Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

And a little bit of a quick bit:
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Utter silence met Haru at her declaration until Unryuu spoke up. "A way to purify that island? I hope that this does not turn out how I heard Nakanotorishima did."

A snort escaped from Haru as she shook her head. "Hardly." Leaning back, she smirked a little at the gathered shipgirls. "Nakanotorishima was brute forcing the issue. The way that I came across is a bit more... of a slow burn, I suppose the best way to put it would be."

Blinking, Harry tilted his head some. "A slow burn? How so?"

In reply, Haru reached into her clothes and pulled out an ofuda that she slid further onto the table. "This is a purification ofuda that I made under the direction of the Kami. Having gotten in touch with Albus Dumbledore, he was willing to part with a very small amount of ashes from Fawkes to use in the ink. And the brush that I used for them was from the set that you gave me, made from unicorn hair."

There were raised eyebrows from everyone there outside of Harry, the two American shipgirls, and Goto himself. Almost as one, they began murmuring among themselves. Then Hiyou spoke up in awe. "That... would be incredibly potent for purification."

Somewhat thoughtful, Ryuujou frowned as she looked at the ofuda and then up at Haru. "May I?" At her nod, she gently took it and examined it carefully, Harry doing so from beside her. "This... holy crap, this would purify just about anything. But even one or two would not..."

As Ryuujou trailed off, Junyou grunted as she crossed her arms and looked at Haru. Even she could see the small bags under the kitsune's eyes. "Wouldn't do enough. But if we have a lot more then just two..."
Lips twitching, Haru nodded. "Exactly."

It was then that Harry blinked and his eyes widened as he realized what was going on. "A lot of us can use ofuda... Is that why we're here?"

Proud, Haru grinned, but it was Natsumi who answered. "Yup! We're all going to place ofuda in particular spots on the island and then set them off. These ones won't go off like explosions but more an... aura, of purification." She then shrugged a bit. "The effects will overlap each other and extend it until it covers the whole island. All of you can use them, so we can cover and power more of them. Think of it as a slow burn rather then an explosion as it would take a few weeks to be done."

Suddenly, there was a cough and they all turned to Arizona who frowned from where she was beside Enterprise. "That's rather interesting, but it brings up one question though. Why us?"

Now uncomfortable, Haru looked at her directly. "I assume that you know the history behind the island, Arizona-San? In particular what went on there during the war?"

Even as the Battleship nodded, Enterprise frowned. "She might, but I don't. What's the big deal?"

For a moment, Haru was silent and then sighed. "It's... pretty horrible but..."

She then launched into an explanation and by the time it was done, Arizona's expression was stony despite having been told it before. Enterprise though stood up and slammed a hand, palm down, onto the table. "Are you fucking shitting me, Haru? Fucking prisoners of war were enslaved there with magic and forced to work until they fucking died!?"

Very slowly, the kitsune nodded. "That... is exactly what happened, I'm afraid." A grimace crossed her face before she shook her head. "I've been attempting divination to find where they might be buried so that they can be properly laid to rest once the SoS is broken and we can do so, but the interference from everything has... prevented me from doing so fully."

Unryuu had her eyes closed but nodded. "And I am assuming that their spirits are still there on the island. Restless and roaming about."

With a sigh, Goto nodded. "That's what I've been told. I didn't believe it but..." Turning to the disk player in the desk, Goto pulled a disk out of his pocket and then slipped it into said player. Moments later, the lights in the room lowered and they turned to the screen as he turned the player on. "Naka set up several cameras on the island and caught... well, this."

On the screen, there was an image of the interior of the island as it switched from different viewpoints. It was day time and the vegetation was moving in the breeze. Frowning, Enterprise just raised an eyebrow. "What are we looking fo-What the fuck was that!?"

However, Goto didn't replay it as it focused in on one of the spots where what looked like a shadow of a man could just barely be seen walking with no one attached. Then it went through several views and showed similar "Shadows" going about. In at least one of them, several of them were gathered around one and seemed to be attacking it.

But then the view switched to light and everyone outside of Goto and the two Miko, who had already seen it, sucked in breaths.

All across the island, orbs of light could be seen drifting or moving. Not one or two, or even dozens... but hundreds of them. Some of them were larger then others, with the two largest staying away from the rest and retreating when they came close. They dipped and flew everywhere. In the meeting room, Arizona's eyes roamed across the images which then went to thermal and showed that the air temperature was cold in the caldera, but the orbs were even colder, showing up as nearly black against the background. "My God..."

Goto slowly nodded with his lips set in a grim line. "That was rather my own reaction to this..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Enterprise, meanwhile, was just silent, though she knew that her crew was royally, utterly pissed off at the moment. However, one look at the Japanese shipgirls though caused her to relax some. Even her crew couldn't help but see how ashamed they look. 'Right... they came back to redeem themselves and right the wrongs of the past. Move it to the side, E. You'll have all the time you need in the future to deal with that.' Clearing her throat, she then looked directly at Haru. "That's a lot of ghosts there. So I'm assuming that is why you want myself and Arizona there? I survived the war and was well known enough while Arizona..."

As Enterprise's voice trailed off, Arizona grunted. "While I'm well known enough that my own forgiveness will go a long way." Looking back to the screen, Arizona shook her head. "It does make a certain amount of sense."

Slowly, Haru nodded. "It is both my hope and that of the Kami that you'll be able to convince them to move on to the afterlife. The ofuda will slowly erode the bindings for them in that time. Once that is done, the rest of the island can be purified in short order." Then she spread her hands out. "Or that is the hope anyways."

Rapidly drumming her fingers on the desk, Enterprise finally nodded. "That makes some sense." Glancing over at the thoughtful Battleship she raised an eyebrow. "So, you in Arizona?"

After almost a minute, Arizona nodded. "I'll help out best that I can." The Battleship then turned towards Haru with a frown. "You'll have to explain what we need to do however."

Only chuckling, Haru shook her head. "Simply speak with them, that is all that we need you to do. Hopefully, that will be enough to lay them to rest."

Coughing, Enterprise then spoke up again. "There is something though that I want." At their looks, she raised an eyebrow until they nodded. "I want Princess and Nagato there with us."

A frown on his face, Goto slowly nodded as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't see a major issue with either Nagato or... Yamato being there, but why?"

Leaning back, the Americans Carrier smirked. "Why? Nagato was the Pride of the IJN during the war. And Yamato was practically recognizable at a glance for any Japanese there. Arizona and myself sailing into view with them would get the point across to any ghosts. And if needed, they can pull that whole 'I'm a representative of the Emperor' stuff that I heard they can to any Japanese ghosts."

Finger tapping against her chin, Haru hummed a bit. "That would work rather well in this case, I think. Yes, I think that we can use that."

Meanwhile, Harry was examining a map that Natsumi had rolled out. Said map was split into "Sectors" for each of them to handle and Harry blinked at the one marked out for him. "Um... Haru-San...?"

Simply blinking as she looked over at him, Haru nodded some. "Yes, Harry-Chan? Is something the matter?"

There was a frown on Harry's face as he tapped the map. "Not really, just wondering something." He waited for her to nod before he continued. "You gave me where the ships are as where I am setting up the ofuda... Can I ask why?"

For several moments Haru was quiet before she shook her head. "Harry-Chan, you have a skill that the rest of us lack which is what we need here." Seeing his confusion, the kitsune smiled. "You're actually able to dive. I've encased the ofuda you'll be using between two sheets of plastic and sealed it to prevent water getting at them. However... we need someone to place them underwater before activating them and being as the only onmyouji user able to dive is you..."

Biting his lip, Harry considered this for several moments before taking a deep breath. "Do I just place the ofuda underwater against the wrecks? Or do I... go inside them?"

There was a grimace on Haru's face and she glanced at Natsumi who seemed to be worried. "You can place them against the wrecks, but it would be best to make it them inside. I'm not about to ask you to endanger yourself though and go deep into them. Someone will be right above you watching at all times though. Just in case... and while your Kaa-San isn't too pleased, she's willing to allow it as long as you feel you can do it."

Silence fell as they watched Harry who was examining the map. A scoff though caused them to all look up to see Enterprise smirking. "Tell you what, Kiddo, I'll make sure that you're covered while your working and aren't down there alone."

Eyes wide, Harry stared at her. "I didn't know that you dive, Enterprise!"

It took a moment before Enterprise snapped out of her surprise at what he said and shook her head. "Actually... I don't. Being underwater like that gives me the heebie jeebies something fucking fierce."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Ryuujou frowned at the larger Carrier. "But you just said that you'd make sure that he wouldn't be down there alone. If you're not going to be diving with him, then how?"

With a grin spreading across her face, Enterprise closed her fist for a few moments before turning and opening it. On the palm of her hand, several fairies stood examining the shipgirls. "These guys will be heading down with him."

Leaning for a better look, Ooyodo took a better look. "And who might they be?" At seeing the raised eyebrows of the fairies, she shrugged. "No offense."

Just snorting, Enterprise shook her head. "And you wonder why your DamCom was shit. These guys are repair divers. If I was damaged, it was their job to go underwater and make repairs. Dangerous as fuck, but they know their stuff and can have your back."

One of the fairies stepped off Enterprise's hand and then walked over to Harry. Coming to a stop in front of him, the fairy frowned before crossing his arms. "Hey, hey hey hey hey hey? Hey hey hey?"

Blinking, Harry frowned for a moment. "What depth can I go to?" After the fairy nodded, he shrugged. "Just did the course last year again, so... forty feet is about the limit that I'm qualified for."

Slowly, the fairy nodded before tilting his head. "Hey, hey hey hey hey hey."

With a snort, Harry raised an eyebrow. "Of course I'd listen to you guys down there. You're more experienced after all."

That only got him a nod from the fairy. "Hey."

With that, it walked back to Enterprise's hand and got onto it before she closed it. The Carrier then smiled at Harry before ruffling his hair. "Don't worry, kiddo. My boys will make sure that you're safe, you're in very good hands after all."

All Harry did was nod before he turned to Goto. "Um, Teitoku? You don't happen to have photographs of the area, do you? That way I know before hand what the area looks like?"

Chuckling, Goto nodded. "I'll make sure that you get them when you leave. Now then, moving on to the next area..."
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Once the meeting was finally over, Harry headed back to the quarters that he shared with the rest of his adopted family. Coming into view of it though, he came to a stop. This was due mainly because he could see both Jane and Kiyoshimo in front of his door whispering. For some odd reason though, the black haired boy knew that he was going to regret what was likely to happen. And rather then walk away, he just walked towards them. "Hi, Jane! What are you doing here?"

Turning, Jane grinned before running over and giving her adopted cousin a hug. "Harry! We were just looking for you!" Still hugging him, she giggled a bit. "Anyways, I came up with Ari-Mama."

Beside her, Kiyoshimo nodded with a grin. "Yup! And now that you're here we can get down to business and talk, because we need your help for this."

Slowly, Harry raised an eyebrow before he nodded some. "Okay, just let me open the door so we can all go inside." Almost a minute later, Harry had opened his fridge and was rooting around in it. "We got some juice if you want it?"

All the two girls did was nod with Jane smiling. "That sounds great."

A few seconds later, he was sitting down and watching as the two girls practically vibrated in place. Before he could ask though, Kiyoshimo began to dig in a bag at her side. "You know the Duckies, right? And how they like food?"

Blinking, Harry just nodded. "Yeah, I know. But what does that have to do with anything?"

Grinning, Jane wagged a finger at him. "Because, Cuz, they bought books on magical cooking and stuff. And Kiyoshimo overheard them talking about one item in particular."

Before Harry could ask, Kiyoshimo let out a triumphant shout and pulled a book from her bag. "Got it! You won't believe what it is, Harry-Chan!"

However, Harry was focused on something else. "Did... did you two actually steal from Akizuki-Chan and her sisters?! Really?!"

Shaking her head, Jane sighed. "We didn't steal, we borrowed. Just like Albie taught me... They're also out on patrol so they won't miss it and I'll put it back when we're done. Anyways, that's not the important thing."

Harry was just about to comment when Kiyoshimo shoved the open book in his face and pointed at something. "Look right here, Harry-Chan! This could let me finally become a Battleship!"

All that could be heard was the slow ticking of the Yuudachi-Dog clock mounted on the wall, it's tail going back and forth. Finally, Harry blinked and pushed the book slightly away. "What."

Sighing, Kiyoshimo shoved the book back in his face before pointing at the same spot again. "Dragon milk cheese, Harry! Cheese, made from dragon's milk. Milk... from dragons!"

Once more, Harry blinked before he answered. "Okay, and so?"

Simply throwing her hands up into the air, Kiyoshimo turned towards Jane in exasperation. "Why can't he understand?! This is easy!"

The girl only shook her head before patting her friend on the shoulder. "It's okay, Kiyoshimo. You can't blame him for being dense, he is a boy after all."

Eyebrow twitching on his forehead, Harry gave her a slight glare. "I'm right here, you know." At her snickers, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you found cheese made from milk that comes from dragons'? That's... great and everything I guess? So what's the big deal?"

Still exasperated, the Destroyer turned towards Jane. "Can you explain it? Because he doesn't seem to get it."

Nodding, Jane turned towards Harry and sighed. "Okay, it's like this... Normal milk, from cows, makes you grow up big and strong, right? And if you drink a lot of it, you grow up really big and strong and get like, big boobs or something."

That got her looks from both Kiyoshimo and Harry. It was the Destroyer though who spoke up. "Wait, really?"

All Jane did was shrug before she shook her head. "That's what I overheard some girls saying at school. Don't know if it's true or not though."

Kiyoshimo just crossed her arms and frowned thoughtfully. "Huh... I've seen Musashi-Onee-San drinking a lot of milk, so maybe that's why she's got such big fuel tanks..."

With a shrug, Jane turned back to Harry who was giving them both weird looks. "Anyways, so normal milk makes you big and strong. So it stands to reason that magical milk does so even more! But dragon's milk? That would be the best!"

Quickly nodding, Kiyoshimo grinned. "Yeah! Dragons are among the biggest and most powerful magical creatures after all. So drinking their milk should do the same to us! And for a Destroyer like me, that means becoming a Battleship!"

Also nodding, Jane laughed. "And so will I! Heck, you can drink it and also become a Battleship!"

Head tilting to the side, Harry only blinked in confusion. "Um... I'm pretty sure that it doesn't work like that..."

While rolling her eyes, Jane waved him off. "Of course it does! And since you're a wizard, you can go and get us some, right Cuz?"

More then a minute passed as Harry slowly considered this. The logic was... extremely convoluted to say the least. But, there was an odd sense to it. Even if said sense only made sense to shipgirls and those who have grown up alongside them. Finally, Harry nodded. "Sure, I'll see what I can do then."

Now both girls practically launched themselves across the table to hug the black haired wizard much to hisnconfusion. But then he shrugged it off as it made them happy, even if he was still unsure about the whole thing. Several moments later, they lapsed into silence again until Kiyoshimo spoke up. "I just wonder one thing..."

Both Harry and Jane looked towards her in confusion with the female of the two speaking up. "Oh?"

Slowly, Kiyoshimo nodded before tilting her head. "How do you milk a dragon anyways?"

Harry just raised a finger. "Oh, that's easy." When they looked at him, he closed his eyes and smiled. "Very carefully."

All Jane did was reach for the book and lightly bop him on the head with it.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking out at the chaos, Kana only blinked before she slowly turned towards Fubuki. Said Destroyer's expression could be best described as "Cat who not only ate the canary, but drove the dog nuts, has a bowl full of cream, and a crown on her head". Needless to say, the Tosa Class Battleship only blinked. "Um..."

A pat on her arm though caused her to turn to see Mutsuki there with a slight smile. "Don't worry about it, Kana-Chan. Fubuki-Chan is just..."

Yuudachi then took over. "Enjoying some revenge, Poi."

With a blink, Kana turned towards Yuudachi with a confused expresson. It had been a simple convoy escort to the Philippines. Until, that is, they reached the local shipgirl base and Fubuki had unleashed chaos upon it. And now the Destroyer was just grinning madly as she watched. "Revenge...?"

Slowly, Yuudachi nodded and crossed her arms as she sighed. "Fubuki-Chan and Captain Darren... do not get along, Poi."

On Mutsuki's face there was a deadpan expression as she snorted. "That's putting it mildly, Yuudachi-Chan." Realizing that Kana was still confused, the Destroyer shook her head. "Captain Darren is always teasing and trolling poor Fubuki-Chan every time we show up here. And Fubuki-Chan... tries her best to ignore it, but sometimes..."

Eyes widening, Kana stomped one of her feet down and shattered concrete beneath it. "He makes fun of Fubuki-Sempai!? Why!?"

Just shrugging, Yuudachi shook her head. "Who knows? It's just who he is, poi."

Snorting, Kana then shook her head. "Then he deserves whatever is coming to him. He shouldn't be making fun of Fubuki-Sempai or teasing her! Especially since he's an officer."

There was a blush on Fubuki's face at this as she was still not used to being a "Sempai", let along one to a Battleship. It didn't help that Kaga had, personally, told her to take care of her little sister. At the moment though, she was just too happy with how her revenge was going and so reached up the best that she could and patted Kana on the head. "Thank you, Kana-Kun, I appreciate it."

Heavily blushing, Kana only nodded and leaned slightly into the headpat. 'Fubuki-Sempai is patting my head! Fubuki-Sempai is patting me on the head!' A sigh then escaped her. 'I will never wash my head again...'

Rather amused at the look of pure, Sempai derived bliss on the Battleship's face, Mutsuki chuckled a bit. Glancing at Yuudachi and seeing the grin on her face, Mutsuki snorted some. When Kana had been attached to them in order to help her gain experience, they had been rather confused. That had turned rapidly into amusement when they realized that Kana was like a Battleship version of Fubuki when it came to "Sempais", but directed at Fubuki unlike said Destroyer's focus on Carriers such as Akagi. The fact that Fubuki didn't quite seem to know how to deal with it had, if anything, increased the amusement. Shaking it off though, Mutsuki turned back to what they were seeing in front of them and frowned. "Sometimes Fubuki-Chan does give as good as she gets right back though... and when she is sufficiently annoyed, Darren usually regrets it."

Nodding rapidly, Yuudachi smiled. "Yeah, like that time that Fort Drum was looking for him, Poi. And Darren was hiding from her until Fubuki-Chan pointed him out. That really got under his skin."

Simply frowning, Mutsuki tilted her head to the side and hummed. "But this though..."

From a distance away, Darren's voice could be heard. "OH! GODOKA, SAVE US ALL!"

Tapping her chin, Yuudachi nodded some. "Yeah, this is a bit much, Fubuki-Chan..."

Just blinking and stopping her headpats to Kana, much to the Battleship's disappointment, Fubuki turned to her two friends. "It's not that bad." At their looks, she shrugged. "Really, it's not."

Bringing up a finger, Mutsuki pointed. "What about Murakumo-San? She's caught right in the middle of that! And she's your Imouto!"

However, Fubuki only clapped her hands in front of her face and bowed some. "I shall pray to the Kami for her soul and thank her for her brave sacrifice. And then I will carry on for her."

At that moment, Murakumo could be heard shouting. "THEY'RE MULTIPLYING! MULTIPLYING!"

Fubuki sighed and the went into a pose with her fist clenched in front of her face as she faced the sun. "Yes, I shall thank her. But there is nothing that I can do for her, sadly."

Eyes wide, Kana just stared at her. 'Fubuki-Sempai is so cool...'

Meanwhile, Mutsuki shook her head some and scratched her cheek. "Um..." Then she turned back to the chaos. "I'm still surprised that you... managed to keep some of those things until now."

Tilting her head, Yuudachi blinked. "But how are they multiplying like that? I don't remember them being able to do that..."

Only waving her off, Fubuki shrugged. "I... asked for some favors from some who know magic."

Then she turned back to see a freaking out Captain Darren attempting to club an Incubator doll, which then turned into two as it blinked at him, tail swishing behind. "So then, is that a no to making a contract with us?"

All it got was another scream and attempt to kill it while in the background, Murokumo was attempting to cut others apart.
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Bored where she sat in the back of the Zodiac, Natsumi sighed some as she glanced around before catching sight of Harry bent over something. With a small blink, she shifted until she was facing him. "Are you checking your gear again, Harry-Chan?"

Glancing at her, Harry gave a small smile before he nodded. "I am."

Slowly, Natsumi raised her eyebrows as she continued to watch him. "This is what? Your third or fourth time checking it? Nervous?"

Just shrugging, Harry frowned. "Well, maybe a little nervous. But not that much really. And, well... I kind of got reason to be." Then he turned back to his work. "I'm mainly just checking everything to make sure that it works though. Can't be too careful after all."

Raising an eyebrow, Natsumi frowned. "Okay..." Looking over his equipment, she suddenly furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, shouldn't you have a wetsuit or something? Unless... you're just diving in your swimshorts."

With a soft snicker, Harry lifted up his shirt. "Actually, I'm already wearing it underneath my normal clothes. Don't want to get changed on the island after all."

That got him a nod from Natsumi who straightened out her Hakama. However, it was then that Nagato pulled in close to the boat and nodded at her son with a smile. "Are you ready for this, Harry?" Then with a sympathic look, she raised an eyebrow. "You know, you don't need to do this if you don't want to."

Harry only shrugged. "It really doesn't bother me that much, Mum. Besides... I can actually help out some."

Before either of them could say anything else though, Haru spoke up from the front. "We're nearly there! The entrance is about five minutes away!"

Getting up, Harry made his way up towards the front of the boat in time for it to slow down and reveal the "Crack" made in the magical protections. Also looking it over, Nagato frowned. "Hmm..." Turning, she shared a look with Arizona. "So... you and I shall go first, followed by Yamato and Enterprise then?"

After a few moments, Arizona nodded. "That sounds for the best. The others will follow us then."

With nods, Nagato entered first followed by Arizona who came alongside her. Then Enterprise and Yamato did as well with the others behind, but keeping the zodiac in the middle. It was only a few moments before they sailed through the massive opening in the crater wall and into the caldera itself. Looking around, Enterprise nodded as she examined her surroundings. "I got to admit, Princess, whoever chose this place did good work. Perfect for hiding things."

There was a frown on Yamato's face as she nodded and glanced up at the crater walls where something caught her sight. "Hmm... What do you think, Enterprise-San? Anti-Air emplacements?"

Now interested, Enterprise turned and nodded. "Yeah, looks like it. Wonder if it was for aircraft or for anyone flying on brooms and shit."

Only shaking her head, Yamato continued to glance around. But then she noticed that the two Battleships up front had stiffened and were looking at the shore. Narrowing her eyes, she also turned and looked in the same direction before her eyes widened slightly. "Do you see them, Enterprise-San?"

Grimacing, Enterprise nodded. "Yeah... I do." Then she sighed deeply. "Dammit... there's a lot of them there, isn't there?"

Neither of the two could see individuals on the shore, but there was a spiritual fog there of sorts. They could almost feel the stares on them as they sailed across the caldera, all four of the ships had gone all out and their flags and pennants flapped and snapped in the breeze. In the front. Arizona swallowed before she glanced down at the fairy band assembled on her deck, all of them staring forward. "It's time."

With a nod, her fairies began to play "Star Spangled Banner" as she cut her speed down. Once she was done, Nagato's band began to play "Kimigayo". After that died away, Arizona's band started up, this time with "Anchors Aweigh" with Nagato then taking over with "Warship March" once they were done. Coming to a stop just before the shore, Nagato felt her hair on her neck raise as she could feel unseen stares. Outwardly though, she didn't show any sign as she took a deep breath as she saluted. "Battleship Nagato, of the Imperial Japanese Navy!"

Beside her, Arizona also gave a salute. "USS Arizona, BB-39, of the United States Navy!"

From her position behind her, Enterprise also gave a salute. "USS Enterprise, CV-6, proud Carrier of the United States Navy!"

And finally, Yamato saluted the seemingly empty shore. "Japanese Battleship, Yamato, of the Imperial Japanese Navy."

Letting out a breath, Nagato then nodded as she continued to call out. "We are all here to inform you that the war... is over! It has been over for more then seventy years and no longer are we enemies."

Her gaze sweeping across the shore, Arizona nodded. "Indeed, not only that, but our nations are now the closest of friends and allies. Defending and shedding blood for the defense of one another, debts repaid in full. I forgave them long ago."

Enterprise glanced at Yamato and nodded. "Brothers and sisters in arms."

The Battleship smiled some.

For a moment, Enterprise and Yamato blinked before glancing at each other. Then, slowly, Yamato extended her hand and Enterprise did the same. But it was what was on both those hands that were the biggest surprise. On Enterprise's, was Halsey and on Yamato's was Yamamoto. The two fairies stared at each other before shaking hands quickly and letting go. With that done, Halsey turned towards the shore. "Hey! Hey hey hey hey hey hey!"

On Yamato's hand, Yamamoto nodded. "Desu! Desu desu desu desu desu desu!"

Yet again, Arizona let her gaze sweep the shore. "By the order of the President of the United States of America, I hereby bring the following message... You're all free. It's time to come home."

Nagato then gave a nod. "And by order of the Heavenly Sovereign, I, Nagato, bring the following message to all Imperial Japanese Forces. You are now relieved and may journey onwards from here."

Minutes passed as they waited there, just barely heard murmurs in their ears. Then, a breeze swept through the area and they all felt the oppressive atmosphere lighten. Relaxing, Arizona turned and nodded. "Everything's fine now, you can head in."

With glances around them, the Zodiac moved and then beached itself before Harry and the others clambered out. Lightly hopping out of it, Haru glanced around and bowed. "We are here to purify this island of the evils done. It will allow for all of you to move on..." After a few moments, Haru looked at the Onmyouji using shipgirls. "Let's go and perform what is needed. Natsumi-Chan? You're with Nagato. Harry-Chan? You're with Enterprise-San."

Getting nods, they all headed out with Arizona staying with Yamato and the Zodiac. It was a few minutes though before Arizona heard footsteps and turned to find transparent, twin teenaged girls standing by her. Each of them shuffled a bit nervously while they fiddled with their kimonos and Arizona's eyes widened some as she remembered the briefing. 'These... must be those Hitobashira...' When it looked like they were about to run, Arizona gave them the best comforting smile that she could and crouched down. "Hello there."

For a moment, they froze before one of them spoke up. "Are... are you really an American ship spirit?"

Very slowly, Arizona nodded with her smile still on her face. "I am as a matter of fact. Now then, how can I help you?"

Sharing a look between them, the other twin spoke up. "We're sorry for what happened here and want to make amends. And..."

As she trailed off, Arizona's eyes widened slightly before she reached forward and placed a hand on both their shoulders. Surprisingly, they felt solid though cold. "Look at me for a moment." When they did, she shook her head. "You have nothing to make amends for. You were not involved in the crimes that took place here."

Much to her surprise though, they only shook their heads as the first twin spoke up. "No, our job was to protect this place. What happened falls upon our shoulders and... we want them to be able to rest."

Beside her, the other twin nodded. "Yes, what my Nee-San said. And, that means a proper burial, correct?" At Arizona's nod, they nodded. "Then, we can take you to where they buried them, so that they can be brought home."

Raising an eyebrow, Arizona turned to Yamato who nodded. With her smile still on her face, Arizona held out her hands which the two spirits took. "Well then, take me to them and when we can, I will personally see to it that they will be returned to their home soil when the time comes to do so."

Only nodding, the three walked off with Yamato watching. Normally, she would have been against it. But even here, she could see that Arizona far out massed the two spiritually and so it was safe for the shipgirl to do so. Glancing to the side, she could see groups of her own fairies on the bow of the Zodiac, seemingly holding one sided conversations. But the fact that said area was in shadow despite the fact there was nothing making the shadows told her all that she needed to know.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking through a corridor in the incomplete Taihou Kai class, Harry swung his flashlight back and forth as he continued to walk through shin deep water. After a few moments, he frowned as he glanced at the laminated map in one hand. "Huh..."

Behind him, one of the American Marines that had accompanied him looked over his shoulder. "So where exactly are we, kiddo?"

Looking up, Harry hummed a bit. "Well... according this this, we're about two levels down from the hanger deck. Maybe... 200 meters from the above the engine room? She's a lot shallower then the others, so... I don't need to dive except maybe there."

A groan then drifted through the ship and the Marine frowned as he looked around. For a brief moment, he could have sworn that he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye, but there was nothing there. The only thing that he could see was the sloshing of the rest of some of the Marines who had accompanied Arizona and Enterprise to the island. Somehow, which was beyond him, Enterprise had convinced them to escort the kid. Of course, it didn't help that when they had asked Enterprise why she didn't go along with them, she looked them in the eye and gave an answer that did not help. "Would you like to go crawling inside a human corpse?"

However, the whole place creeped him out and not just things seen from out of the corner of his eye either.

The Marine swore that more then once when his own flashlight hit the water, there was a brief moment of seeing a face under the water looking up at him. Then they were gone. It went without saying that not a one of them could wait until they were out of there. "Yeah, kiddo? That's probably a good thing." Another groan then echoed through the corridors and he raised an eyebrow. "You think that she doesn't want us here?"

Slowly, Harry shook his head and then laid a hand against the wall and closed his eyes. "No, it's not that." After a few moments, he opened his eyes and the Marine gave a small shiver as they glowed in the dark. "She's... lonely. I don't think that Denryuu has liked being here all alone like this."

For a moment, the Marine blinked and then gave Harry an odd look. "I thought that she didn't have a name?"

Harry only shrugged a bit as an almost unnoticable tremble ran through the ship. "Yeah, but that name just popped into my head. Pretty sure that's her name."

Only shaking his head, the Marine continued to follow Harry as they went deeper and deeper into the ship. "Kid, hope that you don't mind me saying this, but... that's creepy as shit."

All Harry did though was laugh. "I guess, but not really." It was several minutes later when they entered through a doorway and looked across the flooded engine room. Playing his light across the surface, Harry sighed and shook his head. "Looks like I'll be going for a swim anyways."

Pointing his own flashlight dowards, the Marine frowned as he looked at the slowly rusting machinery that was revealed in the light. "You sure that you want to go down there? Sure that you can't put one of those paper things up here?"

The black haired boy shook his head as he pulled off his backpack and hung it onto a piece of metal. "Can't. I have to place more then one and for that, I need to get down there to do so." He then glanced over his shoulder. "It's kind of her heart after all."

Simply nodding, the Marine shone his light back to see the rest of his squad coming. "Okay kid, if you want to. Just let us set up the inflatable." Once the others arrived, it was only a few minutes before the Marines inflated the tiny raft with the one who was by Harry squeezing himself into it. "Join the Marines they said, travel the world they said... Kick all sorts of ass they said." Grunting, he finally managed it and grabbed the paddle handed to him by a fellow, grinning Marine. "They said nothing about squeezing my ass into a tiny raft in the middle of a haunted ship."

Laughing, Harry grinned at him behind his mask. "Sadly, they never tell you these things."

Before the Marine could respond, Harry had jumped into the water and was sinking towards the bottom of the engine room with his light able to be seen from above. "Little shit."

Flashlight pointing down to where Harry was swimming, another Marine shook his head. "A little shit who has some balls. I tell you something, you wouldn't find me alone down there."

Paddling slowly, the first Marine snorted. "You ever miss the good old days, El-Tee? Back then all we had to worry about was fuckers in Iraq trying to blow us up. Bad enough all the supernatural shit with the shipgirls, but this? Now we're dealing with wizards, magic, angry ghosts and all that shit. Fuck me, I've seen horror movies, I know where this is going."

The Lieutenant only grinned at him. "You have? And yet, there you are becoming separated from the rest of us inside a haunted, abandoned ship from World War Two, filled with the souls of the damned."

In reply, the Marine only flipped him the bird as he continued to follow Harry. "Fuck you, El-Tee. Fuck you."

However, all he got was laughter. But the laughter stopped when one of the other Marines tapped the Lieutenant on the shoulder. "Uh, El-Tee? The kid is the only one down there... right? I mean, he's only got the one flashlight, right?"

All he did was give the guy a look that asked if he was an idiot. "Yeah? What about it?"

Not saying anything at first, he pointed to where Harry's light was. "Then what are those other lights down there following him?"

It was almost as one that all the Marines turned and looked in the point that was being pointed at. They could all see Harry's silhouette slowly moving with the flashlight in his hand... And the two or three orbs of light following a distance behind, weaving in and out of the rusted machinery. There was a moment of silence before the Lieutenant groaned. "Fuck me, I cannot wait to get out of here, off this fucking island, and then get drunk off my ass."

Behind him, one of the Marines grunted. "Ah-fucking-man."
________________________________________________________________________________

Two hours later found Harry in pitch blackness besides the beam of his flashlight as he swam along a flooded corridor inside the Ishikari, the more complete of the two B-65s.With each kick of his fins, sediment stirred up into clouds that swirled around him. Both Cruisers had sank much deeper then the Carrier, though not as deep as Akashi's sister ship. Which meant that Harry had to head down into their depths in order to emplace the ofuda. Thankfully though, he was not alone. "Hey, hey hey hey hey."

Glancing at the fairy in a diving suit on his shoulder, Harry blinked behind his mask as several bubbles escaped from it. "Check the map?" When the fairy gave him a thumbs up, Harry reached into one of his pouches while handing the flashlight to another which took it. "Hmm... I think that we're here."

Slowly, the fairy on his left shoulder leaned over to look. Part of Harry wondered how it didn't tip over with the heavy brass, but then nodded as it pointed. "Hey, hey hey hey. Hey hey hey hey. Hey hey, hey."

Just leaning back until he was in a sitting position, Harry nodded. "Yeah, you're right." Checking the watch on one wrist, he nodded. "I got about another two hours left of air in these tanks, so we should finish this up." Getting a nod from the fairies, Harry began to swim along. He was still surprised at how long the air hoses seemed to be for the fairies, but that didn't bother him as the two told him stories. Though one of them caused Harry to gag. "That's... please tell me that you're joking."

Inside the helmet, the fairy smirked as it shook it's head. "Hey."

There was a disgusted look on Harry's face. "You mean to tell me that you knew a fellow diver who had to do a deep dive. But when down there, his pumps failed and air stopped being pumped into his suit..."

With a shrug, the fairy looked at him. "Hey."

Harry then continued. "And because of the drop of pressure inside the suit that was fighting the pressure outside... He was literally shoved up into his helmet." Once more, the fairy gave him a yes. "Ugh... thank you for that. What a horrible way to die."

From the fairy came some snickers as it shook it's head. "Hey, hey hey hey."

All Harry did though was give the fairy a look and was about to reply about how he didn't care that it was quick when he saw something and stopped. "Did either of you see that just now? Right down the corridor?"

Sharing a look, the two fairies shook their heads though they brought up their spear guns. "Hey."

On Harry's face there was a frown as he shone the flashlight down the corridor. But despite the brightness piercing the darkness, there was nothing. "Hmm..." Narrowing his eyes, Harry swam more slowly down the corridor until he reached the spot where he saw the shadow and then noticed a door beside him. "... How much do you want to bet that whatever that was, went in there?" After shining his light again down the corridor, he frowned. "Especially as it's the only door that's shut?"

The Fairy on his right shoulder only shook it's head. "Hey."

Reaching out, Harry took a deep breath as he grabbed hold of the handle and began to turn it with several grunts. Then opened with an ominous groan and when it was fully opened, Harry shone his light into it only to throw himself backward. "BLOODY HELL!"

Several moments later, one of the fairies hopped off his shoulder and propped the flashlight up to look better inside. The light then hit what had freaked Harry out so much: A grinning skull. Moments later, the flashlight was angled to better see more of the room and Harry paled behind his mask at there being more then one skeleton in the room.

A lot more.

Just swallowing, Harry swam up close to the door and looked around. Practically everywhere there were bones scattered around, likely when the ship had finally settled. His heartbeat finally settling down, Harry looked down at the fairies as he sucked in a deep lungful of air and released it. "Um, what do you think? Japanese or...?"

Moving the flashlight, one of the fairies pointed it at the inside of the door to reveal that the handle was there as well and there was nothing wrong with it. But what caused Harry to shudder was the scratches that could be seen. As if something had been trying to claw it's way out. Tilting it's head, the fairy gestured at it. "Hey? Hey hey hey hey?"

Only shaking his head, Harry frowned. "There's spells that can seal a door shut. If you cast it on a hatchway, then you can make it so that no one is going to open it unless you know unlocking spells.. or have magic. Only question is... which side was it? And which group was in here?"

For a few seconds there was silence before one of the fairies crossed himself. "Hey, hey hey hey hey. Hey hey hey hey. Hey, hey."

Nodding, Harry grimaced. "May they rest in peace..."

With another brush of the flashlight across the room, the black haired boy pulled out one of the ofuda, sealed between two pieces of glass with the holes sealed with epoxy. Then he pulled out a tube and squeezed some of it's contents out onto the door. One of the fairies tilted it's head. "Hey? Hey hey hey hey?"

Harry glanced at it and then pressed the sealed ofuda against the gel there. "Considering what happened in there? I'm not taking any chances and something wanted me to see them." Once he was sure that the ofuda was stuck, he reached up with one finger and ran it down it as he softly whispered. As his finger moved down, each character slowly lit up and began to glow, driving back the oppressive feeling. "And there we go."

Then Harry blinked as he heard a sigh of relief in his ear and what felt like breath. Twisting around, he looked around only to find nothing there. Slowly, he glanced down one side of the corridor and then the other. And then he froze as he felt two slender arms around his waist and two round objects press into his shoulders. "Thank you... for all that you have done... for myself and my sister as well as... the others. We can feel them becoming free at last. Thank you."

With a blink, Harry swore that he felt a pair of lips touch his cheek before the feeling of the arms and the body pressed against him vanished. 'Okay...?' Reaching up, he touched his cheek as the two fairies looked on before crossing their arms and shaking their heads. The rest of their journey through the ship passed rather uneventfully, though sometimes Harry caught something out the corner of his eye.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hermione sighed as she set down the cup onto the plate before smiling as Aquila held up a Moka pot. "More coffee?"

Giggling, Hermione only nodded and pushed her plate to the side. "Thank you, that would be lovely." As Aquila poured some more into her cup, the Cruiser looked around her at the small quarters that both Carriers shared. There were various photos and other bits of memorabilia around. For example, a model of what she knew to be a Airbus A320-200. However, it was one of the pictures that caught Hermione's eye was that of Graf in an Lufthansa Air Stewardess uniform with rigging out. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Graf giving her a raised eyebrow and her expression turned sheepish. "Sorry."

All Aquila did was smile and then jab Graf in the side with her elbow. "Stop making our guest so nervous, Graf." Seeing the pained wince on Graf's face, Aquila gave her a pout. "Don't tell me that hurt, Graf. Would you like me to kiss it better?"

Needless to say, Graf blushed as she looked away. "No... or at least not right now." Spotting that Aquila now had a blush on her face, Graf smirked before she sipped her coffee. "Though some more of your coffee would be good right now."

Just watching the byplay between the two, Hermione could only bite back a chuckle. Eventually though, she snapped her fingers. "Wait, I remember now! There was some sort of advertisement campaign with you in it for Lufthansa!"

Lips twitching, Graf hummed as she made her coffee. "That's right. I was a stewardess for Lufthansa before the plane I was on had been damaged by Abyssals and prevented from taking off. Opening that door and seeing several Destroyers heading toward the plane..." A far off expression crossed Graf's face before she shook it off. "I awoke as I needed to do something."

Frowning, Hermione nodded. "Now that I remember. I remember there being some controversy at the time."

Graf grimaced a bit at the memories, but then looked down at the hand being held by Aquila before she let out a breath. "Yes, there were some problems due to who I was as a shipgirl." Giving Aquila's hand a squeeze, she nodded. "But I had support when I needed it."

Expression soft, Aquila shook her head. "You could always count on me, Henrietta. You know that."

Having realized that she was missing something, Hermione frowned as she looked between the two of them. "Wait... but Aquila, you didn't show up until more then a year after Graf and everything that happened. How..."

Softly giggling, Aquila winked at her. "Well, us Natural Borns need to stick together, hmm?"

When it clicked, Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "You're a Natural Born as well? I didn't know that!"

Only shaking her head, Aquila shrugged a bit before handing the Cruiser a cup of coffee. "I am, though it's not well advertised." Glancing at Graf who gave her a small smile back, the Italian continued. "Besides, Henrietta and myself have known each other since we were much younger." Aquila brought her cup to her lips and took a small sip before placing it back down. "We first met, in a sense, as penpals, though I was a few years older then her."

Taking over the story, Graf continued. "It was something of a mix up, you see. She was supposed to correspond with an older student but instead got me. We clicked, as the Americans would say, and continued writing each other even after the program ended." Becoming thoughtful, Graf turned to Aquila and raised an eyebrow. "In fact, we did not meet in person until I was in High School. One evening, the doorbell at my parents' home rang and I arrived to find Sofia there having arrived from nowhere."

More then a little sheepish, Aquila waved her off. "Scusa, scusa. I needed to get away from home for some time and Henrietta was the first one that I could think of."

Slowly, Graf nodded though her lips turned upwards in a smirk. "Mutter was certainly surprised, as was Vater. Though they accepted her into our home easily enough until she found a good university back in Italy. After that... we often visited each other and it was one of the reasons why I got a job with Lufthansa as it made it a bit easier to do so." Running one finger along the rim of her cup, Graf shook her head. "Sofia more then returned the favor, especially after I became a shipgirl..."

Leaning forward, Aquila winked at Hermione as she stage whispered. "She makes it seem like such a big deal. It really wasn't, but it's best to let her think so." Ignoring the snort, Aquila took one of the treats on the tray and nibbled it in thought. "In fact, she was the one who discovered that I was a Natural Born like her as she could see it. Henrietta actually tried to protect me from that fact."

With a sigh, Graf placed an arm around her fellow Carrier's waist, which Aquila leaned into. "It was one of our few bad arguments. But... eventually we worked it out."

Head on Graf's shoulder, Aquila looked up at her. "Yes, we did."

Only shaking her head, Graf turned back to Hermione. "As to your earlier question, once everything settled down, Lufthansa approached both myself and Deutsche Marine with an idea. I would become a... mascot, of sorts for Lufthansa in various advertisements, and in return they would donate so much to both the shipgirl funding. They would also offer discounts to shipgirls who needed transport from place to place when using them. Every once in a while I still do so, though not as often as before."

All Hermione did was nod as she continued to watch the two interact with each other as they shared a late coffee. Tomorrow, all three would be heading out on a sortie, but right now? Right now they were just three people enjoying some coffee and talking.
__________________________________________________________________________

Head popping out of the water, Harry blinked some before he pulled his mask onto the top of his head. Suddenly, a hand was there in front of him as Enterprise smiled down at him from where she was standing on the water. "Need a hand, kiddo?"

Grasping the offered hand, Harry only nodded. "Yeah, thanks!"

Easily lifting him out of the water, Enterprise settled him onto her shoulders. Meanwhile, the two divers that belonged to her slid down Harry's arm onto her shoulder and she nodded at them. "Welcome back, boys."

Both of them sat down on Harry's thighs as other Fairies took off their heavy helmets. Once that was done, they gave her a salute. "Hey!"

Snorting, Enterprise gave them a look. "Just make sure to give me a report on what happened down there, okay?" Then she gave a glance up at Harry's mask which had a small camera mounted. "Not that I think that will be needed."

A grimace on his face, Harry shook his head as they made for the shore. "Ugh... I am not looking forward to writing up a report. Especially with some of what we found down there."

That caused the Carrier to raise an eyebrow at him. "You found something down there?"

Harry nodded some as he shifted the air tanks on his back around some. "Some stuff... Including a room full of skeletons."

If anything, that caused Enterprise to raise her eyebrows. "A room full of skeletons, huh? Color me somewhat interested then." Grinning, she reached up and ruffled his hair. "Besides. if you're going to become an Admiral for shipgirls, get used to writing a lot of paperwork. Because as an Admiral that's what you'll be doing a lot of."

When Enterprise laughed at the expression on Harry's face, he huffed a bit and pouted. "I know, I know." Just a few minutes later though, he climbed up onto the dock and blinked as he saw a wide eyed Natsumi there which Harry smiled at. "Hey, Natsumi-Chan! All done?"

Swallowing as he opened a bottle of water and dumped it on his head, Natsumi gave him a small smile. "Yes, tight... I mean, the timing of everything was a bit tight, but yes."

Confused, Harry looked over at her as he grabbed a towel and began to dry his hair best that he could. "Is something wrong, Natsumi-Chan? You're kind of red... you didn't get sunstroke, did you?"

Quickly shaking her head, and ignoring the grin on Enterprise's face, Natsumi took a deep breath. "No, just a bit tired. It was a lot of work after all." Meanwhile, she kept glancing over him. 'What the hell? This is the first time that I've seen him in a wetsuit but... Dammit, I hate growing up!' After a few moments, Natsumi focused on his face. "So how did everything go on your end, Harry-Chan?"

Humming as he wiggled a finger in his ear, Harry tilted his head back some. "Not bad, though it was a bit freaky at times. But the ships seemed really sad and lonely, so I hope that this helps them."

Only shaking her head, Natsumi allowed herself to smile a bit. "That's just like you, Harry-Chan. Never change."

With a blink, Harry shrugged. "I'll try?" Then he frowned and turned towards her. "Um, I also used up all the Ofuda that Haru-San gave me."

That caused the kitsune's eyebrows to raise in surprise. "All of them?" When he nodded, Natsumi shook her head some. "Huh, not that it really matters really. Oba-Chan did say that the more we used, the better and considering the darkness that was here..." Looking out at the ships, she frowned. "It's probably for the best that you used them all. Everything feels much cleaner already."

Slowly, Harry nodded. "Yeah, noticed the same thing... though I wonder..."

Looking towards him, Natsumi frowned. "You wonder what?"

Not reply right away, Harry continued to stare at the ships, in particular the Ishikari. "I wonder how close they are to manifesting as shipgirls? Because some stuff happened down there that makes me think that they're a lot closer then some might think."

Somewhat confused about that, Natsumi tilted her head to the side when she caught a flash of something out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she looked towards the wrecked Carrier and frowned as, for just a moment, she swore that she saw a girl on the flight deck who looked like Taihou on except her hair was a greyish red. Then she was gone. "... You know, I wonder that myself..." After that, she shook it off. "We should be heading back to the boat, it's getting closer to nightfall after all and we shouldn't be sticking around by then."

Only glancing around, Harry nodded. "Agreed." Walking up to Natsumi, Harry took her hand in his before pulling her along. "Anyways, let's get back as quick as possible. I'm starving."

Giggling, Natsumi only jogged beside him. "You're becoming a teenaged boy, Harry-Chan, isn't that normal?"

All she got was laughter from her friend as she grinned.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As they walked along, Natsumi kept giving glances to Harry before looking away. Finally, Harry just gave her a raised eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Natsumi-Chan?"

Blushing, the kitsune shook her head a bit. "I-it's nothing, Harry-Chan. Just that I've never seen you in a wetsuit before... And, um, should you be walking around in it?"

Harry only shrugged a bit as he looked to where the Sun was slowly descending towards the walls of the caldera. "My wetsuit's still a bit wet, and might as well not bother putting on clothes just yet. Besides, it's not like it's a big deal or anything."

Weakly chuckling, Natsumi nodded as she looked away. "Yeah... not a big deal or anything." Not long after, they came into sight of the Zodiac and froze into place with Natsumi swallowing nervously. "Harry-Chan... is that..."

Eyes wide, Harry blinked. "The Hitobashira? Y-yeah, I think that those are them." Sharing a look, they slowly walked towards the Zodiac and those by it. Two of them being ghostly twins dressed in pure white Kimonos. Despite them being transparent, their black hair shone in the light while they softly talked with both Nagato and Arizona, though the others stayed away from them. Getting close, and not noticing that Natsumi had fallen back some, Harry cleared his throat. "Mum?"

Turning, Nagato gave her adopted son a smile before gesturing to the two spirits. "Harry, I would like you to meet Sakura-Chan and Ume-Chan, they're the... guardians of this place."

Both of them bowed towards Harry as they spoke as one. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry-San. Thank you for coming to help."

In return, Harry also bowed towards them. "And it's nice to meet you two as well." Standing up, he chuckled a bit and scratched at the back of his neck. "Oh, and it's not a big deal, I'm just happy that I am able to help out some."

One of them, Ume he supposed due to the plum blossom hair ornament as her twin had one but with cherry blossoms, just tilted her head a bit. "Still, we truly do appreciate it." Then she brought her hand to her mouth a bit and tittered. "That is rather interesting clothing that you are wearing there, Harry-San?"

Just blinking, Harry looked down at himself and then shrugged. "I was laying some ofuda on the ships and... heh, I didn't want to get my clothes wet by putting them on until I was dried. Sorry about that."

The two seemingly fifteen year olds shared a look and a giggle before they turned back to him. Yet again, they spoke nearly as one. "We do not mind, Harry-San. We know that we have missed much on the outside world as both Nagato-Sama and Arizona-Sama have been telling us."

Spotting Natsumi behind him, Harry gestured to her. "Oh! And this is Natsumi-Chan, she's been helping out as well."

Much to Natsumi's surprise, the two looked at her and widened their eyes before bowing as deeply as they could. "We thank you as well, Natsumi-Dono, for all that you have done. We are in your debt."

A snort though caused them to turn to Enterprise who walked up with a small smirk on her face. "Hey now, no need for any of that. Anyways, I'm Enterprise."

Holding out a hand, she waited and slowly, each of the two spirits shook her hand. "We are happy to meet the Grey Ghost now that our nations are friends."

Softly snorting, Enterprise took them in and narrowed her eyes. "You know... it can't be easy being here all the time. And you look kind of sad."

Blinking, Sakura shook her head. "Perhaps, but it is our duty to watch over this place and to protect it. Something that we shall do to our best abilities... But yes, it is rather lonely at times."

Enterprise frowned a bit and crossed her arms against her chest. "Hmm... we'll have to do something about that then. It isn't right for you two to be left all alone." Shaking it off, she then reached into her pocket and dug around. "Whatever, that can be dealt with later. In the meantime... I think that I got something that will cheer you right up!" Moments later, Enterprise pulled out two ice cream cones and held them out with a smile. "Ta-daa! Strawberry ice cream, just what the doc ordered."

Mouths working, the two looked between Enterprise and the ice cream before they looked away. "We're sorry, Enterprise-Sama, but being as we are but spirits, we cannot-"

They were unable to get any further as Enterprise shoved said ice cream cones into their hands. "Don't give me any of that crap. Now, go ahead and enjoy some ice cream why don't you." She then went back to digging into her clothes. "I'm pretty sure that I have some hamburgers around here or something... You two are way too damn thin."

Unnoticed by her, the two spirits stared at her in amazement and then to the ice cream cones that they were holding. Slowly, they brought them up to their mouths and gave a lick only for bliss to spread across their faces. Then they both sniffled a bit and shared a smile. "So good..."

Looking up, Enterprise blinked as both of them looked just on the edge of crying. "Eh? Did I do something wrong?"

A tap on the shoulder caused her to turn to see Harry there. "Um, Enterprise? It's because they've been unable to eat since... you know. So being able to eat again..."

Eyes widening, Enterprise snorted. "Well, that's bullshit right there." Turning, she regarded Arizona with a frown. "Hey, Arizona, you don't happen to have anything for them, do you?"

There was a small smile on the Battleship's face before she nodded. "I think that I do actually. How about you, Nagato?"

Said Japanese Battleship gave a nod as she smiled. "Oh, I think that I got plenty off food that I can give out."

Boggled, the twins looked between the three shipgirls and this time they actually did begin to cry. "Th-thank you..." Wiping their eyes with their sleeves, they gave brilliant smiles. "Thank you so much!"

Reaching out, Enterprise gave both of them a ruffle of their hair. "Aw, it's nothing really. Now how about you give us a nice smile, hmm?" When the did so, she grinned. "That's the ticket." A sound though caused Enterprise to turn to see Haru walking back towards them with Ryuujou in tow. "Hey you two, we got some guests."

Both of them stopped and stared only for the spirits to stare at Haru with some terror before they bowed. "Haru-Dono! It is an honor to have you on our island!"

Confused, Enterprise looked between them as Haru gave the two a soft smile. "And a pleasure it is to be here. Thank you."

Within seconds though, Enterprise just shook it off and shrugged before she turned back to the two girls. "Anyways, you two are the Kami for this place or something like that, right?"

Sakura blinked before she giggled some. "Not quite, Enterprise-Sama."

To their surprise though, Enterprise wagged a finger at them. "None of that 'Sama' bullshit, just call me Enterprise if you want to be formal." Smirking a bit, she shook her head. "And maybe 'E' if you're feeling up to it."

Eyes wide, Sakura and Umi shared a look before Umi took over. "Perhaps later... but as to your question, we are the conduit for speaking to the Kami of the island. But they were... displeased, as were other Kami with what happened here."

With a sniffle, Sakura nodded. "We tried to tell them, but they just dismissed us. They said that the Kami would understand it was for the betterment of Japan... but the Kami disliked that even more."

Feeling a hand on their shoulders, they turned to see Arizona there. "And that is on their shoulders, not yours. Besides, you've been a help and showed me where our people now rest."

That caused Enterprise to give her a look before she nodded. "Then thanks for that. I think that I speak for the United States when I say that we appreciate that."

Haru then nodded with a small smile. "Yes, actions such as that are very much appreciated." Glancing to another part of the caldera, Haru slowly nodded. "We must be going soon though, we have to be back in Yokosuka this evening."

Seeing the sadness on the twins' faces, Harry cleared his throat. "But, um, people can visit them, right? After all, things are a lot safer."

At the hope on the expressions of the two girls, the elder kitsune chuckled. "I don't see any problem with that. And I shall let the others know as well."

Much to her surprise though, Enterprise shook her head. "Anyways... we got some time before we leave and I promised these two a nice, big meal to make up for the ones that they missed." Somehow, she pulled out a plate full of burgers and set it down on a rock. "So here you go!"

Then Arizona placed down some food in the form of cake with Nagato adding a bowl of rice. Their eyes practically sparkling, the two spirits bowed to them all. "Thank you very much!" And then they reached out and began to munch down on their first real meal in a long time, utterly happy.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Iku glanced around at her fellow Yokosuka Submarines and then back at the table. For a brief moment, she allowed a small smile at the sight of it bobbing in the waves. It had been a gift from Harry to them and they adored it, though it was nothing more then a folding table that had floats mounted beneath it. Then Iku shook off her thoughts and tapped her phone. "Okay, Harder, you're on Speaker."

For a moment there was silence before Harder's voice drifted out. "Well, we got some good news for you, we found the bitch and are tracking her. There might be a few problems though."

Grunting, Imuya crossed her arms. "There always is." With a glance at Hachi who pulled out a map, she huffed a bit. "So where is she?"

On the other end of the call there was a mutter before Harder answered. "She's about thirty miles northwest of Lot's Wife. Obviously she's sticking close to Abyssal held territory and got a small group protecting her." Yet again there was another mumble. "She's got about four Destroyers and two Light Cruisers. And we've also identified the ship she's based on."

Blinking, Iku frowned a bit. "Which one?"

As Harder sighed, the Yokosuka Subs raised eyebrows. "The Russian Cruiser Almaz. Pre-World War One and they've upgraded her design so she has twelve floatplanes."

Frowning, Iku turned towards RO who had checked her phone and was grimacing. "Fought at Tsushima, was converted during World War One to a Seaplane Tender for flying boats, and during the Russian Revolution, her crew joined the Communists and used her as a prison ship. According to this they formed a 'Tribunal' and tortured and executed those they saw as enemies of the Revolution."

Over the phone a snort could be heard. "Yeah, real fun past there. And Hachi? Don't go into a slump, you're better then this bitch. You came back on the side of the angels, not the devils."

Smiling slightly, Hachi nodded. "Hacchan thanks you, Harder-Chan."

All they got was a scoff. "Not a problem. Anyways, there's more. All four of the Destroyers have Floatplanes as well, which means that they're a variant of the Fletchers. So that makes it about sixteen in total which matches the number that you gave."

Closing her fist, Iku nodded. "Yeah... that matches what happened."

Several seconds later, they could hear Harder exhale before speaking up. "Right, so what's the plan? I got Archie and Albie here with me and I should be able to contact the other US Subs. You got most of us in the Northwest Pacific hunting for her."

Eyes wide, Shioi stared at the phone in disbelief. "Wait, you do? Why?"

When Harder spoke, it was with an undercurrent of anger. "We all like Taigei and she's always made us feel welcome in Yokosuka as well as treating us right. We don't forget that sort of thing and we're all pissed the fuck off in regards to what happened because of that. So don't you worry, we've got your backs."

In the background, Iku could hear a cheer that she knew was Albie's. "Thanks, Harder-Chan. Can you pass that along for us, if you could?"

There was a snort from Harder before she answered. "As if there was any doubt. Anyways, where exactly are you?"

Quickly checking the map, Hachi frowned. "We're about eighty miles East-Northeast of Sumisu Jima. If you're right about her being where she is..."

Chuckles could be heard from the phone before Harder spoke up. "Then our plan might work. We were going to sink the Destroyers but do it in a way that would make them think that we're doing a cut and run. Maybe surface for a bit to make them think that our batteries need charging and draw her in towards you."

Considering what she was told, Iku frowned but then Shioi spoke up. "I can take out the Cruisers actually." At their looks, she gestured to her hanger. "My Floatplanes can launch Oxygen torpedoes. If they're Light Cruisers, then one or two hits should kill them. At the very least they'll be crippled..."

Harder then finished the thought. "And wide open for us to take advantage and sink them. I like it."

Meanwhile, RO placed her finger on the map and nodded. "She'll have three choices then. One is to make a run across the open ocean to the Northeast until she hits Abyssal territory, hoping not to run into any more Subs or any other ships, she could also go South to the Bonins once again hoping not to run into anyone... or, run towards the Izu islands to hide in a bay or harbour and right into us. Of those, our direction is the shortest route to apparent safety."

Several seconds later, Harder spoke up. "Sounds like a plan. And if they try to run for the South, then they'll run into Bowfin's group and she's as pissed off as I am... Tsushima Maru was in a convoy that wasn't too far away from you guys when Taigei got attacked. Chances are, if Taigei had not been attacked, then Tsushima might have. But Bowfin is also pissed off that Taigei got hurt."

All of the Japanese Subs there winced as they knew how protective Bowfin was of Tsushima. Shaking it off, Iku nodded. "Okay... that covers some of ti. But we'll need to refine it a bit..."

Leaning forward in thought, Shioi placed her finger down on the map and then slowly brought it around. "Actually... maybe we can limit the options a bit." At their looks, she shook her head. "My planes have the range where I can have them swing around this way." Slowly, Shioi brought her finger in a look around where the Abyssals were. "And attack from the Northeast. They'll probably assume that I'm there and so avoid it."

While Iku nodded, Hachi blinked a bit. "Actually, we can add to it on our end as well."

There was a curious tone to Harder's voice over the phone as she spoke up. "Really? Like what?"

Grinning a bit, Hachi looked at Iku. "We both carry Floatplanes, once each, but we got the bombs for them. Goya and Nimu aren't too far off either and I know for a fact that they also got bombs for their Floatplanes. We also practiced skip bombing, remember?"

Slowly, Iku nodded as the plan slowly came into full focus. "They're not big bombs, but it would let us damage the Seaplane Tender and maybe stop it from launching any more planes... and it would give us seven, almost half the amount that they have." Eyes narrowing, she turned back to the phone. "What's their CAP like?"

A moment later, she got a laugh from Harder. "No more then four. You hit them hard enough and you'll be able to shoot those down easy. They won't be expecting an air attack."

RO grinned a bit as she nodded. "And with that many Floatplanes attacking, they'll assume there's a Seaplane Tender in the area. If they take damage, that means that they'll head straight for us."

Expression turning stony, Iku nodded. "At which point we'll send them to the bottom with every torpedo we have..."
____________________________________________________________________

Frowning, Goto leaned back in his chair as he took in what he had been told before slowly nodding. "I see." Gently taking a tablet, he looked at a still from the video of Harry in the wrecks with his lips thinning. "I'll send this to one of the forensic anthropologists. Hopefully, they'll be able to identify if the remains are Japanese or not from the pictures even if we can't tell them where it's from at the moment."

With a blink, Harry shifted a bit in the chair. "Um, what about Sakura-San and Ume-San, Teitoku? I mean... they are kind of lonely out there."

That caused Goto to hum in thought for a few moments. "That is a good question. Haru-San, how dangerous do you think that those two are? Truthfully?"

Haru considered the question before answering. "Truthfully?" At the nod, she sighed. "Truthfully, they could be pretty dangerous if angered. While the other spirits will be able to leave, they will not. And they've been there for so long that removing them is moot. However, that said, they would be dangerous if angry and they weren't. As Harry said, they're lonely."

Clasping his hands in front of his face, Goto frowned. "And would those that visit be safe from them?"

Slowly, Haru nodded as she chuckled. "Yes, in fact I would say that it would be extremely safe for them to be visited. Though... I would suggest it be done with at least one shipgirl present. I would actually encourage them to be visited from time to time."

Only nodding, Goto smiled a little bit. "Well, I'll just have to see what I can do. Thank you everyone for a successful mission and I expect your reports soon. Yes, including yours, Harry." Getting nods, he shook his head. "Dismissed." After everyone else had left, Goto raised an eyebrow as Haru was still in her seat. "Is something the matter, Haru-San?"

After so many years of her being on the base, Goto was not surprised in the slightest when Haru just grinned. "Oh, nothing is the matter per say. Though I expect that my niece may well become more annoyed sooner rather then later. But that will come when it comes."

Just sighing, Goto placed his hands on his desk and gave her a look. "Then how can I help you?"

Her expression shifting to one of curiosity, the kitsune lounged in the chair as she tilted her head to the side. "I suppose that you can help by satisfying a personal bit of curiosity." When he nodded, she leaned her cheek against one hand. "I can understand the shipgirls having to write reports, but I am wondering why you would have Harry-Chan do one as well."

Inscrutable, Goto gave her an even stare. "Why? Harry was on that mission as well and participated."

Snorting, Haru raised an eyebrow. "And so was Natsumi-Chan, and yet you did not ask her to write a report. So why Harry-Chan? He isn't one of your sailors after all."
For several moments, Goto was silent before he leaned back and considered her. "You know as well as I do that Harry wishes to join the JMSDF and become an Admiral, something that I personally don't have much of a problem with. However, there is the question of him becoming a Japanese citizen."

Haru raised an eyebrow at that. "I was under the assumption that the issue has been generally resolved and that he will be able to become one once he has become an adult. Or, at least that is what the news has been saying about some recent changes to the laws. There is also the fact who his adopted mother is and that there are a number of high profile shipgirls who would back him up."

Chuckling, Goto nodded. "And you would be right, with his support network and the changes he is extremely likely to gain citizenship, though I doubt very much that he will be able to keep his British citzenship. Duel citizenship maybe more then a step too far at the moment." With a frown, he looked out the window. "I am rather thankful for the changes to the laws, they've been a long time in coming. But there is a chance... which leads into why Harry is writing reports."

If anything, that really perked Haru's interest. "Do tell."

For several seconds, Goto was silent before he spoke. "A number of my superiors and a few politicians can see the writing on the wall in regards to the reveal of the magical side of things. One issue though is under the best projections, we won't really see any magicals in any real numbers joining the JSDF for at least a generation, maybe two. Human magicals anyways, which means that any problems will fall on those who do join to deal with or perhaps a separate branch of the military that's purely magical... which would cause issues, as I am sure you can imagine."

Nodding, the kitsune sighed. "Yes, the Japanese magical world is extremely isolationist in regards to contact with the non-magical side of things. Though that can be laid at the foot of the ICW and MACUSA back in the late forties, early fifties with their crackdowns. There's going to be a lot of distrust."

Just snorting, Goto shook his head. "That's putting it rather mildly. But we do want magicals to eventually join the JSDF. After all, it's almost a certainty that other militaries are going to try and get some to join, so we'll need our own. However... there's a few who question the usefulness or what they can do." Suddenly, he smirked a bit. "Someone though pointed out that we do have a magical who would gladly join up and might help us. And as a bonus, might help out already as long as it's non-combat related. Such as seeing what potions could do, or perhaps using magic to cleanse places that have been tainted. All of which lets us see what they can do. Of course, they would need to write reports..."

Eyebrow raising, Haru tilted her head some. "I see." Leaning forward, she smirked a bit. "Are you sure that you don't have kitsune blood running through your veins, Goto-San? Because that is both rather clever and sly of you."

Spreading his hands, the Admiral shrugged. "Not that I know of." Then his expression turned serious. "The reports that I have him write for instances like this, as well as other documentation, is seen by my superiors and several politicians. Needless to say, they are interested and intrigued with it. While it will never be 'Official', it is noted in his file above certain levels of access. It's almost certain that by the time Harry is old enough there will be very, very little resistance to him becoming a citizen. And most likely there's going to be those who very definitely want him to become a Japanese citizen if only because of what he can offer... as much as I dislike it."

Distaste on her face, Haru make a hacking sound. "Politics, I hate it."

Goto just sighed before shaking his head. "I agree fully, but it can be useful at times." With a glance at the clock, he rose up and stretched. "Sorry, but I need to be going. I have another meeting to attend to."

All of a sudden, Haru stood up and bowed. But when she straightened back up, there was a smirk on her face. "I see, well you answered my question, so I have little issue." Walking out, she paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and give my regards to Kongou when you see her at your 'Meeting'."

His eyebrow twitching, Goto grumbled to himself but said nothing else as Haru left. After all, she was correct.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

It was not quite dawn in the Western Pacific, but the horizon was starting to lighten. Back in Japan, birds were begining their morning chorus and more then a few early risers were enjoying it. But roughly twenty miles west of Tori Shima, there were multiple plumes of smoke rising from the ocean. Damaged, the Abyssal Seaplane Tender, Almaz, plowed through the waves as fast as she could as she headed for the island. Seeing it so close, she grinned revealing teeth stained with blood and oil as the Abyssal organism on her head and back, which resembled a cross between a cockroach and a Wo class' headgear, waved around it's one remaining arm.

Several miles behind her, her own remaining Destroyer escort continued to fall more and more behind due to it's own damage. But Almaz neither cared nor really noticed. Instead she was deep in her own thoughts as she considered what she was going to do next. First, she would need to land on the island until she repaired herself and then make a run for Abyssal territory. Once that was done, she would get new, more powerful escorts before coming back to Japanese waters.

If anything, her grin widened at the thought. How she hated the Japanese. Deep in her boilers, her anger and hate roiled as she remembered the defeat at Tsushima. The embarrassment caused by it and the shame. How dare they!? How dare they defeat her motherland!? But it wasn't her fault they lost, no, that was the fault of the damn Tsar and the bourgeois! Ultimately, the defeat, the shame, and the true Russian blood shed could be laid at their feet! It was them at fault. The memories of their screams and pleading for mercy at the trials and executions conducted on her made for wonderful dreams.

Almaz could not wait until she was able to strike at Russia and show them the error of their ways, for throwing out Soviet strength for the weak capitalism. But first, she was going to kill as many Japanese as she could. This despite killing a number in fishing boats, she would never be satisfied until she saw their cities burn for the insult they dared make against the Motherland. Of her most wonderful memories was that of the fat Submarine Tender that her seaplanes had struck and sank. Even though she didn't see it sink to her disappointment due to them having been shot down, there was nothing else that could have happened with the damage she had inflicted.

Her screams of pain and terror even now sent a pleased shiver up Almaz's keel.

But for now, she just needed to get to safety of the island ahead of her. It was so close... And then an explosion happened and she turned her head to see the remains of her last escort sink beneath the waves in confusion before she shrugged it off. No matter, it was already dying due to damage and had served it's purpose. Most likely the fires had reached something. Very similar fires had nearly killed her, touched off by bombs carried by seaplanes. If not for her imps throwing the remaining AvGas and seaplanes off, she might have gone up. However, she would survive, she would have her vengence on whatever Seaplane Tender had dared attack her. Her! And those Submarines so distant that had run off. American capitalist pigs, fat off the backs of the common man.

Unknown to her, of course, she would never reach the island. Just past where the Abyssal Destroyer had been, a periscope raised out of the water and focused in on her. Beneath the waves, RO frowned as she started doing calculations. Inside, her crew reloaded her torpedo tubes with the usual efficency and she smiled grimly as she had slipped fully back into her "Yuu" persona. A beep caused her to glance at the phone in one hand that was in a waterproof case. She could see that it was from the others. 'We're all in position, RO-Chan. How about you?'

RO's lips twitched as she quickly typed back a response. 'I am in position as well and torpedo tubes full. Just give the word, Iku-Chan.'

She could almost imagine her friend chuckling. 'Five minutes exactly, then fire all tubes. Imuya-chan is on one side with Shioi, Hachi and myself on the other. Then dive below depth in case so none of us get hit.'

Inside all the Submarines, the seconds ticked down as their crews kept an eye on the time. On the surface, Almaz grinned as she was now within ten miles of the island. Then all the Submarines opened their eyes at once as their tubes flooded nearly as one and launched all their torpedoes. One or two torpedoes mught have missed, it had happened before after all.

But four torpedoes from different directions? That could not be dodged by a damaged ship. Especially if they did not know it was coming.

In this case though, they launched all the torpedoes from all their tubes. And so 26 Oxygen torpedoes and 6 German ones headed straight at the Abyssal from three different directions. They were leaving nothing to chance in this case. All Almaz had time for was one of her Imps spotting RO's torpedoes by their bubble trails and she was just about to turn when they slammed into her stern, ripping it apart. Before she could even scream, the other torpedoes hit. A good number slammed into Almaz's sides with others detonating when they hit the shockwaves of the first. Some though managed to get through and pass by the Abyssal.

Needless to say, there was very little left to sink beneath the waves once they were done. After five minutes, Iku raised her head above the water and glanced around, not even an oil slick was left on the surface. Beside her, Hachi also surfaced and let out a breath. "Finally, she's gone."

Slowly, Iku nodded with a thin smile. "Yeah, she is." Glancing around, she noticed the other Yokosuka Subgirls had surfaced and waved at them. "Time to head home, girls. We've done what we set out to do... Imuya! Inform the others, will you?"

Only nodding, Imuya raised an eyebrow with a grin. "Will do, Iku-Chan! I'll also let Harder and the others know where they can bring our downed seaplane pilots to."

With a smile, Iku let out a breath. "That would be great, thank you." Just glancing around again, the group then began to swim towards Yokosuka as Imuya got in touch with their fellow Submarines. It was time to head home.
________________________________________________________________________
Nearing the end of his morning run, Harry began to slow down until he finally stopped close to the Carrier Archery Range. A quick glance at the watch on his wrist though caused him to sigh before looking at the Sun, which had risen over the horizon. 'Five-thirty...' Sure, he had been slowly sleeping better, but sometimes he woke up at a time when he might as well not bother going back to sleep.

His mother, of course, would disagree.

But just the same, he would head out and do a morning run just like he had been doing since he first joined Fubuki on hers when he was nine. If nothing else, it helped him wake up. Right now though, he was wiping the sweat from his brow while shaking his head. 'I can't wait for Fubuki-Nee to get back. Running by yourself is not much fun.' Harry then pulled out a bottle of water and was sipping it when he heard a sound that made him blink, that of airplane engines. Slowly, he turned to the archery range and frowned. 'I wonder who that is? Kaga-Oba and Akagi-Oba don't use it until after breakfast.'

Frowning, Harry entered through the door of the range and walked through the main building until he came to the target area. Mindful of the lessons that Kaga had drilled into him regarding safety, he stopped and then blinked. His curiosity soom melted to confusion as he realized who was using the range so early.

There, pulling back on her bow's string, Ryuuhou concentrated on the targets as she narrowed her red eyes. Moments later, she released and her arrow shot out before transforming in a burst of flame into a Zero. Said plane shot at one of the targets and only clipped it before it had to veer off, which made Ryuuhou's shoulder slump. "Not again..."

Holding out her flight deck, the Zero landed somewhat unsteadily as Harry watched. 'Huh...' As Ryuuhou placed the arrow back into her quiver and pulled out a new one, Harry frowned. 'I wonder...'

Meanwhile, Ryuuhou took a deep breath and brought her bow up. "Let's, um, try this again..." Pulling back, she took careful aim at the targets. Just as the Light Carrier was about to release, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye and glanced to see Harry there. Shocked, she released the arrow which was misaimed and came no where near the target. "Eep!"

Somewhat sheepish, Harry just raised a hand and gave her a wave. "Um, hi, Ryuuhou-Chan... Good morning?"

Blinking, Ryuuhou then blushed a bit as she realized what had happened and winced. "Um, good morning to you too, Harry-Chan." Moments later, she bit her lip and glanced to the side. "H-how long have you been there for?"

With a slight chuckle, Harry scratched at the back of his head before glancing at the Zero now doing some circles. "Just for a few minutes maybe?" He then pointed the way that he came. "I was just finishing my run when I heard someone practicing. Normally no one is until later in the morning so I was wondering who it might be..." To Ryuuhou's surprise though, Harry bowed a bit. "Sorry for interrupting your practice."

A blush still on her cheeks, Ryuuhou just gripped her bow. "That's... okay. I just didn't think that anyone would be around at this time of the morning is all."

Frowning, Harry blinked. "Why?" In reply, she just mumbled something and Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "I... didn't understand any of that."

If anything though, that increased Ryuuhou's blush as she looked up at her plane. "I said that, um... I was practicing this early so no one would see me. I'm not that good of a Carrier."

Now that reminded Harry of past talks with Shinano and he slowly walked up onto the platform. "Why would you think that, Ryuuhou-Chan?" He paused for a moment as she hung her head and sniffled a bit. "Ryuuhou-Chan?"

When he placed a hand on her shoulder, she sniffled a bit. "D-do... have you ever heard of what the Americans call the Marianas T-Turkey Shoot?" After he nodded, she gripped her bow even tighter, enough so that it creaked. "I was there and lost all my planes."

Eyes widening a bit, Harry winced. "Ah. Well, that wasn't really you're fault, right? It was how things were at the time."

Sniffling again, she shook her head. "No... but my pilots are still pretty bad and... and... How can I even be of use if my pilots have issues hitting a stationary target!? That's why I'm here, so no one can see how bad I am. Fat lot of good it did me though."

Much to her surprise though, Harry hugged her. "It wasn't that bad. From what I saw you were doing pretty good!" At her look, he grinned. "Really, you were doing great there!"

Just raising her eyebrow, Ryuuhou frowned. "Really? It wasn't that good... my planes couldn't hit a stationary target, let alone a moving one." Shoulders slumping, she shook her head. "What use am I? All I am is a bad conversion... and maybe have my planes act as a distraction to be shot down. That's why I was practicing so early, so that I could be gone before anyone showed up, fat lot of good it did me though."

Harry blinked and gave her a look. "But you're training them, right?" Slowly, she nodded and Harry gave her a smile. "Exactly! And they can only get better as you train them!"

Now surprised, Ryuuhou looked at him. "You really think so? I mean... that they can get better?"

Quickly nodding, Harry smiled at her. "Sure! Maybe we can ask Kaga-Oba and Akagi-Oba too, I'm sure that they would be willing to help."

Jaw dropping, Ryuuhou gave a squeak. "Ask CarDiv1 for help?! I-I couldn't! There's no way that either of them would even associate with a messed up Carrier like me."

Expression becoming bullish, Harry frowned at her. "Trust me, if ask, they'll give it. Or... you can ask Shinano-Chan and White Plains for help instead. They'd help as well."

Biting her lip, Ryuuhou shook her head. "I don't know..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As he frowned, Harry tilted his head a little bit. "Why not? White Plains often holds classes for various Carriers. Heck, Kaga-Oba and Akagi-Oba have gone to them."

That caused Ryuuhou's jaw to drop as she stared at him. "CarDiv1 has been taught by her?! Really?!" When Harry nodded though she looked away. "Then I really shouldn't go. After all, a messed up Carrier like me wouldn't fit in... or be welcome."

Much to her surprise though, Harry reached up with a finger and poked her. "That's a bunch of bull, Ryuuhou-Chan."

Rapidly blinking, she then turned fully to him. "Did... Did you just poke me, Harry-Chan?" When he nodded, she frowned and rubbed the spot in question. "Why?!"

Even though part of him wanted to giggle at her pout, Harry managed to keep it in. "Because I don't want you insulting yourself! You can be a great Light Carrier, Ryuuhou-Chan! And as for White Plains? The only reason she wouldn't want you there is if you don't want to work."

Voice becoming soft, Ryuuhou tilted her head to the side and swallowed. "But how, Harry-Chan? How do you know that I can even be a good Light Carrier?"

In reply, Harry smiled at her before he reached up and placed a hand on her shoulders. "How?" He then gestured around them with his free hand. "What were you doing just now? When I showed up I mean."

More then a little confused, Ryuuhou looked around with a small frown. "I was practicing. But... what does that have to do with anything?"

Smiling, Harry tapped her on the nose and made her go cross-eyed. "Everything, Ryuuhou-Chan! If you didn't want to become better, then you wouldn't be here! Just look at it, you're here super early in the morning just to put in the time to become better. To train! You could be sleeping instead!"

Blushing as she fiddled with her bow, Ryuujou glanced around. "U-um... but I'm a shipgirl, Harry-Chan. I don't really need sleep."

Softly snorting, Harry crossed his arms. "Well, yeah, I knew that. But every shipgirl that I've met likes sleeping. But here you are! Awake really early in the morning so that you can train."

There was a small smile on Ryuuhou's face as she nodded. "Well, that is true, I guess..." She then looked at him. "But you're up early too."

All Harry did though was shrug. "Yeah, I guess that I am. But I'm up early for my morning run. If I'm going to become a great Admiral, then I got to work at it! Which also means exercising because I need to pass physicals and stuff, Dess!"

Unable to help herself, Ryuuhou gave a giggle. "I see." Sitting down with Harry doing so beside her, Ryuuhou held out her flight deck and the Zero that she had launched returned, becoming a arrow once more after landing. Gently taking it between two of her fingers, the Light Carrier rolled it around a little bit. "Do... do you really mean everything that you said?"

Kicking his legs back and forth, Harry nodded as he leaned back. "Yup! If you work at it really hard, then I'm sure that you'll become a great Light Carrier." With a soft sigh, Harry tilted his head back to look at the sky. "You know, Akagi-Oba and Kaga-Oba train with their pilots every day for a few hours. And they're considered the best in the JMSDF. And Kaga-Oba told me that they're only that good because they train with their pilots as often as they do. Shinano-Chan also trains a lot with her pilots and she's awesome as well. And once, when I went down to Kure with Mum, I saw Zuikaku and Shoukaku also training every day while we were down there, though they also do it alongside Hiryuu and Soryuu."

Expression thoughtful, Ryuuhou looked out at the target range before sighing. "It's not easy though.
Actually, it's kind of hard for my pilots to get better."

His own expression not changing, Harry just shrugged. "I was told once by Fubuki-Nee that nothing worth it is ever easy. We just need to continue towards our goals and we'll get there one day."

With a small nod, Ryuuhou nodded. "I hope so." The two of them sat there for several moments only for their thoughts to be interrupted by a growl. Blushing, Ryuuhou put one hand to her stomach. "Heh... sorry."

Raising an eyebrow, Harry frowned at her. "Didn't you eat?" When she shook her head though, Harry frowned even more. "You should always eat before practicing! You need fuel and supplies after all!"

Still blushing, Ryuuhou scratched her cheek. "Normally it's not a problem because it's early so... there's not much in the mess hall."

If anything though, that caused Harry to scowl and glance at his watch. "Okay... how about I go and take a quick shower and meet you there? I was going to make Taigei-Chan the cinnamon rolls she likes since she's fully healed now to celebrate. So I can make some for you too if you want."

When he looked though, he already had his answer as Ryuuhou looked like she was drooling. "Cinnamon rolls? T-the big, soft ones? With lots of cinnamon and icing on them?!"

Rather amused, Harry nodded. "Yup! One in the same actually." Suddenly he blinked as something occurred to him. "Huh... you know, I forgot that you might like the same things as Taigei-Chan, Ryuuhou-Chan."

Now it was Ryuuhou's turn to be amused as she giggled. "Well... technically I am Nee-Chan, just... converted into a Light Carrier. So of course I would like the same things, Harry-Chan." She then blinked a little and frowned in thought. 'You know... Harry-Chan is one of the few who hasn't called me Taigei by mistake...'

However, she was startled out of her thoughts and blushed as Harry shook his head. "Not really, you're two different people after all. Like... twins actually." Quickly shaking it off, Harry reached out and helped pull Ryuuhou to her feet. "Anyways, I'll meet you and Taigei over at the Mess Hall and get started, okay?"

That got him a smile and a nod from Ryuuhou. "Hai! I'll see you there in about an hour."

With one final smile the two left, though Ryuuhou placed her gear away carefully first while also hiding that she had been there. However, unnoticed by them Kaga was just out of sight leaning against a wall deep in thought. The Carrier had noticed that someone had been using the Target Range early in the morning. Hence, that morning, she got up early and stealthily made her way to the range to find out who it was. In fact, Kaga was just about to confront Ryuuhou when Harry showed up and decided to simply observe and listen. And while she knew that it wasn't right to invade their privacy, at the same time it was more likely she would find out the reasons then if she had been asking herself. After all, Kaga, more then anyone knew of her reputation.

She was quite happy with her decision and, once Ryuuhou had left about fifteen minutes, pushed off the wall and walked inside. "Hmm..." A quick examination showed Kaga that everything was in it's proper place and she slowly nodded. With a final look around, she walked out herself. "Looks like I will be having a chat with Akagi. She'll know better then me how to approach this."

Moments later though, she came to a stop and looked in the direction that Harry had left in and smirked before continuing with an easy stride. "And I think that you just proved again that you'll make for a fine Admiral..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting side by side in the Mess Hall, Taigei and Ryuuhou stared at the two plates in front of them. Both plates had a number of hot, fresh cinnamon rolls dripping with icing. With slow movements, the two leaned forward and took a deep sniff before letting out a sigh. "Cinnamon rolls..." Gently, they each took one of the buns and then, after a moment's pause, bit into them before letting out groans of enjoyment.

It went without saying that more then one of the male base personnel stumbled as they couldn't take their eyes off the two. Not helped but how they kept making sounds as they slowly worked their way through the cinnamon buns. Neither of them slowed down until at least a quarter of their plates were done at which point Taigei examined one of them. "I wonder how he does it."

With a blink as she chewed, Ryuuhou tilted her head and then swallowed. "How who does what?"

Glancing at her, Taigei took a bite of the roll in her hands before humming. Once she was done chewing and had swallowed, she frowned. "Harry-Chan with his cinnamon rolls."

For a moment, Ryuuhou frowned as she thought that over. And then nodded. "That's right, we... I mean, you, have tried to make them exactly the same."

Slowly, Taigei nodded as she chewed another bite before reaching up with a napkin and wiping some icing from her lips. "Exactly." There was a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked towards the kitchen. "I know that Harry-Chan has said that he doesn't use any secret ingredients, but mine always taste different from his."

Munching slowly, Ryuuhou shook her head. "Maybe he does use a secret ingredient? They really are the best ones."

That just got her a nod from Taigei who glanced around to see various people sometimes looking between her and Ryuuhou. But when they noticed that she had seen them, they went back to what they were doing. 'I wonder what that is all about?'

At the same time, Ryuuhou looked up as she spotted Harry walking towards the table with his own breakfast. Once he sat down, she smiled before standing up and giving him a hug. "Thank you, Harry-Chan... for everything."

Harry only returned the hug with a shrug. "You're welcome, Ryuuhou-Chan." Then he spotted two people that he wanted to talk to and waved them over. "Shinano-Chan! White Plains! Over here!"

Needless to say, Ryuuhou's neck nearly snapped from how fast she whipped her head around as the Support Carrier and her Escort Carrier momboat walked over and sat down. Though she had to blink at the sight of both the amount of food that Shinano had on her plate as well as White Plains' choice of Coco Krispies. Sitting down, Shinano smiled over at the smaller boy. "Good morning, Harry-Chan." Then she turned to the two shipgirls across from her and bowed slightly. "Good morning, Ryuuhou-San, Taigei-San."

To Shinano's surprise, Taigei blushed some and bit her lip. "Um, Shinano-San?" At the Support Carrier's nod, she took a deep breath. "You... don't have to call me that. Not after saving my life."

It was Shinano's turn to blush some as she placed her hands in her lap and shook her head. "I-it was nothing, Taigei-S-" Getting a cough, she gave Taigei a small smile. "Taigei, anyone would have done the same."
Fixing her with a look, Taigei frowned. "Not everyone could have carried me all the way back though... So thank you."

Beside her, Ryuuhou nodded. "It's much the same for me as well, Shinano-Sama."

More then a little embarrassed by the praise, Shinano only nodded before she smiled slightly. "It's good to see you out and about though. Are you all repaired?"

Slowly, Taigei nodded as she smiled and swallowed another bite of her cinnamon roll. "Hai, I'm all repaired. Though..." Glancing around, she leaned forward some, none of those at the table noticing as White Plains was adding spoonfuls of sugar to her cereal. "Akashi wants to try and come up with some upgrades for a possible rebuild."

That caught Harry's attention and he blinked a bit. "Really? That's great, Taigei-Chan!"

Giggling, Taigei nodded some. "I think so, though at the moment it's only replacing my engines and maybe adding some torpedo bulges." Looking down at her waist, she frowned some. "Hopefully it won't change too much though."

All Harry did though was shrug at that. Then he brought his foot up and tapped Ryuuhou's with it. Having gotten the Light Carrier's attention, he jerked his head towards Shinano. Eyes widening for a moment, Ryuuhou got the hint and took a deep breath to center herself. "U-um, Shinano-Sama... c-could I ask a favor of you."

With a blink from where she was about to spoon some oatmeal into her mouth, Shinano nodded though she was confused. "Okay..."

Taking another deep breath, Ryuuhou let it out before swallowing. "My airplanes have been having some issues and... could you... maybe..." Her courage nearly failing her, she closed her eyes and bowed. "Train me and my aircrews!"

Jaw dropping, Shinano stared at Ryuuhou in shock."I... I... you want me?!" For a moment, Shinano winced as her voice squeaked a bit. "Wh-why?"

Simply raising her head, Ryuuhou chewed her lip nervously. "It's just that you're well known and... I could use some help. Harry-Chan said that you could."

Looking at Harry, who only smiled back at her, Shinano withdrew into herself a little bit. She was about to say no when she spoke. "Sure, I think I can help but... what do you need help with?"

Finally relaxing a bit, Ryuuhou looked down at the table. "It's my pilots mainly. They don't have the best training and..."

Quickly shaking that off, Shinano turned back to Ryuuhou deep in thought as she considered the problem. "Hmm... what sort of problems are you having?"

Frowning, Ryuuhou chewed another cinnamon roll before closing her eyes. "Well..." Roughly five minutes later, she finished and looked up at the Support Carrier in hope. "And... well, that's everything."

Only tilting her head, Shinano considered the issues before chewing her lip. "Hmm... I don't know how much I can help. But it's going to take a bit for training. I know that it did for my own pilots. Um, I guess that we can start simple, right Kaa-San?" A frown crossed Shinano's face before she glanced to the side and blinked. "Uh, Kaa-San? Isn't that enough sugar?"

With a grin, White Plains just raised her spoon. "You can never have enough sugar!"

After a few seconds, Shinano shook it off and hummed. "Um, if you say so..."

Widely grinning with sugary milk dripping down her chin, White Plains nodded. "Yup! Now, where do we start?"

Looking up at the ceiling, Shinano furrowed her eyebrows for about a minute as she wracked her brain. Then she blinked and smiled before turning to the little Escort Carrier. "I guess first we train her some LSOs?"
More then a little confused, Ryuuhou looked between them and tilted her head to the side. "Um, LSOs? What are those?"

Brightly smiling, Shinano held out a hand upon which a fairy perched with what looked like colored flags that it waved in various ways. "LSO stands for Landing Signal Officer. I... found out that they helped my pilots out a lot when landing."

Curious, Ryuuhou leaned forward and blinked as she examined the tiny fairy. "Huh... I never heard of them before. How do they help?"

Simply setting the fairy down, Shinano leaned down as well. "W-well, when my pilots are coming down, he uses his flags to signal to them. He can tell them if they're coming in too fast, at the wrong angle... that sort of thing."

Eyes wide, Ryuuhou looked up at the giant Support Carrier. "I never knew that we had these... I think that the only one that comes close is a signal fairy with a red flag to tell my pilots to abort a landing..."

There was a small blush on Shinano's face as she shook her head. "Um, back during the War, we didn't them, Japan I mean. I... learned from Kaa-San and Enterprise-San, they had theirs train mine." Shrinking into herself a bit, she smiled some. "They really do help out a lot."

Rather then say something against it as she had expected, Shinano blinked as Ryuuhou frowned deeply. "They really do work?" At the nod from Shinano, Ryuuhou slowly hummed to herself. "Well... then I suppose that it might help me as well."

Pumping his fist into the air, Harry grinned as he swallowed the last bit of his own breakfast. "See? I told you, Ryuuhou-Chan! Shinano-Chan is an awesome Carrier and can help you become one too!"

With a nod, White Plains grinned as she placed her now empty bowl down. "Yup! Shinano is just awesome!"

Blushing, Shinano only twiddled her fingers together as she looked down. But there was still a rather pleased look on her face just the same. 'Harry-Chan... Kaa-San... thank you.' Nodding quickly, she looked towards Ryuuhou. "We'll get started whenever you wish."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Above the group of three, the branches of the tree swayed in the breeze. Then, with a yawn, Harry stretched out and laid his head on Hanna's stomach. Looking down at him, she let herself smirk a bit. "Comfy, are we Harry?"

Glancing up at her, Harry nodded some. "Yup!" Moments later, he shifted a bit. "You're stomach is pretty comfy."

There was a small blush on Hanna's face at that. But her smile just turned gentle as she reached down and threaded her fingers through his hair. "Well, I suppose with how comfortable it is to just lay my head upon my sister's stomaches, it would have to be."

Much to her amusement though, Natsumi, who had joined them, laid her head on Harry's stomach. "Nah, I think that Harry's stomach is more comfy."

Blinking, Harry gave her an odd look and then glanced at Hanna who seemed to be thinking it over. "Wait, what? My stomach?"

Hanna slowly nodded though her lips twitched as she did so. "Ja, she's right actually. Your stomach is pretty comfy for a pillow."

After a few moments, Harry chuckled and then shook his head. "Then Harry will try his best to be the best pillow." It took only seconds for all three to burst into laughter. When they finally calmed down some, they lapsed into thoughtful silence as they enjoyed the summer day. Eventually though, Harry broke the silence. "You know... it's been a bit since we just enjoyed a day."

From where she was stretched out on the grass, Natsumi eventually frowned. "Huh... you're right."

Tapping her chin in thought, Hanna hummed. "I can't say the same as I'm not often in Yokosuka, but it's much the same over in Germany. It's not often that I simply... enjoy a lazy summer day as the Americans say."

With a glance at her, Natsumi raised an eyebrow. "Really?" At the nod, she gave a slight snort of amusement. "Guess that there might be more to that stuff about Germans working all the time then I thought."

However, that just got her a snort back from Hanna who shook her head. "And you Japanese are much better? Still... better then the British."

Giving her a mock insulted look, Harry grumbled. "Hanna!"

Moments later though, a snickering Hanna reached down and gave Harry's hair a ruffle. "Present company excluded, of course." Stretching out a bit, which did interesting things to her shirt though Harry didn't notice, while Natsumi did with a mutter, Hanna let out a sigh. Eyes closing a bit, she allowed the breeze to play with her hair before she opened her eyes to watch the sunlight dancing among the trees. "Still, there is something to be said about relaxing on a day like this with friends."

Natsumi gave a nod at that. "Especially after a busy school term." Feeling Harry shift a bit, the kitsune winced. "Sorry, Harry-Chan."

About to give her a look, Hanna was surprised when Harry spoke up a bit. "It's not your fault, Natsumi-Chan. Besides... all you did was remind me of something, and not about what happened."

Sharing a look with Natsumi, Hanna looked down at her nearly twelve year old friend. "Anything you want to share, Harry?" When he glanced at her with one green eye, she smiled. "We're more then willing to listen."

For several seconds, Harry was quiet before he finally spoke up. "Don't get me wrong, I love Hogwarts. Outside of the end of the year, it's been really fun. Not to mention that I made a lot of friends. And I'm learning all sorts of magic. But..."

Only raising an eyebrow as she turned her head to regard him, Natsumi nodded. "But...?"

Letting out a sigh, Harry eventually shook his head. "Sometimes I really wonder... Did I do the right thing by going to Hogwarts? I mean, it's not just what happened. It's... Hogwarts is way on the other side of the planet, which means that I don't get to see my friends here as often."

It showed that Natsumi had grown up herself some over the past year that she only cocked her head to the side. "But you can talk with us via the mail every day, Harry-Chan. Heck! We've been writing letters back and forth all year."

Hanna gave a nod at that. "She's right actually, Harry. You've kept in contact with all of us after all."

Tilting his head, Harry acknowledged the point. "I guess? But it's not just that..." For a moment, he bit his lip before he reached down and began to lightly scratch at Natsumi's scalp in the way he knew she liked. Unknown to him, she clenched her teeth as she fought off the urge to kick out with her feet. "It's more that I feel like I missed something by going to Hogwarts sometimes."

Now really curious, Natsumi shifted some more so that she could look at Harry's expression, while making sure that he was still scratching her head some. Much to her surprise though, Harry had something of a malencholy expression on his face. "Harry-Chan? What do you mean by miss something?"

When he answered though, Natsumi felt her face heat up with a fierce blush that she had to fight down. "That I'm missing going to school with you, Natsumi-Chan."

Mouth working for a little bit, but no sound coming out, Natsumi eventually managed to speak. "You miss... going to school with me?""

Slowly, Harry nodded though he gave her an odd look. "Well, yeah." Turning his attention back to the leaves. "Before I got my Hogwarts letter, I had all these plans, you know? The two of us would go to the same Middle School, and the same High School together. We'd graduate together too!"

Feeling rather warmed by that, Natsumi sniffled a bit before twisting in place so that she could hug her friend, her head now on his shoulder. "I would have liked that too, Harry-Chan." For a moment, she could just imagine the two of them going to the same schools. The two of them studying together, taking entrance exams together to the same school. Maybe with her a becoming a Class Representative or Student Council President and Harry as her helper or Vice-President, damn whoever thought otherwise. Possibly them even going to the same collage or university. However, Natsumi shook her head. "But I think that you made the right decision, Harry-Chan. Even though I didn't like it either, I know that you need to go to Hogwarts to fully grow."

Harry blinked down at her in surprise. "Really?"

Only smiling, Natsumi nodded some as she snuggled more into his side. "Yeah, I do..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

There was a small, peaceful smile on Hanna's face as she considered the two. A small part of her said that she should feel jealous, but for some odd reason, she didn't. Shaking that off, Hanna gave a hum as she placed her hands behind her head. "Harry, I have been wondering something." When he looked up from Natsumi to her, Hanna continued. "I've been wondering how you're handling your education..."

Blinking, Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion. "How I've been handling my education? What do you mean?"

Slowly raising an eyebrow, Hanna shook her head. "I mean, I've been to Hogwarts and seen what they teach there. It's... not really the sort of thing that one needs to become an Admiral."

For a few moments, Harry was silent before he scratched his head. "Well... Hogwarts offers a special program for those wanting to continue a muggle education. Mostly course work and such, but I've been using the Kanmusu Education Program here in Japan."

It took a few moments for Natsumi to place that. "Wait, is that the program that helps shipgirls get a modern day education? Or even go further into college and university?"

Harry nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, that's the one. It's pretty flexible as shipgirls never know when they'll be heading out on sorties or for how long. Kind of hard when you might be at sea for two or three weeks after all. Because of that it's perfect for me to keep up my grades here in Japan. Heck, I got in because Mum is a shipgirl herself."

On Natsumi's face there was a thoughtful look. Meanwhile, Hanna nodded as she gave Harry a smile. "That's actually pretty good that you're continuing your normal education. Though..." Frowning, Hanna furrowed her eyebrows. "I wonder how they will handle things once the Statute comes down. Hogwarts will have to offer normal courses then."

All Harry did though was shake his head. "No clue. Maybe extend schooling there? I know that the international Asian school that was here in Japan before Blood Week was supposed to take in students before they were eleven years old."

Raising her eyebrow, Hanna snorted. "You mean Japanese school, don't you?"

However, the other eyebrow raised in surprise as Harry shook his head. "Nope, it was supposed to be for all the Asian countries from what I read. Japan, China, Taiwan, the Koreas... That sort of thing."

From where she was laying back on Harry, Natsumi snorted. "Yeah, and it worked out as well as you might think. There was a good reason why the staff there were extremely strict. It was pretty much the only way to keep fighting between the students or staff down with threats such as expulsion. Even then, from what Haha-ue told me, there's smaller schools in China and elsewhere that took those students in and those who didn't want to go."

Slowly, Harry nodded. "I read the same thing, though those were not certified by the ICW. Hence they gave warnings that the education might not be the best."

That caused Natsumi to snort and shake her head. "Which is just a bunch of lies. They are just as good, it's just that the ICW wanted to keep the amount of 'Official' schools down to something they could manage. And it's not fair that there's four of those in Europe and one on each other continent." Moments later though, she huffed a bit. "Great, now I sound like some of the older... folk."

Frowning, Harry watched her before he shook it off. "Anyways, Hogwarts might accept younger students or maybe continue the education there later. Maybe those NEWT classes being secondary education or something since I heard that you can leave school after the OWLs and get a job."

Just shrugging, Hanna considered that. But before she could say anything, Natsumi spoke up. "Harry-Chan?" Having gotten his attention, Natsumi continued. "Just wondering, but... doesn't the Kanmusu Education Program allow for a shipgirl to choose the school that they 'Join'? Even if they don't actually set foot physically in it?"

Blinking. Harry considered that and then nodded. "Actually... that's right. The shipgirl can choose a school to join. Though for some they go there for tests and such... But for high schools they still need to perform the entrance exams first before they can actually be put down for being there. Why?"

Natsumi moved some so that she could look at Harry directly. "Well... doesn't that mean that since you are also in the program that you could chose a normal school to join then? That's true, right?"

Completely lost, Harry just nodded. "Um, yes? I mean, I could do that..."

Suddenly, Natsumi grinned before she leaned in close. "Then why can't you go to the same school as me? Graduate alongside me?"

There was really only one answer that Harry could make to that. "What?"

Grinning, Hanna gave a small laugh. "I think that I can see where you are coming from, Natsumi."

With a glance at her, Natsumi nodded. "I don't doubt it." Turning back to the utterly confused black haired boy, she shook her head. "Harry-Chan, Hogwarts runs until you're, what? Seventeen? In that June?"

Very slowly, Harry nodded. "Yeah... pretty much. Once I've sat for the NEWTs in June, that's pretty much it for my magical education. Why?"

If anything, the grin grew on Natsumi's face as she nodded. "Think about it for a second, Harry. You might, at most, miss out on the first term for the last year of high school. We get in the same school and you'll be able to sit for most of the year! We could still go to the same school and graduate together!"

Needless to say, Harry was stunned for a few moments as he considered that, and then grinned. "You're right..." Laughing, he hugged Natsumi close as the kitsune flushed. "You're right, Natsumi-Chan!"

Wrapping her arms around him, she grinned into his neck. "Aren't I always, Harry-Chan?" Moments later, she pulled back and sniffled a bit, though the massive grin on her face gave her true thoughts away. "That's great news, isn't it?"

Still with his arms around her, Harry nodded with a grin just as wide as Natsumi's. "The very best."

All Hanna did was chuckle at the scene in front of her.
______________________________________________________________________________

Niiyodo was frowning some as she was checking some of the paperwork in front of her when she felt something poke her in the side. Squealing, she nearly leapt from her seat only to stop as she heard snickers and looked to see a certain black haired wizard there. "Harry-Chan! What the... where did you come from?"

In reply, Harry put his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth. "From outside, Niiyodo-Chan."

Raising an eyebrow, she spotted one of her fairies just shaking it's head and then held out a hand. Said fairy returned to her and she had the image of Harry crawling into her office and then sneaking behind her. Looking over her eyeglasses, the Light Cruiser hummed a bit. "From outside, huh, Harry-Chan?"

Unable to help himself, Harry grinned. "Yup!" Moments later though, he let out a squeal as Niiyodo lashed out with her own fingers and dug them into his side. "Niiyodo-Chan!"

Softly snorting, Niiyodo shook her head as he jumped just out of reach. "What? Fair is fair, Harry-Chan."

Grumbling a blit, Harry turned towards the paperwork and frowned a bit. "Working hard?"

With a glance at the paperwork, Niiyodo nodded some as she pulled a sheet towards her. "Uh-huh. Onee-Sama asked that I work on the reports from... the expedition to the island." Then she perked up a bit. "By the way, do you have yours done yet?"

In reply, Harry pulled out some sheets and handed her them. "Right here actually, it's one of the reasons that I came." As she took it, he scratched the back of his head. "Hopefully it's written up right..."

Simply glancing at him, Niiyodo smiled a bit. "Want me to check it over for you?" She was just able to hold back her grin as Harry quickly nodded. "Okay... how about you take a seat while I do that, Harry-Chan." Once he did so, Niiyodo moved her chair until she was beside him and held out his reports so that he could see. "Now, let's start, shall we?"

After some time, they were finished and Niiyodo smiled a bit as Harry leaned back his chair. However, before the Light Cruiser could say anything, Harry sat up straight and then hugged her. "Sorry about all that, Niiyodo-Chan..."

Blushing some, Niiyodo patted him on the back. "I don't mind at all, Harry-Chan. And look at it this way, when you enter the JMSDF you'll be ahead of others in knowing how to write a report."

Harry slowly nodded some and smiled. "I guess... Still, thanks." Simply watching as she nodded and went to sort it with the rest of the reports, Harry chuckled a bit. "You seem pretty happy, Niiyodo-Chan."

Just pausing for a moment, Niiyodo went back to her work. "Hai, I suppose that I am. It's because Onee-Sama trusts me enough to sort out these reports."

With his tone turning teasing, Harry grinned a bit. "Just don't become as obsessive as Ooyodo-Oba is, okay?"

Softly giggling, Niiyodo nodded some. "I'll try not to, though Onee-Sama has every reason to be." Her gaze turning distant, she sighed a bit. "Did you know that according to Taitoku, Onee-Sama is one of the reasons why Japan has survived? Because she worked so hard and was able to pull off miracles..." Once more, Niiyodo let out a small sigh. "I hope that I can be that good of a Secretary ship some day."

In reply, Harry gave her a thumbs up. "I don't see why you hope so, because I'm positive that you'll be just as good as Ooyodo-Oba. After all, she trusts you with this stuff, right?"

Expression brightening, Niiyodo nodded some. "Hai!"

Out of nowhere though, Harry snapped his fingers. "That reminds me, I didn't come by just to drop off the reports!" Grabbing his knapsack that was beside him, he began to dig through it. "I actually brought you something."

Blinking, Niiyodo leaned over some to better look. "You brought me something, Harry-Chan? Why?"

All Harry did was raise an eyebrow and looked at the clock. "Because you worked all through lunch?"

Her eyes becoming wide, Niiyodo turned and stared at the clock in surprise. "I did?" At seeing the time though, she felt her cheeks grow hot. "Heh... guess that I did."

Lips twitching, Harry nodded in amusement. "Yup! You're just like Ooyodo-Oba."

More then a little sheepish, Niiyodo scratched at her cheek. "Guess that I am, and I'll be taking that for a compliment." Watching as Harry placed some bentos in a clear spot on her desk, she licked her lips. "Now, what do we have for some lunch?" Not saying anything, Harry opened a sealed container from which Niiyodo nodded at. "Ooo! Soba!"

Placing a thermos onto the desk, Harry nodded. "Yeah, and I got you some nice tea as well from Rose... And, um... I decided to see if you could try something that I made."

Niiyodo blinked a bit as she chewed some tempura from another one of the bentos before hurridly swallowing. "Well, I don't mind trying anything that you made, Harry-Chan. Usually, it's pretty good..." She trailed off a bit as she remembered some of the things the boy next to her had tried. 'Though sometimes the western foods can be a bit heavy.'

Only nodding, Harry pulled out a final container and then opened it. Inside were several items that made Niiyodo blink. "Here, I made these for dessert.'

Softly frowning, Niiyodo took one of the items and looked. For a moment, she thought that it was one of those mini-tarts that Kongou and Rose sometimes made. But then she blinked as she realized that wasn't what it was. "Is that... chocolate chip cookie?"

A small smile on his face, Harry picked one up and pointed. "Dess! See, I made them kind of like mini-tarts. The crust is actually chocolate chip cookie. And the filling is fudge brownie! They're, well... chocolate chip brownie tarts according to the recipie that I found."

Eyes widening a bit, Niiyodo glanced around and then leaned towards him. "Well, guess that I'll just have to sacrifice myself as the test subject." Despite her words, the smile on her face and the twinkle in her eye took away any sting from them and told Harry she was just playing. Moments later, Niiyodo bit into it before giving Harry a thumb's up as she smiled. 'I could get used to these...' Then, a thought came to her unbidden which caused her to stop chewing for a second. 'I wonder if, when Harry-Chan becomes an Admiral he might want me as a Secretary Ship...'

Meanwhile, four of her fairies that were on her desk made off with one of the tarts. When they had gotten a distance away, one of them leapt into the air as he brought down his sword before slashing at it again. They slowly nodded as the tart fell into four pieces with each fairy taking one of them happily. "Desu."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"This is just so odd..."

Blinking, Jones turned to regard the auburn haired beauty beside him. She had a ponytail done up with what a hair ornament which had a big letter "E" on it. "Hmm? How so?"

Simply pushing down her skirt, the woman looked around the deck of the Carrier that they were on with an interested look. "Well... since I've been back this is the first time that I've stepped on a Carrier besides, well..."

A snicker caused them both to turn to where another young woman stood. In her case though, she had a modified sailor's uniform on and hair ornament that looked like three blue feathers on it. "Since you stood on my deck several years ago to wake me up, Mama."

There was a small blush on the auburn woman's face before she smiled a little bit. "I... Yes, I suppose so, Lexy." Ignoring the snickers though, the woman turned her attention to the Carrier. "What makes it more odd is that she's named for me."

Feeling an arm around her waist, she turned down to the man beside her who smiled up at her. "Well, Minitoga is certainly a worthy successor for you, Sara."

Saratoga only raised an eyebrow at him in bemusement. "Minitoga, Sky? Really?"

However, all the man did was shrug with a small smile as he also looked around. "Well... she is your daughter I guess?" Thinking it over for a moment, Jones shrugged. "I think that's how it works."

Chuckling, Lexington (CV-16), or better known as "Lexteen" shook her head. "It's complicated and let's leave it at that." As she came to a stop beside them, she sighed and shook her head. "I'm actually surprised that you never visited her before this, Mama."

Now more then a little sheepish, Saratoga tilted her head to the side. "Well... I've been meaning too, but either she's been out on the seas or I have. This is the first time that I've actually been in the same port as her at the same time." Crouching down, she placed her hand against the warm flight deck and smiled. "And I'm rather proud of her."

All of them could feel a slight tremble run through the ship for a moment before Lexteen smiled. "Well, you got every reason to be. She's served for a long time with honor." Suddenly, she sighed and frowned a bit as she glared out at the open ocean. "And as much as I hate to admit it, due to all the death that happened, the Abyssals may be the only reason that she's still serving."

Slightly off to the side, a woman who looked exactly like Saratoga stiffened a bit. "You're joking, right? Because that's not funny, Lexy."

Lexington only shook her head a bit. "I wish that it was, um... Mama Toga. But the first months of the war saw several Carriers sent to the bottom, so the Navy rushed to reactivate her and her sisters as well as any other Carriers we had that could be used.

Crossing his arms, Jones glanaced around. "I remember that actually. Kitty Hawk, Constellation, and John F. Kennedy were the other ones also reactivated... But I heard that there was some rather odd incidents during their reactivation."

Bemused, Lexteen nodded. "You could say that. Somehow a lot of the electronics that were supposed to have been stripped out for other Carriers were suddenly back for Minitoga and her sisters. And a lot of the issues that should have happened while they worked... just never happened."

Eyebrows furrowing, Jones just looked at her in confusion. "Wait... how could that have happened? I never heard about any of this."

Simply glancing around, Lexteen chuckled. "Well... it's not classified, but not supposed to be talked about. Anyways, the theory is that while they can't manifest as shipgirls yet, they were still old enough to affect their hulls. Small things needed to get them into working order turned up in places nearby where they would be noticed and so forth." The Carrier shipgirl then nodded at the radar. "It's shown up in other ways as she's one of the few ships in the whole Navy capable of punching through the normal interference around the Abyssals. Which is sort of why they have her out and about so much."

Highly amused, Saratoga just raised one eyebrow at her. "You seem to know quite a bit about her considering that I was summoned before you were, Lexy."

There was a far off look on the younger Essex class Carrier. "I did my research after I came back and... Well, to be honest in a lot of ways I was to her how you were to me, Mama. Though more a big sister then a mom."

Walking across the deck, Saratoga pulled Lexteen into a hug. "And I'm certain that you did a good job of it. You really should be happy with her after all."

Gently smiling, Toga nodded a bit. "She's right, you know." Before Lexteen could thank her though, Toga walked over and grabbed Jones' arm her own, pressing it against her chest. "Now then, I can see that our guide is waiting for us and I, for one, want to see more of our successor."

Cheeks puffing out, Saratoga looked like she was about to say something before she paused. Then, she just let out a breath and sighed. "Oh for... I give up."

Just as she was about to walk over though, she stopped and stared at a spot by the Carrier's island with a frown. From where he was, Jones also looked but saw nothing. "Sara? Is something wrong?"

Quickly shaking out of it, Saratoga gave him a thoughtful smile. "Nothing, it's just that I thought that I saw something for a moment. But there's nothing there." Walking over, she grabbed his other arm and gave a smirk at Toga, who's turn it was to puff out her cheeks. "Now then, my twin sister is right. And I am rather intrigued with how Carriers have changed since my day..." As they walked towards the door leading into the ship, Saratoga continued to talk. "After all, you would not believe how long E was going on about her own namesake after she visited her."

When they entered the doorway, the flight deck was empty... except for a spot near the island. There, a translucent older teen girl with blonde hair stood. Quite a number of her features resembled Saratoga's except her hair color and the way she styled it. On one side of the cover she wore, was a hair ornament like Lexteen's. She even wore a similar outfit to Lexteen.

At the moment though, her face was scrunched up in utter confusion. "... I got two Mamas?" Then she faded into a cloud of sparkles that sank into the ship itself.
___________________________________________________________________________

Looking at the screen, Harry grinned as the Skype call connected to show his brown haired, female friend on the other end. "Hermione!" Seconds later though, his grin faded as he took in her exaspirated and frazzled look. "Um... something happen."

There was a tried look on Hermione's face as she snorted. "Oh, just a visitor." Reaching up, she tilted the webcame to show a certain top heavy British Submarine laying on the floor. Upholder was tied up in rope and in a uncomfortable looking position as well as with a gag in her mouth. However, she just nodded and closed her eyes as she mumbled a greeting. Placing the webcam back into position, Hermione sighed. "And one comment about ropes and gags, Harry..."

Blinking, Harry frowned a little bit. "Ropes and gags? What sort of jokes are we talking about here?"

It took a few moments, but Hermione snorted and shook her head. "Never change, Harry. Never change." Seeing him about to comment, she took a deep breath. "Right, so how's your vacation been going?"

Only leaning back in his chair, Harry shrugged a bit. "It's been going pretty well, um, except for some things." At her curious look, he winced. "Taigei got really hurt due to an attack some time ago..."

Wincing herself, Hermione nodded. "I remember hearing something about that. Hopefully she gets better soon if she hasn't already. All done your homework though?"
Just chuckling, the black haired boy grinned at her. "Finished it up a few days ago..." Suddenly, he grinned. "I do have one piece of news that my cousin Jane told me about. She apparently heard about it from Jintsuu-Oba."

More then a little intrigued, Hermione nodded some. "Go on... what did you hear from her?"

Glancing around, Harry leaned towards the screen. "Apparently Jinstuu set up this guy over in the US with her sister, Sendai-Oba. And after their first blind date, Sendai-Oba's become... interested in the guy. So now she's been after him for a week or so."

Several seconds passed before Hermione winced. "What the heck did that guy do for Jintsuu to set him up with Yasen-Baka?" At Harry's look, her expression turned deadpan. "Yes, we've heard of her even in the Royal Navy." Becoming thoughtful, Hermione hummed a bit. "What's his name anyways?"

To her surprise, Harry shrugged. "No clue. All I know is that his screen name online is 'Elderly Ferrous' or something like that. Jane can't get much more then that from Jintsuu-Oba before she starts cackling."

Hermione blinked at that with Harry returning her blink. After yet another blink, Hermione shook her head. "Right, note to self, don't annoy Jinstuu."

Expression turning blank, Harry snorted. "That's great advice for any of the Sendai class really." Moments later though, he frowned. "I wonder what they did to annoy Jinstuu-Oba that much..."

On the screen, Hermione only shrugged a bit. "Honestly? It could have been anything." Frowning, she shook her head. "Still, siccing Sendai on him is probably a bit much..."

In reply, Harry only shrugged a bit. "Probably."

Still shaking her head, Hermione suddenly perked up a bit. "Oh! By the way, Neville wanted me to pass on a question to you about something." Getting a nod from Harry, she continued. "He's been wondering why you haven't been answering his letters. Ron asked the same thing through Warspite."

That caused Harry to blink and furrow his eyebrows some. "Wait, they've been sending me letters?" When Hermione nodded, he just frowned in confusion. "That's odd... I haven't gotten any at all."

Blinking, now it was Hermione's turn to frown. "None?"

With a shake of his head, Harry leaned back. "No, none at all. I didn't even know that they sent me anything."

For several moments, Hermione chewed her lip as she went deep into thought. "That's.... rather suspicious. Why wouldn't you get any mail from them, though..."

Raising an eyebrow, Harry frowned at her. "Though?"

Silence met him for a few seconds before Hermione shook her head. "They've likely sent them through the wizard post, right?" Getting a nod, she continued. "Then if they're going missing, it's probably there."

Head tilted to the side, Harry considered that before he looked at his friend. "You wouldn't happen to know if any of them received mail from me, do you? Because I sent them some letters as well."

Fingers tapping against the desk that she was sitting at, Hermione shook her head. "No, they didn't mention any letters from you. That means that things have gotten a lot more suspicious. If it was just Neville or Ron, I could understand it as maybe being messed up. But both of them? And maybe you? Once is an accident, two is a coincidence, three times is enemy action."

It went without saying that last bit caused Harry to become rather amused, but he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, something is rotten in Denmark." He ignored the roll of the eyes from Hermione before he frowned. "Could you have Warspite pass on to Ron that I'm sending him a letter and to let Warspite know when it arrives?"

Quickly guessing what he was doing, Hermione muttered to herself before sighing. "I'll go one better and have a letter from me passed along to be sent via owl post. Maybe have Neville and Ron send letters of their own. If those just disappear, then we'll know that someone is intercepting them." Seeing Harry's face pale, she raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "What about my Hogwarts letter, Hermione? If whoever it is that's intercepting my mail grabs that..."

To his relief, Hermione shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Worse comes to worse, you can use mine, Ron's, or Neville's as a guideline. Anyways, once we're done here I'll pass on what's needed to Warspite and the others."

Smiling, Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Hermione. I owe you one."

All Hermione did though was just chuckle and shake her head. "No, you really don't. After all, you're a friend, Harry."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Poking his head into the room, Harry smiled at Naka who was twirling her seat around in circles. "Hey, Naka-Nee!"

The Cruiser in question stopped and then gave Harry a smile back. "Hey there, Chibi. What brings you here? Been a bit since I saw my favorite co-host."

With a glance at the screen, Harry blinked. "Well, I heard that you were running a fundraiser? Because of what happened with Taigei-Chan..."

For a few moments, Naka watched him before she patted the seat beside her. Harry quickly ran over and sat down. "Well, your sources would be right in this case, Chibi. I am actually running a fundraiser. Mainly to buy some needed steel hulls for the shipgirl bases."

Confused, Harry frowned up at her. "Wait, what? Why would you need to buy steel hulls for the shipgirl bases? Wouldn't the normal funds be able to take care of that?"

Slowly shaking her head, Naka let out a snort. "Yes and no. Right now, most of the funds are going to civilian vessels such as cargo ships or to military vessels like patrol ships for the regular navy. And most of the funds that us shipgirls get are spent on keeping us in the fight or research and development. Follow me so far there, Chibi?"

After a few seconds, Harry nodded. "I think so..." Tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, Harry let out a breath. "So most of the funding for shipgirls is going into living expenses like food? Or coming up with better weapons?"

Nodding, Naka poked him in the head. "Exactly. While we don't eat as much as a full sized crew, we still eat a lot. Not to mention, when we're in need of major repairs, we eat even more then normal. A Destroyer might eat as much as twenty people or more three times a day while healing. And then you got stuff like repair fluid which isn't exactly cheap either. Hence, most of the funding is earmarked for that." Raising a finger, she wagged it from side to side. "There is also the fact that JMSDF has had to build new bases for shipgirls just to cover the coastline. And building a base is a costly affair besides the politics involved in it's placement. For example, they had to build two shipgirl bases in Kushiro and Sapporo."

Suddenly perking up some, Harry smiled. "I've been to those when they opened them with Mum." Becoming thoughtful, he frowned. "Though they were still building them when they opened up... and Akebono wasn't happy about being assigned to Kushiro."

Expression going blank, Nako took a deep breath. Then, she slowly let it out. "While even I can understand Akebono's... issues, with some of the higher ups, she was asking for it. I honestly cannot understand what possessed her to declare the Admiral at Kure a 'Shitty Admiral working for shitty politicians' on live television. Kami, sometimes that girl..." Quickly shaking it off, Naka cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Anyways... funding for things is rather tight with everything that needs to be done. Now, that doesn't mean that there's not enough for ships to be attached to the Shipgirl program, there is. And plenty of them as well. There's a number of short range transports for shipgirls to get them where they're needed and the modified Amphib docks used as mobile repair bases which are used. Those especially take a lot of money to both build and to operate in the end."

Just frowning, Harry slowly nodded. "Okay..."

Her hands clasped on her stomach, Naka gestured at the base. "There's just one problem with them. We can only have so many at a time for them, Japan has two and they're mostly used for convoy escort or to support long distance expeditions. The US has more, but they're stretched between three coastlines. I'm sure that you know how badly Taigei was hurt..."

Wincing, Harry nodded. "Yeah... Iku-Chan and the others said that if Shinano-Chan had not carried her back, she might have sank before they got here."

With a small sigh, Naka placed her hand onto Harry's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Unfortunately true. Neither Iku nor Hachi could carry her, they'd have to tow. And with her as damaged as she was, that would be the best of bad solutions."

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry frowned a bit. "Um... So how could a fund raiser help?"

Snapping her fingers, the Light Cruiser grinned. "Simple, by buying... a number of these!" With a flourish, she pulled a picture off a pile of papers and presented it to Harry. "See?"

Confused, Harry leaned in and looked at the picture. "Um... Naka-Nee? That looks like a fishing boat..."

Lightly laughing, Naka winked at him. "Correct, or rather it's based on a stern trawler to be exact. Lightly armed with just CIWS and maybe some anti-ship missiles, top speed of twenty seven knots, and able to go through any weather." She then pointed at a section of the stern. "See, it has a ramp right here and a winch to help get injured shipgirls out of the water. At that point, they're taken to where the hold was, which now has tubs and tanks of repair fluid so they can stablize the shipgirl so they can get back to base and the repair docks there."

It took a moment, but Harry's eyes widened some. "So... they're like an ambulance? For shipgirls?"

Patting him on the head, Naka nodded. "Exactly! That's a perfect comparison for them. They're also pretty cheap and can be built in smaller shipyards. The most expensive part is militarizing them really and that's not too hard at all. But you pretty hit it on what they are, an ambulance for shipgirls that can handle things closer to home then the mobile repair docks."

Slowly scratching his head, Harry began to think. "How cheap are we talking about, Naka-Nee? 'Cause from what I remember ships can be pretty expensive..."

With a hum, Naka tapped her fingers on her desk as she thought. "In all honesty? Practically dirt cheap from what I've heard and seen. It's just that the military is too busy rebuilding to pay for some... If the fundraiser works though, we should be able to get at least one for here, another for Kure, and maybe Kushiro. That will cover the Pacific coast where most of the fighting is happening. Next time, I'll try to get one for each of the other bases such as Sapporo."

Harry just gave her a look. "What about Sasebo and Okinawa?"

Chuckling, Naka ruffled his hair. "Well, from what Onee-Chan told me, Richardson is likely to shove aside some money to buy at least one for his group. The US is likely to buy at least two for Okinawa, though they'll be made in American shipyards and be a different design." With a glance at her screen, she nodded. "And with the benefits to donations, I might get enough."

Eyebrows raising, Harry blinked at her. "Benefits? What do you mean?"

With a soft hum, Naka frowned for a few moments. "Well... it depends on the source. For example, schools that raise and donate money will get things such as a shipgirl visiting for the day. Mutsu, for example, is more then willing to go to an elementary school and read to the younger students and spend the day with them. Higher then that, I myself will go to said school and hold a concert just for them. At the highest? They get to come onto one of the shipgirl bases for a open house of sorts, and even stay the night while spending time alongside us. They'll also be able to choose a name for one of the ships."

Blinking, Harry stared at her. "Okay... that's sort of impressive."

Just waving him off, Naka chuckled. "It is. As to individual donations? Lower level benefits have things like thank you letters written by Yamato for their donations, autographed shipgirl merchandise. Higher level donations get you backstage passes to one of my shows, passes to one of the shipgirl bases as a guided tour, and the ability to name a ship. We've batted around the idea of being able to spend a day with a shipgirl, but... there's some major issues with that one." Naka then shrugged. "And in any case, I would be the one doing that one before anyone else. As for the rest? It's a massive PR opportunity besides being able to fundraise."

The young wizard only nodded as he began to think.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Glancing over his shoulder, Harry blinked a bit. "You okay back there, Shioi-Chan? Hachi-Chan?"

Pressed between Harry and Shioi, Hachi only nodded with a smile. "Hacchan is fine, Harry-Chan."

Behind her, slightly uncomfortable due to her seating on the broom nearly where the bristles were, Shioi gave a weak smile. It didn't help that she was in her usual swimsuit, though she was thankful that both RO and Harry were the sizes that they were. "I'm fine as well... As long as we get there soon enough."

Only nodding, Harry turned and glanced down to where RO was pressed up against him and grinning as she looked at the water rush past. "This... is amazing, Harry-Chan!" Not moving beyond turning her head, RO let out a laugh as she felt Harry manuvur the broom thanks to his arms being on either side of her. "How fast are we going?"

Frowning, Harry hummed for a moment before giving a shrug best that he could. "Roughly about... seventy miles an hour. I don't want to push my broom too much with all of us on it after all."

It took a moment for that to filter through their minds before Shioi coughed. "Harry-Chan... just wondering, but how fact can your broom actually go at top speed? Seventy miles per hour is pretty fast to start off with."

A grin bloomed on Harry's face as he chuckled a bit. "Well, about a hundred and ninety if I really push it. Not going to with all of us on it, but..."

Needless to say, all three of the Subgirls widened their eyes at that in stunned disbelief. 'A HUNDRED AND NINETY MILES PER HOUR!? WHAT THE HELL!?'

Shaking her head, Hachi snorted some. "And we're really close to this island, right?" After getting a nod, she did some internal calculations. 'Hmm... We've been on the broom for about an hour so far and we started out at Wokyuu's island which is fifteen miles offshore. So give or take five miles and the island is about eighty five miles from Yokosuka in a southeast direction. Huh... that's not that bad of a distance.'

Moments later she was pulled out of her thoughts as Harry made a turn. "And there's the opening in the wards."

Each of the Subs blinked at the sight of the "Crack" that was partially in the air, with what looked like tiny bolts of lightning crackling around the edges. And then they were through it as Harry brought them around the edges of a volcanic cliff that soared for more then two hundred feet above them. Eventually though, they entered the caldera itself and RO looked around in awe. "This place is amazing..."

Nodding, Harry let out a sigh. "Yeah... though considering what happened..."

Just reaching over, Hachi placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed. "Harry-Chan's right, we need to be mindful." She then continued to look around and could see spots of spiritual fog in various areas. "Hacchan wants to know if you really think that it's safe here for you, Harry-Chan."

With a blink, Harry gave her a smile. "Don't worry about it, Hachi-Chan. Haru-San already said that it's more then safe for me, especially if I have a shipgirl with me."

Several minutes later, they landed on the shore of the island and Shioi looked around in curiosity. "Um, so where are they? Because I don't see them..."

Only shrugging, Harry frowned. "Actually... they probably already know that we're here so..." Bringing his hands to his mouth, he gave a small shout. "UME-SAN! SAKURA-SAN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Giggles caused all four to turn and notice the twin, transparent girls that stood nearby. Easily making their way to the group, the twins brightly smiled. "You came back!"

Chuckling, Harry rubbed the back of his neck some. "Well, I did promise you that I would come and visit you know." He then gestured at the three shipgirls beside him. "Anyways, these are Hachi-Chan, or Submarine I-8, Shioi-Chan, Submarine I-401, and RO-Chan, Submarine RO-500."

Both ghosts bowed to the three shipgirls. "Welcome to our island. We hope that you have a pleasant stay."

Each of the Subgirls bowed right back to the two spirits. "We're sure that we will. Thank you."

Once they stood up though, they lapsed into silence and the twins began to look a little lost. Sharing a look with her sister, Sakura took a deep breath. "While we're glad that you came to visit us, Harry-San... We're not quite sure what you want to do here."

For a few seconds, Harry blinked and then turned towards Hachi. "Right! We came here because we decided to share some movies with you. Pretty sure that you haven't seen any of them."

Their eyes widening, the twins gasped and smiled. "Movies? To watch with us..." Slowly though, their smiles fell and they hung their heads a bit. "Unfortunately, the theatre that once stood here is long gone."

More then a little surprised, RO stared at them. "Wait, you had a theatre here?"

Nodding, the twins pointed towards a section of the ruins. "Yes, it was right over there when the base stood. It was for the... supervisors... that headed the base." It was obvious to Harry and the shipgirls that they were uncomfortable. "Sometimes, when we wanted to escape from what was happening, we would go inside and watch the movies being shown. Though, some of them were..."

Harry frowned some and tilted his head as both girls blushed. "Some were what?"

Snickers escaped from the Subgirls as they realized exactly what sort of movies the twins might have seen and Hachi patted a confused Harry on the shoulder. "Hacchan will tell you what sort of movies later, Harry-Chan. But that's not important at the moment." Turning back to the twins who managed to get their embarrassment under control, she gave them both a smile. "As to the movies though, technology has gone ahead and we don't need it."

As she looked around, Shioi frowned. "Yeah... you don't need those big old theatres anymore." Grinning, she ran over to a spot and cleared some of the rubble away to reveal the ground. "Over here, Harry-Chan! This spot's perfect!"

Quickly making his way over, Harry examined it and nodded. "Yup! This is a great spot. RO-Chan, do you have the-" When he turned, Harry found his head covered in a blanket. "Blanket..."

Unable to help themselves, the twins began giggling again as Harry whipped it off and gave a playful glare to RO who looked away with an innocent expression on her face. It was not helped by how she was also whistling. Hachi just gave the two spirits a smile before she pulled a giant umbrella from nowhere and set it down so that the blanket area was shaded by it. "Come over here and have a seat, you two. Hacchan is sure that you'll like this movie."

Blinking, Harry frowned as the twins sat Seiza style where Hachi had gestured on the blanket. Then he shook it off as RO placed one of the larger, flatter pieces of rubble down in front of the blanket as Shioi put a solar panal outside the shade before running a cord from it. Tilting her head, Ume examined it. "What is that?"

With a glance at her, Harry adjusted some cushions. "That's a solar panel, Ume-San."

Eyebrows furrowing, Ume turned towards him. Her expression was one of complete and utter confusion. "A... solar panel? And what is a solar panel?"

RO just gave her a small smile. "It's an electricity generating device. The solar panel uses sunlight to make electricity."

Jaws dropping, the twins stared at her and then at the solar panel before Sakura blinked. "It uses sunlight to generate electricity? Truly?" When RO nodded, Sakura leaned forward a bit to better see it. "Amazing... how does it work?"

Humming, RO looked up at the sun and frowned. "Well..." Roughly five minutes later, they had finished setting up and RO finished. "... And that is how it generally works."

For a small amount of time, the twins digested that before they shook their head. "Such wonderful things that the future has brought. We remember how they had boilers here on the island to generate power, and yet this can do the same without the smoke and coal."

With a small chuckle, Harry gave them both a grin as he set up a large, portable DVD player. "You've seen nothing yet, Sakura-San, Ume-San. Now it's time for the movie."

If they weren't surprised before, the two ghosts were now. "But where is the screen? The projector? The reels?"

Tapping the DVD player, Harry shook his head. "This is both the screen and projector and this..." He held up a DVD. "Is the reel."

A few moments later though, he blinked as the two leaned in and whispered between themselves. Slowly reaching out, Ume ran a finger along the edge. "It's so small... And so is the screen and projector! If what you tell us is true..."

Shioi gave them a smile. "We're not lying to either of you two." With a sigh, she sat down on a cushion and barely noticed the shocked looks at how she was sitting. "Pretty neat really."

Blushing, the twins glanced at the other two Subgirls and spotted them sitting much like Shioi, though Hachi was leaning against Harry as she sat crosslegged. A fact that caused their blushes to deepen even more. Swallowing, Sakura moved to whisper in her sister's ear. "Oh my... they're so open..."

Only nodding slowly, Ume couldn't take her eyes off of Hachi. "Rather uncouth... But perhaps that has changed as well?"

There was a considering look on Sakura's face before she slowly shook her head and continued to whisper. "I do not know, Ume... Perhaps? But it's so odd... Has the times changed so much that such means of sitting is normal?"

Yet again, they shared a look of befuddlement and embarrassment before they shook it off as Harry put the DVD player in and began the movie. "So, I decided to start off with some Miyazaki movies..."

Sakura and Ume both jerked as the screen lit up and then leaned forward some to better watch. So interested in what they were seeing, the two took the Ramune bottles offered by Hachi without any comment and simply watched with looks of awe.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As the ending credits played for the second movie, Harry looked over his shoulder at the Hitobashiras. Both of them were still engrossed with what was on the screen though when he spoke, they jerked out of their thoughts. "So... what did you think?"

Placing down an empty Ramune bottle by one of the others, Ume frowned thoughtfully. After sharing a look with Sakura, she slowly nodded. "It was all so very strange... And yet very enjoyable!"

Beside her, Sakura placed a chocolate wrapper into a bag, the wrapper having held a chocolate bar that Hachi had given her as a gift from Enterprise. Part of Harry mused that, oddly, both her and her sister looked much more solid now and seemed to have gained some color. Then he shook his head and chuckled internally. 'Must be imagining things.'

Meanwhile, Sakura hummed and placed a finger to her chin before nodding. "Ume is right, this has been an enjoyable time. And the movies have changed so much from our time, they're even in color!"

Chuckling, Hachi nodded some with a small smile. "Trust me, we were surprised when we returned and encountered how much things have changed since we were last afloat." Her gaze turned distant and her smile softened. "It's surprising what many people of this day and age take for granted."

With a nod, RO hummed. "Like... back when we were ships, phones were large, unwieldly things one had in the kitchen. Yet now, you have ones without wires and cellphones that you can hear someone clearly on. And you can do things such as play movies or games on them. You even see the other person's face on the other side of the conversation as well with some of them as you speak to them. It's almost like being face to face with them."

Eyes wide, the twins shared a look with each other. "Truly? Telephones are like that now?" At the nods, they blinked in amazement. "Incredible..."

Just grinning some, Shioi nodded. "And that's just one thing that has changed. So much is different now, you would not believe it."

Glancing at her sister, Ume leaned in and cleared her throat, though how was beyond Harry. "What... what is the world like? Outside our island?"

Somewhat lost, Sakura made a sound of agreement with her sister. "Like... what is Tokyo like now? Yokosuka? We remember hearing that the capital was burned, but..."

Only humming, Shioi looked up at the sky as she considered the question. "Tokyo... has changed a lot in the past decades. I have no doubt that anyone used to how the city was would be able to find their way through it. Some parts are still the same but others?"

Beside her, Hachi nodded. "Other parts are way different. The city is much, much bigger with a lot more people. You have towers of glass and steel rising hundreds of feet into the air! Shopping areas where thousands go through every day!"

Their eyes widening, the twins looked between them. "Tokyo has changed that much? Really?"

Nodding, Harry was on his phone before he held it towards them. "This is a picture that I took of Tokyo on a visit a while back. That's what the waterfront looks like now." Both twins leaned in to look and their jaws dropped before Harry brought up another picture. "And this is a picture that I took when Mum took me to Tokyo Tower It's the tallest building in Japan!"

Part of Harry wanted to laugh at how shocked the two spirits looked at the sight of Tokyo from so high up. But he held it in as Ume brought up a finger to point at the picture. "M-my word... is that what Tokyo looks like now? It's so... big."

Eyes moving across the picture, Sakura only nodded in agreement. "Indeed, and so different from how it was when we were alive. They were still rebuilding from the Great Kanto Earthquake after all." With a shake of her head, she turned towards Harry. "You said the tallest building? How tall is it?"

Frowning, Ume blinked as she brought a finger to her cheek. "From what we remember the tallest building was the American's Empire State Building. We never saw it outside the pictures but that seemed so very tall already it's hard to imagine anything bigger..."

Harry was silent as he thought furrowing his eyebrows. "Well... how tall is the Empire State Building?" At the looks, he blushed some. "What? I can't really recall that over the top of my head..."

Softly snickering, Hachi pulled out a book and ran a finger down the page. "The Empire State Building is about 1, 454 feet tall. Tokyo Tower meanwhile is 1,092 feet tall, a little less then three hundred feet below the Empire State Building's height. If they ever finish the Tokyo Skytree, that's going to be even taller as it's over two thousand feet tall."

The twins just stared for several moments as they tried to comprehend that before shaking their heads. "Amazing what they have done, but..." Her eyes then widened some. "What about Earthquakes! Surely something that tall is a danger! And they're going to build something even taller!?"

All Harry did was turn before gently patting them on the shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. People have figured out all sorts of things to prevent earthquake damage. Tokyo Tower has survived both earthquakes and the Abyssals after all."

When they looked at her, Shioi gave a grin and a thumbs up. "Harry-Chan's right actually, it's perfectly safe. You'd be amazed at what they've done for that sort of thing."

Considering that, the twins slowly nodded before Sakura turned back to the phone. "Harry-San, could we... see some other pictures? If that would be possible?"

Just as Harry was about to answer, he realized that things had gone quiet and glanced around. There was the feeling of him being watched or of people looking over his shoulder. But when he looked, there was nothing there. Of course, when he looked, he missed both Ume and Sakura glaring at their surroundings as the three Subgirls also glanced around. Shrugging, Harry turned back to the two. "Sure, I actually got a lot of pictures if you want to see them."

Moments later though, he blinked as the twins bit their lips and then leaned against him to better see the pictures. Despite the coldness though, he shook it off and turned towards the phone as the spirits' eyes widened. 'He's... warm...'

Bringing up one picture, Harry smiled at it. "Well, this is a picture of Ginza during the day, and this is at night." The twins nodded as their eyes took in every detail, though the night time picture caused them to suck in breaths that they didn't need. "And this is Akihabara..." As he continued to show picture after picture, Harry tried his best to ignore the feeling of being watched. It was roughly an hour later though that he noticed the time and sighed. "Um, sorry about this, Ume-San, Sakura-San, but... we should be going."

The young boy winced a bit as the two spirits seemed to wilt a bit at that. Sadly smiling, they bowed a little as they were still sitting. "O-of course. We don't wish to take up more of your time then we already have, Harry-San."

If anything though, that caused Harry to frown before he shook his head. "Hey, no need for that! I'm going to visit again after all!"

Hope seemed to return to the two spirits as their expressions brightened. "You will? Truly?" When Harry nodded, they bowed deeply. "Thank you."

Chuckling weakly as he scratched the back of his head, Harry glanced at Hachi who seemed rather amused with the whole thing. "Um, you're welcome?" Several minutes later, they had packed up and put away the garbage for later disposal. Holding his broom, Harry waited as Shioi and Hachi got onto it and watched as Ume and Sakura stood nearby. "I'll try and visit next week, okay?'

Brightly smiling, the twins gave him a tilt of the head. "We look forward to it." Then they paused and glanced at each other. "As much as we hate to do so, could we ask of you a favor, Harry-San?"

Slightly confused, Harry gave a small snort. "Of course you can, we're friends after all."

That seemed to catch the two spirits by surprise and they blinked. "We were not sure if you considered us such, but thank you." Taking a moment to gather their thoughts, they shifted a bit nervously. "We were wondering if.... if next time you came you could bring pictures of how Kyoto looks?"

Not sure where this was going, Harry shrugged. "Sure, I don't have a problem. But, um... why Kyoto in particular?"

It was Harry's turn to be surprised as the twins bit their lips and had sad expressions on their faces. "Our family... When we were alive, Kyoto was were we lived with our family, the city where we grew up. We know that our family might not be there, but we would still like to see how things may have changed."

All Harry did was give them a small smile. "Sure, I can do that. Heck, I'll bring you all sorts of pictures."

From on the broomstick, RO grinned. "You know that you can hug him, right? No one would have a problem with that."

Before Harry could ask her what she meant, the twins did exactly that. Then they pulled away and gave another bow. "Thank you."

Only shaking his head, Harry blinked as he told them he didn't mind. Getting onto his broom, he then gave them a wave as RO climbed on in front of him. "See you again, Ume-San! Sakura-San!"

The two waved back at him with smiles. "And we hope to see you again soon as well, Harry-San!"

Sakura and Ume continued to stand there waving until the group was out of sight and lowered their arms. Then they shared a smile and a giggle as they faded from sight. Meanwhile, on his broom, Harry frowned as he went over what happened and glanced back at Hachi. "Um, guys? Has things really changed that much?"

For several moments the three shipgirls were quiet before RO spoke up. "They really have, Harry-Chan..." On her face there was a far off expression. "Everything's changed and... sometimes, it's as if the world today is an alien planet."

Where she sat behind him, Hachi cleared her throat. "Harry-Chan, I'm sure that you noticed how after being summoned that shipgirls are kept on the base for a few weeks, right?" Slowly, Harry nodded and Hachi continued. "That's to give them a period of... adjustment. I remember my first trip off-base. I had memories of where everything was and how they were, only discover that they might as well have been of another country."

Quietly thinking, Harry frowned as something finally clicked. "Is that why a lot of shipgirls don't leave their bases? Because of how different things are?"

He knew that he had hit the nail on the head as Hachi's arms around his middle tightened for a moment before she answered. "Hai. Being on base is... easier, for most of us. Even while many things about the military has changed, a lot has stayed the same. We don't need to worry about a hundred things being different like we might outside the base. Once the war is over, we'll have to move on with our lives. But by then? By then we'll be used to how things are."

All Harry did was silently consider that as it showed him a side of his friends that he didn't know about. And made a number of things suddenly make more sense even as he felt for them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking into his section of the kitchen, Harry had to smile at the sight of Hamakaze there looking curiously around. "Are you ready for our cooking lesson, Hamakaze-Chan?"

There was just a very small upturn to the Destroyer's lips as she gave a small nod. "I am, Harry-San." Glancing around again, she raised an eyebrow. "So, how shall we start?"

Gently chuckling, Harry pulled off two aprons from their hooks and handed one to Hamakaze and put the other one on. "Well... first we need to decide on what we're going to make as we wash up and stuff." At seeing how Hamakaze was having a bit of trouble with the strings of the apron, Harry smiled. "Need some help?"

For a moment, Harry swore that there was some pink on Hamakaze's cheeks before she nodded and turned so he could better help. "That would actually be much appreciated, Harry-San. Thank you."

Only nodding as he grabbed the strings, Harry shrugged some. "No worries, just tell me if it's too tight, okay?" Getting a nod, he tightened the apron and glanced up at Hamakaze. Said Destroyer was watching him from over her shoulder and then nodded before he tied the strings. "There, that feel okay?"

Slowly, Hamakaze twisted her torso from one side to the other as she kept an eye on Harry. When Harry didn't react besides nodding, she softly smiled. "It feels perfect." Humming, Hamakaze then followed Harry over to the sink as the two began to wash their hands. "As to what we should make... I'm not sure."

Instead of being annoyed as part of Hamakaze expected, Harry only frowned in thought as he put a glob of soap onto his and the Destroyer's hands. "Well... Is there anything in particular that you want to try?"

Rinsing her hands, and then putting more soap onto them as Harry did the same, the silver haired shipgirl furrowed her eyebrows some. "Maybe something sweet, but easy?" Then she tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't think that I'm in the mood for cookies though. Something that Shinano-Sama might like and that I can be different with."

After some thought, Harry suddenly smiled. "Something different, huh? Well, how about brownies then?"

Just blinking, Hamakaze turned her attention onto him. "Brownies?"

With a grin, Harry gave her a nod. "Dess! You can do all sorts of things with brownies. Different icing for them besides the normal chocolate. You can also make them different by adding nuts or chocolate chips. Heck! Serve one hot and put some ice cream and whipped cream on it."

Unnoticed by him, Hamakaze was licking her lips at the last image as she considered it. 'Ice cream and hot brownie...' Quickly shaking it off, and the water from her hands as Harry turned off the sink, the Destroyer smiled a little bit. "That sounds perfect."

Handing her a towel, Harry hummed as he thought before walking over to the cabinet where he kept various items for baking. Within a few moments he brought out each of the items and nodded to himself before he turned his head to Hamakaze who just watched. "Okay, we need flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa, butter, vanilla..."

As he continued listing, Hamakaze gathered up the items and then placed them onto the countertop. Once she was done, she nodded and turned to Harry. "What's next?"

Simply walking over to the oven, Harry smiled a bit. "Well, first we preheat the oven so that it's nice and hot when we put in the brownies. Then, we need to grease the pan... Could you use one of the spoons and take some butter out, Hamakaze-Chan?"

Not quite sure what they were about to do, the Destroyer did so and held the spoon up. "Like this?"

Only nodding, Harry grabbed a piece of paper towel and brought it over. "Perfect! Now, we scoop the butter with the paper towel like so, and then rub it along the pan. That way, the brownies won't stick to the pan."

Jotting down notes into her mental logbook, Hamakaze took the paper towel and began to rub it along the pan. "Hmm... is that an issue?"

Harry shrugged a bit as he brought over the bag of flour. "You might be surprised, some people forget which causes the bottom of the brownies to stick. Now... Some like baking sprays, but I prefer butter." After a short period of time, Harry nodded. "Okay, now dust some flour on top of the butter." Taking some between his fingers, he did exactly that. "Like this."

Lips twitching, Hamakaze softly chuckled as she did as he showed. "This is more work then I woud have imagined. But... if one is going to do it, they should do it right."

Part of her wanted to giggle as Harry gave a sharp nod. "Exactly! Anyways, we're done with this, so... time for the actual mix." Grabbing a saucepan, Harry placed it onto a burner. "Now, I need a half cup of butter. While that's melting, we need to measure the sugar and some of the other ingredients so that we can stir them in after we take them off the heat."

Several minutes found Hamakaze using a whisk to mix in the dry ingredients under Harry's supervision. Frowning slightly, she leaned in to look. "Is it done?"

With a frown himself, Harry examined it and then nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty well mixed now. So pour it out evenly into the pan and we can put it into the oven to bake for... hmm, about a half hour should do it."

Pouring the batter into the pan, Hamakaze had her tongue poking out just a bit. Once the last bit was scrapped out, she took a deep breath before putting it into the oven. "There we go." At seeing Harry place the timer on twenty five minutes, Hamakaze raised an eyebrow. "I thought that you said a half hour?"

The black haired boy just smiled and gave her a nod. "A half hour works, but I put the timer on twenty five that way I can check just in case they've baked a bit faster then expected." Clapping his hands, he began to hand the various bowls and utensils to Hamakaze. "Okay, let's quickly clean these so they're done and then we can work on the icing. Between the two of us, it shouldn't take long... So, do you want to wash or dry, Hamakaze-Chan?"

Just blinking, Hamakaze considered the question before giving him a small smile. "I think that I'll wash and you dry." And with that, the two of them got down to work with Hamakaze washing before passing the item to Harry to quickly dry and set into the rack. Of course, as she did so, part of her mind wandered when a thought occurred to her. 'Wait... the two of us might look like...'

Beside her, Harry had turned to her to ask her something when he blinked as there was some pink on her cheeks. "Hamakaze-Chan? Is something wrong?"

Only shaking her head, the Destroyer just gave him a small smile. "Just had a thought about something, Harry-San. Nothing more." Passing him the final item, she grabbed one of the towels and dried her hands before glancing at the time. "We have about fifteen minutes..."

All Harry did was smile and dry his own hands some. "Well, then we should probably get the icing all done!" Walking back to the counter, and several bowls that were there, the eleven year old began to explain. "Now, we got most of the items that we need for this out already as we used them for the brownie mix, but... We're going to need honey and some icing sugar."

Tilting her head to the side, Hamakaze frowned a bit. "Is there a difference between the sugar that we used and icing sugar? They're both sugar after all."

Much to her amusement, Harry chuckled and wagged a finger at her. "Yup! There's quite a bit of difference between the two of them."

As he explained, the two of them got to work and several minutes later, Harry and Hamakaze were spreading the icing across the brownies. Once that was done, the Destroyer was looking over the brownies with a intrigued look. "So... are they any good?"

Grinning, Harry just poured two glasses of milk before he picked up one of the squares and smiled. "Only one way to see. Ready?"

Hamakaze shared a look with Harry before they then bit down on their brownies and their faces lit up. Slowly chewing, Hamakaze smiled before she swallowed and washed it down with some milk. "It's good."

With a smile, Harry gave her a thumbs up as he also swallowed. "It's not just good, it's awesome! Now, besides cleaning, we got one last thing to do."

Swalowing another bite of brownie, Hamakaze blinked and looked at him. "And what would that be, Harry-San?"

Just rubbing the back of his neck, Harry gave her a bit of a sheepish smile. "Well... it's something that I usually do when I teach someone how to make something. I did it with Shinano-Chan, so, um... can I borrow one of your fairies?" Only nodding, though she was really curious, Hamakaze held out her hand where a Fairy stood and whom stepped onto Harry's hand. Walking over to the counter, Harry set him down before placing a brownie onto a plate and handing him his phone. "Could you take a picture of us holding this?"

The Fairy just nodded and gave a salute as he smiled. "Desu!"

Walking back over to Hamakaze, who had a small blush on her face, Harry handed her a paper towel which she wiped the milk and small smears of chocolate off her face. Beside her, Harry did the same before holding the plate out for her to grab one side of it. To his surprise though, she shuffled close and placed one arm around his shoulders. When he looked, she just gave him one of her small, soft smiles in return which made him internally shrugged. "Okay, you can take the picture now."

From where he stood, the Fairy nodded and brought it's small hand down before taking two pictures. As Harry brought him back to Hamakaze, the Destroyer nodded and turned to him. "If possible, could you... send me one of the pictures, Harry-San? So that I can have it for myself?"

All Harry did was nod and chuckle. "Sure thing, Hamakaze-Chan, I can do that."

Moments later though, he blinked as she gave him a hug and a headpat. "Thank you, for both the picture and this." Then he internally shook it off as she let go and went to put away the brownies so that they could be taken to the quarters that she shared with Shinano and the others.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

There was a small smile on Shinano's face as she chatted with Isokaze about the day in their combined quarters. She still did not know why all three Destroyers decided to room with her and White Plains, but she was glad that they had. Even with her much smaller momboat cuddled into her, she did not sleep quite as well as she did when her three Escorts also were there.

Especially as all three were, in her mind, extremely cuddly.

However, Shinano's attention was grabbed at the sound of plates being placed onto the table and blinked at Hamakaze who had a slightly nervous expression on her face. "I... made these today. Hopefully you and the others will enjoy them as a snack before bedtime, Shinano-Sama."

When she turned to see what was set down, Shinano was unable to help the happy gasp that escaped her. "Brownies!" Licking her lips at the sight of the chocolately confections, with other plates placed in front of Louisiana, White Plains, and her other Destroyers, Shinano gestured at it. "You made us brownies, Hamakaze-Chan?"

Slightly blushing, the silver haired Destroyer sat down next to Shinano with a plate of her own. "Hai, I did. Harry-San was teaching me how to make them, so I brought most of them back with me though he took some as well."

About to take a forkful, Shinano looked up at her in surprise. "Harry-Chan taught you how to make it?"

Very slowly, Hamakaze nodded. "He did, Harry-San is..." For a moment, she seemed lost before smiling a little bit. "Harry-San is a very good teacher."

Shinano gave a slightly bashful smile at that as she poked her brownie. "Hai, I know. Harry-Chan is a very good teacher and he taught me how to make pancakes and other things."

That caused Yukikaze to look up from her own brownie with wide eyes. "Harry-San actually taught you how to make pancakes, Shinano-Sama?" Once Shinano nodded, Yukikaze slowly shook her head in disbelief. "Wow..."

Practically bouncing where she sat, White Plains grinned. "Yeah! Shinano actually makes awesome pancakes!"

With a smile, Hamakaze nodded at the blushing Shinano. "Shinano-Sama makes great pancakes." Now wanting to distract everyone, Shinano took a bite of the brownie on her plate as everyone leaned in to watch. "Is... is it any good, Shinano-Sama? Harry-San seemed to like them, but..."

Swallowing it, Shinano gave the Destroyer a thumbs up. "It's not just good, it's great!" Using her fork, she took another bit off. "I wouldn't mind eating these more often, Hamakaze-Chan."

There were nods and smiles from the others as they ate their own brownies, all of which made Hamakaze blush under the attention. However, the small, soft smile on Hamakaze's face told everyone her true thoughts even if she didn't vocalize them. Suddenly though, Isokaze elbowed her slightly. "Just at look at you, Hamakaze! I never expected to see you making brownies, yet here you are! Turning into a real dormestic!"

Just swallowing, Shinano tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Is that a bad thing?" As everyone turned to her, the massive Carrier chewed her bottom lip a bit before she continued. "I think that Hamakaze-Chan would be great as one as she takes care of us and... would also be a good mother."

Blinking as those words bounced around in her head, Hamakaze tilted her head back some as her imagination ran wild. At least one of the images was that of her in an apron with several young Destroyers tugging at it as they called her 'Kaa-San' and she gave them a motherly smile. Then she shook off the image though she was unable to do the same with the pink in her cheeks. "I... don't think..."

Louisiana grinned a bit as she gestured at her with a fork. "Ma chère is right, you know. You would be a good mother."

As she hummed, Isokaze nodded and put her hand to her chin. "Hai, and Harry-San perhaps has started turning you into a domestic woman." Then Isokaze pumped her fist without noticing the blush on her fellow Destroyer's face and grinned. "Maybe he can teach me too! And then people will want to eat my cooking!"

Embarrassed, Hamakaze looked away. "I think that may be a miracle that even Harry-San cannot pull off."

Hanging her head for a moment, Isokaze grabbed Hamakaze's arm and shook her. "Hamakaze! Stop being so mean!"

All Hamakaze did though was smirk slightly and shake her head before turning back to their snack. Several minutes later as Isokaze and White Plains put away the plates though, Yukikaze looked up with a confused expression at a question that Louisiana had asked. "You... want me to invest your money?"

Slowly, the Battleship nodded as she propped her chin on her hands. On her face was a bemused smile as she chuckled. "Oui, that is correct, Yukikaze."

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Yukikaze tilted her head to the side. "Um, okay, I can do that but... why?"

Once more, Louisiana chucked and her lips curled upwards a bit more. "I have heard from Nagato that you have done the same for Harry, non? And while I have plenty of money, it just sits mostly in the bank. So why not do something with it so that later, I can fully enjoy it?"

Yukikaze considered what she had been told before slowly nodding. "I guess that I can do some investing if you want. But I'm not really a professional, I just pick the ones that I feel will be good and that's it."

Licking the chocolate milk moustache on her upper lip away, Shinano suddenly smiled. "Could you do the same for me, Yukikaze-Chan? Please?"

As her fellow Destroyers turned and asked the same thing, the lucky shipgirl blushed while she nodded. "Um, okay... I can do that. No idea how well it will turn out, but I'll give it my best."

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Yukikaze turned to see Hamakaze giving her a small smile. "Then I am sure that it will turn out well."

In reply, Yukikaze returned the smile even as she blushed.
_____________________________________________________________

Just raising an eyebrow as Hoppou scarfed down the brownie that he placed in front of her, Harry had an expression of amusement on his face. "Well, I don't think that I need to ask if you liked it, Hoppou."

Blinking, Hoppou licked some chocolate from the corner of her mouth. Then she grinned showing just how much chocolate and icing was smeared around said mouth. "Big Brother being silly again."

In reply, Harry just raised his eyebrow higher before getting up with a sigh. "Give me a second, Hoppou." Walking to the sink, he turned on the water and made sure it was warm before he soaked some paper towel in it. Moments later, found him sitting in front of Hoppou as he cleaned the squirming Abyssal's face. "Why do you need to be so messy?"

A pout on her face, Hoppou huffed a bit. "Hoppou not messy! Hoppou is very clean."

Now utterly amused, Harry chuckled a bit and shook his head. "Well, now you are." To Hoppou's confusion though, he began to hum. "I wonder..."

Confused, Hoppou tilted her head to the side and blinked. "Is something wrong, Big Brother?" When he leaned towards her though, Hoppou leaned back. "Big Brother?"

Suddenly grinning, Harry reached out and poked her in the cheek. "I think that maybe you've been eating a few too many treats, Hoppou."

Huffing, Hoppou gave him a glare. "Hoppou not eat too many treats! In fact, you should give Hoppou more for being mean!" All that Harry did though was poke her in the cheek which made her blow out her cheeks. "PO!"

Unable to help himself, Harry chuckled as he reached forward again. But this time, Hoppou smacked his hand to the side which made his grin widen. "Oh-ho!"

With a glare on her face, Hoppou narrowed her eyes as she puffed out her cheeks. "Stop, you're being very silly, Big Brother." Narrowing her eyes even more, she huffed. "Very silly!"

Despite trying to be intemidating, Hoppou reminded Harry more of an annoyed chipmunk then anything else. Slowly, he reached towards her cheek again with her eyes tracking his finger. Except this time he was ready when she tried to smack his hand away with his other coming up and poking her in the side. As she squealed, Harry laughed. "Got you, Hoppou!"

Rolling away and to her feet, Hoppou faced him with wide eyes. "BIG BROTHER!"

Harry for his part though got to his feet and held both hands out as if they were claws. "Sorry, Hoppou... it cannot be helped." Giving an evil laugh, he took some steps forward as Hoppou backed away. "But the Tickle Monster has awoken and will not be satisfied until he has had his fill of your laughs from tickling!"

Eyes widening as she realized the danger she was in. Hoppou gulped. Glancing around, she smiled weakly. "B-Big Brother...?" As he laughed evily again and took another step, Hoppou knew that there was only one thing that she could do and so did it.

Which was to run away as fast as possible as Harry chased her. "Come back here, Hoppou!"

Shaking her head, Hoppou ran around the apartment as Harry chased her around. "Noooooo! Hoppou no want to be tickled! Leave Hoppou alone!"

Minutes later, Nagato stepped into the quarters only to blink as Hoppou ran behind her and then climbed up to her shoulders. Then said Abyssal began to try and smack Harry with a pillow as Harry growled and playfully leapt at her. Slowly, Nagato shook her head. "Should I even ask?"

Just trying to smack Harry again, Hoppou glanced at her adoptive mother. "Big Brother being very silly again! Try to tickle Hoppou, Mommy!"

Amused, Nagato turned to Harry who grinned back. "What? She awoke the Tickle Monster and thus is must be satisified before it can go back to it's slumber. And the only thing that can do that is her laughter."

Sighing, Nagato facepalmed with a sigh. "I wish that you would not rile your sister up before bedtime, Harry. It's hard enough to get her to sleep."

Hoppou then turned to her with wide eyes. "Hoppou no need to go to bed!"

Unfortunately for her, that moment of distraction was all Harry needed as he leapt up and managed to grab her legs to pull her off Nagato's shoulders. With a squeal, Hoppou fell into Harry's arms with him raising one hand up. "Sorry, Hoppou, but this is the end for you!"

Eyes wide, Hoppou tried to squirm out of his hold as the hand came down towards her belly. "Nooooooooo!"

All the Battleship did though as she watched the two of them was just shake her head as laughter filled the room. 'These two sometimes...'

But it was something that she would not trade for anything.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hearing a knock at the door, a man glanced up from where he was doing some packing with a frown on his face. "I wonder who that might be?" With a pat to the wand in his pocket, the man walked over to the door and glanced through the peephole. "Yes?"

An elderly voice from the other side could be heard, one that seemed very tired. "Nicholas, it's me. I wish to speak with you about something."

Eyebrows raising upwards, Nicholas Flamel opened the door and greeted the ancient looking man on his doorstep with a smile. "Armando!" Turning to the other man, he felt his eyebrows raise even further. "And Jean Pierre! I have not seen you in France since... 1855, I do believe."

The other man nodded some as he squinted through his glasses. "Ah, around then I believe." Glancing around, he shook his head. "I have not left Canada since then."

Moving to the side, Nicholas smiled. "Please, I apologize for my manners. Come in, come in." Once they were inside, he turned to Armando with a small frown. "And how are you doing, my old friend?"

Upon Armando's face there was tiredness before he gave a small smile. "I... have been better. There are good days and bad days... and the bad have started outnumbering the good, I'm afraid."

Nicholas went to scratch his beard only to realize that it was no longer there. Sighing, he let his arm hang by his side as he nodded. "An unfortunate aspect of aging I'm afraid." That got him snorts from the other two which made him smile. "It's true, all of it."

Chuckling, Jean Pierre gave him a grin. "Oh, that is true enough, Nicholas." At that, a woman just past middle age stepped into view and Jean Pierre grinned. "Ah! And such beauty that graces us now, Perenelle! Beautiful as ever!"

Only shaking her head as the man kissed her knuckles, the witch giggled. "And it's good to see you as well, Jean Pierre, especially now at the end of our lives."

Yet again, both wizards snorted at that as Armando shook his head. "Please, don't treat us like the others, Nicholas, Perenelle. Neither I, nor Jean Pierre am fooled by what Albus has stated. But we shall not ask any more questions of you."

Slowly nodding, Nicholas sighed. "I suppose that it would be tough to fool you. After all, you have known us for centuries." Then he gave a self-depreciating chuckle. "Well, if you two gentlemen follow, I believe that the elves will have set out tea."

It was several moments later that the two elderly wizards were sitting across from the two, seemingly younger magicals as they sipped their tea. Finally, Perenelle spoke up. "As much as I do not mind visits from old friends, I am at a loss as to why now?"

Placing his cup down, Armando sighed. "We're both dying of old age, my friends. I do not think that I have more then perhaps a year or two left."

Beside him, Jean Pierre nodded. "It is the same for me, a decade at most."

For a few seconds, Nicholas considered this and then set down his own tea. "I see. Well, I suppose that I should have expected something like this, though I had hoped that you two would not have bothered about the Stone..." Trailing off, he noticed that both elderly wizards seemed amused. "Did I say something funny?"

With a chuckle, Jean Pierre nodded. "Oui. We are not here about your Stone, Nicholas. Nor are we trying to expand our lifespans."

Now intrigued, Perenelle leaned forward. "Well, now... Why come to us then?"

Glancing at each other, it was Armando who spoke up. "We... wish to make our deaths mean something." At the confusion, he gave a small smile. "Nicholas, we know what happened to Hiro."

That caused Nicholas to freeze before he narrowed his eyes. "I'm afraid that I don't know what you mean. Hiro died of old age after all."

If anything though, that seemed to amuse Jean Pierre. "Ah! That is what everyone thinks though. We know better though." Seeing as Nicholas and Perenelle's expressions were blank, he sighed. "It was not hard to put together."

Narrowing his eyes, Nicholas frowned. "And what do you mean by that?"

Lips twitching, Armando shook his head. "Shortly before he died, several shipgirls appeared which shocked the Muggles. I believe it was due to the fact that they were not even built." The expressions of surprise on the faces of the Flamels caused him to laugh. "Even though I am a Pureblood, and proud to be such, does not mean that I do not keep an ear as it were to the Muggle World. Not since my... failure."

Hand covering her mouth, Perenelle stared at him with wide eyes. "You know..."

Very slowly, Armando nodded and seemed to age even more. "That Tom Riddle, my favorite student, and Lord Voldemort are one and the same? Yes." Closing his eyes, he sighed. "Shortly before he revealed himself to the world, he came to visit me. He wished for political support... Support that I would not give him. Apparently though I was far too old and feeble for him to do anything more then ignore due to that. My greatest failure as both a teacher and a Headmaster."

Voice soft, Nicholas' lips narrowed to a thin line. "I'm afraid that stating that I am sorry seems... Inadequate here. But then, why have you never told anyone?"

A far off expression on his face, Armando stared into the distance. "Even then, I had the reputation for sometimes being... of a wandering mind. None would hear of it when I tried and my Great-granddaughter was killed in her home by the Death Eaters, I stayed silent to protect the rest of my family. Something that is my deepest shame."

Reaching over, Perenelle patted his winkled hand. "You were trying to protect your family, Armando. None can truly fault you for staying silent to do so."

With a snort, he shook his head. "No, because maybe if I spoke up, revealed the truth about Tom, far less would have died as his followers would have left him. But... I was afraid."

There was silence for several minutes before Flamel let out a breath. "How... do you believe that Hiro's death ties in with these shipgirls appearing? After all, they appeared I believe a week before hand."

Softly chuckling, Jean Pierre's eyes seemed to glow. "Two years before his death, we had spoken with Hiro. He explained about how two shipgirls in particular had saved his great-grandchild and that he believed he was close to repaying them. Then, a few months, we asked him and he stated that it was a failure."

Beside him, Armando nodded. "Yes, but Hiro forgot one fact. The two of us had known him for more then two centuries, even if for a few decades there we were technically enemies. We knew his tells just as he knew ours and we could see that he was lying."

Jean Pierre then continued. "And imagine our surprise when those same two shipgirls suddenly received siblings. Siblings that, according to the No-majs, were never even laid down. I know as well as Armando, and you, that such things require an... equivalent exchange of sorts. A life is needed to create life.

It was then that Armando spoke up. "And, knowing Hiro, we knew that he would have spoken with you. The Elixer of Life is truly a potent thing, able to give form and life to things that did not have it. As shown by your homunculi you and Perenelle created as children."

Hands tightening as he remembered, Nicholas nodded. It was something that he considered the height of his alchemy, giving himself and Perenelle the children that they so wished for. But they were all lost shortly after when some angry wizards had attacked his home in search of the Stone. Shaking his head of such thoughts, he let out a sigh. "And I suppose that it does not help what one foolish German apprentice of mine did back in the 1800s?"

Bemused, Armando chuckled. "No, though that is far less known in the Wizarding World, though the Muggle world knows far more, though ." Then he waved a hand. "But such things we figured out. And so, we came to you."

Staring down into his cup, Nicholas frowned as Perenelle placed her hand on his shoulder. "Why?"

Expression turning serious, Jean Pierre let out a breath. "It is nearly our time, Nicholas. If I was much younger? I could have fought the Abyssals, perhaps. But now? Now, I am old and physically weak. My country needs me, Nicholas. And this way, my death shall have meaning."

Nodding, Armando grimaced. "And as for me, I hope that perhaps by doing one last thing for my country, to protect it... I may wash away my sins and find redemption for what I allowed on my watch. My time has passed and these shipgirls will be the ones to guard King... Queen, and Country now."

His eyes closed, Nicholas was silent for several moments before he nodded. "Very well, I shall help you. Hopefully, you will be the last ones to do this though..."

As he got nods from both, Perenelle smiled towards Jean Pierre. "Though I must ask though, Jean Pierre... I was not aware that Canada had any ships that they never built which could be useful."

Laughing lightly, Jean Pierre Lavellee, the Sorcerer of Isle of Orleans, grinned. "One would be, how do you say, surprised with some of the things that my country has thought up, Perenelle. But let it be a surprise for you just the same..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

One of the benefits of growing up with Goto as the Admiral of the base was that Harry was allowed to visit Nagato whenever he wanted, as long as something was not going on. The only times that he was not allowed to was when there was items such as classified information or planning for missions and battles. And the second and third was more to stop him from worrying himself sick more then anything else. However, as it was, Harry had spent hours in the office. Sometimes it was just to chat and talk with his mother and the others.

Which was something that Goto encouraged as it usually got him away from his paperwork for a while.

Other times though, Harry would either sit at a chair at his mother's desk, or on her leg and do homework as she did her own paperwork. Nothing needed to be said as they enjoyed each other's company, the younger version of Harry soaking in the affection his adoptive parent loved to shower on him. As those thoughts filtered through his head, Harry gave a small chuckle as he wrote something down. 'The more things change...'

Her eyebrow raised, Nagato turned towards her son with an amused look. "Is something funny, Harry?"

Slowly, Harry just shook his head and chuckled. "No, Mum. Just thinking about the past and how things don't really change."

A grunt though caused them both to turn towards Goto's desk where he was signing off on yet more paperwork. "I don't know about that, Harry." He then turned a glare that had caused more then one shipgirl, officer, or politician to back down onto the pile of papers. Of course, said papers just ignored it. "After all, I swear that I deal with more paperwork now then I did even a month ago."

Just humming at her own desk, Ooyodo didn't even look at him. "Perhaps if you actually did your paperwork when needed and stopped avoiding it, you wouldn't have so much." Turning to Harry and ignoring the pained expression on Goto's face, she gave him a slight smile. "Remember, Harry-Chan, when paperwork is given, get it done and don't be a slacker."

Lips twitching, Harry nodded. "Hai, Ooyodo-Oba!"

Hanging his head, Goto shook it slowly from side to side. "You're both horrible, horrible people." Only getting a grin and a smirk in return, he rolled his eyes. Looking over a clipboard, Goto hummed. "So Submarine Support Division One is nearly ready..."

That caused the black haired boy to look up in confusion. "Submarine Support Division One?"

With his hands clasped in front of his face, Goto nodded. "That's right, Harry. After all, it's more then just Taigei involved." Bringing his finger down on the sheet, he tapped it. "Taigei is the Flagship of course, with Ryuuhou supplying air support. Then for escorts they have Shimushu, Hachijo, Kunashiri, and Ishigaki. Their job will be to support Iku and the others in extending their range."

A frown crossed Ooyodo's face as she adjusted her glasses. "Something that they should be successful at. Though I hope that the Escorts and Ryuuhou-San manage to gain some experience first."

Looking out the nearby window, Harry could just see a Zero flying just above the water at the Carrier Range. Moments later, a dot fell away from it as the Zero climbed and skipped twice before disappearing far short of it's target. Having seen where Harry was looking, Goto smiled a bit. "Ryuuhou is currently being taught how to skip bomb by White Plains and Iku, I believe." Watching another Zero attempt what the first did and come closer, he nodded. "I have to admit, she's improved."

Slowly nodding, Ooyodo sighed. "She has, though I have my doubts it's enough yet."

However, Goto only waved her off before a thought occurred to him and he turned to Harry. "Speaking of... Are you still heading to Sasebo and Kure? I asked your Okaa-San to inform you of the trip."

Confused, Harry slowly nodded. "Hai, Mum told me about it, Teitoku. I'm still not sure on what you want me to do though...'

All the Admiral did though was smirk. "Just be you usual self when they try a summoning. Hopefully, your luck will come through again. If it works, then we'll be able to make two more Submarine Support Divisions which will help extend our operations further with them."

Nagato, having looked up the current rosters, only shook her head. 'By which you are hoping that Shouhou in Kure and Zuihou in Sasebo will give us Tsurugizaki and Takasaki.' A smirk then crossed her face as she chuckled. 'I wonder how Arizona would react if she ever saw Shouhou...' For a moment, there was an amused smile on Nagato's face as she imagined the American Battleship meeting the Light Carrier before she shook it off. 'I'll have to consider how to bring that about.'

Meanwhile, Goto continued to speak. "... And also enjoy yourself. There's a number of sights that you should take in on your trip after all." Then he grinned a bit. "Maybe have a Sasebo Burger while you're down in Sasebo. But if you do, send a picture to Musashi."

Just giving him a look at that, Harry frowned. "Wouldn't that annoy Musashi-Oba though?"

Leaning back in his chair, Goto gave a small hum. "Annoy her? Nah, she'd love to see it. Besides, would I annoy her like that?"

There was a pause for a moment as Harry and the two shipgirls remembered an incident earlier involving Musashi and Jersey. Then they blinked and spoke as one. "Yes."

However, Goto only waved them off with a slight smirk. "I have not the slightest idea of what you're talking about."

Only giving him an eyeroll, Harry went back to his schoolwork though he kept glancing at one sheet in particular. Something that Nagato noticed as she signed off on another piece of paperwork. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

Glancing up at her, Harry sighed a bit and leaned against his fist. "Turns out that I need to join an extracurricular activity for my schooling. But I'm only here for the holidays though..." He then snorted a bit. "If not for the Statute, I could use Quidditch I guess, but I can't right now."

A frown on her face, Ooyodo blinked a bit before she hummed. "I suppose that baseball and such would also be out. Even assuming that you somehow managed to join a team, there's the problem of how they would expect you to go to as many games as possible." Pen tapping against the wood of her desk, her frown deepened. "Perhaps calligraphy?"

Rather amused, Nagato glanced at her and shook her head. "Those clubs are during the school year, which doesn't help much." Tilting her head, she looked at the ceiling in thought. "Hmm... is there a scuba club around here that you can join? That would cover you for the warmer months..."

With a shrug, Harry frowned a bit. "I kind of hoped that I could join the Junior Sea Friends Federation, but... I'm not sure with the time that I am around for that I could."

Both shipgirls looked at him rather bemused about that. Ever since they returned, more then a few shipgirls had volunteered to help out with them after all. Musashi in particular was one who enjoyed it. At the moment though, Nagato chuckled to herself a bit. "I'll see what can be done, but no promises. The amount of time you spend in Japan due to schooling might limit you there."

Chuckles though caused all three to turn to where Goto was looking out the window. "Actually, there is one type of club that I think you could join." Seeing them look at him, he pointed out the window. "And you even have one of the most important things for it."

Just blinking, they all looked out the window and followed Goto's pointing, only to just see Hedwig napping in a tree. More then a little confused, Harry turned towards him. "Um... what do you mean?"

Smirking, Goto pointed at the tree again. "You have Hedwig, correct? And from memory she's been getting you some looks from people not in the know?"

Despite still being confused, Harry nodded. "Well... yes? I mean, a lot of people are always wondering why I have a owl..."

Now grinning, Goto chuckled. "Then you can kill two birds with one stone. Both silence those looks and at the same time get extracurricular credits." Slowly, he raised one finger into the air. "Get involved with Takagari."

Blinking, Harry frowned at him. "Takagari? As in falconry?"

Only nodding, Goto smiled a bit. "That's right. You do have groups for it after all so it would count for extracurricular and if it becomes known that you're involved? No one is going to give you a second look for having Hedwig."

The Battleship frowned as she thought it over before furrowing her eyebrows. "Would they even let him use an owl? I've never heard of owls being used in Takagari after all, so it might come across as rather odd."

Goto only waved her off though. "That makes it better actually. It'll be so different that some won't look any further. All you need though is some supplies for it..." Suddenly, he jerked his thumb at himself. "And I actually participated in some Takagari clubs when I was younger you know. So I can go and teach you what you need to know."

Expression going blank, Ooyodo gave him a look. "And thus, we find out the reason why you suggested it. You're just trying to get out of doing your paperwork, again. This time using Harry-Chan to do so!"

Quickly going back to his work, Goto only whistled a bit. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ooyodo."

Meanwhile, Harry glanced at Ooyodo who was grinding her teeth and wisely chose to remain silent on the idea for now.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Leaning against the windowsill and watching as the base went through it's daily activities, Goto blinked as Ooyodo spoke up. "Hmm? You say something, Ooyodo?"

Only sighing, the Light Cruiser gave him a look from where she was enjoying her bento. "I asked what you're so deep in thought about?"

Just glancing at her, Goto then turned his attention back to the window. Mainly he was watching Nagato walking towards Mamiya's with Harry on her shoulders with a slight smile. "Stuff."

Eyebrow twitching, Ooyodo stared at him. "Stuff. You're thinking about stuff."

Slowly, Goto nodded. "Yes, stuff. Such as if Haruna and Rose would like to go on a double date with me and Kongou. Where we might go, such as Karaoke... What exactly it is that we're protecting, important stuff."

That last bit, if anything, caused Ooyodo to raise an eyebrow. Moments later, she clasped her hands under her chin as she observed her Admiral. At times, he annoyed the hell out of her due to trying to slack off, or his attempts at humor by pissing her off. But she had seen how he had acted towards herself and the other shipgirls and not only respected him for it...

But she would rather have no other Admiral but him.

And then the moment was passed as Goto stretched his arms out. "I've also been rolling an idea around in my head due to what we talked about earlier." Seeing her frown, his expression became thoughtful as he stared at the map that took up one wall of his office. "Mainly about how Taigei's escorts as a whole don't have a lot of experience."

Frowning, Ooyodo considered that before she also looked at the map. "There's not a whole lot that we can do in this case though. Perhaps have them target some Abyssal Convoys like Fubuki-San is doing with Kana-San?"

With a hum, Goto shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't think that would work. Maybe if we sent them down into the South China Sea to fight with the PT Imps, but..." Then he frowned thoughtfully. "But I had another idea that they could be used for."

Intrigued, Ooyodo considered his expression before speaking her next words. "And that would be?"

Several seconds passed while Goto was silent and then he spoke up with two words that caused Ooyodo to sit up straight. "The Bonins."

Boggling at him, Ooyodo's mouth worked for several moments before she shook off her shock and looked at the map in question. While a large amount of sea in that area had been reclaimed by humanity, there was a small area controlled by the Abyssals that stuck into the human controlled seas centered around the southern area of the Bonins. "You'd send them against Iwo Jima!? Teitoku, I know that sometimes your plans, as insane as they are, work... But there!?"

Only snorting, Goto shook his head. "You should give me more credit, Ooyodo. Sending them against the Princess on Iwo Jima would be suicide. No, I have another idea." Getting up, he took a string and tied it to a pin at another island close to Iwo Jima. "Rather, send them against the Oni class that's occupying Chichi Jima."

There was a twitch of Ooyodo's fingers as she stared at the island in question. Then she let her breath out as a hiss. "Cannibal Island Oni."

Pausing, Goto blinked and turned to her. "Is that what they're calling her?"

For a moment, it looked like Ooyodo was about to say more, but then calmed herself. "Among us shipgirls anyways. You saw the video recovered from one of the fighter pilots back during the first year when he was shot down during an attack. He was lucky not to fall victim to that... monster."

The Admiral could feel his stomach roil as he was reminded of what had happened. But then he shook it off. "An apt name, though I wonder due to the island's history." When Ooyodo looked like she was about to say something, he waved his hand. "Anyways, the Oni is much easier to take care of then Iwo Jima."

Narrowing her eyes, Ooyodo shook her head. "Chichi Jima is too close to Iwo Jima, just a few hundred miles from each other. Any attack would have the Princess send her aircraft against whoever is attacking Chichi Jima."

With a chuckle, Goto raised a finger. "Unless, of course, we trick her." Placing his finger on a spot, he grinned. "What would happen, do you think, if Iwo Jima Princess spotted a fleet? Say, at least two Fleet Carriers, two Battleships, and some Destroyers about here? Especially if we have some Americans involved?"

Ooyodo frowned thoughtfully as she considered it, her own Command Crew quickly coming up with and answering questions. Then she nodded some. "She would think that we're trying to attack her. Most likely send her aircraft in that direction along with her surface units."

Snapping his fingers, Goto nodded. "Exactly! Chichi Jima only has light surface units gathered there, Abyssal Gunboats and the like. Which the Shimushu can handle easily enough, especially if we have some of the Submarines there as well. Taigei herself has guns able to sink them. Meanwhile, Ryuuhou sends her planes against the Island to do as much damage as possible, maybe with another Light Carrier."

Rather thoughtful, Ooyodo nodded as she considered it. "Even if we fail to kill her, we should still greatly damage her. And considering that Chichi Jima is the main port of call for the Abyssal Q-Ships as well as a communication hub for those operating in our waters..."

Just nodding, Goto smiled grimly. "We can disrupt both their communication lines and supply lines. I'm hoping that we'll manage more then that though. It would also be a blow to the Abyssals and might, might cause them to recall the raiders to protect what remains." Then his eyes fell on another spot and he frowned. "Though... this could be another opportunity as well."

Having walked over to stand beside him, Ooyodo's eyes traced the map. "Another opportunity? How so?"

Moments later, Goto pointed at another island. "Minami Iwo Jima, where Haru-San said that there was another magical school located. There doesn't seem to be any Abyssal activity there, but... I want to know what might be there. And since Taigei is in the area..."

Eyes slowly widening, Ooyodo looked at him. "You want to send in some of the Submarines, I take it?" When he nodded, she frowned. "Would that work though?"

Slowly shaking his head, Goto hummed. "The Abyssals would be concentrated on the fleet to the North, and Chichi Jima. There's nothing on Minami Iwo Jima for us to them and they wouldn't notice a small force there. But I'd be satisfied with some floatplanes doing a flyby of the island to see what might be there. However... we won't be doing anything for a few months yet."

Glancing at him, Ooyodo hummed a bit. "Not going to send them right away?"

Only snorting, Goto smirked a bit. "No. This can sit and wait for a time, so we'll use that to plan this operation out. Maybe in October, give time for Taigei and her group to train and get to know each other along with some experience. Still..." His eyes narrowed a bit. "It's an opportunity that I can't ignore..."

All Ooyodo did was nod at that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing in front of her stove, Rose hummed as she stirred a pot that sat on a burner. With a slight frown, she brought the spoon up to eye level and watched as the dark, purplish contents dripped out. "Hmm... Not quite done I do believe."

Just placing the spoon back into the pot, she continued to slowly stir as behind her the door to her kitchen opened to reveal Haruna. The Battleship stood there watching as Rose continued to hum snitches of song. But what really caught her attention was how Rose swayed side to side slightly to a song only she could hear. Haruna bit her lip a bit as her eyes followed her girlfriend as she felt a small blush on her cheeks. 'Haruna cannot believe how adorable Rose-Chan looks.'

With a glance around, Haruna slipped into the room and slowly made her way up behind Rose. Once she got close enough, she quickly slipped her arms around the tsukumogami who gave a squeak. "Who-" Turning her head though, Rose huffed a bit. "Haruna!"

Only humming, Haruna placed her chin on the smaller woman's head and smiled. "Yes, Rose-Chan?" Despite the glare, Haruna could see Rose's lips twitch a bit which told her that her girlfriend wasn't really angry. "Haruna wonders if there's something wrong, Rose-Chan?"

Softly scoffing, Rose turned her head away a bit. "You know that I dislike it when you sneak up on me in such a way." Narrowing her eyes, the tea set continued. "Sometimes you are far too sneaky, Haruna."

A smile on her face, Haruna giggled a bit. "But Haruna cannot help herself, Rose-Chan! After all, Rose-Chan is just too cute when Haruna surprises her." Then she smirked a bit. "And Haruna knows that Rose-Chan enjoys it."

Eyes twinkling, Rose huffed a bit. "I certainly do not, Haruna."

Moments later though, Haruna reached out with a finger and poked Rose at the corner of her lips. "Haruna knows you do. Rose-Chan is smiling after all."

Blushing some, Rose tried not to smile though it was becoming harder all the time. "Oh tosh! I am not smiling, Haruna." However, not even five seconds later giggles erupted from her as Haruna grinned. "My word, that was harder then I though."

Haruna only leaned forwards a bit and kissed Rose on the corner of her mouth. "And it was hard for Haruna too."

With a smile on her face, Rose turned her head enough to give Haruna a soft kiss. "Mmm." Pulling away, part of her was rather pleased with the red that dusted Haruna's cheeks before she turned back to her work. "I can imagine that, Haruna."

As usual, Haruna felt an odd fluttering feeling in her boilers from what Rose did. But instead of say anything, she only stood there as she gently hugged Rose, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against hers. Eventually nuzzling her behind the ear, Haruna sighed as the scent of tea, silver, and polish filled her nose. "Rose-Chan..."

Simply feeling happiness bubbling in her like hot water, Rose giggled some as Haruna's nose continued to tickle her. "Haruna! My word, you are affectionate today."

Just shrugging, Haruna smiled a bit which Rose could feel. "Haruna returned from her patrol and needs to recharge on Rose-Chan. So Haruna will stay here for a bit."

Unable to help herself, a laugh burst from Rose before she reached down and placed her hand on Haruna's. "I see, far be it from me to interrupt you recharging. As long as later I am able to recharge on you." Eyes softening, she tilted her head enough so that her forehead was against Haruna's neck, the smell of steel, cordite, and the sea filling her nose. "I did miss you, Haruna and I am ever so glad that you're back here safe and sound."

Expression soft, Haruna gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "And Haruna is glad as well." Watching as Rose turned back to the pot, Haruna glanced around and blinked. In a small pot there were several glass jars and in a saucepan there seemed to be lids. "Haruna wonders though what Rose-Chan is doing?"

Humming, Rose brought the spoon back out and narrowed her eyes as the goop that was there now held it's shape. With a nod, she turned down the heat and grabbed one of the jars, steam rising from both the jar and her hand as she emptied the water from inside.. Not really paying much attention to the heat, Rose then began to spoon the contents of the pot into the small jar as she explained. "Well, I'm making some black currant jam from some that I gathered just this morning! It should be quite lovely on various things for tea or breakfast."

Interested, Haruna nodded as she watched. "Ah, Haruna understands. Though, may Haruna watch?"

Smiling, Rose gave her a giggle. "You certainly may, Haruna. I don't mind in the slightest." The jar now filled, Rose quickly wiped off the top with a steaming cloth before taking one of the lids and shaking it off. Quickly screwng it tightly shut, she then placed it into a pot of boiling water and glanced at the time. "And there we go. Time for the next one."

With a blink, Haruna tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Why did Rose-Chan do that?"

Eyebrow raised, Rose glanced at her as she began spooning the last of the jam into a second jar. "Hmm? Do what, Haruna?"

Blinking, Haruna pointed at the jar in the pot of boiling water. "Haruna is wondering why you placed the jar into the pot, Rose-Chan. It's a bit odd..."

A smile on her face, Rose shook her head. "I am simply sealing the jar, Haruna. The heat of the water will make sure that there's no bacteria in the seal as it causes the seal to tighten and become air tight." Then she pointed to a group of shelves. "Then I shall place them over there to cool."

When she looked, Haruna felt her eyebrows raise as she noticed several other jars there. Suddenly, there was a "Ting" that came from one that made her jerk a bit. "Rose-Chan? What was that?"

Placing her finger to her chin, Rose glanced at the jars and giggled a bit. "It's just the jars cooling slowly, Haruna. Each of them are properly sealed though, I made sure of that! And by the morning we can have some with our breakfast."

For a moment, Haruna's eyes grew distant as she had the image of herself holding out a scone that had black currant jam on it. Then Rose leaned forward with a blush on her face and took a bite of said scone. Voice soft, Haruna slowly nodded. "Haruna... is looking forward to it."

Rose just bit her lip as she had a similar image in her head, but it was of her feeding Haruna the scone. "As am I..." Shaking it off though, she leaned back some into the embrace and smiled up at Haruna. "Would you like to help me make some more, Haruna?"

Giving her waist a squeeze, Haruna nodded some. "Hai, Haruna would like to help. Now, what does Rose-Chan need Haruna to do?"

With a giggle, Rose gave a low hum. "Well, first, I need you to wash your hands before cutting some lemons for me..."

Quickly giving Rose a kiss on the top of the head, Haruna nodded. "Haruna will do that right now." Needless to say, after they were done, Rose had Haruna sit in a chair before sitting herself in the Battleship's lap.

Something that Haruna didn't mind in the least as they just cuddled with each other as they listened to the cooling of the jars.
_____________________________________________________________

Entering the Sub Pens, Harry walked past the docks with bags of groceries hanging from his hands. Then he passed through the door to the main living area as he glanced around. "Hello? Taigei-Chan? Anyone?"
Turning as he heard footsteps, Harry found himself watching as Imuya walked into view with a confused expression on her face. "Harry-Chan? What are you doing here?"

Bemused, Harry held up the bags. "Taigei-Chan ordered some groceries for me to deliver." His smile becoming a small frown, he looked around. "Is she here?"

However, Imuya only shook her head with a sigh. "No, Taigei-Nee-Chan is out practicing some manuvures with the Shimushu sisters." Shaking it off, she gave Harry a smile before grabbing an envelope. "But she did say that if her groceries were delivered to pay with this."

A blush on his cheeks, Harry took it. "Um, thanks, Imuya-Chan. Just give me a moment and I'll put these away."

Shaking her head, Imuya grabbed some of the bags and walked over to the fridge. "Here, let me give you a hand, Harry-Chan. Between the two of us we'll get it done quicker."

While they worked together though, Harry frowned and kept glancing at Imuya who was rolling her shoulders or neck. Finally, he was unable to help himself and cleared his throat. "Imuya-Chan?"

Only blinking, the Submarine turned to him as they placed the last of the groceries into the fridge. "Yes, Harry-Chan?"

Frowning, Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Is something wrong? Because, um..."

Suddenly pausing as she was rolling her shoulders, Imuya sighed and shrugged. "I guess that I must have slept wrong or something," Grimacing, she rolled her neck. "As much as I love how I have a human body now, there are times when I would rather be a ship. At least then I wouldn't have a... well, pain in the neck. It'll go away though."

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry considered this. Then he just shrugged and grabbed Imuya's hand and began to pull her over towards a chair. "Come over here and I'll help it go away."

Unnoticed by Harry, there was a blush in Imuya's face as he was pulled to the chair. But all she did though was squeeze Harry's hand a bit. "I don't know how, Harry-Chan. I mean, it'll just go away on it's own after all."

With a frown on his face, Harry shook his head and snorted. "Haven't you ever had a neck rub, Imuya-Chan?" However when she shook her head, his eyes widened. "Really?"

Scratchig her cheek, she gave a weak chuckle. "Um, no? I've... seen people giving them, but never gotten one myself. Don't really see what the big deal with them is anyways."

As he narrowed his eyes, rubbed his hands together to warm them up. "Well, hopefully you like the ones that I give. Mum seems to when she comes home from a long day at work."

Confused about that, Imuya was about to ask when she felt Harry place his fingers on her skin before they began to rub in gentle circles. Stiffening for a moment, the Submarine soon relaxed in the chair. "O-oh wow... th-that's...' Eyes closing, she ignored how her cheeks suddenly felt hot. 'Why is that making my conning tower feel so good...?' A hiss escaping her as Harry worked at a particular knot, Imuya cracked her eyes open slightly. "I-I guess that these are b-better then I thought, Harry-Chan."

Only smiling, Harry chuckled a bit. "Guess so." Hearing a rumbling sound, the black haired boy frowned and then looked down at Imuya before blinkng. "Um, Imuya-Chan? Are you... purring?"

Now knowing that her cheeks were likely as red as her hair, Imuya coughed. "No, you're just imagining things, Harry-Chan." Wanting to change the subject, Imuya let out a sigh. "So, um, who else have you done these for?"

Just shrugging, Harry thought it over. "Several shipgirls." Then his expression brightened. "I know that Iku-Chan and Hachi-Chan like them for some reason."

While she nodded, internally Imuya made a note in her logbook. 'Iku, Hachi, I am going to kill you both for not telling me about this before now!' As Harry worked at another spot though, she sighed. 'But later, right now I'm just going to enjoy this...'

By the time Harry was done, Imuya was a happy puddle of Submarine. Her relaxation ended far too soon for her liking though as she suddenly heard Harry speak up. "RO-Chan! Shioi-Chan!"

Very slowly, Imuya turned her head with wide eyes to see Shioi looking at her in confusion. Shioi wasn't the issue though. That went to the Subgirl who was behind her.

Mainly because the German shipgirl had one of the biggest grins that Imuya had ever seen on her while her eyes seemed to sparkle in glee. Then she slowly waggled her eyebrows up and down which caused Imuya's cheeks to feel like they were on fire. '... I wonder if I can distract her by pointing her at Iku-Chan and Hachi-Chan...'

Somehow, she doubted it would work very well.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

There was an extremely amused expression on Warspite's face as she walked through the base with Ron by her side. In one hand, there was the cane that said red haired boy had made for her. For a moment, Warspite glanced at the cane, still amazed at how well it helped her, before shaking it off as Ron huffed. "Oh, come now, Ronald. You're not that angry about it."

A slight glare on his face, Ron let out an explosive sigh. "Yes, I am. You wouldn't take me to any chess tournaments unless I did all my homework. Do you have any idea how much there was! Snape just piled it all on, I know he did."

If anything though, that caused Warspite to become more amused. "And yet, it worked and now you have the rest of the summer free. Also no last minute rushing to get it all done." Reaching over, she placed an arm over his shoulder and pulled him into a small hug. "Isn't that wonderful?"

When he only grumbled, she had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Just as she was about to continue though, there was the sound of a door slamming before someone screamed. "WELL, BLOODY FUCK YOU TOO!"

Looking up, Warspite only sighed at the sight of a brown haired girl stomping off. She was wearing what looked like a female Royal Navy uniform, except the coat was replaced by a sweater. "Oh, Hawke..."

Confused, Ron looked between the shipgirl as she passed them by, tears at the corners of her eyes and then disappeared around a corner. "Um... What just happened here?"

Only sighing, Warspite gestured at a nearby bench where Ron sat down. With a sigh of relief, the Battleship sat down beside him and seemed deep in thought. "That was HMS Hawke, Ronald. She's a Minotaur class Light Cruiser and... she has some problems with the Admiralty."

Slowly raising an eyebrow, Ron blinked in confusion. "Doesn't a lot of shipgirls? I mean... I know that you do..."

Instead of being insulted, Warspite only gave a chuckle. "That might be putting it a bit mildly, Ronald. However, for most of us, we make due. And we did extract some promises from the Royal Navy and Her Majesty's Government. That said... for some of us, it's much harder due to what happened to us."

Frowning, Ron glanced in the direction that Hawke had left in. "Okay, and Hawke is one of those I guess?" When Warspite nodded, he scratched his head. "Why her?"

Lips twitching, Warspite hummed. "Why is she having such trouble?" After Ron nodded, she continued. "She has trust issues involving the Royal Navy due to her past. You see, Ronald, Hawke just missed the War. Almost complete in her slipway and they had her boilers ready to be installed with all her guns nearly done."

Ron slowly furrowed his eyebrows at that. "So what happened?"

Sighing, Warspite looked up towards the sky. "The Royal Navy, despite how close she was to completion, scrapped her in place. She was so close and so little effort was required to complete her, yet they scrapped her. That left a deep mark on her that she carries with her."

Once more glancing in the direction that she had left in, Ron coughed. "So, uh, why did she return then?"

For several moments, Warspite was silent before she spoke up. "Because her sisters asked her too. Ontario, who was originally her oldest sister was at the ceremony where she was summoned. But being a Light Cruiser and Escort Duties being more important right now then offense, I'm afraid that she has... become quite annoyed. A number of us understand, but it still causes some issues."

There was a frown on Ron's face as he considered this and then nodded. "Huh..."

Unnoticed by him, Warspite had a thoughtful look on her face as a thought struck her. 'I wonder... Perhaps a change of scenary might help. Especially if it's important...' Tilting her head back, she looked up at the fluffy white clouds above. 'Perhaps a transfer to another theatre of the war, though this must be handled carefully.' Quickly shaking it off, she stood up and pulled Ron to his feet. "Now then, enough of such topics, I do believe that our car is waiting to take us to your tournament."

Grinning, Ron nodded. "Yeah, they won't be expecting for me to return after being gone for nearly a year."

All Warspite did was chuckle some as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, I do not believe that they will, Ronald. I don't believe that they will..."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reaching the docks with a backpack filled with various items that he needed, Harry waved as he caught sight of Hibiki and the rest of DesDiv6 there. "Hibiki-Chan! Inazuma-Chan! Ikazuchi-Chan! Akatsuki-Chan! Tenryuu-Oba! Tatsuta-Oba!"

All four Destroyers turned and began to run towards Harry and, upon reaching him, practically buried him under them as they laughed. Meanwhile, behind him Nagato shook her head in amusement. 'This bunch at times.'

Once they got off him, Inazuma grinned at Harry as he got back up. "Ready for your trip, Harry-Chan? You're going to love it, Nanodesu!"

Just nodding, Harry glanced around and blinked a bit. "Yeah, I can't wait to see Kure... though, um... How am I getting there? I know that you told me to come down to the docks, but there's nothing here?"

Nearly as one, the rest of the Destroyers of DesDiv6 turned to Hibiki who had some redness in her cheeks as Ikazuchi snickered. "Oh yes, how about you tell him how we're getting him to Kure, Hibiki-Chan." A moment later though, she winced as Inazuma elbowed her. "What?"

Sighing, Inazuma facepalmed and shook her head. "Aki-Chan..."

Ikazuchi only belinked at her twin with a confused expression on her face, thus missing the thankful look that Hibiki gave to Inazuma. "What?"

Yet again shaking her head, Inazuma turned to Harry and gave him a smile. "Anyways, Hibiki-Chan has something to show you, Harry-Chan! It's super awesome, Nanodesu! I know that you'll love it, Nanodesu!"

More then a little confused, Harry only nodded. "um, okay..." He then turned to Hibiki who seemed nervous for some odd reason. "Hibiki-Chan? Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Hibiki looked like she wasn't going to say anything, but then took a deep breath and let it out. "Nyet, it's just that I wanted to show you something and... I am unsure what you might think of it. I had it all planned out and now..."

Only raising an eyebrow, Harry hugged her. "I'm sure that no matter what, I'll think that it's awesome. Because you're pretty awesome yourself, Hibiki-Chan."

Eyes widening, Hibiki slowly smiled and brought her arms up to return the hug. "Da, thank you, Harry-Chan." Pulling away, she just kept smiling before nodding. "Just stay right there, Harry-Chan." When he nodded, Hibiki leapt off the dock and onto the water's surface. Giving Harry a final look, she closed her own eyes and concentreated. 'Just watch me, Harry-Chan.'

Up on the dock, Harry blinked as he watched her just stand there. Then he noticed the ripples spreading out from her feet and how her hair began to move in a unseen breeze. "Um... what's going on?"

Beside him, Akatsuki smiled a bit. "Hibiki-Chan is being a real lady, Harry-Chan."

Glancing at her and then back at Hibiki, Harry frowned as he realized that she was glowing a bit. "Um, is she going to power up?" His eyes then widened a bit. "Is she going to become the Legendary Super Hibiki?"

There was silence for several moments before Tenryuu let out a small snort. Tatsuta meanwhile tilted her head to the side as she mumbled to herself in confusion. "Legendary Super Hibiki...?"

Nagato pinched her nose and sighed. 'This isn't a Shonen series, Harry...'

Placing her hands behind her head, Ikazuchi chuckled at the image of Hibiki surrounded by an aura as she screamed to the heavens in her head. "Nah, Hibiki-Chan isn't going Super Destroyer mode, Harry-Chan. Nope! Our Hibiki is evolving."

Even as Tenryuu began to shake, Harry frowned. "Wait, evolving? Hibiki-Chan?"

One finger raised, Ikazuchi closed her eyes and nodded. "Yup! Hibiki-Chan is undergoing her Mega Evolution!"

Face held in her hands, Inazuma shook her head even as Tenryuu turned away and began to snort and choke pounding one hand. Sighing, the Destroyer held back a groan. "Hibiki-Chan isn't a Pokémon, Nee-Chan..."

All Tenryuu did was start to make an odd wheezing sound even as she pounded one fist against Tatsuta's shoulder. By this time, Tatsuta was just completely lost as to what was going on. Meanwhile, Hibiki tried her best to ignore the conversation, despite the images it put in her head of Harry throwing a ball while shouting "Hibiki-Chan! I choose you!" with her coming out of it.

Quickly shaking that image away, she continued to concentrate as she felt the water froth around her and begin to glow. 'Almost there... almost there...'

On the dock, Harry's eyes widened some as Hibiki suddenly shot into the air on top of a bulge of water. Moments later, said water flowed away to reveal a familiar looking WWII Destroyer underneath Hibiki's feet. "Wow... I... Is that Hibiki-Chan's hull?"

Her own eyebrows raising, Nagato nodded as the last of the water slid easily from the deck of the warship. "I have to admit, rather impressive."

Just nodding, Harry watched as ropes snaked away from the Destroyer and then tied themselves to the dock. "Yeah... this is beyond awesome." Noticing the gangplank slide out from the ship and to the surface of the dock, Harry rushed over to see Hibiki-Chan at the top of it standing. "This is so awesome, Hibiki-Chan!"

There was a pleased flush on Hibiki's face as she nodded. "Thank you, Harry-Chan. It's something that I've been working at for a while." With one hand, she tilted the brim of her hat a bit before softly smiling. "I'll be transporting you to at least Kure, Harry-Chan."

Jaw dropping, Harry boggled at her. "R-really?" When she nodded, he grinned. "Cool!"

Moments later, he stepped onto the gangplank only to stop. Realizing that, Hibiki frowned a little bit in confusion. "Is... something wrong, Harry-Chan?"

Shaking his head, Harry chuckled. "Forgot something, Hibiki-Chan." Just as she was about to ask, Harry brought his hand to his brow in a salute. "Permission to come on board, Hibiki-Chan?"

Frozen, Hibiki just stared at him for a few moments. Then she smiled a bit and returned the salute. "Permission granted, Harry-Chan. Come on board."

It took only a few seconds for Harry to reach the end of the gangplank and look around at the deck. Every so often, Harry could see what looked like transparent shadows walking around. Slowly twisting in place, he felt like his face would hurt a bit. "So bloody wicked..." Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Harry turned to see a smiling Hibiki there. "Hibiki-Chan?"

Even as she continued to smile, Hibiki pulled Harry into a hug. "Just to let you know, you have my permission to board me whenever you want, Harry-Chan. I don't mind in the least and you'll be safe inside my hull."

Hearing a choking sound, both Harry and Hibiki turned to see Ikazuchi working her mouth as Inazuma was bright red. Tenryuu meanwhile groaned as she facepalmed and muttered something that seemed to amuse Tatsuta to no end. Confused, Harry just tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows. "Poi?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Eventually, Hibiki only shook her head. 'They've gone weird again.' Turning back to Harry, she gave the black haired boy a small nod. "We'll be off in a few minutes, Harry-Chan. It'll take us several hours though to reach Kure at top speed."

Frowning, Harry tilted his head to the side as he did some math in his head. "About... Twelve hours to get to Kure, right, Hibiki-Chan?"

Part of Hibiki was, unknown to Harry, very happy that he had figured that out. It meant that he knew quite a bit about her which made her boilers run just a small bit hotter. "Around that amount of time, yes. Though if needed we can stop on the way at ports or islands." Both of them knew what she meant by that and so didn't comment. "We'll reach Kure after nightfall sometime."

Only nodding, Harry smiled as he put his hands behind his head. "So I'll get to see the stars from here on your deck?" Hibiki gave a nod which made him smile even wider. "Can't wait!" Moments later, he watched as with a wave of her hand, the gangplank came up and disappeared. With another wave, the ropes all unwound themselves from the dock and he could feel as her hull moved out into the harbour. "This is going to be so cool."

Slowly smiling, Hibiki stood next to him as the breeze washed over them as her sisters and Tenryuu leapt onto the water. "Da, I have been looking forward to it." Taking his hand in hers, she began to pull him to the bow. "Want one of the best places to watch?"

Harry's eyes sparkled as he let himself be pulled along. "Sure!" Moments later found the two of them standing side by side as Hibiki's hull slowly gathered speed. Every so often, they would wave at a surprised boater or fisherman, who would wave back. It didn't take long for Hibiki to reach the safety area and really put on the power, which made Harry reach up to hold onto his hat. "Wow..."

Meanwhile, Hibiki just watched him as he leaned over some to watch as her bow sliced through the waves. "I'm glad that you enjoyed it." A thought then occurred to her and she turned towards Harry with a slight tilt of her head. "Harry-Chan?"

Turning towards her, Harry blinked. "Yes, Hibiki-Chan? Is something wrong?"

However, she just shook her head. "Nyet. I was just wondering if you would like me to show you around my hull."

Eyes widening, Harry stared at her for a moment. "Really? We can do that?" As she nodded, he frowned in thought. "Um, just how close can we look?"

Shaking her head, Hibiki's smile grew just a touch. 'He doesn't want to bother me.' Clearing her throat, she shrugged. "You can examine as many things as close as you want, Harry-Chan. I can show you my hull inside and out."

A choking sound though caused them to turn to see Tenryuu tripping while Inazuma looked like she was about to catch fire. Ikazuchi though, despite being nearly as red as her twin, was laughing uproariously. All of which made Harry blink in utter confusion. "Um... what's wrong with them?"

Watching as a confused Nagato looked at her fellow mother, who was now facepalming, Hibiki shrugged. "I don't know..." As she turned, it looked like Tenryuu was recovering only for her to trip again as Hibiki began to drag Harry towards one of the hatchway. "First, I want to show you around inside my hull..."

Madly twitching, Inazuma groaned as Ikazuchi just kept laughing. 'Oh, Hibiki-Chan...'

The next few hours passed with Hibiki acting as a tour guide for Harry as she showed him through her hull. Shadows of people nodded at them as they passed or moved out of their way. However, Harry only nodded back or thanked them, more interested in what Hibiki was showing and telling him. One of his favorite parts was when they entered the bridge for Hibiki and Harry looked around in awe. "This... is beyond awesome."

Careful not to get in the way of any of the shadows, Harry took some steps and noticed the steering wheel. Spotting that, Hibiki gave him a slight smirk as she tapped him on the shoulder. When he looked at her, the Destroyer gestured at the steering wheel. "Would you like a try?"

For a moment, Harry stared at her and then at the wheel. Then he turned back to her and pointed at himself, which an amused Hibiki nodded at. "Are... are you sure?"

With a small giggle, Hibiki nodded. "Da, I am sure." She then placed her hand on his shoulder. "I trust you, Harry-Chan. You know this."

Still not quite believing it, Harry stepped towards the wheel with the shadow that was there moving to the side. Somehow, Harry knew that it was extremely amused by the whole thing. How he knew that, Harry didn't know and it also explained to him how to operate the wheel. It was a few moments later that Hibiki looked at him. "Um... how about we turn some to Port?"

Hibiki gave him a small smile. "Very well, let's turn to Port." She gestured at the radio man and, outside the windows, the other shipgirls moved. "You can do it now, Harry-Chan."

Nervous, though with a massive grin, Harry turned the wheel slowly towards Portside and watched as the ship turned in the same direction. "Wow..."

Both of them stood there for maybe an hour before Harry released the wheel to the shadow normally in charge of it. As they left the bridge, Hibiki noticed that Harry was yawning and raised an eyebrow. "Tired, Harry-Chan?"

There was a blush on Harry's face as he gave a sheepish nod. "Sorry, Hibiki-Chan. Um, had some issues with sleeping last night and, well... I'm kind of worn out." He then moved his foot as if to scuff it against the decking, only to stop at the last moment. "Sorry."

With a chuckle, the Destroyer shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Harry-Chan." She then looked around for a moment before nodding. "Come, I know where you can go."

Confused, though interested, Harry followed Hibiki as she lead him through corridors until they reached one room that had a closed door. It took Harry a moment, but he recognized it. "Hibiki-Chan... isn't this the Captain's Quarters!?"

Humming, Hibiki gently opened the door. "Da, this is the cabin for my Captain, Harry-Chan." Inside, there was a desk, a bed and other miscellenous items. "You can come and have a nap here."

Mouth working for a few moments, Harry turned to her. However, he could see that she was completely and utterly serious about what she was saying. "Really? You're sure, Hibiki-Chan?" When she nodded, he slowly walked inside and looked around. "Thank you..."

As she closed the door behind them, Hibiki was surprised as Harry hugged her from behind. Moments later, she turned and hugged him back. When he yawned again though, she let out a soft chuckle and pushed him towards the bed. "Now, you have a nice, nap, Harry-Chan. I shall make sure that nothing disturbs you."

Taking off his shoes, Harry stretched a bit and then did as she said and laid down on the bed. Feeling completely safe, he looked up at Hibiki who took a seat at the desk to watch him. "Hibiki-Chan... can I ask you something?"

Only nodding, Hibiki tilted her head to the side. "Of course you can, Harry-Chan. You know that."

What he said next though caught her completely and utterly off guard. "If I'm travelling in your hull... Does that make me part of your crew?" Sucking in a breath at the question and her eyes widening, Hibiki froze, which caused Harry to wince. "Sorry, I know that-"

Her voice nearly a whisper, Hibiki's words nonetheless could easily be heard by the nearly twelve year old boy. "Would... would you like to be part of my crew, Harry-Chan? Really?"

Somewhat confused, Harry nodded. "Well, yeah! I'd love to be part of your crew, Hibiki-Chan. That would actually be pretty awesome."

Eyes wet, Hibiki gave him an odd smile, one that he had never seen before. "I would like to have you as part of my crew as well, Harry-Chan. And not just on this voyage..." Opening a drawer, she pulled out a book and sat down beside Harry before opening it. Inside, Harry could see names written down as she flipped though the pages. Some were in kanji which slowly turned to Russian until they came to a blank page. "Here we go."

Watching, Harry observed Hibiki gently write down his own name, which glowed for a moment. "So... that's it?"

Quiet for a moment, Hibiki closed the book and held it to her chest. Somehow, Harry had never seen her so happy. "Hai, that's it. You are now listed as being a member of my crew, Harry-Chan." She didn't say the rest and, several minutes later, just ran her hands through Harry's hair as she stared between him and his name. 'Hopefully, you'll always be here, Harry-Chan... even if something happens to you...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As they left the small island behind them, Harry gave a sheepish grin to a bemused Hibiki. "Sorry about needing to stop there, Hibiki-Chan."

If anything though, that amused Hibiki more as she shook her head. "It's okay, Harry-Chan. We've been at sea for a few hours now."

Just smiling back at her, Harry shrugged before looking up at the stars above as him and Hibiki sat against one of her turrets. "It's so beautiful..." A glance off to the side showed the Moon rising above the water, nice and large. Then Harry looked to the side of the ship where he could see a blue glow rippling out before turning to Hibiki who was watching him, though he noted that her silver hair seemed to glow in the moonlight. "Really pretty, you know?"

Blushing some, Hibiki pulled the brim of her cap down some before nodding, "Da, it is." Her own head tilting back, she smiled some. "Out here on the sea, the stars above and the glow below... it's hard not to enjoy it." Turning to Harry, Hibiki gave him a smile. "Especially with friends."

That got her a smile back from Harry before he nodded. "Yeah." Suddenly, he stiffened and grabbed his backpack and began to dig into it. "I almost forgot!" Somewhat confused, Hibiki watched as Harry pulled out various items from inside. The thermos was obviously tea. Harry glanced at her as he pulled out some containers which had Ofuda on them with a small, sheepish smile. "Um... Hibiki-Chan? Do you have a basket and some rope? Or fishing line and a hook?"

Only tilting her head to the side, Hibiki nodded. "Da, I have some." Mentally giving the order, Hibiki could feel one of her Fairies become rather bemused. "What do you have there, Harry-Chan?"

Glancing at her, Harry grinned a little bit. "Dinner!" He then frowned some as he looked it over. "Hopefully it's enough until we get to Kure."

Eyes widened a bit, Hibiki watched as he opened one of the containers, the Ofuda flashing for a moment. But next thing she knew there was steam coming out of it to reveal stirfry there. 'W-what? How did he...?'

Not having noticed, Harry handed the container to her with some chopsticks. "Here, you can have this one, Hibiki-Chan. I got some rice balls too."

Still staring at the hot food, Hibiki looked up at him and then back at the food. Repeating it, she blinked. "Harry-Chan... How is this still hot?"

Humming, Harry gave her a glance before shrugging. "It's an old trick that Junyou-Oba taught me. Apparently some Onmyouji back during the Sengoku Jidai got tired of cold food and figured out how to use magic to keep it warm and safe to eat. She mostly uses it to keep her alcohol cold though."

Even as she rolled her eyes at what Junyou used it for, Hibiki nodded. "I see..." After a few seconds though, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Wouldn't you get in trouble though? You're not allowed to use magic outside of school after all."

Much to her surprise though, Harry gave a laugh. "Actually, they can't detect Omyoudo. The symbols are what casts the magic while I might provide a bit of power to kick it off. Kind of like..." Clinching his hand as if to grab a concept, he finally shrugged. "Kind of jumpstarting a battery is how Haru-San said it was like. Once jumpstarted, the Ofuda pulls in the needed magic from it's surroundings."

It took a few moments for Hibiki to consider that before she noticed that one of the shadows that populated her hull had arrived with a basket and a rope that had a hook at the end of it. 'That's... huh, useful.'

At the same time, Harry unscrewed the top of his thermos and then poured some tea into two cups, one of which he handed to Hibiki. Screwing the cap back on, he took the basket and the rope from the shadow and bowed. "Thank you."

Even though he didn't actually "Hear" it, Harry could somehow hear it in his head as the shadow bowed back. Somehow, he knew that it said 'You're welcome' before it turned back and went back into Hibiki's hull. Watching as Harry placed containers and the thermos as well as cups into it, Hibiki blinked. "What are you doing, Harry-Chan?"

Giving her a small grin, Harry chuckled a bit. "Well... I thought that your Mum and sisters could use something to eat as well."

Unknown to Harry, that caused some warmth to bubble up inside of Hibiki. "Da, you're right of course. They would like something to eat."

Moments later, Harry got up and then walked to the side before he waved to Tenryuu. "TENRYUU-OBA! CAN YOU COME HERE FOR A MOMENT?!"

Tenryuu rolled her eyes as she pulled up alongside Hibiki's hull, her wake not bothering the Light Cruiser in the least. "Sure thing, Kiddo. What do you and Hibiki-Chan need?"

Hooking the basket to the rope, Harry began to lower it down to her. "Here, I brought some dinner for us." As the surprised shipgirl took the basket, Harry smiled a bit. "Just pull off the tops and Ofuda and they'll be as hot as if they just came off the stove."

With her eye blinking in surprise, Tenryuu did a quick look over and then gave him a thumbs up as she tucked the basket under one arm. "Will do, Harry-Chan. And thanks, we could use something to fill our stomachs."

Just watching as she pulled away and called for the rest of DesDiv6 to come over for some food, Harry nodded. That done, he soon rejoined Hibiki by the turret though he blinked at the sight of a blanket spread out. "Where did that come from?"

Looking up, Hibiki gave him a small smile though she was thankful that the darkness hid the small blush on her cheeks. "It's getting somewhat cold to sit on the deck."

Head tilting to the side, Harry blinked. "Poi?" Then he scratched his head before shrugging. "I don't know, your deck is rather warm. Really nice actually." Unseen by him, the blush on Hibiki's face deepened, though she frowned as a breeze that drifted past made him shiver. "Though it is getting, um, a bit nippy out."

Still frowning, Hibiki glanced to the side. "We could go inside if you're getting cold, Harry-Chan. It's much warmer inside my hull."

Harry only shook his head before sitting down next to her. "Nah, that's okay." He then gave her a smile which made her boilers sputter for a moment. "Besides, I want to sit out here under the stars with you for a bit."

Now sure that if he looked closely, he could see her blush, Hibiki found herself not caring all too much. Moving a bit until she was pressed against him, she smiled as he blinked. "Da, I would like that too." Her head tilting a bit, she nodded. "Then I shall keep you warm."

For the next few minutes, the two of them just enjoyed being next to each other as they ate. All too soon though, they were done their small meal and Harry gave a small sigh before he looked towards her. "Hey, Hibiki-Chan?" Getting a hum, he continued. "It's been a few years since I've been to Kure... anything different?"

Thinking it over, Hibiki slowly nodded. "Da, they've gotten a few new shipgirls now. Well, besides Ushio."

With a blink, Harry turned towards her. "Really? I know that they have Zuikaku-Oba and Shoukaku-Oba, as well as some others, but..."

Lips twitching, Hibiki gave him a nod. "They also have CarDiv2 there as well, Harry-Chan."

Scratching his cheek, Harry nodded but gave a weak chuckle. "I've never, um, met them so... You know."

Just nodding, Hibiki took a deep breath before letting it out. "Well, they've summoned a few others. Katsuragi-San is one, but they also managed to summon Ise-San and Hyuuga-San as well. Though, um, those two are a bit odd." At Harry's look, she shrugged. "They're rather obsessed with Aviation Battleships and go on about it being the 'Age of Aviation Battleships'."

Confused, Harry frowned as he considered this before shrugging. 'Okay...?' Shaking it off, he then looked up at the stars. "Guess that's pretty good. Musashi-Oba was supposed to be stationed there, but she's been banned from the base after her first visit."

That caused Hibiki to blink in confusion and stare at him. "I did hear about that, but not why. You haven't heard why...?"

Shrugging, Harry snorted. "I don't know too much, but I did hear something about her flooding a base or something for the second time. Hence them not wanting her there... Or that's what I overheard from Yamato-Oba once."

Much to his confusion, the Destroyer next to him began to laugh, and soon enough he joined her though he wasn't sure why they were laughing. Eventually though they calmed down and sighed. Relaxing, Hibiki simply leaned against Harry as they continued to watch the Moon rise, it's light reflected in the surface of the ocean as streams of ghostly blue light danced away from Hibiki's hull in her wake. She did jump a bit as Harry placed his arm around her waist before snuggling a bit more into it.

It really was a beautiful night out on the sea.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Inside the kitchen of Natsumi's and Haru's home, the only real sound that could be heard was the turning of pages and the scratching of pens against paper. Inside the kitchen, Natsumi frowned as she looked at the papers in front of her and the reference book beside. A glance at Shiromizu, in her half-human form, showed the serpent doing much the same thing. Finally, Natsumi leaned back and sighed before turning to her aunt. "Oba-Chan? Can I ask you something?"

Humming, Haru sipped her tea before nodding. "Of course you can, Natsumi-Chan. You should know that by now since you'll never learn if you don't ask."

As she furrowed her eyebrows, Natsumi let out a sigh. "Well... It's been bugging me for a bit about something you said." Getting a motion to continue, the young kitsune did. "When Harry-Chan received his letter to go to Hogwarts, you told Nagato-San that it was a good idea and that 'European magic is flexible'. Does that mean that it's better then Onmyoudo?"

For moment, Haru paused before she set down her tea. "Now that, Natsumi-Chan, is a very good question. But as a short answer, no, it's not better then Onmyoudo. Different, yes. Better though? No."

Now leaning against her hand, Shiromizu frowned. "Okay... And the long answer?"

Smiling some, Haru gave a chuckle. "Well, the long answer is that to look at how they function. The European system is something of a Jack of All Trades I believe the term is. It is flexible and has a wide range within it, hence why it is so common. But, this comes at a cost as it is a master of no magic. For comparison, African Magic, as taught at their main school, is very good at transformation magics. In fact, most of those who learn it can easily perform the Animagus process which is much harder in the European system. However, it's not nearly as expansive as the European one."

Eyes wide, Natsumi stared at her for a moment before she shook it off. "What about Onmyoudo then?"

Lips turning up a bit more, Haru considered it before nodding. "Onmyoudo can best be described as using rules and laws to perform various feats. Ofuda, for example, use the writing to guide the magic. It has to be perfect or close to in order for the spell to work. Shikinami are another example as one needs to be extremely exact when creating one or else it might go beserk. However, one can also call upon the Kami and others to help cast magic through ritual and law. In a way, it's like being a lawyer where instead of the legal system, it's magic."

Thoughtful, Shiromizu blinked and then tapped her chin. "So... it's rather rigid then? But inside that rigedity, one can do a lot?"

Head tilting from side to side, Haru hummed. "Not quite how I would put it, but close enough, I suppose for this conversation and your level at the moment. There's a reason why divination is far more effective with Onmyoudo then, say, with European magic which is nortoious for how vague it can be. Alchemy and potions are also well known parts as both operate on rules."

Shiromizu frowned a bit and then crossed her arms. "So... which is more powerful then?"

Only laughing lightly, Haru shook her head. "In all honesty, Shiromizu, it is not really a question of power. Each magical system has it's strengths and weaknesses. In the European one, you can cast a spell that could create a raging firestorm able to destroy towns. Alternatively, in the most common South American one, you can bring down a curse upon a family that would last for generations. Both of these are 'Powerful' in the sense of the term. However, the systems that they come from are different and focus on different things."

Leaning forward, Natsumi nodded as her tail wagged behind her. "Okay, but what about Onmyoudo?"

For a moment, Haru paused and considered the question. "There are... certain magic that is extremely powerful. But while they are highly sought after, they're also jealously guarded by those who know them. And so, many might consider them myths or legends. However, they're difficult because said methods rely heavily on knowing the rules and laws that one must play with and are not to be undertaken lightly."

Part of the elder kitsune was extremely amused as both Natsumi and Shiromizu leaned even further forward, the younger fox's tail smacking against the floor. However, she didn't say anymore as she just sipped her tea. Finally, Natsumi was unable to take it anymore and let out an explosive, annoyed sigh. "Like what, Oba-Chan?"

Gently placing her cup back onto the table, Haru tented her hands and placed her chin on top of them as she regarded her niece and Shiromizu. "Well... one of them is Taizen Fukun no Sai."

Several seconds passed before Shiromizu gulped and looked around nervously. "Taizen, as in..."

Very slowly, Haru nodded. "King Taizen of the Underworld, yes." Becoming serious, Haru narrowed her eyes slightly. "There's no magical words as such spoken during it. One must make offerings of such things as gold, silver and similarly expensive items, even up to human life. Though you can make subsitutes in the form of paper dolls during the ritual for simplicity's sake, afterwards you must give what is offered or taken. You then write up and read a formal letter of request to the Judges of the Underworld. Not just King Taizen, but others including King Emma. Said letter must detail very precisely what is being offered, the vitues of the supplicants, and the exact divine intervention needed. Messing up any or not being detailed enough can bring down devestating consequences."

Face pale, Natsumi swallowed. "Y-yeah, I can see why one would need to be very careful with what they're saying. That's... rather frightening, Oba-Chan."

Haru simply nodded. "It is, hence why it is not taken lightly. Even the Kami themselves would not use it without just cause. But... No one can deny that it is very powerful. In the ritual, you are asking the Judges of the Underworld themselves for intervention. It can lengthen lifespans, save a person from death... and, it is said that it can even bring back the deceased from beyond. Abe no Seimei himself supposedly used it to return his father to life after he was murdered."

Utter silence met her as both younger beings stared at her. It was Shiromizu who eventually spoke up. "Bring back... the dead? B-but I thought that such a thing was impossible..."

Slowly, Haru shook her head. "Impossible? One would think so and all evidence would point to such. But that is what is told and... having seen some things in my life, I have my doubts that it cannot be done. That said, one would need to find the rare Onmyouji who can perform such a feat and they do not advertise that fact for obvious reasons."

After some thought though, Natsumi's ears perked up. "Wait, Oba-Chan? Doesn't what you describe sound a lot like how shipgirls are summoned?"

Unable to help herself, Haru grinned proudly. "Caught that, did you?" Leaning back some, she shook her head and chuckled. "They do seem to share an astounding amount of simularities, don't they? They both involve the afterlife, sacrifices for just attention, a request normally formal, and divine intervention based on said request. I have never found out where the ritual came from and often wondered if it's a derivative... Perhaps one day I'll satisfy my curiosity, but that can wait."

Even though she was still curious, Natsumi only nodded. By the time that their 'Lesson' was done a few hours later, Natsumi was tired and felt her head about to explode as she digested all the information passed on. 'Oba-Chan certainly knows a lot of things... Must be because she's old.' Slipping into her futon, she glanced at the clock as she yawned. "I wonder if Harry-Chan is in Kure yet?" Closing her eyes, Natsumi muttered as she snuggled into her futon. "You better take care of him, Hibiki-Chan..."

With that, she slipped into her sleep and dreams. At least one of which involved herself and a certain green eyed boy...

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

I wrote a thing like I said I would, this one for Ron and Warspite. Comments and critique are very welcome.

-----

Ron Weasley burst into Warspite's room with an energy normally only seen when his older twin brothers were running from Percy's wrath, causing the normally calm battleship to jump from shock even before he grabbed her by the shoulders and almost managed to head butt her on accident.

"Warspite!" he said with a volume and enthusiasm entirely unwarranted by how close they were, "We can do it! I can get inside of you!"

Warspite found herself fighting back a blush, her mind locking up momentarily at the boy's brazen declaration, even his words blurring out as she sought to control herself. While he was young, he was getting closer to puberty every day and she wouldn't put it past his brothers to try and trick him into saying something inappropriate for a good laugh. Yes, that was it, it was simply a bad joke and they would clear it up and then not speak of it again until later, much later.

Coming back into the world Warspite only heard the tail end of what Ron had been saying.

"…and it might be a little messy but we can do it, I know we can!"

"Ronald," she forced herself to say, even as pale red colored her cheeks, "Please calm down and start from the beginning on… whatever it is that you're trying to tell me."

Ron finally managed to get a hold of himself as Warspite called him Ronald. It wasn't often she did so and with the tone of voice she used he realized that he'd been acting a bit wild… as well as being much too close to her for casual conversation.

"Sorry," he said, flushing red from embarrassment, letting his hands drop from her shoulders and taking two steps back, "I got a little excited with what Harry just told me."

"Harry?" Warspite asked, "What did Harry tell you?" Warspite's mind raced through possibilities as she thought of Ron's close friend. Harry was just as young as he was, so what her initial thoughts had been were clearly wrong, but that left even more questions than answers.

"Well you know Harry and I write each other most of the time, but this time he called me on the telephone because of the problems we've been having. You know where he called me from?"

"No, but I assume it was from Japan."

"Yes, but from Kure. He got there by riding on Hibiki! On her actual hull!"

Warspite again froze, though this time in shock instead of embarrassment.

"He did what?"

"Hibiki managed to summon her real hull… somehow I don't know he didn't really explain that part. But she did! He even says they have pictures he'll let me see when we get back to school."

"I see," said Warspite, "But what does this have to do with what you were yelling about earlier?"

"Well," said Ron, taking a deep breath, "I figure that if Hibiki can do it you probably can too. Even if it takes time you can talk to her and figure it out, do whatever it is you need to do. Then once you can do it, I can start."

"Start what Ron?" Warspite asked, her mind not quite yet grasping what he had in mind.

"Fixing you," he said, his young voice dead serious in a manner unbefitting of his still rather tender age, "I can get inside your hull and fix everything. Not just as a temporary treatment but good as new, better even. No more plug, no more steering issues, no more tiredness on long patrols. You wouldn't even need my walking stick anymore if you didn't want, you could just go for as long as you wanted."

Warspite's eyes widened at Ron's proclamation, the way he spoke about fixing her. He'd already declared his desire to help her and proved it a hundred times over despite his age. Yet the way he said this was with the voice of someone who had found a light at the end of the tunnel they had never expected to see. Even with all the repair shipgirls trying their best they'd never managed to fix her lingering issues and Ron's magic only mitigated her issues though they did so wonderfully. If it worked…

"That… that's wonderful Ron," she said, her voice still slightly hesitant. "But we don't know if it's even possible for me to do it and if such a thing would even work in the first place." She wasn't doubting his idea, not a bit, but she didn't want him to get his hopes up over what could possibly be a wild goose chase.

"I know," he said, his head dropping a bit, "Harry did mention Hibiki worked on it for a long time so I know it's a long shot. If you try though and you can do it, if you can summon your hull I know I can fix you. Even if I have to break that concrete out of you with a hand chisel and figure out how to work a welder so I can get it fixed I'll do it, I swear I will."

Warspite's heart melted at that. She should have known better. Ron had always taken her treatment seriously, more seriously than even she did at times. He'd already thought it over, already decided that he could wait until she could summon her hull, if she could. He wouldn't get down if it proved impossible, he'd simply move onto the next plan and the next one after that. His determination was nothing short of amazing for anyone, much less a boy his age.

"I know you will Ron," she said as she gestured him forward for a hug, which he nodded to and came close again, wrapping his arms around her as she leaned forward for her part, "I know you will, you've always done your best for me."

"You deserve it," he said over her shoulder, "after everything you've done for me."

Warspite was glad that Ron couldn't see her face, nor feel the way her heart started beating faster. While it was true that they'd both helped each other out, she couldn't reconcile teaching Ron playing chess with him fixing damage that had lasted thirty years and two world wars. There was so much more involved than just that, there was no way to truly quantify what friends did after all but if Ron succeeded… well she'd think about that later.

Pulling back from the hug Warspite gave Ron a smile and he gave her a bit of a blush.

"Well I suppose if we're to get started I'll need to talk to Hibiki then won't I?" she said.

"Yeah," he said with a nod, "Harry said it wouldn't be a problem if you talked with her on the phone or used the computer."

"I didn't think it would," she said with a grin, "I was wondering if he'd mentioned when they'd be back from Kure so I could."

"I uh… I didn't ask," admitted Ron, "But he said he'd be on base for a few days… so I'll go find out. Be right back!"

Warspite watched with a bemused shake of her head as Ron darted out of her room once more, exuberance beating out caution as he ran up the hall towards the base phone exchange.

As the sound of his feet pounding against the floor disappeared, she let her cheek come to rest against her hand, her mind wandering. She knew about Hibiki's history, how long her hull had lasted. She'd been around quite a long time as well but not as close to the present as the young DD had been. Still if Ron was right…

Her musings were broken by a knock on her door, a grinning Queen Elizabeth standing in the frame.

"Can I help you?" asked Warspite.

"Yeah," said QE with a tone that let Warspite know she was in a teasing mood, "What was that I heard about a young man getting inside you?"

Warspite flushed scarlet, eyes going wide even as QE started cackling. She was never going to live this down.

 

[darthcourt10]

Tristar

Dudley was not a happy camper, which in of itself had become his normal state of being, that of course might explain why he was tossing rocks into the culvert. It all started with the arrest of his parents and him getting shipped to his aunt. Who in there right mind thought it would be a good idea for him to live with his Aunt and her dogs needed to be line up on the wall when the revolution came then shot. Okay sure it wasn't so bad at first, mostly because he'd been somewhat confused why his parents had been arrested. Even after it had been explained to him he still didn't understand it and honestly he wanted to blame the boy under the stairs. Of course that initial confusion had quickly been over run by his aunts over baring nature and need to shape him into a proper man, it just honestly just grated on him. It was like she had to modes, spoil him rotten, or ordering him around like one her dogs.

Tossing one last rock he began his way home trying to keep his mind off thing. "Looky here lads it's Majorie's little pup!" Here it comes, was Dudley's only thought as he looked at the group around him. He recognized them for what they where bullies, honestly he could see the irony. Three of them half drunk teenagers only a few years older than he was just picking on because he had to live with the crazy dog lady. "Aren't you gonna say something?"

Of course Dudley didn't need words being a bully himself he knew they would be pointless, indeed if he fought back he'd just take a beating for his troubles. If he just surrendered they'd might just knock him around somewhat then leave getting there jollies. Of course he said nothing they'd just keep pressing and pressing trying to get a rise out of him, for a moment he almost considered taking it, just getting it over with......But something inside just snapped inside the young boy, he just couldn't take it anymore, his parents jailed, living with a bipolar aunt, forced to stay awake with the dogs barking all night, now this it just it, he was done.

*WHUMP*

The first boy doubled over clutching his little boys where Dudley had kicked them, the two others had no time to respond as Dudley was screaming as he lashed out.

Hours latter Dudley limped back to his Aunt's home, he'd lost badly, his chest hurt, his ribs hurt, his back hurt, his FACE hurt. The dogs barked but, he did care even as he used a shaking hand to unlock the flat's door. His vision blurry he just walked to his room ignoring his aunt's protestation to get a good look at him, he just wanted to sleep. It took some effort each step more painful than the last eventually htough he managed to take his one remaining sock off and crawled into bed.

Tomorrow was another day.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Uh, distraction time!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Walking out onto her foredeck with a plate in her hands, Hibiki paused and blinked. There, in front of her, Harry was standing in front of a small radio. "Lift those arms up high and feel that back stretch out!"

Bemused by what she was seeing, Hibiki continued to watch as Harry continued the exercises coming from the radio. 'Is he doing radio exercises?' After a few moments though, she shook her head and it was hard to keep her lips from curling upwards slightly. 'Oh, Harry-Chan...'

Hibiki then took a few steps forward and made sure that Harry could spot her, which he did. Within moments, he was giving her a grin as he finished whatever he was doing. "Hibiki-Chan! I was wondering where you got off to!"

Only holding up the plate which had food on it and a cup of hot chocolate, Hibiki gave him a smile. "I was having breakfast made for you down in the galley. Here, you go."

Taking the food, Harry just took a deep breath and let it out. "Thanks, Hibiki-Chan." Glancing over the food, he took a bite and nodded. "It's as good as it looks."

Slightly blushing, Hibiki tilted her hat some. "Thank you, I'm glad that you like it even though it's just simple."

All Harry did though was shake his head as he swallowed. "Simple is actually pretty good." Shrugging as he gathered up some more, he snorted. "People forget that sometimes simple is what one needs."

Just nodding as she watched him eat, Hibiki glanced towards the radio in confusion. "Why are you doing radio exercises, Harry-Chan? Normally I see you doing a run..."

Harry only shrugged a bit and finished chewing. "Well, I would do my run, but, um... I don't want to be running around your deck or getting in anyone's way, Hibiki-Chan."

Giving that some thought, the Destroyer eventually nodded in agreement. "Khorosho." Then Hibiki glanced towards her sisters. "It's just that normally I see Akatsuki-Chan doing radio exercises."

With a blink, Harry turned to where the purple haired Destroyer was moving across the surface of the ocean as the Sun continued to rise. "Really? I didn't know that Akatsuki-Chan did radio exercises."

Lips twitching, Hibiki chuckled some. "Da, Akatsuki-Chan does them every morning when we're on land. According to her, it makes her more lady-like." Then she leaned in towards Harry. "But Ikazuchi-Chan states that she does it so that she gets a sticker on her scorecard."

Thinking for a moment, Harry smiled some before he shook his head. "That's Akatsuki-Chan for you." Just watching as he walked over to his bag and pulled out a towel, Hibiki waited as he dried some of the sweat from his body. However, Harry noticed that she looked slightly nervous. "Is something wrong, Hibiki-Chan?"

After a moment, Hibiki glanced away and scratched at her neck. "I... Was wondering if you've been enjoying the cruise so far, Harry-Chan. It is slower then using the trains..."

Confused, Harry blinked at her before he tilted his head. "Why wouldn't I enjoy it, Hibiki-Chan? And yeah, the trains might be faster, but this is way better."

Much to his confusion, Hibiki blushed a bit and nodded. "Thank you..." Then she chewed her lip, but before Harry could ask what was wrong she spoke up. "If... Would you like to do the same thing to go between Kure and Sasebo?"

Expression brightening, Harry stared at her. "Really?" When she nodded though, he practically leapt onto her and hugged Hibiki. "Awesome! I was hoping for it, but I didn't want to bother you over it."

Wrapping her arms around him, Hibiki just closed her eyes and chuckled. "You don't need to worry, Harry-Chan. You can ask to go on a cruise on my hull anytime you wish."

All Harry did was smile at that before he took a look around then his eyes widened. "Hey, look at that Hibiki-Chan! It's the Kurushima-Kaikyō Bridge."

Slowly nodding, Hibiki tilted her head back as they came well within sight of the bridge which stretched across the Seto Inland Sea. "Which means that we're close to Kure." Softly sighing, Hibiki slowly shook her head. "It's amazing how fast they rebuilt them after..." Quickly shaking those thoughts off, she let out a breath. "Did you know, Harry-Chan, that when I came back I was amazed at the bridges?"

Blinking, Harry let go of the hug and focused his attention on her. "No, I didn't know that."

With a glance at him, Hibiki turned back to the approaching bridge. "Akatsuki and the others were even more amazed." She then gestured at the span ahead of them. "Back when we were ships, the only way across the sea here was a ferry. I remember sailing the Seto Inland Sea and seeing them... And now, Japan has built bridges across it."

Head tilting to the side, Harry tried to imagine it. For a moment, it seemed like his vision shifted and he was no longer in the twenty-first century, but sometime before World War Two. He could see various Japanese sailors on the deck and where the bridge was, there was only water with the odd ferry crossing or a ship passing or being passed.

Then Harry blinked and he was once more back in the twenty-first Century with the bridge ahead of them. Looking around, he frowned a little bit in confusion. 'What was that...?'

Meanwhile, Hibiki focused on the bridge itself and blinked. She could just make out crowds of people of all ages lining the walkways of the bridge. Some of them were holding out phones and others taking pictures. But there were also news crews as well. "... I did not expect this...'

Placing a hand over his brow, Harry squinted a bit and blinked. "Huh... Now that's a lot of people who came out to see you, Hibiki-Chan."

Eyes widening, she turned to look at him. "T-to see me?" When he nodded, she blinked. "You're sure, Harry-Chan?"

In reply, Harry just pulled out his phone and brought up a website and showed Hibiki. Sure enough, it was involving her hull gliding through the water. "Yeah, Naka-Nee contacted me earlier and said that people were going to gather on the bridge to see you, Hibiki-Chan."

Blushing, Hibiki looked back and forth between the bridge and the phone with wide eyes. "I see..."

Only nodding, Harry looked up as he placed one arm over her shoulder. "Yup! Besides, I know that I would be up there if I wasn't here. After all, you're hull is really pretty and would look awesome to see in the morning light..." Noticing that she had shifted, Harry turned and blinked as he noticed that Hibiki was red in the face. "Are you cold, Hibiki-Chan? It is a bit nippy."

Just smiling brightly, Hibiki placed her own arm around his waist and leaned into him. "Nyet, I'm more then warm enough." Looking up, she could spot people waving at her and waved back as did Harry. 'More then warm enough...'
________________________________________________________________________

Pen scratching against his paperwork, Goto was humming when he heard the sound of footsteps running towards his office. "TEEEEEIIIIIITTTOOOOOKKUUUU~" With a sigh, he set down the pen and then gripped the armrests of his chair. Just in time too as the door to his office flew open to reveal Kongou bouncing there. "BURNING..." Leaping through the air, she did several summersaults before slamming into him and knocking his chair against the wall. "LOVE!"

Grunting, Goto let out a breath as he felt the giggling puddle of Battleship settle in his lap. "Good morning, Kongou-"

Before he could get any further though, she shoved a crumpet into his mouth and winked. "I brought you some breakfast, Teitoku." Smiling, she leaned down with a twinkle in her eye. "So...?"

Once he swallowed, Goto only sighed and shook his head. "Thank you, Kongou." Even as his legs protested some due to her weight, Goto moved her slightly to a more comfortable position. "Breakfast date?"

Raising a finger into the air, Kongou nodded. "Breakfast date, dess!"

Goto simply shook his head some as he took another offered bit of food as he placed one arm around Kongou. Between their schdules, having proper dates was a rather rare and uncommon thing. Hence things like 'Breakfast dates' which really were nothing more then sharing some breakfast in his office as he worked. Sipping his coffee, and ignoring the exaspirated expression on his girlfriend's face as she sipped her own black tea, Goto nodded towards the screen. "You see the news this morning?"

Simply blinking at the question, Kongou turned to the screen which showed a familiar Destroyer passing through what she recognized as the Seto Inland Sea. For a few minutes she just observed before she finally commented. "Hibiki-Chan is on the news?"

With a slow nod, Goto swallowed another bite of food. "Hai, they've been playing it all morning on various channels. It hasn't gone international quite yet, but I expect it will in a few hours."

Her eyes narrowed, Kongou hummed a bit. "You knew that this was going to happen, didn't you?"

Just smirking, he chuckled a bit. "I did... In fact, perhaps someone may have given the media a bit of a head's up through Naka."

Eyebrows raising, Kongou considered what she was just told and gave her tea a sip. "And the reaction, Dess?"

Chuckling and placing his hand on one thigh, only to jerk it back as a smirking Kongou playfully smacked at it, Goto shook his head. "As positive as I could have hoped for. People needed this, Kongou. They see the shipgirls as their defenders and adore them for it... But there's just something about seeing a steel hulled warship steaming past. Combine the two..."

As her cup clicked against the plate she held, Kongou nodded. "And people will find their spirits rising." Glancing at her boyfriend, Kongou noticed a sparkle which drew her eye. There, on her finger the promise ring that Goto gave her glinted in the warm, morning sunlight. It was something that brought up an old thought to Kongou. "You know, Dess... I am getting closer to summoning my own hull, Dess."

Surprised, Goto turned towards her with a slight smile. "Really now? That's actually good news, Kongou and I'm looking forward to seeing it."

Expression turning sly, Kongou leaned in and Goto froze as she whispered in his ear. "And I am looking forward to see you, coming deep within my hull... So very deep until you are perhaps standing at attention inside of my Admiral's Quarters while my engines roar at full power, plowing through the waves that flow past me. Perhaps I shall fire off my burning love at the same time, Teitoku~."

Very slowly, Goto turned to regard Kongou with wide eyes and noticed her eyes sparkling. 'Did she... did Kongou just...'

Before he could react, Kongou sat back up and looked at her tea with a hum. "It seems that I shall have to get some more. Be right back, Teitoku!" Leaping off him, she was nearly out the door when she winked at him and purred, actually purred. "And just think of the positive PR if you were to ride me, Tei-to-ku~"

With that, she was gone out the door leaving Goto sitting there and blinking. After a few moments, he groaned and placed his head in his hands. "That girl's going to be the death of me one of these days... And damn me if I am not happy for it."

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Here's another snip from me, this is set in the hypothetical far future of having graduated Hogwarts and possibly muggle level universities and applying to get into respective navies/marine corps. There are three of them, one for Ron, Neville and Harry. Comments and critiques are welcome as always.
-------


Captain Robert Appleby stared at the letter of recommendation in front of him, even as he pondered trying to admit someone so ballsy as to try and fake something like this to an Admiralty board to get into BRNC Dartmouth for the engineering track.

"This can't be real," he said, speaking to his assistant Lieutenant Clyde Williams.

"Why's that sir?" asked Williams.

"This," he said as he handed over the letter, "Claims to be a letter of recommendation from Admiral Cunningham."

"Cunningham? I don't know of an Admiral Cunningham currently serving sir," said Williams, even as he began to read the letter, which was written in long hand, not typed.

"That's because we don't have one currently serving or even had one recently," said Appleby, "It claims it's from ABC Cunningham."

Williams looked up and blinked at his superior. "ABC? Wait, Admiral of the Fleet Cunningham? First Sea Lord Cunningham? From WWII?"

"Yes," said Appleby, "Who died in 1963 if I remember correctly."

"So who would…? I mean this is just ridiculous," said Williams.

"Exactly, which is a shame considering how well he did on all the other parts of the board. Some of the highest math and engineering scores I've ever seen, decent leadership and plenty of physical ability," said Appleby.

"Well sir, there is a number here to call for further reference," said Williams, "I don't think they'd go through such lengths to get in and then provide us with something so easily proven false."

Appleby looked down at the number, again written in longhand. If this was a prank he wanted to get to the bottom of it and the number was his only lead.

"Give that to me," he said, holding out his hand, "I'm going to make the call and get to the bottom of this."

Williams handed him the letter, even as Appleby pulled out his phone and began to dial. He waited as the phone rang three times, only to be picked up and answered by a woman.

"Hello?" she said, sounding a bit confused, "Who is this?"

"This is Captain Appleby of the Royal Navy," he said, trying to keep his voice level but not managing to keep the annoyance fully out of it, "I'm calling to speak to Admiral Cunningham about a letter I received."

"Oh," she said, her voice somehow conveying a smile, "One minute please."

Appleby waited as he heard a rustling on the other end of the line, the phone set down and then the patter of something. He was about to get even more upset when a high, slightly tinny voice came over the headset.

"Hey," it said verbally. Yet inside his head, Appleby somehow heard much more.

Admiral Cunningham speaking.

He froze, the tinny voice still ringing in his head a minute later when the voice spoke again.

"Hey? Hey hey."

Hello? I'm quite busy so make it quick.

Appleby managed to get his voice moving again, somehow.

"Uh sir…" he said, "This is Captain Robert Appleby the Royal Navy. I'm in charge of one of the Admiralty Interview boards for Dartmouth. I was calling in regards to a letter you wrote for one of the candidates…"

"Hey?"

Yes, what of it?

"I was just making sure it was genuine Sir," he said, finding himself sweating, "It's not often we get a letter like yours.

"Hey hey hey! Hey Hey? Hey hey hey hey hey."

Of course it's genuine! Why would it not be? It's not often I write letters for someone like him, I see a great future for that young man in the fleet.

"Y-yes sir," said Appleby, "Thank you sir. That was all I needed."

"Hey hey hey."

Very well, good day captain.

Click.

Appleby pulled his phone down and stared at it, his face in shock. Had that really just happened?

"Sir?" asked Williams, drawing him from his shock, "What happened?"

"It's real," said Appleby simply, putting his phone down and slipping the letter into the docket of the red haired young man who'd otherwise aced his Board, then putting an "Accepted" mark into the proper location.

"It's real?"

"Yes Williams it's real. I expect we'll live to see that young man with Captain's boards on his shoulders some day. Maybe even stars."

Williams just nodded, still thoroughly confused but accepting his Captain's words as they moved onto the next candidate.

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

Captain Appleby was looking forward to a stiff drink that night as he finished up with the last of his work. Just about to leave his phone rang, causing him to sigh. Looking at the number he noticed it was Colonel Jacobs, his marine counterpart on the boards. He answered, putting the phone up to his ear.

"Appleby here, what can I help you with Colonel?"

"I've got a bit of an irregular situation here with one of my candidates," said Jacobs, "I was wondering if you could help me."

"What sort of irregular situation?" asked Appleby, frowning deeply. The marines weren't his area of expertise, so he wasn't sure what help he could be.

"He's got a letter of recommendation here. It claims to be signed by several Admirals… but the names aren't ones I recognize."

Appleby got a sudden flashback to what had happened earlier in the day, trepidation filling him even as he took a deep breath.

"What are the names?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Admiral Herbert King-Hall, Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, Admiral Charles Dreyer…" said Jacobs, clearly unfamiliar with the names.

Appleby felt his stomach sink.

"Is there anything else?" he asked, hoping against hope that there would be some kind of punch line at the end of the message.

"A few more names," said Jacobs, "But it's finished with "And the Sailors and Marines of the Grand Fleet."

Appleby felt all hope flee, running away with parts of his sanity at the same time.

"So what's the issue?" he asked, the crush of the strange and unknown pressing on him even as parts of his mind figured out what was going on.

"The issue is that it reads like a bloody joke," said Jacobs, "I don't know who any of these men are and the Grand Fleet…"

"It's not a joke," said Appleby, "I had something similar cross my desk today."

"You what?" asked Jacobs.

"I had a letter signed by Admiral Cunningham across my desk today," he said, "It had a number on it, which I called. It was real. I expect yours is much the same."

"So you're saying I should treat this as real?" asked Jacobs incredulously.

"Yes," said Appleby, "Unless you want several thousand angry sailors and marines to come visit you for ignoring their letter."

Jacobs let out a sigh, Appleby could see him pinching his nose and leaning up against the table.

"Alright," said Jacobs, "I'll send it through. I could use a drink though."

"You and me both," said Appleby, "I'll tell you about my crazy letter at the pub."

"Deal," said Jacobs, "See you in a half hour."

"Aye aye," said Appleby, hanging up his phone and shaking his head. "Bloody ship girls."


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

Captain Watanabe stared at the pile of papers on his desk. It was a moderate sized stack, one neatly contained in a binder. Yet the names contained within…

"Sir?" asked Lieutenant Kobayashi "Is something wrong?"

"No Lieutenant," said Watanabe, "Nothing is wrong. I am just savoring this moment. It is not often one recognizes when they are part of making history."

"History sir?"

"History Lieutenant, this young man is destined for greatness one way or the other."

"How are you so sure sir?"

"Let me read you a list of the names who have talked about or recommended this young man," said Watanabe as he opened the file.

"First and foremost, an inquiry for notification of acceptance or rejection to the naval academy, signed by Admiral Goto and ten highly ranked members of the Diet."

Kobayashi's eyes widened.

"Calm yourself Lieutenant, we haven't even started yet," said Watanabe as he set the paper down to the side and picked up another one.

"He has a glowing letter of recommendation by American Admiral Richardson, commander of ship girls at Yokosuka."

Another paper slipped to the side.

"This is where things start to get interesting. We have another letter of recommendation… from Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto."

Kobayashi's eyes nearly jumped out of his head.

"Sir? You aren't…"

"No Lieutenant I am not joking with you, this is much too serious for such a thing."

Watanabe then pulled out a further sheaf of papers and laid them out.

"Character references from almost every notable admiral of World War II, including several Americans."

Then with reverence he took out a single piece of paper, hand signed and still crisp, as if it had been delivered by courier instead of by regular mail.

"Final character reference, Togo Heihachiro."

Kobayashi's eyes boggled at the paper.

"This young man is destined for greatness," said Watanabe as he carefully gathered the papers and placed them back into the file, "Of a kind most can only dream of."

"Yes sir," managed Kobayashi.

"Only time will tell what kind of greatness it will be… but I do not think we will be disappointed," said Watanabe, carefully closing the binder.

"Yes sir," said Kobayashi.

"Dismissed Lieutenant," Watanabe said as he handed over the binder, "I have letters to write."

Kobayashi saluted, hustling off to deliver the binder to a safe location.

Watanabe couldn't help but shake his head as he began to draft a letter.

It will be interesting to watch at least.