Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

MagisterAurelius

Harry's Third Year at Hogwarts



Ship of Fools Part 7



The last part of Christmas break at Yokosuka



-0-0-



The aftermath of Christmas Eve had been uncomfortable for Draco Malfoy in several ways. The hangover at least faded in a day thanks to Johnston's tender ministrations. The wound to his pride lingered on, with the embarrassment of vomiting on Harry Potter tagging along for fun. Potter's mother Nagato had been mollified by Draco's explanation and apology and accepted that as an accident no harm had been done. To be fair it had helped that Junyou had also felt mortified by what had happened and had apologized even more profusely than Draco had. Potter had not expressed any anger and had been rather reasonably sympathetic.



It left Draco to wonder, Perhaps he's letting Weasley handle that. Ron Weasley had taken the opportunity to settle several scores with Malfoy since then. The barb that stung the worst was after Weasley's insistence on a marathon of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, leading to several so your hero is Mannequin Skywalker jibes. Despite so wanting to force choke Weasley for that crack, he said nothing in order to regain that sense of composure and self assurance forfeited by his drunken disclosures. It would be far worse to fail at choking Ron out, especially since he had yet to successfully work out such a wandless spell.



His musings were interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around him from behind and pulling him into a hug.



"You gonna just stand around staring off into space all day, Draco? You better not be going emo on me..." Johnston then leaned her head forward of his shoulder and examined Draco's profile. "Okay, I don't see you wearing eyeliner and makeup so I guess everything's fine for now."



Draco's head swiveled to look at Johnston's face, only to stop with their lips mere inches apart. With both his and her eyes gone wide and a rising blush on their faces, he quickly turned his head back. "Umm.. I still don't understand that whole emo thing." Mind racing as his hand smoothed his hair in a nervous tic he attempted to shift the conversation. Okay Draco just say something innocuous. "Did you get a haircut? It really suits you." Really? How lame can you be Draco?



To his shock, Johnston, still blushing, took his other hand in hers.



"Thank you Draco. I wasn't sure you would notice. Pennsylvania cut it and said this was the style that would match the hair ornament you gave me." The destroyer girl touched the ornament now gracing her black bob cut. "It's such a pretty thing. I really like it Draco."



"I'm glad you like it. I thought you were going to miss your headdress so I was really glad to be able to find something that was close."



Johnston stepped in front of Draco and faced him with her eyes downcast. "Being able to see you and your gift really cheered me up." Her eyes then met his and her mouth smirked mischievously. "I still haven't give you your present yet."



"I consider what you did for me when I was hungover as my present Johnston. At least from what some of the Japanese girls told me later. I guess using your lap as a pillow is a big deal?"



"Ehhh its kind of a big deal in Japan, but that isn't your present. I wanted to wait until New Year's Eve but the convoy is heading back home tonight and I'm on escort duty, so I have to give it to you now." Johnston's face turned down into a moue. "Close your eyes" she ordered.



Draco closed his eyes. He felt Johnston put her hands on his shoulders. As he was about to ask what she was doing, he felt her lips contact his. Time seemed to stand still as Johnston's soft lips remained on his. His brain remained frozen even as Johnston drew her lips back slightly. Eyes now open, they held each others gaze. Until a voice broke through the moment.



"If you're done Johnston, we need to get going." Samuel B Roberts reinserted the Tootsie Pop into her mouth and pointed her thumb at the docks.



"Ugh. Way to kill a mood Sammie. I hate to go like this Draco sweetie. Call me on Skype!"



As Johnston and Sammie left for the docks, Draco turned back to the dorms in a daze. Halfway there he paused after tasting his lips. "Strawberry?"



-0-



Upon entering the dorm, Draco found his two henchmen each staring at a computer screen. Potter, Weasley and Longbottom were sitting around the card table playing some collectible card game. Standing behind Goyle, Draco peered at the screen of the computer Goyle was using.



"Who's that Goyle?"



"Oh! Hey Draco. Umm.. well..." Goyle stammered.



Harry Potter leaned over and took a look. "Oh. That's Takao-san. She's one of the cruisers on base and she's a really nice person."



Crabbe just snickered and said, "Yes, but I believe Goyle is more interested in her vast tracts of land over her personality."



"Tracts of land, Poi?"



"Shut up Crabbe" Goyle growled.



"No. You're just waiting for those pin-up posters you ordered to arrive from that photographer. You paid for enough of them to wallpaper the room back at Hogwarts."



"Wait, Goyle, you ordered posters from Aoba-san?"



"Boss, can I kill Crabbe now?"



Feeling a headache similar to his hangover coming on, Draco moved to Crabbe's computer. Looked at the screen and just stared.



"Crabbe, just what game are you playing?"



Crabbe furrowed his eyebrows. "It's called Yandere Simulator. Somebody suggested it as a possible solution to my arranged engagement problem. I've been playing it and even looked up something called The Internet Guide to Yandere Love. I think I see what they were getting at, but there are still some things I don't quite get....The only other option for me would be to discover 'artistic leanings', whatever those are."



Draco pinched his nose and retreated from the impending disasters that were surely going to attend to his minions. As he sat on the edge of his bed, he looked up at Potter who had pointed a question to him.



"So the base is going to attempt a summoning on New Year's Eve. Are you interested in observing Malfoy?"



Draco blinked. "What would I have to do?"



"Nothing really. Mostly it's just watching the proceedings. Having more wizards attend makes a summoning more successful."



"Huh. Alright then. Sure." After thinking a bit, he asked, "So Potter, how do you know what ship-girls will appear when you do these summonings?"



"Well, sometimes it's random, but if you ask for someone specific chances are good they will appear."



Draco started flipping through the latest edition of Jane's Fighting Kanmusu. For some reason one of the history sections caught his eye. The Washington Naval Treaty and USN Spring Styles of 1921. He skimmed through other sections, but he would return to one design sketch in that chapter.



Noticing Draco's interest in a particular page, Harry peered over the blond wizard's shoulder at the page. Thinking about it later as he got into bed Harry did wonder why Draco was interested in a rejected upgrade for the Colorado class.



-0-



An awkward silence echoed throughout the summoning chamber that New Year's Eve. The stacks of summoning materials and incense remained undisturbed and very present. The chanting of the Japanese priests had ceased as the Japanese summoning attempt resulted in nothing but calm still water in the pool.



Admiral Goto shrugged and looked at his American counterpart. "Guess it's your turn John."



The American admiral stepped forward and performed the invocations and pleas. Various rock songs were played with Naka at the sound board. The USN ship-girls singing along. After ten minutes Admiral Richardson stepped back. "No dice. Guess we aren't reaching anyone tonight."



"So that's it then?" All eyes turned towards Draco Malfoy as he interjected. Turning to Harry he asked, "Potter, you told me that if you asked for someone then it was going to succeed right?"



"Sometimes the spirits have to be ready to come back Draco..."



"But what if you aren't asking for the right ones? You seem to be asking for the ships who did things already, ships with a history."



Admiral Richardson frowned. "Yes. Because they have the experience..."



"They had their chance," Draco interrupted. "What about those who never got the chance? The unwanted, the discarded, or the forgotten? If someone asks for them to come, they just might. And it's not fair that Potter is the only one who can summon ship-girls. So I ask! I, Draco Malfoy ask the forgotten and unwanted to come back and take the life denied them before!"



The candles sputtered out as Draco finished. The summoning materials suddenly dissolved into motes. The blond boy staggered as if punched in the gut and doubled over. The pool's water roiled and rushed into a swirling geyser like column. As it fell back into the pool it revealed a girl standing in the middle of the pool.



She was dressed in a navy blue pinstriped suit jacket and pants. Black and white spats for shoes and a fedora hat completed the ensemble. She holstered her two Smith and Wesson Hand Ejector revolvers in their shoulder holster rig with laconic ease, the movement at the same time showing off her lines. Her hair was the color of burgundy wine, worn in a thick braid over her left shoulder and peek-a-bangs that veiled her right eye. The visible left eye with its grey iris gazed over the room, until it reached a blond boy just now recovering.



As she began to glide over to Draco Malfoy, Admiral Richardson spoke out to her. "Report!" She stopped and looked at him. John Richardson had remembered the unease he had felt when Pennsylvania had summoned. The feeling he got from the stare of this ship-girl was not the rage of Pennsylvania, this was icy controlled hate.



"You are US Navy correct?" The girl asked in a voice that reminded those that were listening of a mafia don talking to someone who was about to get whacked.



"Yes, I'm Admiral John..."



"Go to hell." She pointed at Draco. "He asked for me, not the United States Navy. Therefore, he is my admiral. Not some martinet from a navy that didn't even commission me and threw me away because of some damn treaty."



An angry Richardson tried stepping towards the girl, only to be stopped by the arm of Arizona across his chest. He looked at her to see her shake her head. In a low voice she spoke.



"Don't John. That's the baby sister of the Colorados, BB-47 USS Washington. If you doubt her right to be angry just ask Texas and New York about what happened to her."



Meanwhile the mind of Draco Malfoy was panicking. What did I just do?



-0-0-0-

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking down at Harry who was drying himself off with a towel and a massive grin on his face, Nagato could only shake her head in amusement. It was not helped by Hoppou wagging a hand at him. "Big Brother needs to stop being so silly."

As he snickered and let his towel fall around his shoulders, Harry reached over and ruffled her hair. "Sure thing, Hoppou, I'll stop being so silly." Turning to the gifts, Harry smiled a bit. "So, um, who's first?"

Much to his surprise, Warspite walked up and handed him an envelope. "Here you go, Harry. This is a combined gift from myself." She then gave him a wrapped package. "And this is from Hermione as she could not make it."

Taking both, Harry opened the envelope first and pulled out the papers with Nagato looking over his shoulder. After a moment, his eyes widened some. "Wait a moment is this...?" Harry then looked up directly at Warspite who smiled. "Is this what I think it is?"

With a chuckle, she nodded from where she was sitting in a wheelchair. "Quite. What you hold in your hands are the deeds to the property of your late Great Uncle. Miss Rose here." She gave a small nod towards the tsukumogami. "Told us his name as well as where she believed it was located. As it is, the property has fallen into some disuse, but it's being repaired. I have been told that it would make for a fine place to stay whenever you are in England, at least until such time as your ancestral property has been rebuilt."

Gently, Harry ran a finger along the paper and smiled softly. "Mum?" After Nagato hummed, he continued. "Once Myrtle can freely move, we got to bring her there. She'd probably be pretty happy."

Hugging him, Nagato gave a nod. "I agree, she probably would be happy to visit, or stay there if that is what she wants."

After a few moments, Harry opened the present from Hermione and chuckled a bit. "A book on European folklore! That's so Hermione."

Lips turned upwards a bit, Warspite nodded some. "It certainly is, I suppose. Of course, with some reports coming in it may be of great use in times to come." Seeing his confused look, her smile thinned. "There has been some talk of odd beings and such."

Flipping through it, Harry blinked. "Huh... It even talks about Selkies and Swan Maidens."

Confused, Natsumi leaned over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at a drawing of a woman seemingly bathing in a pool with what looked like a dead swan behind her. "Uh-huh. Swan Maidens?"

Simply nodding, Harry held the book towards her. "Yeah, see, they have two forms. In one, they look like a swan and one cannot tell that they're not. Then they can shed their swan skin or feathers and take human form. If you steal their swan skin, then they can't fly away and, um..." At the interested looks, Harry coughed and shrugged. "A guy who, um, does so can force them to marry him..."

Eyes narrowing, Natsumi glared at the picture. "I see..."

It was a few seconds later that Harry closed the book and then set it aside. "Uh, right! Thanks Miss Warspite! And I'll send Hermione a letter thanking her too." Softly giggling, Warspite nodded before Hanna walked up with an envelope of her own. "What's this, Hanna?"

The Natural Born glanced at her sister who slowly nodded with a smile. "Well... remember how you wrote to me about your family on the Potter side?" A bit confused, Harry nodded. "Well, through some research in old records, we managed to track down the Potter properties in Germany."

Head snapping up, Harry stared at her with his jaw dropped. "You found where my family lived? In Germany?"

Slowly, Hanna nodded though there was a small frown on her face. "We did, though it took some time and needing to look through very old records to do so. However, we don't know if there's much there though we did perform a flyover and there's buildings there, though they look in disrepair." She then cleared her throat a bit and moved as if to scuff her boot in the dirt, only to stop at the last moment. Moments later though, a blush bloomed on her face. "Perhaps... next summer you may come to Germany and we could have a look?"

Blinking, Harry tilted his head in confusion. A glance at Eugen though with the Heavy Cruiser having a small smile, caused him to blink again as she winked at him. Unnoticed by him was the looks being given to Hanna by several shipgirls, Natsumi, and Regina. Then Harry shrugged and smiled at her. "Sure! I wouldn't mind coming to visit."

Much to his befuddlement, Hanna relaxed some at that and then smiled. "That's good, Harry. I'll be looking forward to it."

As she stepped back, Iowa then stepped in with a box. "This is from all of us who know you, Kiddo. Thank Texas especially the next time that you talk with her as she was the one who commissioned it."

Interested, Harry opened it and blinked as he pulled out a knife. But what caught his gaze though was how it looked like there were bands of black metal alongside the grey that created patterns on the knife. "Wow... Where did Aunt Texas get this?"

For a moment, Iowa looked thoughtful before she shook it off. "That there is an American knife, Harry. You ever hear of James Black?" At the shake of his head, she snorted. "How about Jim Bowie?" This time, Harry did nod as even he had heard of him. "Well, one of his knives which carries his name was made by a blacksmith named James Black. According to legend, his knives were crafted through a secret method which made them far and away the best. Some say he rediscovered how to make Damascus steel in his workshop. Anyways... as it turns out, he had a son that was never documented and was a wizard."

Eyes widening, Jane stared at her as did Arizona, the younger of the two speaking up. "Wait, seriously?"

Arms crossed, Iowa nodded. "Yup! He learned the method from his Pappy at his knee. Then while he was away, his father was attacked by his grandfather on his mother's side after her death. James Black survived, but was blinded and his mind damaged enough he could never remember the method..." Iowa's expression turned stormy. "His son wanted to heal his father, but the authorities stopped him as it was against the law. According to Texas, MACUSA also wiped memories of him and destroyed the evidence he existed since that sort of thing was SOP back then for them as soon as a Muggleborn graduated school to cut all the ties with the non-magical side. Anyways, he had a daughter who he taught and Texas knew where she was and, well... commissioned that knife from her."

Jane examined the knife from where she was with an awed look on her face. "So freaking awesome! I want one!"

In reply, Iowa only shrugged as Arizona leaned in close before whispering. "All that you told Jane and Harry, is it true?" At the nod, Arizona slowly frowned. "Then it seems that I'll be getting in contact with Texas."

While Harry opened another present, a modified Searchlight from an extra bit of Akatsuki's rigging, Iowa softly snorted. "For a knife? Or an Officer's Sword?"

A serious expression on her face, Arizona frowned. "For now, a knife I think Jane would appreciate." Then she smirked. "But once Jane is close to becoming a Naval Officer, maybe the second."

That caused Iowa to chuckle before she snapped her fingers and turned to Nagato. "By the way, Nagato, Sister Sara wanted me to thank you for the whiskey you sent her. Though why you wanted it to reach her by the end of June, I won't know."

Behind her, Eugen let out a sigh and nodded. "Ja, it is very good whiskey though..." She then frowned. "Is it normal for smoke to issue from one's mouth after drinking? Or to belch out some flame?"

Nagato gave a snort and shook her head. "It is since it's a magical alcohol, there's a reason it's called firewhiskey." Seeing the narrowed eye look that Arizona was sending her, Nagato nodded. "Yes, I sent a bottle to Pennsy through Nevada along with her own after telling her not to say who it was from."

It took a moment, but Iowa's eyes widened and she gave Nagato a stare. "Wait, you sent bottles to Nevada and Pennsy? And Eugen?" When Nagato nodded, she frowned. "And end of June... Able? Why the heck would you send them a gift on that anniversary?"

On Nagato's face there was a far off look before she shook it off. "You... wouldn't understand, Iowa. But before you say anything, we're not celebrating it."

From where she stood, Eugen nodded with a frown. "Those of us who have returned... We became friends, of a sort. Perhaps during the war we were all enemies, but on those days we were equal. And so we'll raise a glass in memory, and for those who have not yet come back."

After a moment of thought, Iowa finally shrugged. "Yeah, guess not. Though no offense, but I'm pretty thankful that I don't understand."

Unnoticed by Iowa, Eugen and Nagato's gazes became distant as they relived for a moment Able and Baker. But then another, much newer memory came to their minds.
__________________________________________________________________

Rain and heavy winds lashed at Nagato as she held the badly injured Sakawa close to her. Around her, the unnatural storm raged, a typhoon unlike she had ever seen in her time as a steel hulled or even now as in the distance the forces of the Abyssal Princess in charge of Bikini Atoll fought the strange ships that had come through the portal. Almost invisible, Nagato could see Salt Lake City beside Nevada and several others.

Even Pennsylvania was there after grabbing one of the PT Boats belonging to the "Fleet of Fog" and ripping it in half with her bare hands and a scream of rage. "How... Ironic, Ja? That we would all end up here?"

Glancing to the side, Nagato's chest heaved but nodded at the sight of Eugen. "Irony is not something that I would use here. But we have done our part and lead them here. Though why...?"

For a few seconds, Nagato's cheek muscles twitched before she wiped some of the blood and oil away from her face. "Because... She said it's a trap." At the look from Eugen, Nagato shook her head. "The... Princess-"

Eugen snorted. "Saratoga you mean."

That got her a small glare from Nagato, though the Battleship sighed. "I do not know if it is her, despite how much she resembles her. But she has a plan, what that is..." She was lost for a moment and then shook it off. "We must still believe it to be true. Iona and the others are to destroy the portal, while we destroy these... Beings here."

Just as Eugen was about to say something, a bark of dark laughter caused her to turn to see Pennslyvania grinning. "And they will die, just as on that day!" Slowly, Pennsy turned to her and the grin look more like a rictus grin of a skull, not helped by how part of her cheek was missing. "After all... I saw what looked like an Abyssal Indy manage to get to the atoll."

It took only a moment for horror to fill Nagato and she turned back to the battle and turned her rangefinders on full in time to see the laughing Jellyfish Princess raise the Abyssal device in her hands as the massive... Ship that had been formed from several of the Fog ships merging blew through her lines. "I call upon... those who have died... in the flame! Come now... and damn them!"

Then there was a flash of light, composed of darkness that swallowed the Abyssal up. However, it a similar one from above that etched it in Nagato's memories. Both fireballs looked like someone had taken pictures of actual nuclear explosions and then made them into negatives. Where there was light was darkness instead with the clouds of smoke formed of light. But, the explosions were not made of flames...

Instead there were skeletons, human skeletons scorched of flesh. Men, women, children, by their untold tens of thousands both rose up from the sea and descended from the sky in identicle fireballs as if in slow motion with the Fleet of Fog ships caught between. Others were merely shadows in the shape of people, mouths open in screams heard over the storm winds.

And then all sound ceased as the two fireballs met and merged into one hellish conflageration that destroyed Abyssal and Fleet of Fog alike. The Fog ships' hulls, composed of material able to shrug off the best weapons of man, were ripped and torn apart by burned, skeletal claws. The tortured screams of their hulls unable to be heard above the rage and hate filled screeches. Eventually though, the fireballs faded as did the storm and revealing that Bikiki had been stripped of everything. The entire place was a field of molten, black glass.

There was no sign of either the Abyssal fleet or the Fog ships that could be seen...
___________________________________________________________________________
Suddenly coming back as she was shaken, Nagato blinked and looked to see a worried Arizona. "Nagato, is something wrong?"

Much to the American's unease, Nagato had a look in her eyes as if there was nothing there. In fact, one shared by Eugen. However, thankfully, the look vanished and Nagato took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's nothing, just some old memories." With a glance at Eugen, she gestured to where Harry was looking over what looked like a seaplane catapult as Akashi explained some things. "Best to make new ones though."

With that, she left the two confused Battleships as she walked over to where Harry was. As Harry showed his mother what Akashi had given him, Iowa scratched her head. "Okay, I'm lost. What the hell just happened here?"

Eugen stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Iowa? I am going to let you know something."

Slowly nodding, Iowa frowned. "Sure, what is it Eugen?"

The Cruiser blinked slowly and grimaced. "You should be thankful not to understand. Very thankful, my friend."

Leaving that, Eugen then went and joined her sister as Arizona narrowed her eyes. 'I wonder...'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

A bit of a short one, sorry.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Placing the floatplane catapult to the side after Naka told him she would help him learn and practice with it, Harry smiled as he opened another present to reveal that it was clothing from Mutsu. For some kids, receiving clothing on their birthday would have been a disappointment. But for kid like Harry who had never gotten any presents for years? Even clothing was an amazing gift. Not long after, he found the present from Ooyodo and quickly opened it. "Hey! Spice and Wolf box set!"

From where he stood, Percy frowned in confusion. 'Spice and Wolf?' At seeing the picture of what looked like a russet haired woman with animal ears and a tail beside a silver haired, scruffy man, the wizard frowned and glanced at Ooyodo. 'Odd, she doesn't seem the type.'

Suddenly, Iowa snorted a bit from where she stood. "In other words, 'Economics: The Light Novel'." When Ooyodo frowned at her, Iowa shook her head. "What? It's the truth!"

Nodding, Fubuki shrugged a bit helplessly at Ooyodo. "Um, she's actually right you know. It's really into the economics. Especially economics of the Middle Ages and such."

Yuudachi tapped her chin in thought before tilting her head. "I read it once and learned a lot from it, Poi!"

It was then that Supprin spoke up. "Economics? The books talk about it?"

Only sighing, Ooyodo grumbled a bit. "Okay, maybe it goes into economics. They're extremely enjoyable and informative. Sure, I have little free time, but when I do, I like to read them."

Somehow, that got her amused expressions from various others. After some thought, Percy leaned over and began to whisper in Ooyodo's ear. "There wouldn't happen to be any English translations, would there?"

Unseen by him, Ooyodo began to blush some as Percy's breath ghosted over her ears. Then his words hit her and she turned to him with wide eyes. "You... want to read them?" At his nod, she gave him a shy smile. "I can see if there are any available and send them to you."

Percy gave her a smile at that. "Thank you, I'll look forward to it."

Beside him, Supprin raised a massive finger. "I would like to read them as well, if possible." When both Percy and Ooyodo turned to her, she blushed some and shrugged. "Um, I could use some new reading material."

From where he was sitting, Harry grinned a bit as he listened to the three softly converse with each other. Part of him was happy with how Ooyodo seemed to be enjoying herself with Supprin and Percy, and how the stress seemed to be sliding off her. Then he blinked as another present was shoved into his lap and looked up into the nervous eyes of Regina and the grinning face of Revina. Then Revina chuckled a bit and tapped the package. "Go on, Kiddo! Open it! Open it!"

Chuckling, Harry quickly tore the paper from the package and blinked. Inside was a black, folded cloth of some kind. He looked up in confusion at Revina and Regina, only for Regina to pull her scarf up a bit and then motion him on. Pulling out the fabric, his eyes and others widened at a familiar looking poncho. "Is this...?"

Slowly, Regina nodded some as she shuffled in place. "Um, y-yes? If you think that it's a poncho like m-mine or Revina's... We made it for you and, uh, I hope that you like it..."

When Harry looked over at Revina, said Re-Class grinned and gave him a thumb's up. "Heard that it gets really rainy and cold up at your school, Kiddo. So Regina and I went and made this for you. It'll be sure to keep any cold and damp off you."

Quickly nodding, Regina smiled a bit. "It's also very tough and should protect you. Just in case something happens or anything... Do you like it?"

Only nodding, Harry grinned a bit as he ran his thumb over the tough fabric. "Well, yeah! Of course I do." He then looked over at Nagato who seemed unsure until she looked at Wanko and Haru. After a moment, Haru nodded as did Wanko. Once his mother did as well, Harry threw it on and then slipped the hood over his head. "Cool!"

Giving him a thumb's up, Revina gave a laugh. "Well, of course it's cool! We made it just like ours!"

After a moment, Harry frowned thoughtfully before he closed his eyes and then opened them to reveal that both were glowing and trailing flame. Eyes wide, Regina's jaw dropped as Harry grinned. "How do I look?"

Blush bright on her cheeks, Regina shuffled a little bit and swallowed. "Y-you look very nice in that, Harry."

In return, she got a smile from him which she returned.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Pushing back the hood, Harry didn't bother to take off the poncho as Hoppou bounced up with a box. Eyes closed, she held it out. "Big Brother! Big Brother! Big Sister and Miss Supprin made this for Big Brother along with Hoppou!"

Somewhat curious as to what Hoppou, Wanko, and Supprin had made for him, Harry took the box with a smile. "Thank you, Hoppou." He then shook his head in mock disappointment. "But you forget, you already gave me presents."

Confused, Hoppou tilted her head to the side. "Hoppou give Big Brother presents?" Frowning, the little Abyssal turned to look up at Wanko. "Hoppou does not remember doing that, does Big Sister?"

Equally confused, Wanko slowly shook her head. "I do... not remember... giving Little Brother... a present... either, Little Sister."

Lips twitching as he fought to keep his smile from becoming a grin, Harry chuckled. "But both of you went and gave me a birthday hug. And getting a birthday hug from my sisters is one of the best presents that I can get."

It said something that Wanko blinked for a moment before smiling. Meanwhile, Hoppou just threw her hands into the air in happiness. "And Hoppou will give Big Brother lotsa and lotsa hugs!"

As if to empathize said statement, she leapt on him and gave him a hug which made him place one arm around her and hug back. "Thanks, Hoppou." Turning back to the box, Harry opened it before blinking. Inside was what look like a bracelet made for a man, except it was formed from a triple helix. Bringing it out, he frowned as it was made from Abyssal steel and was cold to the touch, though it didn't feel wrong like most examples. "What's this now?"

From where she stood, Supprin cleared her throat. "It's sort of like one of those 'Identification, Friend or Foe' that humans use to identify their forces. What it means is that if you ever visit mine or Lady Wanko's territory wearing it, our fleets would recognize you as a friend and act as if you were a member as it would also if Lady Hoppou ever creates a new fleet outside of Wokyuu... At least in my case, they would only see you as a member." She then gestured at Wanko and Hoppou. "In Lady Wanko's it gives you the authority of a Flagship."

Seeing the stares, Wanko nodded. "You are... far too... young for... anything else. But... in time... I can upgrade... it. Also, it... will only... work for you."

With a slow nod, Supprin then gestured at Hoppou. "In the case if Lady Hoppou though, it's... More powerful." At the looks, she shook her head. "Any member of Hoppou's fleet if she builds any beyond Wokyuu, or if we come across any other survivors, would see you with the authority of what the humans call a 'Demon'."

Hoppou just nodded with a large grin. "Yup! Hoppou make sure that her fleet knows that Big Brother is awesome! Just like Hoppou knows!"

Anyone could have heard a pin drop as pretty much everyone besides the Abyssals and magicals turned towards Harry and just stared at the bracelet in disbelief. Then they heard the sound of flesh and steel hitting flesh and steel before turning to see Nagato holding her face in her hands as she slowly shook her head. "I do not believe this... I do not believe it..."

Despite being confused, the Abyssals shrugged it off as Harry closed the lid to the box and handed it, carefully, to Hoppou. It was then that a surprise in the form of a smiling Wokyuu stepped up and held out a bag. "Wokyuu!"

Pointing at himself, Harry blinked. "You got me a present?"

With a happy nod, Wokyuu held out the bag again. "Wokyuu! Wokyuu!"

Softly smiling at her, Harry took the small bag and then opened it. Reaching inside, he soon pulled out his hand to reveal it was full of sea glass which he chuckled at. "Thanks, Wokyuu. I can actually find some use for this."

Closing her eyes, Wokyuu's smile grew as Harry patted her on the head. "Wokyuu!"

Once she backed up, Haru walked up and gave Harry a small present. "Here, I saw this and thought that you might like it." As Harry opened it, she glanced at her niece. 'Wait for it...'

After opening the gift to find a novel, Harry blinked as he examined it. Noticing the title and the multi-tailed fox on the cover, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Kitsu-Ne?"

Her lips witching as Natsumi's eyes widened, Haru chuckled some. "It's a rather interesting novel with a kitsune character. Unlike most, it's from the viewpoint of the kitsune, not the humans... And of her romance with a human man she falls in love with at a young age."

That got her looks from various shipgirls, though they were amused by how Natsumi was glaring at her aunt. Said aunt, of course, just let the glares bounce off her with only a small smile. Then she winked at Natsumi and the young kitsune just barely stopped from growling and leaping at her. 'Damn you, Oba-Chan! Damn you!'

Sadly, she only got a smirk from Haru before she chuckled. "Needless to say, it's a good read and you might enjoy it."

While he nodded and glanced through it, Harry smiled. "Yeah, looks pretty neat, Haru-San. Thanks!" Moments later though, he found what looked like an envelope being held out by Natsumi. Seeing the nervousness on her face, he blinked. "Natsumi-Chan?"

Chewing her lip, she took a deep breath. "I know that it's probably not to the same level as some of the gifts you got, Harry-Chan, but... I hope that you like mine." Now curious, Harry opened it and slipped it out only to freeze as Natsumi continued. "I worked on it for a while but..." Suddenly spotting something, she blinked. "Harry-Chan? Is... is something wrong?" Then her eyes widened some at seeing his smile drop and his eyes begin to water. "Oh crud, Harry-Chan?"

Quickly wiping at his eyes, he sniffled a bit but then gave her a massive smile that seemed to brighten everything. Turning, he looked at Nagato and nodded. "Mum? Can you come over here?"

Utterly confused with what was going on, Natsumi looked towards her aunt seeking answers. But the older kitsune only shook her head and pointed at Harry and Nagato, with the Battleship now examining what Harry was holding. Nagato's eyes widened and she gasped with her hand against her mouth. "I... Oh, Harry..."

Now both nervous and confused, Natsumi swallowed. "Um, Harry-Chan? D-did I do something wrong?"

Only wiping at his eyes again, Harry gave a sniffle. "No, you didn't do anything wrong, Natsumi-Chan." Seeing the curious gazes, he turned the paper around to show that it was one of Natsumi's sketches. The young girl was well known for being good at sketching various scenes and was a common sight drawing. But the picture that Harry was showing caused various gasps and mutters. In the background, one could see the sea with a tree which had Harry sitting back against it. On one side, Nagato could be seen sitting with her arm around Harry's shoulders and Hoppou on her lap, and beside her Wanko could be seen. All three had happy smiles on their faces.

But it was what else was in the picture that caught their attention.

Mainly because on the opposite side of Harry from Nagato was none other then Lily who also had an arm around Harry's shoulders. Beside her, James could be seen grinning at the viewer with a similar grin to that often seen on Harry's face. It was basically a picture of Harry's whole family, biological and adopted. Swallowing, Harry looked up at Natsumi in awe. "How did you...?"

Shifting a bit, Natsumi took a deep breath. "Um, remember how you found some photos of your parents at... your old home?" After Harry nodded, she continued. "I asked Nagato-San if I could borrow some and used them to get a good image of what they would look like." Now shy, Natsumi gave a small smile. "Do... do you like it?"

To her confusion, Harry silently handed the picture to Nagato before he stood up and walked over to her. Something, Natsumi was not quite sure what, caused her to become more nervous as she felt heat rise to her cheeks at the look in Harry's eyes. Then, before she could react, Harry grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love it, thank you, Natsumi-Chan."

And then, to her shock, he kissed her on the cheek before whispering his thanks again. If her tail was visible, it would have been shocked straight before wagging rapidly. Slowly, Natsumi reached around him and returned the hug just as tightly. "You're very welcome, Harry-Chan. I'm just glad that you liked it."

Harry snorted and his next words caused her blush to intensify. "Love it, Natsumi-Chan, not just like it... I love it."

Both of their smiles could have lit up a room with how bright they were.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Blinking, Ron turned to see Warspite holding up a cup of punch which he took with a nod. As he sipped it, he turned to Neville who was looking completely lost. "So how have you been enjoying things so far?"

With a frown, Neville had some of his own drink before shrugging. "Actually, it's been rather fun. Different from other parties and, um, more..."

Softly giggling, Eugen leaned towards him. "More lively, Ja?"

A blush on his face, Neville finally nodded. "Well, uh, yes? I mean, that's not a bad thing or anything just... Really different from what I'm used to." He then turned to a makeshift stage in confusion. "There is one thing though that I have to wonder about..."

Raising an eyebrow, Warspite gave him a smile, though she glanced to where Neville's grandmother was talking with Haru and Mikasa under some nearby shade. "Oh? Just one thing?"

Only nodding, Neville tilted his head to the stage. "What... is with all the dancing and singing?"

That got him chuckles from Ron who shrugged. "No idea, Mate. But in Japan they do that sort of thing a lot." Frowning a bit, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Completely and utterly bonkers though, the lot of them. It's way too hot to be doing that."

Just about to comment, Neville noticed Harry take the stage alongside Jane, Natsumi, and Ikazuchi. Behind them, the Submarines took up position as did a blushing Taigei. Unnoticed by any of them, Naka walked up behind them and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. As the music began to play though, her eyes widened. On the stage meanwhile, the shipgirls and Natsumi seemed to be hopping in one place as they sang along to the music, while twirling their arms. At the same time, Jane and Harry seemed to be strutting in front of them towards the middle, which made Neville blink. "Uh... what the bloody hell?"

Warspite blinked for a moment. "Language, Neville... and I have not the foggiest."

Laughs from behind them caused them to glance back to see Naka holding her phone up. "I never expected them to be doing Mottoke! Sailor Fuku! NOT BAD GUYS!"

Just as Ron turned back, he winced as Harry and several others did a kick which nearly touched their foreheads. A kick which caused Neville to whimper as Ron shook his head. "Okay... how the heck can Harry do that!?"

Humming, Naka continued to tape. "Practice and a lot of it, Ron. A whole lot of practice." As the song ended though, she noticed a smirking Kaga talking with a flustered Enterprise. To her confusion, Enterprise was shaking her head and waving her hands in the universal symbol of "Hell No!". Raising an eyebrow, she frowned. "I wonder what they're talking about."

While Kaga gestured at the stage, Eugen shook her head. "I wonder if it has anything to do with the card game the other night. Really, Enterprise should have expected such after what she did."

Interested, Naka turned to her fellow Cruiser. "And what did our favorite Grey Ghost do now?"

Grinning, Eugen snickered some. "She got quite drunk and challenged Kaga to a final card game after Kaga needled her. The prize was whatever the winner wanted... And considering that Enterprise could barely stand on her own?"

Several moments passed before Naka facepalmed. "Oh for... Of course, Kaga would be milking that one. Only question is what she wants." It was then that an annoyed Arizona walked over to the two Carriers and seemed to join their conversation. A blush grew on the Battleship's face as she glared at Enterprise and shot a look at Kaga who was now frowning. "Uh, was Arizona involved, Eugen?"

Now confused, Eugen nodded but then shrugged. "Kaga already got her bet out though." At the look from Naka, the Heavy Cruiser shook her head. "Apparently, her bet is a boxing match with Arizona..."

With a snort, Naka shook her head. "Wait, didn't Arizona turn that down though? Something about how it didn't need to be done?"

Rolling her eyes, Eugen sighed. "You know how Kaga gets. She wants a fair fight between her and Arizona, and I think that we both know how that will turn out."

Only wincing, Naka shook her head. "Kaga is not going to let it go until she makes amends." At the sight of Revina and Iowa, both grinning as they joined the group, with the American Battleship bringing a hand down on Arizona's shoulder, Naka blinked. "Uh-oh."

Lips twitching, Eugen snickered as Enterprise looked betrayed as she looked between an exasperated, and embarrassed Arizona and a madly grinning Iowa. "I believe that she has been outvoted."

Suddenly, Enterprise seemed surprised as Kaga shook her head and soon the five were on the stage. After a moment's conversation with Jane, the younger girl nodded and joined Arizona after speaking with Ashigara who looked shocked. Then the Heavy Cruiser shook her head as the six took positions before playing the music. As they danced though, Naka's jaw dropped. "They're doing Caramelldansen... Oh my Kami, they're doing Caramelldansen..."

A hand on her shoulder caused her to turn. Naka blinked though at the sight of Jintsuu snickering, "Please tell me that you're taping this. Please, John will love to see this."

Very slowly, Naka nodded some. "I am, oh am I ever because otherwise no one would ever believe it. No one." After a moment, she shook her head. "Though why Arizona is doing it..."

Just snorting, Jintsuu shook her head. "Obviously because she's forcing Enterprise to carry through on her bet. Ari hates it when people go back on their words... Though Ari doing it is likely why Kaga is also doing it, because she would not have Arizona do it normally."

Nodding, Naka frowned a bit. "I have to admit, Revina is not too bad. Neither is Iowa."

Expressionless, Jintsuu's voice was utterly dry. "Because of course they are. I wouldn't be surprised if those two practice it."

All she got was a shake of the head from Naka.

Meanwhile, Harry walked over to where Augusta was speaking with Mikasa, though the witch was giving odd looks at the stage. Once he reached them, Harry waited until she turned towards him and cleared his throat. "Um, Madam Longbottom? Could I ask a favor of you?"

Simply raising an eyebrow, Augusta slowly nodded. "You may. What do you need, Mister Potter?"

Taking a deep breath, Harry gestured at the slices of cake that were on the plate he was holding. "I... Was wondering if you know any spells to use on packages with cake in them. So, um, they don't get smeared and such all over the inside."

With a thoughtful look, Augusta slowly nodded. "I do know some spells for such, yes. I can also conjure a package to hold them if that is what you want?"

Eyes wide, Harry nodded and gestured at Shinano who walked over as Augusta did exactly that. "Um, Shinano-Chan? Can I have two bottles of Ramune, please?"

Confused, Shinano nodded some and produced said bottles and handed them to Harry who began to wrap them up. Once the cake was in the box, Harry did the same to it while attaching a letter and then held out his arm. It was less then a minute later that Hedwig landed on it and, soon after, she flew off with both the cake and Ramune. Raising an eyebrow, Augusta hummed a bit. "Was there someone you wanted at the party and could not make it?"

Slowly, Harry nodded as he brought his hands down. "Yeah, I wish that they were both here. But... hopefully they like this."

Despite the confused expression on Augusta's face, he thanked her for her help. Neither of them noticed the knowing look on Mikasa's and Haru's face. Sometime later, Hedwig landed on a large rock and waited. It didn't take long before Ume and Sakura appeared in front of her, curious about this new visitor to their island. "Hello, Owl-San, welcome to our island."

Hedwig gave a bark and gestured at her leg. Gently taking the package, Sakura read the note and her expression lit up as she looked at her sister. "It's from Harry-San! He sent us some cake and ramune since we couldn't go to his birthday party!"

Eyes wide, Ume let out a gasp before she smiled a bit. "He... sent us some cake?"

Only nodding, Sakura read the rest of the note before handing it to her sister. "Hai, he did. According to him, a shipgirl named Albie had her fairies bake the cake. So we can eat it if we want."

Sharing a look, they opened the package and slowly took out the two plates with large slices of cake. Bowing at Hedwig, they smiled. "Thank you for bringing this, Owl-San. And please, pass on to Harry-San that we thank him for thinking of us."

All Hedwig did was give a bark and then leap into the air before flying for the opening in the wards. Behind her, the two spirits each took a piece of cake and began to dig in with happy looks on their faces.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

At roughly forty-five thousand feet above the waves of the North Atlantic, a Royal Air Force operated Maritime Sentinal flew. Based off the Sentinal R1, it was outfitted with various sensors for Maritime patrol work. And thanks to it's range, it was able to cover a wide area of the North Atlantic though it was mostly used to pinpoint activity for investigation from other sources.

However, right now, it wasn't the sensors that were causing a stir.

Standing by the radio station, the RAF Officer furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "A mayday, you say? All the way out here?"

Only nodding, the Radio technician frowned as she worked at the various parts of her station. "I know, Sir. But there it is, I'm trying to triangulate the signal and clear it up, but... It's coming from somewhere within a hundred miles."

For a moment, the Officer frowned before shaking his head. "Odd that... We're too far out for anyone intelligence to come due to the Abyssals. And the convoy routes are much further north... Perhaps it's one of those bloody Abyssal Q-Ships pretending again?"

Just continuing her work, the Tech shook her head. "If it is, then they're an odd one. It's on an American Military frequency as well as several others."

That caused the Officer to snap his head to look at her. "An American military... Try and clean it up best that you can."

Grumbling, the Radio Technician scowled. "I'm trying, but the signal keeps fading in and out. Give me some time and I'll try to get it cleaned up enough to listen to..." Several minutes later, she shook her head. "I've cleaned it up best that I could, Sir."

With a nod, the Officer gestured at her. "Let's hear it then."

Moments later, the speakers crackled with interference. "Mayday, mayday*Crackle*Th*Crackle* Is USCGS *Crackle* Lightly damaged *Crackle* Taken six causalties. Last reading *Crackle* Repeat, This is *Snap, Crackle* -GS Eagle. We have-*Crackle* Unknown attackers. *Crackle* location is-*Crackle* Everything is strange."

Eyebrows furrowing, the Officer shook his head. "USCGS Eagle? I thought that the United States Coast Guard were running escorts just along their coastlines? What the bloody hell would they be doing all the way out here?"

Shaking her head, the Radio Technician shook her head. "No idea, Sir. But there's also an authentification code with the signal." With a look over her shoulder, she shrugged. "Maybe the Americans would know who it is."

Only snorting, the Officer shook his head. "Agreed, I'll bump this up." Then catching the expression on her face, he frowned. "Did something happen?"

Confused, the Radio Technician shook her head. "Signal just cut off."

Watching as she worked quickly, the Officer frowned even deeper. "Wait, it cut off? As if the ship was destroyed?"

However, she shook her head. "No, not as if it was destroyed. You would usually get something from the signal but it... Well, it just vanished, Sir. One moment there and the next gone. Rather odd."

Now thoughtful, the Officer shook his head. "If I wasn't going to bump it up before now, I am now. Let the higher ups deal with this."

As the plane flew onwards, somewhere else, a sailing ship was cutting through waves in a channel between two islands. It's white hull showed signs of light damage and it's sails flapped in a breeze. On the deck, a USCG Cadet watched as a raft was heading towards the ship from the shore. "Think that they found anything?"

Beside him, an older cadet lowered his binoculars. "No clue, but more important is if anyone has heard our SOS." Back past the stern, he shook his head. "Well... anyone but those things that attacked us."

Laughs caused him to turn before another cadet, this time a red haired girl patted him on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side, Jeff. We're alive and whatever those monsters were, they've left us alone." Her expression then fell a bit. "Alive, Jeff. Unlike some of the others."

With a wince, Jeff lowered his eyes a bit as he remembered the burials on the nearby beach with rocky carns denoting where fellow members of the crew of the Eagle now laid at rest. Members who were much less lucky then he was. And that was not counting the crews of at least one of the other ships that they had come across during the attack to relay assistance.

It was worse when he closed his eyes and could see hulls on fire before they detonated, spewing debris and broken bodies everywhere.

A look back though had him see various other ships in the wake of the Eagle. Ships that the Coast Guard ship had found and had followed it into the fog bank that sprang up to escape monsters that rose out of the deep. Fog that, as it turned out, enshrouded two islands with a channel between them. "I know, Sarah." Glancing around, he grimaced a bit. "But this place is just strange."

Softly snorting, Sarah shook her head. "Tell me about it. Monsters on the sea? Fog enshrouded islands that one can't tell how long it has been? It's something right out of one of those old Twilight Zone episodes my Grandad loved. It doesn't help that each time someone heads into the fog now, they somehow get turned around within minutes." Her gaze then caught sight of what looked like an older teen girl, except this one was wearing the uniform of an Instructor. "Though that's not the only weird thing."

Having caught sight of the same girl, the first Cadet frowned. "Um, do you think that she's telling the truth?" At their gazes, the younger teen shifted nervously. "About being the spirit of the ship, I mean."

For several moments, the older Cadets were thoughtful before Jeff shook his head. "No idea, Alan. No idea whatsoever, but with how much wierdness has been going on? I wouldn't, well... There's no way that I'm going to lie and say that I can't believe it."

Once more sharing looks, the three Cadets shook their heads and made their way to their other duties. They may have all been curious, but they were also worried about their situation as they had been here for nearly a week already. Just the same, they were happy that the fog seemed to be breaking. Every so often, sky could be seen through the fog though it was sometimes the blue of day and other times the starry expense of night.

They went back to work though to keep their minds off everything best that they could. The less said about the girl who seemingly spoke Icelandic they found by what looked like an old Viking ship, the better. Not one of them, none, could wait for this adventure to end and to be back on dry land where everything made sense. Where ships were ships, not girls, and where monsters did not stalk the ocean.

None of them could wait for that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Well... not quite happy, but...
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Standing in front of the door to Shinano's quarters, Regina raised a fist to knock only to pause. After a moment, she looked around and then slowly lowered it. 'Um... should I?' Feeling a bump to the back of her head, she looked over her shoulder to see her tail there. Somehow, despite it not having any eyes, she knew it was giving her a look. 'I-I know that they invited me, but... I don't know if I should or not..."

Once more, her tail bumped her and softly purred, which made the Re-Class blush before she pulled up her scarf a bit. With a deep breath though, she nodded and raised her fist again. This time though, she managed to knock twice before her courage failed her. Regina was just about to run when the door opened to reveal Shinano. "Yes?" Upon seeing Regina there though, the Support Carrier suddenly smiled. "Regina! You're here!"

With a small smile, hidden behind her scarf, Regina gave a small nod. "Y-yes, I came as you asked, though... I don't really know why you wanted me here."

Just smiling, Shinano moved to the side and gestured for her to enter. "Well... we have a surprise for you."

Puzzled as she was, Regina blinked before stepping inside and realizing Shinano's words. "But who..." She came to a stop though at the sight of Harry waving to her while both Atago and Rose stood to the side smiling. "Wha-what is going on?"

Getting up off the chair, Harry came over and gave her a hug. "You're finally here! Now we can get down to your surprise!"

Now utterly confused, Regina glanced between Harry and Shinano, both of whom were smiling, and then at Atago and Rose. "A surprise? For me? Um... what sort of surprise?"

Shinano barely held back a giggle at how confused her friend looked before shyly smiling. "Um, you know how the signing of the treaty is tomorrow, right?" After Regina nodded, she continued. "There's also the party after the treaty that you're going to in order to guard Wanko and Supprin, as well as Hoppou, right?"

Blinking, Regina nodded some. "W-well, yes, I will be going to the party afterwards... Though I'm not really comfortable with it or how there's going to be so many people..." For a second or two, she shrank in on herself. "Normally, that would be more Revina's sort of thing, but, um... She would get bored and then try to spice things up. Neither Lady Wanko or Lady Supprin want that. So, um, I'm to be there."

There were winces from the shipgirls and Harry at that. Bt then they shook it off as Rose took her hand and began to pull her towards the door. "That was why Master and Miss Shinano asked both Atago and I to make you a dress for the party. Master was most insistent as he said you wanted a dress."

If anything, that caused Regina to freeze as she remembered. Then she looked down at her hooves and scuffed them against the floor a little as she softly spoke. "Well, yes, that is true. But. um... no dresses really work for me." She then made a pointed look at her tail. "It can be a bit difficult for clothing after all."

Giggling, Atago opened the door and guided the nervous Regina inside. "And that is why Rose and I did some work! And Harry-Chan gave us some ideas including what you would like... After all, you need to look nice for the party!"

That caused Regina to blush heavily as she realized what it meant. "W-wait, Harry helped with th-the dress? A-and gave ideas?"

Simply smiling, Atago nodded. "That's right! He was a big help for us." As she pushed the Re-Class through the door, she winked at Harry. "Give us just a few minutes!" Then, with another giggle once Rose joined her, the Heavy Cruiser shut the door and both Harry and Shinano waited.

Roughly twenty minutes later, the doors opened. Leaning to the side, Shinano and Harry tried to see inside, however, there was only one response. "Eep!"

With a smile on her face, Atago leapt out the door and gestured towards it. "Introducing, the new Regina! PANPAKAPAN!"

Nervously, Regina walked out with a blush on her face as the wizard's and Support Carrier's eyes widened at the sight that met them. It was a black dress that contrasted with her pale skin with a few layers and some lace, the skirt ending a few inches above her hooves. Thankfully for Regina, it was not a strapless dress and very little cleavage was shown, though it worked with her usual bikini top making it more like a bra. Her expression turned bashful as Harry stared before he smiled. "Wow..."

At the motion from Atago, Regina slowly turned and revealed that her tail was coming out from a slit hidden among the layers, though there were small clacks each time it moved. "U-um, thank you, but... how does it look?"

Sharing a smile with Harry, Shinano gave her a bright smile. "It looks very good, Regina."

When Harry nodded, the shy smile on Regina's face grew some before she looked at where her tail came out. "My tail though, how is it...?"

Rose clapped her hands a bit. "How is it that you're tail is able to come out, but not show anything?" After Regina nodded, Rose moved until she was where the tail disappeared into the dress and tapped it. "Magnets actually."

That caused Regina to blink in confusion. "Magnets? I... don't understand..."

Brightly smiling, Atago shook her head. "There's small magnets inside the dress for the main slit. Like buttons, which allows for your tail to move them aside with them closing behind it while the other layers hide it. There's a bit of weight in the bottom of the dress though as well, so that it won't ride up either. Harry-Chan suggested the magnets though."

Seeing the Abyssal look at him, Harry shrugged. "There was this commercial on for magnetic buttoned shirts." Despite being more then a little confused by that, Regina nodded. However, moments later, Harry walked over and had her sit down before pulling a bag out of his pocket. "Just a few more things."

Jaw dropping, Regina stared. "Th-there's more?"

With a blink, Harry shrugged at her. "Well, yeah. Anyways..." Pulling out a necklace, Regina had to blush as she realized that it looked like the rock crystal ones that he had given Shinano and the others. But inside the crystal, there was instead a purple daisy. Once he had slipped it over her head, it settled just above her cleavage and then Harry pulled out a scarf and wrapped it around her neck. At the same time, Shinano placed a hair clip to help pull some of her hair away from her eyes. Pulling away, Harry frowned before glancing at her tail and smiling. "I got something for you too!"

Much to Atago's amusement, the tail jerked back and, somehow even though it was expressionless, it seemed embarrassed. For a few moments, Harry fiddled with something in his pocket before placing it on the side of the tail's head with a "Clack". When he pulled away and nodded, Regina could see it was a rock crystal containing a soft pink rose. "How is that staying there?"

A smile on his face, Harry chuckled a bit and winked. "It has a magnet at the bottom so it won't fall off." Moments later, the head of the tail was softly nuzzling him and he gave a laugh. "Glad that you liked it."

Still blushing, Regina turned towards first Shinano and then Rose. "Are the two of you going to be at the party?" Seeing their confusion, she clasped her hands. "I'd... like to have some people that I know."

While Shinano nodded, also with a shy look on her face, Rose smiled brightly. "I shall be there with Haruna as her date. And Master will also be going there, though I must say he looks quite good in his tuxedo."

Rubbing the back of his head as the attention was now on him, Harry chuckled. "Well, that's what Mum said anyways..."

Both Regina and Shinano thought it over and gave small smiles at the thought. Of course, that was when Atago pulled Regina out of her chair and had her stand in front of the mirror. It made the Heavy Cruiser's week to see the surprise and happiness on Regina's face at the sight of her reflection. Tears gathering in her eyes, Regina sniffled a bit. "Thank you... all of you." Closing her eyes, she placed her arms around her middle. "I'll treasure it, always."

In return, she just got smiles from everyone.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing by one of the walls, Shinano played a bit with her dress as she looked around. Earlier, the treaty between various nations, Hoppou, and Wanko's faction had been signed. It had not been a small event either as the major news organizations from around the world were present to record it, though security was tight. Not just the Tokyo police, but JGSDF forces, members of other militaries such as the US Marines, various secret service groups, and probably intel groups in the crowds. But those were overshadowed by the shipgirls themselves.

The outer perimeter was patrolled by various aircraft from the Carriers, including a Houshou and Shinano herself. Inside that, there were American Destroyer-Escorts alongside Frigategirls from other nations with Cruisers guiding them. Then, as an inner ring, were the Battleships. Supposedly, there may have been invisible magicals and disguised Yokai as well around with Nurikabe available at a moment's notice if what she overheard from Haru was correct. No one was taking any chances with possible troublemakers, which thankfully there were none so. Perhaps they had been scared off due to all the visible security.

With the treaty signed though, everyone found themselves at the party to celebrate the signing. Besides the reporters there to perform interviews with the guests, there were also politicians, high ranking military officers, shipgirls, and the Abyssals themselves. Security was still tight though, which Shinano could see as she glanced towards a group of hook-nosed people who were helping to provide it. The fact that she could just see ghostly wings behind them caused her to relax some about being off-duty for the moment.

One would have to be insane to attack a place guarded by no less then twenty Daitengu, though how Haru knew them or convinced them to help Shinano didn't know.

A tap on the arm though caused her to look down and suddenly smile. Mainly because Harry was there with two cups of punch in his hands, one of which he held out to her. "Here you go, Shinano-Chan."

Softly smiling, Shinano took it with a slight giggle. "Thank you, Harry-Chan." She then gave him a look over and blushed a bit at him being in a tuxedo. "And I like what you're wearing, Harry-Chan. That bow tie looks very good on you."

Reaching up, Harry grinned a bit as he adjusted it. "Bow ties are cool now." At her giggling again, his grin grew a bit and he nodded. "And I like your dress too, Shinano-Chan."

Her blush intensified a bit before she looked down and played a bit with her dress with one hand. "You really like it, Harry-Chan?" At his nod, Shinano smiled. "Thank you."

Wanting to hide her embarrassment, Shinano instead focused on the various things going on. Off to one side, she could see a nervous, but brave, reporter interviewing Wanko. In another part of the room, Supprin was in a group with Percy and Ooyodo. Shinano couldn't hear what they were saying, but Ooyodo was introducing Percy to someone. What made the Support Carrier smile though was how close the Abyssal Princess and Cruiser were to the wizard. Unknown to her, she was not the only one to notice and more then one reporter made sure to get a shot of them, which helped humanize the Abyssal.

Another tap on the arm caused her to look to see Harry tilting his head over at the dance floor. "Looks like Teitoku, Kongou-Oba, Yonehara-Oji, and Ashigara-Oba are enjoying themselves. And so are Haruna-Oba and Rose."

With a glance, Shinano blinked and then smiled. Sure enough, all three couples were on the dance floor slowly dancing with each other. Each of them also only had eyes for their partner which made her sigh softly. 'I hope that one day I am as lucky.' Quickly shaking it off, she smiled down at Harry. "They really do seem to be enjoying themselves." It was then that Shinano's smile dropped as she spotted something. "Oh no..."

Concerned, Harry looked around and frowned as he couldn't see anything. "Is something wrong, Shinano-Chan?"

Biting her lip, she glanced over to where she could see someone making their way through the crowds. "J-just someone who keeps bothering me, Harry-Chan." At the look on her younger friend's face, she shook her head. "He's a politician and, um, keeps asking me to dance." Looking around, her shoulders slumped a bit as her sisters were at the other side of the room and couldn't run interference. "I keep telling him that I don't want to and then he'll keep talking..."

Now having spotted the man in question, Harry narrowed his eyes in thought. While he was still young, Harry didn't want to see any of his friends being bothered. A plan quickly formed in his mind and he reached up and took Shinano's hand. "Shinano-Chan? I think that I have an idea..."

Hopeful, Shinano looked down at him. "HaI? R-really?"

In reply, the black haired boy gestured at her nearly finished punch. "Finish that up and I'll go and dance with you. He won't bother you out on the dance floor."

Eyes widening, Shinano froze in disbelief. But upon seeing the man getting closer with a grin, she quickly drained the rest of her drink as did Harry. Then she nodded with a small smile. "I-if you would, kind Sir."

Smiling, Harry nodded and guided her out on the dance floor. Part of Shinano was internally laughing at the expression on the politician's face at the sight of her and her dance partner. Then she dismissed it as she focused entirely on dancing with Harry as with their extreme difference in heights, she had to be careful. So focused she was, she missed how the politician walked off to the bar nearby for the fourth time that night. Granted, Shinano wouldn't have cared even though their dance was more like a slow shuffle, but from the smiles on both their faces, it was perfect.

Fifteen minutes later, Goto stumbled away from the dance floor alongside Yonehara as Kongou and Ashigara softly conversed. Spotting Richardson at the refreshment table, the two walked over and quickly got some drinks and gulped down half of what was in their cups. Much to the amusement of the American Admiral who softly snorted. "Thirsty?"

Only snorting, Goto shook his head. "Dancing is hard work, as you should know." Seeing the confusion, he grinned. "After all, I noticed that while Mutsu has had most of your attention tonight, you've still danced with Jintsuu and Arizona as well. Probably why you're hiding over here."

A groan escaped from Richardson and he shook his head as a sour expression crossed his face. "Oh, shut up. Jane asked me to give them dances tonight... she gives the exact same expression as her mother did whenever she was disappointed in me for not doing as asked."

That got him smirks from the other two before Goto tilted his head at Yonehara. "In Yonehara's case, it's probably because he's having trouble with his hips."

In reply, Yonehara glared at him. "Fuck you, Isoroku." Then he grinned a bit slyly. "Then again, that might get Kongou angry at me."

Eyebrow twitching, Goto considered smacking his old friend, only to shove the impulse down. After all, it would be just his luck for it to get caught on film. "Screw you, Yonehara." Wanting to distract them from their grins, Goto looked around and spotted someone. "Captain Tanaka, it's been a while."

Said Captain jumped a bit at being called out, but then walked over with a nervous chuckle. "Teitoku-"

Before he got any further, Goto threw an arm over his shoulder. "Now, what have I told you about that, Tanaka-Kun? You can call me by my name since we've known each other for years, just like Yonehara. And you're far more respectable then he is." At the eyeroll from Yonehara, Goto gestured at the Captain towards Richardson. "You ever met Admiral John Richardson? He's in charge of the shipgirls down at Sasebo."
Nervous, Tanaka bowed a bit before shaking Richardson's offered hand. "No, I haven't had the pleasure. I'm Captain Tanaka Kaito, Sir."

Lips twitching, Richardson shook his head. "Pleasure to meet you, Captain." After a moment of thought, he nodded. "You're in charge of the shipgirls at the base at Kushiro, correct?"

Surprised, Tanaka gave a nod. "I am, as a matter of fact. How...?"

Chuckling, the American gave him a small smile. "I make it a habit to know who's commanding the shipgirls in various areas. Just to make sure that I don't step on any toes and I have heard several good things in regards to your base."

There was a pleased expression on Tanaka's face as he nodded. "We may be small, but I'm quite proud of my girls. They work hard day and night and it's my honor to be their commander."

As Richardson nodded, Yonehara shook his head. "Even though you got Akebono and Kasumi? I may have only met them the once, but... they have gone through Commanding Officers pretty quickly."

Much to his surprise, he got a hard glare from Tanaka. "Yes, even Akebono and Kasumi. They both got their reasons for their attitudes and I'm proud to call them my subordinates. It's not their fault that others don't try to understand why they may have issues with their superiors." Unnoticed by him, the other three had noticed said Destroyers having walked out of the crowd in time to overhear Tanaka defending them. "Both of them work extremely hard as does my other shipgirls! And I will not have them disparaiged in my presence."

Both Destroyers stared at him with wide eyes before they flushed red and rushed back into the crowd. Much to the surprise of Tanaka, Yonehara chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "And that, right there, is why Goto respects you and so do I."

Nodding, Richardson raised his drink a bit to the younger man who was now blinking owlishly. "Good on you, Captain. Always do good by those under you and you'll have my respect as well."

To Goto's amusement, Tanaka shot a glare at Yonehara who only grinned back. Unknown to Richardson, all three knew each other since Tanaka had actually worked alongside them before the Abyssals struck. What Richardson did know though was that Tanaka had a reputation for being able to deal with "Problem Kanmusu" such as Akebono. Meanwhile, taking some pity on him, Goto cleared his throat. "So, how are things up in Kushio? Any issues?"

Slowly calming down, Tanaka shook his head. "Not really, though if someone could help speed up requsitions that I made for my shipgirls to use off-duty..."

Rubbing his chin in thought, Yonehara hummed a bit. "For the entertaiment rooms and such, right? I think that crossed my desk the other day actually so I'll see what I can do for you, anything in particular?"

Only shrugging, Tanaka shook his head. "Not really, I'm trying to set up a place for them to unwind so things like game consoles and the like would help." That just got him a nod from Yonehara and Tanaka was about to sip his drink when he paused. "Actually... there is something else." When Goto gestured him on, Tanaka frowned. "Did you receive the reports that I sent you?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Goto slowly shook his head. "Hmm... no, I don't think that they've crossed my desk yet. Why?"

Glancing around, Tanaka nodded and leaned in. "Some of my patrols have been seeing some oddities happening up by the Aleutians recently. Nothing conclusive mind you, but Abyssal activity may be rising again."
That got him a look from Goto as now all three were paying him close attention, though he did glance to where Hoppou was beisde Nagato. "A rise in Abyssal activity? How so?"

However, the younger man shook his head. "Just some oddness while Akebono and the others are out on patrol. Every so often they'll just catch sight of something in the distance before it vanishes, though Kasumi did spot what looked like a small group of Abyssal Destroyers lead by a Cruiser close to Attu. But they disappeared before she managed to get a decent read on them. I passed it on to the Americans, but..."

Concerned, Richardson turned to Goto who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "This is the first that I've heard of it, though considering the reputation that Kasumi has, if she reported it..."

Grunting, Goto scowled. "They might ignore it due to her attitude unless confirmed from others." His expression then became considering. "Hmm... Well, with Wokyuu having turned up, there may be other survivors of Hoppou's fleet. Them staying out of sight also makes sense." With a frown, Goto grabbed a napkin and then took the offered pen from Yonehara. Quickly writing down on it, he handed it over to Tanaka. "Send any other reports regarding Abyssal activity to there. It'll get to me much quicker then from other channels." Turning towards Richardson, Goto nodded. "I'll make sure that they also get to you as this concerns American interests."

Richardson only gave him a small tilt of the head in thanks. The conversation then turned to other matters, though both Admirals kept what they heard near enough to the forefront of their minds for a conversation later on. Though a part of Richardson considered letting Settle know about it as his fellow American shipgirl Admiral would probably start ripping his way to find out who the hell dropped the ball.

In fact, he almost looked forward to watching the fireworks.

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Harry Leferts said:
Maybe, hence why I haven't included it one way or the other.​

Maybe as some kind of conspiracy theory?

Subthieves, Killer-Party-Boats and Lewdmarines, oh my (first occurance of the Eternal U-Boat Party)

Wisconsin oft regretted being the sane one. It was what had lead to her joining the mod staff on one of the forums she frequented and it regularly resulted in headaches beyond anything she really wanted to contemplate.

Her newest headache sat across her, obliviously going on about how U-Boats were a danger that needed to be monitored at all times and couldn't be trusted.

"You can't dispute that you see the U-Boats drag people into their dens all the time. People you never see leave, I might add," Indiana asserted. "Hell, from what I heard they sneak into other's sleeping quarters. They're also constantly using chats to coordinate their intelligence gathering on us," she added with an assertive nod. "Also, who tells us they don't try to sniff out dissent within the ranks?" she added.

"Je suis quite sure that they want to take over La Rochelle again, too," Strasbourg added her two cents.

Wisconsin looked at both with a long-suffering sigh. "U-Boats. On shore leave. Organizing anything other than copious amounts of alcohol?" she asked, clearly not buying it.

"Oui, why else would there be so many of them here?" Strasbourg shot back.

"Maybe because there's so many of them crowding the German Bight that they formed a line from English Coast to Emden, a line I might add that sent Monthy Python quotes from Emden to England via flag signals, for no other reason than 'We're bored, let's annoy the Brits a bit'. These U-Boats?" Wisconsin asked crossly.

"Decoy tactics," Indiana snorted.

Wisconsin did not pop a vessel at that. It was a close call, but she resisted. "You're coming with me," she declared with finality, standing up and very pointedly looking at her visitors.

Indiana and Strasbourg wisely decided to not protest that order, Wisconsin was annoyed as it was.

Quite a bit sulkily they followed the younger battleship towards the U-Boat dorm.

Getting closer, they heard music, harsh, industrial beats hammering at deafening levels.

Wisconsin opened the door and pandemonium greeted them. The air was thick enough with smoke that it could be cut into handy cubes and sold. Both Indiana and Strasbourg were at a loss for words. Five girls were standing in a circle, holding up massive 250 liter kegs and chugging down beer mightily. Some personnel, both Marines and Navy, and some other boats stood around the circle, cheering the girls on. "They call it Kampftrinken, combat drinking, first to pass out loses, last to stand wins," Wisconsin shouted over the deafening music.

Another group was currently busy with playing cards, others were nearly or already passed out and some had sought quiet corners for more private entertainment.

It was at this point that one of the U-Boats, completely naked and obviously filled up to the gills, ran by with an equally naked and drunk stripper on her shoulders. A Japanse sub, I-202 Wisconsin idly noted, followed with a sexy witch on her shoulders, shouting about being the law.

Indiana twitched. "This, what is this?" she finally shouted, her voice swallowed by the general noise level in the room.

A mighty cheer rose up when one of the girls chugging beer showed she was finished with her keg. The others soon followed, before leaving and giving a view of another happening. One of the U-Boats sat on the floor and two others were busy emptying bottles of bourbon into a funnel connected to a tube. A fourth pinched the tube closed, waiting for the busy ones to give the go-ahead. Strasbourg could only boggle at the sight. As was the case with any shipgirl, she was good at maths and the amount of bourbon in this funnel and tube setup must have exceeded ten liters. For any human it would have been suicide to even attempt it, regardless of what fluid it actually was. The U-Boat on the ground merely grinned, put the tube's end into her mouth and gave a thumb's up. The pressure was released and within seconds over ten liters of bourbon went down the U-Boat's gullet.

Wisconsin wanted to say something, but suddenly her eyes widened. She grabbed the other two girls and beat a hasty retreat.

"Wisconsin?" Strasbourg asked with concern.

"Drunk karaoke," the shaken battleship replied. "They'll sing anything and you wouldn't believe the amount of raunchy songs they know. It's enough to make New Jersey into a raging prude. Even songs that at first sound like cute and friendly tunes are in the end more in the face than AC/DC!" she added. "Anyway, what you were seeing was U-Boats on shore leave. I hope you uinderstand why we don't put them with the Japanese or our subs," she explained. "And you also understand that the only things they could succesfully take over are a bar, club or strip club," she added.

Suddenly they saw two girls steering towards the entrance, one of them HMCS Davy Jones, the most chuuni boat to ever chuuni according to Tenryuu and Kiso. Pale and with stringy hair and a chain around Kraken's neck leading to her left hand. She kicked the door open and shouted "Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake the Kraken!" at the top of her lungs, leading to cheers from the inside.

Wisconsin heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Great, this will be such a pain tomorrow," she groused.

The other battleship and the battlecruiser simply looked lost. "Why, why such a party?" Indiana finally asked Wisconsin.

"Because we are alive," a sleepy voice behind her said.

Indiana squeaked and jumped into Wisconsin's arms, leading to the concrete shattering under the both of them.

Wisconsin grunted before dumping the older battleship. The U-Boat that had spoken up was already a fair bit away, clutching a pillow, her sleeping cap bouncing with every step and making a beeline for the aircraft carrier dorms. Wisconsin decided that she had dealt with enough headaches for today, she wouldn't try to tell U-47 where to sleep tonight. It was futile anyway.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking off the dance floor, Harry smiled up at Shinano who also had a smile on her face. And if it was much brighter then the one on Harry's, he was not about to mention that fact. Several moments passed as she glanced around to make sure that the man who was bothering her earlier wasn't around and then placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm glad that you were here, Harry-Chan."

Only shrugging, the black haired wizard rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I'm glad too. Besides, Mum was coming and so was Hoppou." Nearly as one, the two of them turned to where Hoppou was beside Nagato with Wokyuu just behind her. The fact that said Abyssal Carrier was somehow in a dress was not commented on. Looking back at Shinano, Harry shrugged. "Anyways, I'm pretty used to it and Mum told me that if I want to become an Admiral, I'm going to be going to a lot of these."

At the slightly sour look on Harry's face, Shinano giggled some. Once she calmed down though, she gave his shoulder a small squeeze. "I think that you'll do just fine, Harry-Chan." There was a small crash nearby and the two turned to see Fusou on the ground having slipped on a piece of ice. Quickly making her way over, Shinano held out a hand to the Battleship who grabbed it. "Are you alright?"

Dusting off her white dress with red highlights, Fusou nodded. "I am, though how unfortunate it was for that piece of ice to be there." It was then that her expression brightened a bit as she caught sight of something. "Shigure-Chan, there you are, and with Yamashiro as well!"

When they reached them, Yamashiro narrowed her eyes some as she glanced at Harry and Shinano before turning to her sister. "Fusou-Onee-Sama, are you alright?"

Fusou only shook her head with a small smile. "I'm alright, despite my misfortune." She then placed an arm over Shigure's shoulders. "And thank you for bringing my drink, Shigure-Chan."

That got her a smile from Shigure as Yamashiro smiled at the two. "Shigure-Chan is very reliable, Fusou-Onee-Sama. In this case, we are fortunate that she came with us." Ignoring the blush on Shigure's face, Yamashiro then turned towards Shinano and Harry before humming. "Is Harry-San your escort for the evening, Shinano-Sama?"

Now it was Shinano's turn to blush as she shook her head. "N-no, Harry-Chan's not my escort for the evening. He was just helping me from a bit of a rough spot." Looking around, Shinano shook her head and leaned in. "One of the guests was always asking me to go dance and talking to me."

Holding a hand to her mouth, Fusou shook her head. "How unfortunate." As her sister nodded, Fusou frowned. "Would it be possible for you to describe this man? Just in case he decides to focus on us."

Much to Shinano's surprise, when she did Shigure sighed. "I think that I know who that was and why." At the looks, the Destroyer grimaced. "Most likely he is hoping for cameras to catch either you dancing with him or perhaps just spending time. It would play well to his crowd."

Eyes narrowed, Yamashiro looked around. "Perhaps you should have Harry-Chan by you for a while longer then."

The five of them continued to talk before Fusou gently placed a hand on Shigure's arm. "As much as it has been our good fortune to speak with you this long, I do believe that I spot one of the waiters with some of those nice treats that our Shigure-Chan enjoys."

Lips twitching into a smile at the sight of Shigure with a sheepish expression, Yamashiro nodded. "Yes, she does indeed enjoy these small treats. Hopefully your good fortune continues for the rest of the night."

With that, the three shipgirls walked off while Shinano shook her head. Seeing the confused expression on Harry's face, she giggled a bit. "Don't worry too much about it, Harry-Chan." Then her eyes lit up a bit as they landed on something. "Regina!"

Quickly turning, Harry suddenly smiled at the sight of the Re-class who had a glass of punch in her hands. "Harry? Shinano?" As they got closer, she smiled a bit. "It's good to see you both and, um... you're looking very nice."

Blinking, Harry just shrugged a bit though he still had a smile on his face. "You're looking very nice too, Regina."

As she looked her friend over, Shinano slowly nodded. "Harry-Chan's right, Regina." She then placed a finger to her chin in thought before suddenly smiling and snapping her fingers. "All the metal on you has been shined and polished!"

There was a small blush on Regina's face as she nodded towards Harry, the light glinting off the metal that made up her tail's head as it held itself up high with a purr. "Um, Harry here helped as he was the one who did all the work with the buffing and polishing." For a moment, she was about to scuff her hoof on the floor and stopped. "He even did my hooves."

Eyes wide, Shinano slowly nodded. "It really does look good on you." Moments later, she tilted her head. "In fact, I think that I can see my reflection in them." However, at seeing the shy expression on Regina's face, Shinano tilted her head in concern. "Is something wrong, Regina?"

Glancing at Harry who was now focused on her, Regina blushed and played a bit with her dress. "N-not really?" At the raised eyebrows, she blushed deeper. "There's just been some people taking a lot of pictures of me and, um..." Placing a finger against her cheek, Regina looked around. "One of them said that I was very... 'Moe'. I'm not sure what they meant though."

Even as she looked at her, Shinano held back giggles. "It's not a bad thing, Regina. And, um, they're right." At the confusion, she shrugged. "You are very moe."

Harry snickered a bit at the completely befuddled look on Regina's face. But before he could do anything else though, a hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up to see a familiar Submarine there. "Iku-Chan!"

The blue haired Shipgirl giggled a bit but then nodded. "Yup!" With a smile, she turned towards Shinano with a sparkle in her eyes. "Shinano-San? Could I borrow Harry-Chan for a bit?"

Confused, Shinano looked down at Harry and then around. "Um, why? And... er..."

With a slight shake of her head, Iku shrugged. "I noticed you dancing with him earlier and I wanted to have a try. If I could?" Having spotted the nervousness, Iku made some hand gestures in the air. "If you're worried about that man bothering you from earlier, the others will help."

Surprised, Shinano looked in the same direction as Iku and noticed several other Submarines. One of them she recognized as RO with what looked like a number of her sisters who had arrived with the German Admiral alongside Bismarck. Said Admiral could be seen conversing with the British one. Hachi was also there beside Ushio and Hiryuu with the Subgirl saying something to the other two. Then Hiryuu looked at Shinano and gave a nod. Now smiling softly, Shinano bowed a bit towards Iku. "Thank you, Iku-San. And I don't mind too much."

Expression brightening, Iku nodded as she began to drag Harry back towards the dance floor. "Thanks, Shinano-San! I and the others owe you!"

Before Shinano could ask, a giggle caussed her to turn to see White Plains there with a bright smile. "Kaa-San?"

All the small shipgirl did was giggle again as she watched Iku pull Harry out onto the dance floor not far away from where Bismarck and Hood were standing and talking, though she could see Louisiana close by with Natsumi. "It's nothing, just that Harry is going to be a bit tired I think."

Still confused, Shinano shared a look with Regina. However, the Abyssal only shrugged in confusion, though she was considering how to get a dance herself...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Muse hit me again, so...
____________________________________________________________

The only sound in the area was the rustle of a cool breeze among rocks before a figure lit a lighter and brought it to the cigarette in his mouth. Moments later, the tip was glowing red and he took a sigh as he looked down into the hole at his feet with a snort. "So... the last one just died."

A dark chuckle could be heard from behind him as several of his compatriots stood around nervously. "Really now? Well, that's good though this bunch took a while to die."

Just snorting, the man shook his head. "Did you expect anything else? This sort of thing takes a while to die from after all." For a brief moment, the end of his cigarette glowed brightly revealing fox ears and eyes on his head. "Granted, I may not like ningen in the least, but dying of hunger? Surrounded by the dead? Yeah, that's a horrible way to die."

Yet again, that chuckle echoed through the area which sent a shiver down the kitsune's spine and through his tails. "Ah, perhaps. But it is so lovely to see them squirm as they do." Getting a noncommitble grunt, the voice snorted. "I suppose that you wish to know where they all came from then?"

That got her a scoff from the kitsune. "I neither know nor care. Something that I learned in this business is that it's best not to ask questions. The less I know, the better. Besides..." He then shrugged. "Probably people that won't be missed in the least. That's how things are usually done among your kind after all, pick off the weak and unmissed."
Her next words though caused him to freeze. "Is that what you think? Well, far be it from me to change your opnion."

Scoffing, he sucked in another lungful of smoke. "Whatever. Now it's time for my payment." When he turned, his eyes narrowed at the sight of the massive form that stood in the shadows, red eyes staring out at him. "I want my sister's murderer."

Cold laughter could be heard as there was the sound of something being shifted. "Of course, I promised that I would bring them to you if you did this for me." Seconds later, something wrapped up tightly in silk hit the ground and the kitsune gestured for one of his men to check it. "Don't trust me?"

In reply, the kitsune blew out a cloud of smoke. "I'm many things, an idiot is not one of them. Your kind will stab anyone in the back given a half chance, so no." When the man nodded and gave a thumb's up, the kitsune gave her a nod. "I would say that it was a pleasure doing business with you, but you know how things are"

Giving a mocking bow, the shape laughed. "Of course, of course. And thank you for having it done by now. October would have been better, but... well, you know. This will do nicely for when I need to take care of that snake."

The kitsune was about to reply when he felt something and narrowed his eyes. 'Wait a moment...' Tails flaring out, there was a pulse around him and everything seemed to change. But before he could react, the breath was driven from his lungs. "Grrk!" Slowly, he stared down at the long, spear like leg that pierced through his chest and could tell that it had also severed his spine. "H-how, that was a kitsune trick!?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the rest of his men also pierced on legs as a few screams rang out. "Ah, that would be my children finishing off your guards in the woods. Did you really think that I would not know about them? As to your question..." The shadowed figure of a women leaned out of the shadows until it was next to his ear. "Your sister was quite delicious and her terror made it all the more succulent in the end."

Eyes nearly popping out of his head as coughed out blood, the kitsune snarled. "FUCKING BITCH!"

All he got in return were giggles before he was in the air. Landing in pain, he let out a grunt as bones of innumerable people cracked under his weight and from the impact of his dying men. Above, the woman who had killed him skittered close to the edge and looked down at him. "Be glad, with your work I can now make decades of preparations complete. I'll have to wait for a while, but... heh. It will make sure that those shipgirls won't interfere, though I cannot wait to taste their flesh as well and take what I will."

Darkness creeping into his vision, the kitsune could hear the figure chanting something as ofuda around the pit lit up with black and purple flames. What spell she was using, it clawed at his mind, but all he could feel was ever present hatred. "Y-you will die one day, you bitch. May your goals never come to pass and may a kitsune help strike you down! I'll even help her..."

The last thing he heard as the skeletons shifted beneath him as his life blood dripped down among them, was the clatter of bones and teeth. And then the skeletons themselves pulled him under as they also did the same to his men. Up on the ledge, the figure stopped and listened.

And then she smiled as she heard the crunch as well as wet sounds of something being crushed before laughing. She was still laughing as a pulse streaked out from the pit and raced past. Various magicals and others connected with the spiritual stopped as they felt it brush past them and some trembles. In her tank in Yokosuka, Shiromizu's eyes flew open and she looked around wildly at the darkness that tugged at her senses. 'What in the world was that!?'

Elsewhere, Wokyuu stopped where she was walking with Hoppou in her arms as they made their way towards the Battleship dorms after the reception. Nervous, the Wo-Class also looked around in confusion before holding Hoppou closer as the small Abyssal stared at nothing with a small tremble. "Wokyuu?!"

For her part, Regina went into a defensive stance and tried to figure out where the feeling had come from. She wasn't the only one as Nagato and other shipgirls summoned their rigging and were also scanning their surroundings. Harry had gone for his wand and was now looking around as Percy moved to cover Supprin and Ooyodo, Ron doing the same for Warspite. Frowning, Ron furrowed his eyebrows. "What the bloody hell was that!?"

Warspite glanced at him and shook her head. "Language, Ronald. Though perhaps this time one cannot blame you."

Up at the Shrine, Haru froze as every single hair on her neck stood up and her head whipped in a certain direction. Beside her, Natsumi's eyes were wide and she trembled a bit. "O-Oba-Chan? Wh-what was that? It felt..."

Eyes narrowed, Haru growled in a way that Natsumi had never heard before. "Utterly wrong?" At the nod from her neice, she took a deep breath. "That's because whatever that was, it was wrong." Quickly shaking it off, Haru turned to Natsumi. "Get to the Shrine, right now. Call Nagato and tell her to bring them here! And Shiromizu as well just in case..." Her lips then turned downwards in a frown as Natsumi hurried off. 'I have the feeling that it's going to center around you, Natsumi. You, Harry, and Shiromizu...'

Pulling out her phone, she dialed a number and then brought it up to her ears before a voice echoed through it. "You felt it as well, didn't you, Haru?"

With a snort, Haru glared at nothing in particular. "Of course I did! Kind of hard to miss... whatever that was, you old crow. But you know what I am going to ask next."

Being as it was a statement and not a question, it was not surprising she got a snort. "Of course I do, because I do know you. As to what it was... I am unsure at the moment."

If it was possible, Haru's eyes narrowed still further. "But you fucking suspect what it was. Spill."

There was silence on the other end before a sigh could be heard. Haru had known the old Tengu for many, many decades. And not once did she hear him sound so tired and weary. "As I said, I am unsure and it is not something to discuss over the phone. But I can only hope that I'm wrong. And so should you."

With an omnious click, the call ended and Haru stared down at her phone with a grimace. "Great, just great..." Sighing, she put the phone away. "Well, we're living in interesting times, I suppose. And it is time to up their training..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Shaithan

Harry Leferts said:
The song's mostly double entendres.​

Isn't that true for pretty much all AC/DC songs? I mean, take "Giving the Dog a Bone", how much more blatant can you get?

Harry Leferts said:
I can actually see this in all honesty.​

Upholder's Morning

Upholder groaned miserably as she woke up. It felt like someone had laid a carpet in her mouth and her head was pounding. Blearily she tried to remember what had happened last night.

Flashes of the last night came to her. U-81 mixing something in a keg, one of her subs in a duel with one of the U-Boats, both hanging from the sturdy chandeliers in the room. U-96 challenging her to drink the hellish concoction U-81 was mixing. Heaving up the keg and downing a cocktail called "Declaration of War" with nary a second thought.

Afterwards, there was darkness. Still, the pounding did not abate, and she had to realize that the party inexplicably was still going on.

Getting up she realized that Vampire (P72) was laying next to her, as was one of the far too many U-Boats on the other side of Vampire. Checking herself she found no bite marks, but the U-Boat had some, in fact the sleeping Vampire had fallen asleep while biting the other sub in the neck. There were occasional happy Vampire noises, seemed like she had found a new bride.

She left the bed, thankfully still somewhat clothed and opened the door.

The music was like a brick to the face, but she knew she had to soldier on.

She shuffled out of the room, looking for a medicine cabinet and a family pack of Aspirin. Outside she was greeted with more drunken shenanigans. U-811 playing strip arm wrestling against a bunch of highly inebriated and quite stripped sailors. They still had their underwear and socks, but everything else sat next to U-811 who egged the boys on. Upholder wondered what kind of deal their enemy would demand for the return of the clothes.

The music chose that moment to rise in pitch and noise level, making Upholder wince mightily. She spied U-47 and went to her, hoping for clarification. "A good morning to you!" she said, not quite as loud or bombastic as she would have liked, her head was still killing her and her engineers had a lot of choice words about this "Declaration of War".

U-47 nodded. "Drink?" she asked simply.

"Nay, my friend, for my head and engineering are in open revolt. A bottle of Aspirin on the other hand would be muchly appreciated," she gave back. "As well as an explanation. Why is this merrymaking starting so early?" she wanted to know.

U-47 shrugged, pulled a package of Aspirin from one of her pockets and handed it to Upholder. "Who said anything about this party being a new one?" she gave back. "The party has been going on, pretty much without interruption, since we first set foot here all these years ago," she explained.

Upholder wanted to shout in surprise, but the shout quickly turned into a whimper. "Years?" she said through her pounding headache. "How do you survive?" she wanted to know.

U-47 grinned sagely. "This might be the nearest we can come to Valhalla, a never-ending succession of fighting and feasting," she explained. "The party reminds us of friends yet missing, siblings unborn that might yet join, new friends we made in this second lease on life. We don't intend to relinquish this without a mighty fight," U-47 said forcefully.

Upholder nodded appreciatingly. "Spoken like a true knight of the the undersea," she said forcefully, before wincing, when her head and engineering reminded her of her predicament.

U-47 grinned. "Get well soon, and rejoin the party that never ends," she said, before patting Upholder on the thigh and leaving.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Leaning back in his chair, Goto took a careful sip of his drink and looked out the window. After a few moments, he turned back to regard the people in his office with a slight smile. "Well, it seems that everything has gone off without a single hitch."

With a soft snort, Cunningham shook his head. "Agreed. I'm rather amazed that it turned out as well as it did." Glancing at the German Admiral beside him, he chuckled a bit. "In fact, I half expected it all to go down in flames."

Only waving a hand, Hartmann grumbled a little. "Cunningham, my friend, being pessimistic does not suit you."

Now smirking a bit, the Englishman hummed a bit. "True enough. After all, that is your job I believe."

Simply watching the byplay, Richardson held back a smirk. Then he sighed a bit. "We're not finished yet, there's still the reporters outside the base, the interviews..." Looking down into his cup, he grumbled and then held it out. "I could use another shot of whatever that is."

Goto only poured another small measure from the bottle into the cup and nodded. "It's a little something that Junyou whipped up." At the worried looks, he was unable to help himself and laughed. "It's perfectly safe, but it might eventually rot your gut."

After a moment's thought, Cunningham gulped down what was left in his cup and held it back out. "Then it must be good."

That got snorts and chuckles from the others before Hartmann turned to the man beside him. "You've been rather quiet, Captain. Is something wrong?"

Jerking in his seat, Tanaka blinked and then gave a nervous smile. "Sorry, Sir. It's just... I'm not used to being in company with so many Admirals."

Unseen by him, Richardson shared a knowing look with Goto, one that both Cunningham and Hartmann picked up but did not comment on. Wanting to change the subject, Richardson turned towards Goto with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Ignoring the fact about the vultures outside the base..." There were various chuckles at that, but Richardson turned towards Tanaka. "I heard that there was an incident up in Uchiura Bay recently? I was hoping to hear from you in regards about it."

Tanaka blinked and then glanced at the other Admirals, in particular, Goto. All Goto did was sip his drink and nod. "John has reasons for asking, Tanaka-Kun."

Still unsure, Tanaka leaned back in his chair and looked out at the rest of the base through the window. "I'm not even sure that I believe it myself, but I trust Akebono. And even if I didn't, how she acted proved that something happened."

Raising an eyebrow, Hartmann frowned. "How so?"

For a few moments, Tanaka was quiet before he softly spoke. "Akebono didn't say a word when I hugged her close and simply held her. What she saw really shook her up something fierce." He clinched his fist as he remembered the scared, shaking Destroyer. That alone convinced the Captain she was telling the truth and he wasn't about to betray Akebono by stating that she was actually crying at the time. "We had received word of a group of Abyssal Destroyers lead by a Ri-Class at the mouth of the bay and Akebono was leading the nearest patrol group. She didn't like that I was going to have her scout it out first before anything else."

All Richardson did was shake his head with a sigh. "I don't know what she would have expected, she is a Destroyer." With a slight frown, he shook his head. "About the only effective weapon she would have is her Oxygen Torpedoes."

With a slow nod, Tanaka snorted. "That was an idea that I was bouncing around in my head. If nothing else, do enough damage that they might withdraw, or perhaps get slowed down enough for backup to arrive." His expression then darkened. "As it turned out, neither were needed. Almost as soon as they entered the bay, things got... odd."

Sipping his drink, Cunningham glanced at Goto who had a serious expression on his face. "Odd? How so?"

A far off look on his face, Tanaka shook his head. "According to Akebono, and some reports from the local JGSDF, the sky and waters of the bay turned a blood red and began to become choppy. Pretty much most of the locals moved away from the shore. While none of the JGSDF were close enough to see what happened next, Akebono and her patrol group were. According to them, massive tentacles rose out of the water and grabbed the Abyssals, one of the Destroyers were ripped in half. Then, what she stated could only be described as a 'Octopus right out of a shitty Kaiju flick' covered in small horns and spines rose out of the water and proceeded to devour the Abyssals. Nothing they did could harm it."

Leaning forward, deep in thought, Richardson frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. "What happened next?"

Only letting out a deep breath, the Captain shook his head. "Akebono said that the being then turned it's attention onto them and they had a staring contest. As if it was judging them... Then it sank back beneath the waves and the water and sky went back to normal several minutes later." He then looked each of the Admirals in the eye with a slightly pale face. "Akebono and the others made for shore at top speed and had to be transported overland as neither wanted to be anywhere near the waters of the bay after that."

Voice soft, Cunningham shook his head. "I cannot blame them. Bloody hell, I don't think that any of us would have reacted any better."

There was silence for almost a minute before Goto spoke up. "There are legends, about Uchiura Bay. Ancient ones told by the Ainu... According to them, a Kami by the name of Akkorokamui lives in the bay as it's lord. He takes the form of a massive octopus, large enough to swallow ships and whales whole. So large, that the sky and sea turns red when he appears due to the light reflected from him."

Slowly nodding, Richardson turned to Tanaka. "I'm going to assume that you had a visit from someone claiming to be from the government?" Getting a nod, he grimaced. "I suppose that it was to be expected. Granted, I'm amazed that they didn't try anything."

Hartmann let out a snort. "However, I am not. They have enough issues it seems that they would not do much more then see if there is any evidence."

A chuckle escaped from Cunningham as he shook his head. "It was the same down in the Med after a particular whirlpool kept appearing in the same spot by Greece. One that attempted to pull down any Abyssal that came near." Frowning, he stared out at the sea. "We're only one side and I dread whatever else there may be out there. Even if they're fighting the Abyssals themselves..."

Completely lost, Tanaka looked between them. "I'm sorry but... what are you talking about?" Then the dots connected and his eyes widened. "Wait, there's more out there!?"

That got him looks of dark amusement from the four Admirals before Goto leaned forward. "You've barely scratched the surface, Tanaka-Kun. The surface of what might be out there... But after what happened, you should know about what is going on just in case..."

 

[darthcourt10]

sasahara17

I just saw Shaithan 's snippets and HAD to post this little thing. Enjoy!

-=-

In the JMSDF, few ship girls were considered as unerringly cute, innocent as precious as Ro-500.

The young German, one of the foreign ship girl to arrive in Japan as a permanent transfer, was the darling of the submarine fleet. Initially shy and reserved, the former U-511 quickly won over the hearts and minds of her Japanese colleagues with her professionalism, humility and general adorableness. In fact, 'Yu-Chan' was the very definition of the Japanese 'Moe' phenomenon.

Everyone, from the JMSDF personnel, the ship girl fleet and the civilian media, absolutely adored the German transferee as the living embodiment of 'cuteness' and 'pureness'… a truly astounding feat in the case of the ship girl fleet, given the usual gulf between the Japanese submarine girls and their surface warfare colleagues. Not even the most suspicious and jaded of destroyers could resist Yu-chan's ability to project cute puppy dog eyes into their brains by the sound of her voice alone.

This did not change even after she underwent a remodel to become Ro-500.

Although Ro-chan had 'loosened up' somewhat, becoming more outgoing and energetic as a result, the flower wearing submarine was still adorable like nothing else. Even if some believed that she had become 'corrupted' by those awful lewdmarines, with Goya of all people shouldering much of the perceived blame for 'corrupting' the 'purest submarine', at the end of the day Ro-chan was just as much as a sweetheart as she always was.

No matter how much those lewdmarines could change her through their bad influence, Ro-chan's many fans believed that she would always, always, remain the darling of the fleet.

Goya really, really, wished she could show those misguided fools what was happening to their precious idol now.

"Drink, drink, De-chi!" A completely inebriated Ro-chan said as she pushed a gigantic mug of what was commonly known around these parts as the 'Declaration of War' up against the side of the Japanese submarine's cheek, "Drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may sail through the halls of Val-Valhalla!"

"I… I'm too young to drink, dechi! Keep that away from me, dechi!" Goya refused as she tried her best to remain sober… something incredibly hard to do given she, and the other Japanese submarines unfortunate enough to follow Ro-chan back to Europe to see the German's 'family', were now stuck in what could best be described as a real like rendition of that drunken, never ending party from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

And by the emperor, was it ever a party.

"Goya, help me! Help me!" Iku called out in desperation as three 'drunk as all fuck' U-Boats had her trapped under a 'cuddle-pile' while using her 'gazongas' as makeshift pillows to pass out in comfort, "They're too lewd! They're too lewd! Iku is in a pinch!"

"NO! No! No! Get away from Nimu you drunken drunk drunks!" a half-naked Nimu screamed as she ran out of the nearby toilets… quickly pursued by another group of U-Boats who were trying to put her into a bunny girl outfit, "Don't wanna wear a bunny girl outfit! Don't wanna be ruined for marriage! Don't wanna!"

"Holy crap! This is worse than that time in Rabul! We gotta get out of here, girls!" Imuya called out from where she was bravely cowering under one of the tables, specifically, the table where HMS Upholder and USS Harder were engaging in another round of strip arm wrestling.

"Y-Yer go'in down, Up-Up… Up… whatever your name is," Harder sneered cockily, something quite diminished since the legendary submarine was down to her pink Hello Kitty underwear, "Yer know as well as I that nuh-nobody is harder than Harder!"

"Pish, posh! A Kn-Knigh-Neigh of the Undersea is not done in sho eas-easy-easypeasy!" Upholder winked confidently… a miracle considering she too was just as undressed and her "Monty Pyton's Spamalot' bra was showing.

"Someone help me." Imuya whimpered.

Not the best choice of cover, really.

Oh, how the Japanese girls had been fooled!

For years, the ship girls of Japan had believed the German U-Boat corps to be an elite corps of silent, dedicated professionals. Compared to the thieving Americans, boisterous British and lewd Japanese, it was believed that the Germans had no such eccentricities to besmirch the reputation of the 'Silent Service'. Indeed, Hachi and Yuu both provided exemplary examples to support this belief.

Quiet, humble… professional.

Yet now, here Goya was, trapped in a den of debauchery where copious amounts alcohol flowed freely, self-control and discipline were nowhere to be found and THE PARTY NEVER ENDED.

Wow, when those Germans let themselves go, they really let themselves go.

"Drink! Drink! Dr-drinkkkkkk!" Ro-chan slurred as she nuzzled right into Goya's personal space before giving a cute little drunken hiccup.

"No! I'm too young to drink, dechi!"

"Drink! Drink for Ro-chan, Dechi!" Ro-chan sang. "It's a party, we must drink!"

Oh, all the flack Goya had caught over the years for 'corrupting' the picture of innocence that was U-511. Now Goya knew beyond a doubt that this wasn't the case… the absolute monster that was Ro-500 had always been there, but had taken a while to emerge due to her new environment.

And Hachi! Hachi spent years training with the U-Boats. She must have known this would happen, and she never told any of them! That traitor!

"Why didn't you warn us Hachi?!" Goya wailed looking around the chaos for the bespectacled bookworm, "This you should have warned us what we were getting into, dechi! Where are you?"

Goya's never received reply, for Hachi was too busy screaming over the Karoke machine.

"Shokun! Wareware no ninmu wa nanda? SENMETSU DA!!" Hachi roared, "Ikki nokorazu no senmetsu da! Nasubeki koto wa tada hitotsu! JIGOKU WA TSUKURE!"

"…Hatchi?" Goya whimpered, realizing the quite bookworm had succumbed to the madness that was the German party as well. Oh god, what happened to her? More importantly, could happened to Hachi happen to the the rest of the Japanese subs as well?

"Senjou~e! Zensen~e! Soshite shi no fuchi made! Inochi suteta sono kakugo wo shimese yo!
Chuusei~wo! Juujun~wo! Soshite sono tamashii wo! Subete sasage kachidoki wo age yo!
Saa koko ni kizuite misero! Ten ni todoku hito no yama wo!
Feuer! Sperrfeuer! Los! Achtung! Deckung! Hinlegen! Halt!
Feuer! Sperrfeuer! Los! Achtung! Deckung! Hinlegen! Halt!"

Hachi's audience promptly went wild (completely in spite of the fact Goya was pretty sure most of them had NO IDEA what Hachi was saying in Japanese).

It was then that Goya decided that the Germans, and everyone that had anything to do with them, were all BATSHIT INSANE.

"We gotta get out of here, dechi." Goya decided, fear not felt since the worst days of the Second World War welling in her heart.

The Japanese sub girls had unwittingly sailed into hell, and now their very souls were being assailed. In this terrible situation, surrounded by sin and depravity, Goya knew without a doubt that one thing:

They had to escape… before they too went mad.

"Drink! Drink for Ro-chan, Dechi!"

"NO, Dechi!"

-=-

A/N – Japanese sub-girls in German Jingoku. It's real Nito. Can they escape this madness and survive to sail the seas for another day? Or will they be dragged down into the depths of depravity? Whatever the case… the whole lot of them are never going to forget this unforgettable party!

BTW, I also found this pretty good cover of 'Los, Los, Los!' in case anyone is interested in it.


I hope you enjoyed this snip. Cheers!

 

[darthcourt10]

SeaofFallingStars

Not my best work, but here:

-*-*-*-*-

Naka almost groaned when she had found out, but knew that as an Idol this would be a good test for her. Maintain a smile while the world threw this kind of curveball at her.

Curse whichever politician agreed to this! The plushies and figurines were one thing; but this…

"Wow, Naka-Nee! Look at how many they have here! Think we can get them all?"

As Harry stared in surprise and joy at what they found-how had no one told them?-she desperately wanted to run a hand along her face to try and vent her frustration and embarrassment.

"Only the ones at the base Harry-chibi, no one else. Please."

Who went and not only sent them the blueprints for their hulls, but got pictures that allowed them to make semi-accurate… robot forms? Why did they make Transformers of them? That kids show wasn't exactly what one associated with shipgirls, after all.

"So… hold on when did they find out about her?"

Naka was not looking forward to this bill given how many figures Harry managed to put in their basket.

~Bang Bang Bang~

It was a fairly shocked group of Shipgirls once they all assembled. Naka wanted to scowl like Goto was, due to this apparently not happening with their notice. Thankfully, there were in the mess hall, so it would be easy to fix any damages.

Meanwhile, Nagato was livid.

"How did we not know about this? They should have asked our permission before producing these toys! Just like with the figurines and plushes! I know we are all considered war heroes, but this is too far!"

Harry blinked before handing a large box to a baffled Akagi, who gently accepted this.

"I just thought that you guys might enjoy these. Not be angry."

His mother smiled at him, even though her eyes still burned with rage.

"I'm not angry with you, Harry. Merely the ones who did this without our permissions."

In a corner of the room, the submarines were busy playing with their Transformer versions while Kongou looked at Goto and raised an eyebrow.

It was controlled chaos, but it was still quite the bombshell Harry brought back with Naka from the trip. Said idol was feeling a bit frustrated with her own figure, trying to get cooperation from it and not snap a joint turning it back into her original hull.

"I promise you, Nagato, I will find out who authorized these and have a stern word with them. If all else fails, I'll arrange for Hiei to cook for them."

Even if Harry meant well, Goto knew he'd have to deal with this, and quickly.
-fin

Note: Assume 2008-2010 levels of insane engineering where mechanical miracles were the norm

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Having reached the repurposed boat ramp that headed down into the water, Niiyodo let out a sigh of relief as she stepped from the water onto the ramp itself. Around her, her rigging vanished into a cloud of sparkles and motes of light. "Hopefully not all the food is gone from the mess hall."

Laughs from behind her caused her to turn to see Montana shake her head. The Battleship then tipped the brim of her hat a bit. "Now don't you worry, I'm sure that they got some food for us. Especially since we had to handle patrol duties due to the signing of that treaty."

Only nodding, Niiyodo let out a soft sigh. "You're probably right." She then turned to the shipgirl beside her who was stretching a bit. "How about you, Ryuuhou-San?"

The Light Carrier licked her lips a bit before frowning thoughtfully. "I hope that they have some cinnamon buns left over." One hand on her belly, she smiled. "After all, I think that we all deserve some."

A chuckle though caused them to look up the ramp to see Harry there with Louisiana just behind him. "Don't worry, if they don't have anything for you then I'll make sure to cook you all up something."

Shimushu's eyes lit up a bit. "Really, Su? You mean that, Su?"

Chuckling, Harry looked between them and nodded though he noticed Louisiana softly talking with Montana. "Yeah, I do. And don't worry, I got the stuff to make your pancakes if needed, Kuna-San. Plenty of it."

The small Escort Boat, sister to Shimushu stood up straighter and nodded. "Thanks, Harry-San!"

Before the conversation could get any further though, Ooyodo appeared with Supprin behind her. Making her way down the ramp, Ooyodo hugged her younger sister which brought a smile to Niiyodo's face. No matter how often Ooyodo did this, Niiyodo never got tired of it. In fact, she rather enjoyed it as it told her that her sister missed her. "Welcome back, Niiyodo-Chan."

Hugging her sister back, Niiyodo nodded. "It's good to be back, Onee-Sama." For a moment, she tightened the hug. "Really good to be back."

With a slow nod, Ooyodo slowly let go. "Agreed." Giving her sister a once over, the Light Cruiser hummed. "I'm thankful that you didn't get hurt as we heard you got into a small fight."

Much to her surprise, Montana let out a booming laugh. "Small is right. All of us took out those Abyssals we came across easy peasy." Fingers snapping, she jerked her thumb at herself. "What between myself, Ryuuhou, and Niiyodo here, the escorts were done for."

That caused Ooyodo to raise an eyebrow in askance. "Escorts? What sort of Abyssals did you fight?" Seeing them glance at Supprin, Ooyodo shook her head. "Teitoku already cleared any information for her."

Only nodding, Niiyodo took a deep breath and then let it out. "There's not much to tell, we came across an Abyssal convoy two days ago. It was mostly Destroyers escorting several Wa-class transports." Unseen by Niiyodo, but noticed by Ooyodo, Supprin gave a small wince at the mention of the transports. "Ryuuhou-San spotted them and attacked the escorts, with Montana helping. Shorting after, I got in range myself." She then shrugged. "The transports were attacked and sunk by Shimushu-Kun and Kuna-Kun."

Raising an eyebrow, Ooyodo turned to said Escorts who puffed out their chests and she nodded. "Congradulations you two. But transports are rather easy, so don't underestimate your foes."

Both small shipgirls blinked and then blushed, but still nodded. "Hai!"

In reply, Ooyodo gave them both pats on the head which they enjoyed. "Still, good work." Glancing at her watch, the Light Cruiser gave a nod. "I should let you all go so that you can report in with Teitoku. Perhaps we can share lunch together. Niiyodo-Chan?"

Expression brightening, Niiyodo nodded with a large smile that was returned by one from Ooyodo. "Hai, that sounds wonderful, Onee-Sama!" GIving Ooyodo one last hug, she began to walk off with Harry. "See you at lunch, Onee-Sama!"

Waving back, Ooyodo had a thoughtful expression on her face as she turned towards Supprin. Meanwhile, Harry was walking between Niiyodo and Ryuuhou, giving them both a smile. "So a great patrol then?"

Softly blushing, Ryuuhou nodded some. "It was, for which I'm thankful for." Then she blinked and turned towards Harry. "By the way, how did the reception after the signing go?"

Harry frowned a bit before shrugging. "Okay, I guess. There were a lot of stuffy people there, but I had some fun dancing with Shinano-Chan and some of the others. I even danced with Louisiana! And so did Natsumi-Chan."

Amused, Montana turned towards her blushing sister with a twinkle in her eye. "I see, so then I can assume that you enjoyed yourself there, Sis?"

Despite the slight embarrassment, and knowledge of how she was going to get teased later on, Louisiana chuckled. "Oui, I enjoyed myself. It was a lot of fun dancing, though some of those there..." Trailing off, Louisiana waved one hand. "C'est la vie."

Only nodding, Montana placed her hands into her pockets with a snort. "I can imagine. But then, better you then me, Sis. SecNav only knows how I might have reacted to some of them."

That got a chuckle out of the other Battleship. Meanwhile, Harry noticed a slightly saddened look on Niiyodo's face. "Is something wrong, Niiyodo-Chan?"

Jerking a bit, the Cruiser blinked and looked at him. "Something wrong?" At his nod, she shook her head. "Why would you think that something was wrong?"

While he frowned, Harry also narrowed his eyes. "You looked sad at the mention of the reception. Unless..." For a moment, realization could be seen on his face before it became empathic. "You wanted to go as well."

A slight wince escaped from Niiyodo, but she finally nodded. "Um, well... I did." Sighing, she shook her head. "But someone needed to perform the patrols and... Onee-Sama and the others are more well known and better suited for it."

Eyes narrowed, Harry considered this before a thought occurred to him. Instead of saying what was on his mind as he rolled the idea around in his head, Harry changed the subject. "Hey, Niiyodo-Chan? I have an idea to make you feel better!"

Interested, Niiyodo turned towards him as did the others. "Really? What idea is that, Harry-Chan?"

Now grinning, Harry placed his hands behind his head. "Well, according to Miyuki-San, the owner of the ice cream place she works at is having a special on. Any shipgirls get two for one in prices, so we can go there and celebrate! You know, because you had a successful mission and because of the treaty being signed."

It took a few moments, but Niiyodo glanced at the others. At the sight of Shimushu and Kunashiri drooling a bit, she chuckled. "I think that's a pretty good idea, Harry-Chan."

All Harry did was smile back at her though internally he continued to plan and scheme.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

At the boat ramp, Ooyodo watched as the group containing her sister got out of hearing range before nodding. "Good, they won't hear." Turning, she gave Supprin a narrowed eyed look. "What was that about?"

Confused, Supprin blinked a bit. "What was what about?"

If anything, Ooyodo narrowed her eyes a bit more. "The flinch you gave when my sister mentioned the Wa-Class that they sank." She then pointed at the Abyssal Princess. "Like the one that you just gave right now."

With another flinch, Supprin glanced around and found that there was no one in hearing range. Much to Ooyodo's surprise though, she shook her head. "Not... here. Not where we can be overheard. And I'll need Lady Wanko there as well."

Blinking, Ooyodo frowned some. "You need to have Wanko-San there when you explain? Why? And why not Hoppou as well?"

Much to her surprise though, Supprin shook her head and took a deep breath. "I would much rather explain in a place where there is less chance of someone stumbling onto the conversation. Lady Wanko is needed though in case she needs to explain more..." For a few seconds, she chewed her lip before shaking her head. "And it is best to keep Lady Hoppou from it as well, she does not like them. At all."

Even though she was curious, Ooyodo grimaced a bit as she felt the churning in her fuel tanks. "We're not going to like what we're going to hear, will we?"

Flinching, Supprin shook her head. "No, none of you are going to like it and... it is a good thing that we do not use them." She then frowned and nodded after a pause. "I have contacted Lady Wanko and she will join us at where your Admiral's office is. She'll be waiting for us there."

Simply nodding, Ooyodo gestured for her to follow. "Best that we not keep her waiting then."

As she shook her head, Supprin seemed pensive. "No, it would be best that we not keep her waiting. Especially with the subject matter involved."
_____________________________________________________________________________

Examining the map in front of her, Nagato raised an eyebrow. "So this is the new map for Ōkamashima? I must admit... this sort of map is much different from what I am used to."

Only humming as he looked over the computer generated map of said island which showed heights and depths. "I suppose that it is different from what you might be used to. But it is accurate." He pointed at a spot on the rim of the caldera. "Do you think that the guns there can be rebuilt?"

Leaning forward, Nagato frowned before opening the folder and looked at the pictures of what had been a gun emplacement which were taken from an aerial drone. But now it had been mostly melted to slag. "The guns? No, but it could be rebuilt I suppose. But then the question becomes why?"

Goto frowned as he continued to stare at the map. "The island has a strategic position which can cover both Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay." Reaching to the side, he pulled out another map and marked down the general area of where the island was. He then drew lines from it from two pensulas on either side. "It's far enough out that it can create a defensive line when combined with forces on both the Bōsō Peninsula and Izu Peninsula with Izu Ōshima as the fourth point. There's been some thought that was one of the reasons why it was chosen in the first place."

There was a thoughtful look on Nagato's face before she shook her head. "So they wish to station military forces there. Though with the spells protecting it..."

Much to her surprise, Goto shook his head. "There's been some talks with Ume-San and Sakura-San. They can manipulate the spells and move the hole in the barrier around. Even stablize it if needed." Ignoring Nagato's raised eyebrows, Goto pointed to a spot on the map. "The island itself is also too small for a proper base. And it was decided to leave the old dockyard area alone... Which means that anything built would be right here."

It took a few seconds, but Nagato blinked and furrowed her eyebrows. "That area is underwater though..." Then it struck her and she nodded. "I see, land reclamation."

A thin smile on his face, Goto nodded. "The water is only ten feet deep there which makes it attractive. It's also near the thickest part of the caldera wall from the outside, which means we can dig tunnels into the side for shelters. That said, the area given would still be too small for a base for proper military, so it will instead be used for a shipgirl base. That is, if they decide to develop it."

That caused Nagato to raise an eyebrow. "They haven't even decided yet to do so?" When Goto shook his head, she gave a snort. "I suppose that I should be happy that they're debating it considering the... history... of the island."

Grunting, Goto nodded. "Agreed, and that is exactly why they're debating it. While useful for the defense of Japan, we also need to take in consideration the history of the island. It will also need to be discussed with Sakura-San and Ume-San first as well. However, they still want us to draw up plans just in case."
With a sigh, Nagato grimaced some. "Of course they would."

Before she could say anything else though, a knock at the door caused her to look up. Clearing his throat, Goto raised an eyebrow. "Yes? Who is it?"

Moments later, the door opened and Ooyodo stuck her head in. "Teitoku? I have Supprin-San and Wanko-San here to speak to you. They wish to give up information regarding an Abyssal ship type under the terms of the treaty."

Despite himself, Goto was surprised and glanced at Nagato. Once she nodded and began to roll up the maps and put them away with the papers there, he frowned but motioned Ooyodo on. "Very well, just give us a few minutes to put everything away." When they were done and both Abyssal Princesses were seated, Goto gave them both a nod. "I hope that the two of you have been having a good day."

Slowly nodding, Wanko tilted her head some. "Yes... it has been... a good day... up to this pont." Seeing his raised eyebrow, she turned towards Supprin with a sigh. "Supprin wishes... to speak with... you about... something. I wish to... make it known... that none of... our forces make... use of such things. Neither di... Little Sister's."

Raising an eyebrow and feeling his stomach sink, Goto turned towards Nagato. At seeing the same unease he felt on her face, he frowned. "I see. And what is this something that you need to speak of?"

Just taking a deep breath, Supprin let it out. "Earlier today, Niiyodo with several other shipgirls returned. I was there as I had spotted Ooyodo waiting and engaged her in a conversation..." When all Goto did was nod, she continued though she was glad that her friend was not in trouble. "I overheard them speakin of sinking several Wa class and... I reacted in a noticiable way for Ooyodo to spot."

As it turned out, Wanko also tensed and Goto caught that. "Hmm... So I suppose that you have information regarding these... Wa class then? And from your reactions as well as what Wanko-San mentioned that neither of you like them?"

Wanko fixed him with a look. "I do not... make use of them... because I see them... as needless. They exist... only for... cruelty, nothing... else. The Others revel in... such things... but I have not."

That caused Goto to raise his eyebrows though it was Ooyodo who spoke up. The Light Cruiser was frowning in thought as she rubbed her chin. "We have always wondered about them. Compared to the other Abyssal classes, they always seemed to be far more wrong. And the fact that they have their arms bolted to their hulls raised questions."

Glancing at each of them, Supprin took a deep breath. "One thing that you need to understand is that the other Princesses and Demons only want to fight and kill. Creating an Abyssal takes time, effort, and materials. So to them, creating a transport Abyssal would take away from what they could be using to kill humans. Said Abyssal type would also need intelligence, which would increase the time and materials needed under normal circumstances. The Wa class was created using the least amount of material necessary from their point of view."

If anything, the sinking feeling in the two shipgirls' fuel tanks and in Goto's stomach intensified. Already having a idea were this was going, Goto swallowed. "What... materials do they use to create them?"

Only shifting, Supprin closed her eyes. "The organic portions which look human were... human once. Prisoners taken by Abyssal forces."

Having ignored the cursing from Nagato under her breath, Goto had to swallow his gorge. But when he spoke, it was with an undercurrent of anger. "You mean to tell me that those... Abyssals... are human prisoners." He glared at the two Abyssals in front of him. "Why the hell did you never tell us!?"

Wanko only gave him an even gaze. "We do not... use them ourselves. Also... they are no... longer human. It is... for the best that... you sink them. They... cannot be saved."

Still shaking in barely held in disgust and anger, Goto took a deep, calming breath. "I think that whether they can be saved or not should be left up to us, not you."

Even as him and Wanko had a stare down, Supprin shook her head. "As to us not telling you, it did not seem... important, I suppose. We've only realized how it may seem recently and have been discussing how to bring it up due to how sensitive it is. Unfortunately, we... just did not know how to tell."

Unknown to Supprin, they all translated that in their minds. 'Sensitive to humans and shipgirls, not to Abyssals.' A second later though, Goto remembered the report as to how Wanko barely reacted to the idea of Abyssals being brutally killed by something, with their bodies impaled. 'I suppose that they do have a different morality and what may seem awful to us, they shrug off as unimportant.'

Meanwhile, Supprin continued after waiting for that to sink in. "I'm afraid that Lady Wanko is right about how they cannot be saved." Flinching at the looks directed her way, she continued. "During their... conversion, everything not needed to keep them alive after a sort is removed. The organism on their heads digs itself in deep into their brain, tendrils burrowing through what is there and using it to control the rest of the Abyssal. To remove it would kill the being with how interwoven it is, same with removing what was human from the rest of the, um, hull. And... if captured, the Abyssal parts self-destruct, taking the organic portions with them. I don't know why, but I suspect that the Others find the idea of you capturing one and then it self-destructing before finding out what they are amusing."

Shuddering at the images in her head, Nagato shook her head. "Are... are they still conscious? Aware of what is going on?"

It was Wanko who spoke up at that point. "I do not... know if they... are. But they are... in constant pain... No relief and... do not rest. As I said... such a thing... is unnecessary. The Others do... it only because... they can."

Only rubbing his forehead, Goto groaned. "Great, just great... Just the sort of thing that I needed." Then he glared at the two. "Tell me everything and leave nothing out. And anything else regarding humans captured by Abyssals."

The two Princesses only nodded at that. Thankfully though, that was the worst of what they heard, but it still weighed on their minds...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Having reached the door to the ice cream shop, Harry looked over his shoulder at Niiyodo and the others. "Ready?"

The Light Cruiser only nodded with a small smile on her face. "We're ready, Harry-Chan." She then fixed the two small Escort ships with a look. "Don't eat too much ice cream you two. Remember what happened the last time."

On Kuna's face there was a sheepish look as Shimushu threw her hand into the air. "We'll remember, Su! So don't worry, Su!"

Slowly shaking her head, Niiyodo looked at Montana and Louisiana who had a small smile on their faces. Both Battleships chuckled and Montana tipped the brim of her hat. "Don't worry about us, Little Lady. We won't eat Harry's wallet out of existence."

Louisiana's smile became a grin which showed her white teeth. "Oui, we would not empty Mon Chéri's wallet." Placing a hand against her chest, she chuckled. "Though it will be nice to have some ice cream and not be giving it out."

Confused, Niiyodo glanced at Ryuuhou who shook her head in bemusement before shaking her head. American ships confused her at times no matter how often she worked alongside them. With that, Harry opened the door to the small shop and staggered a bit. Almost every such place had AC. Especially in Yokosuka where the weather was often hot and sticky.

But in this case, the blast of cold air hit them all like a fist from the arctic as goosebumps covered Harry's skin.

Quickly shaking it off, Harry walked inside to see Miyuki at the counter softly talking with her fiancé. Between them, a glass of soda with two straws sat on the countertop. Almost immediately though, Miyuki spotted Harry and waved at him. Making his way over, Harry grinned at the pale skinned woman. "Afternoon, Miyuki-San!"

Chuckling, she shook her head in amusement. "Good afternoon, Harry-Chan. Coming in to get out of that awful heat outside?"

With a shrug, Harry scratched the back of his head. "It's not that bad today, Miyuki-San."

Only scoffing, Miyuki shook her head. "Lies. It's just awful around here in the summer." Slumping playfully on the counter, she sighed. "Way too hot and sticky, nothing like in Hokkaido or in the mountains." That got Miyuki some giggles so she smirked as she stood back up. "Your usual, Harry-Chan?"

Harry nodded in agreement before looking at the others. "Yup! But I'm also paying for my friends here since they had a successful mission."

Glancing at them, Miyuki's lips twitched into a smile. "Ooo, buying shipgirls ice cream? You live pretty dangerously, Harry-Chan." With a hum, she leaned across the counter and gave her fiancé a kiss. "I'll be right back, Daisuke-Kun."

As she headed over towards the ice cream, Harry glanced at the man sitting on the stool as he ignored the visible portions of his artificial leg which poked out from between his pants and shoes. "Are things going well for you, Daisuke-San?"

Simply humming, he chuckled a bit. "Things are actually going pretty well, Harry-San." Leaning down, Daisuke shook his head. "Miyuki-Chan doesn't know this yet, but I'm almost finished my courses for business. After this school year, all we'll need to do is to raise up some money."

While he nodded, Harry glanced at Miyuki with a frown on his face. "The wedding is still in December, right?"

Daisuke also glanced at his love before nodding. "End of December as a matter of fact, it'll be nice and chilly so dress warmly." He paused for a moment before smiling. "It's the best time too for Miyuki-Chan's family to come down as well."

Only nodding, Harry's mind went elsewhere. "I'll have to think up a good wedding gift."

That got him an amused look from Daisuke before Miyuki walked over and set a bowl of ice cream down on the counter. "Here you go, Harry-Chan. A black cherry ice cream sundae."

Grinning, Harry nodded as he pulled out his wallet and glanced at the amount it cost. With a blink, he shrugged before handing over the amount and walking over to where the shipgirls were waiting. Behind him, he could hear Daisuke mention that the soda was a bit warm and, if he had looked, would have seen an amused Miyuki touch a finger to the side of the glass. Almost immediately, the entire surface frosted over before she leaned down and took one straw into her mouth, and Daisuke doing the same with the other.

When Harry reached the table that the shipgirls had chosen, he blinked as Louisiana placed a finger against her lips. Then she tilted her head back towards the other booth. It took Harry a moment, but he realized that it was Natsumi reading some manga in the other booth. There was a slight blush on her cheeks and she was so into it, she had not noticed the others sit down. Eyebrow raised, Harry placed his sundae down and then leaned over the back of the booth to better see what had his friend's attention. Moments later, he tilted his head. "Kitsune no Yomeiri?"

Body stiffening, Natsumi slowly turned her head. Upon seeing Harry there, she blushed even more and started to stutter. "H-H-Harry-Chan!? What are you doing here!?"

Just shrugging, Harry chuckled some. "I was just getting some ice cream for Niiyodo-Chan, Louisiana, Ryuuhou-Chan, and the others." He then tilted his head for a moment in confusion before nodding. "Oh! I remember now! That's that manga about the romance between a human and kitsune, right?"

Unseen by Harry, there was a highly amused look on Niiyodo's face. "They were also childhood friends, Harry-Chan. Though... don't the both of them have other love interests as well?"

Snapping his fingers, Harry nodded. "Oh yeah! Including a female tsukomogami who's in love with the kitsune, right?" A groan made him blink as Natsumi slid down her booth with her face covered by her manga. "Natsumi-Chan? Something wrong?"

All Natsumi did was shake her head. "No..."

Confused, Harry tilted his head in confusion as he heard snickers from the shipgirls. "Poi?"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Roughly two minutes later found Natsumi in between Harry and Louisiana. Of course, with both the size of the booth and the fact it was already occupied by two Battleships? That meant that Natsumi was squished between Harry and Louisiana. Placing an arm over Natsumi's and Harry's shoulders, Louisiana let out a small laugh. "Ah, ma chérie, is this not better?"

Natsumi only shrugged the best that she could with her face pressed up against Lousiana's side. Then she rolled her eyes in amusement. "Sure, I guess."

Beside her, Harry took a bite of his sundae and nodded. "Having ice cream is always better with friends."

From where she sat across from them, Shimushu grinned and pointed her spoon at Harry. "He speaks the truth, Su! Such wisdom from one his age, Su!"

Only shaking her head, Natsumi smiled a bit before shrugging. "I guess so."

Unnoticed by both Harry and Natsumi, Montana gave her sister a look. Even though she had not had even as much experience as other shipgirls, being a paper-only ship, Montana had read a lot. She did have long periods between sorties and patrols to fill after all. Not just the books, but also the Internet. And what a thing that was. Right now though? The Battleship observed the expression on her sister's face just as she had many times before. There was a softness there that was not seen except when Louisiana was around mainly Harry or Natsumi, usually both. Also on said face was a small blush.

Unable to control herself, Montana fired up her radio and watched as Louisiana blinked. '{Well now, aren't we comfortable like that?}'

Simply glancing at her, Louisiana gave a snort over the radio. '{But of course I am, Montana. They are very important to me after all.}'

Expression softening, Montana nodded slowly. '{I can certainly see that, Lu. Just one thing...}' At the look her sister gave her, Montana smirked and winked. '{Just wait a few years first.}' Much to her reward, she received a blush for her efforts and, moments later, said blush creeped down Louisiana's neck until it was under her collar. Of course, most of the reason was the chuckles from the other shipgirls and from the realization that the two of them had been broadcasting on an open channel. As Harry and Natsumi looked around in confusion, Montana smirked. 'Mission accomplished.'

As Natsumi shook off her confusion and took a bite of her own sundae, Harry hummed for a moment before he turned. "By the way, Natsumi-Chan?" Getting a sound to continue, he did so. "I didn't know that you liked reading Kitsune no Yomeiri."

Feeling heat in her cheeks, Natsumi paused before swallowing. "I... um..." At the looks, she finally sighed and threw up her hands. "Okay, okay... I admit it, I like it. No, I love Kitsune no Yomeiri! It's an awesome manga."

Just blinking, Harry glanced over at Montana who chuckled. Turning back to Natsumi though, Harry gave her a small smile. "Well, it is a pretty good manga. I like it because of all the fun shenanigans that happen in it."

Slowly nodding, Natsumi snickered and shook her head. "Well, I do like it because of that. Another thing that I like is how they portray kitsune in it."

That caused Louisiana to snap out of her embarrassment and turn to her. "Really, ma chérie? How so?"

Looking up at her, Natsumi shrugged. "Well, they got a lot of stuff right about kitsune. For example, how they act." She then held her hands in front of her chest a bit. "And for another thing, the kitsune on their human forms don't have massive balloons for chests. Like how they are in a lot of manga and anime!" With a sigh, she rolled her eyes. "Honestly, who the hell came up with that anyways!?"

Unknown to her, several Tanuki, Nekomata, Tengu, and other yokai with human forms throughout Japan paused to sneeze. Then they cackled a bit before dropping it and continuing on their way. Meanwhile, back in Yokosuka, Harry scratched his head a bit. "I, um, guess?" Internally, he continued. 'And you would know all about being kitsune because you are one.'

Only shaking her head, Natsumi gave a sigh. "It's just an annoyance for me." She then leaned forward thoughtfully. "There is one other bit though that causes me to read it in interest."

Looking up from her own ice cream, Ryuuhou swallowed before wiping a napkin across her mouth. "Another reason?" When Natsumi nodded, the Light Carrier blinked. "What sort of reason?"

Blinking, Natsumi finally shrugged a bit. "Um, well... It's a bit silly and all. But for some reason, it reminds me of something. Like it should be really, really familiar to me."

Just raising an eyebrow, Niiyodo frowned a bit. If one looked though, they could see amusement in her eyes. "It seems familiar to you, Natsumi-San? Really?" After Natsumi nodded, Niiyodo chuckled. "I see."

Eyes narrowing, Natsumi frowned. "You know something, don't you?"

However, all she got was grins and chuckles which made her huff. At the same time, Harry frowned as he thought it over before nodding. "You know, Natsumi-Chan... you're right. Huh... A lot of it does seem familiar..." With a frown on his face, he turned towards Natsumi. "Maybe we've read similar things elsewhere?"

Giving it some thought, Natsumi finally frowned. "No, I don't think that's it."

Both of them continued to think it over in deep thought before finally shaking it off and shelving it. Then Kunashiri spoke up which caused everyone to look at her. "I like manga too, they're really fun to read." As she nodded, she pulled out a book from somewhere. "I've really enjoyed this one!"

Harry blinked and leaned forward before frowning at the image on the cover of a ghost girl. One that looked really familiar. And when he looked at the title, he knew why. "Wait... 'Yūrei no kōkan gakusei, Myrtle-Chan.'" With another blink, Harry gave Kunashiri a look. "Where did you get that from?"

With a confused expression on her face, Kunashiri scratched her head. "I bought it from Akigumo the other day." Then she nodded. "It's a really fun read!"

As Harry placed his head on the table, Natsumi raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Hold on for a moment... Myrtle? As in..."

Slowly, Harry nodded. "Myrtle as in the ghost Myrtle who resides at Hogwarts? Yes." With a sigh, Harry sat up and held out his hand. "Could I have a look at it?"

Unsure, Kunashiri looked down at the manga before handing it over. "Um, sure, I guess..."

Gently taking it, the black haired wizard flipped it to look at the back with Natsumi leaning against him to also read it. "'Poor, Myrtle-Chan. It was not enough that she died in school, but the Afterlife didn't get much better. Choosing to come back as a ghost to haunt her school, somehow her paperwork got all mixed up! So instead of haunting a British boarding school, she is instead stuck in Tokyo all by herself at a Japanese middle school! Between normal school cliques, crushes, and needing to do homework, Myrtle-Chan has her work cut out for her! And that's not counting the Yokai owned ramen shop down the street or the odd alien invasion! If her life was boring, her unlife certainly isn't!'"

For several moments there was utter silence as everyone outside of Kunashiri stared at the manga. On Natsumi's face there was an odd expression before she sighed. "I... I just..."

All Harry did was nod at that. "Yeah... I know."

With a bemused expression on her face, Montana turned to Kunashiri and shook her head. "And how much did you pay for this? Especially with Akigumo."

Kunashiri shrugged a bit as she scooped up another spoonful. "Not much, Akigumo-San is going to be selling them at ComiKet." She then grinned. "And they're already selling like hotcakes!" Then Kunashiri's eyes widened some as she realized what Harry had said earlier. "Wait, did you say that you know Myrtle-Chan!? Really?"

More then slightly wierded out, Harry coughed. "Well, um, yes? I mean, she's a ghost who haunts my school, so..."

Eyes wide, Kunashiri squealed. "Is there anyway that you could get me to meet her? Because that would be amazing! Myrtle-Chan is so awesome!"

Just blinking, Harry stared at her and then at the manga. "... Now I wonder how Myrtle would react to both a manga based on her and having fans..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

In a dress shirt and pants, Harry stretched a bit as the Sun continued to slowly move behind the horizon. A smile was on his face as he looked to the side to where a nervous Niiyodo was in a sundress. "Excited for tonight?"

Relaxing a little, Niiyodo only nodded some with a slight smile on her face. "Hai, Harry-Chan." She then played a bit with her dress. "I just wished that I had something better for tonight."

Only chuckling, Harry placed his hands behind his head. "Well, it looks pretty good on you and it's not like it's a formal party." Shrugging, Harry continued. "It's just to say goodbye to Wanko, Regina, Revina, Supprin, and the others. Ron's heading back tomorrow with Percy and Warspite... And so is Hanna and Eugen."

A frown on her face, Niiyodo nodded some to herself. "That's true enough, I suppose. I'm rather going to miss having Hanna around."

Sadly sighing, Harry fought back the urge to kick a stone. "Yeah, I'm really going to miss Hanna while she's back in Germany." Then his expression lit up. "But she said that next year I'll be able to head over there and check out some things."

Hand on his shoulder, Niiyodo gave him a nod. "See? Now you got something to look forward to." Turning back to straightening her dress, she sighed. "I hope that the party goes well."

With a shrug, Harry smiled. "It will, just you see, Niiyodo-Chan." Just then, he spotted DesDiv6 walking towards them and waved. "Hibiki-Chan! Akatsuki-Chan! Inazuma-Chan! Ikazuchi-Chan! Tenryuu-Oba and Tatsuta-Oba! Over here!"

Grinning, Tenryuu guided over the rest to him. Much to Harry's surprise, she was in a dress as well. "Heya, Kiddo. Ready for the party?"

Simply nodding, Harry grinned right back. "Yup! I can't wait!" He then turned to Hibiki who said hi to him and then turned back to her phone. Much to Harry's confusion, she seemed to be really interested in something on it. "Hibiki-Chan?"

Tenryuu glanced over and then sighed at her. "Hibiki-Chan, what have I told you? Now put that away until after the party."

For her part, Hibiki blushed and looked down. "Sorry, Kaa-San."

However, Harry just moved over and frowned thoughtfully. "What were you looking at, Hibiki-Chan? Seemed like you were really interested."

Beside her sister, Akatsuki shook her head. "Something about big bears up in Russia. I don't see why when they're not cute."

Confused, the black haired wizard blinked and then turned back to Hibiki. "Bears? What sort?"

Glancing at Tenryuu who only sighed and then nodded, Hibiki pulled out her phone and showed Harry. "They discovered a bear up in Russia." At the curiosity, Hibiki smiled a bit. "In Kamchatka and it's the biggest."

Just watching the video, which while in Russian showed an absolutely massive dead bear, Harry blinked. "Bergman's Bear found?" Then his eyes widened some and he pointed at it. "I've seen those before!"

That caught Inazuma's attention. "Hwawa?! You have, Nanodesu? Where?"

Silent for a moment, Harry finally nodded. "Yeah, they're in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Their Kamchatka God Bears."

Yet again, there was silence as everyone turned to him and it was Tatsuta who spoke up after raising an eyebrow. "Wait, you mean wizards have known about them?" When Harry nodded, she narrowed her eyes. "I suppose that they've been hiding them."

Nodding, Harry frowned as the video switched to another one, which showed the bear alive and attacking a much smaller brown bear. "Yeah, they're spell resistant which makes them magical beasts. They can kill an unwary wizard, so..."

Once more, Harry shrugged which made Ikazuchi snort. "That's it? No super powerful magic abilities? No frost breath? Just... magic resistant?"

Rather amused, the wizard snickered. "Pretty much, though in the book it said some Russian wand makers use claws from it for wand cores and that parts can be used in potions. Besides, look at flobberworms. They provide potions ingredients so they're covered up too."

For several seconds he was stared at before Tenryuu pinched her nose and let out a sigh. "I'm not even going to ask anymore, I really am not."

Shrugging, Harry turned back to the video in time to see them go back to the dead bear. "So how big was it, Hibiki-Chan? Because it looks pretty huge there and the book says they get really big."

With a glance at him, Hibiki quickly read again as they continued to walk and then nodded. "About thirteen feet tall, Harry-Chan. They thought it was a mutant, but... they found others not too far away via helicopter." She then frowned a bit. "They think that it might be related to ancient Polar bears due to DNA."

A frown on his face, Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Huh... The book never said that." Then he shook his head with a grin. "Kind of cool actually."

However, there was a worried expression on Niiyodo's face. "Harry-Chan? You said that the magicals covered these up, right?" When he nodded, her worry deepened. "Doesn't that mean that if it's been 'discovered' now, that's a problem?"

Thoughtful, Harry considered it before finally shrugging with a snort. "The magical world's going to be revealed anyways, Niiyodo-Chan. Besides, I remember reading that they're letting the less magical animals get found by non-magicals because then they can concentrate on hiding others."

Niiyodo only frowned before nodding. "I see..." Internally though, her thoughts were awhirl. 'I wonder... Could I track how far the Statute is broken by how many animals get discovered...'

Before she could get anymore in her thoughts though, Harry grabbed her hand and started to pull her forward. "We're here, Niiyodo-Chan!"

Recognizing one of the empty warehouses, Niiyodo nodded as she let herself be pulled along with a giggle. "So we're having the party here, Harry-Chan?" Just then, the door opened and they could hear the music blasting out with lights flashing. From inside Ron stumbled out with Warspite in her wheelchair, both of them gulping down air before the door closed cutting off sound. "Warspite-San? Ron-San?"

The two looked up and Ron waved to them. "Hey there, mate. Finally here for the party?"

With a glance at the door, Harry nodded though he was rather amused at the whole thing. "Yeah, you too?" As the two nodded, Harry noticed that Warspite seemed winded and was fanning herself. "Something wrong?"

Much to his surprise though, Warspite giggled a bit. "Oh no, it was just that things are getting rather stuffy in there and we needed some fresh air." Flashing him a grin, she shook her head. "Though the Abyssals are providing some air conditioning."

Quickly nodding, Ron jerked his thumb at the door. "Oh yeah, speaking of the Abyssals, Supprin is getting into a contest of the DJs with, um... Ashigara I think she's called."

Blinking, Harry looked between them. "Wait, she's getting into a contest against Ashigara-Oba?" At their nods, he grinned. "Okay, this is going to be awesome."

Lightly laughing, Warspite nodded. "I do suppose that is one way of putting it, Harry." Her expression softening, she tilted her head a bit. "Though I have heard that we have you to thank for this, Harry."

Only shrugging, Harry grinned a bit sheepishly. "Well... Some people missed the reception after the treaty, so, um... I thought that it would be nice if they had a party that they could go to." He then rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not a big deal, especially as it's not fancy."

Moments later though, he blinked as Niiyodo hugged him tightly. "Yes, it is." She pulled back some to seemingly examine him before nodding. Before Harry could do anything, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." Pulling him towards the door, Niiyodo smiled. "And I call the first dance for you."

Needless to say, it was a confused Harry who was soon pulled into the warehouse as a bemused DesDiv6 followed.

 

[darthcourt10]

sasahara17

I had a quick look through the threadmarked snips and chapters, so I'm pretty sure this hasn't been done before. If it has, apologies. If it hasn't… it's about damn time someone wrote it!

-=-

Long before Harry went to Hogwarts, when he was much younger…

-=-

It was if the atmosphere in the clubhouse had dropped several degrees, and this time Hoppo had nothing to do with it.

Matsuda Aki and the Harry Potter-Nagato stared each other down with cold, furious looks from across the now ineffective Kotatsu. The bystanders, Hoppo, Inazuma, Hibiki and Akatsuki, had fled the heated table and were now huddled together in a corner, attempting to stay out of the line of fire.

Anyone watching the scene would get a sense that what was happening was similar to the Mexican standoffs seen in Hollywood westerns.

Then Harry spoke.

"My Mum's a Battleship. A proud member of the Big Seven, in fact," Harry said, folding his arms stubbornly while throwing down the metaphorical gauntlet for Ikazuchi, "Your Mum's a hopped up big destroyer minder, and my Mum's a battleship."

"And my Mum's killed battleships," Ikazuchi interjected defiantly, "With Waterline, too. How many ship girls can boast they've taken out Abyssal Battleships at literal knife fighting ranges with an actual blade? Not many... and your Mum is certainly not one of them."

"My Mum has 16 inch guns with an effective range of 30 kilometers. She doesn't need to get into a knife fight like your Mum does." Harry said.

"Aki-chan, Harry-chan, please stop." Inazuma pleaded to them from her little corner, prompting a frightened Hoppo, Hibiki and Akatsuki to nod along with her. "Friends shouldn't fight, nanodesu!"

Unfortunately, Inazuma's words fell upon deaf ears, and Harry and Ikazuchi continued.

"That's just equipment, not skill," Ikazuchi grinned so widely, Harry could have sworn he was looking at a Re-Class, "My mum's equipment is out of date even compared to me, but she's a thousand times more awesome than I am, and I use a boat anchor to beat Abyssal face in! Using a sword to kill a battleship? That's pure skill, right there, and that's awesome."

"But she's not more awesome than my Mum." Harry maintained.

"Oh, really? How many more confirmed kills does my Mum have and your Mum have again? Whose Mum slew a Re-Class abyssal in single combat on live television?" Ikazuchi winked at Harry, "This girl's Mum. My Mum's more awesome."

Harry bristled at Ikazuchi's cocky smirk, especially since he knew Tenryuu's 'kill count' was technically higher than Nagato's. His mum hadn't gone on as many missions as Tenryuu due to her duties as the Secretary Ship, and even when she did Nagato was often acting as part of a larger fleet, thus reducing the opportunities for Nagato to show her prowess in battle.

He was confident his Mum was more skilled than Ikazuchi's Mum, but since Nagato took to the field so rarely, Harry knew the amount of ammunition he had paled in comparison to what Ikazuchi could draw upon. Maybe it better for Harry to take another line of approach than be caught in a slugging match with Ikazuchi. There was other low hanging fruit he could pursue to win this debate.

"My Mum is the Secretary Ship of the Naval Base." Harry said, metaphorically ordering a full left rudder and steering clear of the existing topic, "She's one of the highest ranking ship girls in the entire country. She's responsible for the protection of Japan and the East Pacific, and has the direct ear of the Admiral-"

"So does Hoshou. And Ooyodo. And Kongou… especially Kongou." Ikazuchi said, mentally ticking off the large number of people who interacted with Admiral Goto on a daily basis.

"Ah, but how many of those people would the Admiral listen to when it comes to strategy?" Harry threw his arms out in a universal 'come at me bro' gesture, "My Mum is one of the best naval commanders in the world. Her plans are responsible for winning wars and saving lives. Everyone respects her for her brilliant mind, unshakable nerves and leadership. Your Mum is just a ship girl. A very good ship girl, but only just a ship girl … my Mum is a leader."

"So? Soldiers can be just as awesome as officers. We win battles!"

"And my Mum is the one who will win the war," Harry countered, pressing the advantage, "So what if she doesn't have a high confirmed kill count? My Mum's defeated more Abyssals using a map, a compass and a ruler than your Mum's done with that big knife of hers."

"But that's boring, not awesome," Ikazuchi bit her lip, clearly unsettled by the fact she was now on the back foot, "This is a contest about awesomeness, not how good your Mum is at paperwork."

"Nelson, Yi Shun and Togo are awesome, and they used maps, compasses and rulers," Harry fired back triumphantly, "they all did paperwork too! Face it Matsuda, MY MUM IS COOLER THAN YOUR MUM!"

"NEVER! MY MUM IS THE COOLEST! HAVE AT THEE!" Ikazuchi bellowed, grabbing a nearby pillow and launching herself across the Kotatsu in defiance of Harry's declaration to protect her mum's honor.

Inazuma, Hoppo, and Akatsuki screamed in terror as Harry and Ikazuchi promptly started the most vicious pillow fight in the Naval Base's history in the middle of their clubhouse. Hibiki for her part, merely looked at the chaos, shook her head and gave a long, weary sigh.

"This is not Khorosho."

-=-

MY MUM IS BETTER THAN YOUR MUM!



This snip was indirectly inspired by 'The Crying Battleship' by Watanote from the KANCOLLE DENGEKI COMIC ANTHOLOGY.

-=-

A/N – And that's it for this rather short snippet.

I thought it would only be appropriate that, since there are so many Mum boats on the Naval base, at some point some of their children should get into an argument about which of their Mums is better/cooler/awesomer/prettier/etc… Of course, children being stubborn, bullheaded and immature means that these debates invariably end up going nowhere (except in a hilarious direction).

This particular contest was between a daughter of Chunniboatmom and a daughter of Nagamom, but I can easily see the 'action' spread to supporters of Carrierboatmom, Sub-TenderMom, and HMS Hermia's TeenWitchMomboat (among other Momboats) as time goes by… and that isn't even exploring how the Momboats themselves will react when they realize there is some sort of competition about who among their number is the bestest Momboat ever.

This could be fun!

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The first thing that hit them when they entered the warehouse was the music. And that was quite literally as it struck them as almost a physical blow. Beside Harry, Niiyodo's eyes widened as she could feel her hull almost vibrating from the music. Suddenly, she frowned as she caught sight of something and tapped Harry on the shoulder. "Um... Harry-Chan?" Having gotten his attention, she pointed to one area of the room. "Is that RO-San over there? And who is that with her?"

Blinking, Harry turned in that direction and shrugged at the sight of blonde girls who looked a lot like how RO did back when she was Yu. "Um, I think that those are Uboats..." For a moment he frowned before he nodded. "Yeah, those are UBoats."

A laugh caused them to turn to where Hanna made her way over with something in her hands. "Ja! Those are the UBoats that came from Germany with Admiral Hartmann." Taking a swing of her drink, she smacked her lips and nodded. "As soon as they heard a party was going on, they rushed over."

Simply raising an eyebrow as she watched Hanna continue to drain her drink, Niiyodo frowned. "You're not drinking alcohol, are you?"

Hanna only returned the frown before she sighed. "No, it's just a ginger beer float." Expression turning slightly sour, she looked across the room with a small pout to where Harry could just make out Eugen. "If this was back in Germany, then I could have some beer. But Japan is different." Then Hanna gave a shrug. "Still, it is all good! A lively party with friends and family, good food and drink! And in the end, that is all that we need."

Chuckling, Harry shook his head with a grin. "Well, I'm not going to ask if you're enjoying yourself, Hanna."

Only placing her free arm over his shoulders, Hanna leaned down. If Harry was older and another sort of boy, they would have been grinning at the possible sight that they could sneak a peak at. Harry though just kept his eyes on his friend's face. "Ja, after all we're alive and is that not worth celebrating? Perhaps after my drink we could head out for a dance?"

To her amusement, Niiyodo inched a bit closer to Harry. "Actually, Harry-Chan promised me the first dance."

For a few moments, Hanna sipped her drink before smirking and nodding. "Perhaps later then." Giving a small nod, she smiled at Niiyodo. "I leave him in your hands."
Even though he was confused, Harry turned back to see Niiyodo with a small blush on her face as she watched Hanna walk back into the crowd. Shaking off that confusion though, he frowned a bit as he looked out at the dance floor. "Do you see anywhere to dance, Niiyodo-Chan?"

Frowning, Niiyodo stood up on her tip toes before nodding. "Right over there, Harry-Chan! There's a spot where we could get in." As they made their way over to the place she had spotted, Niiyodo suddenly giggled. "I think that Onee-Sama is enjoying herself."

Rather bemused, Harry soon spotted Ooyodo on the stage behind where Supprin was DJing with Percy, the two of them enjoying themselves. Though Harry swore that Percy looked redder then normal. "Yeah, it looks like they're really enjoying it."

With a giggle, Niiyodo nodded as she pulled Harry out into an empty spot on the dance floor and began to dance with him. "Mm-hm. It's great to see her enjoying herself and relaxing a bit."

Both of them danced for several minutes before they moved off the dance floor as Ashigara took her turn and played more energetic music. As they did so, Harry spotted Hoppou along with Revina in what had turned into a mosh pit close to the stage. The two Abyssals slamdancing as the music continued. It did not help that Wokyuu was just outside said mosh pit looking utterly lost and confused at what was going on. Turning towards Niiyodo, who was flushed but full of happiness, Harry gestured at a sign hung up on the wall. "Want to go and get something to eat?"

Just as she was about to answer, Niiyodo's stomach growled and she blushed some. But seconds later, her smile was back as they made their way through the various people at the party. Coming out of the crowd, Niiyodo smiled at the sight of the refreshments. Instead of the fancy champaigns and other drinks at the reception, there were two bars. One was for alcohol and the other was for non-alcoholic drinks. Patting Harry on the shoulder, Niiyodo pointed at the alcoholic bar. "I'll be over there, Harry-Chan, okay?"

All Harry did was nod and grin a bit up at her. "Sure, I'll go get something for myself." When he arrived though, he had to blink at the sight that met him. "Kaga-Oba? You're the bartender?"

There was an amused look on Kaga's face as she nodded. "Hai, I'm the bartender for the next hour or so." She then nodded at Jane who hopped onto another bar stool. "So, what can I get for the two of you?"

Glancing at Harry, Jane looked up at the menu hung up and then pointed. "Can I have a Shirley Temple?"

Only giving her a slight nod, Kaga's lips twitched. "You can, normal or using lemon-lime soda?" After telling her normal, she turned to Harry. "And you, Harry-Chan?"

For a few moments, Harry was thoughtful before he nodded. "Um... How about the Yamato Fruit Punch."

Slowly, Kaga nodded at that. "And excellent choice you two." To the two children's amusement, Kaga acted as if she was a bartender at a real bar as she went through various flouishes as she made the drinks. Once she was finished, Kaga then placed the drinks in front of them. "And here you go, one Shirley Temple, traditional, and one Yamato Punch." She then gave Harry a wink. "Careful, the taste will hit you like the guns of a Battleship."

That got her giggles and chuckles which made her gain a small grin.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The very first thing that Harry realized when he woke up was that he had an all too familiar feeling in his mouth. One that he recognized easily. Moments later, he recognized the second thing which was that he was being cuddled. Slowly, Harry opened his eyes and glanced upwards only to blink.

Mainly because Regina holding him close was the last thing that he had expected to see.

But sure enough, said Re-class was there holding him close to her chest with a small smile on her face. Her tail, meanwhile, rested on top of his legs as if it was cuddling him as well. Then Harry blinked as he heard a mumble and felt warm breath ghost against his ear. With a slow turn of his head, Harry raised an eyebrow as he realized that Hanna was cuddling him from behind. At the same time, he also discovered that all three of them were laying on top of Shinano who had a peaceful smile on her face.

A frown on his face, Harry tried to put together what had happened the night before. 'Let's see... I had several Yamato Punch drinks, including a Space Battleship Yamato Punch... Something about it mostly being syrup...' Then it hit him as he remembered the massive sugar rush that he had. One that he had kept going through most of the night while dancing and playing various games.

Then they had left to continue it as a much smaller party at his mother's apartment to her amused exaspiration. Except, by the time they had reached the Nagato-Potter family quarters, the sugar rush for them was rapidly turning into a sugar crash and ended up with them all falling asleep in one giant cuddlepile. Something that was confirmed when Harry glanced into the corner and could see Haruna and Rose cuddled close to each other, the Battleship protectively holding the tsukumogami close. A glance at another corner showed Hoppou being cuddled by Wokyuu and Wanko, all three peacefully sleeping.

Suddenly, Regina shifted a bit and Harry turned back to her to look at her face. When he did so, he met two red eyes staring into his own and a blush across her cheeks. Keeping his voice down, Harry smiled up at her. "Good morning, Regina."

Chewing her lip, Regina slowly nodded before whispering back. "G-good morning, Harry." With a look around, her eyebrows furrowed. "What happened last night?"

Just about to shrug, Harry stopped himself at the last moment. "I think that we had a sugar rush last night. Nothing too big really." A smile bloomed on his face as he nodded some. "Which lead to us all cuddled together."

Needless to say, that confused the poor Abyssal as she thought it over. "... Sugar rush?" Memories came back to her and her blush deepened. Especially at the memories of what she did after having too much sugar running through her. "O-oh... um... Right."

Still smiling, Harry nodded before he chuckled as softly as he could. "You're a pretty good dancer, Regina. And so is your tail." If he could have, he would have tilted his head some. "Uh, I did have a dance with your tail, right?"

Very slowly, Regina nodded though she blushed a bit. "You did after you promised to give it a dance..." Frowning thoughtfully, she looked at said tail who was still asleep on Harry's leg. 'It did enjoy that dance...'

With his own glance at Regina's tail, Harry shook his head slightly and turned back to Regina. "Yeah, I did." A frown on his face, Harry gave a glance around. "... Might be a bit hard to get a drink though. My mouth really needs it."

After a moments thought, Regina's sleeve moved a bit and one of her Shades scrambled out and then off her. Soon, it disappeared around a corner and not long after reappeared with a glass of water in it's tiny, spined arms. Once it arrived back at Regina, she took it and held it for Harry. "A-ah, um, here you go."

There was a small smile on Harry's face before he nodded. "You'll have to hold it for me because, well... I can't really move without waking Hanna or Shinano-Chan." Getting a nod of agreement, he sipped the water until it was gone with the Shade taking the now empty glass back. "Thank you, Regina."

Softly smiling, the Re Class shook her head. "You're very welcome, Harry." However, not even a few seconds later her face lit up in a blush as Harry snuggled into her. "W-what are you doing, Harry?!"

Only yawning, Harry smacked his lips a bit. "Still too early to get back up, so I'm going back to sleep." Eyes already mostly closed, Harry tilted his head to give her a small smile before pulling her close. "See you... when I wake up, Regina..."

Moments later, he was back asleep with the stunned Abyssal staring at him. Not long after though, she only smiled before placing her own arms around him. 'This... This is rather nice.' Somehow, Regina didn't know how, but the usual angry and hateful whispers at the back of her mind were at best muted, or even silenced at the moment. All she could feel was warmth surrounding her as she closed her eyes. 'Yes, this is very nice.'

Unnoticed by her as her breaths evened out and she drifted off, one of Shinano's eyes was cracked open. A smile crossed her face before she, too, went baack to sleep. The Carrier happy that her friends were all there and happy as well.
___________________________________________________________________________

"Here, try this."

Blinking, Percy turned in the cool, morning air to see a mug held out for him by a slender hand. His eyes then trailed along the arm until they reached Ooyodo who had one eyebrow raised as Supprin took another mug. Taking the offered mug, Percy sniffed it before giving her a questioning look. "Coffee?"

With a snort, Ooyodo shook her head as she sipped her own drink. "Calling it just coffee is doing it a disservice, Percy. This... this is drink from the heavens. Ambrosia which will bring you to full attention."

Simply raising an eyebrow, Percy glanced over at Supprin who seemed to be having a religious experience. Humming, the red haired wizard brought the mug to his lips and took a sip, only for his eyes to widen at the taste that washed across his tastebuds. For a moment, he simply froze before he pulled his mug away and stared at it. "What is this? It's like... like..."

Ooyodo had a small smirk on her face. "As if one took all that was good and right about coffee and created a drink that had such in it? That was as if it was coffee as coffee should be?"

Just boggled, Percy nodded. "That's... about right."

A small smile on her face, the Cruiser shook her head. "I once had this type of coffee called 'Black Blood of the Earth'. To say it was amazing is... putting it mildly." She then looked down at the dark liquid in her mug before giving it another sip. "I've attempted to create my own version. And I think that I succeeded."

To her amusement, Percy shook his head. "I think that you bloody well did more then succeed at it." Frowning, he narrowed his eyes. "Did you use magic?"

With a laugh, Ooyodo shook her head. "No magic, just a few odds and ends that I've gathered." Suddenly, a interested look crossed her face. "Wait, is there magic coffees out there?"

Percy gave a snort at that and gave her a small grin. "Yes, there is as a matter of fact. Some are rather amazing to taste..."

Now looking over at him, Supprin gave him a look that send a shiver down his back. "Perhaps you would be willing to take Ooyodo and myself one day to try magical coffee? I think that the both of us would like that."

Despite what his brothers would say, a fool Percy was not and he bought himself some time to think by taking another sip. Letting the rich drink wash across his tongue, he hummed before finally nodding. "I think that I would like that myself."

There was a victorious look on Ooyodo's face before she nodded. "All three of us would like that."

With another sip, Percy frowned before turning towards the Cruiser with an intrigued look. "You said that you made this necter of the gods, right?" Getting a sound of acknowledgement, he leaned in close to her seemingly not noticing Ooyodo freeze. "Would it be possible for you to tell me?"

After a moment's thought, Ooyodo tilted her head to the side. "Well... we do have some time before you both leave. And I suppose that I can show you my set up quickly..."

Smirking, she turned and gestured for the two to follow her as they continued to softly discuss among themselves. A conversation that all three were deeply into to the point where they didn't notice a grinning Kongou watching them from a distance. Said Battleship giving a nod. "You go, Dess." Then she winkled her nose. "Though I wish that they were more interested in black tea..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Gulping down some scalding coffee, the US Marine in the Yokosuka Shipgirl Mess raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. While he could have gone to one of the other Mess halls on the base, he was often used as a wrangler for the younger American shipgirls such as the Destroyers and Destroyer-Escorts. It helped that the coffee was good as well. However, even he could only look on in bemusement at the sight of a gaggle of shipgirls and Abyssals that walked in. In particular, the sight of Harry perched on Regina's tail looking as comfortable as could be. "Hey there, Kiddo."

With a grin, Harry waved at him. "Taggart!" He then turned to a confused Regina and nodded his head. "This is Sergeant Flynn Taggart. Sergeant, this is Regina."

Simply nodding, he shook the hand of the bashful Abyssal with a small grunt. "Nice to meet you."

All Regina did was give him a slight smile before nodding herself. "And it's, um, nice to meet you too I guess?"

Raising an eyebrow at them both, Taggart slowly shook his head in amusement. "Well, I'll leave you ladies to your breakfast." He then turned to Willie with a frown. "Ready to head back out, Willie?"

There was a grin on Willie's face as she nodded and gave a salute. "Yup! You bet that I am!"

Lips turned slightly upward, Taggart jerked his thumb towards one of the tables. "By the way, saw your brother over there with Iowa. No idea what they were talking about, but Iowa had that grin on her lips."

Highly amused, he took a sip of his coffee as Willie's eyebrow twitched and then nodded. "Thank you for that, I'll handle it from here... So if you'll excuse me."

Taggert only waved a hand as Willie stormed off. He was about to leave when Harry cleared his throat and he turned his head towards the grinning boy. 'He's up to something.' Outwardly, he frowned slightly. "Yeah, Kiddo? Something up?"

An utterly innocent look on his face, Harry blinked. "Well... I was wondering how you got here since the doors were still intact." The Marine's eyebrows furrowed a bit in confusion which only made Harry's grin grow. "So I was wondering if you used the red card, the blue card, or the yellow card? Maybe all three?"

For several moments there was silence as Taggart stared at him and then narrowed his eyes. "Kid, that joke is literally older then you are. How do you even know it?"

Snickering, Harry shrugged. "Naka-Nee told me about it."

With a sigh, Taggart shook his head and began to walk away. "The traffic cone told you about it. Why? Because of course she would."

Noticing the looks of confusion, Harry shook his head. "I'll explain later." That got him slow nods and shrugs as they went back to the far more important business of getting breakfast together. Once they were all sat down, Harry looked over at Regina with a sad smile on his face before he hugged her. "I'll miss you, Regina."

Brightly blushing, Regina hesitated only a few seconds before hugging him back. "And I'll miss you too, Harry. But at least we can talk with each other, right?"

Quickly nodding, Harry grinned at her. "Yup!"

Shinano frowned a bit before making a note in her log to talk with Regina over the internet. A thought then occurred to her and she turned to Harry and Regina with a slight frown. "Um, is she going to join the forum?"

Confused, Regina looked between them. "Forum? What forum?"

Taking a bite of food, Harry chewed and then swallowed before he answered. "Shipgirls Online. It's a forum run and used by shipgirls so if you have internet access..." For a few seconds, Harry trailed off in thought. "I'll have to talk with Naka-Nee, but I don't see any problem with it. Maybe add 'Verified Abyssal' as a tag or something. I still don't understand what possessed them to use a text generator as a basis..."

On Regina's face there was an adorable look of confusion. "There's a forum for shipgirls?" At their nods, she tilted her head to the side. "Oh."

Fork in the air, Harry gestured with it. "Yeah, South Dakota and some of the others made it. Eventually it crashed, but Naka-Nee and several others rebuilt it as an actual forum. The Fanworks section is pretty cool, especially some of the fanfics for Changing Destiny." Becoming thoughtful, Harry blinked a bit. "There's also a section open only for shipgirls and their families where they talk. Don't know if you'd be able to talk there or if we'll have to set up another section for that."

Scowling, Hibiki stabbed her fork into a unfortunate pancake. "Thankfully as some of the posters on the public sections can be annoying."

Beside her, Inazuma nodded. "Yeah, Nanodesu. I mean, I like talking with some of the people but others." A shudder ran through her and she shook her head. "No thank you, Nanodesu."

With a grin on her face, Ikazuchi shook her head. "But best of all is when you got Musashi and Jersey shitposting in the Vs. section. Just put up a thread about whether the Iowa class is better then the Yamato or vice versa and watch the fireworks fly!"

That caused Shinano to pause and turn towards the Destroyer. "Wait, that was you?"

A sigh escaped from Harry as he nodded. "That was her. Hence why those of us with Mod previalages need to lock them a few pages in. It's almost as bad as when Musashi decides to post in the World of Warships threads." Various others made sounds of agreement. "They almost get infracted as much as Aso."

Raising her fork, Hanna nodded. "By the way, did you catch her newest sockpuppet in the news section?"

Once more, Harry sighed. "Yeah, I banned it as soon as I noticed." Suddenly, he smirked. "She does make it way too easy to spot her though."

Looking around, Regina only blinked before she shrugged it off. Soon enough the conversation turned to other matters with Niiyodo speaking up. "So you're heading down to the Philippines with the convoy?"

Slowly noddng, Regina frowned. "We're going the same way so, um, Lady Wanko offered it. I think she said it's the first step to proving ourselves with the treaty signed?"

Around her, others nodded as they continued to talk and eat at the same time. All too soon though, breakfast was over and, not long after, Harry was waving goodbye to Wanko and the other Abyssals as they began their journey back south.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Leaves and twigs crunched under booted feet as the group lead by an older man with greying brown hair. "You said that you saw something up this way, Sean?" Turning towards the winded younger man, he just placed a hand on Sean's back. "Relax and get your breath back."

Slowly, Sean nodded some and pointed. "Ye-yeah, I found something just past these trees. You won't believe it." Moments later, they were through the tree line and he twirled in place. "See, Captain? What do you think?"

For several moments, the Captain examined what was before them. In front of them was a massive stone wall that encircled a village or small town. All around, there were huts made of rocks piled on top of each other and sod roofs. But in the middle of the town rose up a large hill with a path to the top and there, at the top, were standing stones. It was something seemingly from a history book. Considering what he was seeing, the Captain turned to the two US Coast Guard cadets beside him and frowned. "So, what do you think?"

The two glanced at each other before the female of the two coughed. "Well, we're just here as representatives so..."

With a small snort, the Captain shook his head. "True, but what are your thoughts? Surely you have some?"

A small frown on her face, the young woman scratched her head. "Well... on the other island we didn't find any habitation besides what looked like one of those Viking homes we found that girl in. But..." Sharing a look with her fellow cadet, she shrugged and held up a video camera as he did the same with a normal one. "We got plenty of video and before we leave we were ordered to make records."

Chuckling, the Captain nodded. "That sounds like a fine idea." As he started to walk forward, he gestured for the rest of the group to follow. "Well, come on lads! We're explorers right out from one of the stories I read my granddaughter. But keep in sight! All of you! We'll make our way to that hill over there to better see the whole settlement."

Nods and sounds of agreement could be heard as the various men and women spread out some. Walking beside the Captain, the young woman glanced at him with a slight frown. "So, um... you have a granddaughter?"

That got her a small chuckle from the older man as he nodded. "I do, and she's the apple of my eye..." A sigh then escaped him. "Even if I don't see her too often."

Just wincing, the young woman cleared her throat. "Um, sorry for asking then."

In reply, the Captain turned and looked at her before bringing one hand down on her shoulder. "Now then lass, nothing to be sorry for. I'm at fault for it after all." Grimacing, he shook his head. "My son and I, we had a falling out. He didn't want to be a fisherman like his old man and left for other things."

Placing her hand on his, the young woman slowly nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that, Captain Jack. But hey, we'll get to see them soon enough."

Slowly, the Captain nodded some. "I suppose so." Narrowing his eyes, the Captain let out a small chuckle. "Odd how being near death as we were when those monsters chased us makes one think and reconsider things. First thing that I am going to do when I get back? Tell my son that I am proud of him and will always be so. Then I'll give my little Anemone a hug like nothing else."

Eyebrow raising, the USCG Cadet chuckled. "Anemone, Sir?"

There was a twinkle in his eye as he shook his head. "Aye, not her name. But perfect for her just like she's a perfect little girl. Maybe a bit into books, but I love her with all my heart." Reaching up, he rubbed a bit at his chest which made the cadet frown. Catching it, the Captain shook his head. "Now, don't you worry any. Just a bit of strain is all."

Narrowing her eyebrows, the Cadet slowly nodded. "Of course, Sir." A moment later, she decided to change the subject some. "So... any idea as to where we are?"

While walking along, the Captain was silent and the Cadet was about to say something when he nodded and answered in a quiet voice. "I think that I know where we are, but at the same time I hope that I am wrong." Seeing the confusion, he let out a large sigh. "I've been a fisherman off Britain for most of my life, Miss Claire. I've heard and seen things that you wouldn't believe in my years."

On Claire's face, there was a frown. "Like those monsters that was chasing our ship, your boat, and the others?"

Very slowly, the Captain nodded. "I've never heard the like of those, no. But I suspect that many who met them never got the chance to tell their tales, if you catch my drift. No, I mean old legends and such." Reaching into his pocket, stick of gum and popped it into his mouth. At the look, he gave a grin. "My granddaughter. She told me all about how smoking is bad and so I decided to try some of this gum."

Chuckling, the Cadet nodded. "Of course. She knows a lot your granddaughter." After getting a nod, she frowned as they reached the bottom and began to climb the path towards the top. "So you know where this is?"

With a nod, the Captain adjusted his cap with a snort. "I thought that it was only a legend." Having gotten above the trees, he pointed back the way that they had come to where the Eagle sat sheltered in the channel between two islands, several smaller fishing boats, a cargo ship, and three sailing ships by her. "An island split in half by a channel, enshrouded in fog and off the coast of Ireland. A mystical place... the island of Hy-Brasil."

That got him a confused glance as the Cadet continued to film their surroundings. Behind her, the rest of the group continued their climb as well. "Hy-Brasil?"

A curse behind her caused her to turn to one of the others following. "Dammit, Captain! If we're on that island then no wonder you're worried!"

Now completely lost, the two Cadets looked between the fishing crew and the silent Captain. "Why? What's so bad about the island."

Slowly, the Captain turned and gave their surroundings a piercing look. "Because the island does not appear except for every seven years, Lass. It appears out of the fogs and then vanishes, not to be seen for another seven years. And we've been trapped here by that blasted fog for almost a week. But it's breaking up and we'll be heading home." Leaning in, he gave her a frown. "We're no longer in the land of the mortals, we're in the Realm of the Fair Folk, we are."

Bemused, the male Cadet made a snort. "You mean that there's fairies and stuff here?"

Moments later, one of the fisherman clapped a hand over his mouth and looked around. "Lad, if you're smart then don't be insulting the Fair Folk. Not here where their power is strongest."

Then the fisherman released him as they looked around them nervously. But they were calmed by their Captain shaking his head. "If the Fair Folk be around, then they're not bothering us. At least, not yet." Eyes narrowed as they reached the top, he nodded some. "Likely want us gone as much as we want to be gone. Still, best not to borrow any trouble."

Standing on top of the hill, Claire looked around before pointing towards a building. "Should we check there? It looks like a meeting hall of some sort."

With a nod, the Captain frowned. "It does at that. If there's any sign of where people may be, perhaps there... though best not to take any food or drink if offered."

As it turned out, there was no need for that warning as a half hour later they stood just inside the large hall. Behind the Captain and Claire, one of the fisherman crossed himself and began to mutter as the male Cadet swallowed and turned to his friend. "I don't think that this is a meeting hall, Claire..."

Taking a step forward, the Captain surveyed the room. "No... not a meeting hall, or at least anymore." Before them, the hall stretched out with a central shaft over what had to be a fire pit. Above the pit, there was a spit which still had blackened bones on it and a pot off to the side. Along either side were large, stone tables with stone benches for seats. But that was not what caught the eye. "No, lad, this is a tomb."

Claire only swallowed at the sight of all the skeletons that were sitting at the tables. It looked like they died in the middle of something, their flesh flayed from their bones before they could react. Here and there, a skeleton held a bone in front of their mouths, frozen as they were about to take a bite. Others had goblets raised and over in a corner, one skeleton held a infant's close to her breast. And at the head of the tables, at the far end of the room, there was a giant stone chair upon which a skeleton sat. Upon his brow was a gold circlet and necklaces upon his ribs. "My God... What happened here."

Simply glancing around, the Captain shook his head. "We may never know, Miss Claire. I doubt that anyone will know what happened to them." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught one of his crew reaching out for a goblet. "Smith! Leave that where it sits!"

Jerking back, Smith gave him a look. "But it's just a goblet, Captain."

A stormy expression on his face, the Captain walked up into his face. "You're still young, Smith. But listen to me here, do not touch anything, leave all this to the dead. Do not disturb them and bring bad luck upon us or perhaps whatever felled these poor folk in the middle of their merriment." There were several nods from the other fisherman before the Captain turned back to Claire. "Take your video and photos, but we're going to be leaving as soon as you've gotten enough."

With a slow nod, Claire began to walk deeper into the hall taking video all the time. Thankfully, there was some light coming in from small windows as well as flashlights. She didn't argue with the Captain though as the whole place sent shivers up and down her spine. "You don't need to worry about that, Captain Granger, we'll get done as quickly as we can."

The Captain only kept an eye out as he nodded. "Good to hear, good to hear. After all, I want to see my granddaughter, Hermione again."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts Omake: "Hoppou Vs. The Boogyman"

I've had to go to work early, so no real chapter tonight. But have an omake.
_______________________________________

Tilting her head to the side, Hoppou blinked at her big brother. "Boogeyman, Big Brother?"

A small grimace on his face, Harry slowly nodded. "Yeah... when I was small and, um... at the Dursleys..." Hoppou still didn't know why Harry would wince, only that they were meanies to her Big Brother. Thankfully for them. "Sometimes in the dark I would hear him go on about eating me."

Eyes wide, Hoppou clinched her fists which was rather adorable in her animal pajamas. "Boogeyman would scare Big Brothet and say he was going to eat him? Sounds like a real big meanie."

Chuckling, Harry slowly nodded as he stroked Hoppou's hair. "Pretty much. Never got me though... and why he had a Scottish accent I will never understand. Anyways..." Tapping Hoppou on the nose and making her go cross eyed, Harry grinned. "Don't worry about him, okay?" Once he was at the door, he turned around and shut off the light. "Night Little Sis."

Giving him a smile, Hoppou blew him a kiss. "Night Big Brother."

Just blowing one back, Harry closed the door. All was silent in the room as Hoppou began to drift off only to wake up fully as she heard something in her closet. "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back... I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs. Ach, I'm going to slather you in ranch dressing I am! And then I'm going to get you in mah belly! Just like I wanted ta do wit yeh brother!"

Suddenly sitting up, Hoppou looked at the closet and then walked over. "You big meanie Boogeyman that scare Big Brother?"

There was a snort. "Aye, that was me. All skin and bones he was, but I wanted ta nibble his toes before eating him right u-" Hoppou flung the door open and the Boogeyman could see two red eyes full of anger. "Oh... bugger me sideways."

And then Hoppou stepped into the closet. Several minutes later, Rose poked her head into the room to see Hoppou putting the blankets back on herself. "Were you doing something, Hoppou?"

Looking over her shoulder, Hoppou blinked. "Hoppou just taking care of big meanie Boogeyman... and having a snack."

There was something about that which bothered Rose, but then she shrugged it off. Sometimes Hoppou could be a little bit odd. Giving her a smile, Rose wagged a finger. "You know better then to be eating in bed, Hoppou. Now, you go to sleep and have pleasant dreams, okay?"

All Hoppou did was nod. "Hoppou will! Night, Auntie Rose!"

Nodding, Rose gave her a soft smile. "Good night, Hoppou, sweet dreams." She paused when she was about to close the door at Hoppou humming snitches of song before shrugging it off. Closing the door, Rose just walked off. 'I wonder what sort of song goes "Baby back, baby back, baby back"?'

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Uh, right... Subject change!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The waters of the lake were still for a few seconds before ripples made their way outwards. Said ripples were heading mainly in one direction, almost as if something was moving just below the surface. And soon enough, that something revealed itself as it burst from the water. Water ran off blonde hair as two red eyes glared out from behind a hockey mask. Within only a few minutes, the being had reached shore with one hand holding a large machete. Even as the water streamed off it, the being continued it's march towards the nearby home with none inside knowing.

Meanwhile, inside the home, Vernon Dursley's face had rapidly turned puce and was heading towards violet. His two eyes glared at his unwanted visitor as he growled. "I don't want you freaks here at all! So see here, who the bloody well do you think you are!?"

Eyes widening, Hagrid growled as he leaned forwards. "Who do I think I am? Who the hell do I think I am!?" Suddenly, Hagrid had two orange, triangular glasses on his face. Thrusting his umbrella up, it slammed point first into the ceiling with spiral cracks shooting outwards from the impact. "JUST WHO DO YEH THINK I AM!? I AM THE UMBRELLA THAT WILL PIECE THE HEAVENS! BELIEVE IN THE ME WHO BELIEVES IN YEH, 'ARRY!"

Just then, the Deadite Queen, Petunia, walked in with a grin. "Oh Vernon, whatever shall the neighbours think?"

Pulling out his shotgun, Vernon unloaded it into her. "Sorry Pet, we don't have time for this. Not if we're going to hit the drill sale at S-Mart." He then grinned. "Groovey."

With a blink, Harry glared at them. "You never told me my parents were wizards! Why didn't you tell me the truth!"

Ripper just glared at him before barking. "You wanted the truth? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

Suddenly, a machete smashed through the door. After several hits later, the hockey masked being could be seen glaring into the room. "POI..."

All Harry could do was turn and then blink as Snape was there in the corner reaching out to him. "Did Dumbledore ever tell you what happened to your father, Harry? Did he?"

Only shaking his head, Harry glared at him. "He told me that my father saved you. That's pretty much it."

Chuckling, Snape shook his head and took a step forward. "No, Harry, he lied. Dumbledore lied to you. Harry... I am your father."

Quickly shaking his head, Harry stumbled back as Yuudachi Voorhees continued to bust down the door. "No... NOOOO!"

Upon Snape's face, there was a sickly grin. "Search your heart, Harry. You know it to be true."

There was a burst of light and heat beside Harry and he turned to see a Roomba there in a middle of a burnt area. As the light on it flashed, Bismarck's voice drifted out from it. "Come with me if you want to live."

Getting onto the Roomba, which was shooting at a Naka made out of liquid metal with a shotgun, somehow, Harry's eyes widened. Mainly because suddenly all the colors around him blurred and mixed together as if he was going through a bad drug trip. Just the same, there was a feeling of speed. On top of Bismarck-Roomba though, Harry barely dodged being hit by several things that shot past on their own journeys. One was Kongou using an umbrella, another was Hood in a blue police box. Even South Dakota in a DeLorean nearly hit him, though Kirishima was in the seat beside her wearing an odd vest.

Out of nowhere, Akagi's face appeared in front of them and opened her mouth with them shooting inside...
______________________________________________________________________

Hands waving around, Harry shook his head. "And that was when my dream got weird."

Beside him, Shinano blinked before furrowing her eyebrows. 'Then it got wierd?' Shaking it off, she frowned a bit. "Um, how so?"

Just blinking, Harry became thoughtful. "Um, eventually we came across Haruna, who had a towel around her neck and said 'Haruna is okay. Don't Panic.'. Then Archie appeared from inside a goldfish and started to sing 'Thanks for all the fish' with the other Submarines..."

As he continued, Shinano only tilted her head. 'Um, wait a moment. Archie was singing something about all the fish? I... suppose that sounds like her?'

Meanwhile, Harry continued telling about his dream. "... And then Teitoku said 'Get in the damn Shipgirl, Harry.' and there was a giant version of my Mum, except with this hole in the back of her neck for an entry plug which I had to get into. Hanna soon showed up piloting a giant, four eyed Eugen and we fought Mutslug together..."

Once the black haired boy was done, Shinano frowned some in thought. "Harry-Chan? Do you think that it was the curry that you ate which caused you to have that dream?"

That caused Harry to frown some in confusion. "Curry?"

Slowly, Shinano nodded. "Yes? After all you did eat some curry last night after all."

Blinking, Harry stared at her some. "Wait, that was curry?" Head tilting to the side, he shrugged. "All I know was that Isokaze-Chan asked me to have some last night."

With a wince, Shinano nodded with a sigh. "Um, yes? It was curry that Isokaze-Chan and Hiei-San made it..." Then she frowned some. 'Though... I do suppose that explains a lot about why his dream was so odd.'

An unsure look on his face, Harry gave a small chuckle. "Um... I guess it was nice of them to think of me?"

Unable to help herself, Shinano began to giggle a bit which lead her to blushing as Harry gave a grin. The two of them simply enjoying some time with one another.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

I know that not everyone likes the Saint Brendan's stuff, but something hit me, so... enjoy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Standing on the wharf, Radetzky placed her hands into her pocket as she glanced at the shipgirl and catwoman beside her. Despite the damage done, Thunderchild had healed up rather quickly and was now able to perform short patrols as she got used to her new existence. It helped that the various shipgirls there went out of their way to help her. They knew better then anyone what it meant to be cast adrift in a new world.

Which made the fact that they were welcomed with open arms by the islanders all the better.

That thought caused Radetzky to turn towards Katrina who was watching the ocean calmly. She had gone well out of her way to make sure that the shipgirls were well taken care of now that they were there. In fact, Katrina had gifted them the old ICW compound. A fact which made all of them happy as being in what amounted to a mansion showed more then anything just how much the islanders cared for their comfort. It helped them a lot to be welcomed as they were being that they were a fleet for a country that no longer existed. Even if Saint Brendan's belonged, technically, to Britain they were as alone in the world as K. u. K. Kriegsmarine was. Shaking off her thoughts though, Radetzky noticed that Katrina was looking at her. "Ma'am?"

Lips twitching, the catwoman shook her head. "I was wondering how the work on the... airstrip you are building is going?"

Her own lips curling up in a smile, Radetzky chuckled a bit. "It's going quite well as a matter of fact. Some of the girls have nearly finished compacting down the airstrip itself and the control terminal. It should be ready for the delegation from Britain and the EU to arrive though in a few weeks for their negotiations with you." Seeing the slightly worried look on Katrina's face, she made a motion with her hand. "Do not worry about it, they will help. After all, they sent us to help protect you."

Slowly nodding, Katrina still frowned. "Yes, and for that they have my thanks and gratitude. But please excuse me if I still harbour some doubts. History has shown us to be cautious with those outside the island."

Instead of scorn though, she only got a laugh from Radetzky, though there was something cold in it. "Ah, we know the feeling." Eyes turning distant, Ratdetzky grimaced. "Our own experiences have made us... wary, of trusting others after all, even those who present themselves as open and friendly or honorable. So we of all people can understand where you may be coming from." They soon lapsed into silence before she cleared her throat so as to change the subject. "I must admit, Ma'am, none of us were aware that you had a cargo ship."

Blinking as she was brought out of her own thoughts, Katrina chuckled a bit. "I suppose that it does seem a bit of an oddity. However, as easy as it may seem to simply transport materials through methods such as the Floo, there are a few issues. For example, a person can only carry so much on them even with enlarged spaces. Much easier to use cargo vessels to bring material back and forth, especially with expanded spaces."
Just nodding as that did make sense, the Battleship hummed to herself. "That does make a certain amount of sense, I do suppose. But what sort of cargo vessels does the magical world use? In the non-magical world, they have those monsters they call ships, but the magical portion would not need such a large ship I would guess."

That got her a chuckle from Thunderchild who spoke up and gave her a fanged grin. "Would you believe me if I was to tell you that the magical world mostly uses enchanted wooden vessels right out of the Age of Sail?"

Eyebrows raising, Radetzky looked between them before humming. "I suppose that I would, though it is rather hard to believe. But why use such? Would it not be easier to use a metal hull?"

Sharing a look with Katrina, Thunderchild shook her head as one of her ears twitched and her tail swished a bit. "Wood is far easier to enchant then metal, though perhaps that is because it was once alive. But it holds onto such magic far easier then normal metal ships unless a lot of work has been put into them. There is also the fact that it creates far less questions when a person may make an order among a wooden shipbuilder for a old style vessel then it would for a larger, metal one."

Intrigued, and filing what she had heard away, Radetzky frowned. "But what sort of enchantments are we talking about. I would assume part of it would be to keep away non-magicals. However, I would still have expected them to be spotted on the surface of the ocean by someone."

Only shaking her head, Katrina chuckled. "Despite their looks, most magical vessels are enchanted to travel beneath the waves themselves at speeds equal to the current ones. That is the most difficult portions of the the magic involved, I'm afraid. There's others to evade detection but... unfortunately they do not seem to work on the Abyssals themselves. About the only ones that have little trouble are the truly old ones such as a black hulled one that I have heard talk of down in the Caribbean traveling between the islands. Apparently, it dates back to the Age of Piracy and was used as a pirate vessel back then."

Rather bemused, Radetzky shook her head in disbelief. "A surface vessel that instead travels under the waves like a Unterseeboot? Odd, but not the oddest that I have heard of in this time." Seeing that her two companions seemed amused, she crossed her arms against her chest. "Perhaps you would kindly inform me of the joke."

Having spotted something, Thunderchild pointed out at the water. "You're about to find out the reason why we found such funny."

Confused, Radetzky frowned and turned in the same direction only to stare as a Submarine rose out of the water. It took her a few moments but then her eyebrows raised in shock. "That's a German Unterseebooten! From the Great War!" Whipping her head around, Radetzky stared at the two beside her. "How did you come across such a thing?"

A grimace on her face, Katrina shook her head. "It's a... bit of a story, I'm afraid. During the Great War, there were a few wizards and witches helping out on either side. As the ICW did not have any true warships, we... managed to get an agreement for Thunderchild to perform some patrols to stop anyone from interfering with non-magical shipping in exchange for certain things. As distasteful as it is, there were those who preyed upon non-magical shipping to the benefit of one side or the other. Thankfully, the ICW at that time was slightly more open, unlike when the war with Grindlewald occurred... or more recently."

Thunderchild then took over. "On one of my patrols, we came across her adrift on the waves without any crew onboard. After investigating it, my crew took possession of her and I towed her back here to Saint Brendan's. Due to her being a cargo vessel, she's served as Saint Brandan's main trading vessel elsewhere to the world after they made a few modifications." Smirking, Thunderchild shook her head. "Her crew is experienced enough that she is very hard for the Abyssals to even catch signs of. And she does enjoy the thrill she is getting running the Abyssal blockade. But she does take her time to be careful and only left a trading post in England a week before... you know."

Fist clinching, Radetzky's cheek muscles twitched before she finally growled out. "And her crew? What happened to them that they would abandon her in the Mid-Atlantic?"

Several moments of silence passed before Thunderchild let out a soft sigh. "One of her crew bought a locked box that he was sure contained valuable items while in port. What it contained though, was a boggart which soon ran amuck in the hull. And when one is frightened of what seems to be a shape changing demon that is immune to weapons..."

Her face paling, Radetzky closed her eyes. "And so they abandoned her... most likely dying in the ocean in their panic."

Very slowly, Thunderchild nodded. "That does seem to be what happened, yes. She doesn't like to speak of it to anyone though, much preferring to speak about the journeys to magical ports and trading posts. Though hopefully she somehow... Summons herself, I suppose."

Only nodding, Radetzky turned towards where the Submarine was slowly making her way towards the wharf. She could just make out a ghostly form of a girl in a swimsuit standing on the bow looking at her in pure shock. The Battleship could also see the small glow of the enchantments on her. "I see... and what is her name then?"

Waving at the Submarine, Thunderchild gave a small half-shrug. "Her name? Bremen from both her logs and what she has told me."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"Harry-Chan! Wait up!"

Blinking, Harry carefully brought his bike to a halt and turned to see Ooi running up to him. When she came to a stop next to where he was waiting, Harry gave her a smile. "Ooi-Nee? Something up?"

As per usual when he called her that, there was a spark of something in her eyes that Harry couldn't quite identify. Something like pure happiness before it disappeared. "Not so much up as..." Expression becoming pensive, Ooi looked around before turning back to the curious boy. "Would it be okay if we talk as we go, wherever you're going?"

For a moment, Harry watched her carefully before he slowly nodded. "Sure, I'm just bringing some Bentos to the main Administration building. That way Mum, Teitoku, and Ooyodo can get some lunch and so can others."

With a blink, Ooi turned to the small wagon attached to the bike and realized that there were several bentos there. In a basket, there were also various sandwiches and there was also a cooler with what she assumed to be cold drinks. "Huh." Placing her hands on her hips, she gave Harry an amused look. "You know, if I had known that you did food delivery then I would have asked for you to so with me and Kitakami-San. Sometimes we've found ourselves wanting to have a small meal or picnic."

That got her a small grin. "As long as you pay the price, I'm more then willing~"

Stumbling, Ooi stared at him before snorting. "Maybe later." Her smile fell a little bit and she glanced around again. "Um, Harry-Chan? I've heard that you're going back to England for a few days?"

Only blinking, Harry looked over at her. "Well, yeah? I've got to get my school supplies and... visit my parents for Obon." At the reminder, Ooi winced a bit but nodded. "And Haru-San wants to see some of the items in my family's storage."

Confused, the Light Cruiser frowned for a moment. "Haru-San wants to look at stuff in your family's storage? Why?"

All Harry did was shrug at that. "My family's old and got a lot of stuff over the years. Apparently at least one was in Japan at the end of the Edo Era and brought back a lot of things with him. Haru-San wants to look at them and see if there's anything that she can put on display up near the Shrine."

Head tilting to the side, Ooi looked at him with an intrigued look. "She wants to display things that your family got? Up by the Shrine?" When Harry nodded, she scratched her head. "Uh, why?"

Simply shrugging, Harry frowned. "Something about attracting more visitors to the Shrine I think... Or something like that." He then chuckled a bit. "Apparently Natsumi-Chan is happy as she's leaving her in charge of the Shrine while she is gone." Turning back to Ooi, Harry tilted his head some. "So why did you want to know if I was going?"

Freezing, Ooi suddenly seemed to shrink into herself some before taking a deep breath. "I... I want to go with you."

If anything though, that caused Harry even more confusion. "You want to go with me? To England?" At her nod, he frowned. "Um, why?"

A grimace on her face, Ooi shook her head. "Mainly because Kitakami... Rika-Chan, is going home for Obon to spend some time with her parents."

Just frowning, Harry looked over at the Light Cruiser who was easily keeping pace with him on his bike. "I thought that they liked you though? Wouldn't they welcome you?"

Chuckling, Ooi rubbed the back of her head. "Um, yeah, Rika's parents are really, really nice to me. I'm practically another daughter to them. But... they still live within walking distance of my own parents and... Yeah, I don't want to deal with that." She then let out a soft sigh. "And I've had the suggestion that perhaps Rika-Chan and myself should spend some time apart so I'm not so, you know."

That caused Harry to raise an eyebrow at her. "Er... that doesn't sound like Kitakami-Nee..."

Much to his surprise, Ooi waved her hands in front of her. "No, no, Rika-Chan doesn't have anything to do with that. Someone, um, else suggested to to help me with something is all."

Harry's eyes were seemingly staring into her soul before he slowly nodded. "I see... And you need to come with me to England?"

Now sheepish, Ooi rubbed one arm. "Not really? But I really don't want to spend time alone in my and Rika-Chan's quarters without her there. And maybe I can buy some stuff for Rika-Chan while there too... So, um, can I come?"

Seconds later, Harry chuckled and nodded. "Sure, I don't mind at all, Ooi-Nee." Yet again, there was that spark in Ooi's eyes before he continued. "Anyways, you should probably let Teitoku know as well as Ooyodo."

Grinning, Ooi only nodded as she continued to run alongside him. "I don't think that there's going to be any problems with that, Harry-Chan." She then chewed her lip for a moment and glanced around. "And, um, could you do me a small favor, Harry-Chan?"

With a blink, Harry shook his head. "Sure, what sort of favor?"

After a deep breath, Ooi looked at him. "When it's just us, or Rika-Chan, could you... Could you call me 'Yuuko-Onee-San'? If that's okay?"

Somewhat confused, Harry only smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, Yuuko-Onee-San." Much to his bemusement, that spark was now almost a small flame in Ooi's eyes at that and her smile was nearly a match for the one she had around Kitakami. 'Wonder what that is all about?'
_________________________________________________________________

Unwrapping a sandwich from the plastic wrap, Goto raised an eyebrow at Ooi as Harry passed his mother a bento. "So, let me get this straight. Kitakami is spending some time with her parents and so you wish to join the excusion to England with Nagato and Harry?"

Back straight, Ooi just nodded. "Hai! That is correct, Teitoku."

Only humming, Goto leaned back and examined her. After a few moments, he looked over at Ooyodo with a slightly thoughtful look. "How much leave do the two of them have, by the way?"

Glancing through her logs as she took a bite of her own bento, Ooyodo slowly frowned before washing down the food with some coffee. "The two of them actually have a decent amount of leave saved up. And we did schdule them for being off and away at the base at the same time before now as usually Ooi would go with Kitakami."

Just wincing at Goto now looking at her, Ooi slowly shrugged. "Normal holidays are okay, but... Um, something happened last year so..."

Eyes narrowing, the Admiral went through his memories and then winced at a report he had gotten. "Right, understood then." It was almost a minute later before he finally nodded. "I personally have no problem with it. So who is going on the trip then so far?"

It was Nagato who spoke up at that point as Harry sat on one leg and opened his own lunch. "There is a few so far. Besides Ooi possibly, Iku and Yukikaze as well as Louisiana would be going. Haru-San is another one who is also going with us, though she might return earlier then the others."

Leaning back, Goto considered that for several moments before nodding. "Very well then, I don't see much of an issue with you going along as well, Ooi. I expect for you to be on your best behavior, understood?"

One could be almost excused for wincing at how fast Ooi nodded her head. "That won't be a problem, I promise!"

Fingers tapping on the table as he took a bite of his sandwich, Goto pretended not to see the thumbs up that the Light Cruiser had given Harry. Once he had swallowed though, he cleared his throat to get Ooi's attention. "That said, you should know of the other mission being undertaken currently."

Blinking, Ooi looked between them in confusion. "Other mission? What other mission?"

Simply placing her sandwich to the side, Nagato leaned forward some and clasped her hands in front of her face. "As I am sure that you have realized by now, while the Abyssal activity in the North Pacific along the Central Convoy Route has dropped, the outposts on Wake and Midway are still not fully secure. The Abyssals could attempt a blockade of them at any time... To say nothing of Hawaii."

A frown on her face, Ooi slowly nodded. "The Siege of the Hawaiian Islands?" Chewing her lip as she tried to remember what she had read up about that particular event early in the war, Ooi shook her head. "I thought that they used Submarines to break it?"

Grimacing, Goto shook his head. "The United States had to pull several of their Submarines off combat duties and removed the missiles from their tubes in order to carry supplies to the island and bring various, vulnerable people back as normal planes couldn't land. However, that could not be kept up, though thankfully the Americans broke the blockade when they started summoning shipgirls. That said though, the mission being undertaken is highly important."

Intrigued, Ooi looked back and forth before slowly nodding. "What sort of mission?" Then she furrowed her eyebrows and blinked. "Unless... It has to do with magic?"

With a chuckle, Nagato nodded some. "That would be correct. You know about the owl box Harry has been using to send letters back and forth?" As Ooi's eyes widened and she nodded while connecting the dots, Nagato smiled. "During a second trip to England when I dropped Harry off, I had several larger 'Vanishing Cabinets' commissioned. We'll be picking the finished product up when we go to Diagon Alley with three handed over sent to Kitsap where they'll be kept in a special facility under shipgirl guard. The other three will be given to each Wake, Midway, and Pearl Harbor, also kept under shipgirl guard in specially designed bunkers."

Slowly, Ooi grinned. "So if there's another blockade, they can just send supplies that way! That's... actually pretty smart."

On Ooyodo's face there was a small smile. 'And also for ease of evacuation for Wake and Midway... and explosive charges in the bunkers just in case.'

Clearing his throat, Goto gave Ooi an amused look. "Now then, I would suggest that you head back to your quarters and get ready. You do have only a few days before they leave after all."

Quickly saluting, Ooi nodded and was soon gone with the shipgirls and the Admiral sharing amused looks.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

With a blink, Ooi turned away from where Harry was talking with McGonagall. "Um, sorry about that, Rika-Chan... I was distracted."

There was a small amount of amusement in her fellow Natural Born's eyes before she nodded. "I can see that." Reaching up, she adjusted Ooi's clothes some. "You got everything, right? Nothing that you might have forgotten to pack?"

Slowly, Ooi shook her her head as she scratched her cheek some. "No, I got everything Rika-Chan." Frowning, she realized that the shipgirl in front of her had stopped and was now holding onto her shirt a bit. "Rika-Chan?"

Giving a small sniffle, Kitakami wiped at her eyes a bit. "Sorry about this, Yuuko-Chan. I know that you need some time away from me to help yourself, but..." Another sniffle escaped her. "It's just that this is the furthest that we've been apart in... ever."

In reply, Ooi reached up and took Kitakami's hand in her own. For a moment, she chewed her lip before taking a deep breath. "I... if you want, I can try and stay? I think that Harry-Chan would understand..."
However, Kitakami only shook her head some. "No, I'm just being a bit silly and selfish, I guess." Looking up, she stared into Ooi's eyes. "You need this, Yuuko-Chan. If you don't do it now, then you'll just keep putting it off. Just be careful, okay? And I'll see you when you get back and I return from my parents."

Reaching up. Ooi placed one hand on the side of Kitakami's head and then kissed her forehead. "Yeah, I'll see you then and make sure to get you all sorts of pictures, okay? I'll even see if I can't swing some of that magical ice cream Harry-Chan brought home last year."

Giggles escaping from her, Kitakami only hugged Ooi tightly. "Sure, and we'll have it while watching movies. Sound good? In the meantime, keep our Otouto safe."

A blush on her face, Ooi only nodded before hugging Kitakami back. "Hai, I will, Rika-Chan." Unseen by her friend, Ooi had a blush on her face. 'This... Rika is too cute like this...'

Meanwhile, Haru was smiling at her niece and wagging a finger at her. "Now, you keep a close eye on the Shrine for me. And don't be taking my leave of absence to have any parties there."

Rolling her eyes, Natsumi only gave a snort. "LIke I would do that sort of thing. I'm not Taichi-Onii-San after all."

That got her chuckles from her aunt who ruffled the younger kitsune's hair. "Hai, hai, I know. I am entrusting the upkeep for the Shrine to you for a few days though. Just make sure to give it back to me in one piece as I am rather fond of it."

When Natsumi rolled her eyes then, Haru grinned a bit though that grin fell away to surprise as Natsumi hugged her. "Come back soon, okay?"

Patting her on the head, Haru nodded. "I will, don't worry about that." With a glance over to where Nagato was, and getting a slight tilt of the head, Haru gave Natsumi another hug. "Now, it's time to go now and I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

Only smiling up at her, Natsumi threw her a small salute once she was let go. "Hai, Oba-Chan."

Haru gave her another wave before she joined the others in grabbing a rope. For her part, Ooi was staring down at the rope in confusion before looking up at the Scottish woman in front of her. "This will really take us all the way to England?"

With a slow nod, McGonagall smiled thinly. "It will. Though I would keep a good hold onto it if it is your first time."

Shaking off her disbelief, Ooi gave Kitakami a wave. "See you in a few days, Kitakami-San! Bye!"

And, even as Kitakami waved back and shouted one last goodbye, Ooi felt like an anchor hooked itself amidships and then yanked on her as the world swirled around. It seemed like a minute passed before they all slammed into the ground, Harry stumbling into Iku. The Submarine only giggled a bit as she helped him back to his feet. "Careful there, Harry-Chan."

There was a blush on his cheeks as he nodded some and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that, Iku-Chan." He then furrowed his eyebrows. "I really hate Portkeys."

Even as she nodded, Ooi looked around and blinked for a moment. Around them, there was a green, grassy hill though she could see stone ruins not far away. "So this is England?"

Coming up beside her, Nagato fiddled with the time on her phone before nodding. "It is, in fact this land belongs to Harry." She then pointed towards the ruins that they could see. "That home right there was once owned by Harry's family."

From where she stood, McGonagall sighed. "Aye, I remember coming here to have tea when I was much younger when your grandfather sat on the Board." Blinking away some suspicious wetness, she shook her head. "A shame what has happened to it."

A frown was on Harry's face as he turned towards his teacher and tilted his head. "Professor, you wouldn't happen to know where there might be pictures of it?"

Caught offguard by the question, Minerva had to think for a moment before nodding. "I think that there might be pictures laying around, I shall have to look. Any particular reason?"

Only shrugging, Harry chuckled a bit. "Well... I'm thinking of having it rebuilt. If nothing else, it can be a place to stay at. Or I can have shipgirls come here to rest and relax."

For several moments, McGonagall looked at him before slowly nodding. "In that case, there are also plans in the Ministry. Seeing as you may have a few issues, Miss Nagato, I would be glad to go and try and find them." Her lips pressed together in a nearly predatory smile. "There are a few there who may remember me, after all."

None of them noticed Haru's gaze locked onto the only part of the building that remained standing before she shook it off and glanced at the Sun. "Seeing as it's roughly seven in the morning, how about we have a quick look in your storage shed, Harry-Chan? That way I can have a small idea of what we may be dealing with." Getting nods, she began to walk towards where she could feel the largest collection of magic on the grounds. Though as she passed by close to where Catherine's skull was, she faltered a little and shot the area a look.

And then she continued onwards.
___________________________________________________________

Looking around, Haru's eyes widened as she took in everything. "You know, when Natsumi-Chan stated that there was a lot of things here, I thought that she was just exagerating. But now?" Slowly, she turned to Harry in disbelief. "Just how many things has your family picked up over there years?"

Simply shrugging, Harry went for the book from the last visit. "A lot of things." Opening the book as Iku looked over his shoulder, Harry frowned for a moment. "Hmm... Where are the Japanese objects?"

Chuckles caused them all to turn and look at McGonagall who simply brought out her wand. "Rather easy to find out." With a complicated wand movement and a muttered incantation, there was suddenly what looked like a glowing compass needle in front them. Placing her wand away, McGonagall only nodded. "There we go, it should guide us to what we need."

The group started walking forward with Ooi looking at the arrow curiously. "How accurate is that spell? And can it be used to find people?"

With a hum, the Professor considered the question before nodding. "It's... fairly accurate, especially in enclosed spaces such as this. After all, one must be able to find items in their attic!" She then frowned slightly as it seemed to be wavering in two directions. "However, in larger spaces it can be..." Just then, it swung to point to the alcove where there were various weapons. "Less accurate."

As she chuckled herself, Nagato shook her head. "So a bit of a roll of the dice then?" Getting a somewhat amused look from McGonagall, Nagato looked back at the swords before blinking at the sight of a Katana. "Now that's rather interesting..."

Stepping forward, Haru took the sword from where it was hanging and looked it over before shaking her head. "Hmm, well this one is a kyū guntō. Rather good shape though, I have to admit." With a glance at Harry, she got a nod and but placed it back to his confusion. "Perhaps I may take it, but not at the moment." Turning, the kitsune paused and took another sword off the rack. "Well, I'll be... A shashka, it has been many years since I saw one."

Interested, Harry walked up and looked at the odd sword. It looked slightly curved and there was no guard for it. But the hilt held various decorations on it. "A... Shashka?"

Eyes scanning the blade after partially pulling it out, Haru hummed. "It's a Russian blade, Harry-Chan. I've seen ones during...." She glanced at McGonagall and then turned back to the blade. "My time helping catagorize items from the Russo-Japanese War, though this one is older." Narrowing her eyes as she ran a hand along the scabbard, Haru shook her head. "By at least a century."

Opening the book, Harry quickly wrote in the identification number and blinked. "It was originally owned by the continental branch and is made of goblin silver, though the goblins believe it was lost. My family apparently picked it up during a war a few centuries back against a Russian wizard. And it's name is... um..."

Just raising an eyebrow, Haru looked over his shoulder and frowned a bit. "'Zhar-ptitsa'... That sounds rather familiar."

Much to their surprise, it was McGonagall who spoke up. "Ah, it's called 'Firebird'." Seeing their looks, she shook her head. "Several years ago, Albus had a visitor from Russia and that was what he called Fawkes. I believe that it's their word for Phoenix."

Gently, Harry took the sword from Haru and looked it over. "Um, Professor McGonagall.. Goblin silver means that it's a very good weapon, right? I think that I heard that from Professor Binns."

For a second, there was distaste on the Scottish witch's face at the mention of her fellow teacher before she nodded. "Quite correct, Mister Potter. Goblin silver weapons are practically indestructable as only a goblin forge or magical flames can destroy them, can slice through most normal armor and some magical ones, and from what I heard such blades only get stronger over time." At the looks, McGonagall shook her head. "They apparently absorb special abilities from what they kill which can make them stronger from what I remember. In my youth, I came across a dagger which... had been used to kill a vampire and gained the ability to drain one of their blood."

That got her shudders before everyone turned as Harry placed the sword at his side. Seeing that, Nagato raised an eyebrow and walked over to him. "Harry? You're bringing the sword with us?"

All Harry did was nod and place a hand on it. "Yeah, I think that I'm going to give it to Hibiki-Chan. Maybe for her birthday or Christmas! She did say that she was looking for a weapon since Tenryuu-Oba uses a sword, Tatsuta-Oba uses a Glaive, and the twins use anchors. And it's called 'Firebird'! It's like it was meant for her."

Becoming thoughtful, Nagato considered it before slowly nodding. "That... makes a certain amount of sense." Patting him on the back, she nodded. "I think that she'll love it."

With a smile, Harry looked up at her before following as they continued following the arrow to where the rest of the Japanese items must be.