captain, damage report" holding back her tears.

His report only confirmed what she already knew "We have a small breach in the hull so we can't submerge, but we will be fine on the surface, a torpedo launcher is damaged and dents all over the hull, apart from the ones we already had."

The pain Sofia felt was subsiding a bit, after all she was familiar with being this damaged, bless/curse her fleet for this.

Spitting a bit of blood that was in her mouth, she raised on her two feet "Thanks Captain, I've been worse" said in a serious tone, but inside she wanted to cry as she always did when she was hurt, but she won't let herself cry anymore for taking damage, she didn't have the right to be protected as a weakling who only cried.
Spoiler: Sofia

Cleaning the blood of her lips, her red eyes glowed as she witnessed the unbalanced fight Tarasque and Jenifer had, marveling about it, as she knew that any help she could provide would go in Jen's detriment.

The pessimistic in her knew that Tarasque was stronger than Jen, so she resigned to be captured when Tarasque kills Jen. Sofia always listened to her in the past.

The optimistic saw that Jen was winning even if she was weaker, so she cheered for her to keep going. Sofia rarely listened to her as her point of view never came into realization.

And the battle was almost finished; Jen was exhausted and Tarasque was giving her usual superiority speech before she kills her prey.

But this time she didn't listen to her pessimistic side, grabbing the tiny hope her optimistic side offered.

And it looked like her pleas were listened when Tarasque lifted her improvised sword to kill Jen, as a sound came from her rigging making a breach in her hull .

For her it was beautiful how Jen chased Tarasque and cut her in half, a brief pain passed by her engines, signaling that even if she deserved it, she would mourn her death as a member of her old fleet.

As Jen shouted her to catch something, she saw the sword that was Jen's true body spinning in the air, finally nailing into the ground at a safe distance from her.

Seeing her body disappear while Tarasque's body was sinking, she understood what Jen has done to survive, approaching the sword she said "Well done Jenifer, that bully got what she deserved, but I hoped that it would not end with her death."

Rattling a bit, the sword showed her dissatisfaction with what Sofia said.

"Hey! I didn't say that!" Sofia said, her hand taking Jen's hilt "I only wished for a mutual understanding, even if I knew it was impossible to achieve." Pulling her from the ground, Sofia quickly jumped to the side, a blast making a hole in the land where she stood a moment ago. "Looks like the other two repaired their engines and now want our blood in revenge" said as she evaded another blast, the other Abyssals now clearly aiming to wipe the floor with them.

"Let's flee from here, you have to rest so I'll put you in my cargo hold, now it's my time to repay for your kindness and help your dreams come true." A smile forming in Sofia's face, a smile that made a certain sword rattle a bit, her runes slightly reddish, but she agreed to the rest Sofia suggested, so the runes were slowly disappearing as Sofia put the sword in her hold.

"Now lets run away from here" the Sofia outside run for the east coast of the island, while the one that was inside herself turned to her crew, Abyssal copies of the souls that perished seventy years ago in the Mayda Island in a failed attempt to escape from there.

"Captain" Sofia started "Remaining crew from my old days in mother's fleet, former prisoners from Spain that are now my crew, we are facing an escape from this island, I know that maybe this would bring painful memories for you, but please endure, I need your help to go to the humans and evade my old family, will you help me?"

To this plea, the Captain only shrugged "You know that I will follow you to the end of the earth if your way of thinking doesn't change, and I think that all the others think the same as me."

"You bet!" said the leader of the former prisoners, a man in his twenties with a green military suit that was known as Felipe "Whatever divisions we had in life doesn't matter now, after all we were born Spanish, and now we are your crew members same as the remaining Germans that accepted us"

At those words, Sofia stood prideful "Then I'll focus on evade the incoming artillery, I'll assign you the mission of finding a way to contact the shipgirls without alerting those two. Good luck to us all."

Letting her inside view fade out, Sofia focused in the running she made for the east coast of the island, evading the artillery Ruthless directed at her.

{The orders from Mother was bring her back alive Ruthless} radioed Hollow, concern in her voice as she was afraid for the incoming pain they'll suffer thanks to the situation they were in.

{I don't care!} replied Ruthless {Those bitches killed Tarasque before I could so they are my new prey! It's as easy as telling Mother if asked that they killed each other}

'Of course' thought Sofia, knowing well the battleship personality, not that they will help them for that, she had enough of it when she lived with them.
Spoiler: To the sea

Reaching the shore, she summoned her rigging and began to make her way to the east, where Great Britain was; she was faster than the other two Abyssals because they barely repaired their engines from Jen's attack, but she didn't know how long that will be true.

But inside of her two things were happening at the same time.

The first one was a conversation between a Spanish veteran engineer and a novice that got assigned to him after passing for other assignments without much luck.

"My boy" said the veteran with a strong Galician accent "What I'm doing now it's not something you can always do because it put a considerable strain in the engines." Having said that, he went to a closed maintenance box whose key he only had, unlocking it he grabbed a whiskey bottle from the inside and began to cross the corridor to his destination, the fuel tanks.

"But sir" said the novice "The whiskey would help us with the engines?"

Pausing for a moment, the veteran faced "Don't you dare! Do you think this is a movie? The whiskey is almost water so that would only make the engine cough and make us slower, but this" signaling the whiskey bottle, with a colorless fluid inside "is distilled alcohol, with this the engine would give us more power, but it will put more pressure in the engines."

With that said he emptied the bottle in the fuel tanks. "This is all I can do to help you girl, the rest is in your hands"

---------

The second one was the Captain discussing with the radio manager a plan to send a message to the shipgirls.

"Anything we dial they would be heard unless we use a specific wave length, but to use it we need to inform the shipgirls of the wave length without alerting our pursuers, that is our problem."

"Why don't we use the machine?" signaled the manager an ENIGMA machine sitting rear taking dust.

"Do you think there will be someone who can translate our message after all this years? We know from the human prisoners that our Germany is no more and I am glad about it, but they wouldn't have the codes to translate our message, any code they would have is useless unless we pass the exact one to them in some way..." the Captain trailed off a bit, his mind working on an idea that suddenly popped into his mind.

Weighting the idea against the risks it entailed and considering their pursuers personality, he decided to run with it.

"You have to set the radio in open transmission mode with the longest range you can and transmit this message." He began to write in a sheet of paper the commented message, as he was writing it, the manager's mouth began to stretch, forming an evil smile. "The last part of the message I will write it down once I get it"

Only a brief reply escaped from the manager's mouth "Oh they won't see it coming!"
---------------------

Thanks for reading, comments are always welcomed

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And it's time for a little more of Best Ehrendolch and her healing as we prepare for the start of Year Four. This is building on SkyeFire's superb Delilah/Ehren snippet here that took place 'last night' in the timeline. A Mourning of Monsters Also, i want to thank Gear-2557 for the music for this one. Thanks again!

A ButterDagger's Dream of a Daughter's Duty

19 August 2014

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium
Spoiler: A Dagger's Dreams

Ehren's pale-blond eyelashes fluttered as she yawned drowsily and began to stir.

She wasn't unfamiliar with the sensation of being cuddled in the mornings as she slowly awoke, of course.

Claire was the normal culprit who would cuddle her Kleiner Kuschelkäfer(Little cuddle bug) all night long. Some of Ehren's happiest memories were when she had awoken in the predawn gloom to just lie there with her eyes closed in perfect relaxation as she heard the musical snores of a certain Österreichischer Oktopus im Pyjama(Austrian octopus in pajamas) hugging her close like one of Claire's small army of plushies and stuffed animals.

Half-awake steel-blue eyes blinked and focused on the glowing and crackling embers of the fire that she had been staring into last night. Memories of the chat that she had shared with her aunt flickered through her drowsy brain in time with the soft popping sound of the wood being consumed. Ehren's eyes fluttered closed and she pulled the afghan quilted blanket closer around her and the sleeping Delilah.

Judging by the soft murmur of oddly disjointed words and phrases from Aunt Del, her aunt was the talkative sort when she slept and dreamed.

Just like Ehren was the kind who talked in her sleep, according to Claire.

With that drowsy insight, Ehren relaxed once more, her lips curling in a shy content smile as she listened to the babble of her aunt's voice and the pops of the fireplace.

Slowly but steadily, sleep began to pull her back into its warm embrace.

She yawned massively as she thought for the briefest instant that she could hear the faintest rhythmic throb of another heartbeat in the cozy warmth.

Her unborn cousin.

Aunt Del's firstborn.

Words spoken by her aunt last night passed through her relaxed form in a whisper of memory from the hidden place where they had lodged to reach her heart.

"After all, if I, a firearm, descended from the legendary murderous Muramasa swords of Japan, can somehow be a good person, a good aunt, a good mother, then so can my niece, the daughter of my sister, the single most heroic person I've ever known."

"Eine Gute Mutti...(A good mom)" Ehren whispered to herself, Aunt Del, and to the fire as she returned to dreamland....
-------------------

....and suddenly saw herself walking barefoot on a pebbled beach between the dark woodlands of an ancient beech forest and the steel-gray depths of the ocean. The sea breeze blew her unbound hair around her shoulders as she walked with a small shy smile on her face. This Ehren was dressed in Dirndlkleid, with the dark gray skirt down below her knees (producing a mental snort of laughter at her wearing a traditional Bavarian folk outfit from the Alps), and the white bodice blouse and apron properly tied and pressed in Ordnung. Ehren then blinked at the apron strings tied on her right hip, the sign in some regions that she was married.

"Eine Gute Mutti...."

"{Mutti, Mutti! Look!}" The words caused her to turn her viewpoint and the dream-Ehren followed suit to see a light blond haired little girl running toward her with a happy smile that showed that the Zahnfee had stolen away two of her milk teeth in exchange for coins left under the pillow as the child dreamed. "{Look what I found!!}"

Ehren in the dream and reality bent down to see the golden teardrop shape of a nugget of raw Baltic amber clutched in one grubby fist. "{Mutti, isn't it pretty? What is it?}" With a start Ehren realized that the child's eyes were the gold-brown of the amber that she held.

The dream-Ehren smiled. "{It's Amber, dear. The legends of Prussia are that they are the tears of the sea-goddess Jurate which she sheds for her dead love Kastytis.}" She gently ruffled the child's hair lovingly. "{Why don't you show what you found to your Vati too?}"

"Vati...."

Ehren suddenly realized the scene had frozen.

Even the waves and blowing leaves from the forest had frozen in their tracks.

Heavy breathing sounded from the forest behind her and she turned, instinctively stepping to shield the mother and child.

Facing her was a great wolf well over her height at the shoulder. A mouth that could have consumed her in a single bite opened, exposing ivory fangs as long and sharp as her true body. Golden eyes, the gold of the amber droplet in the child's hand, stared into hers.

Ehren spread her arms to block the way between the wolf and the family.

She looked into those golden eyes and spoke into the stillness with every ounce of courage in her frame. "I won't let you have them. You'll have to go through me first."

For a moment, all was still. Then with the suddenness of the instant between two heartbeats day turned to night. The Moon rose behind her, extending her black shadow out toward the dark forest. Silhouetted there now was an old abandoned manor house on a hill.

A fragment of one of her earliest memories surfaced, of Vati riding a horse with her on his hip up to this hill, this house before it had fallen into ruin.

Before The War.

Before Vati had... died.

She stared into those lupine eyes, now the steel gray of her Vati when she had seen him last and spoke again. "I'll protect them. No matter what."

She sensed a pregnant pause in Whomever observed her, as if more was required of her than that statement.

Another fragment of memory.

Of Vati's last words to her as he died in front of her, speaking of a family obligation. Of something terrible buried here that his family had watched over and kept quiescent.

Just like her aunt's responsibilities in the Black Hills that Ehren had agreed to assist with and shoulder one day for her.

To whom much is given, much is demanded.

She took a deep breath and felt the Wolf's eyes look into her heart and soul. "{I don't know yet what the family responsibilities are that Vati failed to discharge in his turn, but I will fulfill them to the limit of my capabilities and abilities as Ehren du Chasteler,}" she paused, thinking of the other half of her being, thinking of Vati, then continued in a resolute voice full of her steel, "{as well as according to my honor and ethics as Ehren von und zu Wolff. Tochter and only child of Helmar von und zu Wolff whose family estate this is.}"

With that the sun rose behind her and the trees grew up to obscure the manor house once more.

The wolf, now with eyes the liquid mahogany brown of her beloved sister Claire stepped back and jerked its -- her -- head for Ehren to follow. Gathering her courage, Ehren stepped away from the images of her self and her child and followed the massive canine into the dimly lit beech woods.
-------------------

Spoiler: A Dagger's Binding

How far she walked through the silent forest she did not know as she followed her guide.

The silence was oppressive, watchful, with invisible eyes seeming to peer into her heart and soul.

Even her footsteps on the dry leaves were swallowed up.

Finally they reached a clearing buried in the heart of the woods.

The dead and dying leaves lay thick here, surrounding the twin arcs of weathered and moss-covered boulders set in an oval shape.
Spoiler: Velna Laiva

A pair of of figures waited for her.

To the right, a beautiful blond haired woman wearing an exquisite masterwork gold and amber necklace that sparkled in the sunlight stood and petted the twin black cats in her arms. Her falcon-feather cloak rustled as her hawk-like blue eyes surveyed the young dagger.

To the center, a Native American woman in spotless white deerskin, and braided hair so black that it was almost blue looked at her with dark brown eyes -- the brown of the buffalo who had tested her courage and spirit during her first trip to Aunt Del's ranch in the Black Hills.

As Ehren stood, transfixed by the twin gazes, the wolf walked to their side, shifting into Claire as she did.

Albeit a Claire dressed in wolf furs and crude leather that made Ehren think of when she read The Clan of the Cave Bear.

From somewhere -- either from the trio of women looking into her, judging her, the ancient stone circle, or the woods surrounding her -- words came to her ears.

"{Blood calls to Blood, child of Erik Ulv, and Iron calls to Iron. Blood and Iron fettered what is here. Blood and Iron keeps the door to the prison shut. Blood and Iron is the key that locks the door. Blood and Iron guides those who must walk the path with honorable duty.}"

At a silent prompt, Ehren stepped out into the clearing.

When she did, her clothing shifted to the black and silver of the SS and her true body weighed down her hip at the first step that she took toward the waiting stones.

At the next step mist flowed from the trees surrounding her.

With her third step, the mist formed into ghosts. Generation upon generation of them standing in serried ranks surrounding her.

Priests.

Wizards.

Soldiers.

Witches.

Teutonic Knights.

Guardians.

Another step while the multitude of eyes surveyed her, staring at her in judgement.

The final step took her to a massive boulder at the head of the oval.

Her fingers rubbed moss off the weathered and stained stone to reveal a cross within a shield and worn runes chiseled into the granite. Slowly she read aloud, puzzling them out as magic surged from within the carved stone to illuminate them. "Járn til keðju, blóð til að binda, skylda til að vaka yfir, heiður til blindra?"(Iron to chain, blood to bind, duty to watch over, honor to the blind)

Blood... and Iron.

With that insight, Muramasa steel flashed in the sunlight as she drew herself.

Blue eyes twinkled and a smile split inhumanly perfect lips as Valfreyja witnessed this ritual as she had done so time and again in this place as an Ulv reached adulthood.

A falcon screamed as Ehren hefted her true self.

Carmine droplets watered the dead beech leaves at her feet as Kruppstahl's caress parted the skin of Ehren's palm.

The thunder of the hooves of a million upon a million buffalo shook the clearing as White Buffalo Woman solemnly observed this step upon the path of honor and duty laid before one who would be her Medicine Woman one day if she chose to be Called to the duty demanded of her.

In far-distant Moulbaix, Delilah Naomi de Breuil-Muramasa, Medicine Woman of White Buffalo Woman awoke suddenly with her niece in her arms from where her spirit had wandered in her dreams.

A bloody palm smote the stone, marking it -- and marking herself -- to bind to this place in dream as one day she would be bound in reality as the Warden.

The howl of Wolf-Mother sounded through Ehren's soul as Delilah's arms tightened protectively on her and she awoke once more with the rising of the dawn.

In far-distant Moulbaix a piano's avatar smiled in triumph in her sleep as her form blurred in her dreams to that of a great ebony and ivory wolf as she ran under the starlight and snow to the sounds of a piano and violin duet.

Blood and Iron, a hand placed where generation upon generation of the von und zu Wolff family... and the Wolfs before them... and the Ulvs before them had placed their hands in turn to take up the family's burdens of duty and honor: of sworn oaths kept and a watch set.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Frown on his face, the Auror scratched his head some as he waved his wand around in a specific pattern, "It has to be around here somewhere..." Eyes scanning the area, all he could see is the usual farmland of the polder with a single, somewhat rocky hill rising a little above the rest, probably once an island when this area was underwater. Sighing, he turned at the sound of a pop beside him and turned to look at the younger man who just appeared, "Anything?"

The answer he got made the first Auror's frown deepen, "Nothing, though there are heightened levels of magic."

A third voice then spoke up and they turned to a woman wearing shorts and shirt, "Heightened levels of magic? Is that... good or bad?"

Pausing only to give the younger Auror an elbow to the stomach when he stared at the woman a touch too long, the elder of the two shook his head, "Depends on the type of magic, Doctor De Haas." Running his hand through his thinning hair, he grimaced some before casting another spell and furrowing his eyebrow, "Though... it's not dark magic. Or light magic really, just... natural. Huh... that is odd."

Doctor De Haas nodded and looked around herself, gaze falling on a military truck nearby that had some soldiers bringing out equipment, "Well... odd certainly does seem to describe this situation. But..." Once more looking around, she shook her head, "This is where the recent earthquakes are centered. I do appreciate the help that your Ministry is lending to the investigation."

Tipping his hat some, the younger Auror chuckled, "Well, Doctor, we are loyal to the House of Orange. And with how things are changing..." He shrugged a little and gestured around them, "It is best to start working together."

Only frowning as she looked at her tablet, the Doctor narrowed her eyes some, "I just wish that I knew what was causing these tremors. Are there any records on your end of... some sort of complex that could be collapsing?"

His arms crossed, the older Auror shook his head, "None, and trust me, we made damn sure to search every inch of the Netherlands for any surprises that Grindelwald left behind, that bastard. But... while we found some and disposed of what was inside, they were pretty small and for troops. Nothing big enough to cause tremors."

Grimace on her face, De Haas looked back at her tablet with a deep furrow above her eyebrows, "This is strange. According to you, there's no magical constructions, and I still have issue with magic being real, by the way. The geology below ground is all wrong for earthquakes generally. In fact, the only earthquakes we get are from tectonic pressure from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on the continent of Europe being relieved. We've tested the groundwater and there's nothing. Though-"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook and everyone looked around. Unlike before, the tremors did not stop after a minute and the trees on the nearby hill shook even as cracks formed in the earth. As the tremors continued, one crack had what seemed like steam or mist coming from it. Nearly falling to her knees, if not for the younger Auror, De Haas' eyes whipped to her tablet as an alarm sounded from the UAV that just flew through the steam, seeing that, the younger of the two magicals blinked as he tried to keep them both on their feet, "What's with the alarm?!"

Eyes wide as she tapped, the doctor shook her head and turned to him, "It's CO2! Carbon dioxide! That steam is filled with it, but there's nothing volcanic around to cause it..."

Noticing that she was trailing off as yet another tremor hit, the older Auror made his way over on unsteady limbs, "What is it, Doctor?" From somewhere nearby, there was a rumble and the Auror nearly fell before shouting, "WHAT IS IT, DOCTOR!?"

Completely stunned, she pointed, "THE TREES! LOOK AT THE TREES!"

Both Aurors looked at one another and turned to the hill nearby. Bits of dirt and detritus fell from said hill, as well as the odd tree while the others swayed. At first, they couldn't understand what she was shouting about...

Then, they realized that the entire hill was raising upwards, the ground buckling for yards around it. Centuries of sediment from when it was underwater flung into the air as the hill rocked from side to side. Then, along the crack where the steam was coming from, came another loud rumble that shook them to their bones before the ground lifted upwards.

Various soldiers fell back with the two Aurors staring in stunned amazement as a massive reptilian head rose from the ground. The top of it's head was covered in massive and thick, flat scales. Even the smallest of them were big enough to park a car on. Along the back of the head, there were small horns, though small was a bit of a misnomer as each was the size of a man. Meanwhile, poking out from the beak could be seen some teeth, with two giant tusks the size of an pickup truck curling up near the back.

Even as the stunned humans watched, another long crack grew along the ground until a massive flipper broke out of the earth, showering them with dirt and small pebbles which made the two Aurors scramble back towards the soldiers who were getting the trucks up and running as they shouted before being muted as the turtle, which it was, had another flipper break free and gave a loud hiss with steam coming from it's mouth.

Mouth working, even as she recorded the event, de Haas shook her head as she shouted over the noise, "WHAT IS IT?!"

Reaching the safety of the truck, the elder Auror watched as the turtle continued trying to break out of where it had been sleeping for likely centuries under the ground. Long enough that humans turned the water into land, "I... I don't believe it... it's an aspidochelone... my Grandfather used to tell me tales that he learned from his grandfather. B-but they were just stories... because they went extinct, vanishing from the sea."

One of the soldiers, watching as the blue whale sized turtle jerked forward, getting partway out of the hole, glanced at the Auror, "I don't think that they went extinct."

Simply looking at him, the Auror turned back as the aspidochelone pulled itself from the hole and began to use it's flippers to push itself forward, "Aye... I don't think that they are either..."

________________________________________________________________________

"{... As shown by the video taken via helicopter, the turtle, now known as 'Duchess Flevo' after one brave herpetologist got close enough to determine gender, has climbed over the ramp provided to one of the dykes and has entered the Ijsselmeer, where shipgirls have begun to guide it towards another ramp that will let it into the North Sea. While animal rights groups protested how the Dutch military used flamethrowers to force the turtle from the paths it took, the Dutch Armed Forces noted that they never touched the animal with them. Rather, it avoided the heat from them, and thus avoided a number of towns and homes in the area...}"

Sipping his tea, Harry watched as the giant turtle began swimming, a few trees still on it's back. Trees which a number of soldiers on the back began to remove via helicopter as it continued to move. Only shaking his head, the wizard ran a hand through his hair, "It was sleeping there the whole time?"

From the couch, Shiromizu shrugged a little bit with her own wide eyed look, "I guess..." Suddenly, she blinked as a thought occurred to her, "Huh, I wonder if that was one of the things that he meant."

Confused, the teenage wizard looked over at her as he flipped a pancake, "One of the things? And who?"

Blinking, Shiromizu looked over at him, "Oh, Tenjin-Sama. He had this seminar where he talked about the levels of magic rising worldwide. One of the things he mentioned in it was that some creatures hibernate through times when levels are lower, like we were, and awaken once levels reach a certain height."

That made Harry stare at her for a few moments before his mind grasped on one part in particular, "Wait, wait... levels were lower recently? I mean..."

With a hum, the Mizuchi slithered off the couch and made her way towards the fridge, "Hai, it surprised me as well." Pulling out a carton of orange juice, she poured some into a glass as she glanced at him, "Apparently they were heading even lower and none of the Kami expected them to start rising upwards until they hit bottom sometime in the 2100s, getting back up to higher levels starting in the 2400s. But the war caused them to start rising upwards in spikes."

Eyebrow raised, Harry considered that as the pancake he made joined the others on a plate, "Huh..." It took a moment, but he connected a few dots in his mind, "Because of summoning and such?"

Snatching one of the pancakes, Shiromizu nodded as she smeared it with blackcurrant jelly, then rolling it up, "Got it in one, the amount of magical and spiritual energy from that is causing it world-wide to shoot upwards. Apparently, they're reaching levels that haven't been around for a couple hundred years." Taking a bite of her pancake, she chewed it and swallowed before continuing, "Which he stated means that things hibernating could be waking up soon."

Frown on his face, the fourteen year old grimaced a little bit, "That... could be troublesome." Glancing at the television, he shook his head, "Really troublesome."

With a shrug, Shiromizu didn't say anything and simply watched as he rolled up some of the pancakes with peanut butter inside of them. Others, he squeezed out some honey and cream into before doing the same. Continuing to chew her own, she hummed before looking at him, "Heading to another practice with Ayase-San?"

Smile on his face, Harry chuckled some, "Hai, we're going to be doing some more Kenjutsu practice. I'm enjoying it because, well..."

Grin on her face, his sister figure snickered, "She doesn't kick your arse all over the place during your matches." At his slight sour look, she snickered some more, but then Shiromizu shrugged, "Not that I blame you, that can get tiring really quick."

Only sighing, Harry nodded slightly, "Tell me about it." He then turned nodded towards the peanut butter pancakes, "Those, however, are for Natsumi-Chan when I meet up with her later. After all, tomorrow she's heading out on a trip."

It took a few seconds, but Shiromizu nodded, "That's right, she's going to Rome, correct?"

Humming, he gave another shrug, "Hai, she is. Apparently, with the World Cup in a little more than a week, this is the perfect time to go since all the focus is on it. So they don't need to worry as much about people paying attention and can go on vacation." Thoughtful, Harry frowned a little, 'I wonder what Tamamo might tell her considering that Taiyang mentioned she, Tamamo, went to Rome centuries ago...'

Meanwhile, Shiromizu sighed a little and stretched, "Well, hopefully she enjoys it. I'll be busy back at my mountain as the drilling that I told you about is nearly finished. And I also got to inspect the new indoor farm."

That caused Harry to give her an interested look, "The one the size of a house, right?"

Only nodding, the Mizuchi smiled some, "Hai, with three floors. Well, it looks like a three floored house from the outside. Inside? I've been told that each floor is the size of a small stadium, with the lower one being a fish pond. They figure that they'll be able to grow enough to feed the whole mountain and then some."

Simply nodding, Harry smiled back at her though soon enough he left to head to practice with Ayase.

An hour later found the place where he met Ayase filled with the sound of wood meeting wood, and sometimes flesh or body armor. Counter and attack meeting attack and counter. Both Harry and the Light Cruiser trading blows as they defended and blocked as well as deflect, or went on the attack. Neither let up on the other and, this time, it was the teenage boy who lost.

Sitting back on the grass, Harry pulled off his helmet with a grin on his face before holding up his hand, "Okay... I think that's enough for one day."

Just sitting down beside him, the Light Cruiser had a flushed face as she nodded, "Agreed, Harry-Chan. I, too, think that is enough." Breathing heavily, she leaned back, "Just give me a second and we can... begin our cool down stretches."

Rather than say anything, Harry simply nodded as he began to pull off his armor. With the August heat and humidity combined with the strain of the exercise, streams of sweat ran down his face and neck, causing his shirt to stick to his skin. Something that Ayase noted which made her thankful that her face was already flushed from exertion.

Quickly, she turned her attention to getting her own armor off, not noticing that she had much the same problem as Harry. And, like her, said boy found himself distracted by how her shirt clung to her, and her chest heaving as she sucked in lungful's of air. Also, like her, he tried his best to pay attention to something else.

When their cool down was finally done, however, the teenage wizard dabbed at his neck with a towel before pulling out iced coffee, which the Light Cruiser accepted with relief, "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

Lips twitching, Harry chuckled a little, "You're welcome, Ayase-Chan." Pulling out a box, he opened it to reveal the honey and cream pancakes, "Want some?"

In response, Ayase licked her lips and reached over for one, "I'll take that, Harry-Chan." Biting down on one, she happily hummed before licking a bit of cream from her lips, "Mmm."

The teenage wizard lightly laughed at that as he bit into his own, "I don't think that I'll have to ask if you enjoyed it."

Only shaking her head, Ayase smiled at him happily, "No, I don't think that you will, Harry-Chan." After a few minutes, she finished off the last of the snack and stretched, not noticing the teenage boy's eyes next to her follow her body as she did so. With a sigh, the Sendai turned to Harry and found him a little bit flushed, "Something wrong?"

Simply shaking his head, Harry gave her a smile, "Nah, just getting a bit hot." Crumpling the box he had used, and picking up the cans, he jerked his head a little, "Anyways, we should get going then."

Falling into step beside him, the shipgirl smiled some, "Sounds good to me, Harry-Chan." As they began to walk, they continued to chat until Harry brought up something that made her blink, "You're wondering if I am going to be getting a sword soon?"

Harry nodded a little and tilted his head to the side, "Hai, after all I heard from Hibiki-Chan that Tenryuu-Oba has pretty much decided to clear you."

That brought a blush to Ayase's cheeks and she looked away for a moment, "I... she stated that she will give me my license in September. But even if I have been cleared? The waiting list for a sword to be forged is months long. So even with her backing me, I wouldn't be able to even order until early next year." Then, she smiled at Harry, "I'm still happy about it just the same and I cannot wait to get one."

Humming, the wizard nodded at that, "I see..."

Internally, he turned his thoughts back to a letter he had received from a certain swordsmith. According to him, the blade for Ayase was coming along very well. Not to mention, the Kitsune had been very happy with the load of sea coal that he had sent from Britain as well as the "Log" of jet, which he could burn. Same with the amber oil as well. The letter had stated that the payment had been paid in full as well. Something that made him very happy indeed.

But Harry let none of that show on his face to Ayase. After all, it was a surprise for the Light Cruiser, he only hoped that she enjoyed it. Especially as it would arrive come Christmas...