Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

Mushapi

Uggh. This past week has been hard and this snippet harder. Not totally pleased with it but it is done. Let me know your thoughts.

Just remember everything is Hoshi's fault she demanded the credit.
*-*-*


It all started when over tea Haruka thought. Siusan sat at the dining table with Haruka and Hoshi-dono as the three foxes enjoed various snacks in the rather cool abode of Haruka's. A rather lively discussion was being made on the various holidays of their respective cultures and the similarities and differences they held. And with that conversation Obon was mentioned and the thinning of the veil to the afterlife.

Siusan paused. Haruka glanced over at her and saw both pain and curiosity warring in her features. She reached over and took hold of Siusan's hand.

"Is everything all right love?" Haruka's question seemed to break whatever conflict Siusan was undergoing as Siusan shook her head rapidly and blinked.

"I just... hmmm. I just wish there was some way. Some way for Harry child and you to meet them. Those children I watched for centuries. To give him an opportunity to meet his mother... and father and all his ancestors."

Hoshi-dono raised her eyebrow appraising Haruka's love.

"And if you had a way would this be for them or yourself. Siusan-san you are still coming to terms with your past and I want you to think deeply. If this is to absolve your feelings of guilt than you will only set yourself back from the progress you have been making."

Haruka observed Hoshi-dono. What she saw on the other woman was concern. Haruka waited while Siusan found her answer.

"My guilt is my own while I admit that I would love the opportunity to speak to them again, to hold them, my opportunity is past. But for Harry who was robbed her parents and Haruka who was robbed everything I just want them to have that opportunity. "

Siusan stared into her teacup and sighed. Haruka chose that moment to speak.

"Siusan, my heart, not that I would not love the opportunity to speak with our children once more but this is not something you should torment yourself with. Just be here for Harry and I. He loves you and by being with us even if we can never meet them ourselves we meet them through you."

Siusan looked into her eyes with such warmth and smiled at her. Butterflies danced within her breast.

"Well I believe that I have seen what I wanted to see in regards to your resolve Siusan-san," Hoshi began. "While I cannot promise there is a way for Harry and Haruka to meet your descendant and Harry's parents may I recommend speaking to young Haru-chan. She may know a manner or two of communicating to the deceased that might apply."

Siusan beamed and in a moment of joy rose from her seat and hugged the larger fox woman.

"What a wonderful idea Hoshi, truly I appreciate it."

Haruka gave Hoshi-dono a smirk as the older kitsune responded with a bemused smile.

Siusan let go embarrassed at her own outburst. Straightening her dress she composed herself before apologizing.

"Sorry about that Hoshi, it just it has been plaguing me since I met Harry child and Nagato. She mentioned to me about speaking to Lily child during her, oh what's the word, refit! Yes during her refit and ever since then I had hoped to give Harry an opportunity to speak to her and James. And if that is possible it might be possible for Haruka to meet some of her decendents. Of course barring that I would be happy to give Harry some sort of journal that he could communicate with Lily child and James."

A vertible flood had been unleashed as Siusan began to plot out multiple ways to possibly allow Harry and Haruka to visit with their deceased loved ones. Hoshi-dono tilted her head towards Haruka before giving her a smug grin. Haruka gave an exasperated sigh and moved over to her love before her ridiculousness truly overcame her. She kissed Siusan to break up her ramblings before turning to Hoshi-dono.

"My apologies Hoshi-dono but it appear my love is a bit distracted at the moment, perhaps we can finish our tea at another time."

And with that she dragged Siusan into the bedroom.

Hoshi sat at the table and finished her tea. Seeing her friends so lively made her grin. Grabbing one more sandwich, she made her way out of the house and quietly closed the door behind her.

 

RCNAnon

Weasley’s Warship Workshop 19


The four 381mm shells all missed, passing by the enemy Re-class by mere feet to skip out into the Atlantic. This allowed it to finish bringing its guns to bear, the heavy 406mm guns taking aim at her from close range. With almost no room to maneuver the Re-class evil grin trained on her from close range even as her gunners desperately cycled the breeches.

The 406mm barrels finally finished their aiming and she could see the AP shell caps inside, just before fire spat and...”

Jean Bart woke with a start, her eyes blinking open as her boilers spiked higher than normal during her wake up cycle.

That wasn’t what happened. That wasn’t anything at all like what happened.

Sitting upright Jean Bart got out of bed and headed to her bathroom. Using the sink to splash her face with cold water she looked at herself in the mirror. With her hair down for sleeping she looked somewhat a mess, able to make a good imitation of Lady Godiva if she ever felt the need to act like her sister in public. Aside from that nothing was wrong so why…?

She’d been thinking about it, that was why.

Specifically because she was going to tell him. To tell Ron how she’d come back and the fight that had been her first and only true engagement. Even if calling it an engagement could possibly be a bit of a stretch. Still she wanted to tell him, had to tell him about it. Even if it gave her dreams like this.

Letting out a breath of air to push a rogue strand of hair out of her face, she stood and got her shower started. Today was going to be important for a number of reasons. Hopefully it would go as smoothly as she planned.

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

Passel House, Hampshire, England. January 4th, 2014.

Jean Bart pulled up to the drive of Passel House, finding the gate closed as it usually was. Thankfully it opened up rather promptly, saving her from thinking about anything for too long. She’d already contemplated why she kept driving there instead of inviting Ron to Toulon.

One of the reasons was simple convenience, she was not on duty much of the time and Ron had his school which was inconveniently placed for quick travel. So Passel House was as much a middle ground as they were likely to find. Secondly, she was the one asking things of him. That meant it only made sense for her to go to him, even if he would never claim such a thing. Lastly, Richelieu had recently mentioned wanting to meet Ron in person. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that. She was absolutely sure that Ron wasn’t ready for it and she didn’t trust her sister not to drop in on them if it was convenient for her.

Reminiscing on her own reminiscing had gotten her to the front door, where she found Victoria waiting for her like normal.

“The Young Master is out back in his workshop.” Victoria’s voice was crisp as always, though Jean Bart was finally sure that it had eased slightly from when she’d first started coming to Passel House. “He is expecting you.”

“Thank you Victoria. I’ll just pull around then.” Jean Bart nodded to the Head Maid.

“Shall I have any refreshments sent out?”

Jean Bart paused, her mind flitting to what she had to say to Ron. Normally she would instantly say no but…

“Tea perhaps? Green or Chamomile if you have it. I have some things to discuss with Ron today.”

“I will have Lara bring some green tea for you and the Young Master. Perhaps some light pastries as well?”

Jean Bart nodded.

“Yes… Thank you again.”

Victoria nodded incrementally in turn as Jean Bart turned her motorcycle back on and rather sedately cruised back around to the former garage now turned workshop for Ron and Summer.

Climbing off her bike she found the door closed, though unlocked. Knocking on it once, she waited a short while before opening it and heading inside. She’d been there a few times before, as Ron had taken her there to discuss work on her repairs and upgrades since she arrived.

This time she found him seated at what seemed to be “his” desk once more, the heavy wooden thing some indeterminate (to her at least) dark sort of wood that looked like it had been built around the time her namesake had been terrorizing Dutch sailors. It was well preserved though, despite many scars. Ron was deep into a book which seemed to contain several sketches of her power plants, along with a French-English dictionary and a notepad that was heavily marked in scribbles and scrawls which he seemed to have no issue deciphering.

He looked small behind it no doubt but she was already seeing what she was rather sure Warspite and Duke of York saw in him. It would not be small on him for long, not with the spirit he contained.

As Ron continued on, oblivious, Jean Bart decided that she wasn’t going to wait on him to look up. It wasn’t her to be so nervous… or admit if she was. So instead she cleared her throat and strode over to Ron, her leg nearly bumping the side of his desk before he managed to look up properly.

“Jean Bart! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d arrived.” His voice contained a genuine happiness to see her, something which she appreciated more than ever after her latest talk with Richelieu and the gift he’d sent her.

“That’s fine Ron, you are busy after all.” She nodded down to the plans. “Things are still going well yes?”

“Oh yes, yes. Going very well. Summer and Angie are just about finished with the plans to build everything, though Summer is just a bit distracted at the moment. We managed to get her permission to build a few ships from the Admiralty for Christmas, she’s been practically glowing ever since.”

Jean Bart raised her eyebrow at that. Permission for an abyssal to build ships? It seemed strange to her to even consider it but given the general temperament she’d seen of Summer… it had some promise. The British were hardly ones to actively screw up the balance of naval power after all.

“Interesting. Though if you’ll forgive the tardiness, I’ve got a Christmas gift for you as well.” Jean Bart rested her aft lightly on the desk and pulled out a small package from her hold behind her back, before placing it in front of Ron.

“Oh! Thank you Jean Bart but you didn’t have to do that.” Ron took the small package with clear interest, examining it for a moment before opening up the packaging. Inside were two smallish items. One was a mobile phone, a relatively new though definitely more sturdy model, the other a small plastic card with Ron’s face on it.

Ron looked at each for a moment, not quite getting what they were before his eyes went wide.

“A mobile phone? Jean Bart you really shouldn’t have done this… I mean, aren’t these pretty expensive nowadays?”

“Not really. At least not with all the discounts I can get from my position.” It was slightly expensive, especially since she’d gotten it setup so it would definitely work in both Britain and France but it was worth it to her.

“Still… and this… this is a pass for Toulon right?” Ron peered at the card, which was written in French.

“Yes it is. It’s not nearly the same as the one Warspite informed me you have for the Royal Navy but it will allow you passage inside at the very least, if you ever find yourself in need of such a thing.”

Ron looked at the card for a moment more and then back to the phone for before looking back up at her.

“Jean Bart… I don’t know what to say aside from thank you. I didn’t even get you anything proper in return…”

Jean Bart shook her head.

“No Ron, you very much have.” She pulled the folio he’d sent her out from her holds, setting it down on top of what he had been working on before then tapping it with one finger. “This folder, all of these sketches… the only thing you could have granted me even greater than this would have been to give me my rebuild. And we both know that you are already working as hard as you can on that.”

Ron opened his mouth as if to dispute this, then closed it and nodded.

“I… well I’m glad you liked them so much.” He smiled once more, then looked back to the phone. “I won’t be able to take it to school with me though. No electricity up there unless you have an active generator.”

“I remembered you mentioning something about magic not getting along with electricity very well. Even if you can’t take it with you there, you can use it while you’re here.” Jean Bart paused, then continued as she fought down a wave of mild embarrassment. “I took the liberty of putting some numbers in there that I thought you might need or knew you’d used before. My personal number, my sisters and the one you used to contact Admiral Chirac’s office to start. There’s also internet access and some programs I though you might find useful. Translation things mostly.”

Ron simply grinned then set the phone down and stood up.

“Thank you Jean Bart. I can tell you put a lot of thought into this.” He started to lean in for what was clearly supposed to be a hug, then stopped. “I… uhm…”

“It is fine Ron. I don’t mind.” Jean Bart was by nature, not exactly a touchy person. Between Richelieu’s… enthusiasm when it came to greetings and a few incidents which she did her best to forget about at the moment, she wasn’t exactly frigid but it took the right sort of person for her to allow them close in that sort of manner. Ron was now in that group, one of a very select number. She even managed a small smile for him.

Ron grinned and leaned in again, this time wrapping his arms around her and tilting his head in an appropriate manner away from anything sensitive. Jean Bart put one of her arms around him in turn, feeling her boilers flutter at the touch.

Ron seemed to have a good feel for how comfortable she was and he pulled away shortly after, not lingering on the gesture and instead settling for one of his trademark grins.

“Thank you Jean Bart. Truly.”

“You are welcome Ron.” Jean Bart paused, settling slightly more on the desk. “Though if you don’t mind, would you listen to a story I wish to tell you? I think it… important for you to hear.”

Ron’s face immediately got somewhat more serious, taking in her change of tone.

“Of course I will. Especially if it is important.”

“Thank you Ron.”

There was a knock at the door then, with Lara pushing in a tray with some warm green tea and pastries on it.

“Excuse the interruption Young Master, Ms. Bart. The Head Maid said you wanted this.”

“Thank you Lara.” Ron nodded to the woman, making room on his desk with a few efficient motions. Lara placed the items in the offered location, then quickly bustled out of the workshop.

“I guess you asked for this?” Ron looked up to Jean Bart.

“Yes. This might take a while so I thought refreshments best.” Jean Bart looked at the items and then stood. “Let me get a chair and then I will start.”

Ron nodded, leaving Jean Bart to grab the nearest chair along with a cup of warm tea before taking a breath.

“Like most of us it starts with my past life…”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
AN: Another snip from me. It’s a setup for something I’ve been wanting to write for a while, so while it’s important I’m also not sure on its quality. It might just be that Jean Bart is somewhat uncharacteristically serious/more vulnerable than normal and that’s throwing me off a bit. I’d appreciate any comments on what you think.

 

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Colombe suddenly realizes that Hizir is a manipulative bastard and a half since she didn't want pets for her kids, buuut.... So Prepare Thine Pancreases (and click the links)!

Butterknives, For One, Welcome Their New Feline Overlords!

19 August 2014

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium
Spoiler: The Naming of Kätzchen!

The du Chasteler daughters squealed in delighted chorus, "Kätzchen!!"

Ehren then looked at Claire, seeing her excited grin mirrored on her sister's face as a chorus of soft meows provided background noise.

The icing on the cake was when the piano playing in the distance shifted from Johann Strauss to Andrew Lloyd Webber's music from Cats.

Ehren's eyes twinkled as she hurried to the table where her phone was on its charger as she mentally touched her avatar downstairs to alert the Imps about the sudden bounty of treasure that had arrived in the mail.

Claire carefully reached inside the steamer trunk to pull out one of the half-dozen eight-week old kittens from the squirming and meowing mass of white fur and fluff filling the half of the slightly space-expanded trunk (complete with their own food and water dispensers and a small litter box) that did not have books and smaller boxes separated by a divider.

The young Turkish Angora kitten promptly blinked his blue eyes at the enthralled Muramasa piano and sunk his claws into her heart to take possession of Claire with a cute little meow and yawn that caused her to visibly blush and melt.

Ehren continued to get blackmail pictures and video while Claire cuddled the kitten. Then with a sly smile, she spoke as she filmed the two. "So, Claire, what's your new friend's name? Or do you want me or the others to name him?"
Spoiler: Kittens In Moulbaix!

Claire cooed to the kitten before placing a kiss on the top of his head between the ears as she cuddled him. "Oh, he's certainly Mozart!"

Ehren facepalmed mentally at the name from the music-mad piano then grinned. "You name the white ones and I name the ones with color?"

Claire put the now-named Mozart down to begin to explore the wonders of Ehren's room and reached inside to grab his sisters. "Deal, little sister."

While the Imps charged upstairs, the green-eyed Brahms and the odd-eyed Beethoven were being named, given suitable amounts of Piano Cuddles, and were joining Mozart in playing with the fringed tassels of the blanket on Ehren's bed where they hung just above kitten head level along with a ball formed from waste paper from the basket.

After, it should be noted, Brahms had to be evicted from an unauthorized exploration of Ehren's shoe rack.

Claire picked up the fourth and final Angora kitten. Gold and blue eyes blinked lazily at Claire who cuddled her and then exclaimed in delight. "Oh I know your name! You must be Chopin!" The now-named Chopin purred and stretched lazily under Claire's petting before being deposited on the floor, where she began to fastidiously groom herself.

As Chopin finished her toilette, the door was flung open to allow Misaki and Chihiro to see what was on display. A happy chorus of "Koneko!!" sounded from the Imps as Miho and Nongqawuse looked over their heads.

Claire peeked inside the steamer trunk once more as the Imps began to play with the four white Turkish Angora kittens. "The other three all have colors, Ehren. It's your turn to name them."

The Dagger's face split in a broad grin. Ehren rubbed her hands together after handing her phone over to Nongqawuse to film her naming the remaining kittens. "Zu Befehl, meine große Klavierschwester!"(By your command, my big piano sister!")

With that, Ehren picked up the first Turkish Van kitten and gave a happy shy smile as she petted and cuddled him. "Hmm... I think for you," Ehren murmured as she stared into loving brown-gold eyes as the about-to be named kitten meowed at her, "Ja, Sie heißen Siegfried!"(Your name is Siegfried!)

With that decision, she deposited the now-named Siegfried on the floor beside her. Siegfried promptly scampered over to pounce upon the ball of paper, batting it wildly across the floor while he meowed in excitement.

Ehren then turned to the last two kittens in the box. A set of blue eyes blinked while another odd-eyed cat greeted her with a meow. "Und Sie.... Sie heißen Brünnhilde und Sieglinde! Blaue Augen für Brünnhilde!"(Blue eyes for Brünnhilde!)

The now-named Brünnhilde blinked her blue eyes again as Ehren grabbed her and began to cuddle her eagerly while Misaki reached inside to liberate her sister Sieglinde. The jorogumo child then giggled as Sieglinde purred and yawned happily in the spider Yokai's arms.

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


Lunch was slightly delayed by the need to provide a plate of finely minced chicken breast and large bowls of milk and water for the new feline house guests.

Who, it should be noted, were overjoyed at the hearty 'Welcome to Moulbaix' meal provided by their new house slaves on Colombe's fine antique china.

Shortly after hastily finishing her sausages for lunch, Ehren grabbed the keys to the Reparo-Wagen, her checkbook for the family's funds, and her dagger body to head to Ath for a set of unplanned emergency purchases ganz schnell.(real quick)

Eight hundred dollars and just under a hour and a half later, Hurricane Ehren returned with the car full of bags of dry kitten food, cans of wet kitten food, cat treats (chicken, beef, and fish), kitty litter and litter boxes, seven cat beds and carriers, an assortment of cat toys (Ehren, being Ehren, had started at one end of that aisle at the pet supplies store and grabbed one of everything marked for cats like she was on blitzkrieg as she cleaned the store out with ruthless efficiency), grooming supplies, four books on the care of cats for first time owners, seven colorful nylon collars complete with copper name tags inscribed with names and the castle's phone number along with small brass bells (much to the future disgust of Brahms, Siegfried, and Sieglinde who hated giving notification that they were on the prowl hunting the castle's mouse population), and a planned schedule of visits to the vet for initial checkups, chipping, identification, immunizations, and licensing of the kittens.

Let it not be said that Ehren du Chasteler was incapable of decisive action in an unexpected crisis.

After unloading the results of her plundering Ath of available cat-related resources, Ehren bee-lined to the sound of the piano. Ehren then found out that Claire had taken over Mutti's study to serenade the seven little furballs who were being played with by Claire, the Imps, Nongqawuse, and Miho as they explored their new home.

A fast consultation with Best Big Piano Sister later (and a good deal of evil giggling by the conspirators) resulted in a cunning plan being hatched on how to spring the news on Mother, whose arrival was expected momentarily.

The plan was refined further when the unwitting Tokunotakai arrived to talk to Colombe and promptly fell victim to the adorable ambush of the Koneko-chan who awaited her.

Clearly Masamune steel was insufficient to handle cuteness of this magnitude.

Which all set the scene for Colombe's arrival later that afternoon.....

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


Spoiler: Colombe Arrives

Colombe pulled the Audi up and parked in her garage.

Getting out, she stretched and walked up the steps to her front door, humming idly. The drive back had been annoying with the traffic, but the trip had been a success with all the business she needed to get done accomplished, along with lunch at one of her favorite bistros.

She then blinked at the sight of Ehren in visible distress. "What's wrong, Ehren?"

Ehren sniffled, "M-m-m-mutti, you have to come and see! It's Claire!" In the distance upstairs a piano played a Chopin nocturne softly and sadly.

Colombe blanched and sprinted up the steps with Ehren on her heels. She missed the well-hidden smug grin that the dagger had as she watched the Belgian rapier fall into the awaiting trap.

Colombe hit the top of the stairs and dashed down the hall toward Claire's sitting 'music room' where the piano was playing.

"Don't worry, Claire! Mother's coming!" Colombe shouted as behind her Ehren filmed her mad dash to her daughter's side.

Colombe flung the door open, only for her shocked face and dropped jaw to get immortalized by the phones in a suspiciously serene-faced Toku, a grinning Kasuyu (holding Claire's phone), and the smirking Ehren's hands as she boggled at the sight inside.

Ehren finished the ambush with the rehearsed line as planned by her as Colombe stared at the scene in disbelief. "Claire had KITTENS, Mutti!!"

The piano promptly shifted from the somber Chopin nocturne into a tune arrangement that expressed louder than words that she had gotten Mother good while the wolf gave a lupine smug grin and the rest of the du Chasteler household laughed.
Spoiler: We Got Mother Good!

 

Harry Leferts

Bemused as he watched Natsumi chomp into a peanut butter pancake happily, Harry's lips twitched as a chuckle escaped him, "I don't think that I need to ask if you like them."

Softly scoffing, the Kitsune took another bite of the rolled up pancake smeared with peanut butter before chewing and swallowing, "That would be rather silly of you, Harry-Chan." Glancing to the side, Natsumi smirked a little, "And I think that someone else agrees with me."

When he turned in that direction, Harry could see Taiyang attempt to shove an entire peanut butter pancake into her mouth. However, the Dao paused and only bit off what was there before chewing and swallowing, finally washing it down with some tea, "Master wounds me, Mikon! There should be no doubt of it."

Lips madly twitching, the wizard laughed lightly, "I suppose so." Head tilted to the side, he looked down at Natsumi, "So... what do you want to do today then since it'll probably be a week or two before we see each other?"

Considering that, Natsumi gave the matter some thought before tilting her head, "Actually... I want to see if we can hold the Kitsune-Tsuki all day. Just... to see."

Despite her not saying more, Harry understood what she meant and smiled some, "Understood, and I don't mind."

From where she sat, the Dao raised an eyebrow, "I find myself curious as to what you look like. Master did explain a little, but... as they now say, seeing is believing after all. And I am rather intrigued."

Suddenly, Harry spoke up with a thoughtful look, "If you want... we can test it out more."

Now curious, Natsumi looked up at him with a small blink, "What do you mean, Harry-Chan?"

With a hum, the fourteen year old boy shrugged his shoulders a little bit, "Well... we could test out if we can keep up Kitsune-Tsuki when asleep. That is, if you don't mind me staying the night and neither does your family."

Head cocked to the side, Natsumi considered the question for a few moments before lightly blushing, 'Being that close to Harry-Chan... even when we're asleep...'

Deep in her mind, Tamamo chuckled a little, 'And would that be such a bad thing, Child? To have Our Harry so close to us when both you and him are at your most vulnerable? I believe that I already know the answer though...'

Mentally chuckling herself, the teenage Kitsune gave a slight nod, 'I suppose that you do.' Outwardly, she smiled up at Harry, "I don't think that anyone would have much issue with it, Harry-Chan. But..." Eyebrows furrowing, Natsumi frowned a little bit, "Won't you need to contact Nagato-San and such to ask permission? Not to mention Hoppou-Chan as well as Seiko-Chan..."

Somewhat to her surprise, Harry shook his head, "That's not that big of an issue actually. Hoppou won't mind in this case because she'll understand, and Aeroprin would be there. Probably invite Wokyuu as well..." Pausing for a moment to consider, he shook it off, "As for Mum? She's away at the moment for the next day or two."

Eyebrows raised, Taiyang blinked and looked at him, "Oh? Nagato-San is away?"

Humming, the teenage wizard nodded a little bit, "Hai, she's away on JMSDF business for the next day or so. And she wouldn't mind much at all to be honest."

Due to knowing him for so long, Natsumi understood that there was likely something else there that he was not telling her. But it was also because she knew him so well and for so long that she also understood that it was not that he did not want to tell her, but couldn't. Something that told the Kitsune that whatever was happening, it was likely top secret for a very good reason.

Thus, the teenage Kitsune only smiled and nodded at that, "Sounds good to me, Harry-Chan." Getting off his lap, even though she really did not want to, Natsumi stood and stretched. Part of her was amused at how Harry watched as her shirt rode up slightly before giggling, "So... shall we get started, Harry-Chan?"

Amused, Harry also stood and nodded, "Hai..." Reaching out, he took her hands in his, "You just want to shock your parents, don't you?"

Needless to say, the grin he got made him laugh and was all the answer that he needed.

Moments later, Harry was able to feel the tingle in his palms as him and Natsumi concentrated on performing Kitsune-Tsuki. With his eyes open, he could see how the Kitsune seemed to grow transparent, almost like a ghost, even as small sparks of fox fire fell from her and entered him before she vanished entirely. Within his mind, and soul, he could feel Natsumi's as they clicked together.

Then, he could feel his form began to shift as the two of them opened to each other fully. What he did not notice was how Taiyang's eyes widened as she watched the process as Harry's hair grew longer, coming down to midway down her back, the color a dark auburn with highlights of ebony and lighter auburn. More than that, the Dao observed as his ears grew longer, pointed, and furred as they moved to the top of his head. All the while, his figure also changed with his legs becoming slightly more longer and his form going from masculine to androgynous even as two fox tails grew from his tailbone.

Once the transformation was done, Harry's now changed face turned to her and smiled before he spoke in a voice that was a distinct blend of his and Natsumi's, "Well? What do you think?"

Silent for a few seconds, Taiyang's bronze colored eyes met the slightly different eyes of Harry's, one golden with emerald green flecks that sparkled and the other being emerald green with golden flecks which shone. Finally, she gave him a smile as she hoped to her feet, "I believe that you have done an excellent job, Master, Harry-San! Very good!" Moments later, she leapt at them and glomped them, subjecting their body to marshmallow hell, "Mikon!"

It went without saying that the shared body of Harry's and Natsumi's began to blush heavily at what just happened. Meanwhile, inside of their shared mindscape, the Kitsune was even more embarrassed, '{That is... very troublesome, Harry-Chan...}'

With an internal sigh, and more than a little mortified as he knew what she meant, Harry grumbled back some, '{Tell me about it...}'

Eventually, to their combined thankfulness, Taiyang did let go which meant that they were able to make their way to the mirror. While they were able to get a very good look before, now in the room illuminated by the morning Sun, the two were able to see a lot more. For several moments, they turned in one direction and then another as they looked themselves over fully.

After a few moments, Natsumi nodded their shared body even as she communicated to them, '{Huh... we look pretty good, you know.}' When Harry had their body strike a pose, she giggled, '{What are you doing, Harry-Chan!?}'

Snickering back, Harry shook their head, '{Just wanted to see how it looked.}'

That got a snort from the Kitsune inhabiting his body before she went silent and thoughtful even as he adjusted their clothes. After a few moments, she gave a mental nod, '{Hmm... you know, if we need to, my clothes would likely fit this form. And probably look pretty good.}'

Briefly, she got an amused mental look from Harry, '{Do you mean that I don't look pretty good anyways?}'

Once more, Natsumi snorted, '{No, you do pull off looking like a girl pretty well, Harry-Chan. Just that we could probably pull it off even better.}' Getting a chuckle, she hummed a little, '{Just thinking more that right now? The two of us look like either a slightly boyish girl, or a really pretty boy. Though we are one hundred percent male, so there is that...}'

Nodding in agreement, the male of the two did various stretches and the like before shaking their head, '{Thankfully.}'

When he fell silent for a few seconds, Natsumi raised a mental eyebrow, '{Harry-Chan? What is it?}'

Just blinking, Harry gave a mental shrug, '{It's nothing, just thinking about something.}' Getting a nudge to continue, he did so, '{Well... I know that you want to practice more wizarding magic, but... I was wondering if we could practice some Kitsune arts. Kitsune-Bi, illusions, that sort of thing. So that I can get a feel for them.}'

Moments later, he blinked as he could feel the brilliant smile the Kitsune gave him in both his mind and soul, '{Harry-Chan, all you had to do was ask. And I would be honored to start teaching you.}'

That got a smile from Harry and he nodded, '{Thank you.}' With a final nod, he turned their body away from the mirror and began walking towards the door, "So... how about we go and break some brains, hmm?"

Giggles and a mental nod as well as a feeling of anticipation were what he got in return.

Needless to say, a few seconds later they entered the Kitsune and Haru turned from where she was talking with Sakuya, "Natsumi-Chan? Where's Harry..."

Seeing their combined form, she trailed off and stared alongside Sakuya as well as Kensuke as Harry and Natsumi walked in with one combined body. Waving their hand, Natsumi smiled as she spoke in a voice that leaned more to her end, "Hello, Oba-Chan, Haha-ue, Chichi-ue." Hearing a choking sound, she turned and grinned some at a gobsmacked Hoshi, "Hoshi-San! You're here as well."

Very slowly, the Kyuubi blinked before looking at her cup of tea. Looking back at the teens, she stared for a moment, "Natsumi-Chan... Harry-San... is that really you?"

The grin she got back was the perfect combination of Natsumi's foxy grin and Harry's lopsided one, "Hai, what do you think?"

Once more blinking, Hoshi looked them up and down, "... Right now? That I really should not be surprised when the two of you pull off something that should be impossible. Because you really should not have gotten the hang of this so quick." At the snickers from the teens, she pinched her nose, "I really shouldn't be surprised."

Getting out of her chair, Sakuya walked up to them and placed her hands on the teen's combined form before smiling, "Congratulations, the both of you." Head tilted to the side, she hummed, "How long can you keep it up?"

Yet again, when the teens spoke it was Natsumi as shown by how the voice leaned more towards hers, "We're actually going to try and hold it all day and into the night. Harry-Chan is going to contact Hoppou and let her know that he's staying over. We'll see if we can keep it up while sleeping."

Considering that, Haru finally snapped out of her surprise and gave them a nod, "That... would be a good idea. A very good one as a matter of fact." Sipping her own tea, she hummed, "Any other ideas?"

With a shrug, when the teen spoke it was Harry who did so as the voice now leaned towards his, "Well... we're going to practice some wand magic, and Natsumi is going to get me started on some Kitsune arts, so..."

Each of the Kitsune there simply nodded in agreement with Sakuya telling him that she would help with the second. Granted, they did wonder where exactly Nagato was, though like Natsumi they understood that it was likely secret for a reason...

____________________________________________________________________

Roughly forty miles from Izu Oshima there was a small group of islands, with the largest of which was no more than three kilometers long. They had been some of the islands hidden by magicals before the turn of the century. Once, after WWII, it had been used as a temporary camp by ICW Occupational Forces. But after the war, it had been abandoned for years until shortly before Harry's first year, a shipgirl patrol had found them.

Now, the largest island in the group had a small airstrip on it as well as some prefab buildings. The same wards that hid them now helped hide the island against any Abyssals that came too close, and so created the perfect spot for the JMSDF to test out weapons without being noticed. Which was helped by what was on the second largest island, which was mostly flat.

There, rising above the sandy, grassy ground, stood a hull that had been built into place. Roughly the size of a WWII era Heavy Cruiser, complete with fake guns, it stood. Arms crossed as he looked at the large screen showing said fake ship, Goto had a thoughtful look on his face, "Rather impressive."

Adjusting her glasses as she glanced at the clipboard she had, Ooyodo hummed, "Hai, if that was a ship, she would be roughly twelve thousand tons." Glancing at some of the other screens, which showed various points inside, the Light Cruiser hummed, "I will admit that I am more than slightly impressed that they built the insides like an actual ship."

Yonehara just snorted a little bit as he shrugged, "Of course they did, or else she would not be effective as a test." Sucking his teeth, he shook his head, "Don't get me wrong, the fact that the spirits of ships don't seem to mind SINKEXs is a weight off our shoulders, but we can't exactly sacrifice a warship for that. Not when we need every single one. Still... I do sort of feel bad for her."

From where she stood beside her husband, Ashigara blinked, "Oh?"

Grimace on his face, the Admiral glanced towards Goto and shrugged, "Her whole purpose is to just sit there and basically get blasted and blown up time and again. All so that we can test things that would be used against the Abyssals. Just... makes you feel bad for her."

Patting his shoulder gently, Ashigara gave him a kiss on the cheek before pulling away, "It will be fine, Yonehara-Kun. Besides, we have one or two magicals who can repair her."

Only nodding, Yonehara grunted a little.

Meanwhile, Goto hummed as he looked over his own clipboard before nodding, "According to this, she has Battleship armor?"

With a slight frown, Ooyodo nodded some, "Hai, while not the same as on warships, they used Chobham armor to get a similar thickness. It should give us a good idea as to the effects on an Abyssal Battleship at least." Glancing towards one of the technicians, Ooyodo got a nod, "Ah, it seems that all the weapons stores and such have been placed on her. The test should happen in the next half hour."

Even as the Admiral nodded, twenty miles away, the JDS Asuka plowed through the waves with various shipgirls escorting her. Among them, Nagato was leading the formation of escorts as her own floatplanes flew above the islands. Enterprise launched another group of planes into the air, which flew out and around, "So, what do you think of this, Nagato?"

Glancing over at her, the Battleship considered her thoughts for several moments before frowning, "I believe that it will be... interesting and informative in any case." Remembering some recent incidents, she grimaced, 'And if it helps prevent Nagato-Chan and the others from needing to fight..."

Back in the main building on the island, Goto looked over at the timer as it counted down the seconds towards the test before looking towards one of the cameras which showed a corridor on the Shinkirō, as she had been called. Said corrido had a number of ballistic dummies set up to take the place of crew. As the counter reached zero, the Admiral glanced at the other high ranked officers and nodded, "Begin the test."

With a sharp nod, a technician contacted the Asuka. Moments later, on one video monitor, they watched as a missile was launched and climbed high into the sky on a plume of smoke and fire before turning towards the target and coming close to the ocean's surface as programmed. As soon as it entered the wards ten miles out and could "See" the target, it sped up as it locked on.

Everyone watched as it impacted the hull just after the end of the superstructure on the stern before detonating in a flash of fire and violence. One powerful enough that it blew nearly the entire stern at that point off with red hot shards of metal flung high into the air and leaving most of the stern a smoking, twisted ruin. The explosion was so severe, that the hull itself tilted slightly from it.

On the screens, various internal cameras recorded a wave of fire and shrapnel shooting down corridors, ripping apart ballistic dummies and twisting the internal structure before some of said cameras were themselves destroyed.

For several moments, those who watched the carnage simple stared for a few moments before Enterprise took off her hat and stared into nothingness as she watched the plume of fire and smoke darken as it continued to rise, the sound of the explosion and secondary ones fading away, "Holy shit..."

In the Command center, Goto frowned as he looked from one screen to another with a slow nod, "I do believe that was a successful test. Ooyodo, your thoughts?"

The Light Cruiser chewed on said thoughts for several moments even as the flames continued to rage, "I think that we need to wait until the investigation teams are done, but... Hai, I believe that this is rather successful as well..."

Later that night, Goto and the others were all gathered in a conference room as video was played of the weapons test from various angles, inside and outside the test hull were played at a slow speed. That was followed by damage reports and photos, at the end of which, Tanaka shook his head, "Fucking hell... if this is right, then a Battleship Princess would likely be badly damaged by a single one of these hitting, am I right?"

Up at the front of the room, one of the Officers for Fleet Research and Development nodded, "Hai, that is the expectation for the new warheads. If they hit, they should do much more damage than the current ones being used."

Richardson frowned a little as he flipped through the pages in front of him, being there as the USN representative for the tests, "It was mentioned that the new warheads are using the new high explosive developed, correct? With help from... a certain thing?"

Only nodding, the FR&D Officer frowned, "Hai, that is true." Then, his frown became a slight smirk, "Thanks to the gift we received, we have been able to crack mass production for octanitrocubane with the high density crystal structure that works best. It is shock proof, while still being extremely... heh, explosive."

A female Officer also from the research section gave a small shrug with a chuckle, "Of course, we are now working on an explosive using octaazacubane alongside our allies in the US, Canada, and Australia among others, which we expect to bare fruit before the decade is out. Still, this test has shown that it is very effective. And we have already started testing the new mixture for torpedoes as well, which should boost them to the point to be a true threat to Abyssal Capital Ships."

Various nods met that pronouncement and various other questions were asked and answered. But, generally, more than one of the Officers there internally chuckled and smirked at the likely reactions from the Abyssals when they got hit with the new warheads. Something that brought warmth to all their hearts...

 

Digital Historian

Hidden in Plain Sight II

Despite the dark mood that had gotten her assigned the task to check out the place, Van Galen had to admit she’d enjoyed her time shopping. She had picked up couple of bags of sweets for Crijnsen, a stealth-charmed bracelet for O19, a Lady Chastity bodice ripper for Hertog Hendrik, and a pallet of lumpur rolls for Java and Sumatra. She leaned over the balcony overlooking the sundial and sighted contently in the afternoon sun.

They were visiting the apartment of Marie Ravensveer, the elder sister of one of her magical crewmen. The otherwise dignified centenarian had had tears streaming down her face when she was reunited with her long-lost younger brother, who had died in the defence of Rotterdam in May 1940; both the Destroyer and her escort had stepped outside to give the pair some privacy.

“Miss Heckx, if I my ask, why is all this here?” Van Galen made a sweeping motion with her arm. “I’d have expected there to be a place like this in one of the larger cities, or at least to find it closer to the centre of town.”

The wachtmeester drained her cup of coffee, had a think for a moment, and spoke. “There has been some magical settlement around here in one way or the other for the better part of a thousand years. That’s how the place got its name in both worlds. Heksenwiel literally means ‘the witches’ wheel’, a wheel of course being a deep colc formed by a breaking dyke. Given that the old dyke over which the road now runs dates to the tenth century, it has been here for at least that long. Because it was a bit of a depression in the landscape, it was unsuitable for farming and a copse grew around the water, which made it an ideal ritual site for magicals of old. After a while, they started living in the vicinity to minimise the risk of being seen when coming or going. We became part of the local folklore, to the point that the local primary school has a witch on a broomstick as its logo”

“So the wheel, is that the water that we can see just behind those trees over there?” Van Galen asked.

“No, but that is a common mistake. You see, this whole area was artificially raised when they redeveloped it in the eighties and nineties, and the old wheel was lost. No non-magical today knows where it used to be.”

The shipgirl looked at the mischievously grinning face of her minder. “Of course, us magicals have a longer memory. It used to be right here, underneath the sundial. The amount of interwoven wards and spells made it hard to move, so we just used them as the foundation for the modern spells hiding this place from notice. They were quite powerful, even for their age.”

They spent a few minutes in silence looking at the bustling crowd below them. A woman with a pram yelled at an older man in a mobility scooter that he had to watch where he drove. Two teenage boys were doing wheelies on their bikes, and a smaller boy with glasses was leaned against the sundial, reading a book.

“So, miss Heckx, what kind of stories were there about this place? You mentioned it being part of the local folklore?”

“Mostly it was just small things, warnings for children not to go near the water or into the woods alone. The kind of general ‘spooky place’ that let parents frighten their children into behaving. But one that stands out is the story of the witch and the gold.” The wachtmeester slipped into storytelling mode.

“So back in the fourteenth century there lived a witch here who was very wealthy and very stingy. She worked very hard and it seemed her sole goal in life was to become as rich as possible. But when her husband, who she loved very much, fell ill, she found that all the gold she had carefully hoarded was useless in curing him. So when he succumbed to his illness, she first threw all her money into the wheel, and put a curse on it. Shortly afterwards, she died as well, according to the story of a broken heart.”

Down below them, the crowd still moved. The two kids on bikes had ridden up to the sundial and were now hassling the reading boy and pushing him around. Shopping carts rattled on the pavement as a pair of trolley-pushers manhandled their silvery snaking cargo around.

“But the curse on the gold was the interesting part. Every month at full moon, the wheel would be accessible to young men, magical and muggle alike, and if they so desired they could dive the murky depths to find her treasure. However, they would only survive the attempt if they desired the gold to pay the bridewealth for the woman they truly loved. If their hearts were untrue or they desired money for moneys sake, she would cause them to drown.”

There was a muffled shout from below, as a girl in a yellow sundress charged through the crowd to stand up for her friend. The two other boys raced off on their bikes, but not before snatching the book their victim had been reading. Up above, Van Galen had her attention focussed on the witch next to her.

“Whether the story is true or not, I don’t know. There was too much magic layered over the area to tell individual spells apart from each other. But even if its isn’t it offers a good moral, right? ‘Live in the present, and let those you love know, before it is too late’.” A faint ‘Hoi’ behind them alerted them to the return of Van Galen’s crewman. They were shown out by Marie, who told the destroyer she was welcome any time.

Neither to the two observers noticed an older lady seemingly appear out of nowhere, nor see her hand the girl in the sundress a banknote to buy her friend a new book. And no one, especially not the girl who excitedly dragged her friend off to the bookstore, noticed the lady turn translucent and fade away, a sad smile on her face.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I know I promised turtles, but this one came to me last night, and it just wouldn't let me go until I had written it down. As some of you may have guessed, the shopping centre Van Galen visits exists in real life, and I know it quite well - I grew up in the neighbourhood and my parents still live a block or two away.
The myth about the witch and the gold is, near as I can tell, 'real', and was told to me by an older lady I had to interview for a school project back in the day.

 

Yellowhammer

1. N. -- Well since Ehren's outed as joining the Draco Fleet, I can post this one safely. Links are important BTW.
   
   A Matter Of ButterDagger Subtlety
   
   Yokohama, Japan, June 3rd, 2019
   
   "That was a really fun gig to play, Ehren." Johnston grinned as she walked down the street of the port city. "Thanks again for setting it up." She stretched, showing off her STAHLHEXE 2019 ASIAN TOURT-shirt to her band-mates Niobe, Ehren, and Cleopatra.
   
   Sadly, Nimue was working as temporary manager in Draco's absence to handle the paperwork while Tony had Piano-napped their keyboardist to use the tickets he had purchased for the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra doing 'The Music of Miyazaki'. So it was just the four of them wandering the streets after playing to a packed house of shipgirls, sailors, and Yokai fans at a club just off Yokosuka Naval Base.
   
   Ehren smiled back at her compatriot (and, she mentally added, future co-wife in marriage to each other and to Draco Malfoy). "It was my pleasure Johnston. I just wish that Draco was free to watch us play that gig for the shipgirls and sailors. That was an electric gig to sing for."
   
   Cleopatra smirked and joined in. "Oh, we can just give him a very special concert when we get home to make up for him getting stuck on business for Malfoy Apothecaries." The four girls giggled naughtily and blushed at the thought of what the very special concertwould entail.
   
   Ehren's smug smile widened fractionally as she remembered the private request that her Bärli had made of her to ferret out the preferred metal and gemstones for the other girls' wedding rings so Draco could surprise them upon their return to England from Stahlhexe's Asian Tour. She had, of course, given him her preferences for metal (white gold), gemstones (natural pearls), and style (Art Deco) and had few doubts that he would come up with something suitable when he knelt before her and opened the ring box.
   
   Niobe giggled throatily. "Indeed, Liebchen will not know what he is missing until we make it up to him by making love to him. But you look quite smugly satisfied, Ehren, more so than the normal. What is going on?"
   
   Ehren's smile grew smugger as she deployed her first decoy to keep her co-wives unaware of the planned surprise. "I recieved word that the third floor and attic renovation for my Prussian estate is proceeding ahead of schedule. By the time we finish our tour, the estate will be fully ready to serve as our private retreat and home away from home. Including the gaslight lamps and artwork I commissioned that you wished for your sitting room, Niobe. I found a source for Victorian furnishings and Mutti has signed off on the withdrawal of my funds to make our fantasy estate perfect for us and Draco." As have the Malfoys, she secretly added to herself with an internal smirk, after all what happens in privacy stays in privacy and Aunt Narcissa did tell me that she wished to have grandbabies at the earliest possible moment.
   
   Niobe hugged her. "That's wonderful news, Ehren!" Cleo and Johnston agreed, then Cleo's eyes got very big as they rounded the corner en-route to the restaurant that Great-Aunt Chisuheri had recommended to her.
   
   "Oh wow! Look at those displays!" Cleo gushed over the luxury jewelry store. "I wish Darling was here so we could seriously shop."
   
   "No reason we can't browse and come back later with him," Johnston said thoughtfully, her eyes gleaming at the gems on display. "There's vanishing cabinets between England and Japan that we can use with him...."
   
   "I'm not all that hungry yet," Niobe added, "and shopping does work up an appetite." The silver-haired shipgirl's eyes gleamed at the sight of the diamonds displayed. "They certainly have a selection of jewels fit for review."
   
   As she walked inside with them, Ehren smugly smirked to herself as she mentally added her own commentary.
   
   Just as planned by me to insure they were tempted to look and I can take notes as to what they want for their rings.

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

Spoiler: A Dagger's Subtle Plan

It was difficult not to coo too much over their selection of pearls which were a definite weakness of hers, Ehren admitted to herself, but business before cultured pearl necklaces. She then walked over to where Niobe was admiring a selection of diamonds through a viewing scope.

"Wow, look at this, Ehren." Niobe whispered as she stepped back and gestured to her fellow German.

Ehren put her eyes to the scope and gave an impressed whistle at a brilliant light-blue diamond blazing with the inner fires of its birth at the molten heart of the earth.

"Magnificent, Niobe, simply magnificent!" Ehren exclaimed in honest admiration for her fellow German's eye for quality. She then continued in a musing tone. "It would make a superb centerpiece for a ring or necklace, but what metal...?"

Niobe touched her silver-platinum hair. "Something like this, perhaps? You cannot go wrong with platinum and diamonds."

Ehren nodded. "Ja, something light to not overpower the luster of the stone."

Mentally she added. Niobe, blue and white diamonds in a platinum metal ring, check.
------------------------------

"So, find anything worthwhile to admire, Cleo?" Ehren asked as she walked beside the enthralled shipgirl.

"Oh yes. You know that Emeralds were a royal monopoly in Ancient Egypt?" Cleopatra responded as she turned from a display of emerald and gold earrings.

"Nein, I did not," Ehren admitted.

"Well, they were."Cleo responded as she turned back to the display. "There are some very fine ones here, not a lot of inclusions in the stone and well cut to bring out the hues."

Ehren nodded along with Cleo's flowing words, then decided to go for double or nothing. "Correct me if I am wrong, Cleopatra, but was not gold sacred to the Ancient Egyptians too?"

"Oh my, yes, Ehren!" Cleopatra's golden curls bobbed as she nodded vigorously in agreement. "It was called the Tears of Ra because of the similarity to the sun. Although most ancient gold was alloyed with copper impurities in the smelting process which produces the more pink and red golds than the pure golden metal we have now."

"Fascinating, Cleo." Ehren spoke as she rubbed her chin. "So most ancient gold was pink or red rather than actually gold?"

"Oh yes! That alloy then got called Russian Gold in the nineteenth century since it was popular there. My gunnery officer gave his sweetheart a Russian gold engagement ring that had been passed down through his family. His grandfather was a naval attache to St. Petersburg under Queen Victoria, you see, and met a countess there." Cleopatra spoke with a sunny smile on her beaming face as she talked about the jewelry that she loved.

"Fascinating, truly fascinating," Ehren agreed. "Thank you for the lesson that you are sharing with me." You have no idea how informative it was...

"Friends should hang together, and I really do like ancient history, especially about Egypt," Cleo said as she resumed browsing, "probably because my service was in the Med and I was home-ported at Alexandria a lot."

Ehren walked away, humming tunelessly under her breath as she thought to herself, and I will have to lean on Draco to have me as a witness when you get the Russian Gold Emerald wedding ring you clearly would desire.
------------------------------

"Anything good, Johnston?" Ehren asked as she headed to where the destroyer's spirit was almost visibly drooling at a gem on display.

"Look at that ruby necklace, Ehren! Isn't it amazing?" Johnston whispered in awe as she pointed at a necklace set with several reddish-purple pigeon blood rubies in pure gold.

Ehren swallowed at the sight. "Ja, it is."

Johnston giggled conspiratorially. "I'll have to make it worth Muffin's while to come back here with me and buy it as a girlfriend present. It even makes me an all-American girl, you know. I already have my blue aquamarines and white diamonds in my platinum anchor earrings that he got for me, and those sure bring the red for the Red, White, And Blue."

Ehren nodded jerkily. "Ja. Ja. They certainly do."

Johnston then leaned in and whispered. "Hey, you will help me give Muffin a good time so he comes with me here and buys this for me? Right, Ehren? I know you're into him as much as I am." The girls both blushed as they remembered spending time with each other and Draco.

Ehren grinned smugly as her cheeks darkened with her blush. "Oh, I'll certainly help you get your ruby fix on, Johnston. After all, what are girlfriends and lovers for?" A really nice 24 karat gold and ruby ring for Johnston, check. Also help her give Draco a good time once he gives her that ring, a promise is a promise.

"Aces!" Johnston hugged the smirking dagger spirit. "Now let's round up the others and grab some chow at that restaurant that you picked out for us! I'm starving with all this window shopping!"

Ehren grinned in triumph. "Yes, let's grab that bite to eat. I can't wait."

Oh I can't wait to see your faces when he puts those rings on us all....

 

Yellowhammer

1. N. -- Well and here's the last of the backlog that I have for Ehren.
   
   A Binding Of Steel
   
   Hogwarts Alchemy Lab
   
   June 21st, 2019 (Summer Solstice)

Spoiler: An Enduring Legacy

USS Johnston entered the room where three other women and one young man were waiting. Ehren du Chasteler gave her a small warm smile as HMS Cleopatra grinned and waved. Then SMS Niobe spoke in her German accented voice. "You have it then for our big day tomorrow?"

Light sparkled from Johnston's feather clip as she grinned happily. "I do. I owe Trieste big-time for retrieving this from," Her voice broke, her face turned pale, and she swallowed as the memories of what the steel in her hand represented slammed into her like the armor-piercing shells from Yamato off Samar, "my wreck."

She placed a small fragment of steel the size of her thumb on the awaiting workbench standing in the center of the room next to Draco's golden cauldron.

Stained and rusted from the decades at the bottom of the Philippine Trench twenty thousand feet below the surface of the Pacific, that small piece of steel sat as mute witness to everything it represented.

The legacy of a 'tin can' mass produced destroyer.

A ship whose three-quarter Native American skipper said upon commissioning her in his speech to her and her crew. "This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now."

Brave words that would be put to the test three hundred and sixty two short days of life later on the morning of the 25th of October, 1944.

For as the largest naval battle in history raged across thousands of square miles of waters, a combination of American blunders and Japanese planning and good luck, liberally seasoned with the fog of war, created one of the most colossal mismatches in naval history.

For bearing down on the six escort carriers - converted merchant ships intended to do antisubmarine patrol and convoy escort - three destroyers and four destroyer escorts of Task Force 77.4.3 (Taffy Three) was the Japanese Center Force.

Four Japanese battleships, any one of which grossly outclassed all its opponents piled together including the mighty Yamato and the pride of the IJN, Nagato. Six heavy cruisers with the speed and firepower to savage the American ships at will. Two light cruisers and a full eleven destroyers to screen and support the mailed fist about to slam unstoppably through the light task forces in their way to then hit the defenseless transports filled with tens of thousands of men.

But on board USS Johnston, the closest ship to the oncoming Japanese tsunami, Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans redeemed the bold promise that he had given his crew and his fighting ship when she was commissioned as he dashed to the bridge.

All hands to General Quarters!
Prepare to attack major portion of Japanese Fleet!
All engines ahead flank!
Commence making smoke and stand by for a torpedo attack!
Left full rudder!

Acting without the orders that would not come for critical minutes, he turned Johnston to make a doomed gallant lone charge across the six miles of water that she would have to cover under the fire of every enemy ship's heavy guns to get into range for her light guns and torpedoes.

Buying time for the carriers to make steam and run for it as she drew fire from them to herself as she went into harm's way toward a battle she could never hope to win -- or survive.

Buying time for the desperate radio messages for help to reach anyone that perhaps could help slow down the inevitable.

Buying time for their warnings to be heeded as the first heavy shells screamed in to throw tons of saltwater across her decks as she chased splashes from guns that could -- and would -- turn her into a floating and flaming coffin when her luck and skill ran out.

Buying time with his life, the lives of his men, and the life of his fighting ship sacrificed willingly so that others could live.

Later, much later, her few survivors who had been plucked from the water would be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. They, remembering the shipmates and Chief who had died to make this day possible, would bear witness to the monument honoring her and the other ships of Taffy Three who had managed to do the impossible and fight the Japanese to a standstill that caused them to retreat in one of the most shocking battle results in history.

Later, Commander Evans' sister would christen the new destroyers that would bear his name and the name of his 'fighting ship'. His Congressional Medal of Honor that had been presented to his grieving family gleamed in the sunlight on those days as it silently bore witness to the ultimate sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty that he, his men, and his 'fighting ship' had paid with their blood and this steel as they sailed to their deaths... and to immortal glory.

A legacy of valor.
---------------------------------------

HMS Cleopatra stepped forward next and placed her own small billet of steel beside Johnston's offering. Unlike her friend and companion, this came from the spiritual hull that she had summoned, since she had gone to the breakers in 1958.

Born of the Admiralty's desperate need for screening cruisers as the Second World War approached, she had kissed the waves for the first time in 1940 and been commissioned in 1941.

She too had fought a battleship, as off Sirte she led two of her Dido-class sisters and two other light cruisers along with seventeen destroyers to screen her Malta Convoy from the Regia Marina's battleship Littorio and the heavy cruisers Goriza and Trento. With her skillful use of smoke screens and the threat of torpedo attacks from the destroyers, she managed to hold off the Italian attempt to destroy her convoy.

Despite shells, bombs and torpedoes hitting her and even a mishap in dry-dock that could have snapped her keel when the braces gave way, she soldiered on with elegance and flair throughout the war.

She would mourn the loss of her sisters, most notably HMS Hermione in front of her shocked eyes in the dark days of 1942 but nonetheless did all that she could do faithfully for King and Country.

Then after the war, she had a brief but thrilling second career in the movies as she starred in the film Sailor of the King in 1953 before finally being decommissioned and given her final rest at the breakers.

Her baby blue eyes glimmered with her salt tears when she laid down the billet of steel that had come from the spirit of a shipgirl who had lived up to the Royal Navy's proud legacy of victory at sea with verve, daring, and a flair for the dramatic no matter what her service threw at her in her short but memorable life.

A legacy of perseverance.
---------------------------------------

As Cleo stepped back, the platinum-haired elegant form of SMS Niobe stepped forward with her own offering. The protected cruiser placed her own billet of Krupp steel, the pinnacle of 1898 German industry and manufacturing alongside the other two pieces.

Nickel steel that had been formed in the legendary Krupp blast furnaces of Essen for one of the first modern protected cruisers that the German Empire would build. A cruiser named for a proud Greek princess of mythology who one day would weep for her children killed by her hubris.

Steel that had been seen by her Kaiser as she escorted his royal yacht to meetings with fellow kings and Emperors as a symbol of German pride and German technology.

Steel that had then served on the Chinese and Far Eastern squadron protecting German commercial interests in Asia.

Steel that had served during the First World War as a coast defense ship, too worn out from her colonial service to serve without the refit that the Second Reich was unable to do for her during the Great War.

Steel that had then been sold to Yugoslavia in 1925 to get desperately needed hard currency for Weimar Germany. She bid her beloved homeland farewell, knowing in her soul that she would never return, and yet with solemn pride that she could give one last dutiful service for God and Kaiser.

Steel that had been captured by the Italians in 1941, and refitted into a coastal defense and gunnery training ship.

Steel that had then been captured and recommissioned by Nazi Germany in 1943, returning her to her original name, although she wept to witness what her homeland had become.

Steel that finally was sunk in the Adriatic by British Motor Torpedo Boats forty-four years later as she escorted a convoy. One last duty performed elegantly and unhesitatingly for her homeland as her first life ended.

Steel from the spiritual hull of a shipgirl who had come back to protect Germany dutifully.

A shipgirl who would eventually find love in the arms of a man who believed in her and had given her the chance to save her friend and lover whom she viewed as a stubborn (and sometimes pigheadedly stupid) Prussian sister. A chance she had taken with both hands and never let go since the moment he ordered her into the fire to save Ehren -- and had claimed her heart and soul with that faith in her to accomplish the duty that he set for her no matter her obsolescence and past.

A legacy of duty
---------------------------------------

The final girl placed her own steel hilt pin next to the other offerings. Unlike the other three, hers was oddly patterned, with some shining like the Krupp steel of her fellow German Niobe, while other parts were the wood-grain of Muramasa's jewel steel used to make legendary weapons.

Steel that had been poured in 1937 in the legendary Krupp blast furnaces of Essen as the design studies that would become Cleopatra and Johnston were ordered and as Niobe trained Yugoslav sailors on naval gunnery and ship-handling as the clouds of war gathered.

Steel sent to Solingen in Germany where the renowned sword and knifesmiths of Germany had dwelt for centuries. There, her unfinished and unformed steel would be hand-crafted into the shape of a SS-Ehrendolch, a symbol of the Third Reich's pride and power in steel and nickel, ebony and platinum.

A dagger which had been specially handmade to be awarded to the best and brightest graduate of the officer training school for the SS at Bad Tölz in Bavaria as a symbol of the best and brightest of Germany's revival after the defeats of the Great War.

A dagger who was personally buckled to the waist of SS officer Helmar von und zu Wolff, son of a Prussian Junker family who could trace their family's history of honorable service back to the Teutonic Knights as loyal guardians of Schloss Waldhain, by Adolf Hitler during the graduation ceremonies where he was celebrated as being the best and brightest of German youth.

A dagger who had served her First Master with faithful devotion and honor as he fought in the Waffen SS, recovered from his wounds in battle to defeat France, and then worked as a secret policeman. Patterning her yet unformed spirit on his example for good and for ill.

A dagger who had been used by the enraged Wolff upon his ex-lover Colombe du Chasteler as the SS officer and Belgian noblewoman fought over the treasures of the sorceress Morgana in a hidden place of power within the Sahara as the Second World War hung in the balance.

A dagger who had been claimed as a prize of war by the sorrowful Colombe, shaken and shattered at seeing how far into darkness and evil the man that she loved had fallen as they fought on opposite sides of the Second World War.

A dagger who had served her new Mutti loyally as backup weapon and magical testbed, then acted as a hidden bodyguard for her newly manifested sister Claire when the Piano's spirit formed. Further refining and honing her spirit in the pathway of honor trod by her Vati and Mutti as she matured into their loving daughter that never was in flesh but was in spirit, light and darkness joined and intertwined in her.

A dagger who had manifested only to find out the terrible soul-shattering truth of what the Nazis had intended for humanity. Shattered in faith and wounded in body, she rededicated herself to honor and faithfulness while swearing to oppose that evil that she saw in them -- and herself -- with every fiber of her being. Death, after all, was easy, but redemption and penance were hard.

A dagger who had been adopted and accepted as Ehren du Chasteler, sister of Claire du Chasteler and the youngest of the daughters of the legendary Muramasa rapier Colombe du Chasteler.

A dagger who struggled mightily with the siren call of her darker -- Nazi -- side, with the lies and evil that she had been forged to embody, yet never revealed her inner torments and battles hidden under her cool manner and icy politeness to save but a few intimates such as the people standing with her today.

A dagger who had marched alongside her mother into the hellish genius loci of the awakening spirit of the Battle of Verdun to protect her family as honor and service demanded despite knowing that the chance of her return to her loved ones was slim.

A dagger who resisted the temptation that her Vati Helmar von und zu Wolff and his nascent Fourth Reich had represented to her when she was at her lowest and darkest point -- alone, wounded, and afraid. After all, she would know if she gave in to him and what he represented in her seemingly hopeless struggle, and her Honor was Faithfulness.

A dagger who then had to help put an end to the monster that her Vati had become in an act of sacrifical love to redeem his honor -- and hers -- despite the scar upon her wounded heart that she would forever carry as the cost of that honor and devotion to her ideals and beliefs.

A dagger who had managed to redeem the slogan engraved on her blade, her heart and her soul. Meine Ehre heißt Treue. My Honor is Faithfulness.

A dagger who put others ahead of herself endlessly until at last Draco Malfoy elected to court and win her to become the emotional support, confidante, lover, and soulmate that she desperately desired but refused to seek out for fear of compromising what he had with the other three with her darkness.

A dagger who finally learned, just as her mother had learned during her own dark night of the soul, that sometimes you needed another person entering your life to love you and care for you.

A person who could teach you to love yourself when you were unable thanks to your brokenness of spirit.

A person who Ehren du Chasteler would bind herself to forever in honorable and faithful marriage with this steel and all it represented to her.

A legacy of honor
---------------------------------------

With the fourth billet placed, the girls joined hands in a circle around the table where the cauldron stood. Draco took his place in the center of their circle as he gently placed each offering of the steel that represented their essence, their beings, their legacy into the alchemical mixture that he had prepared for this day. He waved his hawthorn wand with unicorn tail core to stir it as the power inside the ritual chamber built.

Then with a flash it happened. Five throats gasped as one as the energies crested, linking them as a bright flash of light emitted from the cauldron to arc around the circle in a timeless moment linking shipgirl to wizard to dagger to shipgirl

As the light faded, the only thing remaining in the cauldron was a glowing steel ring at the bottom.

The ring was formed from four seamless strips of steel mixed and woven together perfectly in a spiral patterned braided ribbon that was impossible to tell where one girl's steel ended and the next began. Inside the magical ring was engraved "My Heart, My Love Beats Forever True." while as the circle continued endlessly, it was repeated in Fraktur script "Mein Herz, meine Liebe schlägt für immer wahr."

Draco's hand trembled as he reached inside and took it in his hand as the girls crowded around him, hugging him gently.

Slowly, he slid it onto the ring finger of his left hand, the finger that was believed to have a vein that ran directly to his heart.

Binding him to them, as they had bound themselves to him.

Eternally.

 

Harry Leferts

Shiromizu had her eyes closed as she stood close to the hole that had been drilled into the earth as she sensed the heated water deep below her. After a few seconds, the Mizuchi gave a small nod with a smile as she looked at those around her, "It's ready... just one last bit needed."

Bowing, Himawari nodded with a smile, "Hai..." As her safety helmet slipped a bit, she adjusted it, "Shall I inform the workers for the final preparations?"

When her lady nodded, the Sunflower spirit walked off to the workers who were with a crane. Behind her, Shiromizu bit back a laugh at the somewhat ridiculous sight of Himawari with a bright yellow safety helmet and safety vest over her more traditional yukata. After a few moments, however, the Mizuchi shook her head and turned her attention to the well that had been dug. Said well stuck out a bit above the ground and was made of copper with concrete on the outside.

Humming a little, Shiromizu nodded towards the water spirit next to her, "What are your thoughts on the matter, Suihou-Chan?"

The water spirit in question blinked before smiling a little, hard as it was to be seen with her face composed of clear water, "Hmm... it looks as if it shall be a very nice spring, Lady Shiromizu. Though..." A frown crossed her face as she became thoughtful, "The well is rather deep..."

With a sigh, Shiromizu gave a small nod, "It is a bit deeper than I wanted, Suihou-Chan. But that is because the heated water lies under a sill beneath our feet about seven hundred feet down. I'll have to break the sill and keep the water from flowing through the cracks until we can hook in the soul." A slight grimace crossed her face, "Which might be a bit harder due to the water pressure in the fracture that contains the water."

Only nodding, Suihou glanced at the Mizuchi next to her and smiled with a slight bow. Under normal circumstances, the next words from her mouth would have never left them due to how Mizuchi could be. However, she trusted the one beside her and had grown to understand her as well, "Would you wish for assistance, Lady Shiromizu?"

Smile on her face, the serpentine woman gave a relieved sigh, "That would be very much appreciated, Suihou-Chan. I'll have enough problems doing everything that I need to do correctly as it is. Besides which, if anything goes wrong, the two of us are safe unlike what others would be."

Making a sound of agreement, Suihou watched as Himawari nodded and called over that they were ready. A few minutes later the cap to the well was removed revealing a pipe that was big enough for a person's leg to slip into, but not much else. Leaning over and looking into the darkness, Suihou blinked, "It is rather deep."

Lightly chuckling, Shiromizu gave a slight nod, "It is at that." She then nodded towards Suihou, "Please... bring me the soul, Suihou-Chan."

Bowing deeply, the water spirit quickly made her way over to where an ornate box sat that was decorated with mother of pearl as well as gold with dragons all over it. Taking it from her, Shiromizu opened the box to reveal a pearl the size of a person's fist. Every time it was moved, the colors and pearlescent sheen changed and shifted as it seemed to glow from within.

In awe, Suihou leaned in to look at it closer, "Is that... is that a dragon pearl? And it contains a human soul?"

With a slow nod, Shiromizu hummed, "Hai, and it is something to see." For a few moments, she looked at the pearl itself before nodding, "Suihou-Chan? Are you ready?" At the nod, the Mizuchi gestured at a container, "Then please, open the first container containing my water."

Not saying anything, the water spirit did so and watched as the water flowed out at a gesture from Shiromizu and then entered the well. When the Mizuchi held out a hand in offer, Suihou took it and suddenly, she could "See" where the water now was, at the bottom of the well. Down there, she could also see sand and gravel that had been dumped into the well at Shiromizu's direction. The water, brought there from Shiromizu's spring, began to swirl faster and faster in place as it picked up the gravel and sand as it began to wear away the rock.

At the same time, due to them sharing power, Suihou could also feel the difference in power between the two. Her spring, while a good size, was still at most a brook. Compared to Shiromizu's own torrent of a river, it was nothing. Yet, at the same time, the water spirit felt nothing but protectiveness and so followed Shiromizu's guiding as the rock at the bottom continued to be worn away bit by bit. First, a foot, then two which soon became four as the Sun continued it's track across the sky.

Until, finally, Shiromizu, brought her waters to a stop with little remaining rock. With a deep breath, the Mizuchi's chest heaved some before she nodded, "Release the rest of my water."

Letting go of her lady's hand, Suihou quickly opened the other clay containers, and Shiromizu gathered the water in front of her. Slowly, she inserted the pearl, which began to glow and seemed to start to disperse before the water, carrying said jewel, flowed into the well. At a glance, Suihou took Shiromizu's hand once more and closed her metaphorical eyes as she watched the pearl, still dissolving, flow down to the bottom, only to stop a few feet above the surface of the rest of the water.

Then, the water began swirling even faster than before and the rock wore away quickly before it fractured and then shattered entirely as Shiromizu's water met the buried hot water.

Far above, the Mizuchi grunted as she focused her will on holding back the water even as she drilled even deeper, the rock fracturing around it as she continued down a few more feet before stopping. At that point, Suihou's own mind joined hers in holding back the water, which was much more of a strain on the lesser water spirit. Something shown as her features became less distinct. Teeth gritting, Shiromizu brought the pearl fully down into the hole at that point and settled it on the bottom.

With that, finally, done, she began to connect the soul spiritually to the spring. Something that was far easier said than done. Cord by spiritual cord, she rooted it into the water around it. Slowly, but surely, forging the connections even as sweat beaded on her skin. At the same time, those watching could only stare as the red markings on her body glowed brighter, and brighter, followed by her own body. Until it was hard to see the actual body besides the markings.

It took over an hour, but, finally, Shiromizu gasped as the final connections were emplaced and she staggered back a bit with Suihou. Breathing deeply, the Mizuchi smiled some, "It... is done..." However, she blinked and frowned as she tilted her head, "Do you hear something-"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a rumble before hot, boiling hot water shot into the air above them to a height of fifteen feet.

Just blinking as she was unaffected, Shiromizu looked around even as Suihou, recovered a little, turned to her as steaming hot water fell on them both, "Lady Shiromizu... was this not a hot spring?"

The Mizuchi scratched her head a little, "I... suppose that the water was under more pressure than I thought." Watching as the hot water filled the depression around them fairly quickly, she hummed as she tapped her chin, "On the bright side, a geyser will bring in more tourism, I suppose."

Considering that, Suihou gave a small nod, "That is very much true, Lady Shiromizu. From what I have heard, such things are popular for sightseeing " Then, she shrugged some as she looked around, "When will the newest member of your court manifest?"

Head tilted to the side, Shiromizu blinked some, "Not long, I believe. Their new physical and spiritual form is already coming into being from what I can feel. Probably not more than an hour, I would think."

Even as the water spirit nodded, the water pattering down began to fill the rocky hollow where the new hot spring was spraying water out. It did not take long to fill the hollow and begin to flow outwards and down the mountainside while the water continued to spout upwards fifteen feet into the air in a steaming spray. Finally, however, the water around the spring began to bubble. Several times, it burbled into something resembling a pillar, one that more and more took on the appearance of a human made of water.

Then, after several minutes of this, it finally splashed upwards in the form of a young man who coughed and hacked as water dripped from his hair. From the waist down, however, like Shiromizu his form was that of a serpent. Unlike hers, however, the color was more of a rusty gold. Blinking, he looked around in amazement, "I... what..."

Slithering forward, Shiromizu bowed a little to him, "Welcome back to the world of the living. I am Ginzan no Shiromizu." Her expression softened a little, "Do you know... what happened?"

A shudder ran through the young man as he nodded, "H-hai, I do." Swallowing, he took a moment before continuing, "I remember... my death a couple of years ago, I think. I headed back into town when a storm broke and next thing I knew these... things... appeared and there were explosions everywhere. There was a lot of pain and..."

When he held himself, Shiromizu made her way over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's fine... that is in the past."

Only nodding, the man looked around before blinking, "Er... right... I... I remember being before the Yama Kings, and they claimed that Ryuujin-Dono asked for my soul. And then just waiting in the pearl before he told me that... that you were going to bring me back." Bowing, he took another deep breath, "I am... Etsumi, Shiromizu-Sama. And I thank you for the gift that you have bestowed upon me."

Lightly smiling, Shiromizu chuckled a little, "You don't need to thank me, I don't mind helping such when possible after all." Suddenly, she smirked and snapped a paper fan in front of her, "Though once you are fully settled and learned some things to do with being a Mizuchi, I already have a position for you..."

Curious, Etsumi glanced at the water spirit before nodding, "Of course... but what is it that I am to do?" A slight blush on his face, he rubbed the back of his neck, "After all, when I was, er, human... I was mostly a park worker who did some freshwater fishing."

Right then, a gleam entered the white scaled Mizuchi's eyes, "Why... I believe that you shall do good as a sort of go between my court and one other's. Unfortunately, as I am still young, and they're quite distant, that means that you won't have many duties. But I am certain that you might well enjoy it greatly..."

Blinking, Etsumi was about to say something when he paused as pieces snapped into place and hope filled his expression, "You mean..."

Just snapping her fan closed, Shiromizu winked at him, "Yodogawa is rather friendly with myself, and I wish to deepen the friendship with one of the Senpais who I get along with. I do hope that you do not mind spending quite a bit of time with her..."

Grin on his face, the newly reincarnated Mizuchi laughed, "No, I don't think that I will, Shiromizu-Sama..."

Meanwhile, in Osaka, Yodogawa was eating some ice cream with her daughter when she paused at an odd feeling. Frown on her face, she looked around before her gaze fell on the direction of where Ginzan was, "Mou... that is odd."

Pausing, Kinryuu frowned and looked up at her mother, "What is, Haha-ue?"

For several moments, the Mizuchi was silent before smiling, "I do not know, but I was suddenly reminded of Etsumi-Kun when we went to some hot springs... but I didn't feel sad."

In reply, Kinryuu leaned against her mother, who gently wrapped an arm around her.

 

Harry Leferts

Just a few hours later found Etsumi inside the dining room of Shiromizu’s residence. Looking around, while it was a very fine dining room, it was not to the level of splendour that some Mizuchi had. In fact, it was rather... simple and understated. Yet, it was also warm and inviting at the same time.

His lips twitched some as he was reminded of how a natural hot spring out in the woods was much the same.

Finishing swallowing some pork ramen, very good ramen as it turned out, Etsumi looked over at Shiromizu who was enjoying her own bowl and chuckled. Some noodles hanging from her mouth, said Mizuchi blinked before sucking them in and swallowing, “Is something funny?”

Lightly blushing some, the newly incarnated Mizuchi rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry about that, Lady Shiromizu. Just...” He gestured around them, “In my experience, a bowl of ramen is not exactly what most Mizuchi would have as a meal. Nor would the surroundings be...”

As he tried to find a word, Shiromizu chuckled some herself, “Simple? Non-ostentatious?” At the unsure nod, she simply shrugged, “I’m not like other Mizuchi, I guess. They’re themselves and I’m just... well, me, Ginzan no Shiromizu.”

Somewhat amused, Etsumi smiled some, “I think that I am coming to that realization.” Taking another bite of noodles, he chewed before swallowing, “In some ways that reminds me of Yodo-Chan.”

Rather than be insulted, the Mizuchi across from him seemed pleased, “Really?”

Eyebrow raised at the reaction, Etsumi, “You’re not insulted? Considering my wife...”

In reply, Shiromizu shrugged a little, “Yodogawa-Senpai is nice and the like, I don’t see an issue with being compared to her. And there is nothing wrong with liking the simple things after all.” Grin appearing on her face, she gestured at her bowl, “I would rather a large bowl of filling ramen compared to tiny little bite sizes of food.”

Giggles made both Mizuchi turn towards her two female attendants. Himawari had a smile on her face, “Something that we realized fairly quickly, Lady Shiromizu.”

Pout on her face, the Mizuchi in question had a playful look in her eye, “So mean, Himawari-Chan...”

That only got more giggles and snickers, even as Etsumi smirked some, ‘Yes, definitely not like most Mizuchi.’ After a few more bites of food, and listening as well as watching the playful banter, he finally decided to satiate one of the questions he had, “Lady Shiromizu, may I ask you a question?”

Only nodding, Shiromizu blinked but had a smile on his face, “Of course, ask away.”

Not saying anything, the newly incarnated Mizuchi frowned in thought for a moment, “Not that I am not thankful for being alive, because I am..." Pausing, he shook his head, "Really thankful. But..."

Understanding, Shiromizu leaned forward with her hands folded in front of her face, "But... you're wondering why me."

It was not a question, but Etsumi nodded with a confused frown on his face, "Hai, Lady Shiromizu. I don't mean any insult, but I just want to know why you."

For a few moments, the other Mizuchi had her eyes closed. Then, finally, she opened them and sighed some, "The answer comes down to something rather simple, but that I would rather have not need to deal with." Grimacing, Shiromizu shook her head, "Politics."

Etsumi blinked at that before frowning, "Politics?"

Humming, Shiromizu nodded as she took another bite of ramen, slowly chewing it before she answered, "Politics, or rather... divine politics." After another bite, she continued, "How much do you know about Mizuchi politics?"

Needless to say, that, if anything, made him frown and he glanced at Shiromizu's other attendants, "I was a normal human in my... previous life, Lady Shiromizu. But my wife's attendants did teach my just enough to understand some things. For example, despite being not as long as some, such as Fujigawa, she's still one of the more powerful Mizuchi as she counts Lake Biwa as her territory as well since hers is the only river that empties it. Not to mention the spiritual significance of the major river for Kyoto."

Slowly, Shiromizu nodded with a slight smile, "Hai, because she counts Lake Biwa as hers, she is very powerful if she wanted to throw her weight around." Her smile then turned into a frown, "Apparently that is part of the issue right there as well. If she was given the chance, she could have brought you back as a Mizuchi, which I have no doubt that she would have. However, that could have caused issues as well considering things. For one thing, some might have seen it as Ryuujin-Sama favoring your wife, which is stupid. Some might have also seen it as her throwing around her weight as it were."

Frown on his face, Etsumi considered some of what he knew about Mizuchi from his own meetings and grimaced, "Okay... I hate it, but that makes some sense." Scratching his own head, and feeling some horns behind his ear, he shook his head and turned to her, "But why you? I mean, no offense, but there's plenty of Mizuchi who could do it as well."

Lips twitching, the female Mizuchi across from him chuckled, "Hai, and probably easier as well." Her expression then became serious, "Except, that was apparently problematic as well. How many Mizuchi would do it out of the goodness of their heart and not to use you as a way to either get power over your wife, or to trade you for some sort of benefit to them? Fujigawa, for example is still a good sort despite her attitude according to Senpai... but would she be able to not use the situation to place some pressure on your wife?"

Grimace on his face, Etsumi sighed, "No... I suppose not."

Continuing, Shiromizu sighed and rubbed her face, "And in regards to Yodogawa-Senpai's friends and allies? It could have seen accusations and behind the scenes bullshite happen. Because, obviously, they would have done it for her."

Now furrowing his eyebrows, the former human frowned as he glanced to his new Lady, "And you? What makes you different?"

Slight smile on her face, Shiromizu shrugged, "Because of what I am and my river." At the confused look she got, she shook her head, "My river doesn't lead anywhere right now. Sure, it flows into a lake that's being filled, but nowhere else... yet. Hence, I'm..." Pausing, the Mizuchi searched for a word before frowning, "I guess unaligned right now is the best word. If and when my river flows into a larger one, than I would be part of their court. But right now, I am only part of my Court and Ryuujin-Sama's, no one else's. Apparently, it gives me cover as obviously Ryuujin-Sama asked me to do so, a young Mizuchi. Yet, because the only other Court that I am part of is my own? No other Mizuchi can give me an order regarding you."

Eyebrow raised, Etsumi blinked at her, "Not yet... but what about later?"

At that, she shrugged, "That I don't know. But looking at maps and such? The most likely rivers that mine might join would be either the Tenryuu, or perhaps the Ooi. Both of whom..."

Briefly, Etsumi's eyes widened a touch before he became thoughtful, "Both of whom are friends of Yodo-Chan!"

Her lips curled into a slight smirk, Shiromizu nodded, "Exactly."

It was then that Suihou spoke up for the first time, "Lady Shiromizu, while not having outright stated, is rather aligned with Shinanogawa-Sama's faction which includes Yodogawa-Sama. This would only make such official. Jin-Sama is also to an extent as well, so it does not bother Lady Shiromizu to make such a move."

Only nodding, the male Mizuchi frowned a little before turning towards Shiromizu, "Are you going to ask something of Yodo-Chan? For..."

Lightly chuckling, Shiromizu held up three fingers, "I will only ask her for two things." With that, she began to tick off on her fingers, "The first is friendship between us and our Courts, which I don't think that she will mind much." At the nod from Etsumi, the Mizuchi continued, "The second is a cuddle."

Confused, Etsumi wiggled a finger in his ear with a frown on his face, "I... had to have heard wrong. You want... a cuddle from my wife?"

With a shrug and a grin, the female Mizuchi laughed, "Hai, because I am a cuddle connoisseur and she looks extremely cuddly. Hence, I wish to test it at least once."

Scratching his head, Etsumi frowned some, "Um, she wouldn't mind I don't think. And she's very cuddly..."

A laugh escaped from Shiromizu as she snapped her fan over over her face, "Fufufufufu, I am certain that you would be an expert in such a thing, Etsumi-Kun."

Now flushed at what she said, the incarnated former human coughed, "Um... hai, I sort of am, I suppose..." Shaking his head, he decided to change the subject and remembered something, "Lady Shiromizu... you held up three fingers."

Putting the fan away, Shiromizu nodded with a slight smile, "And you are correct. I want one more thing if, and only if it is possible from you."

Eyes narrowed slightly, Etsumi frowned some in suspicion, 'It better not hurt Yodo-Chan...' Clearing his throat, he spoke aloud, "And what might that be, Lady Shiromizu."

Moments later, he blinked as the other Mizuchi's face took on a more gentle expression, "Well... I'm something of a romantic, so I want to know how the two of you got together. If, that is, you do not mind."

Blinking, Etsumi stared at her in befuddlement, "You... want to know how Yodo-Chan and I got together? Really?" At the nod, he became even more confused, "Seriously? Just that?"

With an amused shrug, Shiromizu giggled some, "Like I said, I'm a bit of a romantic. And so I wanted to know about it and..." She gave another shrug, "At the same time, it tells me quite a bit about you as well."

Still befuddled, the former human shook his head, "Well, I suppose that's not a big deal?" Humming, he gained a far off look, "I suppose that it began when I was a young child living in Osaka..."

_________________________________________________________________________

Huffing and puffing, the eight year old Etsumi was pushing along an old shopping cart filled with garbage, most of which was waterlogged. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an old tire in the river and scowled, "Who threw that there! Bakas!" Walking over to it, he grabbed the edge and attempted to pull it out of the muck. Eventually, however, his hands slipped and he fell back with a grunt, "Itai..."

After shaking it off, he went back to trying to pull it out when a voice caused him to jump, "Mou... what are you doing?"

Turning, the boy blinked at the Kimono wearing woman who was looking at him interest. Part of him was stunned by her beauty before he shook it off, "A-ah, I'm trying to get this tire out of here, Nee-San."

Head tilted to the side, the older woman blinked, "The tire?" When she looked at it, she frowned a little, "Why did someone throw that there?"

Scowl on his face, Etsumi went back to trying to yank out the tire, "Because they're bakas who don't care about the river! But I do!" Pausing for a moment, he pointed at the garbage in his cart, "That's why I've been cleaning up the river!"

Blinking at that, the woman smiled a little, "Mou... I see!" Then she turned back to him and, with one hand and easily, yanked the tire out of the water, "But that is a big job for someone so little."

Cheeks puffing out, Etsumi crossed his arms, "I'm not little..." Then, he scuffed his feet on the dirt, "But... I want to do it because if I don't, who will? And besides..." The eight year old looked at the river, "It's a really pretty river and the garbage makes it look bad."

Much to his confusion, he found the pretty lady blushed at that, but then she smiled as she patted his head, "I think that the river is happy that you're doing so and that you think that it is pretty."

Only smiling brightly at that, Etsumi chuckeld as he rubbed the back of his neck, heedless of the dirt there, "You really think so, Nee-San?" Getting a nod, he hopped a little, "Yosh! Then I'll do my best to make sure that it always feels pretty!"

That only got him a smile and a giggle...

A few days later found Etsumi searching for stones along the river bank when a hum made him turn and found the mysterious Onee-San there, "Gah! Where did you come from, Onee-San!?"

Bemused look on her face, the Onee-San gestured around them, "Mou, from where? Why here!"

Confused, the child looked around in confusion, "Wait, you live around here?" For some odd reason, that seemed to amuse her greatly, but she still nodded. Remembering what she had asked, he suddenly smiled, "Since I got all the garbage done, I thought that I could have some fun! Like skipping rocks!"

Leaning towards him, the woman smiled childishly, "Skipping rocks?"

Nodding with his smile growing, Etsumi laughed, "Hai! Because it's fun!" Suddenly, he blinked before frowning, "Do you know how to skip rocks, Onee-San?"

Just blinking at that, the Onee-San frowned, "Mou... skip rocks?" At the nod, she tapped her chin some, "Mmm, no... why? Are you going to teach me?"

Eyes widening, Etsumi grinned, "Sure will! Come on, Onee-San! First, you need to find a good rock to skip...

Oddly, the woman seemed even more amused and went along with it. He saw her numerous times over the summer, of course. The two skipped stones to great fun and laughter, caught frogs, and the like. And often, the Onee-San taught him something about the river which he often took notes of, to her great amusement. Eventually, however, the summer ended and he went back to school.

Yet, he never forgot the lessons, or the fun, that the Onee-San taught him...

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

A now much older Etsumi, aged eighteen, was working along the banks of the river clearing trash like he often did in the summers. Wiping his forehead clean of sweat, the teen grinned down at the now cleared area, "There we go, much prettier..."

Moments later, just like so many years before, he jumped at a voice, "Oh! You're still cleaning up the river, Etsumi-Chan?"

Twisting around, he came face to face with the same woman from all those years before, "Onee-San...?"

When he was a child, he always thought of that mysterious "Onee-San" he met that one summer to be pretty. But now as a teen seeing her again? He flushed as, despite himself, his eyes roamed over her. Even though she wore a Kimono, he could tell that she was full figured in a way that few women were.

Or, as some of the guys he knew from school might crudely put it, she was "Thicc".

Quickly shaking it off, he flushed as the Onee-San smiled at him before hugging him, "You remember! Mou... even though you were a child, you remember!"

Confused at that bit, Etsumi shook his head, "Um, of course I remember, Onee-San. I mean, how could I not?" He then gave her a smile, "Besides, you inspired me for what I want to be."

Seemingly surprised at that, the woman blinked, "Mou... I did? Inspired you to be what?"

Arms spread wide, Etsumi grinned at her, "I'm actually going to go to university and get a degree in enviromental sciences, and ecology of rivers! That way, I can help out a lot of rivers and do a lot of good! Maybe make other people fall in love with them and see how important they are. All because of what you taught me, Onee-San!"

Eyes wide, the Onee-San stared at him before her eyes watered and she looked towards the river, "I... inspired you?"

Blinking at that, Etsumi placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hai, you did. Well..." He glanced at the river and smiled, "You and the Yodagawa, don't tell the other rivers, but she's my favorite."

Oddly, that got him giggles and a small blush.

For the rest of the day, the two talked and caught up with each other. Etsumi even brought her to a nearby ice cream shop and bought her ice cream. Though he was confused about how she mumbled that it was a good offering or how she acted like she had never had any before. Among other things they talked about, he mentioned how he was trying to save up money for university.

Just a few days later, however, as he was walking along the banks of the Yodogawa, a glint caught his eye. Leaning out over the water, he noticed something gold in the river and reached down, pulling out an old, gold coin. One which, when he sold to a collector, more than paid his tuition. Something that he excitedly told Uji-San, as she had told him her family name was.

Uji-San... which over a few weeks, became "Uji-Chan" as he asked her out and she accepted.

Their relationship continued, even when he went to study at Kyoto University so that he could be close to his beloved Yodogawa. Part of him, at the time, had been concerned that she had moved just for him, but she only smiled and kissed his cheek. Then, she had giggled and mentioned that her family name was Uji, after all for a reason. At the time, Etsumi assumed that meant her family was from Kyoto.

Meanwhile, the more time that the two of them spent together, the more that they fell in love with each other. Unlike some women, she did not seem to mind that he loved the Yodogawa as much as her. Quite the opposite really, and had cheered him on when he went for, and got, a job as a park ranger for the national park along the river's bank. They also grew closer in other ways as well.

One of Etsumi's fondest memories was when, upon finding out that she did not own one, he had taken her swimsuit shopping so that the two could enjoy a day swimming in the river. Having never seen her out of either an expensive looking Yukata or Kimono, he had been stunned at seeing her in a one piece. One that showed all her curves, though her bashful look had also driven him somewhat mad as well.

Yet, he still did not know her secret... until one night.

It was late summer and Etsumi had just graduated with a Master's and was aiming for a doctorate. His chosen field of study being river ecology, of course. The two were walking along the banks of the Yodogawa when a man stepped out from some bushes. Seeing Yodogawa, he grinned at her and asked if she wanted a good time with a 'Real man'.

Etsumi, being who he was, had been angered at that and told him that she was with someone. For her part, Uji had narrowed her eyes at the man and, in a voice that sent shivers down both mens' backs, stated that she agreed. However, shaking off that anger, the man shoved Etsumi to the side and grabbed Uji, stating that he was going to show her one way or the other. More than a little furious, her boyfriend placed a hand on the other man's shoulder and told him to back off...

And, moments later, felt pain from the knife that got buried in his gut before a shove sent him falling off the bank and into the chilly river's depths. For some odd reason, however, he didn't panic as he swore the water was swirling around him and was trying to keep his blood inside his body as well as him safe. The last thing he remembered before falling unconscious was what sounded like a loud roar of rage and a scream of terror before it was cut off...

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

Softly groaning, Etsumi slowly came away and blinked as he stared at the ceiling above. One that did not look out of place in a traditional home, though far more fanciful. As his eyesight cleared, the young man looked around in confusion.

One of the first things he realized was that the futon he was in had silk sheets of the sort that would have costed thousands. And also was one of the most comfortable as well. Looking around, it was like he had been transported back to feudal Japan, what with how everything looked. Wall screens that each looked like they would have costed a fortune as well as furnishings that had gold and silver among other things as part of them. Outside, the Sun shone down through the open Shoji doors, revealing a traditional garden, an expansive one.

Taking all that in, as well as how his last memory was of slipping beneath the surface of the water, Etsumi blinked, "I... where am I?" As he attempted to sit up, he winced expecting pain, only to blink as there was none. Lifting the covers, he looked down at his stomach to find that there was not even a scar where he had been stabbed, "What the..."

Right then, before he could do anything else, the Shoji doors at one end of the room opened and a woman with horns on her head came in. Upon seeing him, her eyes widened and she gasped, "You're awake... You're awake!" Quickly, she ran off, "LADY YODOGAWA! LADY YODOGAWA! HE IS AWAKE!"

Lost, Etsumi blinked at that, "What... wait, Yodogawa... horns... b-but that..."

Before he could get any further, the Shoji doors opened to reveal Uji there... except from the waist down was a serpent's body and large antlers were upon her head. Seeing him awake, she gasped and began to cry before diving at him, "E-Etsumi-Kun!"

Utterly confused, the young man did the only thing he could...

And that was to check over his girlfriend for any wounds, "Uji-Chan? Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Uji looked up at him with a blink despite her teary eyes, "No, he didn't." Her expression then took on a far more reptilian look, "And no one else shall ever be hurt by him either."

Coming to a realization, Etsumi looked her over, "So, um... Yodogawa, huh? I... guess that you are a Mizuchi then?"

Head hanging, the now revealed Mizuchi nodded, "Mou... I am." Pausing for a moment, she chewed her lip, "Does that frighten you?"

In return, Etsumi just shook his head, "Not really? I mean, you're Uji-Chan and I love you."

Needless to say, that caused a blush on Yodogawa's face, "Mou, you mean it?" At his nod,s he brightly smiled before it faded as she looked around as she buried herself in his arms, "Though now I... I don't know what to do. I was so scared seeing you hurt, that I... brought you here to be healed. And this is my bedroom... Some of the others might think that... because I am a Mizuchi and you are a human..."

Just holding her close as he parsed what she had told him, Etsumi looked around again and found his backpack nearby, "Um, Yodogawa-Chan? Could you bring me my backpack? I want to check something..."

More than a little confused, Yodogawa still smiled at the "Chan" before gesturing at the bag and it floated over, "Of course, Etsumi-Kun. But what are you checking?"

Glancing at her, he smiled which made her blush, "Oh, just a little something. But... I think that it will settle any thoughts about one thing." He then pulled out a box, "I was planning on doing this on the river bank, but... Yodogawa-Chan? The two of us have known each other for years. So would you do me the honour... of being my wife?"

For several moments, the Mizuchi stared down at the ring in his hands.

Said ring was made of gold, of course, but the centerpiece was a freshwater pearl with two blue diamonds. It would not have been considered much, not in the slightest. Yet, looking at it, all the dragon could think of was that it was one of the more beautiful things that she had ever seen. One shaking finger tipped by a claw was brought up as she nodded, "H-hai..."

His own hand shaking, Etsumi picked the ring up and then slipped onto said finger before, with a burst of courage, kissing it, "Thank you-"

Moments later, he found himself on his back looking up at Yodogawa who gave him an innocent look with a gleam in her eyes, "Mou... remember how I said this was my room? And how dragons are possessive?"

Confused, Etsumi swallowed as he nodded, "Hai?"

Leaning down, she nuzzled his neck with a growl, "This is now our room... and you are mine..."

Then, Etsumi forgot much else as she kissed him and deeply, followed soon by clothes being tossed aside while blushing attendants closed the shoji doors...

 

Prelude
https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/#post-6125818

Year 1

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-8#post-6204842

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-10#post-6208006

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-11#post-6209094


Summer 1

https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-14#post-6216923


Year 2 Prelude

https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-17#post-6220145


Year 2

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-20#post-6237058

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-22#post-6244236

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-27#post-6247795

D https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-35#post-6259210

E https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-42#post-6266357


Summer 2

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-43#post-6266525

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-49#post-6272384

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-53#post-6273886



Year 3 Prelude


A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-56#post-6275278

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-58#post-6284477

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-63#post-6287336



Year 3

Part 1

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-67#post-6288358

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-72#post-6292001

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-76#post-6298186


Part 2 Christmas

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-79#post-6299309

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-81#post-6300313


Part 3

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-83#post-6304428

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-86#post-6315935

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-88#post-6319016


Part 4

A https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-91#post-6321722

B https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-94#post-6325371

C https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-95#post-6334323

D https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/harry-potter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-97#post-6337259

E https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-100#post-6338872


Summer 3


A https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-102#post-6339335

B https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-105#post-6346860

C https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-108#post-6360800

D https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-111#post-6372143

E https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-114#post-6375259

F https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-117#post-6378123

G https://forum.questionablequesting....ter-the-shipgirls.20019/page-119#post-6381432


*-+*-+*-+*-+-*

LINK TO NEXT THREAD [NSFW]

 

Links to Disclaimer on NSFW Thread

 

Harry Leferts

So... was bitten by a bug, so have a bit more antics regarding Ryouma and his wife... NSFW version on HPSG NSFW Thread
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now older, though still in his teens, Ryouma blinked away some sleep as he looked at his ceiling above him. There was a grin on his face as he remembered that his birthday was that very day. Finally, he was fifteen... once more, which was something that made him grin madly. Scratching his head, he paused a little as he realized that, despite the heat and humidty of the summer nights, his futon was rather cool temperature wise.

Looking to the side, and seeing the empty and barely slept in futon, he internally sighed.

Upon feeling a weight on his chest, Ryouma lifted the sheets to see a pair of reddish eyes looking back at him, from where the owner had placed her head on his chest. Somewhat amused, he cocked an eyebrow, "Oryou-Chan."

Happily humming even as she nuzzled him, the ghostly woman smiled back, "Ryouma-Kun... my husband." Almost like a snake, she slithered out from under his sheets and straddled and laid on top of him before her breath ghosted across his lips, "Happy birthday, my husband."

With those words, she kissed him, deepening it almost immediately. There was a hunger there in said sign of affection, Ryouma knew. A burning need deep inside her even now, nearly four years since they had once more met and which barely was lightened via the few signs of affection that they could do. And he would be lying if he claimed he did not feel the same thing. Though a good part of that was the fact that he was a teen going through puberty once more, filled with hormones.

Something that was rather obvious as she gave a low, happy hum as she shifted on top of him which made the teen flush.

Meanwhile, Oryou's hand was practically clawing through his hair as her tongue, which he now knew due to her current state was much longer than a normal humans, practically coiled around his. Which was not to say that he was passive either as his hands roamed up and down her sides and back. Under his palms, he could feel soft, silkly skin as well as actual silk at times. Due to what she was, her skin was also cooler than when he had been alive the first time.

And under said skin, he could feel the taut, lean muscle she had. Especially as his hands reached her ass, and gave them a squeeze, which got a moan from his wife. Finally, the two pulled away with him breathless, though she had a pleased flush across her face. Ryouma did note, however, that the pupils in her eyes had become predatory slits as they looked at him hungerly.

Which caused him to shiver a bit, though not in fear.

Hands still on her behind, however, he realized something as he gave them another squeeze, "Uh... Oryou-Chan? What..."

There was a smirk on her face as she looked at him filled with dark amusement before she sat up. Part of Ryouma was focused on the fact that she was straddling him still, and flushed though he still had his pajamas on... though the shirt had been unbuttoned at some time, somehow.The rest was focused on abother thing...

In particular how Oryou was currently wearing black, very lacy as well as racy, underwear.

Upon seeing it, Ryouma's mouth went completely dry and his jaw dropped as he stared. When they had first met again, Oryou's skin had been a bone white, almost like that of a corpse. But shortly after, that had changed. It was still a pale white, but more that of porcelain than anything. And right now? That caused the black lace she wore to pop against her skin.

Eyes roaming her body, the fifteen year old swallowed, "I... um... wow..."

Softly growling as she leaned down, eyes glowing, Oryou cupped his cheek, "And what do you think, husband?"

Licking dry lips, Ryouma gave her a look as he ran his hand along her thigh, "Uh... that I wish that something like this had existed back when I was first alive? Because... wow..."

Grin on her face, the ghostly woman leaned down, somehow shifting herself easily so that her chest was pressing against his, "Good... I hope that you enjoy your birthday..."

Once more, she kissed him deeply, with him returning it full heartedly....

That was, of course, until they heard the sound of wood hitting flesh. Pulling apart, the two turned to the door where Ryouma's current mother stood, eyes closed with a smile that caused a shiver to run down his back. Meanwhile, she smacked a broom handle into her palm, "Oryou... what have I told you?"

Blinking slowly, Oryou had a pout on her face even as she met her Mother-in-Law's stare, "... He is my husband."

Ryouma gulped a little as he noticed a vein on his mother's forehead throb a little as she continued to smack the broom handle into her hand, "... And he is my son. You may be married, and I accept that, but things like this are forbidden."

Moments later, Ryouma pressed himself into his futon as much as possible as Oryou shot out of bed and into the air as the broom passed where she had been, missing his own face by a couple of inches. His wife hovered there with a frown on her face as her gaze met his mother's, "... Rude."

Eyebrow twitching, his mother grit her teeth some, "I'm rude..."

Quickly getting out of bed, Ryouma ignored the sounds of his mother continuing to attack Oryou with a broom even as she dodged in the air. The fact that this was something that happened commonly made him sigh... Then, he grumbled a bit as he adjusted his pants some, 'Fucking hormones...'

Briefly, the image of that black lace against pale, white skin that was silky soft went through his mind before he had to adjust his pants again and grumble.

Reaching the dining room, he ruffled the pale haired five year old that was there, "Heya, Squirt."

Flustered, the girl swiped at his hands as he yanked them back, "I'm not a squirt, Onii-Chan!" Crossing her arms, she huffed, "Baka."

Lips quirked even more into a smirk, Ryouma chuckled, "You'll always be a squirt to me, Kita-Chan." Ignoring her sticking her tongue out at him, he turned and gave a nod to the older man, "Tou-San."

Humming a bit, his father gave him a small grin, "Morning, son, and a happy birthday." His grin then widened as he listened to the chaos upstairs, "I take it that Oryou-san gave you a gift?"

Simply ignoring the confused look that his sister was giving him, Ryouma had a dazed look on his face, "Hai... she certainly did."

With a nod towards Kita, who wished him a happy birthday, he sat down with some breakfast. Moments later, as his father was taking a sip of coffee, Oryou floated into the room still clad in her underwear as she was being chased by his mother with the broom... which made his old man spray said coffee out and cough. After a few moments of watching the "Battle", his father looked towards him and gave a thumbs up with a grin, "Nice."

Moments later, he yelped as his wife, running past him, grabbed a newspaper and smacked him in the side of the head, "Stop that!" Turning, she swiped at Oryou again with the broom, "And you! Put on some clothes right now!"

Blinking slowly, Oryou ghosted through the table and then plopped herself down in Ryouma's lap, "No."

For several moments, the teenage boy was frozen, especially feeling what he did. Then, he had to duck as his mother took another swipe at Oryou, the ghostly woman dodging via tipping over and floating along the floor. Off to one side, Kita giggled madly with glee in her eyes, "Onee-San is being silly again..."

As the two older women headed out the room, Ryouma's father rubbed his chin, "Where do you think she got the money for that? She doesn't have a job... does she?"

Ryouma just blinked and gave him a blank look, "I don't ask questions that I don't want answers to."

That got him a small shrug from his father who unrolled the newspaper and began to read it, even as the "Battle" between his son's wife and mother continued. Surprisingly enough, later, his mother revealed to Ryouma that she would allow for him and Oryou to bathe together, provided that it went no further. Neither woman would ever tell him how they came to such an agreement, but he wasn't about to complain, not in the least.

Neither did he complain when he found out that Oryou had gotten a job at a gothic themed cafe, or when she kept the uniform after it closed post-Blood Week. No, he was definitely not going to complain about those clothes, except that others had seen her in them. Something that amused his wife to no end...

 

Set immediately after this one.

A Prank Gone Wrong

—-

Yokosuka (Harry’s 1st year)

Tamaki Ishikki gasped as her foot tripped on an overflowing trash bag. She grimaced as she rolled her body over the smelly substances, staining her ratty clothing. But she didn't have time to gag, to vomit over the disgusting smear on her clothing. She had to keep moving, to escape the robed men.

Dragging herself to her feet, Ishikki froze at the sight of a ghostly specter in front of her. Dammit, she had been found again.

"This way! It says the mudblood's over here!"

The pink haired teen's eyes narrowed as she took off in a dash towards an alleyway. Tears slowly running down her cheeks as she continued her run.

It was only six months ago, but she remember it so clearly. The men in robes. With the pointy sticks. The ones who destroyed her family.

—-

Ishikki stared at the sparkling alarm clock. Just moments ago, the clock had been broken beyond repair, the victim of a grumpy teenager who hated mornings. Now, it was fully restored, without even a hairline trace of the cracked clock face.

"I…I have magic."

"Onee-chan, you're amazing! You're like a real life magical girl!" Her sister cheered. Her parents stared in disbelief, but nodded slowly. After all, shipgirls were real. Why wouldn't magic? Ishikki was overjoyed. What an amazing gift she had!

—-
What a terrible curse she had.

Ishikki's look of horror as the robed men had barged into their home before pointing their pointy sticks at her family.

"Obliviate!"

In an instant, she had no family. No one to remember her. No one left to love her. The robed men muttered something about mudbloods and muggles, but she hadn't stuck around to hear the rest, throwing the lamp on the desk at the men before breaking off into a run.

—-

The tears ran down the pink haired teen's face as she continued her dash through Yokosuka's alleyways. The last few months had been absolute hell for her. The robbed men had given chase. She had only managed to avoid them through sheer luck. An open manhole. The back of a semi truck. Some angry bikers led by a green haired girl. A bunch of cultist abyssals. Anything that would remotely delay the robed men long enough for her to escape. But every time she thought she had escaped, the men would suddenly reappear, using their tracking creatures and machines.

"Stupefy!"

A bolt struck the pink haired girl's back, causing her to collapse. A stinging pain erupted from where the bolt had hit her, causing her to grimace in pain. Painfully Ishikki twisted her head to catch the sight of three robed men approaching her.

"You've been a major pain in the arse, you know that?" The first man grunted. "This should have been a simple statute case. But thanks to your meddling, we've been stuck chasing you for months!"

"G-go to hell." The teen muttered, fighting the darkness overtaking her.

"Normally we would take you in for Tokyo…but after all this, I'm sure they wouldn't want a troublesome brat like you." The second man pulled out the short pointy stick.

"After all, everyone knows the only thing slightly better than those yokai animals is a filthy mud blood."

Ishikki sniffled as she realized there was no escaping this time. This was the end. But she refused to accept that. There had to be hope, a second chance, a way to break free!

"Hello there."

Ishikki's eyes suddenly were filled with the image of a white cat creature. Except it had weird rings around its long ears and tail. She could have sworn she had seen such a creature before. Maybe from one of her sister's magical girl shows.

"You seem to be in a rough spot right now."

Was the cat…speaking to her?

"I can help you."

"Y-you can?"

The cat nodded. "Yes. All you need to do is make a contract with me and become a magical girl."

A magical girl? Really? But she hated magic. She hated everything about it. How it destroyed her family, her life, and taken everything away from her. Yet…

Onee-chan, you're amazing! You're like a real life magical girl!

Her feeble hands reached out towards the white cat's head, as though to confirm her answer. "I-I wish…I wish to be free."

"Very well then. Your wish will be granted."

A brilliant flash filled the alleyway, causing the Aurors to shield their eyes. "What in the world?"

When the flash faded, where once a malnourished teenager had lain dying, a warrior stood in her place. Clad in a black bodysuit covered by a white cloak, Tamaki Ishikki stood. A wicked looking mounted crossbow glistened while a dagger was sheathed in her forearm. Her eyes looked over the boggled men.

The first man recovered from his shock and pointed his stick. "Stupefy!"

The stunning spell merely whizzed by the girl's head as she tiled her head to the side. Smirking at their befuddlement, Ishikki broke into a run. Using the narrow walls of the alleyway, the teenager zipped past a pair of spells before vaulting over the men, raising her crossbow as she did.

A moment later, a trio of bolts had tore into the men's right arms, causing them to drop their sticks in pain. Another burst and the men collapsed, their knees bleeding from crossbow wounds.

Ishikki looked over her previous aggressors and frowned.

"You should go for their wands." The white cat suggested.

Wands? So that's what they were called. The girl picked up the long, thin wooden wands, looking them over with mild interest. They seemed rather generic in her honest opinion. But if these were what had caused her so much pain, best not to take chances. Holding the wands by both ends, she snapped them in half.

The pink haired teen dropped the now broken wands in surprise. She hadn't put that much strength into that? Maybe that was a magical girl perk or something.

She looked over at the white cat. "You seem to know a lot about these…magic people."

The cat's beady eyes remained unblinking as it gestured to the incapacitated men. "They're wizards. Aurors to be exact, sorta like a magical police officer."

"Police officers?"

"Yes. Their job is uphold their statute of secrecy, to prevent non magical people from learning about magic."

Well that made some sense now. She had revealed magic in some way. "You're awfully cooperative though. How do I know you're not trying to hurt me either?"

The cat shook its head. "Despite my appearance, I'm actually a good Kyubey! My creator is a good wizard who wants to help people. He doesn't care about the Statue if it means he can help other people."

A good wizard? "Who is your master?"

"Harry Potter!"

Now that was a household name. "Harry Potter? The adopted son of the shipgirl Nagato?"

"Yes! He is a very good wizard. He made me after all. I'm a good Kyubey! But no one seems to believe it. You're the first person to make a contract with me."

"What do you mean?" Ishikki asked in confusion.

The white cat froze. "Wait, you mean you don't know what I am? You don't know what a Kyubey is?"

"You look like a white cat creature."

"You've never seen Puella Magi Madoka Magica before?"

"Is that a cartoon? Sorry, I'm not into cartoons. That was my sister's thing."

There was an awkward pause between magical girl and animated plushie.

"I see." The doll concluded, "Regardless. You are a magical girl now. Which means we need to leave before more Aurors show up."

Ishikki nodded, "Agreed, and hopefully you can tell me more about this…wizard people."

"Of course!"

—

Goto looked down at the report on his desk. "Are you certain of this?"

Oyodo nodded, "Hai. Harry duplicated 24 animated Kyubey plushies in total. We have confirmed the destruction of 20 of them."

A hand made forbidden love with face. "Which means that there are four other Kyubey dolls just walking around Yokosuka."

"…yes…"

Goto sighed. "How…do we explain this to the local authorities?"

"We're working on an explanation as we speak. The good news is that Harry thinks they'll only last a couple of days at most. So if anything, they'll just disappear completely on their own."

"Got it. Just…keep an on that would you? I don't want riots to start when parents find children bringing home animated Kyubey."

"Understood."

"At least they're just dolls after all. Magical girls are just a trope from animation after all."

Right?

 

Set shorty after Momo Akechi is summoned.

Magical Girl Puella Nanoha

—

Yokosuka Elementary Fall 2013

Nanoha stared at the creature. The creature stared back.

"Are you sure that you're not an abomination against all that is good annd true and trying to lure girls to their deaths to combat entropy in the universe?"

"For an eight year old, you sure do know a lot of big words." The cat responded back.

"It's never too young to learn how to protect yourself from evil aliens trying to steal your soul!" The brunette proudly stated.

"Very wise of you. But I assure you. I am a good Kyubey."

"That sounds like something an evil one would say!" She shot back.

Around the brunette, a group of girls watched in dismay. "Nanoha, I don't like this at all. Let's go get Hoppou. She can handle it!" Suzuka protested.

"Ye-yeah. Hoppou has her Reppu!" Arisa agreed. "She'll blow that thing up!"

Nanoha shook her head. "We can't rely on Hoppou to solve all of our problems! We need to confront them head on!"

She glanced back at the Kyubey. "So you're not trying to steal my soul?"

The Kyubey shook its head. "Of course not! My maker wouldn't ever do something like that. He stands for family, love, and puns!"

Nanoha nodded, "I see then. Then can you make me a magical girl without turning me into a zombie?"

"Sort of? All I'm doing is taking your inherent magical power, which you seem to have a lot of, and using it as a battery to cast specific wandless magic and-"

"Good enough for me. There's a bully in the next class over and I need to show her that we should be friends instead of rivals. So I need your power so that she will stop being mean to everyone and-"

As the brunette ranted about the quiet blonde who was annoying her, Kyubey titled its head in concern. Perhaps this would not be a great idea.

—-

Ellen Baker typically spent her recess in the teacher's lounge, where it was calm, quiet, and she could get her lesson planning done in peace. After all, trying to teach a class that had Hoppou was no easy task. Especially when it came to reminding the Abyssal Installation that while she was in fact a mother of an entire fleet of warships and probably had more experience as a parent than she did, Hoppou was not allowed to "momboat" the other students. No matter how amusing it was.

The sliding door opened and Ellen paused. "Yes?"

"Sensei, we found a Kyubey downstairs."

"Oh that's nice. Have fun." The teacher dismissed the student. Where had she heard that name before? They probably found a cat or something. She would make a note to let the groundskeeper know about the cat so he could shoo it off.

A few minutes later, the door slid open again. "Sensei! Nanoha is talking to the Kyubey!"

"Oh that's nice. Is the Kyubey friendly?" Ellen called back as she tried working out a solution to teach regrouping after addition.

"I think so. It says it's a good Kyubey."

"That's sweet. I'll take a look in a few minutes ok?" She encouraged the student before glancing at her notes. Yeah, it would be ok to check on her students. Just as soon as she finished this plan.

A few minutes later, the door slammed open. Several panicked students crashed through the doorway.

"Sensei! Sensei!" One of the girls cried. "Nanoha has become a magical girl! And now she's going after Fate!"

Ellen dropped her pencil in disbelief. "Nanoha did what?"

An explosion rocked the school as the foreign teacher stumbled to the floor.

—-

Fate Testarossa really hated Japan. First her mother had to take a commission working with the Japanese Navy. Then they had to move to this horrid place. She barely understood Japanese. And no one spoke German! And there was this girl, Nanoha was it?, who kept bothering and pestering her. And everytime she tried to ignore her, the girl seemed to get more mad and upset.

She was so grateful she was in Takamichi Sensei's class. The students left her alone and Takamichi even learned a little bit of German, just for her!

Today though, that annoying girl had returned, wearing a weird white and blue outfit and carrying a weird golden staff. She demanded something that Testarossa honestly didn't want to know what it meant, so she just shook her head.

Turns out that was the wrong decision. The girl seemed even more upset and pointed the staff at her. And that's when the world turned pink.

Or it should have, as when she opened her eyes, she wasn't thrown back against the wall, but rather was standing where she had been previously. Instead, a weird golden barrier, with a series of glowing strips of paper surrounding the field, was separating her from the would be murderer.

And standing between the two, were two girls she recognized from that girls class, except they had…fox ears and tails?

They seemed to have an argument with her before the room erupted into laser fire, fireballs, and explosions. Fate understood immediately as she fled the scene.

—-

"Nanoha-chan, what do you think you're doing?"

Nanoha blinked at the twins in surprise. Where her magical beam was supposed to connect with Fate, a golden barrier had blocked it. And protecting Fate were her classmates Rei and Asuka.

"Rei, Asuka? What are you doing here? Why are you stopping me?"

"We're trying to stop you from shooting Fate in the face!" Rei shot back.

"Mou, I wasn't going to shoot her in the face. I just needed her to look at me!"

"You totally were going to shoot her in the face. And you're not supposed to shoot people anyways!" Asuka argued.

Nanoha frowned. While she normally tolerated the twins, standing in between her and Fate was not a smart idea. She knew after all! The best way to make friends was to have a massive battle where you kick the other's ass in so hard they become you friend. That's what her anime said! "Rei, Asuka. Get out of my way. I need to make friends with Fate."

"Not going to happen!"

Her eyes darkening, Nanoha pointed her staff at the twins. "Then I have no choice!"

—-

After the initial explosion shattered their hastily formed barrier, the twins skidded backwards from the blast.

Rei turned to her twin, pulling out a pair of ofuda. "You make a barrier so no one can get hurt, I'll keep her busy."

"A-are you sure?" Asuka asked in concern. "What if you get hurt?"

Rei glared at her sister. "We don't have a choice Asuka!"

Dodging a pair of pink bullets sent her way, Rei threw another pair of ofuda (thank the Kami she had "borrowed" all those old ones from onee-chan's room) at the enraged magical girl. "Onee-chan has been protecting this city for years now! Now it's our turn to help her!"

Asuka nodded, pulling out her own set of Onee-chan made ofuda. Her ears twitched before she ducked, barely avoiding another pink bullet. Running around the hallway, she slapped said ofuda onto the wall, doing a quick prayer to the Kami as she did so.

A minute later, a larger golden barrier had enveloped the hallway, leaving the twins and the magical girl alone in said floor.

Nanoha frowned at the barrier. "Mou…you really don't want me to find Fate? I guess I need to put more power in."

With that, she pointed her staff and summoned a dozen small pink orbs, allowing them to circulate around her before sending them out at the twins.

Rei's eyes narrowed as she tracked the orbs. Leaping backwards, the kitsune ducked, rolled, and dashed between the gaps of the bullet hell, throwing her own ofuda back at the magical girl.

Said ofuda seemed to crash into another magic barrier surrounding said magical girl. Nanoha frowned before incinerating the ofuda targeted at her. "Who's shooting who now?"

With that, she summoned several dozen pink bullets and changed the pattern before sending them off.

—-

Ellen Baker dashed onto the scene only to collide with several children.

"Sensei! Sensei!" One of her students cried out, "Nanoha is fighting the twins!"

Ellen looked past the children and her jaw dropped in disbelief as she saw the golden semi transparent barrier separating them from the fight inside. What the hell was going on?

Was that Rei and Asuka…with fox ears and tails? And why was Nanoha wearing that ridiculous outfit?

She glanced around before she saw a familiar teacher. "Sensei, what are you doing? Stop that fight?"

The music teacher shrugged. "You wanna go in there? This isn't just a fight Baker Sensei. This is more than that. This is Touhou become real."

Pointing his phone at the fight, he clicked the stream button before narrating. "Hey everyone, MiniLector here, today we're going to be evaluating this magical engagement. Now as a kid I played Touhou, so I think I can give a decent rating on this engagement. Let's look at the line ups here…"

—-

Yokosuka Nava Base

Goto smiled.

Kongo smiled.

They sipped black tea.

Everything was right with the world.

Then the door slammed open as Niiyodo dashed into the room. "Teitokou!"

Goto groaned, "What is it Niiyodo?"

The light cruiser shoved her phone forward to a page on SGO labeled: "Touhou is real"

Goto glanced at the scene. "Hmm…another magic incident? Possible breaking of the statute?"

Niiyodo frowned, "Sir, this is at Yokosuka elementary."

Goto's jaw dropped. Quickly composing himself, he turned pulled a pen out and began scribing orders. "Good call Niiyodo. Take the Honshu girls and intervene before any Aurors do. I'll try to call off the local law enforcement."

"Hai Teitokou!"

—-

Yokosuka Elementary

Sweat poured down Rei's face as she dodged the next set of pink bullets. They needed a new plan. And fast.

"Nanoha! Let's talk about this!" Rei called out. "We can work something out ok?"

"Fate is waiting to me." Came the response.

"Well maybe Fate doesn't want to be your friend!" Rei shot back.

Asuka shot her a glare. "Don't say that Rei!"

The icy cold response came in the form of the pink bullets vanishing. Nanoha's eyes grew dark as she hefted her staff.

Rei's eyes widened as she pulled out a special ofuda from her pouch. Asuka prepared the biggest fireball she could muster.

Throwing it outwards, she shouted her battlecry.

"Super Onee-Chan Unicorn Grade Purification Ofuda!"

"8 Year Old Kitsune Super Duper Fireball!"

"Divine Buster!"

The barrier shattered as all three girls flew out of the school building, hitting the (thankfully tanbarked) school playground. Nanoha picked herself up and raised her staff once more. "You are the worst friends ever! It seems you need to befriended properly! Gather shimmer of the star-"

Before she could finish, a loud noise explosion resounded across the playground, causing magical girl and Kitsune alike to cover their ears in pain.

"Owie…what was that?" Asuka muttered, her ears still ringing.

"You-you're all silly bakas!"

The trio turned to see a trio of shipgirls standing before then. Rei recognized them immediately.

Honshu, also known as Akechi Momo, of the Honshu costal defense ships as well as her "younger" sister Kyushu glared at the trio. One could note her main guns smoking after firing directly into the air.

"You're all silly bakas and you need a big time out!" Momo repeated herself.

—-

The powerful jet of water splashed into Nanoha, causing her to sputter and gasp as she tried to cover her face. On the other side, the twins spasmed and squirmed under the powerful jet.

The instigator of the hosing, Hoppou turned to the trio. "Hoppou spends one week in Unalaska and the school blows up. Clearly Hoppou can't trust this school to stay standing in her absence."

She paused. "Maybe Hoppou needs to use more hoses."

"N-no Hoppo-gwaaa!" Hosing resumed.

A few minutes later, wet magical girl and wet fox soon drooped on the muddy ground, staring upwards at the intimidating figure of Hoppou. "Have you understood that you're all being silly?"

"I just wanted to make friends!" Nanoha protested.

Hoppou took one look at the magical girl with a deadpan look.

"Oh poo-gwaa!" Hosing resumed.

Hoppou turned to the twins. "Does Asuka and Rei understand they were being silly?"

The twins, throughly soaked to the bone and smelling of wet fox, nodded quickly. "We were being silly."

Hoppou nodded. "Good. Now let's head back. Kyushu, Momo, pick them up and let's go. Maybe big brother might know what to do."

—-

Goto sighed as he read the report. "So let me get this straight, one of Harry's prank Kyubey's from a year ago is running around, which shouldn't be possible, contracting magical girls, which didn't exist until now. Did I hear that correctly?"

Haru frowned. "From what the children and their parents told me, yes. Harry is currently interrogating the creature as we speak."

—-

The white cat found itself in a dark room, lit only by a single lamp on the table. On the other side of the table, a young teenage boy peeked out the closed blinds of the window behind them.

"The Kyubey was white, with golden rings on its ears and tail." Harry spoke aloud, "Its tail swished back and forth nervously, like a metronome with social anxiety."

"Umm…I'm not nervous. You're my master after all." The Kyubey pointed out, "Also…1950s noir films? Nice taste. When did you have time to make all this?"

Harry shrugged. "I was bored."

"That explains a lot."

"Thank you." Harry nodded, "Also thanks for helping me set up the studio and the make up."

Akizuki, Teruzuki, and Suzutsuki gave a collective thumbs up. "No worries Harry!"

Harry returned his eyes back to the subject in question. "Now then, you're an animated plushie that I had animated a year and a half ago. How did you go from just a plushie to an actual wish granting magical girl creating familiar?"

The creature nodded, "it's quite simple actually. When you had us animated, you gave us the job of making contracts with girls who had potential. Our desire to contract magical girls combined with your desire to have us chaos resulted in our directive to seek out and find magical capable girls and offer them the chance to use magic. Naturally, this resulted in our ability to enable girls who were magical, or magical girls."

Harry nodded, "I see. That makes sense. But how have you been surviving since then? The magic I entrusted you wish should have expired long ago."

"Ah, that was the result of magical girls recharging us. Every time we make a contract, our magical batteries if you would were recharged." The creature flicked its tail. "Thus we are highly incentivized to make contracts."

Harry frowned. "I see. So how many girls have you made contracts with?"

The Kyubey paused, a confused look on its face. "I was not programmed for memory…so…I forgot?"

—-

Goto stared at Haru in disbelief. "It forgot?"

Haru nodded slowly. "Yes…unfortunately. It estimates anywhere from…well…"

Goto sighed. "Tell me the number…"

"Twenty to fifty magical girls across Japan."

Goto dropped his pen in disbelief. Oyodo dropped her coffee in fright. Kongo dropped from her listening post from behind the door in shock. Mikasa dropped from the vent and crashed onto Goto's desk in surprise.

Ignoring the desk, Goto blinked before recovering. "Right then. I'll try to explain to the higher ups about this new player on the field. Hopefully we can put together a task force to track these girls before they cause too much trouble."

Haru nodded, "Actually I have a few ideas on where to find them. There's been a string of anti magical vigilantism as of late and now I think we have the source of these hassles."

Goto groaned, "Great. A group of untrained, unsupervised, magical vigilantes with a dislike for the magical community. Just what we needed.”

—-

Ishikki sneezed, jerking back to avoid sneezing on her project. Rubbing her nose, she glanced back at her homework before sighing. Couldn't magic make doing homework easier?

"Hey Bratling!" A voice called from behind the door.

"Yes Miss Hirosawa?"

"Just a heads up that your rent is due tomorrow."

Ishikki nodded, right. Paying rent. "Of course! I have the money right here. I'll drop it off in the morning."

"Be quick about it ok?"

"Hai!"

Couldn’t magic make paying rent easier too?

Ishikki returned to her project. Just a bit longer. Then she could finish her other special project and finally get her revenge. Those magical classmates of hers would never see it coming.

—-

The quartet watched the magical dojo with caution.

"You're sure this dojo is run by a magical?" Nanaka turned to her compatriots.

Meiyui nodded, "Yes. My family has noted that the shrine maiden who runs this dojo has never changed for decades. She has to be a magical."

"Not to mention they churned out the likes of Kokonoe Yae." Akira added, "she can't be human!"

Nanaka nodded, "Right then. When the shrine maiden comes out, we'll jump her."

Kako frowned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

—-

There she was. Beautiful, strong, courageous. A hero. So much the opposite of herself. She couldn't help it but be jealous of how perfect she was.

How morbidly ironic was it that they looked so alike, yet were such opposites.

Shima Isuzu stared at the shipgirl Hamakaze and frowned. If only she were as remotely brave and bold as she was. But now she had a chance.

"So will you make the contract Shima Isuzu?"

 

Set a month after Ishikki contracted.

Magical Girl Shima Isuzu Set Up!

—-

Sasebo Early 2012 (Shortly after the Kyubey prank incident):

Shima Isuzu sighed as she looked over the colored stationary. Recently, a new set of Fleet Collection stationary had come into the store, and everytime she had rushed over to the store, hopeful, wishing, that maybe, just maybe, they had her idol's stationary for sale.

However, once again, only a series of battleships, cruisers, and carriers greeted her. Passing over the Yamato themed notebooks, the Naka themed pencil bags, the Enterprise themed planner, and most recently, the Ashigara themed mechanical pencils, complete with wolf ears clips, Shima picked up a Shinano themed sketchbook. The Yamato carrier who was one of the great heroes of the new generation. The new generation of shipgirls who led humanity to victory. Shima kept earnest track of the new generation of heroes in the war.

Shinano, Yahagi, Amagi, Louisiana, Kana, Akizuki, and of course, her favorite, Hamakaze, Shima collected anything and everything she could get her hands on. Much at the suffering of her allowance, but Shima had considered it worthwhile.

A quick purchase later, the shy girl found herself at the Sasebo Memorial Park. Sitting quietly, the high schooler opened the new sketchbook. Pulling out colored pencils, she began to sketch.

Her hands moved as a human figure took shape on the page. Silver, light gray, and light steel highlighted the hair, white, blue, and yellow made up her uniform, and black and dark blue made up stockings.

Shima scrunched her brow as she carefully drew the confident and powerful features on the figure's face. After nearly an hour of drawing, she put down the sketchbook in satisfaction.

Spoiler: Shima’s sketchbook

"If only…" she muttered.

"That's a very nice drawing."

Shima jerked her head up, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Down here."

She looked down and shrieked. Sitting next to her on the bench…was a familiar white creature.

"Kyu-kyu-Kyubey!!"

The cat titled its head in shame. "I know. I look like an evil abomination against humanity that preys on the souls of innocent girls. But I assure you. I'm a good Kyubey."

"A…a…a good Kyubey?" Shina stammered awkwardly. Why was Kyubey real? Why was it talking to her? Was she in danger?

The cat nodded, "Yes. I am. I don't take your soul and turn you into a witch…although that's sorta true I guess. I do help girls become witches in a sort of speaking…anyways. I merely observed that you are an excellent artist."

Shima paused. "Ahh…thanks. I…I practice a lot."

"That girl looks a lot like you." The cat observed.

Shima furiously shook her head. "No! Not at all. She's nothing like me! Hamakaze is beautiful, strong, and brave. She faces innumerable foes with a calm demeanor. She's the knight to Shinano's lord."

She put her hand on her chest. "I'm just plain. I'm shy. I'm so weak and pitiful. I just…I can only watch and pray that I can even remotely as strong as Hamakaze is."

Kyubey listened silently as the girl berated herself. "Would you like to become Hamakaze?"

The girl jerked her head towards the white cat. "What? Me…into Hamakaze? What do you mean?"

"I can grant you the power to become a magical girl. One that is as strong and powerful as your idol. All you have to do is make a contract with me."

Shima paused as her reasoning returned. "Wait…a contract? Like one that turns my soul into a soul gem?"

"Not at all! Shima Isuzu. You have inherent magical power inside of you. I can take that and turn you into a magical girl, no soul selling required."

Shima looked down at her body. "I…I have powers?"

"That's right. You have magic powers inside of you, bursting from the seams. To unlock them, all you need to do is make a contract with me."

The silver haired girl looked at her hands. They were so frail, weak, and powerless. But they could be strong? She could be like Hamakaze?

Slowly, she turned to Kyubey. "How…do I go about this?"

—-

Sasebo Yokai Reservation Fall 2013 (after the Nanoha incident):

"Stupefy!"

Shima ducked and rolled under the spell before raising her staff. Focusing her magic, she wordlessly sent two bolts of magic back at the attacker.

Pausing to listen for her attacker, Shima turned to the victim. "It's ok. You're not going to be hurt any longer."

The Nekomata child, mangey and dressed in rags, nodded as she watched her mysterious savior. The silver haired girl smiled softly. "Don't worry. I'll take care of these bad people and you'll be safe ok?"

Waiting until she heard the shuffling of feet ahead, Shima smiled softly before unfurling her wings.

With a powerful leap, Shima burst into the air. The pair of Aurors pointed their wands in the air, chanting some sort of spell, but the magical girl soared down and into the men. Transforming her staff into a scythe, Shima slashed her blade forward. The sharp blade slashed through the men's wands, as the girl landed.

The men stared at their broken wands in disbelief, only to receive a magically enhanced punch to the stomach as Shima used her free hand to knock out the wizards.

Satisfied with her work, Shima looked over the fallen men before sending a pair of stunning bolts into each body. Just to be safe.

Satisfied with the results, Shima Isuzu turned to the child. "It's all clear. You're safe now."

The girl slowly peered her head up from her hiding spot. "Umm…it's safe?"

Shima nodded. "Yes. You're an escapee from the Reservation right?"

"y-yes."

"Then you're fine. I know some people who can help you move northward." Shima explained. "But we do need to get moving. The Reservation guards frequent Sasebo and they don't hesitate to chase escapees once they're on the trail."

The girl nodded, her eyes fixed on the silver haired girl, her white wings hanging on her side. "A-are you the Angel of Sasebo?"

The "Angel" sighed, "I…I don't deserve such a name. I'm just trying to live up to an ideal."

A few hours later, the Nekomata waved farewell as she entered a sympathetic household who had unique transportation connections up north. The magical girl waved back until the door closed.

It had been over a year since Shima Isuzu had accepted her contract. A year of discovering magic, wizards, and the marginalized and discriminated Yokai. A year of discovering how dangerous and ruthless the magical world was. A year of trying to live up to the hero that she idolized.

Shima Isuzu powered on her phone and looked at the image of her idol. "Someday, I'll be strong enough for you to be proud of me."
As she closed her eyes, her clutched her pillow tightly, the faint spectral form of a shipgirl's rigging overlaying her.

—-

Shima stifled a yawn as she dragged herself into the classroom. While magical girls seemed to get enhanced strength, stamina, and reflexes, enhanced sleep was not one of the perks.

As she slid into her seat, she wondered if she could nap the first period. Maybe Kyubey knew some illusion magic she could use to make her look awake while she napped? She shook her head. Something to ask it next time it came around.

As she plopped her head on the desk, she picked up a few stray conversations circulating the classroom.

"Do you think we have a pop quiz today?"

"…and then he broke up with her and she's now totally devastated!"

"Did you see yesterday's episode?"

"I'm telling you, it's real guys! Magical girls are real!"

Shima jerked her head up. What?
Her eyes caught a group of boys sharing a phone.

"I don't know Kenji, it could just be CGI."

"But this was a live stream! I'm serious!"

"A magical girl fighting Kitsune miko right out of Touhou? Give me a break dude. That's totally scripted."

"I'm serious! Take a look!"

Silently, Shima moved herself behind the boys to get a better look.

"Hey everyone, MiniLector here, today we're going to be evaluating this magical engagement. Now as a kid I played Touhou, so I think I can give a decent rating on this engagement. Let's look at the line ups here…"

Sure enough, Shima could make out the forms of a magical girl fighting a pair of small Kitsune in what looked like a school hallway.

One of the boys nodded, "Well if it is CG, then it's pretty damn good. Plus the Touhou inspiration? Someone has good taste."

"Could be shipgirls."

"Good point. Hey Isuzu, what do you think? You're the resident shipgirl expert."

The boys turned towards the silver haired girl. Shima instinctively squeaked at the sudden attention. "Ahh Umm…well it could be…it's what they would call… MSSB? I mean it's not like magical girls are real or anything."

The boys looked to each other before nodding. "Good point. I'll chalk it up to shipgirl stuff."

Shima let out a sigh of relief as she returned to her seat. Magical girl secrets were safe. As she flipped through her phone, researching the video, the words "Yokosuka elementary" showed up.

Shima frowned, googling the location. It was very close to the naval base, hopefully there weren't that many shipgirls patrolling the area. After all, finding another magical girl would be worth it in the end.

—-

The next weekend, Shima found herself looking at yellow tape blocking her way to Yokosuka Elementary.

Her arms drooping, Shima sighed. Naturally the school would be shut down after such an explosive battle the week before.

Maybe she could ask around about the incident…but that…would require talking to strangers. And that…that was too much…

But…that's what Hamakaze would do right? Hamakaze is calm, brave, and strong. She wouldn't shy away from talking to strangers if it meant completing the mission.

Noticing a uniformed man standing on guard, she walked over to the man. "Umm… excuse me…"

The guard noticed the silver haired teen and nodded. "You part of the investigation team? They're already inside."

The investigation team? Well…she was investigating…

"Well…"

"There you are!" A voice interrupted them.

Shima turned around to face the voice. Her eyes widened. Right there in the flesh was Urakaze, the Kagerou class destroyer, one of Shinano's escorts…and sister ship of Hamakaze.

Shima's brain blanked out as Urakaze frowned. "What are you doing here Hamakaze? We're heading out in 10!"

"Umm…" Shima stammered out, her brain short circuiting (there were shipgirls here!) as her hand was taken and dragged her away from the school.

"Come on! Also, what's with that uniform? Ahh, there's no time to change. Harry's waiting for us!"

"Wha…umm!!"

—-

"With Sirius Black on the loose, it is imperative we maintain consistent and constant protection over Harry as we…"
The admiral's voice droned on.

Shima stood at frozen attention as her eyes darted left and right. To her left, Urakaze, Isokaze, and Yukikaze casually took notes while Shinano herself (she couldn't believe it) seemed to have her eyes glazed in some sort of daydream.

Yukikaze gave Shima a light nudge, "We're going to see Harry, isn't that great?"

Shima tried to recall who this "Harry" was, but drew a blank. "Erm…yes?"

Isokaze smiled warmly, "Shinano is thrilled too."

Shima nodded slowly, her brain still stalling.

“Ehh?"

—-

Shima emerged from the vanishing cabinet.
"You're here!" She suddenly found her body embraced by a messy haired boy.
Blushing slightly as she felt the boy hold her tightly, Shima could do nothing but just awkwardly return the embrace.

"Ehh?"

—-

Shima stood in the bleachers amidst cheering fans as teenagers riding brooms flew through the sky. Her brain tried to draw conclusions but simply shorted out.

“Ehh?"

—-

Meanwhile:
Hamakaze exited the shower, a towel slung over her shoulder. Looking around the dorm she frowned. "Where did everyone go?"

—-

Spoiler: AN: Explanation of Shima

Shima wished to be like "Hamakaze". Instead she ended up becoming a Psuedo Hamakaze. From a spiritual level, she looks like Hamakaze, but lacks the weight, power, and quirks that make up a shipgirl. Which means that the Four Winds (and Harry) are mistaking her for their sister since she has the spiritual hull of Hamakaze. Even if she isn't a perfect copy of Hamakaze (slightly different hair, a bit shorter, lacking certain…assets). Don't think too hard. It's an honest mistake and Shima is too shy (and deathly terrified) to explain that she isn't Hamakaze.

—-

Shima needed to get out. She didn't know how this had happened but everyone thought she was Hamakaze. And now she was in some magic castle in Europe cheering for a boy she who Shinano and the others appeared to care deeply about.

She watched the wizards ride about and silently shuddered. There were magicals everywhere! If she was caught, if they found out she was not only not Hamakaze, but also the one attacking wizards in Sasebo, then she was most certainly dead.

This was not how she intended on spending her weekend. All she was supposed to do was check out the school, ask for the name of the magical girl who showed up there. She wasn't expecting to actually be mistaken for Hamakaze and dragged into an actual military classified mission! And apparently the military was working with the magicals too?

Shima was so full of boggles (gozaru!) that she didn't even notice Harry lead them down a hallway until the wall slid open and she found herself in a massive hallway leading to the biggest library she had ever seen.

Harry grinned as he threw up his arms. "Panpakapan! Welcome to the Library of Secrets!"

As the messy haired boy explained the library, Shima began panicking. "Wait, we're actually going to fight down there?"

Harry nodded, "Pretty much. That's what I asked you here to help me."

"And that's why we have the hp and mana bars?" Yukikaze added.

Wait, hp and mp bars?

"Yeah, apparently it's an addition my mum made during her time." Harry snickered before pausing. "Umm…Hamakaze, is everything alright?"

Slowly, Shima glanced up and saw her hp bar…and more specifically, her name above it.

SHamakasuzu

Class: Magical ShipGirl

That was it. She was dead. They were going to kill her for impersonating her idol.

"Umm…errr…ehh…haha…" Shima's brain fought to catch up with her mouth.

"Magical girl?" Yukikaze frowned, "Like in anime?"

Harry shook his head, "I beg to differ Yukikaze! Magical girls are real! And it's all my fault!"

Yukikaze raised her brow. "Really?"

Harry smirked, "Remember when I animated all those Kyubey plushies? As a prank?"

Shinano nodded, "Yes. Musashi punted it out the window."

"It turns out, the survivors gained sentience and started contracting magical girls for real!"

"Ehh?" Shima exclaimed aloud. "You're the one who made the Kyubey?"

Harry paused. "Of course I was. You were there."

"Oh I was? I mean…erm… yeah! Of…yeah…haha…" Shima broke down again as she remember she was supposed to be undercover. "I was well…I just forgot… hehehe…"

Harry frowned as he titled his head. "Are you okay Hamakaze? You seem a bit off."

Isokaze nodded, "Come to think of it, you're wearing a different uniform. Where did you get it?"

"Also you seem kinda scared." Shinano added, "Is something wrong?"

"Do you have a fever Hamakaze?"

"Maybe we should talk to Akashi."

Shima felt her heart want to explode at all the concern and sympathy they had for her…the fake, the imitator. She just…she just couldn't take it any longer.

"I'MNOTHAMAKAZE!I'MSORRY!I'MACTUALLYSHIMAISUZUANDlIIDOLIZEHAMAKAZEBUTIMNOTHERANDACTUALLYI'MAMAGICALGIRLWHOWASCONTRACTEDBYTHEKYUBEYTHATHARRYANIMATEDANDISHOULDN'TBEHEREBUTITSALLMYFAULTPLEASEDONTKILLME!"

Harry and the other girls stared at Shima in surprise, their mouths slightly ajar.

And it was at that moment when the doors to the chamber of secrets slammed open, revealing a bushy haired girl and a very familiar white haired girl in full rigging.

"There she is!" Hamakaze announced. "She's the imposter!"

—-

When Shima saw her idol, her couldn't help but be in awe of the shipgirl. Her perfectly cut bangs covered her right eye with just the right amount of exposure, her slender but well muscled body was molded to perfection, and her eyes, those silver eyes, embodied the strength, power, and determination…as they glared daggers right at Shima.

"Ha-Hamakaze?" Harry turned his head in disbelief.

"You! Get away from Harry you fake!"

Her cool, soft voice sent shivers down Shima's bones. It took all of Shima's enhanced instincts screaming at her for Shima to be notice a set of Type 96 AA guns pointing at her face.

Transforming in an instant, Shima dived to the side just as the canon fire exploded around her. The explosion threw her onto the floor, slightly dazed.

She barely had time to get over that before she rolled over to avoid a powerful fist that crushed the floor where had just lain.

"I-I'm sorry!"

Harry stared at the actual Hamakaze in shock. "Hamakaze, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry Harry. Just stay back and I'll protect you."

Shima wanted to squeal at how amazing that line sounded. How much she wished she could be that cool. But it was quite hard when said knight was trying to kill her!

"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to! It was an honest mistake!" She called, using every bit of speed and skill she had gained over the past year to just barely keep ahead of the murderous shipgirl.

Around them, Urakaze and Yukikaze were squinting their eyes as they tried to comprehend what looked like one Hamakaze trying to murder another Hamakaze. Shinano frowned before she closed her eyes and reopened them. And then she looked.

Suddenly, instead of two destroyers of the Kagerou class duking it out, she saw two girls around the same age, one who just happened to look like a slightly smaller and less curvaceous version of the other.

It all made sense suddenly. "Wait Hamakaze! Stop!"

Her words fell on deaf ears though as the destroyer smashed through a bookshelf (Harry winced at the property damage) as said magical girl leaped over it, wings (she had wings?) extended.

Harry's eyes widened, "She's like a Hamakaze tenshi dess!"

Shima's thoughts were not concerned with her appearance though, as she used an enhanced leap to jump over the bookshelf and glide over said shipgirls, only to cringe when she saw the array of anti aircraft guns pointed in her direction.

She hesitated a moment until she remembered something she had seen in a movie. Bringing her wings in tight, she dived towards the shipgirl, hoping to tackle the girl before she could fire said guns off.

Her vision blacked out when she saw a fist meet her face.

—-

Slowly but surely, Shima's eyes opened, even as she winced as the pain hit her. As she tried to recall what happened, a voice interrupter her thoughts.

"Hey, you're awake."

Shima's eyes took a moment to focus on the messy hair of a British born Japanese speaking boy. Who was really damn close to her. Her face lit up like a tomato. She had never been this close to a boy before.

Were all British people this intimate with people?

"Harry, you're too close to her." A voice called behind the boy, causing Shima to slowly tilt her neck to find a very unamused Hamakaze watching her like a hawk.

"Ahh…" Shima wanted to die now. Her idol hated her. That was enough of a reason to die.

"Oh sorry about that." The boy moved back, giving her space and breathing room.

Slowly Shima took in her surroundings. She was still in the familiar stone walls of the magic castle, but was in what looked like a school nurse's office. A woman in a good to honest Victorian nurse outfit was consulting…the Battleship Nagato?!?

Shima wanted to die. Nagato was here too?

Harry frowned. "Umm…are you ok Shima?"

Wait… "Y-you know my name?"

Harry flushed sheepishly as he held up a small object…her student ID.

"You had this in your pockets…sorry, we searched you for identification and weapons and such…" Harry explained, "But I'm certain you're a good person. After all, magical girls are good people…except when they're corrupt or time travelers."

Shima nodded, "Y-yes. Homura Akemi, despite her loyalty and faithfulness to Madoka, isn't a good person. Her methods are often questionable and she is willing to kill others because they hinder her plan."

"Even if Homura is so cool!" Harry added.

"Yeah."

The two of them sighed before sharing a look. The two giggled.

Harry extended his hand in greeting, "Let's try this again then. I'm Harry Potter-Nagato. 13 year old middle schooler, wizard, and little brother of the Fleet Dess!"

The white haired magical girl took the extended hand. "I'm Shima Isuzu. 16 year old high schooler, artist, and magical girl of Sasebo."

"You're an artist Isuzu-san?"

Shima nodded, blushing slightly. "H-hai. I…I like drawing ships and shipgirls."

"Wow, you've got to show me those. That's totally neat!"

"Ahem." A soft voice interrupted the two teenagers.
The two noticed Hamakaze grunt at them.

Shima blushed in front of her idol, "Oh. Umm…I'm sorry for impersonating you. I… I didn't mean to… but…I didn't tell them…"

"That's a good question actually.” Harry added, “Isuzu-san, why do look like Hamakaze? Even your spiritual hull is identical."

Shima stared at the boy in disbelief. "I do? Wait, what's this about a spiritual hull?"

Harry frowned, "So you didn't know about that?"

The magical girl shook her head. "No, I knew I sorta looked like Hamakaze, but nothing more."

"Hmm…you're not a magical shipgirl, or an alternate shipgirl. Your hull is exactly identical. If you were a magical Kagerou, then you would have some differences…"

Hamakaze looked over at the magical girl. "So you're not trying to kidnap or hurt Harry?"

Shima shook her head furiously, "Of course not! I would never! I just was looking for the Yokosuka magical girl! I thought she might know where Kyubey was."

"You knew Kyubey?" Harry raised his brow. "All the way in Sasebo?"

She nodded, "y-yes! I met Kyubey about a year ago. But it vanished after I made my contract and I've been on my own ever since. Also…is it true you're the one behind the Kyubey appearances?"

Harry sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Hehe yeah. I'm not sure exactly how it happened."

A female voice yelled from the hallway behind the medical wing in English. Harry smirked and yelled something back in English, resulting in an audible smashing of steel against the stone, repeatedly.

Harry grinned, "Sorry about that. That's Hermoine. She's a fellow student here and I'm proud to say I'm the cause of two thirds of her headaches."

"That's something to be proud of?"

Harry smirked, "Dess!"

Shima's eyes widened. "That's Kongou!"

Harry’s eyes twinkled.

"Nanodess?"

"Inazuma!"

"Ganbarimasu!"

"Fubuki!"

"Poi~!"

"Yuudachi!”

"Now here's a hard one. Orange is my specialty!"

"Ahh, while often attributed to the Sendai class, it's actually Nevada due to her orange coating during nuclear tests!"

The banging of metal against stone got louder.

Harry put his hand on his mouth. "Wow, you're the real thing. I've never met anyone who so perfectly passed the suffix test other than Cousin Jane."

Shima blushed at the praise. "Ahh, well…I sorta watch anything and everything shipgirl related I can find. Especially with the new generation. Though…everyone thinks I'm a weirdo."

Harry sighed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Shima-chan, can I call you that?"

A nod.

"Shima-chan, you should never be ashamed for your passions. You clearly love shipgirls as much as I do! And you're a magical girl on top of that! How many people can genuinely say they're a real life magical girl?"

"Well…"

Harry smirked, "Now then, Hamakaze, Isuzu has apologized and admitted she wasn't trying to hurt me. I think you owe her an apology."

Hamakaze raised her brow, "I do? I was just protecting you."

Rolling his eyes, Harry grumbled, "You definitely went overkill on the firepower."

Hamakaze's eyes lit up as she understood. She flushed awkwardly. "Ahh, sorry about that. I should have held back a bit more."

Hamakaze was apologizing to her. Hamakaze, the brave, strong, and beautiful knight in shinning armor, was awkwardly fidgeting like a nervous school girl as she apologized…to Shima Isuzu.
Shima's face lit up as she tried to cement the image into her memory.

Shima slowly nodded, "Ahh…I…I forgive you. It was still my fault for deceiving everyone."

Why was blushing Hamakaze so damn cute?!?

Harry didn't seem to notice at all. "Glad that's settled! So then, Shima-chan, tell me all about being a magical girl!"

"H-hai!"

—-

Yokosuka Naval Base

"Only a week after we learned that magical girls exist…we catch another one…causing a security breach so big that I nearly needed to put the entire base on alert." Goto sighed, trying to figure out how to write this report.

Haru smirked. "At least she's cooperative. Shima Isuzu has been most informative in terms of providing us with information about magical girls and her activities."

Oyodo frowned, "Still though, the fact that someone managed to deceive an entire base of shipgirls to the point we brought her on a classified mission terrifies me."

Goto nodded, "Do we have any explanation as to how that happened?"

Oyodo sighed, "Yes. She literally was in the right place and the right time. Urakaze found her on the street and just dragged her into the base. Needless to say, she will be reprimanded for not checking her identity beyond just shiphull."

"Because up to this point, we didn't even know that could be compromised." Goto groaned. "We're going to need to create a whole new set of protocols just for magical girl defenses."

"I'll be doing my best to see what we can do about figuring out how she's doing that. Despite Isuzu's best efforts, she cannot explain how she manifested the hull. She didn't even know she had it until yesterday." Haru added.

"What's your plan?"

Haru frowned, "I was planning on sending her to Kyoto. There's some magical researchers there who I happen to know who would be very interested in examining her."

Goto raised his brow, "Haru? You'd better not being sending her to be ex-"

"I promise you. The person I have in mind is not that sort of researcher. She's actually been very valuable in her research into shipgirls and magics associated with them."

Goto shot up, "You don't mean?"

Haru smirked. "That's right. I'm sure Isuzu will be perfectly safe with her."

—-

Kyoto National History Musem

The shikigami fluttered through the air of a massive laboratory before landing on the messy nest of blue hair.

"I…I'm awake! I'm awake!" The researcher groaned as she tried to slap the shikigami out of her hair before catching it. Bringing down the paper to a pair of oversized glasses, the Masamune no Shimazu slowly read the request before rereading it several times.

"Magical girls!?!"

 

Happens right after the Shima set up snippet.

Warning, Parental Discretion Advised

—-

Yokosuka Naval Base Fall 2013

Shima Isuzu had survived for a year against wizards, protected around a dozen Yokai from sadistic aurors, and even lasted three minutes against a very angry shipgirl. So she perhaps had a mildly bloated ego that yes, she could handle anything.

Shima Isuzu forgot all of that as she was escorted into the admiral's office (by Kongou nonetheless! Her shipgirl fangirl instincts were screaming right now) to find one of the most well known admirals in recent history, sharing tea with a middle aged pair of adults with silver white hair. That's right, Admiral Goto was having tea with her parents. Shima wanted to die right then and there.

He noticed her entry and smiled, "Ahh, Miss Isuzu, how nice of you to join us. We were just talking about you."

Her mother leaped out of her seat and embraced her daughter. "You're okay! I… I was so worried. When you didn't come home yesterday, I freaked out! And then when the phone call came this morning, I… I was beside myself!"

"She wouldn't even let me get my work done." Her father chimed in, "But I… I was worried too."

Shima blushed, "Ahh…I'm ok. Sorry for making you worry."

"What matters is that you're ok." Her father patted her on the back. "Admiral Goto has mentioned to us that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Ah…well…" Shima stammered. How much had the admiral told them?

"Shima," Her mother's icy cold voice froze the room. "Is there something you want to tell us about…magical girls?"

The teenager looked to the admiral before sighing, "H-hai. I'm… I'm a magical girl."

"In Miss Shima's defense, there are some circumstances that were outside of her control." The admiral chimed in, "There was a creature called a Kyubey involved and-"

"You accepted a contract from an Incubator?!?"

Shima wanted to die as she tried to curl up into the smallest ball she could. "Well-"

Her father groaned as he pressed his hand into his forehead.

“I thought I raised you better than this Shima. You of all people should know better than to accept contracts from white creatures offering wishes." Her mother stared at her daughter in disbelief.

Goto looked from the parents to the daughter in confusion. "I’m sorry, is there something I'm missing?"

Mrs. Isuzu chuckled awkwardly, "My husband…well…he's a freelance animator. And he's done quite a bit of work for Studio SHAFT, particularly on-"

"Puella Magi Madoka Magica." Her father finished. "I even worked on the little devil in some shots. So I'm very disappointed in you Shima."

"I made sure!" Shima protested, "I asked it all about whether or not my soul was being turned into a soul gem and whether or not I would turn into a witch. It said no! It was just using my inherent magical energy to let me use my powers!"

"Inherent magical energy?" Her father raised his brow, "Like in shipgirls?"

Shima froze. "Well…not really. More like…"

Goto coughed awkwardly. "I can answer those questions. You see Mr and Mrs Isuzu, your daughter has been involved with what we call the Magical Community…"

As the admiral explained the world of magic, Shima chimed in and tried to explain what she had found.

"And that's what we know so far." Goto concluded. "Is there any questions?"

Her parents remained silent for several long seconds. Shima gulped.

Finally, her father stood up. "Shima Isuzu. Stand." He spoke, his voice grave.

"H-hai!" Shima stood up, stiff and straight. Her father walked up to her as Shima braced herself, her eyes shut.

Instead she opened her eyes to find herself in a tight hug. "All those nights. All those bruises and bandages. Your mother kept worrying, that maybe you had fallen in with a bad crowd or were being bullied." He sniffled, a tear in his eyes. "But I refused to believe that my daughter would do that. Shima is brave. She is strong. And her sense of Justice is greater than despair she might face. And now, I know that my daughter wasn't a trouble maker, or in a gang. My daughter is a Ronin. She's a warrior who faces the darkness. She fights for truth, love, and friendship. My only regret…is that she had to do it alone. For that…I'm so sorry."

Her mother wrapped her arms from behind Shima, "I…I am so proud of you."

Shima blushed as she let herself melt into her parent's arms. She felt safe.

Goto smiled as he let the family reunite when he noticed an email show up on his computer.

Admiral Goto:

Concerning the girl of magical origin, I would be honored to examine her and her abilities. Please send her to the address below at your earliest convenience.

Masamune no Shimazu

 

Happens after the Hunt for Norimune

Enter The Foolish Foursome!

—-

Kamakura October 2013

The day was done and the sun had long since set as the last of Toku's kendo students shuffled out of the dojo.

"Goodbye Toku-sensei!"

A soft and calm smile met their farewells. "Goodbye, and make sure to hurry home alright?"

"We will!"

Watching the students leave, Toku let out a breathe. Once she locked up, she could make an small dinner before maybe calling Colombe, it was daytime over in Belgium wasn't it? Maybe she should cook something for the fencer as well. She would like that right?

As she moved towards the door, a buzzing noise interrupted her train of thought. Pulling out her Nokia (a gift from Shimazu, charmed to be even more durable and longer battery life), she scanned the ID before answering the call. "Moshi moshi? Ahh, Fudo Onee-sama, how are you?"

"…"

"Yes I'm fine. Classes just ended. I'm about to lock up for the night."

"…"

"Don't worry Nee-sama. I'm very aware of the recent string of attacks. I even strengthened the wards around the shrine. I'm fine-"

One hand holding the phone to her ear, Fudo's other hand reached for the door before stopping. Outside, she could hear the soft ringing of bells resounding throughout the Shrine.

The wards had gone off. There were intruders in the Shrine.

"Say Fudo, actually I would be interested in some company. Would you be free to join me for dinner tonight?" Toku offered as she walked back into the dojo, towards a certain sword rack.

"…"

"That's wonderful. My place in 20 minutes?" She picked up the sheathed blade from its rack on the mantle before heading towards the door.

"…"

"Alright. See you then."

Turning off the phone, the Masamune returned her phone to her pocket before pulling the door open.

She exited the dojo and walked down the small pathway before coming out in a small open area before the Minamoto Pond. Drawing her blade ever so slightly, she cast a muggle warding charm before calling out. "We're alone now. You can come on out."

She waited a mere few seconds before four figures emerged from the darkness. As they came into the light of the lamppost, her eyes widened as she saw four teenage girls dressed in outlandish outfits approach her. Their garbs reminded her of something right out of her pupil's shoujo manga.

"Can I help you?" She asked the intruders.

"Toku of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-Gū, you are a magical. Your exploitation and cruelty towards humanity is your guilt. Prepare to face Justice." The purple haired girl declared, before drawing her twin Katana. The trio of girls behind her drew their weapons, including a pair of Tekkō Kagi, a spear, and a pair of brass knuckles.

"I see." The shrine maiden nodded slowly. So this was the reason behind the attacks? Hatred against the magical community? Which meant that these girls were probably non magical. Or at least those who only recently had exposure to the magical world. "Then I am your next target?"

The leader said nothing, but Toku could feel a darkness within the girl, an angry bloodlust that was very apparent. She had seen it far too often, a watered down variant of what she sometimes saw in some of her sisters. Or, for that matter, the darkness that she had sensed was inherent in her friend Colombe du Chasteler and some of the other Muramasa blades. The siren song of battle that had been smithed into the legendary blades of Japan.

Toku considered drawing her true self but paused. If these girls really were only recent additions to their world, how strong were they really? While she most certainly did not wish to underestimate them, was she not a follower of the Way? Lesson number one of the Way: One's path towards mastery is never complete. Perhaps she could even learn a thing or two from these girls.

Instead, she opted to take a defensive stance, her blade still sheathed. "I am ready. Are you?"

The three girls beside the leader hesitated, clearly put off. But nodded and charged.

The fight honestly wasn't that exhilarating in Toku's honest opinion. The girls' tactic was basically charging her at the same time from the same direction while trying to strike her in any way possible.

While she definitely could feel the strength behind their attacks, some basic familiarity behind their weapons, these were no masters of their craft. No true followers of the Way. Honestly, she was getting a bit bored fending off their attacks. Was this how Musashi felt all the time, constantly whittling her bokken for the next fight? Perhaps…the fight could be made more…interesting.

"Is this the true extent of your power? You truly don't seem worth my time." She taunted them, deflecting the green haired spear user before slamming the blunt end of her sheath into the girl's stomach. The girl cried out in pain before Toku grabbed her by the scruff of her outfit and tossed her away.

"Kako!" The brawler yelled out. "You'll pay for that!"

Toku shrugged. Honestly, these girls were looking less like magical assassins and more like her students on the second day of training. That's it! They were exactly like her students, all full of themselves and feeling unstoppable. Which meant that it was her divine calling to guide them in walking the Way to betetr themselves and bring forth the crudely formed raw potential that she sensed in their attacks and counters. It seemed that she had another class to teach tonight.

"You!" She parried the claw user with ease before knocking her away with the back of her blade. "You've got speed but you keep attacking from the front. Try to flank me and find my weak spots. You are the technician and need use your skill to look for targets of opportunity."

The brawler charged her, but Toku merely side stepped out of the way before dodging a sweeping kick. "You've probably got some martial arts background, probably Karate. But even so, while you have speed and force, you're sloppy and cannot hold my attention long enough for your team to exploit. You are the vanguard of your group and you need to own up to your role in a harmonious team that is greater than its individual people as you walk the Way as one."

Her instincts flashed as she stepped to the side to dodge the Katana strike from behind her. "Ahh. You finally have understood how to attack from behind," she observed the Katana user. "However? You're failing your job as the leader. You are not coordinating your teammates, nor are you observing my fighting style for weaknesses. Yet you all attack me one at a time or all at once. There is no staggering or coordination to your strikes. You are a failure as a leader."

With that, she parried the next Katana attack before slamming the sheathe of her blade on the girl's head, causing her to collapse.

As she turned to the green haired girl, watching from the side lines, she sighed. "And you, you simply lack the resolve to fight in the first place. Such half hearted commitment will surely lead to your team's downfall."

—-

"You are a failure as a leader."

Nanaka collapsed as those words resounded in her mind. She needed to get stronger. The magicals needed to pay. She had to avenge her father, no matter the cost…

—-

"Wh-who are you again?"

The moment Nanaka learned about magic was the moment her father stopped recognizing her.

The teenager had noticed the signs far before. Her father was always a bit forgetful, but lately he had been more forgetful than normal.

The morning when her father had suddenly stopped recognizing her, Nanaka knew something was wrong. When the doctor looked over him, the diagnosis was retrograde amnesia. The doctor shook his head in confusion when he pointed out that her father was in peak condition. He shouldn't have had any health issues, much less brain damage.

Over the next few months, her father's condition only worsened. The final nail in the literal coffin came when the doctor's new diagnosis came back. Her father had a growing brain tumor.

A week later, the purple haired girl stood before her father's grave, feeling utterly helpless and alone.

That was when the cat creature appeared. That was when she learned about magic and the magicians' ability to mess with the mind…much like that of her father's. That was when she made her oath. She was going to tear down the foundations of magic and bring an end to the magical society, who so casually toyed with the non magical.

With Kyubey's help, she found allies to her cause.

Akira, her best friend and martial artist.
Meiyui, a refugee from China who spoke of the cruelties the Chinese magicals had done to her country.
And finally Kako, a bookworm who they had rescued from a fire.

Together, they had agreed to help avenge her father and force use magic against the magical. In the name of Kyubey's master. Who was Harry Nagato apparently. Kyubey didn't seem to know much about him other than that he was a "good" wizard. Akira thought he looked cute. Nanaka didn't get it.

—-

Were they really that far out of their league? Was her resolve to stop magicals truly this weak? This woman…no…this monster, was nothing like the various wizards and yokai they had stumbled upon.

A dark fire erupted in her heart, as her body heated up. She stared at her blade, a purplish tint covering the blade. Somehow, her blade felt heavier, stronger, and sharper. She felt like she could cleave cleave and destroy and annihilate all who stood before her! She stood up, energy and adrenaline pulsing through her veins as she drew her swords once more.

This filthy little miko was nothing compared to her hatred, to her anger, to her-

Before she could move, the woman vanished and suddenly Nanaka was on her back, dazed as her vision went dark.

"That was dangerous you know. Good thing I stopped you."

—-

Toku frowned as she looked over the fallen assailants. While they were clearly untrained and new to this world, she could sense the raw power they possessed, particularly the Katana wielder. Somehow, her grudge and anger had caused her to awaken her raw and unrefined Qi, which, if allowed to flourish, would have destroyed the girl's life force.

Yes, these girls clearly needed direction, they needed a mentor. And fortunately, Toku happened to be certified Miko, teacher, and a follower of the Way.

"Toku, I'm here! Why do you have the people clearing wards up-"

Toku turned to see her older Masamune running to her. The woman froze as the sight of her younger sister, her sheathed blade held in two hands, standing over the crumpled bodies of four teenagers.

"Onee-sama, just in time." Toku greeted her sister. "I had just finished up our surprise guests. Would you mind helping me and bring them inside? I'll have dinner on the table in a bit."

 

A Magical Girl’s Trio to Kyoto I

Kyoto September 2013

Shima looked at the very regular looking house. This was a magical researcher's home? She admitted, she was sorta expecting something out of Spirited Away or some other Miyazaki film.

Not…a generic house in the suburbs of Kyoto. It had been a five hour train ride (with a ticket provided by the admiral) from Yokosuka to Kyoto. But despite refreshments being offered, she hadn't dared purchase anything. She was nervous. This magical researcher promised to be able to help her understand how her magic worked. But…wasn't that kinda dangerous?

Now she found herself in the Kyoto suburbs, having used her phone map to find her way there. Gulping, she rung the doorbell.

The door opened, revealing an elderly lady. "Can I help you?"

"H-hai! I'm Shima Isuzu! I have an appointment with…Shimazu-sama?"

The woman looked over the silver haired girl and nodded. "Come on in. And close the door behind you."

Shima nodded, entering the home and removing her shoes.

"Keep your shoes. Shimazu isn't here. But you can use our Floo to get to her."

Shima frowned but picked up her shoes. Shimazu wasn't here? Then where was she?

The woman led Shima to a fireplace, a small but crackling fire. Picking up a bag from the mantle, she handed it to Shima.

Shima stared at the bag, "Umm…"

"You've never used the Floo before?"

She was outed. "Ahh…no…I…I haven't." She admitted in shame.

"No worries. I'll show you."

A moment later, Shima stood in the fireplace, holding a pinch full of powder. "Kyoto Museum Archives!"

—-

Shima was very glad she hadn't eaten anything. The intense vertigo and dizziness nearly caused her to throw up her non existent lunch. Thankfully there was no lunch to vomit.

As she crashed onto the tiled floor before the fireplace, Shima wanted to kiss the ground, solid ground. But a voice interrupted her action.
"So…you're my magical girl?"

Shima looked up to find a woman dressed in a baggy hoodie and sweatpants. She had blue hair and large, oversized glasses. Honestly, she looked more like one of her father's animation interns instead of a magic researcher.

—-

"So you met an animated plushie that looked like an Incubator, something you knew was one of the most evil abominations in all fiction, and you took the contract anyways?"

Shima nodded, a bit ashamed. "Hai…it…it seemed like a good idea at the time."

The woman frowned as she squinted her eyes over the girl. "Well…it does seem like your soul is still in your body and not in a gem."

Shima nodded, "Hai. The Kyubey said he was a good Kyubey and wanted to help Muggles like me."

Shimazu raised her brow, "So it goes after muggles huh? Very interesting."

She led the magical girl to an open space in her laboratory, with various equipment surrounding a carefully drawn circles.

"I had this set up when I learned of your existence. This should get an accurate reading of your magic and how it functions." The woman explained, gesturing at the circle. "Go ahead and stand in the center."

Shima nodded, walking to the center.
"Good, now show me some magic."

Shima frowned. "Umm…I can't use magic unless I'm transformed."

Shimazu raised her brow, "You sure? Ok. Let's go with that for now. Transform then."

Shima focused, allowing for her clothes to transform into her white and blue robes and unfurl her white wings. "How's this?"

The woman remained motionless, her expression utterly emotionless. Shima gulped. Maybe she did something wrong.

"Umm…"

"What…"

Shima paused.

"The Fuck"

"Umm…"

"Was that?"

Shima blanked. "Ehh?"

Shimazu ran over to her instruments, frantically looking over the data it had been collecting. "You…you just transfigured your clothing completely and instantaneously. You didn't even wave a wand, make an incantation, or doing any sort of ritual. How?"

Shima frowned, she hadn't really thought about it like that. "Well…I just did it. I didn't really think about it." She shrugged.

"And that's what's even more confusing! Magic is built around rituals and following certain procedures. Even when I make a new spell, it's built around a particular set of actions that replicate a ritual. You just…transfigured your entire outfit like it was nothing."

Shima paused before speaking, "I mean…shouldn't all magical girls be able to transform? Sure I didn't have a transformation sequence but it's just natural that we can transform."

Shimazu stared at the magical girl. "…just natural?"

Shima nodded, "Hai. Magical girls transforming is just what we do right?"

The researcher frowned, "So…it's a form of self hypnosis and firm belief in your capabilities maybe? Hmm…ok. Let's move on. Show me a spell. You can use the target on the wall over there."

"H-hai!" Shima pointed her staff at the wall before sending off a pair of bolts.

Shima winced when the first bolt missed the target, hitting the section of wall beside the target. The second one hit just outside the second ring. "…I'm sorry."

Shimazu didnt seem to care, "Aether element stunning bolts. Chantless casting. I'm surprised you knew such advanced magic, but if we're going with the self belief hypothesis, it sorta makes sense. Now how about some fire spells? Or maybe water spells?"

Shima paused and frowned. "What?"

Shimazu sighed. "You can't do it?"

"I…I haven't tried."

Rolling her eyes, the researcher sighed. "I figured as much. I think I'm getting an idea of how your magic works. What else can you do?"

"Umm…" Shima paused, "I can summon and communicate with shikigami."

Shimazu's brow raised. "Oh? Do show."

The magical girl focused on her staff before planting her staff on the ground. A moment later, a pair of white semitransparent balls appeared next to her staff.

Shimazu looked over the balls in interest. "Interesting. These are a type of artificial shikigami. They don't have a conscious, but rather seem to be remotely controllable by you?"

Shima nodded, "Hai. I can manipulate them and have used them to create homing attacks."

"Is that so? Very interesting. Have you tried programming them to have independent action?"

Shima nodded, "Once. But it was pretty taxing and I wasn't able to keep it up for long."

"I see…" The researcher's brow scrounged as she looked over the data she had. "I think I have a theory but we would need to do some more research. How long do I have you for?"

"I…I have to go back to school this week. But my parents said I can come over the weekends. Just…"

Shimazu frowned. "Just what?"
"It's kinda far. Even by train." Shima admitted.

"Where do you live?"

"Sasebo."

"If that's your concern, then I'll have them set up a Floo in your family home." Shimazu dismissed her concerns, "Your contribution to my research is valuable enough that I can get that set up for you no problem."

"Th-thank you very much."

As she bowed, a loud crack noise was heard from the fireplace.

Shima spun around in response, her staff pointed and aimed. She knew that noise. It was the sound she had associated with Aurors and reservation guards teleporting in.

Standing before her was a young woman dressed in Auror robes with wand drawn and trained at the magical girl.

"Hold it!"

The two paused to see Shimazu stand between them. "Put down the weapons. No one is shooting in my lab without my permission!"

Shima made eye contact with the Auror before nodding. The Auror put away her wand while Shima put down her staff.

"Shima, this is my pupil, Kaya Sugihara. Kaya, this is Shima Isuzu. She's a magical girl who I'm currently studying. There will be no violence. You hear me?"

Shima obeyed, satisfied that the Auror was with the researcher. "I'm sorry for disrupting you."

The woman groaned, "It's fine. But you're a magical girl?"

Shima nodded, "H-hai. We're pretty new and I honestly-"

"You think you can help me resolve my magical girl problem?"

Shimazu and Shima stared at Kaya in surprise. "Magical girl problem?"

 

A Magical Girl’s Trio to Kyoto II

Kyoto September 2013

When the Kyubey had shown up at her doorstep that fateful evening, Tsukune Yui wasn't ignorant of magic. She knew magic existed. After all, magic had cursed their family!

As a child, her grandfather told her story after story about his platoon during their occupation of Hong Kong. About the dangers they faced. How much the people hated them. And most importantly, about Lady Kitsune, the foxy vixen who committed countless murders against their forces. He described how she could disguise herself as one of them, kill one of their men, and then vanish before they could even notice. He recalled the chilling bloodthirsty laughter that continued to haunt his dreams.

"Never trust a fox! They are tricksters and malevolent beings who will bring horror and calamity upon your family as long as you live!"

His wisdom would stay with her. She knew it was true. Their family restaurant caught fire after her father took a photograph of a shrine dedicated to Inari-sama. Her grandfather had a heart attack after claiming to see a fox wearing a veil at the zoo. Their restaurant fell into ruin after the Okami food magazine rated their food 50/100. Foxes had cursed their family.

So when Kyubey offered her a contract, Tsukune knew better than to ask for their restaurant's success. She needed to get to the source! She needed to defeat Lady Kitsune and force her to remove the curse on their family! So she wished to be the mightiest magical girl!

After thanking the Kyubey for its gift, Tsukune set out on her journey to become strong. After all, just having magic would not defeat Lady Kitsune! She needed training and practice!

Getting into magical Kyoto wasn't hard. Learning everything she could about magicals and their way of life wasn't too hard either. But finding out that the school for magic had been destroyed by the Abyssals…that had been rough.

So she couldn't go to magic school. And apparently tutors were pretty expensive. So she needed an alternative form of magic training. Something that would challenge her and help her grow until she was mighty enough to avenge her family. And it just so happens to be that combat wizards show up when you cause trouble…

And thus, the legend of the mightiest magical girl took root in the alleyways and hideaways of Magical Kyoto.

Tsukune would challenge a civilian, maybe threaten them a bit, wait for them to call the Aurors, and then boom, training partners!

And for a while it worked! Her grandfather's training from his time in the war had done wonders in giving her hand to hand combat skills.

The wizards that arrived put up a decent fight, allowing Tsukune to train. And once she felt satisfied, she would use her enhanced strength and speed to escape before they could arrest her.

That was…until she arrived.

It was a normal evening and Tsukune was waiting for her "sparing partner" to arrive when she showed up. A woman in Auror robes with long black hair, wielding a wand and a knife simultaneously.

Their battle had been spectacular! The woman countered her every move and then some. Her mastery of both offense and defense as well as her array of unusual magics kept Tsukune on her toes.

No matter how many flames she could conjure, no matter how fast she moved, the Auror just kept up with her…and then some.

In a matter of minutes, Tsukune was on the ground; battered, bruised, and wounded. She managed to hobble away from that fight, just barely.

But never before had her heart been pounding so, her soul exhilarated, and her competitive spirit so turned on. She had to fight her again!
It would be a few days later when the woman showed up again. Tsukune thought she was ready this time. She wasn't. She ended up on the ground again.

At least this time she had a name. Auror Sugihara.

Over the next month, Tsukune would hang around alleyways, parks, and rooftops, politely explaining to people that she was threatening them, and they should call for "Auror Sugihara".

On their eighth encounter, the Kyoto Auror seemed a bit annoyed.

Sugihara didn't just push her, she absolutely destroyed her. Tsukune crashed onto the pavement in a matter of minutes. No warning whatsoever.

When she came to, she found a pair of cuffs on her hands and an angry Kyoto Auror glaring at her.

The ensuring conversation resulted in her being detained for obstruction of peace. Auror Sugihara reprimanded her, telling her that she couldn't just "fight aurors" for training practice. She was disrupting the peace and wasting the auror's time.

That night in the department lock up was a grim evening. The magical girl tried to reason, that she needed to become stronger, and no one was willing to help her. But being in prison was not what she had expected would to happen as a result of her brawls.

When she was released the next morning, she was given a firm warning against future fights and that she should take care to avoid giving the Aurors problems in the future.

Tsukune Yui had a choice. She could listen, give up on her dreams, and just live as a normal girl waitressing her father's diner.

Or…

—-

The Kyoto Auror department was a bustling building filled with busy aurors and staff. With the Kyoto Diet split from the Tokyo Diet, the Auror force was just getting revived and thus everyone was extremely busy.. Which is exactly how none of them noticed a teenage girl walking up to the receptionist at the front desk and ask her for an “Auror Sugihara”.

The receptionist frowned at the brunette. "State the reason for your visit?"

"I came to apologize to Auror Sugihara." Tsukune explained, her head held high. "I caused her great strife and must atone for it."

The receptionist frowned, "Look, you don't need to apologize to her, she was just doing her-"

"-but I must!" Tsukune insisted. "I have done a great misdeed and did not behave in a way the mightiest ought to. I must atone for it!"

The receptionist wince as she felt a wave of heat radiate from the girl. "Well…I'll see if I can get a hold of her. She may be on patrol though."

"Then I will wait for her return!" Tsukune announced.

—-

"What's this you needed me to come back for?" Kaya asked as she appeared in the department lobby. "I got a message that you needed me back asap…"

Her eyes met a pair of energetic brown eyes.

Her eyes blinked. The other did as well.

"Oh no…" Sugihara groaned. "Are you really trying to-"

To her surprise, the girl bowed deeply. "I humbly apologize!"

Kaya froze. "Umm…"

"I was not thinking of how my actions were disrupting others." She continued, "I just…I wanted to become stronger, to be the mightiest! But in doing so, I inconvenienced many others."

Kaya tried to respond to the sincere and heartfelt apology, "Ahh. Well…thanks and-"

"Therefore, I should be direct in what I need." Tsukune concluded, "I wish to be the mightiest magical girl! Auror Sugihara, you are the mightiest person I've ever met! So please, be my Sensei, no, my Shishou!"

Kaya's mind came to a screeching halt. "Wait what?"

The brunette knelt down on both knees, "Please Sugihara Shishou, please train me to become the mightiest!"

—-

"And I turned her down." Kaya concluded, "But she kept persisting."

Shimazu struggled to hold back a smirk. To see her pupil grow to the point she had attracted her own disciple was a dream come true. "I see…"

"It's been two weeks since then, and almost every day, she's waited at the department for my return and continued her begging." Kaya groaned, "I've been trying to turn her down, but she's so honest, and so fervent about it, the aurors are actually starting to sympathize with her."

"Umm…is she still causing problems?" Shima inquired.

"And that's the worst part! This brat had turned into an absolute angel!" Kaya interjected, "We haven't had a single incident since then. In fact, it's been the opposite. She's been going around helping people. She helps disabled people cross the road, carries bags for elderly, and even helped shopkeepers hawk their wares! Apparently her stamina is near limitless! And all to get my attention!"

"M-maybe she's doing it because she's trying to show she's turning a new leaf." Shima suggested.

Kaya groaned, "I wish. But every time I see her, she merely requests my mentorship and a possible duel. She's obsessed, she is! I came over here without checking in so I could avoid her, but I just know she's waiting right outside the department for me."

"I-I'm sorry to hear that." Shima confessed. "I wish…I wish I could help."

"Actually," Shimazu's glasses glinted, "There may be a way you can."

Shima didn't like the way the researcher looked at her.

—-

When Tsukune arrived at the Auror department, she was surprised to see the black haired Auror waiting for her.

"Ahh, there you are!" The Auror greeted Tsukune, leaving her genuinely confused. Was she…happy to see her?

"Ummm…hai? I'm here." Tsukune asked hesitantly. "Have you changed your mind about being my mentor?"

"Nope!"

Tsukune thought so. "I see. Ok. I'll be leaving-"

"But I have found a suitable sparing partner for you!"

Tsukune froze. "Huh?"

Sugihara gestured at the silver haired girl standing awkwardly next her. "This is Shima Isuzu. Shima, this is Tsukune Yui."

"N-nice to meet you." The girl bowed respectfully.
Tsukune frowned in confusion. "N-nice to meet you. Auror Sugihara, is this some kind of jo-"

"Shima here is a magical girl." Sugihara announced, with a surprising amount of enthusiasm in her voice. "And you're also a magical girl. So you two are going to fight!"

The various aurors and staff who had stopped to watch the debacle paused. The two magical girls stared at Sugihara in shock. Then the entire room collectively expressed their disbelief.

"Ehh?"

 

A Magical Girl’s Trio to Kyoto III

Kyoto September 2013

Shima glanced around nervously as she stood in the warded arena. "A-are you sure this is a good idea?"

Kaya gave a big thumbs up. "Relax, you got this!"

Shima did not think she had this. Across from her, Tsukune Yui, Kaya's "magical girl problem", was stretching her arms and legs, clearly preparing for a fight.

She still couldn't believe that she actually was not only in a building full of Aurors, but now fighting a trigger happy magical girl. And when she had initially expressed her doubts, Shimazu had taken her aside and reminded her of the real purpose of the fight.

"Think of all the data I can collect from this fight! Both from your and this other girl! Just, shove her a bit and try to push her to her limits."

Shima was starting to rethink whether she could actually push this girl to her limits. Apparently this girl fought aurors for fun! Who did that?

…Not like she hadn't fought her share of aurors…and defeated an entire squad once…but it was for a good cause! They were bullying a bunch of yokai! That definitely made her not a trigger happy magical girl. She was not Homura Akemi! She wasn't corrupted nor a time traveler!

Around them, behind powerful barriers, a small crowd of Aurors and shikigami had formed. All of them observers to the first ever recorded magical girl fight. Even the researcher was watching through shikigami as well. Shima gulped as she felt the burden of expectations, she needed to put up a good fight, or all these aurors might decide she should be arrested or something! Who knew with magicals!?

"This is the one on one duel between magical girl Tsukune Yui and magical girl Shima Isuzu! Duel will be to first down!" Kaya announced. "I swear on my auror badge that I will be a fair and impartial judge. Anything to add or object?"

Tsukune cracked her neck, hopping up and down before transforming. She wore a orange outfit, with a black bodysuit and shorts, leaving her midriff exposed. In her hands, a pair of oversized orange fans fluttered at the ready. "Say Isuzu, I'm trying to be the mightiest magical girl! So I've got a reputation to maintain. I won't be going easy on you!"

"Ehh?"

The brunette smirked, willing her fans to catch fire?! She used fire? "See, Sugihara seems to think you're hot stuff! So if I beat you, she would have to take me on as her apprentice! And with Sugihara Shishou, I can become strong enough to defeat every fox that stands before me!"

"Foxes?" Shima gasped, "What do you have against foxes?"

Tsukune's eyes narrowed, "Foxes ruined everything. So I won't hesitate to defeat every last fox, no matter the cost."

Something inside Shima snapped. The memories of little Kitsune children smiling at her, of watching reservation guards bully and torment an elderly kitsune, of the soft, fuzzy kitsune fluffy tails nuzzled against her cheeks. And this girl wanted to destroy all of that? That was unacceptable!

Transforming into her blue and white robes, Shima pointed her staff at the fire user. "If you're going to hurt foxes, than I will stop you! I refuse to allow anyone to harm the fluffy tails on foxes! That I swear on my honor, on my name as the ANGEL OF SASEBO!"

And thus the battle was on.

—-

Kaya turned over to her colleagues as several of the aurors had collectively gasped. "I'm sorry, who's the Angel of Sasebo?"

Mae nodded, "That's right, you're not really familiar with the other branches. Over in the Sasebo Reservation, there's a legend amongst the aurors and yokai there. The Angel of Sasebo, the guardian of the yokai and their rumored deliverer. Wearing white robes, wings, and a massive scythe, she protects and defends the yokai. Many of the Tokyo folks who have tried to hunt down escaping yokai have found the 'Angel of Sasebo' in their way."

"Actually," one of the other aurors muttered, "I think there's still an arrest warrant out for her."

The aurors glanced amongst each other as the explosions began to rock the arena. "You know, that's a Tokyo problem. Not ours."

Kaya fought the urge to facepalm as the group collectively nodded.

—-

Shima rolled to the side, diving under a pair of fire balls. Pointing her staff, she sent a trio of bolts at the girl.

Tsukune responded by bringing up a barrier of flame, incinerating the bolts.

Shima's brow rose. She could burn magic with her flames? Well that put the ranged approach out of the question. But how to get close without getting burned?

No time to think as the fire wielding girl swapped from defense to offense. Like a dancer, the brunette launched into an aggressive series of flame attacks, sending fireballs from her fans.

Shima ran forward, zigzagging between the attacks as she tried to close the gap between them. Tsukune had to picked up her strategy though, and encouraged it.

Shima felt a sliver of doubt rise in the back of her head. She was letting her get closer?

That doubt was confirmed when Tsukune blitzed forward, kneeing the silver haired girl in the stomach. Shima reeled back in pain as the brunette sent a magically enhanced elbow into her barely raised guard.

Shima flew back, slamming against the barrier before collapsing on the hard ground.

—-

"Oof!"

"That's a lot of damage!"

Kaya fought the urge to facepalm at her colleagues' antics. She just needed to check if Shima was out of the fight.

—-

Shima wanted to give up. Her muscles and body ached and pain clouded her mind. She wanted to just lie there and let the battle be over. It wasn't supposed to be a serious fight anyways!

But when she remembered all the foxes, all the kitsune who were depending on her, all those fluffy fluffy tails, she knew she couldn't give up.

Shakily, even as Kaya had extended her hand to call the match, Shima got back on her feet. "I'm…I'm not done yet!"

Tsukune raised her brow but nodded, "Bring it on!"

Twirling her staff before raising it into the air, Shima summoned as many shikigami as she could, nearing almost a dozen, and sent them flying in as many random directions as she could. The concentration of controlling so many fliers made her brain hurt, but she persevered through the pain, all to home them in on the brunette.

Tsukune's eyes widened but the mightiest didn't panic. She dived to the side, switching from fireballs to shooting blanket flame bursts at the swarm of spirits. Continuing her dash forward, the fire wielded kited the shikigami attack until she had successfully burned the last of the fliers. But where was the silver haired girl?

A faint flapping noise caught her attention as she looked up to see the silver haired girl floating from above, a pair of white wings flapping in full glory.

"It's over, I have the high ground." Shima called, pointing her staff.

Tsukune grimaced, but the mightiest don't run from fights, even when they have a height disadvantage. "You underestimate my mightiness!"

Furrowing her brow in concentration, Tsukune focused her magic inside of her, her passion and determination fanning the flames of her magic.

"Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!!" She called, letting her magic surround her body in a fiery aura. Satisfied, she bent her knees and leapt onto the air, flames erupting from her feet as she rocketed towards the Angel. "Ahhhhhhh!"

—-

"They fly now!?!" One auror exclaimed.

Kaya groaned, "Yes, they fly now."

Seriously, she couldn't decide who was more cringe: the magical girls acting like shounen rivals or the aurors acting like anime commentators.

—-

Tsukune rocketed towards Shima, her body covered in a fiery aura. She was pouring everything she had into her fiery aura, propelling her upwards.

Shima patiently waited for the girl to arrive. The moment before they would have collided, she closed her wings tight and dove under the human rocket before climbing upwards, bringing her above and behind the magical girl. Transforming her staff into scythe form, she raised the weapon high over her shoulder.

Tsukune realized her mistake all too late. "Wow…an Angel…" she muttered, taking in the sight of Shima's fully unfurled wings and scythe waved high.

Shima nodded before slashing down as hard as she could.

Tsukune smashed into the ground hard, causing the reinforced stone to give away to form a crater.

Kaya took one look at the combatants before pointing her arm at the remaining magical girl. "Tsukune Yui out! Shima Isuzu wins!"

The room erupted into applause as Shima landed slowly. She had done it! She had won! She had protected the foxes! She had defended the fluffy tails!

Hamakaze would be proud, right?

 

A Magical Girl’s Trio to Kyoto IV

Kyoto September 2013

"Where do I even begin with you two?"

Shima didn't understand why she was here. She had won right? She had defended the fluffy tail! Why was she now in seiza on Shimazu's cold floor?

Tsukune sat as well, also confused. She was nursing an ice pack on her bruised cheek where she had slammed into the ground. Shima could sympathize. Getting hit in the face sucked.

"Utterly stupid! Morons with magic! What was Kyubey thinking? Oh right! It wasn't! It just wanted to find vulnerable girls to make contracts with!"

Kaya was sitting behind them, her legs crossed as she seemed to enjoy the sight of the two magical girls being reprimanded by the researcher.

Finally Shimazu ceased her rant to look over the two girls. "Do you even remotely know why I am mad at you?"

Shima slowly looked over to the brunette and shook her head. "Did I beat her too hard?"

The brunette sent a fiery glare back at her as Kaya stifled a giggle. Shimazu only groaned. "Sure smartass! Act like that. Looks like I need to properly school you two then in basic magic 101."

She pulled out her wand and with a quick swish, a whiteboard and marker had appeared. "Casting magic can either be done by using your internal magic reservoirs or by following religious rituals that fuel your spells by belief. The more advanced or powerful the spell, the more magic it takes."

After she had written those words on the board, she sent a glare at the two girls in question, "Can you guess where your spells come from?"

Shima frowned, "Umm…our magic reservoirs? I don't think we're following any religious system."

Shimazu nodded, "You're close. But actually, you're self hypnotizing yourself into believing what your abilities are and what you can and cannot do. Which is why you can cast Aether and spirit magic effortlessly, but you couldn't cast a fire or water spell even when I walked you through the basic procedures. So you are fueling your own religious system to some degree."

Shima paused as she turned to Tsukune, her own mouth in disbelief.

"Wait, you're saying that I can cast even more spells than just fire?" She inquired.

Shimazu glared at her, "Yes. And you're also unconsciously transfiguring your clothes and casting strength charms. But you're missing the point. Normally, a religious system requires the beliefs of dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of individuals to effectively power these spells. But you're only one person. So guess where the rest of that power is coming from?"

Shima gulped, "Our magic reserves?"

"Precisely. And how long have you been casting magic?"

Shima froze, "Just over a year?"

"Six months for me." Tsukune answered.

"Exactly. Yet you were casting magics I would expect a veteran combat wizard with both elementary, secondary, and academy training to cast effectively. You know why?"

Shima shook her head. "Something about our beliefs?"

Kaya frowned, "Maybe some kind of unique ritual?"

"The incubator." Shimazu replied flatly. "That foul creature figured the best way to use your untrained and feeble magic reserves was to supercharged them. It basically gave you a jump start on your magic reserves and forced open the valves. This is what's allowing you to so recklessly cast such powerful spells without feeling a remote amount of strain."

"What?" Kaya shouted in disbelief. The idea that this creature could shortcut over a decade of hard work and studying was outrageous.

"I'm not done yet Kaya." Shimazu interrupted, "You think that having your magic valves forced open and then artificially supercharging them is a good thing?"

Shima gasped. "Of course it wouldn't. It would be very dangerous…"

"Finally someone catches on." The researcher groaned, "It's not healthy. Sure you may be able to enjoy maybe a couple years of magic living like this, but the constant strain to your magical reserves is going to cripple it! You'd be lucky to able to cast an elementary light spell by time you're 25."

Tsukune froze. "But…"

"Now you're understanding how messed up your situation is, let's go over how to tackle this problem." Shimazu pushed up her glasses. "I'm not giving up on your girls. Honestly, it's a miracle that you're able to cast like this and at least this incubator's way of helping squibs unlock their magic doesn't involve despair and turning into an abomination."

She gestured to Kaya. "You're going to contact Naoki and Momo. Tell them I've got two new students for them to teach basic magical theory. They need a rundown of magic 101 and to begin learning Omyodo and Western magic."

She turned back to the girls. "Western magic is great because it's much more efficient and streamlined. By using a magic that you can understand at a fundamental level, you'll be putting significantly less stress on your magic reserves. And while you're at it, I'll be trying to find a work around for your stupid magic hax so that it functions back to how it should. You'll be seeing me and your new magic teacher every weekend as we try to salvage your situation. Any questions?"

Shima was still trying to process her situation when Tsukune hesitantly raised her hand. "Umm…Shimazu Sensei?"

Raising her brow at the 'Sensei' Shimazu replied. "Yes?"

"Well…this is good information and all, and I'm really really thankful for everything! But…what about the others?"

"Others?" Shimazu frowned, "What others?"

"The other magical girls in Kyoto."

The trio turned in surprise to the brunette. "You mean there's more of you loonies in this city?" Shimazu cried in disbelief.

Tsukune nodded, "Hai, there's seven of us! We don't exactly get along, but I figured we might as well help them as well."

Shimazu groaned as Kaya tried to blot out the image seven Tsukune running around in her head.

—-

Sasebo High School January 2014

When Shima stumbled into class that morning, it had taken all of Rina's practiced patience and self control not to rush to her side.

"Hello Isuzu-san!" Rina greeted her instead. "You look tired."

Shima's eyes were red with exhaustion, but she nodded. "Y-yeah. I stayed up late last night."

Rina frowned, "You should take better care of yourself. If you keep pulling late nighters, you're going to die of exhaustion."

Shima muttered something under her breath about drill sergeant teachers before cracking a faint smile. "I'll be ok Ayano-san. Don't worry about me!"

As the silver haired girl walked over to her seat and sat down, Rina watched her with concern in her eyes.

"I'll be ok Rika-chan. Don't worry about me." Ren smiled faintly before running towards the witch. That would be the last time she would ever see her.

The blonde shook her head, trying to dispel the memories from her head. A tear fell from her eyes as she fiddled with a ruby ring on her middle finger.

—-

Undisclosed location January 2014

The wooden door blew off the hinges as a pair of magic bolts smashed through it. As the dust settled, a single figure entered the room.

Ishikki Tamaki looked over the shelves of the weapons cache. Rifles lined both walls and even a pair of machine guns. She reached into a small bamboo basket, pulling out a pair of rodlike shapes. Just as her informant promised, she had hit the jackpot.

This was the second cache she had raided in the past few months. Tracking down these magical caches had been difficult, but worthwhile. Picking up a pistol, recognizing it as a nambu with a sword blade attached to it, Ishikki gave it a experimental swing before putting it into the enchanted trunk she had brought with her.

Supposedly, during the war, the Japanese magical government had built dozens of these caches in preparation for the Allied invasion. How amusing that these weapons would now be used to abstract revenge against the very same magicals.

As she began packing the guns and ammunition into the trunk, a faint ringing sound could be heard. Ishikki cursed before pulling out her phone. "Hello?"

"…"

"What? Oh the culture festival project?" Yeah, we can do whatever."

"…"

"What do you mean I'm setting myself up to be the laughable villain? And what does 'befriending inbound' supposed to mean?"

"…"

"And I'm not even interested in being Ono's rival! They're all just boy crazy! I've got aspirations! Ambitions! Plans! Why should I care about some foreign boy who isn't even in class most of the time!?"

"…"

"I'm not in denial either! I'd rather date chuuni baka than join in a harem!"

"…"

"Don't jinx it? You don't jinx it!"

Ishikki shut off the phone in frustration. "Damned self aware fourth wall breaker!"

In that moment, the vengeful magical girl had been replaced with a teenage girl acting her age, only to vanish once again as she returned to moving rifles to the expanded chest.

 

Immediately after “A Magical Girl’s trip to Kyoto”

The Mightiest Auror

—-

Kyoto March 2014

"Welcome to Banbanzai!" Tsukune greeted the customers cheerily her back turned to them. "Take a seat and I'll be with you in a moment."

"Nice place you got here." An amused female voice mused.

Tsukune whipped around, nearly dropping the bowls of ramen on her tray. "Kaya-Shishou!"

Kaya entered, followed by a young man and woman. "Table for three?" "Of course!"

Tsukune nodded, before turning to the back, "Flo, clear a table!"

"Wha-why me?" A blonde girl in her early teens complained from behind the cashier's post.

"Because we have special guests! VIP treatment, now!" Tsukune shot back.

"Ahh…" Kaya protested, "you don't have to do that, we'll take any table."

Tsukune shook her head. "That simply won't do! You're my Shishou after all! Only the best for you! Flo, get your ass moving or I'm docking your pay!"

"Fine!" The girl plopped off her stool and strolled over to an empty table, a rag in her hand. "Stupid baka, thinks she can boss me around just because she beat me." She muttered.

"So…Kaya-Shishou?" The woman teased Kaya, sending a friendly jab. "Are you sure you're an Auror and not a teacher?"

Kaya groaned. "I get enough of it with the twins. Now you too?"

"They don't seem to worship the ground you walk upon." The man commented, "What did you do to make her admire you?"

"I…I arrested her."

The pair gave Kaya started looks. "What?"

"It's…we just locked her up for a night." Kaya didn't feel like explaining. "It's complicated."

A few minutes later, the trio were seated at a…mostly clean table with a set of menus.

"Hmm…prices aren't bad. Not bad at all." Naoki commented. "We should come back here again."

Momo agreed. "Especially if the food is good."

"I don't know about that." Kaya groaned.

"Hello Kaya-Shishou!" Tsukune ran over to their table. "And you are her friends?"

"I'm Naoki. This is Momo." The man greeted her. "We went to school with Kaya."

"I see I see!" Tsukune nodded, "Well any friends of Kaga-Shishou are friends of mine!"

Kaya raised her brow, "Even if they're aurors?"

Tsukune shook her head. "They don't look mighty enough to be aurors. They don't have the same readiness posture and alertness that you and other aurors have."

Kaya stared at the girl before chuckling. "I guess you're right. Actually, let me introduce you. Naoki, Momo, this is Tsukune Yui. She's one of your new students."

The pair dropped their jaws. "So you're a magical girl then?"

Kaya gave an amused smirk. "She's not just a magical girl, but actually the 'mightiest magical girl'."

Tsukune blushed, scratching her head. "Ahh…hehe. That's me! But you're a teacher Mr. Naoki?"

The man nodded, "Well I going to begin teaching at Mahoukoto next month."

"Wow, you must be very smart!" Tsukune's eyes widened. "Do you think you could teach me anti fox spells?"

"What?"

Kaya groaned. "She's got a problem with Kitsune apparently."

"I-I see." Naoki shrugged, "Is it towards Yokai in general or…because Momo is a-"

Tsukune shook her head. "Not at all. Just Kitsune! They cursed my family!"

"Huh…maybe I'll get you in touch with a curse breaker instead." Naoki muttered. "Anyways, I look forward to working with you Miss Yui."

Tsukune nodded eagerly. "I'll promise to be the mightiest student! So what can I get for you?"

—-

A bit later, two large bowls of ramen and a massive plate of fried rice stood before the trio.

Kaya gaped, "Ahh…this is…"

"I don't know if I can eat all this." Momo muttered.

"Hopefully we can get to go boxes…" Naoki added.

Slowly the trio took a bit of their food. Chewing it slowly, they tried to get an idea of the taste.

Tsukune stood earnestly next to them. "How was it?"

Kaya slurped another spoonful of noodles as she tried to think. "Hmmm…"

"I guess…" Naoki muttered.

"If I were to put a numerical value to it…" Momo added.

"""50 points"""

Tsukune collapsed on the spot.

—-

Tsukune recovered a moment later.

"Sorry about that." Momo apologized. "It's not that it's bad or anything. It's just…kinda plain. And the flavor feels rather generic too."

"Yeah, I thought the ramen broth was kinda strong." Naoki agreed, "It sorta overwhelmed any other part of the ramen."

Tsukune nodded, "Yep. That's what we're known for! Large portions of generic but strong flavored food!"

"And that's a good thing?" Kaya muttered. "Are you sure a fox cursed you and not your father's cooking?"

Tsukune froze. "Ahh well…maybe? But I'm certain a fox is behind it all."

"She's just in denial." Flo added, bringing a tray of drinks.

Kaya eyed the younger blonde. "Aren't you a little young to be working at this time?"

"That's right!" Tsukune remarked, "I forgot to introduce you. Naoki sensei! Kaya Shishou! Friend Momo! Meet Florence Mitsuki, another magical girl!"

Florence raised her brow, "Huh?"

"Naoki sensei is going to be our new magic teacher, isn't that amazing?"

The blonde frowned. "He looks like weak. You sure I won't just turn him into a twig?"

Kaya smirked, "Naoki here may look scrawny, but I promise you, he's very good at what he does."

Florence shrugged, "Wait…and he's a teacher? Like a school teacher?"

Naoki nodded, "Yes. Momo and I are going to start next month at Mahoukoto."

"Is…is that a magic school?!" Tsukune shouted in glee. "I thought it was destroyed."

Kaya grinned. "Well we retook the island and rebuilt the school. So now we're a back in session."

"You-you think we could go to that school?"

The trio froze. Kaya turned to Naoki who shrugged, "th-that's a good question. I don't really know."

Tsukune shrugged. "Oh, ok. Anyways, isn't this the best Flo? We're going to get a magic teacher!"

Flo shrugged, "Still don't know why I need one."

—-

May 2014 Kyoto

Tsukune scrunched her brow in concentration as she carefully drew the sigil on the small sheet of paper. After a minute, she finally finished. "Whew…how did that turn out?"

Kaya examined the ofuda carefully and nodded. "You're getting better. But Obaa-Chan would say it's still very sloppy."

The mightiest sighed. "I'm…I'm a bit surprised."

"Really?" Kaya raised her brow. "Did you expect this to be easy?"

Tsukune shrugged, "Sorta. I'm an honor student in school. Top 10 in my class all throughout high school. Never really had to put in mind effort. So…I sorta thought learning Onmyodo would be the same."

Kaya chuckled. "Well I'm glad you found something hard then."

Tsukune nodded, "Exactly! Onmyodo is so interesting because it's challenging. I feel like I have to work super duper hard just to get the basic ofuda down. And…it only gets me more excited!"

"I'm glad you feel that way." Kaya shrugged, "I chose to be an auror because it felt right. Sure I had to work very hard, but it naturally suited me."

The two remained silent for a moment as Tsukune tried to make another ofuda. "Say Shishou?"

"Yes?"

"What's it like being an auror?"

Kaya froze. "Wait, are you-"

"We're doing career surveys and well…the idea came up." Tsukune shrugged. "Like sure, I could always do what my dad wanted and take over Banbanzai, but…then I realized…I wanted to do more than just serve noodles."

"Tsukune…"

"Kaya Shishou, you're so strong, brave, and have such a heart of justice, I really admire you." The brunette gazed upwards, as though looking at the nonexistent sky. "And the Kyoto auror corps embodies that. People who were dissatisfied with the Tokyo way of handling things and wanted to do things right."

Kaya fought the urge blush. "Umm…wow…way to butter us up. Like seriously, it's not all that exciting and dazzling as you're saying it is. And…thanks. I erm…appreciate your honesty."

"Thanks Shishou," Tsukune nodded.

"But…" Kaya grinned, "If you want to be an auror, you need to pass the magic exams as well."

Tsukune nodded, "Just you wait! I'll be the mightiest student you'll ever meet!"

Kaya laughed, "I'll look forward to seeing you in a few years."

 

With Great Power Comes…

—-

Yokosuka Feburary 2014

Shima glanced anxiously as she exited the Floo station at Yokosuka.

"So you're here."

Shima spun around to find her idol and doppelgänger standing before her. The girl's arms were crossed and she had a frown on her face.

"H-Hamakaze. Umm…hi."

"Hi."

The two silver haired girls stood awkwardly. Only for a cheerful voice to interrupt them. "Mou, do you really need to be so cold with her?"

Shima turned to see Urakaze, Yukikaze, Isokaze, and Shinano waiting for her. "Welcome to Yokosuka Shima-san!" Shinano smiled warmly.

Shima wanted to faint on the spot.

—-

"So you're learning magic, Shima-san?" Yukikaze asked, as the group walked down the streets of Yokosuka towards the base.

Shima nodded, "H-hai. We've been meeting with a tutor every weekend."

"That's so cool!" Urakaze remarked, "You're getting private magic lessons because you're a magical girl!"

"Ahh well…" Shima blushed, "We're actually discouraged from using magic for now. Our spells are actually bad for our bodies, so Naoki Sensei wants us to focus on learning how to use omyodo and western magic until Shimazu Sensei can figure out a way for us to use our magic without straining our reserves."

Hamakaze nodded, "It's good to stay safe."

"Says the one who punched poor Shima-san in the face." Urakaze teased.

"I…I thought Harry was in danger." Hamakaze protested.

"Yet you didn't bother radioing it in. Instead you just rushed into Hogwarts and tried to shoot Shima-san in the face."

Shima glanced behind her and froze. Her doppelgänger was awkwardly fidgeting, clearly embarrassed at her hasty actions. Shima had to fight to resist the urge to coo at her flustering.

"Hamakaze is really cute when she's embarrassed, isn't she?" Yukikaze whispered in Shima's ear. "Makes you want to tease her more."

Shima nodded in agreement. "H-hai, she is."

"St-stop it." Hamakaze shot back. Shinano giggled at the banter.

After a few minutes, Shima enters the admiral's office.

"Miss Isuzu." Goto greets the magical girl, "Good to see you."

"Hai, admiral."

"I read your report about magical girls." Goto commented, "I admit, I am concerned about the well being of magical girls if what your Sensei says is true."

"It's true, but she's working on a work around for our side effects." Shima explained, "So now we're learning how to use magic safely. She even mentioned that some of us might be able to go to the magic school next year."

"That's good to hear." The admiral agreed, "Knowing that someone is trying to make a difference for you girls is a good thing. Especially for our younger members."

That was a good point, "Actually admiral, if I may?"

"Go ahead?"

"What ever happened to the magical girl here? The one from Yokosuka elementary? I had wanted to find her, but after everything that happened, I had forgotten about her."

"Miss Takamachi?" Goto muttered, "Ahh, she's alright, but she's under a pretty strict no magic policy by her parents."

"Wh-why is that?"

Goto groaned, "It's…it's better if you meet her yourself. Actually that might be a good idea. Maybe you can help put some sense into that girl."

—-

Takamachi Household, Yokosuka

Shima stared at the house…or what poor excuse for a house this half destroyed building could count as. Several craters and destroyed trees littered the ground around the house. Patched up holes pocketed the walls.

Hamakaze, standing next to her, frowned. "So this is where all the noise complaints came from."

Noise complaints? This wasn't a house, this was a war zone! Shima could barely resist the urge to drop her mouth and boggle at the destruction. A magical girl had done all of this? Even she wasn't this destructive when she was moody.

Hamakaze walked up the door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal a tall man with a weary expression on his face. "Can I help you?"

"We're here to see your daughter." Hamakaze handed the man a letter.

The man examined the letter before nodded, "Nanoha? You've got guests!"

"Is it Fate?" A voice came from inside the house.

The man sighed, "No, it's not Testarossa."

"Then I won't see them."

"Nanoha!" The man shouted, "These people are here to see you."

"Don't want em!" The voice shouted back, "I only want Fate!"

"Umm…" Shima called out, "I'm…I'm a magical girl. I would like to talk to you."

There was a long pause before the man gestured to the girls. "Why don't you come on in? I'll see if I can convince her to meet you."

—-

Nanoha crossed her arms. "So you're a magical girl too?"

Shima nodded, "Hai. I met Kyubey about a year and a half ago. I made a contract and I've been learning magic in Kyoto for the last few months."

"Learning magic?" Her father raised his brow, "Don't you already have magic?"

"Well…" Shima explained, "Actually what we're doing is more like brute forcing a magic system. It's not healthy for our bodies and so it's better that we learn normal magics and avoid using our magic for now."

Nanoha's father nearly dropped his mug in shock. "Wait, what?"

"H-Hai" Shima nodded, "That's why I felt it best to let you know immediately. Our magic isn't safe and should only be used in moderation."

"She's speaking the truth." Hamakaze agreed, "I've seen the reports."

Mr. Takamachi nodded, "If possible…I would like to see these reports as well. This is my daughter's safety we're talking about."

Hamakaze nodded, "I'll notify the admiral about getting you those reports."

"It's a load of baloney."

The trio turned to the grade schooler in surprise. The girl shrugged. "It's just a bunch of baloney! They're just saying that to keep us from using our powers."

"Th-that's not true!" Shima protested. "The power we wield is to be wielded responsibly and safely. If we don't-"

"Something bad will happen to us, I'm sure." Nanoha rolled her eyes, "The point is, magicals don't want us using their magic! Kyubey told me that. So naturally they're trying to find a way to keep us from using it."

Shima stared at the child before her, disbelieving what she was hearing. Is this really how other magical girls were? Then again…if Tsukune and the others were told to just stop using magic, that probably wouldn't go well either. Wasn't that what she was essentially doing? Taking away a gift that the girl had received?

"That's bullshit and you know it." Hamakaze interrupted. "Don't believe a word she says for an instant Shima."

Shima turned to her doppelgänger in surprise. Hamakaze's face was hardened, her eyes glaring at the younger girl. "And you, you should learn to treat your elders with respect. Shima here has been learning magic that she can cast safely. She's not being denied her magic, she's being taught how to wield it properly."

Nanoha seemed taken aback, "They're still telling us we can't use our powers!"

"That's because we should use them responsibly," Hamakaze shot back, "What's the phrase, 'With great power comes great responsibility'?"

"Oh shoot," her father facepalmed, "Forgot to show her those movies. Will make a point to do so."

Shima's idol pointed at herself, "I'm a shipgirl. I have the ability to shoot canons, throw explosives, and punch with the force of 52,000 horsepower. But do I use it willynilly? No I do not. I practice restraint, only using my weapons in the correct situations."

"Unless it's my face." Shima muttered darkly, but Hamakaze didn't seem to notice.

"So if you cannot understand how to regulate yourself and practice restraint, then I can perfectly see why you have been prohibited from using magic."

"Why you!" Nanoha jumped to her feet, transforming as she did so. Before her father could stop her, the point of a golden staff with red sphere had been leveled at the destroyer's face.

Hamakaze didn't budge an inch. "This only proves my point. But if that's what you want to do, let me demonstrate it to you."

Shima stared at Hamakaze in shock, "What?"

"I know how to use restraint. In fact, I can beat you without even needing to summon my rigging." The destroyer confidently taunted.

"Ha-Hamakaze!?" The magical girl gasped in astonishment.

Nanoha narrowed her eyes, "Bring it on!"

Mr. Takamachi raised his hand to protest…but eventually put it down in resignation. "I'll…prepare the dojo."

—-

Shima stood on one side of a once elegant dojo. Craters pocketed the floor and the walls had scorch marks.

Mr. Takamachi noticed her gaze and sighed. "This…this isn't the first time Nanoha has fought here. And well…repair costs for bamboo floors aren't cheap."

Shima frowned before pulling out her wand, cherry wood with unicorn hair, and gave it a flick. "Reparo!" she called.

The crater on the ground reverted back to flat and smooth bamboo flooring. Nanoha's father turned to the magical girl in disbelief, "…can you do the rest?"

"I…I can try."

A few minutes later, the cratered and half destroyed dojo had been reverted back to a pristine and shining dojo. Mr. Takamachi fell on his knees. "…is it possible to learn this power?"

Shima paused, trying to remember from movie line. "Ummm…not from a magical girl?"

She heard a snicker. Shima turned to her fellow silver haired friend…but found a very rigid and stoic girl without a trace of emotion on her face.

Shima frowned before tapping the destroyer's arm. "Umm…you didn't have to do this?"

Hamakaze sighed, "I-I know. It was…I got upset."

"Y-you did?"

"It's not fair." She muttered, "You…you're like Harry. You work hard, even when the odds are against you. It's…it's not fair that someone should put you down for your efforts."

Now it was Shima's turn to blush. Hamakaze really saw her like that? "Ah…umm…thank you."

The destroyer nodded, before returning her gaze to the younger magical girl. "Now then, are you ready?"

Nanoha's expression hadn't changed: sheer determination and fury. "I'm ready!"

Transforming, she raised her staff high and pointed the end at the destroyer. "You're going down!"

Hamakaze didn't respond, instead cracking her knuckles.

Mr. Takamachi stood at the side of the dojo, raising his hand. "This will be a one on one match between Nanoha Takamachi and Hamakaze-"

"Umm…Hamakaze Potter!" Shima offered.

The participants paused. The destroyer's face slowly reddened but…she didn't protest. Nanoha's father seemed to understand. "This will be a match between Nanoha Takamachi and Hamakaze Potter. Winner will be decided by first down. You may begin when ready."

Nanoha took initiative. "Let's start with full power! Divine buster!"

A pink beam of energy shot towards the destroyer. Hamakaze cranked her head to the side. The shot flew past where her head was and smashed into the wall behind her.

Nanoha paused, her eyes wide. The destroyer shrugged, "I'm a destroyer. I dodge shells regularly."

"Then let's see how you handle multiple shots!" Nanoha called back. This time she summoned several small orbs of pink energy before sending them in a complex pattern.

Shima's eyes widened. The girl took her shikigami style attack and made it seem easy. How was she going to dodge all of those?

It turns out, the destroyer didn't need to. Her rangefinders tracking the orbs, Hamakaze raised her fist before slapping the first orb, and the second, and the third. Like a whirlwind of movement, the destroyer calmly blocked and deflected the orbs with her hands and arms.

Shima watched in awe, the destroyer looked so cool, her eyes calm and her expression stoic, like a knight out of her storybooks. Dammit, she didn't have her sketchbook on her (Later she would learn how to immortalize memories and would draw an entire collection of Hamakaze art).

Nanoha's eyes widened as the destroyer seemed to effortlessly dodge, block, and deflect her attacks. And what was worse, the destroyer had begun walked towards her, ever so slowly, ever so casually. As she did, the magical girl felt something shiver down her back, causing her to take a step back.

Nanoha didn't know it at the time, but what she felt was the foreign emotion of fear.

"Divine Buster x2!" She shouted, summoned two beams of energy.

Hamakaze raised her brow and quickened her pace. She ducked under the first beam and used her elbow to block the second beam.

"Divine Buster x 4!"

Hamakaze brushed it off without a sweat.

"Ex-Excellion Buster!" An even larger beam.

The destroyer kicked the beam with her foot, sending it flying through the roof.

"Ahh…well…damn it!" Nanoha panicked, her entire body trembling. "G-Gather shimmer of stars! I summon you to-"

A hand grabbed her staff, pushing it down. "I think that's enough."

"Ehh?" Nanoha looked up into the eyes of the calm but stern eyes of green eyes of the destroyer, only mere inches from her face.

The destroyer raised her fist, putting it level with the girl's face. "Yield."

The words hit the girl hard, causing her to flinch as her body. Her hands shaking, she dropped her staff, her transformation bursting as well. Trembling, the magical girl's legs collapsed as she dropped to the ground.

"You're strong. But you lack experience, training, and effort." The destroyer commended her. She gestured to the elder magical girl. "Shima has practiced, has trained, and dedicates herself to improving her magic. That is what makes her strong. You could do to learn a thing or two from her."

Nanoha's head turned to Shima, her eyes looking over the silver haired girl. Now that she looked at her, despite her shy and unassuming appearance, the magical girl's posture was straight, her footwork firm, and her hands steady, the image of someone who was prepared, alert, and ready.

Nanoha managed to look back up at the destroyer. "Y-you're saying…I…I can be like her."

Hamakaze nodded, "Indeed. Our little Shima is a great example of hard work and effort. She's brave and strong, kind and gentle."

"O-ok…"

The silver haired destroyer smiled softly before offering her hand. Hesitantly, Nanoha took the hand and allowed the destroyer to be pull her to her feet. "But first, I think you owe some people some apologies."

Slowly, the younger girl turned to her father. "I…I'm sorry for how I acted. I…I was being…rude and disrespectful."

Mr. Takamachi smiled. "We forgive you Nanoha. Though I would appreciate if you told your mother that too."

"O-ok." Nanoha nodded before turning to the magical girl. "S-sorry for what I said to you. You aren't being denied magic. I need…I need to learn how to use magic safely."

Shima walked up to the girl and put her hand on the magical girl's head. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry for making it sound like I wanted to take away your magic."

Nanoha stiffened at the sudden affection. She turned to the destroyer and her father, who nodded. "I-I forgive you."

The two enjoyed the moment.

Mr. Takamachi surveyed the damaged dojo. The wall behind them was riddled with small holes and the afternoon sun shown down a large hole in the roof. He sighed as he exited the dojo. "If Miss Shima would be kind enough to repair the place. And…perhaps teach Nanoha the spell to repair stuff?"

"At least the building is still standing." Hamakaze commented offhandedly.

With a crash, the roof collapsed and the walls crumbled. Standing conveniently inside the hole in the roof, Nanoha, Hamakaze, and Shima glanced around the ruined dojo in utter disbelief.

Then they noticed the small abyssal girl escorted by kitsune twins. Each child had a cute sash around their body with the words, "Anti baka patrol".

Hoppou surveyed the wreckage of the dojo, and the trio of girls in the middle of it.

"Rei, Asuka, put up the barrier."

"Yes Hoppou!" The twins drew ofuda and placed them on the half standing walls of the building. The paper sheets glowed, causing a golden barrier to be erected over property.

The magical girls stared in confusion at the barrier before they save the Abyssal installation draw a pair of hoses. "You are being very silly! Hosing for all of you!"

The girls had barely any time to react before twin jets of water crashed into them. Shima sputtered as water filled her mouth and soaked her to the bone. Her eyes met Hamakaze's and saw the shipgirl also trying to shield herself from the stream.

She couldn't help it. The two silver haired girls chuckled as the water continued to overtake them.

—-

Yokosuka Naval Base February 2014

"So Miss Takamachi asked to study omyodo under Miss Haru?" Goto raised his brow.

Hamakaze nodded, "Hai. She said it would be barebone basics, but it's a significant step up from where she was before."

"That's a relief. It's been…troublesome to keep law enforcement from investigating the Takamachi house." Goto sighed, "And what about you? You seem rather…chipper."

The destroyer raised her brow. "What do you mean, admiral? I'm just the same as always."

The admiral paused before smiling, "And Miss Isuzu has left already?"

"Hai! She reported that she returned home safely."

"Good, now in the meantime, here's your next patrol route. You'll be escorting Shinano to…"

—-

Yokosuka Auror Department, March 2014

Slipping into the Yokosuka Auror department was generally something most people wouldn't consider doing. Most people weren't magical girls with a talent for stealth and concealment.

Ishikki slipped past the wards without issue and into the women's restroom. Checking both ways, the magical girl snuck her way out of the restroom and toward the main offices. Sure enough, at this hour at night, the offices were mostly deserted, save for a few tired staff members on trying to finish some last minute reports.

Casting a silencing charm she had picked up from a "borrowed" book, the magical girl snuck past the distracted staff before finding herself before the chief's office.

Glancing both ways, she pushed the door ajar, just far enough for the teen to slip in and close the door behind her.

Pulling out her phone and turning the flashlight on, Ishikki began to scan the papers on the desk and the wall. There had to be some kind of name that she could track.

Reports on shipgirl activity. Something about some kind of activist group. New recruit profiles…and…

Ishikki's eyes caught a notice on the bulletin board, something about an American auror doing observations of various branches and was sighted recently in Yokosuka. The magical girl frowned before taking a photo of the bulletin. That might be useful. An American magical that caused the Japanese aurors to be on guard could be worth investigating.

Making sure she hadn't set off any alarm, the magical girl slipped out of the office, and was out of the department the minute later, leaving none the wiser.

 

After the Hunt for Norimune and With Great Power Comes…

No Hard Feelings

—-

Sasebo March 2014

It was late into the night when the five girls gathered. "You sure it's around here?"

The blue haired girl nodded. "I definitely felt her presence here."

The grey haired girl checked her phone, "The recent string of disappearances also match her style."

The black haired girl looked over to her blue haired companion. "Let's get this over with."

Entering the alleyway, the five girls examined the walls before the older of the two blondes called out. "I found her."

The girls walked over before freezing. The younger blonde sighed softly before walking up to the still body, a tear rolling down her eye. Bringing her hand to the girl's face, the blonde closed her unmoving eyes. "Farewell Karin-chan…"

The quintet gave their respects before turning their attention to the magical portal standing before them. Transforming into colorful outfits, the five magical girls entered the portal, weapons drawn.

—-

Adachi Ward March 2014

"And then these three women who I've never met in my life show up! And supposedly I'm their father! And I owe them child support? What the fuck is that supposed to be?"

"Child support is when you're helping support a divorced significant other raise your child. Typically it's calculated as a part of your income every year." Jin provides.

"Right," Norimune pauses before turning to the mizuchi is shock. "Wait…every year?"

"Pretty sure. I've got two tenants who are dealing with that. Even had to evict a douche who couldn't pay his child support and reported him to the authorities."

"And does it…does it accrue?"

"I think so."

Norimune froze as her mind attempted to calculate several centuries' worth of child support for 3 children. "I'm…I'm so fucked."

Jin watched her friend boggle over the numbers before providing a useful bit of information. "Also, court issued child support typically ends when they come of age. So actually you only need to pay for 54 years of child support, not several centuries."

"Why, I ought to pound you!"

Jin chuckled, enjoying the amusement of her friend's dismay. "Careful there. Pound me too hard and you'll have another 18 years of child support owed."

The blonde pouted as the pair walked towards the group of apartment buildings. "Say…you've had a rocky relationship with your mom right?"

Jin turned to the Muramasa in shock, "What? Me and mom? We're fine! We're tight as rocks!"

Nori raised her brow. "Didn't your mom have to put you down 3 times?"

"The third time didn't count! It was all verbal!"

"My point is, how did you and your mom…get better?"

Jin paused and frowned, "Well…I guess it just took a bit of time. I had to get resettled with my new status as an onryou and a mizuchi…and mom had to get over the fact that her daughter was not human anymore. Sure it took a few decades, but I like to think we're a lot better now."

The two continued to chat as Jin led Norimune to a rather spacious lobby in the main building. As they did, they passed by a pink haired teen with a blue duffle bag hoisted over her shoulder.

"Ah…hello Miss Hisakawa," the girl greeted Jin before walking past.

"Hey there bratling." Jin grunted, "We good on the rent this month?"

The girl nodded, "Yes. It's already in the box."

"Good. You going somewhere?"

"H-Hai! Going to meet some friends."

"Alright then, have fun." The landlord dismissed her. She turned back to Norimune, shrugging, "Sorry about that, she's one of my newer tenants."

"Awfully young to be a renter don't you think?" Nori raised her brow, before frowning. "Also…what's that I smell?"

Jin leaned in to whisper in the Muramasa's ear. "Honestly, I think she ran away from home. Probably has some family troubles and the like. I can relate to that. So I let her rent one of the smaller rooms for cheap."

Nori didn't seem to be listening though, her eyes closed as her nose sniffed the air around them. Suddenly her eyes opened in alarm. "You sure about that? Because I just smelled gunpowder coming from that bag of hers."

"You sure?" Jin raised her brow.

"Jin, it's me. I've spent more than half my life around firearms."

The mizuchi turned around and ran out the door. "Hey bratling! Hold on a sec!"

Ishikki froze. "Y-yes Miss Hisakawa?"

Jin gestured to the duffel bag. "Whatcha got in that bag?"

"Just some clothes." The pink haired teen explained, "Why you ask?"

Norimune's eyes narrowed. "Really? Didn't know clothes smelled like lead and gunpowder."

The girl's eyes widened. "I...I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Show us what's in the bag." Jin demanded, "Because that bag came out of my apartment building. If I think there's something dangerous in it, I'd like to know."

Norimune walked up to the girl cautiously, her other hand reaching towards a can of mace she kept pocketed in her back pocket.

The girl removed the bag from her shoulder and began to unzip it. Her hand reached into the open bit before Norimune called out.

"Don’t. Pull your hand out of the bag." The Muramasa commanded.

Slowly, Ishikki pulled her hand out of the bag…as she revealed a small round object clutched in her hand.

Norimune acted out of sheer instinct. She tackled Jin to the ground.

"GRENADE!"

The girl threw the object to the ground, causing it to spew white smoke, concealing her from their sight.

—-

When the explosion didn't come, Jin glared at the Muramasa. "You dolt, that was a smoke grenade!"

Norimune shrugged, "Can't take chances."

"Except I'm a mizuchi. Fragmentation grenades do jack shit on me." There was a brief moment between them before Jin glared at the Muramasa. "Get off me! She's getting away!"

—-

Ishikki ran down the street, her bag clutched to her body.

She had been caught. She was exposed. She didn't know how those two women knew, but now she had escape. As she ran through the streets of Yokosuka, a plan began to form in her mind. She needed to escape her pursuers.

Actually, she needed to get rid of her pursuers, considering that Miss Hisakawa knew her name. She needed to find a way for them to vanish…though she felt a bit bad about it. They weren't her problems, just wrong place at the wrong time. They weren't the evil magicals, so they were innocent. It would be a pity…but if she was going to pull off her revenge against magicals, then…more than a few innocent might vanish as a side effect.

—-

"Dammit she's good." Norimune pointed out as they tan through the Yokosuka streets.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked.

"She's running in a civilian street, so we can't use our powers to catch up to her." Nori turned to Jin. "Any clues about her capabilities?"

Jin shook her head. "She's 13. She's a bratling. I think she goes to school. Didn't even know she was involved with guns, much less magic."

Nori paused. "Wait…she doesn't know you're a mizuchi?"

Jin shrugged, "Never mentioned it to her. Thought she was non magical."

Norimune frowned. "So we could totally be overthinking this?"

The two women paused to look at each other.

"Well, she's thrown a grenade at us. We know she's got a firearm…or several. So regardless, she's got something she from definitely shouldn't have. I think that's enough of a reason to go after her."

Norimune nodded, "Gotcha."

The pair continued their chase before finding themselves at an abandoned two story building.

"This…is a trap." Norimune announced.

Jin jabbed her side, "well duh it's a fucking trap. What gave it away? The gloomy building? The lack of passerbyers? The sign "slated for destruction"?"

"Just pointing it out." Nori shrugged as she walked towards the entrance. "You coming?"

"You're walking into a trap." Jin pointed out.

"Well duh, but I figured we could take it. I'm a Muramasa blade. You're a Mizuchi. She's a thirteen year old with a gun. I think we're pretty bullet proof." Jin groaned as she followed the blonde into the building.

Slowly opening the door, Nori chuckled as she knelt down. "Well well what do we have here?"

Jin glanced down as she noticed a strand of twine spread across the bottom of the entrance. "A tripwire?"

"Yep." Norimune pulled out a pocket knife and carefully snipped the string, her hand still carefully holding the string. "Wanna check what this leads to?"

The green haired woman crept through the doorway and followed the string until she froze. "Woah…Nori, you're clear. Get over here."

The Muramasa let go of the string before following her to the other side of the door. "Is that…that's a Type 99."

Jin nodded, "And check the markings."

Carefully picking up the rifle propped to face towards the doorway, Norimune examined the emblem painted on the side. "Holy fuck, this isn't an IJA rifle…this belonged to the Kamo." She turned back toward the mizuchi. "You still think she's not magical?"

"I don't know what to think anymore." Jin admitted. "Well we better hurry then."

The blonde narrowed her eyes as she swapped her pocket knife for a larger one.

As they entered into the building, the two women dismantled another pair of rifle traps.

"She's got more than one rifle." Norimune muttered, "Makes you wonder how she got her hands on these."

"I'm betting she raided a cache." Jin explained. "I know of at least a few that haven't been dug up yet."

"And you haven't done anything about them?"

The mizuchi shrugged, "You never know. Might come in handy."

Norimune hated how much that made sense. "Regardless, let's find this kid and get her to spill the beans." She entered an open space, probably meant for offices, and jerked her head back.

Just in time to avoid a pink bolt shoot past her head. "…what the fuck was that?"

Jin shook her head, "Some kind of magical bolt from the looks of it."

"Great, so she's a magical." Norimune considered her options. "You wanna push forward first? I'll draw up the rear."

The mizuchi nodded before charging forward. Her eyes caught sight of the pink haired teen…wearing the most ridiculous garb she had ever seen. But her eyes saw the raised crossbow and instantly Jin knew she had to take action.

Putting her arms in front of her face, Jin rushed the girl. The pink haired girl opened fire, magic bolts striking the woman's arms. The bolts stung but did little more than that.

Jin smirked at the girl's panic. She could just taste the fear and disbelief on the girl's face. That's when she heard Nori mutter, "Oh shit…Depulso!"

Ishikki had thrown another smoke grenade. Jin rushed towards the girl but she had vanished from her view. That's when she noticed Nori had vanished as well. That's also when she noticed the number of grenades and dynamite lining the walls of the room. All of them just so happened to have their pins pulled.

"Ahh shit-"

—-

Ishikki covered her ears as the building erupted in an explosion. While it wasn't ideal, it had gone off as planned. Though setting up a newly rigged building to trap magicals in would take time, Ishikki at least felt confident she could pull it off again.

That's when the rubble erupted and a multifoot long dragon flew out of the rubble. Ishikki's eyes widened as the dragon turned its scaly eyes on her. "Umm…nice dragon?"

She slowly backed up, trying to figure out the next best plan when a pair of hands camped down hard on her shoulders. "Woah there kiddo, awfully quick to leave are we?"

She looked up to see the blonde woman standing behind her. She smiled…but it did not reach her eyes.

"Ahh…ehehehe…no hard feelings?"

In fact, there were several hard feelings.

—-

Jin kicked down the door of the small apartment before strolling in. Behind her, Norimune followed, dragging the pink haired girl along.

"So little Miss Terrorist, why don't you explain what your agenda is." The Muramasa started. "And while we're at it, are you a magical girl? Cause Toku mentioned how she met some back a while back and-"

"Holy shit! Nori you gotta see this!"

Norimune stopped and turned her head towards the back wall of the studio apartment.

A detailed map of Yokosuka had taken up the whole wall, with sticky notes, string, and photos tacked on. Looking closer, Nori caught sight of several names.

Mary Maleficus - MACUSA auror

Jin turned to the still terrified and gagged pink haired girl. "So bratling, mind telling me why my mom is on your hit list?"

The girl's eyes widened as she tried to make a muffled noise. But Jin wasn't done yet. Another group of names were on the wall.

Usagi Tsukino - Yokai

Ayaka Ataksuki - Yokai

Rika Itō - Yokai

Kenta Kaku - Yokai

Asuka Miku - Yokai

Natsumi Ono - Yokai

Jin sent an icy glare at the girl. "Well aren't you a little shitbag aren't you? Trying to go after kids too huh?"

Norimune sighed, "So…are we going to let her talk?"

Jin chuckled. "Eventually. I've got a lot of pent up stress over the all and well…she just so happens to be nice and quiet just for me."

She turned back towards the girl. "Mind grabbing lunch for us? There's a nice udon shop down the street. Grab me a tonkatsu udon?"

Nori nodded, "Gotcha. What about her?"

Jin gave the blade a toothed grin. "We'll just be…talking. I won't lay a finger on her. Pinky promise!"

The muramasa sighed as she exited the small apartment. That's when she remembered. Pulling out her phone, she dialed a number. “hey, it's Norimune."

"…"

"Yeah, yeah. Could you do me a favor and tell my…my kids that I got caught up in a fight?"

"…"

"Yeah yeah…it's over, but we're interrogating her as we speak. Actually, is Toku there?"

"…"

"Yeah, wanted to talk to her about those magical girls of hers. Think we found another one."

Norimune covered the speaker as screams were heard from the apartment behind her. "What? That's nothing. Just a neighbor watching a horror film."

—-

When Norimune returned, three bowls of noodles in her arms, she found the pink haired girl untied and sitting lifelessly at the table.

"Is she?" Nori raised her brow in alarm.

"Dead? Nah. She's just passed out. But not before giving me the info we were looking for." Jin muttered, her eyes a bit tired and in thought.

"So what did you find?"

Jin groaned, "A sob story if I ever saw one. Girl saw her entire family get obliviated by some gung-ho aurors. Learned how to use her powers and swore to get revenge on magical society."

Nori rolled hey eyes. "Is she a magical girl?"

"Oh yeah, she mentioned that too. You know anything about them?"

"Yeah. Apparently Masamune no Toku caught a few of them last year. They've been more frequent as of late." Norimune explained. "Still, I don't think they knew how to get their hands on Kamo weaponry."

"Ishikki here found a map of caches after breaking into ruins of the old Tokyo Diet." Jin explained. "I didn't even know those were there."

"Damn, more Kamo stuff." Norimune shivered, "So…you planning on turning her in?"

Jin shrugged, "What, to the aurors? Nah."

"Really?"

The mizuchi gave the Muramasa a shit eating grin. "Why would I turn her over to the aurors…when I have a perfectly good punishment system in place?"

As she looked over the sleeping magical girl, Jin hummed to herself. "I've always wanted a personal magical girl at my beck and call."

 

SFW Portion Subject to change if UCC has more pieces

+-+-+-+

Prelude to Hogwarts

*-*-*
Year 1 - The Power of Magicite
*-*-*


Year 1 - The Power of Magicite 1


Year 1 - The Power of Magicite 2 Christmas


Year 1 - The Power of Magicite 3


+-+-+
First Summer Holidays
+-+-+

*-*-*
Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls
*-*-*


Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls Prelude


Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls 1


Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls 2 Christmas


Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls 3


Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls 4


Year 2 - Secrets and Shipgirls 5


*-*-*
Second Summer Holidays
*-*-*


Second Summer Holidays 1


Second Summer Holidays 2


Second Summer Holidays 3

*-*-*
Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping
*-*-*


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping Prelude 1


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping Prelude 2


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping Prelude 3


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 1a


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 1b


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 1c


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 2a Christmas


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 2b Christmas


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 3a


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 3b


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 3c


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 4a


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 4b


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 4c


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 4d


Year 3 - Prisoner of Shipping 4e

*-*-*
Third Summer Holidays
*-*-*

Third Summer Holidays 1


Third Summer Holidays 2


Third Summer Holidays 3


Third Summer Holidays 4


Third Summer Holidays 5


Third Summer Holidays 6


Third Summer Holidays 7

+-+-+-+-+



NSFW PORTION/THREAD

*-*-*
YEAR FOUR - GOBLET OF FEELS
*-*-*

YEAR FOUR - GOBLET OF FEELS Prelude


YEAR FOUR - A Germanic Trip 1


YEAR FOUR - A Germanic Trip 2


YEAR FOUR - A Germanic Trip 3


YEAR FOUR - A Germanic Trip 4



*-*-*
YEAR FOUR - Triwizard Tournament
*-*-*

YEAR FOUR - Triwizard Prelude 1


YEAR FOUR - Triwizard Prelude 2


YEAR FOUR - Triwizard Prelude 3


YEAR FOUR - Triwizard Prelude 4


YEAR FOUR - First Task and lead up to the Ball 1


YEAR FOUR - First Task and lead up to the Ball 2


YEAR FOUR - First Task and lead up to the Ball 3


YEAR FOUR - First Task and lead up to the Ball 4


YEAR FOUR - Christmas/Yule 1


YEAR FOUR - Christmas/Yule 2


YEAR FOUR - Christmas/Yule 3


YEAR FOUR - Christmas/Yule 4


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 1


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 2


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 3


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 4


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 5


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 6


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 7


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 8


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 9


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 10


YEAR FOUR - After the Ball 11


YEAR FOUR - Second Task


YEAR FOUR - Second Task Aftermath 1


YEAR FOUR - Second Task Aftermath 2


YEAR FOUR - Second Task Aftermath 3



YEAR FOUR - Second Task Aftermath 4 (ongoing)



*-*-*-*
Extras - In This Life, as in the Last: Pt 1(Ryouma &; Oryou) NSFW Version of A Young Ryouma and Oryou
Extras - In This Life, as in the Last: Pt 2 (Ryouma &; Oryou) NSFW Version of Teen Ryouma and Oryou

 

Harry Leferts

Basic In-Universe Timeline

Written Out-of-Universe on December 13 2017

*-*-*


As was asked for, here's a basic timeline:


1,000,000+: Ancestors of Homo floresiensis use rafts to reach the island of Flores, among the first sea traveling humans.

130,000: First evidence of travel by boat to Crete.

50,000+: Gibraltar settled, first stirrings of Genius Loci.

10,000: Black Lake spirit begins forming.

9,000: Bath Genius Loci becomes aware, same with the spirit in what would become the Forbidden Forest.

8,500: First settlement on Hy-Brasil as the island can be reached by land.

8,000: Oldest found boat, the Pesse Canoe, is made.

4,200: Oldest ruins on Saint Brendan's.

4,100: Disaster on Hy-Brasil forces it into a sort of limbo, a number of the inhabitants manage to escape to nearby Ireland.

3,200: Trojan Ships in Italy are burned and become shipgirls. First possible mention of them in history as written in the Aenied.

The Sea Peoples attack various settlements and nations around the Eastern Mediterranean at this time. They become one of the major factors in the Bronze Age Collapse, possible Abyssals due to use of Abyssalized metal in their weapons found in an Egyptian tomb from the time.

865 BC: Springs at Bath discovered by King Bladud, Genius Loci becomes fully aware and is given the name "Sul".

29 BC: Aenied written after Virgil meets several Trojan shipgirls and takes down their story with his own modifications.

AD 43: First bathhouse made at Bath, England by the Romans with Sul renamed "Sul Minerva" as she is seen as an aspect of said goddess.

106 AD: People leave Saint Branden's for parts unknown. Reminder die off in the next few decades leaving behind ruins and the same magic protecting the island as Avalon.

457 AD: Sul grants the wish of one of her last worshippers and gifts her a child, said child is actually Sul herself reborn as a human.

490 AD: City of Ys sinks beneath the waves after the gate in the dike is opened during a stormy night and higher then normal tide floods it.

5th Century-6th Century: Events in Arthurian Legend occur.

530 AD: Lyoness, site of the last battle between Arthur and Mordred sinks beneath the waves. Some local magicals believe that magics unleash cause it, others are unsure.
545 AD: Prydwen appears as a shipgirl.

574 AD: Prydwen manages to get the last items belonging to Merlin and manages to gain him as a fairy.

840 AD: Small castle is built close to the Black Lake and inhabited by a cruel Laird.

873 AD: Laird's castle burnt down with all inside, spiritual impression eventually leading to Peeves being born.

990 AD: Hogwarts is founded.

1025: First stirrings of what would become Hogwarts' spirit occur.

1106: Deathly Hollows created.

1145: Hardwin Potter marries Iolanthe Peverell and the True Cloak of Invisibility passes into the Potter family.

1315: Branch of Potter family establishes itself in Germany, eventually becoming the Continental Branch.

1692: After various events in Europe, the Statute of Secrecy is established and soon goes world wide.

1723: First new settlers arrive on Saint Brendan's in the form of those who have become "Stuck" in transformations with animal features.

1860: The magical portion of Japan goes under the SoS after decades of trying to avoid it. Yokai Reserves established. Member of the Potter Family travels to Japan.

1883: Thunderchild becomes flagship of Saint Brendan's naval force.

1914: World War One starts, fighting occurs on both sides of the divide, magical and non-magical. A program involving dragons is started and later stopped when they eat everyone except for a Newt Scamander.

1926: Events of the movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" occurs.

1929: Construction begins at a secret shipyard inside of a caldera island with two Hitobashira being buried.

1937-1945: Various wars occur which eventually merge together to form the Second World War. In Europe, Grindlewald allies himself with the Nazis and delves deep into dark magic. In the Pacific, factions of Japan does the same in an effort to eventually end the SoS. War ends with the Surrender of Japan. ICW comes down hard on both Germany and Japan in the aftermath.

At the same time, Tom Riddle lays the foundation for his rise to power.

1957: First reports of "Modern" Abyssal activity reach human ears from mermaids and other sea dwellers.

1958: First contact with Abyssals occur in the Straits of Malacca when reports of magic being used brings wizards into contact with an Abyssal sailing ship attacking muggle vessels. It is rapidly sunk. It is deemed a success and those muggles who saw it have their memories modified, though it is reported as being harder then normal to do so. However, another incident occurs before the end of the year in the Mediterranean.

1960s-1970s: Continued battles occur with Abyssals and grow in number.

1978: First incident regarding an "Ironclad" Abyssal occur.

1979: The Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort reveal themselves in Britain openly for the first time.

1980: Lily Evans is born.

Late 1980s: USS Iowa comes across a group of Abyssals attacking a Freighter and fires on them, managing to sink two. Incident later covered up by mass memory charms and modifications of logs by MACUSA.
1991: Lily Evans goes to Hogwarts and meets James Potter. Outside of Hogwarts, Death Eater attacks rise as the British Ministry tries to fight them to little effect.

1997: Lily Evans and James Potter graduate Hogwarts and fully join the Order of the Phoenix.

1990s: Abyssal attacks continue to rise in number and power over the decade. The first "Humanoid Sea Ghouls" are reported by ICW fighters. With the war against the Death Eaters though, there is a hole open in the North Sea and North Atlantic due to lack of forces from Britain. Losses among the Abyssals drop during this time as they become harder and harder to kill. One Muggleborn comments that "It's almost as if they are evolving the more we fight them!"

2000: Harry Potter is born under a prophecy about him.

2001: Voldemort attacks the Potters resulting in the deaths of Harry's parents and his disincorporation.

2001-2005: Attacks reach a new height and eventually are too many for the ICW to handle, and so they pull back and decide on hiding the attacks until they can come up with a new way to defeat the Abyssals.

2005, August: Blood Week occurs when Abyssals attack almost at the same time across the planet in a coordinated action. Millions die before the military rallies and fights back. At the same time, thousands of witches and wizards die defending their non-magical fellows. There are unconfirmed reports of young girls and women fighting back, but these are dismissed.

2005, September: First confirmed reports of shipgirls come in as a small group with Kongou, Haruna, Fubuki, and several more appear to fight off an Abyssal attack on Tokyo.

2007: Nagato meets a young boy named Harry and soon adopts him, main events of fic occur.

2011: Harry heads off for his first year at Hogwarts.

 

just after Harry and Co make their film with Naka.

Ramune Anyone
—-
Sasebo April 2014

Emiri Kisaki sighed as she lay against the wall. It had been a good three years.

"Miyako Senpai, are you proud of me? Did I do well?" She muttered, her eyes fixed on her egg like gem. The once colorful gem now was almost pitch black, only a few blemishes of color remaining.

"I'm just…even though I knew this was coming…I…I just…why?" She cried, "Why is this our reality?"

When the lack of responses filled the air, the blonde smiled bitterly before looking up to the starless sky. "I know…I know. We both knew the reasons. And…it…it was a good life wasn't it?"

Breathing slowly, Emiri focused her magic and sent out a wave of power, charming the people in the building.

"Leave me."

Instantly, everyone began to file out of the building. Once the building was deserted, Emiri smiled, her job complete. Finally, she could rest. She closed her eyes, just as the last specs of color faded from the gem.

—-
As the witch erupted from the roof of the building, 4 girls watched somberly.

"Let's go." Shizuku transformed before drawing her chakram.

"Goodbye Emiri-chan." Rina Rika Ayano muttered, before following her teammates into the fray.

—-
Yokosuka Middle School April 2014

"For the upcoming culture festival, you are going to be a doing a group fundraiser project." The teacher explained as he began drawing on the blackboard. "I'm encouraging you to find creative solutions to this. It can be performing a skit, writing a manga, running a food stand, or anything you think would entertain people. Please refer to your handouts for guidelines and restrictions. I am looking forward to what you bring forward."

Ishikki groaned. Great, a group project? She just lay her head on the desk and tried to pretend everyone was gone.

"So how was your befriending?"

Ishikki turned her head to her classmate. "What?"

"Well it's been a month long time skip but all the readers know about how you got befriended via angry mizuchi."

Ishikki groaned. She didn't want to deal with this kid. She just didn't make any sense, all this muttering about rivals, protagonists, harems, and how she was an anti hero.

"So what do you want?"

"Wanna make a group?"

Ishikki sent a glare at the girl. "What? Why would I want to make a group with you?"

"Because it's amusing." The girl shrugged, "Plus you need a group right?"

"I can choose whoever I want!" Ishikki insisted.

The girl gestured to the rest of her class. Ishikki hissed. Everyone else was already forming groups and finding partners. Her classmate smirked. "Unless you want to work with the Chuuni squad, I'd suggest you take my offer."

Ishikki rolled her eyes before grumbling. "Fine. What do you have in mind?"

"Well-"

—-
Adachi Ward April 2014

Ishikki groaned as she stumbled into her apartment. How did it end up like this? Somehow, she had gone from being the mastermind to the most elaborate (in her opinion) revenge plot…to being the personal grunt to a freaking Mizuchi…who happened to be her landlord.

The last month had been hell. She would be in the middle of homework or reading a book or even trying to get a nap in when the shitty mizuchi would drag her out of her room and have her do jobs for her.

Most often, Ishikki would run errands. Buying food, delivering groceries, running messages, the Mizuchi would run her all across Adachi ward.

For a tormentor, her boss was actually quite…nice? Apparently her boss was helping hide and support dozens of Yokai and magical runaways from the magical government. And so she used Ishikki to deliver supplies to the fugitives. It wasn't that bad actually.

She hadn't known that Yokai were treated as subhuman. She didn't know about their plight, about how the magical government had screwed them over so hard. Sometimes the Yokai would be kind enough to share a story, or mention how things were like at the reserves in passing. Ishikki didn't know how these people would trust her like this.

And then…sometimes Jin used her for her magical skills.

There was more than one time where Jin instructed the girl to break into local municipal offices…to steal ration books. It was scary how easily she could avoid pull it off. Cutting off her signature from heat sensors and cloaking her body from camera was just a snap of her fingers. At first she was against the idea of using her skills like this, but when Jin reminded that those books were for the fugitives and runaways, Ishikki begrudgingly agreed.

"You've spent the two years living for yourself and your little vendetta. It's time we put those talents of yours to helping others." She had said.

Ishikki generally believed her boss, but then occasionally, said boss would tell her to break into the liquor store to grab some sake. Also…why was it harder to break into the liquor store than the municipal offices?

A knock at the door pulled Ishikki out of her thoughts. She jerked up. "Yes Miss Hisakawa?"

Jin poked her head through the door…literally. Out of amusement, the bastard landlord had installed a "head" hatch (like a dog door but at head height) where she could just poke her head through the door to bother her. Apparently it was to "keep an eye on her" and "make sure she wasn't causing trouble". Ishikki thought the Mizuchi was just a sadist.

"Hey bratling." Jin's face grinned. "Don't make any plans for the weekend. We got a job."

"Sure." Ishikki offhandedly responded. "Not like I have any friends…"

"What was that?"

Ishikki jerked up, "Nothing at all Jin-sama!"

Jin smirked, "Good. Pack a bag and…maybe get a hoodie."

"Why?"

"No reason." Jin smirked as she withdrew her head slowly from the hatch.

Ishikki groaned as she finally relaxed. Damned nightmares. The moment that evil landlady spoke a word of anger, Ishikki's brain ceased to function and she was suddenly unable to resist anything that damn snake said.

It was too much. She needed sleep. Bad.

—-
Onsen owned by Naka

Ishikki's mouth dropped aghast. "What…"

A large gathering of people had gathered in front of the inn, led by none other than Harry F'ing Potter! And standing by his side, Natsumi damned fox woman Ono was directing people.

And weren't those her classmates? Rika, Kaku, Ayaka, Asuka, and…Nobu, Okita, and Uesugi.

So this is what they had in mind for their group project huh? And wait…were those shipgirls? JSDF officers? Did that man have a white admiral's jacket?

Just want kind of overpowered line up was this?

"Good thing you brought your hoodie isn't it?" Jin muttered to her assistant.

Ishikki wore an oversized hoodie that covered her head and hopefully would prevent her classmates from realizing she was here.

"Wait, you know them?" Ishikki sent a glare at Mizuchi.

"Never said I didn't. Now then, let's get to work. I'll handle the heavy lifting but you…how about you help them set up lights?"

Ishikki grumbled but got to it.

— -
"Hey Natsumi?"

Natsumi turned to Rika. "Yes?"

The nekomata pointed over to a girl wearing an oversized hoodie. "Isn't that Tamaki?"

Natsumi narrowed her eyes before raising her brow. "Yeah, you're right. It is her? What's she doing here?"

"She lives with Jin." Asuka explained. "So I guess Jin asked her to help out."

"She does?" Natsumi and Rika turn to her in surprise. "Does she know…"

"Don't think so." Asuka shrugged, "Jin just mentioned that she does odd jobs for Jin from time to time to help pay off her rent. Guess this is one of them."

Natsumi kept her eyes on the hooded girl before frowning. "Ok then. Kinda weird for her to not mention it to us."
—-

Ishikki spent the next twenty minutes helping set up lights. Carrying the large lights and cameras was rough work, but for a magical girl, it was but a breeze.

As she wiped the sweat off her brow, her boss approached her. "Nice work bratling."

Ishikki rolled her eyes. "That wasn't that bad. What's next?"

Jin gave her a smirk. "With everyone working so hard, someone ought to get them refreshments."

Ishikki's eyes widened. "No…"

Jin's grin reached 10 kilonazis. "I want you to get everyone's drink order and then go and buy it."

Ishikki looked over the crowd of children, serviceman, Yokai, and shipgirls. "There's like…30 people."

"That's right." Jin smirked, before taking out two 10,000 yen bills. "That should cover the drinks…and to make it worth your while…you can keep the change."

Ishikki stared at the pair of bills slowly before groaning. "Fine."

—-
"We're getting everyone drinks, what do you want?"

"Get me a ramune. Wait…Ishikki what are you doing here?"

The girl shrugged. "Just helping my boss out. So a ramune?"

"Y-yeah." Okita frowned. "So umm…"

"Hey Shiki!" Nobu placed her head on the blonde's cheek. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just give me your drink order."

Nobu's brow perked up. "Ahh! The blood of my enemies, poured out in buckets-"

"That's enough Nobu," Okita dropped her hand on the chuuni's head. "Seriously."

"Whatever." Ishikki sighed. "So that's two ramune?"

Nobu smirked, "Make it one and Okita and I will share the sweet sweet romance of constant indirect kisses awk!"

"Two ramune coming up."

—-
"Potter."

"Tamaki, thanks for coming out."

Ishikki shot a glare at the messy haired boy. "Shut it Potter. Just…give me your drink order."

Harry raised his brow. "You're getting drinks?"

"Miss Hisakawa's orders."

Now Harry was concerned. "Listen, Ishikki-san, if Jin isn't treating you well, I can have a chat with-"

"Can you just stay out of my business?" She snapped.

Harry paused. "Ummm…sorry."

He actually looked hurt. Dammit, she didn't mean it like that. "No…I'm sorry. She's actually a nice boss and stuff. I'm doing this because she's paying me ok? No need to worry your little head about it."

"Well if you're sure, then can I have a ramune?"

Ishikki nodded, jotting it down on a notepad, "Got it. Oh and Potter."

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

Harry looked confused. "For what?'

"For your Kyubey. He said you made it." Ishikki shrugged, walking away. "I'll be back…good wizard."

Harry paused, trying to figure out her words before he froze. "Wait, does that mean you're a magical girl? Have you met Shima?"

—-
"What do you mean you don't have ramune?"

The shopkeeper shrugged. "Sorry, our stock was bought up a few days ago by some cultist abyssals. I think they were called the cult of the dark one. Something about it being the favored drink of their revered god."

A long pause. "I see."

—-

"Ramune? Yeah we sold out."

"Cultist abyssals?"

"Y-yeah, how did you know?"

"Just a hunch."

—-
"Those damn loonies? They bought out all the ramune?" Jin's voice roared over the phone.

"Yes. What should we do?"

There was a long pause before the voice returned over the phone. "Ishikki, I gave you an order to get everyone their drinks. Just because some crazy abyssals have them now doesn't mean you can give up."

"What?"

"Go get those ramune! Even if you have the wretch it from their fucking claws."

Ishikki hated her life.

—-
Adachi Ward: April 2014

Ishikki surveyed her target.

The only thing she could think of was "That's a lot of Abyssals."

Despite having grown up in Yokohama, Ishikki never really encountered abyssals. Sure, she had gone with her family to the shelters during raids, but she had never really met an abyssal in person.

As she looked over the gathered crowds of abyssals, she caught sight of her target. Several of the women were carrying crates of ramune towards what looked like…a massive monument? Or was it a throne?

Honestly it didn't matter. Ishikki needed those bottles. And she needed them now. But how was she supposed to get them?

Attacking abyssals head on was suicidal. Even if she never met one, she knew how strong they were. They were like shipgirls, almost nigh unstoppable…except to other shipgirls. And Jin probably.

Ishikki shuddered at the thought. The idea of Jin going ham on the forces of the abyss terrified her. Though why these abyssals were setting up their alter…in front of her apartment building eluded her. Regardless, if she wanted to avoid getting mauled by Jin, she needed to complete her mission…even if it meant fighting cultist abyssals.

She eyed the ramune crates. She needed thirty three…so about six crates. Probably the stealth option was best. But even then…how was she supposed to sneak out 6 crates of ramune out from their noses?

If only she had some sort of diversion. Or maybe some kind of way to thin out their numbers. Wait…a diversion? Ishikki paused as a plan began to formulate in her mind.

—-

Ishikki pointed her crossbow at the lock before giving it a quick double tap. The lock exploded as the bolts smashed through the thin metal covering. Slowly, Ishikki pushed the door open, leading into the basement.

Ishikki really hoped Jin would forgive her about the door. She really did. But if she was to prevent Jin from blowing up at her, she needed some extra firepower.

Turning on the light, she glanced around the basement filled with random odds and ends. Several old bikes were covered by tarps while a collection of books, gizmos, and collectible patches were scattered about. But in the middle of the room, was a familiar expandable chest.

Ishikki clicked open the latch and opened the chest before grinning. Everything was still just as she left it.

Reaching into the chest, she grabbed an enchanted drawstring bag. Pulling it upon, she began filling it with several small cans, taking care to put them in gently. Satisfied, she closed the drawstring bag and began to close the chest…but stopped.

She glanced back in the chest. Should she grab the riffles too? But then she shook her head. That would draw too much attention. Instead she grabbed a long knife and slid it into her belt. Finally closing the chest, she stood up and left the basement, taking care to close the door as best she could behind her.

—-
"PRAISE TO SHE WHO CROSSED THE BOUNDARIES OF LIFE AND DEATH!"

"PRAISE THE DARK ONE! PRAISE THE DARK ONE!"

"WHOSE VENGEANCE CROSSES THE SEVEN SEAS AND PLUCKS THE EVIL ONES!"

"PRAISE THE DARK ONE! PRAISE THE DARK ONE!"

Ishikki didn't know what they were talking about, or who this Dark One was. And honestly, she didn't want to know.

Though…if this Dark One they spoke of was so strong…

Ishikki wondered who was scarier, the Dark One or Jin. Then she decided that they both must be pretty scary. Wait…wouldn't stealing the ramune make the Dark One upset at her? That wouldn't be good. Hopefully Jin would protect her.

Wait…maybe she should side with the Dark One instead. Then they could gang up on Jin…

She shook her head to clear it. The Dark One wasn't her landlord. The Dark One didn't blackmail her into becoming her personal errand girl. Jin was. And that meant that she had to serve the dragon bitch.

Activating her stealth charms, she carefully placed the small cans around the vicinity of the park. One can per square meter, the guide had said. Which wasn't much space, but she felt confident it would do that job. Once in place, she snuck her way to the back of the throne before triggering her magic.

All at once, the smoke canisters erupted, sending yellow smoke everywhere.

"Wha-what's going on?"

"We're under attack!"

"Who dares interrupt our ritual to the DARK ONE!"

The cult was thrown into disarray as the smoke blocked their vision. Civilians who were observing ran away in terror…except for one teacher from Yokosuka.

"Hey it's MiniLector, I was initially going to stream the Cult of the Dark One's ritual to their god but it looks like someone is starting a fight. I can't see very well with all the smoke, but I'll do my best to bring you live commentary of this battle!"

Ishikki didn't care as she quickly opened up her sack and began taking bottles from the monument and placing them inside. One…two…three…

She was at fifteen when those noticed her.

"Hey! I found one! She's after the throne!" One shouted.

Ishikki's eyes widened to see a Ru class pointing in her direction.

She grabbed another bottle of Ramune, throwing it into the sack as her other arm raised her wrist mounted crossbow. Aiming carefully, she opened fire.

The pink bolts flew through the air and struck the abyssal…who paused before shrugging. Ishikki groaned. Why was every opponent due fought immune to magic crossbow bolts?

Now more abyssals had gathered, slowly surrounding her position. One had summoned its rigging, only for another to shake her head. "Put that away! The Dark One never needed weapons to defeat her foes. She used fear and brute strength! And so we must do also!"

"PRAISE THE DARK ONE! PRAISE THE DARK ONE!"

Ishikki really liked this Dark One right now.

The first two abyssals, a Ru class and a Ne class rushed her. Ishikki dropped her sack as got into a ready position. The first abyssal sent an overhead punch at her head. Ishikki dropped low, drawing her dagger and slashing at the abyssal's heel. The blade cut through the exposed flesh, causing her to cry out in pain. The second abyssal had tried to flank her from behind, but Ishikki's magical girl instincts alerted her, giving her time to dive to the side, before sending a set of bolts into the abyssal's head.

The bolts wouldn't hurt the woman in the slightest, but it just felt good to do so.

The other abyssals seemed a bit more cautious now. Ishikki took the opportunity. "If you don't want to end up like your friends, then I suggest you stay back."

"Fool! You think you can defeat the cult of the Dark One?"

Ishikki shrugged. "Your choice."

Internally the magical girl was panicking. The Abyssals were clearly not scared of her. And she was certain she couldn't pull that stunt off again.

"Get her!!"

Ishikki activated her cloaking charms and dived toward the throne. The two abyssals tackled the location she had been standing previously. Ishikki grabbed an arm full of bottles and shoved them into the sack, the glass banging together loudly.

"She's going after the throne!" One called.

"Find her!"

Hopefully that was enough, because she was out of time. Ishikki pulled the bag shut and slung it over her shoulder just in time to see another group of abyssals charging her from all sides.

Wait…maybe…

Ishikki focused her magic to create an illusion of her above the throne.

"There she is!"

The cultists charged at the illusion before leaping into a flying tackle…only to fly through the illusion and into each other, resulting in a massive crash of steel and bodies.

"Awk!"

Ishikki didn't even hesitate. She turned and ran without a second thought.

"MAY THE DARK ONE'S VENGEANCE FIND YOU AND CURSE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE ABYSS!"

"PRAISE THE DARK ONE! PRAISE THE DARK ONE!"

Ishikki really hoped the Dark One didn't know where she lived.

—-
Naka’s Onsen

It was late afternoon when she arrived.

Panting hard, Ishikki finally returned to the onsen, her bag slung over her shoulder. Standing at the entrance was her resident landlord and boss, Jin no Hisakawa. "You're late."

Ishikki wanted to punch the dragon in the face, but just groaned. "Sorry…"

Jin jabbed her hand towards the door. "They're all waiting inside. Told them you were going all the way to the next ward to get their drinks. So you'd better apologize for your tardiness, ok?"

"Ahh…is that so?" Ishikki was too tired to complain. "Nice. Ok."

"Head on inside. Oh and bratling?"

Ishikki paused, waiting for the next scolding.

Jin smirked, "I was serious when I said keep the change. Good work out there."

The pink haired magical girl managed a soft smile. "From you? What a nice thing to say."

With that, she trudged into the lobby to a crowd of thirsty workers.

—-
Harry frowned as he scrolled through SGO on his phone, "What the-"

"What's going on?" Natsumi asked, sipping her ramune.

Harry showed her his screen. "Apparently there was a riot in Adachi ward. Someone attacked the Cult of the Dark One in the middle of their ritual."

Suddenly interested, Asuka joined them, putting down her ramune. "Wait, someone attacked the Cult? But they're peaceful."

Harry pulled up the feed from SGO. "A streamer who was nearby caught the footage of the fight."

The three teens watched as the abyssals seemed to be fighting a small hooded figure.

"Whoever it is, they're quite resourceful." Natsumi muttered, "Those are legit smoke grenades right?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah. Looks like they're pacific war era too."

Asuka was focused on something else. "What are they trying to protect? Some kind of alter or monument?"

Harry frowned as he tried to zoom in on the grainy feed. "Looks like it's made of glass…or glass bottles of some sort…"

The trio of teenagers looked at the bottles they had just been drinking. And then at the worn out Ishikki laying passed out on the couch.

"So all in favor of accepting that Ishikki is actually a magical girl?" Harry muttered.

Natsumi sighed, "Still can't see why I didn't notice sooner.

Asuka frowned. "I guess? But…that still doesn't make sense. Jin is the one who told her to get drinks. And the Cult of the Dark One worships Jin. So…why didn't she just ask them for it?"

The trio paused before an angry voice interrupted them.

"Mom…slow down. What do you mean the Cult is out for blood?"

"…"

"They got attacked? So what? They're abyssals for Christ's sake! Who would be foolhardy enough to attack them?"

"…"

"A girl in a white hood attacked them? That's ridiculous…"

"…"

"They went to you, asking for you to intervene and bring vengeance upon the interloper…in my name?"

"…"

"Wait…they're mad because someone desecrated their monument made to me? Was it per say…made out of ramune?"

"…"

"…mom, I gotta go. I errm…I need to clarify something. Can you tell them to hold off for a bit? There's…there's been a misunderstanding."

"…"

"I'm serious, mom. Thanks. Call ya later. Bye."

The mizuchi ended the call before groaning. "This…this isn't good."

"I bet it isn't." Harry agreed.

Jin spun around to find the three teenagers gazing down at her with…disappointed looks in there faces.

"Mind telling us where these bottles really came from?" Natsumi smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

—-
Sasebo April 2014

"No way, another magical girl incident?"

Shima jerked her head up from where she had been laying her head. "What?"

A group of boys were huddled up, staring at a phone screen. Shima got up and peeked her head over.

"Isuzu, just who we needed. You're our weirdness expert. What's going on?"

"Hey that's not nice!" A voice interrupted them group. Shima looked over to see Rina walking over to them. "Calling someone a weirdness person is just rude."

"Ahh…" Shima tried to protest, "It's ok Rina. I like researching into magic and shipgirls. So…I am sort of…in the know if you would."

"Even so. Calling an interest in magic weird is just outright rude." Rina disagreed. "Calling her a magic expert would be more positive."

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure. Isuzu, you're the magic expert, what you think?"

Isuzu looked at the grainy image on the phone. "Well… I'm not sure it's magic. From what I can see, it's just someone with a gun and some smoke bombs."

Internally Shima was freaking out. That was the second magical girl exposed in public. She just hoped they'd buy the pink magic bolts as gunshots.

"Yeah guys," Rina shrugged, "It's not magic. Just some hooligan with a gun. Right?"

The boys opened their mouths to disagree but suddenly froze. "I…I guess so. It's not magic. It's just dangerous people with guns."

Shima kinda found it creepy, but this stuff happened around Rina from time to time. People would just go along with her ideas and whims. But it made sense. Rina was outgoing, popular, and attractive. It made perfect sense that people would agree with her ideas. Heck, Shima personally found Rina very attractive, as if there was some aching or longing binding them together.

Rina turned to the silver haired girl. "So Shima, wanna go hang out this weekend? I found this really cool art exhibit downtown!"

Shima ponded the thought. On one had, she really should check out that other magical girl. On the other hand…spending time looking at artwork and being with Rina?

"Sure, I'd be happy to." Shima replied. The magical girl could wait, right? And it wasn't like she was the only person who could do something.