Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

Harry Leferts

Looking around, Harry shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked out over the gathering of shipgirls and some human personnel. He then looked down at Nagato who's shoulder he was perched on easily, the Battleship not bothered in the least by his weight. "Wow mum, this place is amazing!"

A chuckle escaped from Nagato as she just nodded up at him. "Happy that I had Teitoku send you over here?" When he nodded, her smile grew just slightly saddened. "I'm rather thankful that him and the Americans allowed it. Sometimes it seems that we just don't spend enough time together."

Much to her surprise, Harry leaned over and hugged her around her head. "It's okay, mum. You're just being a hero and beating up all the bad guys out there! Besides..." The smile on Harry's face could have lit up a dark room. "You always make time for me, mum!"

For several moments, Nagato just stared at him before she broke out into a smile similar to her adopted son's and nodded. "Thank you, honey."

Sharing another smile, the two began to walk around, though it wasn't long before someone tapped Nagato on her unoccupied shoulder and she turned to see a familiar South Dakota class Battleship with her hands on her hips. "Well now, lookit at what we have here. Now, why didn't you tell me that you were bringing Har-Bear over here to the good ol' United States of America, Nagato?"

There was a slight twinkle in Nagato's eyes as she shook her head. "It was a bit of a surprise. But once I heard that I was to be have some leave here until the next convoy back, I decided that Harry-Chan needed to experience the wider world a little."

With a smile on his face, Harry waved at Alabama who grinned back. "Hi there, Miss Bama!"

Chuckling, Alabama shook her head. "Hi there ya self, munchkin. And can I just say that I am mighty impressed with how well you've been doing with the video lessons we've been having? Now, how about you let your ol' Aunty Bama have a good look at ya." A glance at Nagato had the Japanese Battleship nod before Alabama reached up and plucked Harry off Nagato's shoulders. Placing him on the ground, Alabama made a show of measuring him with one hand before nodding. "Well, ya have become a regular bean sprout, haven't ya, Har-Bear. Though you are about as thin as one! But don't worry, we'll solve that soon enough."

Eyes wide, Harry just blinked. "Really?"

In reply, Alabama gave him a wink and pumped a fist to the side. "Sure as sure can be, Har-Bear. Why, we got a bunch of good, solid southern style cooking going on. Before you know it, we'll have put some padding on those bones of yours. In fact, if Nagato here will let you, I'll take you over to the grill where Texas is cooking up a storm and you can get some direct from here. Trust you me, she'll make darn sure that you're taken care of."

Blinking, Harry looked up at Nagato. "Can I mum?"

Amused, Nagato just nodded a bit. "You can as long as you stay by Alabama-San, okay?"

With a nod, Harry smiled. "Okay, mum."

Just watching as he took Alabama's hand, Nagato shook her head as Alabama continued to describe all the food she was going to give him. Suddenly, a voice spoke up beside the Japanese Dreadnought and she turned to see Massachusetts there with two plates of food. "Sis means well, but I hope that you know she's not going to stop until Harry there looks like a beachball."

Taking the offered plate, Nagato smirked a bit. "Thank you. And he'll work it off soon enough." Spearing some food, Nagato hummed in appreciation as she chewed it. "Mmm..." Once she swallowed though, she continued. "Besides, it's a nice change from the rationing back home."

All Massachusetts did was tilt her head giving Nagato the point. Several moments later, she started to laugh (thought she did ignore how at least one guy walked into a picnic table having been unable to take his eyes off her as she did so) and pointed at where Alabama had now lifted Harry up onto her shoulders before beginning to run with the laughing youngster. "And there they go."

Sighing, Nagato shook her head though the faint trace of a smile betrayed her. "How am I not surprised?" Then she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Iowa running around with Willie D's two younger, human, sisters on her shoulder. "And it seems that she's not the only one."

Even as her laughter subsided, the grin didn't fade from Massachusetts' face. "True, but look on the bright side, at least he'll sleep tonight. All that food that Bama's going to stuff him with and the running about will about tucker the little guy out."

Nagato just smiled and nodded as she continued to eat, not saying a word as she continued to watch Iowa while notcing that Willie D was chasing the Battleship as well. "Mmm."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally coming to a stop, Alabama grinned as Texas glanced over and raised an eyebrow at the kid on her fellow Battleship's shoulders. "And who is this little fella now?"

Jerking her thumb up at him, Alabama gave her a wink. "This here is Harry, Nagato's boy. And he's here to try some of our world famous barbecue."

At the attention he was getting, Harry shyly waved at her. "Um, hi, Miss Texas."

For several moments Texas just stared at him before she chuckled. "Well, aren't you a polite one. Tell you what, you tell me what you want and I'll make sure that you get some, okay?"

Wide eyed, Harry looked down at Alabama who just nodded before he looked over the various grills and then frowned. "I've never had some before..."

Jerking back, Texas look surprised before she shook her head a bit. "Never had any before?" When Harry nodded, she snorted. "Well, we'll just have to fix that. You afraid to try new things, Harry?"

Harry only shook his head with the type of confused expression that only someone under the age of ten could give. "No, I've tried lots of new things, Miss Texas."

A grin then split the Dreadnought's face as she chuckled and shared a look with Alabama. "Then we'll just have to give you a little bit of everything and see what you like."

Needless to say, it went without saying that Harry's plate was not small by the time he was waving goodbye, still perched in his spot on Alabama's shoulders. "Thank you!"

Texas and the others waved back before turning toward the others who had come up to get some food.

 

Harry Leferts

Feet banging on the steel deck beneath him, Harry gulped down deep breaths as he ignored the weight on his back before Natsumi spoke up. "How the heck did the Abyssals get so close again!?"

The only answer that Harry gave her was a shrug and a glance back as he continued to use his hands to keep her legs supported. Natsumi had injured herself, a twisted ankle it looked like, when the first shots struck the area from the small group of Abyssal Destroyers that had shown up. With a grunt as he shifted her a bit, he sped down the stairs. "Don't know."

Of course, that didn't mean that Harry hadn't had a clue. Being who his mother was and how he was often playing and walking around the base, he did hear some rumors about some human doomsday cult becoming active again and helping the Abyssals by leaking info. Hearing a hiss, Harry was about to say he was sorry when Natsumi glared at him. "Don't you dare say sorry! Just answer where the hell are we going!?"

Gulping as he knew his friend's temper, Harry blinked as he caught sight of something and turned. "I... saw... something... that... can help..."

A frown graced Natsumi's face before she looked down at Harry and grimaced a bit, though she was impressed at how he was slightly stronger then he looked. "Hopefully you'll get to it soon." Shudders ran through the ship and nearly made them stumble before Natsumi gulped. "Really soon as that was too close..."

Not even a second later though, Harry slowed down and walked into a room. "We're here."

Just blinking, Natsumi looked around curiously. "What's in here that's so important that it can help us? It just looks like a cabin."

Looking over his shoulder, Harry blinked at her. "Can you feel it?"

Still frowning, Natsumi frowned. 'Feel... what exactly?' It was then that she realized what he meant and looked around. There was something in the air that was not quite heaviness, yet weighed down on them both. Her eyes widened as she realized that someone Harry had felt it and looked down at him with an indecipherable look. 'I wonder if that's what Haru-Oba-San meant...'

Meanwhile, Harry swallowed his nervousness and looked around. "U-um ma'am? I know that others have tried to... wake you up, and we're not priests or Admirals or anything. But we need help, we need you! Mum says that you more and earned your rest and we have no right to ask any more of you and that's probably why you're still asleep, and I think that she's right, but me and my class... we're just kids, we don't have help and we need it! If... if you can, could you help just a bit? Please?"

Before the two children's eyes, the air began to swirl and a glow slowly filled the room as, over in Yokosuka Naval Base where those few shipgirls there were rushing into the water, no one noticed material in the Summoning Room going missing. Then the light faded and a warm chuckle filled the air as Harry and Natsumi blinked at the woman in front of them who suddenly pumped her fist in the air. "For a child such as yourself, how could I not help! Now, I shall show these cretins my red hot bursting love for my country and the children of the land!"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blinking, Kongou looked up from her cup of tea. "You summoned someone, Harry-Chan?"

The eight year old only nodded as he placed his hands behind his head and grinned. "Yup! Mine and Natsumi-Chan's class were at Battleship Park today for a field trip when the Abyssals attacked, so I rushed inside of Mikasa and asked for help and she came! And then she beat up all the Abyssals, boom boom!"

From where she was sitting in a chair with her ankle wrapped up, Natsumi smiled a bit. "Yeah, it was pretty cool to see." Then she blinked as she noticed something. "Um, Kongou-San? Why are you so pale?"

It almost looked like Kongou was hyperventilating before she suddenly swallowed. "You managed to summon... Okaa-san... U-uh... where is she, Harry-Chan?"

Confused, it took Harry a few moments before he could come up with an answer. "Um, she said that she was going to surprise someone."

Just as Kongou was about to say something, the vent grate above her popped out and a blur summersaulted out of it before resolving into Mikasa. "And here I am! Oh, is that you, Chibi-Kon?"

Turning, Kongou gulped a bit as she knew what was waiting for her. "Oh God no, Dess... EEK!"

Harry meanwhile just blinked as Natsumi, without missing a beat, had placed her hand over his eyes. "Poi?"

All the girl did though was shake her head, though she had a bit of a blush on her face. "Um... you don't want to see this, Harry..."

Jumping away from a grinning, Mikasa, Kongou clutched herself. "M-M-MIKASA-SAMA!"

Mikasa just grinned a bit before she tittered. "Oh my, I must admit that you really grew up into a beautiful Battleship, Chibi-Kon." Sighting Goto just watching in utter shock, though he had red on his face, Mikasa gave him a look over and slowly nodded. "And this must be your Admiral, hmm?"

Shaking off his shock, Goto just coughed a bit. "Yes, well... I am Admiral-GAH!"

In a blur, Mikasa had vanished before reappearing behind him with a thoughtful look as he jumped into Kongou's arms. A grin then split across her face. "Mmm... nice and firm, Kaa-san likes." Looking over at where Kongou was hold Goto, she flipped open a fan that covered her face. "I approve, dess."

The only reply that Kongou and Goto could give her was to blush.

 

Harry Leferts

Tank man said:
I'd hate to imagine what Dreadnought or Orion is/would be like​

Dreadnought's not bad and neither is Orion for the most part. Constitution is a bit of a troll like Mikasa though, often times saying things that cause spittakes.
--*-*---*-*-*----*--
Constitution: "Now, don't worry about me, Jersey. I've enough experience that I'm not bothered by the modern day."
Jersey: "I suppose..."
Constitution: "Sure, I may be shorter and made of wood-"
Enterprise: "Phrasing!"
Constitution: "And you and others are longer and harder then the iron of my day-"
Enterprise: "Phrasing!"
Constitution: "But not much more has changed since we've both been filled with seamen."
Enterprise: "PHRASING!"
Constitution: "But I've been riden by a good deal more of the USN then you have."
Enterprise: "HEY! PHRASING!"
Constitution: "So don't worry about me."
Jersey: "Oh... my fucking God... stop..."

 

Harry Leferts

Tenryuu was leading her flock towards Goto's office after yet another mission when she stopped. Standing in front one of the windows was Nagato who was looking out of it to where Harry was talking with Mutsuki. What had caused the Cruiser to stop though was the expression on Nagato's face. Having heard then though, Nagato turned and was about to welcome them back when Tenryuu held up her hands in a "T" gesture. "Hold that thought."

Just looking between the confused Nagato and her mother, Inazuma frowned a bit. "Mom?"

In reply, Tenryuu just gave her a brittle smile. "Aki, I need you and the others to go and give our report to Teitoku. Me and Nagato need to... talk about some impressive gang things."

Still confused, though stunned that her mom had used her name from before she had awoken as a Shipgirl, Inazuma nodded and guided her sisters toward the office. "Okay, mom."

Opening her mouth, Nagato was about to comment when she was grabbed by Tenryuu, who showed a surprisingly large amount of strength for a Cruiser, and was dragged along. "This is sure as hell not the place for the conversation we're about to have."

Several minutes later found Nagato in one of the rooms in the old Yokosuka tunnel complex looking around in befuddlement. Closed for years, they were mostly unsafe and even with the Abyssal War, were only used for storage. What she had never expected was for one of them that be set up as a bar. "I was unaware that this place was even here..."

All Tenryuu did was shrug, though she ignored the look that Nagato was giving the bartender. It was rather obvious with the dark rings around his neck and jolly attitude who he was. "Ooyodo knows about this place and so does Goto. Now, sit."

Despite herself, Nagato sat down as Tenryuu's "Mom Voice", though not used often, had that effect. "Would you mind explaining why you dragged me here?"

Taking a seat, Tenryuu took off her eyepatch to reveal that the eye that covered it was composed of shattered glass. "We're here because you need someone to talk to and force that idiotic idea you were rolling around in your head out." Seeing Nagato glare at her and about to explode, Tenryuu raised a finger. "You were thinking that you aren't a good mother to Harry-Chan and had thoughts that upset you and would have upset him."

Wind taken out of her sails, Nagato slumped in her seat. "How...?"

Raising a finger, Tenryuu waited until a bottle was dropped off and the bartender had left. Then she began to pour the contents into two glasses as she answered. "Because the expression you had was one that I've seen in the mirror innumerable times along with those thoughts in my head."

For several moments, Nagato stared at her before taking the offered glass. "Sometimes I forget how you're actually a mother and were human..."

Snorting, Tenryuu gave her trademarked grin as she waved one hand over herself. "Hey, it can be pretty hard to remember when one's as badass as I am." Her grin then softened into a smile though as she shook her head. "But anyways, I do understand some, though I only had daughters. Now, what's eating you that gave you that look?"

With a frown on her face, Nagato took a sip of the drink before putting it down and running a finger along the edge of the glass. "There was a... Parent teacher meeting a few days ago. Harry's grades are among the highest in his class and I was happy and proud to hear it... But then I overheard some of the other mothers and-"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a groan from Tenryuu. "Oh for... I can just guess what those vultures likely said."

Utterly confused, Nagato blinked at Tenryuu who was muttering under her breath. "You do?"

Softly snorting, Tenryuu leaned her cheek against one closed fist and waved her other hand around. "Yeah, I had to deal with other mothers like that before... You know." Taking another sip of her drink, Tenryuu shook her head. "Let me give you a piece of wisdom. Those bunch? They wanted you to hear those comments."

Frowning, Nagato shook her head. "But still, perhaps they're right when they said that I am pushing him too hard. He is my son and the pride of the Big Seven, but he works so hard..."

Bemused, Tenryuu glanced at the clock on the wall. "Mmm. Let me ask you a few questions then. One mother to another. Do you take pride in his accomplishments?"

Eyes narrowed, Nagato just snorted. "Of course, what sort of question is that-"

As if she had not heard her, Tenryuu continued. "Do you push him to do his best and to succeed?"

Still not sure where this was going, Nagato nodded. "Yes, but what-"

Now looking right at her, Tenryuu narrowed her eyes. "And if he does badly at something or fails, how do you react? Do you yell and scream at him for it? Do you punish him for not living to the expectations given to him? How far do you go?"

Within a moment, Nagato went from pale to red as she felt her boilers redline before standing up and slamming her hands into the table hard enough to splinter some of the word. "How dare you?! WHAT SORT OF QUESTION IS THAT?!"

Uncaring of the looks being shot toward them, Tenryuu just looked bored. "An important one. Now, sit the fuck down." Once Nagato had, even though the Battleship was still snarling, Tenryuu just finished off her glass and poured another. "And that response right there shows that you are a good mother."

The wind figuratively taken out of her sails, Nagato just blinked. "What?"

Chuckling, Tenryuu shot her a small grin. "Like any other mother, you want the best for your kid and for him to live up to his potential. When he does fail or do badly at something, like all kids do at some point, how do you react?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Nagato glanced at Tenryuu before draining her glass in a gulp. After several moments, in which the glass was refilled, Nagato finally spoke. "Normally, I take him aside and speak calmly to him to find out what happened. Then I give him a hug and tell him that I am sure that the next time he'll do better because I know that he can before I help him by going over his work with him so he can see how to do it the next time."

During the whole explanation, Tenryuu just nodded. "And that's how it should be done. I won't deny that you push him, because that's what every parent does. Also, yes, the kid has a need for your approval and will do anything for it. But that's not too surprising considering what I've heard of his past." For a moment, there was distaste on Tenryuu's face before she shook it off. "But none of that makes you a bad parent. Especially as I've never seen you take advantage of how he wants your approval. Those bitches are probably just jealous of how your son is beating the pants off their kids... Among other reasons."

It went without saying that Tenryuu ignored the slight twitch in Nagato's eyebrow. After all, the father of her two biological daughters was a foreigner so she knew herself some of what was going on. Now calmer though, Nagato frowned thoughtfully as she watched Tenryuu. "What about how we're at war and any day I might be sunk? Leaving Harry alone again... Or how due to my duties, I don't spend nearly the amount of time he needs with him."

Finger making a circle, Tenryuu snorted. "I'm going to give you a quote that's perfect for the first bit there. 'You're right. I'm going to die... You're going to die... We're all going to die. But it won't be anytime soon.'"

Nagato just stared at her for several moments before raising an eyebrow. "Did you just use a quote from that American movie, Battleship?"

Smirking, the Cruiser just nodded. "Yup! Besides, it was an awesome movie." Her expression softening, Tenryuu leaned her chin onto her hands. "But you're right, and I worry each day about that, that I might sink and leave my girls without their mother... Because like hell am I going to let them sink before me. I ask the kami each day to let us make it through this and thank them each night for another day. And you, Nagato? I got no doubt in my mind that you're not much different. You now got someone waiting at home for you and from experience, I can tell you that will make fight every inch of the way to make it home. If anything, it's made you fight even harder if you ask me. But even if something happened, the rest of us will step in and make sure that he's not alone ever again."

Just rolling that around in her head, Nagato nodded a bit. "And not spending enough time with him?"

Once more, Tenryuu scoffed. "And I'll call bullshit on that as well, Nagato. You've gone out of your way to find ways of spending time with him between missions and Harry-Chan's allowed to visit you in the Admiral's office whenever he wants. I've lost count of how many times I've seen you at your desk doing paperwork. And there's Harry-Chan sitting on your knee doing his homework or reading a book with your arm around him."

Running one finger along the rim of her glass, Nagato hummed. "So I'm not a bad mother."

Now nodding, Tenryuu chuckled. "No, you're a good one, I would even say a great one for the kid."

The two shipgirls continued to just enjoy their drinks before Nagato came out with a question that was on her mind. "Since you're... More experienced with raising human children, if I have any questions..."

Knowing how hard it was, Tenryuu just smiled. "Ask and I'll answer." Suddenly, she frowned. "Though I was and still am learning myself. And I had daughters, not a son, but whatever."

Grimacing, Nagato slugged back her drink and set down the glass. "You still know more then me. I'm usually scrambling to try and figure things out such as when he gets sick. I've never been sick, so how can I help him out?"

Tenryuu just snickered as she knew the alcohol was loosening the Battleship up. "Just be thankful he's a child and not a baby."

Frowning, Nagato just blinked. "Why? Human babies are adorable."

That got a laugh from Tenryuu as she shook her head. "Yes, but they're also loud, hungry, poop all the time, and will run you ragged in no time. Kami, am I ever glad that my parents were able to help out when my girls were infants."

Now intrigued, Nagato leaned forward. "Is there anything I should look out for?"

All Tenryuu did though was shake her head. "Nah, just keep doing what you've been doing. You shouldn't have any real problems until he hits puberty and then the fun begins."

Blinking, Nagato just stared at her. "Puberty? Fun?"

Briefly, Tenryuu paused before she gave Nagato a sorrowful look. "Oh boy... Now I can't help but wonder how you're going to handle giving him The Talk."

For some odd reason, that sent a shiver down Nagato's spine. "The talk?"

Her only response was a sigh and a slow shaking of Tenryuu's head.

 

Snippet 1: smthng

Harry Leferts, given how you seem to have taken inspiration on a specific version of Tenryuu, here's something for you. Hope you like it!



* * *

The Family Dinner, with capital letters if necessary, was one of the traditions Tenryuu had insisted when the admirality had given (into her demands to have) her the command of DesDiv 6. Of course, the family dinner had been a tradition for her and her daughters long before they ever heard of ship girls, so it had been a given that it would stay.

Though once upon time one rice cooker had been more than enough for everyone, extra large soba bowls had not been substituted for rice bowls, and there had been only three mouths to feed instead of six. Still, whenever the division was on base, Tenryuu insisted that they shared a family dinner whenever they had a chance. Which typically translated into two to four times per week, depending on the situation.

The sudden doubling of the size of the family had turned an affair that typically had already been rather lively into a barely controlled chaos. One that Tenryuu typically ushered with a huge grin on her face.

On this particular evening, however, while the general chaos was still there with Ikazuchi and Tatsuta verbally sparring, as well as Akatsuki attempting to combine proper dinner etiquette with wolfing down her food, Tenryuu was quiet and glum. And pretty bad at trying to hide it.

When the cruiser let out a fifth worried sigh in that many minutes Inazuma and Hibiki shared a long glance. Eventually the white-haired destroyer gave her sister a tiny nod, which Inazuma then returned.

“Mom?” Inazuma started, causing Tenryuu to blink and look up from where she had been staring at nothing.

“Huh?” the cruiser intelligently replied.

“What’s wrong, mom? Is something the matter?” Inazuma continued, causing Tenryuu to let out another long sigh and a tired smile.

“What makes you think there’s anything wrong, kid?” Tenryuu tried to grin, only causing Inazuma to give her an adorable little pout.

“Mom!”

For a few moments, Tenryuu looked at her daughter. Then, when she realized that everyone else on the table was now also staring at her, she grimaced and scratched the back of her head. “Okay, I guess it’s serious time now.”

“Serious time?” Akatsuki asked.

Tenryuu nodded. “Serious time.”

“Have we been given new orders, mother?” Hibiki added.

Tenryuu let out a mirthless chuckle and shook her head. “Nothing like that, kids.” Tenryuu then straightened up, and the look on her face turned solemn. “This is family serious time now, okay?”

The announcement caused the rest of the division to quickly turn sober. Tatsuta put down her chopsticks, and the almost constant teasing look on her face was replaced with a neutral expression. Similarly, the four destroyer sisters put down their utensils and focused on their mother.

“You’ve all probably heard about Nagato’s new son by now, right?” Tenryuu started.

“Do you mean Harry?” Akatsuki asked.

“He seemed nice,” Inazuma immediately added.

“A bit too shy, though,” Ikazuchi piped up at the same time.

“Soft,” Hibiki almost whispered.

The barest hint of a grin flashed on the corner of Tenryuu’s mouth, as she nodded at the rest of her division. “So you’ve met him, good.”

The cruiser then stopped long enough to look in the eye of every other ship in the room. “I talked with Nagato about him a bit, today. And I have new orders for you, regarding Harry.”

Hibiki tilted her head. “I thought we didn’t have new orders?”

Tenryuu frowned. “This isn’t me order you as your commander, Hibiki-chan. This is me ordering you as your mom, okay?”

For a few moments, the white-hairder destroyer looked back at her mother, before giving a tiny nod.

“Girls, I need you to do the same for Harry what Ami and Aki did for Akatsuki and Hibiki. Harry doesn’t know what it’s like to be a child, so you need to show him how.”

Inazuma and Ikazuchi shared a glance, before they nodded in unison.

“Sure thing, mom!” Ikazuchi piped up.

“Um, sure!” Inazuma added in a more timid tone.

Tenryuu then focused on the two remaining destroyers. “Akatsuki-chan, Hibiki-chan, I know you two still have a lot to learn yourself, but I want you to do your part here, too. Try to remember what it was like for you to learn how to be a kid, and help Inazuma and Ikazuchi to teach that to Harry.”

The two ships nodded, before Akatsuki piped up. “Of course we’ll help, mother. But why? Harry’s a boy, so he can’t be a ship girl.” For a few moments the dark-haired destroyer hesitated before continuing, “can he?”

Tenryuu shook her head. “No, Harry’s just a normal boy. But his life so far...”

The cruiser fell silent, and for a few moments stared at the ceiling before continuing. “Girls, I fear that Harry’s had really bad and wrong experiences on what it means to be a kid. So this is probably going to be a lot more difficult than teaching Akatsuki and Hibiki.”

Tenryuu gave her two summoned daughters a melancholic smile. “You two used to be ships, so you didn’t really have any idea what it means to be a child, right?”

Hesitantly, the two girls nodded.

“Yeah, so Harry, he’s been... He’s been treated really badly for a long time. So it's not just that he doesn't know what it’s like to be a kid. He’s got all these wrong notions about what he’s supposed to do and probably is afraid of doing a lot of normal kid stuff. So, umm...”

Again, Tenryuu grew quiet and stared at the rest of her family.

“So we should try and be his friends. But gently?” Inazuma guessed, causing Tenryuu to give her a grateful smile and a huge nod.

“Gods, you’re such a bright and wonderful girl, Ami!” Tenryuu burst out, before quickly blushing, coughing, and then continuing on a more serious voice, “as are all of you girls. Anyway, Harry’s bound to be frightened. So try to encourage him, and show him it’s okay to have fun and play. But if he’s too shy or hesitates, don’t get annoyed or angry. The kid’s bound to be scared, okay?”

All four of the sisters nodded solemnly, and Tenryuu burst into a huge grin. “You girls are the best!” she practically shouted, before turning back to serious and piercing Tatsuta with a glare. “And you sis. Absolutely no teasing the kid, or I’ll deliver your pieces to Nagato personally, got that?”

“Maa~, Tenryuu-chan, I wouldn’t dream about it~!” the younger cruiser replied.

“Tatsuta, I’m serious now. This is the serious face. No. Teasing.”

For a few moments the two sister stared each other in the eye. Finally Tatsuta gave a minuscule nod. “Roger that.”

 

Harry Leferts

Walking along the path towards the shrine, Harry stopped and paused as he heard sniffling nearby that sounded rather familiar. Slowly, he walked down one of the side paths of the slowly rewilding part of the base and pushed past some bushes to see Shinano on a pile of rubble with her knees drawn up against her body as she sniffled. "Miss Shinano?"

The Carrier jumped a bit, causing the bricks under her to break some when she landed from her weight before she whipped her head around and saw Harry. Rapidly wiping at her eyes, she gulped. "U-uh, Harry-Chan? Wh-what are you doing here?"

Now frowning, Harry walked over and came to a stop near her. "Oh, I was just going to the shrine when I... heard crying." Seeing the Carrier hang her head, Harry reached out and placed his hand on one of her legs. "Is something wrong, Miss Shinano?"

If anything, Shinano folded up into herself even more as if she could just vanish as she whispered a bit. "I messed up again..." Seeing the questioning expression on Harry's face, she whimpered again. "White-Sensei was trying to teach my pilots how to land on me and none of them could. I even failed at the sub hunting lesson..."

Scratching his head, Harry tried to think of something before he sat down. "Huh, but I thought that White was saying that you were improving?"

All Shinano did was shake her head. "Not really, Harry-Chan, my pilots just barely missed my flight deck." She then glared down at her chest. "Not that I have a proper one for a Carrier... I wish that I was more like Ryuujou-Sempai... She's a proper Carrier and... I'm not." Another sniffle escaped her before she brought her fist down on a piece of concrete, shattering it into dust. "I-I'm such a mess up...."

Harry tilted his head and frowned a bit. "No you're not."

With her hair whipping around from how fast she was shaking her head, Shinano blinked away her tears. "Yes I am, m-my crew is barely trained, my pilots can't really fight, and all I do is eat food that should be going to better people then me..."

Unseen by her, Harry's expression turned bullish as she was pressing certain buttons inside him. Reaching up, he grabbed her arm and held it surprising her and making her look at her. "No you're not! You're really big and awesome and strong and, and... really cool and pretty!."

Shinano blushed a bit at the compliment and glanced away as she bit her lip. "Th-thanks... but you're just saying that to make me feel better..."

What she had not expected though was for Harry to shake his head and his expression to fall. "No I'm not! You really are and..." His expression fell a bit and he sniffed a bit. "You can help out mum and all the others and all I do is sit at home."

Eyes wide, Shinano stared at him for a moment. "But... you help out a lot! I've seen you cooking and stuff."

Now sitting beside her, Harry adopted a posture like her. "Yeah... but that's not that big of a deal, you can protect mum and I can't." Looking at a bush, Harry stared at something only he could see as he bit his lip at the thoughts rolled around in his head, Shinano having reminded him of some things. However, thanks to Nagato and some of the others, he was able to finally speak up about his thoughts. "Sometimes I wonder why Mum keeps me around, you know? I can't really do anything to help out and... maybe Aunt Petunia was right and I'm just a useless freak. She said that my Mum, my birth Mum, was also a useless freak who got herself killed and I should have died with her..."

Mouth working for a moment, Shinano just stared at him. "Wh-what... that's wrong, Harry!"

Just shrugging, Harry leaned against her. "Mum tells me that, but..."

Biting her lip, Shinano now found the tables turned and before Harry knew it, she pulled him into a hug. "We-well... when you're older, maybe you can become an officer, you're really smart and kind and all sorts of things. Then you can command some shipgirls! I think that you would be good at it."

Looking up at her in surprise, Harry blinked, "You really think so?"

Rapidly nodding, Shinano gave him a slight smile. "Ye-yeah, then you would be way more useful then..."

Seeing her trail off, Harry frowned and then reached up as high as he could and poked her in the head. "You'd still be better then me! You'd be out there and helping people and protecting them!" Then his face lit up. "I know! You can be in my fleet!"

Eyes wide, Shinano looked down at the small child in her arms. "You'd want me in your fleet?"

Now nodding, Harry grinned up at her. "Yeah! You'd be so awesome, we'd kick so much Abyssal stern together!"

The youngest Yamato sister couldn't help herself, she began giggling. "Don't let your Kaa-san hear you say that." Blushing, Harry looked around to make sure that Nagato wasn't around causing Shinano to giggle some more. "Um, but... you'd really want me?"

Much to her surprise, Harry raised his hand and held out one pinkie toward her. "Yup! Pinkie promise that if I become an officer, I'll have you as part of my fleet!"

After a few moments of staring, Shinano slowly reached down and wrapped her much larger pinkie around Harry's before she softly smiled with some redness in her cheeks. "I think that I would like that... if you would have me."

Both of them pumped their hands up and down before Harry's eyes widened and he scrambled off to Shinano's confusion before he grabbed his backpack and pulled out a wrapped object and handed it to Shinano. "Here! I made some double chocolate dutch muffins. Mum always says that they make her feel better."

Now blushing even more, Shinano took the offered one and unwrapped it before looking it over. Part of her was surprised at how the top glistened in the light from sugar embedded in it. With one look at Harry, she slowly bit down and hummed at the taste as Harry sat in her lap and took a bite out of his own muffin, the two of them just sitting there as they enjoyed the other's company.

 

Harry Leferts

Harry's eyes caught sight of the ceiling above him as his body went through the air. And then his flight came to an end as his back struck the mat, the breath driven from his lungs in a gasp which caused him to blink. But before he was able to scramble to his feet though, he felt a weight on his stomach and could see a closed fist hovering just inches from his nose. "Do you yield, Harry-Chan?"

Slowly, Harry blinked as he looked up into the smiling and barely winded face of Inazuma before the eight year old spoke through his exhausted pants. "I... Yield... Inazuma-Sensei."

The Destroyer just giggled from where she straddled him as Harry let his head fall back with a thump. "You did much better this time, Nanodesu." Seeing the look he was giving her from where he was greedily sucking in oxygen, she just shook her head and flicked him on the forehead. "I'm not kidding, you're doing really good!"

Just swallowing, Harry groaned a bit. "Yet I can't really land a hit on you."

Leaning back, Inazuma stretched a bit, still keeping Harry pinned beneath her. "I'm just really good at this, Harry-Chan. After all, I'm your sensei." After a few more moments, Inazuma got up and then reached down to help pull Harry to his feet. "Up you come, Harry-Chan."

With a slight unsteadiness, Harry groaned as he stumbled a bit. "How did you get so good? You're not much older then me!"

Inazuma just walked over to where there was some towels and tossed one to Harry who began to wipe at his face as she gained a thoughtful expression. "I think that it's because I'm a shipgirl. Before I awoke as one, I didn't know anything about fighting, Nanodesu. But afterwards..." Shrugging, she opened two bottles and gave one to Harry. "They decided to give us lessons and mom, Aki, and I, all of us quickly picked it up. Like... it was something from one of mangas that mom used to pretend not to be reading and said was really for Aki."

Tilting his head, Harry frowned a bit. "Huh? Why'd that happen?"

As she blushed some, Inazuma reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "They said something about how we had the experience and knowledge of our crews and since they went through the Academy and were taught there, we naturally knew what they did... we just needed to get used to it, like someone who was unable to practice for several months or years relearning or something." Giggling again, Inazuma grinned. "It was really funny the looks on some of the personnel once we really caught up at being tossed around."

For a few seconds, Harry imagined the sight of Inazuma tossing around men who were much bigger physically around like ragdolls before giggling himself. 'Okay... that would be hilarious.'

But suddenly he grimaced and let out a small hiss at a slight amount of pain in his side. However, before he could say anything, Inazuma was already there and gently examining his side with her fingers. "Hmm... it doesn't seem like anything is broken... does this hurt?"

Her finger softly pressed down and Harry shook his head a bit. "Not really."

Eyes narrowing, Inazuma continued to gently press in various spots and watch his reactions before she was finally accepting that he wasn't hurt badly. "Well, I don't think that it's a sprain either, you might have fallen a bit odd though... so I think that we should end the lesson here."

Frowning, Harry just looked up at her a bit. "But the pain's already gone."

The Destroyer just raised an eyebrow before she shook her head. "Maybe, but I don't want you getting hurt." She then pointed at the clock. "Besides, we've been at this for a while now and it's almost dinner." Upon seeing the clock, Harry's eyes widened and he nodded before Inazuma nodded. "Right, time for cool down exercises, Nanodesu."

Several minutes later as the two of them began to do partner stretches, Harry looked over at Inazuma. "Um, Inazuma-Sensei... do you really think that I'm doing good?"

Glancing over at him, Inazuma nodded with a smile. "Yup! Won't be long before it's time for you to move up a rank." Humming, she looked up at the ceiling. "By the way... I forgot, is it tomorrow or the day after that Hibiki-Chan's going to be doing her lesson?"

Harry frowned a bit before he shook his head. "Day after actually."

Just nodding, Inazuma made a note in her internal logbook to tell Hibiki about how Harry had some pain so that she would know before she started her lesson on Russian boxing.

 

Harry Leferts

Hearing the door open in the small room, Harry turned and gave a smile. "Guten Abend, Miss Eugen!"

The Heavy Cruiser chuckled as she entered, not noticing Harry's eyes widen. "Guten Abend, Harry. Are you ready for another lesson in German tonight?" Not getting a response, she blinked a little. "Harry?"

With the realization that he was staring, Harry jumped a bit and blushed. "S-sorry, Miss Eugen. Um, I'm ready for our lesson tonight."

Just raising an eyebrow, Eugen sat down at the seat she normally did at and just raised an eyebrow at Harry before she softly smiled. "Something wrong, Harry?" At the shake of his head, she just raised her eyebrow a fraction of an inch. "Harry, what is one of the rules for our lessons?"

Looking down, Harry shuffled a little. "Don't be afraid to ask questions?" Seeing her nod, he bit his lip a bit and then pointed at her shoulder. "Um... what's that on your shoulder?"

As she blinked, Eugen turned her head and was met with a feline head... if the feline was covered in scales instead of fur. A long, forked tongue slipped out of the creature's mouth, also revealing it's long, sharp teeth while the rest of it's body was just as odd. The front part was distinctly like that of a monitor lizard, complete with large, flesh ripping claws that nonetheless did no damage to Prinz Eugen's clothing or skin even as they gripped. However, the rest of the nearly five foot long body was like a snake's. "Oh, that's right... you haven't met Matilda before since we've been doing the lessons over webcam while I was back in Germany."

That caused Harry to blink at her in confusion. "Matilda?"

Humming, Eugen reached up and gently stroked the bottom jaw of the strange reptilian creature which caused it to close it's eyes in what looked like pleasure. "Mmm, that's what I named her. I found her on a trip to the Alps on one of my periods of leave, hurt and no one seemed to know what she was..." A frown crossed Eugen's face before she shook it off. "Though some dummkopfs showed up and tried to take her away from the vet and myself for 'Disposal'... something that I disagreed with, strenuously." She then shrugged. "As to what she is? I think that she's a tatzelwurm personally."

Interested, Harry just watched as the eyes of the creature watched him right back. "Tatzelwurm?"

While smiling, Eugen nodded. "That's right... it's a creature from legend that's what Matilda looks like. Raised some eyebrows though when I decided to keep her as a pet while helping her recover, but she's such a loving little girl, aren't you, Matilda?"

Letting out a loud hiss that almost sounded like a word to Harry, the tatzelwurm opened it's mouth wide and then closed it with a snap causing Harry's eyes to widen. "Wow..."

If anything, Eugen's smile widened even as the serpentine part of Matilda's body coiled around her. "They're even placing a description of her into one of the scientific magazines as she's a whole new species..." Suddenly, Eugen frowned a bit. "Though it was a bit troublesome to bring her to Japan, after the last time I wasn't going to leave her back home. None of the others were happy that a group tried to sneak onto the base to snatch her from my dormitory."

Jaw dropping, Harry just stared at her. "Why would someone do that!?"

For a moment, Eugen paused as she considered her answer before shrugging as she decided not to tell him the full truth. "Perhaps they were thieves or poachers wanting her because she's unique and a rare animals." Clearing her throat before pouring herself from some coffee that was in a carafe that was for her, Eugen gestured at the book. "How about after the lesson I tell you more about her, hmm? Maybe I'll even let you hold her?"

Eyes wide, Harry glanced at Matilda and gulped in excitement. "Really?"

Once more giggling, Eugen nodded. "Really. Now, if you would turn to page one hundred in your book and open the notebook you have, we'll begin..."

 

Harry Leferts

It was with shaking hands that the teacup was placed down, rattling against the small dish. Wanting to stop the shaking, the woman who sat on the couch clasped her hands though it didn't do much. "I... you mean to tell us that our daughter, our Hermione... is a shipgirl?"

Simply nodding, Warspite put down her own teacup and watched the shaken couple across from her. "The Dido--class Light Cruiser, HMS Hermione from the best that we can tell, yes." Her expression then softened some. "I came because I felt it best that you hear it directly from someone who cares and not from something such as a phone like some suggested."

Running his hand over his head, Hermione's father took a deep breath. "So... what happens now? You make her, what's it called? Wake up?"

There was a bitter tone in Hermione's mother's voice as she narrowed her eyes at Warspite. "And then throw her into the meatgrinder?"

Behind Warspite, the Royal Navy Officer that had accompanied her was about to comment when the Battleship held up one hand and silenced him. "While we are desperate for shipgirls, we are not so desperate as to throw a young girl such as young Hermione into the fight quite yet. After all, we are getting supplies from the Continent through that wonderful Chunnel and the fast ships between France and England, unlike it was during my last war. If you, and her, decide to let us awaken her, you have my word that she will not be thrown to the dogs of war. A word that carries much weight as I was promised by Her Majesty herself to be listened to when they asked for my return."

Now leaning forward, Mr. Granger frowned and watched the shipgirl across from him, his eyes drifting toward her cane for a moment before fixing them back onto her face. If Warspite had noticed, she didn't make any sign of it as she sipped from her tea. "That's a whole lot of words, but little on information."

Smiling, Warspite nodded at that. "Quite." Focusing her attention fully on the couple, she cleared her throat. "If Hermione is awakened, we'll have the other Cruisers teach her what they can about being a shipgirl. Think of it as... going to a school in a sense, or a vessel's shakedown cruiser. At no time will she enter the fight until it's felt that she is ready to do so. And even then, we'll ease her into the fight."

That caused Mr. Granger to raise an eyebrow. "Ease her into the fight, hmm?"

Just humming, Warspite nibbled a bit at a treat. "Quite." Placing her cup back down, with it being refilled, Warspite folded her hands into her lap. "Indeed. She would likely be placed within the Irish Sea for patrols seeing as it's mostly Abyssal free and what Abyssals there are that show up are generally minor and weak, easily taken care of by a Cruiser. And what ones that might not? We do have the Iron Dukes, the Revenges, and several Pre-Dreadnoughts in the sea which would help in any such situation."

Behind her, the Royal Navy Officer nodded. "Not to mention that the coastlines are bristling with coastal guns and artillery as well as air cover that she can escape under with ease."

Chuckling, Mrs. Granger shook her head a little. "Our little Hermione... a shipgirl." She then looked toward her husband and gave him a slightly brittle smile. "I suppose that we always knew that she was special, we just didn't know how special... what with all the odd things that have happened around her."

Warspite looked up interested at that. "Odd things, you say?"

Shrugging, Mr. Granger sighed. "Nothing too odd. Her damaged books being repaired and such..."

His wife then looked over and shook her head. "Remember that time that she told us that when some children had cornered her, she lit on fire that didn't harm her?"

Even as Mr. Granger nodded, and the Royal Navy Officer looked on in confusion, Warspite had an odd look in her face. 'I wonder...' Shaking it off, she smiled a bit. "Rather interesting."

Clearing his throat, Hermione's father frowned. "If she was to go through with this... what about her schooling?"

The Officer glanced at Warspite who just sipped at her tea before frowning. "We will, of course, not only pay for full schooling, but also provide the best teachers possible for her to continue her education. Not just that, but we will provide her with all the benefits that come from serving in Her Majesty's Armed Forces and helping our country. That does include pay, of course."

Hands in her lap, Mrs. Granger nodded. "Of course... and if she doesn't? Is there a possibility that she might... awaken on her own?"

Sighing, Warspite nodded as she gave the parents a serious expression. "It has been shown to be possible, yes. In which case, the most likely event would be an Abyssal attack that she gets caught in. Something that would be quite dangerous and for a little while afterwards, she might harm someone accidentally. There was one case in which the newly awakened shipgirl broke someone's arm when she gripped it."

Reaching over and grasping his wife's hand, Mr. Granger took a deep breath. "Is it okay if we take some time before coming to a decision? And so that we can tell our daughter so she can have her own imput?"

With a slow nod and a soft smile, Warspite nodded. "Of course, in fact we suggest it as this is a rather big decision. I would say to take as much time as you wish to come to a decision, we are in no rush."

It was with a thankful look that both adult Grangers nodded and thanked her.

 

Harry Leferts

Frowning, Harry just kicked his legs back and forth beneath the bridge he sat on as Natsumi threw some food into the water for the fish. With a roll of her eyes, the girl looked over at him. "Okay, so... Shinano-San is always sad?"

Just nodding, Harry watched as the koi came up to the surface and grabbed some of the food before diving and being replaced by others. "Yeah, I mean... I feel really bad for her and she's really sad all the time. It kind of makes me think of..." Pausing, Harry soon shook it off. "Never mind, I just want to see her happy like the others."

Softly humming, Natsumi frowned. "Yeah... she does carry an air of depression, doesn't she?" Placing the bag next to her, she joined Harry in watching the koi below. "Don't know why though, she's pretty cool honestly."

Both youngsters mirrored each other's poses as they sat there with their arms hanging over the lower railings. Several moments of quiet passed before Harry looked over at Natsumi only to find golden eyes meeting his emerald ones. "Any ideas how to make her happy?"

Leaning against the railing, Natsumi considered the question before she tilted her head back and forth. "Huh... that's tough." Scratching her head, she had the oddest expression on her head. "Maybe find her something to do that will make her feel good? Something that she can be proud of?"

Thoughtful, Harry rolled that around in his head before he grimaced. "I can't really think of anything... I mean, she's pretty good at Carrier stuff, but still thinks that she's not good enough."

Now scowling, Natsumi growled which caused Harry to blink at her. "This is really hard..." Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "What is that you like to do that gets you compliments?"

His head tilted to the side, Harry thought it over before shrugging. "Um... I like cooking and gardening... I'm always getting compliments for that kind of stuff, especially from mum and the others, why?"

Rolling her eyes, Natsumi banged her head on the railing before she turned and gave him a look. "Really, Harry-Chan? I mean, you really don't see it?" At his blink, she reached over and flicked him in the ear. "Why not have teach her something about gardening or cooking so that she can feel good? I mean, you got to know something that would make her smile with that, right?"

Slowly, Harry's eyes widened as he considered this before he grinned and jumped up. "That's a great idea, Natsumi-Chan!" He then reached over and hugged her tightly and caused redness to bloom on Natsumi's cheeks before she hugged him back. "Thanks!"

Blushing pretty heavily, Natsumi coughed a bit. "You're welcome... but you can thank me by giving me some cooking lessons as well, okay?"

With a grin still on his face, Harry pulled back and nodded. "Cool! I can't wait..." Then he frowned and looked up to check the time as Nagato and the others had taught him. He still thought that it was cool how he could now tell what time it was by the position of the sun. "I better go, mum wants me back early tonight and I need to check on what we can make..."

As she shook her head, Natsumi gave him a shove. "Go on then, and tell me how it goes, okay?"

Giving her a final nod and goodbye, Harry took off for home and for several minutes there was silence before Natsumi sighed. Moments later though, she stiffened at the sound of giggles and turned to see her Aunt there with a sly grin on her face. "Maa... What a sly thing you just pulled there, Natsumi-Chan. Not only helping out Harry with his problem and giving some help to Shinano-San, but also setting yourself up as well. I am quite impressed there."

Face red, Natsumi turned and scoffed as she leaned against the railing. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Oba-Chan."

However, the response was not the one she was looking for as Haru just giggled more. "Oh, I think that you know what I'm talking about." She then hugged Natsumi a bit. "I am proud of you though." Pleased, Natsumi was about to comment when Haru continued. "Though I bet that you wished that Harry-Chan had given you something a bit more then a hug, such as a kiss to the cheek, hmm?"

Sputtering, Natsumi glared at her aunt. "OBA-CHAN!" Once more, she huffed and turned away as she muttered under her breath. "Way to ruin the moment."

The only answer she got was yet more laughter.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Unsure, Shinano looked down at the apron in her hands and then down at Harry. "Um... are you sure about this?"

Nodding, Harry gently took the apron and smiled up at her. "Yup!" He then reached up. "Can you bend down, please?"

If anything, that caused Shinano to blush as she did as asked and felt Harry put the top string of the apron over her head so it came to rest on her neck. Then she turned as he asked and felt him reach up to tight it up on her back. "So... what are we making then, Harry-Sensei?"

That caused Harry to look up at her in confusion. "Sensei?"

Playing a bit with her fingers, Shinano nodded. "Well, you are teaching me, right?"

For a moment, Harry stared at her before he shrugged. "Right." He then pulled her over to the sink. "Anyways, the first thing that we need to do is wash our hands so that they're nice and clean! That's very important while cooking."

Shinano nodded as inside her bridge, she had one of her fairies quickly write what Harry was instructing her on in her logbook. She was not going to mess this up. "What are we making by the way?"

Looking over from where he was drying his hands, Harry gave her a grin. "Pancakes!" Not seeing the bemused expression on Shinano's face, he gestured at the kettles on the stove that had begun to whistle. "Er, can you pour each of those into separate bowls, Shinano?"

Simply nodding, Shinano reached over and did as he asked and began to pour them into the bowls, which she noted had their tops by them. Now curious, she frowned a bit. "Why do we need boiling water in bowls? I'm... not sure that this is how you make pancakes...?"

Just humming, Harry passed her over a bag that she blinked at as it was filled with dried out little reddish berries. "Well... kind of? We need to rehydrate the berries and fruits that we're going to be adding to the pancakes so that they go better. Just pour the bags into separate bowls and place the tops on so that they should be done by the time that we're ready to add them to the batter."

With a smile on her face, Shinano began to add the berries and such to the boiling water as instructed before sealing the bowls. Several minutes later though, her smile was instead replaced by winces as she looked down into the bowl of dry ingredients at the egg white and yolk... which also had bits of egg shell floating around in it. "S-sorry..."

Harry just looked up at her and patted her on the arm. "It's okay, we can just pick the shell out, its not that hard." Reaching in, Harry began to do exactly that. "You're just really strong and everything."

Despite that, Shinano just hung her head a little. 'Yeah... because I'm a screwup...'

Suddenly, she blinked as she felt two much smaller hands grip her own and looked up to see Harry giving her a glare. "You're not a screwup! You're really cool and it's brave that you're trying something different."

However, Shinano just shrugged in answer, though a moment later she blinked as Harry ducked under her arms until he was between them before he took both her hands into his own. "Harry-Sensei?"

Looking up, Harry gave her his best serious expression before he nodded. "I'm going to help you, now... let's grab an egg." Guiding her hands, he used them to grab an egg and then held it over the bowl, the much larger shipgirl allowing him to do so even as her face felt on fire. The slight smile on her face though would have told anyone watching though that she was enjoying it. Together, the two cracked the eggs that were needed, this time with no pieces of eggshell getting into the mix. With a smile on his face, Harry looked up at Shinano before pulling his hands away from her for the last two eggs and then nodding. "Now you try."

Eyes wide for a moment, Shinano nodded as she took the egg in her hands before cracking it perfectly. "Did it!"

Once everything was done, including whisking the batter (something that Shinano enjoyed) as they added the berries to some of the bowls, Harry nodded. "Now to put them onto the pans..." Stopping, Harry looked up to Shinano who was watching him with a frown. "Do you want normal pancakes, or silver dollar pancakes?"

Blinking, Shinano tilted her head a bit, even as she ignored the grumble in her belly. "Silver dollar?"

Just nodding, Harry gestured at the bowls of pancake batter they had made. "Well... silver dollar pancakes are really small, like bite sized. But we can make a lot of them and you can snack on them all day!"

There was a slight frown on Shinano's face as she slowly nodded. "Um... can we try with the silver dollar?" She didn't add the rest of her thoughts. 'They might be harder to mess up...'

Almost as if he knew what she was thinking, Harry gave her a look before he nodded with a smile. "Sure!" Once more taking her hands in his, he guided her through the pouring of the batter onto one of the pans where it hissed. Harry waited until the top began to bubble and nodded. "See that? It means that it's ready to flip."

Handing her a spatula, he helped her flip the ones they had before leaving her to flip them again when they were ready. When Harry glanced over at her, he had to smother some laughter at how she was focusing with the tip of her tongue poking out the side of her lips. That, of course, caused Shinano to blink and look over at where Harry was flipping some pancakes himself. "What's so funny?"

Shaking his head with a grin, Harry blushed some. "Sorry, Shinano-chan... you looked really into it.'

Feeling herself blush some, Shinano was about to say something when her stomach let out a loud grumble that she swore probably was heard across the base as her usual hunger was not helped by the smell of the pancakes. "S-sorry..." Ashamed, she glared down at her stomach. 'Once more you ruin something...'

With a frown on his face, Harry put his finished pancakes on a plate before walking over to her side and grabbing two of the silver dollar pancakes she had made. They were slightly blackened around the edges, but Harry took one and ate it before smiling and holding the other up. "They're really good, here, try it. I think that this one is blueberry."

Eyebrows furrowed, Shinano leaned down only to blink as Harry brought the silver dollar close to her mouth. Needless to say, the converted Carrier felt like her face was on fire, but she still took it into her mouth and slowly chewed before stopping in shock. "It is good..."

However, seeing the look of pride on Harry's face as she continued to chew, Shinano was forced to revise her opinion. Especially when she looked back onto the lesson that Harry had given her. They weren't good....

They were perfect.

 

Harry Leferts

Eyes narrowed, Harry moved the controller in his hands around as beside him, Iku had a massive grin on her face. "I'm going to beat you!"

His eyes narrowing even further as the two cars on the screen continued to race, Harry snorted. "No you're not!"

If anything though, Iku grinned even more before sharing a wink with Hachi in whose lap the eight year old was sitting in, and who shared a similar grin to her fellow submarine. "Oh, I'm going to beat you so bad, Harry-Chan, you won't know what hit you!"

Growling, Harry felt his eyebrows twitch. "No, you're not!"

Now laughing as her car began to catch up with Harry's, Iku shook her head as she glanced at Harry. "Oh? And what are you going to do to stop me now?"

Suddenly though, Harry looked at her with a grin. "This." Then he turned back to the screen and before Iku could do anything, he slammed his car into hers in just the right manner to send it into a spin and a stall. For a moment, Iku stared at him with a shocked look before she hurried to get back into the race. Sadly for her though, Harry managed to win well before she crossed the finish line and gave her a victory gesture that Naka had taught him. "I win!"

Iku just looked at the screen before she turned to him with narrowed eyes. "You cheated."

With the grin on his face, Harry stuck out his tongue a bit. "As Naka-Nee says, all's fair in love, war, and gaming!"

A moment later though, the young boy felt a shiver go up his back as Iku gained a deranged grin on her face and brought her hands up in a claw shape. "Oh, you may have won at racing, but can you win... at tickle wrestling?"

Scrambling off a now madly snickering Hachi's lap, Harry looked at the submarine with a slightly frightened expression. "Iku-Chan, no!"

However, all Iku did was cackle as she got up and began to stalk over toward him. "Iku-Chan, yes!"

It went without saying that Harry quickly got to his feet and began to run as the cackling Iku chased him all around the sub's rec room. Unable to hold it in, Hachi just laid back as she began to laugh as Harry scrambled under and around various things as did Iku in her chase. And then RO-500 entered with a confused expression at the sounds she was hearing. "What's going on here-Harry-Chan?"

Blinking, she looked down as said person dove between her legs and continued running as she turned. Then she heard Iku and the two of them only had seconds to widen their eyes before they collided. Wincing as he looked back, Harry stopped and then began to laugh as the two girls were trying to untangle themselves. "Oh wow! You should be watching where you're going, Iku-Chan."

Where she sat on a beanbag chair, Hachi just howled in laughter as tears prickled at her eyes. "Oh my freaking... That was amazing!" Seeing that Harry was giving her a grin, Hachi then noticed something and pointed through her laughs. "You... better... run... Harry... chan..."

Not sure what he meant, Harry tilted his head and was about to ask before he heard two growls and turned to see that both RO and Iku were now back on their feet and looking at him with grins. "Oh, bugger..."

And so the chase resumed, except this time it was both Iku and RO were after Harry. The whole time, Hachi just continued laughing as she watched from her spot. Even as she did that though, Hachi couldn't help but feel a warmness deep in her engine room toward the green eyed boy. Usually, the subgirls were left to their own devices and, while not ignored exactly, were not given the attention that other shipgirls were. And that usually resulted in them acting out for any attention they could get.

Which was why they always looked forward to visits from Harry as he never ignored them and always gave them the attention that they wanted. Visits which resulted in laughter echoing throughout the pens like now and a break in their normal monotony. In return, they didn't act lewd around him in an effort not to scare him off or to make Nagato stop the visits. Unknown to them though, with the marked improvement of their behavior, there was no danger of that any time soon.

Suddenly, a shrieking laugh could be heard as Iku had maneuvered Harry toward RO, who caught him. Now the German submarine was holding Harry down as Iku sat on his legs, keeping them pinned as both of them grinned and Iku wiggled her fingers. "Are you ready for your punishment?"

No longer squirming as it didn't work, Harry just shook his head, even though there was a hint of a smile on his face. "No... I promise that I won't do that again, Iku-Chan!"

All Iku did was share a look with RO as she sighed and shook her head in mock sadness, the tanned shipgirl giggling. "I'm sorry, Harry. But you did the crime, now time to face the punishment."

Eyes widening as Iku brought her hands forward, Harry squirmed even more. "Noooo!" Moments later though, he started laughing and squealing as Iku tickled him. "GAHAHAHA!"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Several minutes later, Shioi poked her head in to see a gasping, red faced Harry laying on the floor where he was still pinned by both Iku and RO. "... Should I even ask?"

Huffing a bit, Iku tried to hide the grin on her face. "Harry-Chan was being very mean to me and cheated at the game that we were playing, so... we taught him a lesson."

If anything, that only caused Shioi to raise an eyebrow at her before she glanced over at Hachi who was flicking some tears from her eyes, snickers still escaping from her lips. "Oookay then..." Shaking it off, she jerked her thumb toward where they all knew that land entrance to the sub pens were. "Anyways, I thought that I should let you know that it's pouring out as the typhoon's close."

That caused Harry to widen as he stared at her. "B-but the weathermen said that it wasn't until later that it would start!"

Rolling their eyes simultaneously, all the subs said the same thing at the same time. "The weatherman was wrong, what a surprise."

Once more squirming, Harry managed to get out from where the two subgirls were holding him as he ran for the door. "I got to get home."

Before he could reach it though, Shioi caught him in one arm and pulled him back. "Whoa there, you're not going anywhere with how the weather is out there, Harry-Chan. You'd get soaked in minutes and the Battleship Dorms are at least twenty minutes. And with the wind picking up, it's not safe out there." Seeing the expression on his face, hers softened some and she brought one hand up and stroked his hair while trying to fight back a blush. "I was passing the Battleship Dorms and Nagato-San already knows. In fact, she gave me your pajamas and asked that we keep you safe and dry for the night."

Looking between the now happy subgirls, Harry blinked as he turned back to Shioi. "Wait, we're having a sleepover?"

With a giggle, Shioi nodded some. "That's right, we'll be having another sleepover. Before we do that though, we need to make sure that the entrance is secured before the storm surge hits, want to help?"

Needless to say that the submarines all giggled as Harry nodded rapidly. "Sure!"

Grasping his hand, Shioi walked toward the underwater entrance with Harry in tow. "Well then, let's head over and do exactly that..."

After he was out of sight, RO leapt a bit. "Harry-Chan's going to be staying with us for a little bit! I'll go get the snack!"

Still bouncing on her feet, RO rapidly left for the small kitchenette that was in the Sub-Pen. At the same time, Iku looked toward Hachi who had a grin on her face. "You see pretty excited..."

Hachi just snorted a bit as she looked over at Iku and shook her head. "Why wouldn't I be? Harry-Chan's going to be spending more time with us. And don't dare tell me that you're not happy with this turn of events either, Iku."

Just shrugging, Iku leaned back on her elbows. "Nope, I'm not going to lie about that." Sharing a look, both of them grinned before Hachi walked over to where they stored various games and movies before pulling out more game controllers. "Now then... what should we play..."

 

Harry Leferts

Making her way across the base at a sedate pace, Nagato just stretched in the light rain that was coming down. As the typhoon had finished just a few hours earlier it came as no surprise that she had seen people already out in about examining for any damage or picking up any debris. Looking off to the side, she gave a wave to Inazuma who was gently moving a tree back upright. The fact that the tree itself was bigger around then Inazuma herself barely registered to the Battleship.

If it had been a few years before, most of the shipgirls around then would have been surprised that her destination was not the Admiral's office. Rather, her destination was none other then the bunker-like building in front of her. But then, the years had changed her as she grew into motherhood with an ease that still surprised the Battleship from time to time. Not that Nagato ever had much issue with it. Once she reached the door though, Nagato shook herself free of her thoughts and rapped her knuckles against it gently.

Nagato did still feel embarrassed whenever she was reminded of her fist few days back after being summoned. As it turned out, she had to learn how to knock properly... How was she supposed to know that she was that strong or steel doors were that fragile?

After waiting a few moments, she brought out her access pass and swiped the pad next to the door. The light on it turning from red to green, there was a click before Nagato opened the door and walked inside. As she walked through the dock though, she heard banging and turned to see that the shutters for the entrance from the docks to the harbour shudder under another wave. Just about to leave, Nagato suddenly stopped as she noticed a calendar on the wall and walked closer.

With a blink, a frown grew on Nagato's face before a light blush dusted her cheeks. Mainly because the current picture for the calendar was what she recognized as a nuclear submarine. One of those giant Russian ones she had heard of. Unable to help herself, the Battleship shook her head as she began to mutter. "By the kami, now I know what Iowa meant by 'built like a brick shithouse'... And that's a sub?"

Shaking it off and tearing her eyes away, Nagato still couldn't help but glance back every once in a while. Though she was thankful that Harry didn't understand the problem with calendars with pictures of ships, not shipgirls but hulls. She still shuddered at the memory of the calendar of fire fighting ships that Salt Lake City had sent her. Though, from what she had been told, Salt Lake had sent Eugen one of large, ocean going tug boats...

Quickly fanning herself, and shoving that thought elsewhere to revisit, Nagato made her way across the docks. Soon entering the living area, Nagato came across a sight that caused her to softly smile. Mainly it being that of a cuddle pile of the submarines with Harry in the middle. Even though a part of her just wanted to coo, she just walked over to the kettle and turned it on. "Anything you want in particular?" At the silence, she turned and raised an eyebrow. "I know that you're awake."

RO's eye was the first one to open followed by the other submarines. "How'd you know?"

Lips twitching, Nagato just hummed. "Just a feeling."

Yawning as she slowly sat up, Iku stretched in a way that got her an eyeroll. "Mmm... Coffee for me, though I think that we got coco for Harry."

The other subs just nodded as they slowly disentangled themselves from the pile so they wouldn't wake up Harry. Watching this, Nagato just shook her head at the gentleness the subgirls all showed. "So, how was he last night?"

With a hum, Shioi reached back and there was a pop before she sighed. "Harry-Chan was awesome as always."

Hachi then gave Nagato a bow that caused the Battleship to raise an eyebrow. "Thank you for letting him come over and entrusting us with him staying here for the night."

Waving her off, Nagato shook her head. "Please, don't mention it. Harry truly enjoys spending time with you all and you've shown that you're trustworthy." For a moment, there was an odd look on Nagato's face, almost considering, but then it vanished. "I'm just thankful that you allowed him to stay over."

With a blink, Iku pulled her head out of the refrigerator with a muffin in her mouth. Then she swallowed it and stared at Nagato. "Like we said, we like having him here." At the look Nagato gave her though, Iku felt a blush on her cheeks that she knew was mirrored on the others. "What?"

All Nagato did though was hum. "What indeed..."

Before anything else could be said though, a yawn caught their attention and they all turned to see a sleepy Harry sit up on the futons set up on the floor. The shipgirls as a whole had to hold back giggles at how his hair was, if anything, even more messy then usual. With a sleepy smile, Harry looked around until he caught sight of Nagato and then his face lit up. "Mum!"

Throwing the blanket to the side, Harry got up and ran over to her. As he reached her though, Nagato bent over and, in one motion, picked him up before holding him on her hip. "I take it that someone had a good sleep then."

From where his face was buried in her shoulder, Harry just nodded. "Yeah, I always sleep well with Iku-Chan, Hachi-Chan, Yuu-Chan, Imuya-Chan, and Shioi-Chan..."

Extremely amused, Nagato watched as the subgirls all turned red and tried not to look at her. "I'm sure."

Her dry tone, if anything, only caused their blushes to get worse. Coughing, Imuya spoke up as she tried to change the subject, sure that her face was as red as her hair. "So, now that the storm's over, how about we get something to eat right quick to tide us over until breakfast." Clapping her hands, the submarine gave everyone a smile. "How does that sound now?"

Getting nods of agreement, Shioi walked over the cupboard of the small kitchenette and began to pull some items out of it as Nagato just sipped her coffee with a smirk on her face. 'I think that I'm beginning to understand why Mutsu likes teasing so much...'

 

Harry Leferts

Laying his head on the slightly rough grained table, a man in a cloak just groaned. Several moments later though, he heard a cheerful voice which was the last thing he wanted. "Wakey, wakey, Jakey."

Slowly, and with great solemnity, Jacob raised his hand and gave his friend the middle finger. "Fuck off, Elric. I'm not in any damned mood."

Taking a bite of his meal, the other wizard shrugged. "Yeah, and? Ooo! Was it because Boss Lady was running you up and down a rail?"

With a hiss, Jacob turned his head to stare at the other wizard and revealed his pissed off expression. "Oh, I got no reason for being in a bad mood I suppose... Especially not having my ass chewed up and spat out by a fire breathing dragon."

Just continuing to chew, Elric thought it over and then shrugged. "I thought that her being a dragon animagus was a myth." Once more, he was flipped the bird before he rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, what happened?"

Groaning, Jacob banged his head on the table. "Had a problem up on British Columbia." At the interested look and gesture, he continued as he sat up. "Seems that a recent battle separated a infant Caddy from its pod and it got stranded in a cove on Vancouver Island."

Simply blinking, Elric scratched his head. "Caddy?"

All his friend did was shrug. "That's what a muggle who found out about them called them. Name stuck... Anyways, think of them as being like sea serpents. But smaller and more like a seal."

Swallowing, Elric shook his head. "Okay, sounds like an easy job enough for an Obliviator. Or a team with how things are now."

The snort though caused him to raise an eyebrow as Jacob grimaced. "I wish. We just got there when we got word that there was a group of Akhlut in Northern BC that was attacking a town. So we had to make a choice and since Akhluts are far more dangerous and the Caddy wasn't going anywhere as far as we knew..."

Wincing as he guessed where this was going, Elric just nodded. "Ah."

Jacob facepalmed and shook his head. "Yeah. By the time we got back, it was four hours later and the Caddy was already gone... Turned out that some of the RCN shipgirls had swung by and transported it to the Vancouver Aquarium. And since there was a bunch of news cameras..."

Now it was Elric's turn to bang his head on the table. "Just... Fucking... Great... Can't those shipgirls just leave things well enough alone?" Stopping, he looked at Jacob with an exasperated expression on his face. "That explains why Felcia was so pissed off, so how are we going to cover this one up?"

Rubbing one hand down his face, the other wizard sighed. "We're not."

Food forgotten for the moment, Elric raised an finger. "Say what now?"

With a frown, Jacob leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "Too many people about know it now and, for some reason, Vancouver is a pretty bad place for Obliviating people. And since Caddy's don't really have visible magic besides what they use to stay under the water for so long... They're on the list."

That caused Elric to raise an eyebrow. "List? What list?"

Blinking, Jacob stared at him before pinching his nose. "Oh for... Okay, here's the thing, you're new and everything. Now, I don't know how they're handling the shit everyone is going through over in the UK, but here we got a list of creatures which could be 'Discovered' to exist by the muggles without too many problems. They're most things that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows or lead them to thinking that magic outside those damn Abyssals and shipgirls have exist. Follow me so far?"

Slowly, Elric nodded. "I think so..."

Exasperated, Jacob waved a finger around. "Okay, since you worked in Britain and left because of that toad woman you told me about making your job hell, did you ever cover up that hedgehog thing you guys got over there?"

Raising an eyebrow, the former British wizard frowned. "Knarls? Nah, they look just like hedgehogs and only thing magical about them is their quills, why?"

Snapping his fingers, Jacob nodded. "Exactly! See, Caddys are like that, and what magic they do have isn't obvious unless you know exactly where to look. So... they got put onto a list of creatures that Obliviators can place far down, like those knarl guys. They're like sea serpents really." He then shrugged. "Sure, we'll catch some flack from the other countries, but they got their own issues to look after. Besides, this just means one less thing that we need to worry about."

After some thought, Elric just nodded. "Okay, I think that I can see that..." For several moments, he continued with his meal before he looked at Jacob with a frown. "What about Sasquatch though? Are they on this list? And couldn't the Yanks help?"

That just caused Jacob to snort and shake his head in amusement. "Nah, they're obviously magical since they got an ability to make any photographs of them blur. As for the Yanks..." With a shrug, Jacob shook his head. "The ones on the West Coast are too damn busy tracking down a colony of tree living octopuses... octopi? Whatever, that someone released."

Banging his head onto the table, Elric muttered. "Why the fuck someone created those, I will never know... Or why they're popular pets."

 

Tiypo

I've finally manged to get this done, hooray for mediocre writing. There were a few days when I wasn't thinking straight and I think I caught all the points where my logic just broke down into random words strung together, but then again I'm still pretty tired right now. This is thanks to a doujin that I forgot I saved called Hibikiss which seems to have disappeared from all sites that aren't NSFW sometime in the last year, which is funny because it's completely tame beyond it featuring Hibiki half-drunkenly kissing other characters as the plot; if you want a laugh and are brave enough to hunt it down I very much recommend it.

Also, this isn't serious shipping, just an embarrassing moment for both Harry and Hibiki while they're still kids.

__________________________________________________________________

It had been a pretty fair Friday as far as Harry thought as he walked down the road towards the Tenryuu's on-base apartment. The weather was rather cool in the late winter but was offset by the suns rays, but with the warmth granting light close to sinking below the mountains to the west the temperature grew uncomfortable and Harry hurried along his way. It had become common for him to be watched by the mother of Destroyer Division 6 while his own finished the mountain of administrative paperwork that was assigned to her on a daily basis.

He was a little more than a block from the house when a long shadow crossed his path. A short ways away to his side, eclipsing the low sun, was a person he could roughly make out to be a destroyer. As she walked towards him Harry's eyes manged to adjust somewhat to the glare that backlit the ship girl, letting him identify the destroyer as Hibiki, though with a different cap than usual. Guessing her mind was preoccupied enough that she hadn't noticed him he stopped and motioned to get her attention.

"Evening, Hibiki-chan." He smiled and waved at his quiet friend.

Hibiki froze and blinked a couple times to focus on him before breaking out into a large smile that radiated joy, as if by simply coming across him she had accomplished some great goal.

"Harry~" she drawled in a tone uncharacteristically joyful for the white-haired destroyer.

She started to make her way to him now, an ever so slight wobble in her step, when Ikazuchi and Inazuma came barreling around a corner a few yards away. They looked haggard but moved with all the urgency of someone dealing with a major crisis before spotting Harry as the focus of Hibiki's attention and stumbling slightly, a look of abject horror appearing on both of the girls faces.

"Take Harry-chan and run! I'll stop her!" Ikazuchi yelled as she ran with everything she had to make it between Harry and Hibiki. Skidding to a stop in front of her older sister she spread her arms as wide as she could, as if to declare to the world she was now an impassable barrier.

"We gotta go!" Inazuma rushed forward, grabbed Harry's hand, and started running again.

"Whats going on? Is something wrong with Hibiki?!" Harry managed to get out as he glanced over his shoulder at the two sisters they had left behind. They appeared to have embraced each other and the two held the pose for about ten seconds before Ikazuchi collapsed bonelessly to the ground; Inazuma followed his gaze and then ran faster.

Several blocks and many turns later Harry stood gasping for air from the full sprint he had just performed as Inazuma peaked back around the corner they had just come around. Seemingly comforted that they had escaped pursuit for the moment she ducked back to face smaller boy.

"Sorry Harry-chan, Hibiki-chan is Verniy right now, nanodesu." she sighed.

Harry tilted his head a bit seemingly confused, "Isn't that what she was called when she was in Russia?" he asked.

Inazuma nodded seriously, "Yes, her personality from her time there comes out if she drinks even a bit of vodka. We were helping Jun'you-san prepare for a prepare for a party and she had a bowl of gummie bears. After eating a few Hibiki-chan changed and ran out, nanodesu!"

At this point her face took a grim look and she leaned a bit closer, her voice dropping to a whisper, "When she's Verniy she's faster and sneakier, but the worst thing is that she becomes a kissing demon! It wasn't too bad the first time, but now she's a kissing pro! We need to go get Hachi-san, she'll be able to-"

A small pale hand had grabbed Inazuma's shoulder, causing her to break off her speech. Now much paler than normal she slowly turned to look at the owner of the offending limb.

"Ahh... H-H-Hibiki-chan... " she manged to stutter before she was pulled into kiss by her sister.

Harry stumbled backwards a few feet as Inazuma twitched a few times before she was released and sank to her knees; face red and eyes unfocused. With his final protector subdued Hibiki returned her attention to her original target and Harry ran.

For five whole minutes he scrabbled towards the subs living quarters, Hibiki effortlessly following him regardless of shortcuts he took and tricks he used to try and slow her down. Running out of energy he decided to take a risk; there was a small park in the middle of the base to give those who worked there an area to relax in. The only problem was that while cutting through it just may let him make it, the path he was going to take had a rod iron gate that was closed at night. He rushed into it, making his way past the workout course and through a small patch of trees before he could spot his pathway out, closed. Harry rushed forward anyway, hoping that the gate would slide open, but it refused to budge.

"Harry-chan~" Hibiki's voice called and he turned to face his pursuer. The sun was halfway set, her white hair glittering as it's rays passed through and illuminated her like a dramatic scene taken out of a romantic shoujo manga. Out of all other options Harry slowly backed up till he was pressed against the gate, throwing out whatever came to his mind to try and stop her.

"Hibiki! You're drunk!"

"Da."

Step.

"You wouldn't want to kiss a boy, right!?"

"Mmm..."

Step.

"And you're only supposed to kiss people you like!"

But even at this she didn't pause.

"Da, I like you Harry-chan." she stated with the casual enthusiasm that her drunken self seemed to run on before finally reaching him.

__________________________________________________________________


"Harry-chan, don't worry, this was going to happen eventually." Tenryuu spoke with a bit too much pride in her tone, "Verniy either likes someone or doesn't, and everyone she likes she kisses. You know, almost a quarter of the girls on base have lost their first kiss to her and a good handful more kissed the first boy they could find in the panic of her first switch!"

Harry had been escorted over the next morning, an exasperated Nagato simply saying that Tenryuu could handle this best. Seated across from him at the Light Cruiser's kitchen table was Hibiki, whose face was just as red his own face. She had an breakfast in front of her consisting of miso soup, toast, a small mountain of eggs, and several large cups of apple juice. She slowly ate while doing everything she could to avoid eye contact with the smaller boy, who did largely the same with the toast he had been given.

"So it isn't a big thing?" he asked, managing a glance at his normally stoic friend.

"No... well... I guess you are the first boy she's kissed." she replied, grinning widely and Hibiki managed to blush even deeper.

The breakfast continued quietly after that, both kids managing to get their embarrassment under control and exchange some of their normal trivial talk, but when Harry went to leave Tenryuu decided to go all in.

"So how was it?" she asked, looking exceedingly amused at the once in a lifetime chance to tease her daughter.

Harry's face went red once again as he half turned away from the pair before answering just loud enough for them to make out, "Soft..."

Hibiki's face practically caught on fire as she went completely crimson and she retreated back into her house; dragging her mother who was cackling hard enough fall into a sitting position while holding her stomach. For his part Harry walked over to his waiting parent, face buried in his hands the whole way.

 

Harry Leferts

Harry stood there in the middle of the room and tried not to fidget as Nagato grumbled as she used a comb on his head. "Um... Mum?"

Now glaring at the hair, Nagato summoned her fairies and sent them down with their own tiny brushes and combs as she grit her teeth. "Not now, Harry." She narrowed her eyes still further as she muttered to herself. "Why the Hell won't you work with me, dammit..."

His eyes looking off to the side, some redness rose into Harry's cheeks as he coughed. "But, Mum..."

Once more, Nagato shook her head with a scowl on her face. "Give me just a minute, Harry." If it could have, Harry's hair would have caught fire from the glare that she was giving it as both her and her fairies attacked it in an attempt to neaten it. 'You won't win... not this time!'

Almost a minute passed before Harry brought up a finger and pointed to the side. "It's just that the others are here, Mum..."

Freezing in place, Nagato slowly turned to find an highly amused Tenryuu along with DesDiv6 there along with Fubuki, Yuudachi, and Mutsumi. And, there in the back, was a grinning Mutsu. "..."

Even as she felt her cheeks redden and heat up, she glanced down at Harry who gave her a sheepish smile. "I tried to tell you..."

Mutsu just placed a finger against her lips as she smiled at Nagato. "My, my, my, Onee-sama~ It seems that someone is having a bit of a trouble..."

All Nagato did was sniff and raise an eyebrow at her sister. "You try to tame this hair..." She then glared down at it. "I've met Abyssal Installations who have given me less trouble."

Gulping, Harry tilted his head back some to look at her in the eye while being careful of the fairies. "Um, Mum?" Having gotten her attention, he bit his lip a bit. "You're... not going to cut it all off, are you?"

Despite sometimes wishing just that, Nagato shook her head and sighed as she placed her hands onto her hips. "No, I'm not." Her eyebrow twitched as she swore that one of the locks of Harry's hair moved in her direction a bit. 'Is it... is it mocking me?!'

Meanwhile, Inazuma frowned a bit as she looked at her friend. "Harry-Chan, why would you think that Nagato-San would cut all your hair off?"

Harry just shrugged a bit as he scuffed his socked feet on the floor. "Well... um..." Glancing around, he winced a bit. "Aunt Petunia did that, she had it all shaved off except a bit at the front to cover my scar..."

Due to looking down, Harry missed Tenryuu clinching her fist as well as several of the shipgirls staring at him surprise before Nagato reached down and hugged him. "I would never do that to you, Harry. Trust me on that, I only wish though that I could make it neater..."

Walking over, Tenryuu just looked down at Harry's hair and hummed a bit before smiling. "I don't think that even MSSB can do that..." Out of nowhere, her smile then became a grin as she looked over her shoulder at her daughters. "Besides, I don't think that Hibiki would like that."

All said Destroyer did was blush and then reach up to pull down the brim of her hat as beside her, Ikazuchi snickered. Walking up to him, Inazuma put her hands behind her back as she smiled. "By the way, are you excited to go to the festival, Harry?"

Now with something to distract him as the disappointed Nagato recalled her fairies, Harry nodded with a bright smile. "It's going to be my first one actually..." His smile then slowly turned into a frown. "Though I don't know what I should do..."

Tilting her head to the side, Yuudachi blinked. "You haven't been to a festival before, Poi?"

At his nod, she frowned before Yuudachi just pumped her fist. "Then we'll have to show you around!"

Slinging her arm over Harry's shoulders, Ikazuchi nodded. "Yeah, we'll show you all sorts of neat stuff before we come back here to get ready for the fireworks! I can't wait to see you in a yukata after all."

With a final sigh, Nagato shook her head before smiling fondly as DesDiv6 and Yuudachi began to explain all about festivals and what to do to the bewildered Harry... Though most of what Yuudachi was saying was Poi and making hand gestures while poi'ing. Strangely it seemed that Harry understood what she was saying, though how was beyond the Battleship's understanding. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned to see Fubuki there. "Yes, Fubuki?"

Twiddling her fingers, Fubuki coughed a bit. "I was just wondering why... Harry-Chan's never been to a festival before..."

Nagato blinked for a moment before sighing. "He hasn't been to any festivals because I felt that he would need some time to settle in and with myself being on missions so often..."

A hand then gently clasped her shoulder as Mutsu smiled at her. "You don't need to worry about that, Nagato-Nee. I'm pretty sure that Tenryuu and some of the others would love to take care at him at the festivals."

Simply nodding, there was a slight blush on Nagato's cheeks as she let out a sigh. "I just wanted his first one to be one that I was there for..." Shaking it off, she then turned and gave Mutsu a raised eyebrow. "Speaking of, I thought that you would have been with Jane and the others...?"

Now it was Mutsu's turn to blush a bit as she looked outside. "They're... um... waiting outside so..."

Grinning, Nagato hummed a bit. "I see.~" Before Mutsu could reply though, Nagato was already moving to place her hand on Harry's shoulders. "Now then... I think that we should be heading out before it gets too late..." With that, the group slowly moved towards the doorway, with the Destroyers still talking with Harry.

 

Harry Leferts

Kongou was just about to open the door having been told that Goto had wanted her by Harry a few minutes earlier when she heard Haru talking to Goto which caused her to blink. "Oh come on, Goto. It's a declaration of love~"

A groan could be heard and Kongou narrowed her eyes some as she leaned in to listen more closely. 'What is that kitsune doing here? And what is her plans with Teitoku?'

The next words out of Goto's mouth caused Kongou to hold back a gasp and pale. "Oh come on, Haru-San. I was drunk at the time! Honestly, I had no idea of what it was that I was doing."

More giggles could be heard as Kongou felt her heart sink and tears gather at the corner of her eyes. 'He... he didn't... Teitoku couldn't have done... that... could he...?'

Dejected, Kongou was about to move away when Haru spoke up. "Aw, but I found it cute that you wrote a song about Kongou."

Back straightening, Kongou's tears vanished and a slight blush grew on her cheeks. 'Teitoku... wrote a song for me?'

Goto could be heard sighing. "And I've already told you that there are reasons why I can't show anything to her. Lord knows I care, but just think for a moment, Haru! We're at war and she is one of my subordinates here. Not only that but with how this is a war, and no one is safe... it would wreck her if I did return anything and then I died. She already had two Admirals she cared for die, I won't let there be a third dammit."

Snorting, Haru replied to that. "And losing her wouldn't destroy you, whether you were together or not?"

Utter silence met that before Goto softly whispered so low that Kongou nearly didn't hear him. "Yet another burden that Kongou can never know about."

Her hand coming up to her chest, Kongou softly smiled. 'Oh, Teitoku... you don't need to worry about such things, it would not be any real burden for me...'

Sighing, Kongou could almost imagine Haru shaking her head. "Trust someone with experience, it matters not one way or the other."

Once more, Goto spoke up with exasperation. "Is that really all you came here for, Haru-San? To bother me over my feelings?"

A giggle could be heard before Haru hummed. "Weeelllll~ It was also for a repeat performance of last night."

Blinking, Kongou narrowed her eyes. 'Hmm? Last night?'

Groaning, the sound of flesh meeting flesh could be heard as Goto grumbled. "Really? I mean, really?"

Yet another giggle could be heard as inside Kongou's head, she could see an cartoon image of Haru nodding and giving a victory sign. "Yup! Call it a favor for your friendly neighbourhood Miko? And you do owe me something for last night after all. I did have to drag you back before you made more of a fool of yourself then you already had."

The Admiral could be heard muttering to himself. "Not that you really stopped me in the first place, dammit... Fine, give me a moment."

Confused, Kongou could hear a chair scrapping and frowned to herself. 'Why would he need to push back his chair?'

Several moments later, she could hear a stool move and then a few piano keys play. All of a sudden Kongou could hear Goto clear his throat before several keys played quickly and then he began to sing.

"This morning, the military police came down to the base.
They said that they had a problem with how I was running this place.
Though I take care of my duty when I send my shipgirls out to sea.
I spend all the resources that they bring back on black tea.

Oh Bongo-Bongo-Bongo
I don't want to leave my Kongou!
Oh no no no no no!

A-Bangle-Bangle baby!
I'm so happy in the Navy
I refuse to go!"

Her face becoming redder, Kongou continued to listen in on the song even as her boilers began to work even harder. Sadly though, if she had thought that her face felt hot before, his next words caused her eyes to nearly pop out.

"Iowa said that Kongou's bongos are a sight to see...
And though I wondered how she knew that I couldn't help but agree.
When Kongou wasn't listening, Iowa came right up to me,
She said 'If it's fun with two, just imagine what you could do with three?'

Oh Bongo-Bongo-Bongo
I don't want to share my Kongou!
Oh no no no no no!

A Bingle-Bangle, baby!
Though I am tempted by a three-way, I still must say no!"

Twitching as she couldn't help but get images in her head, Kongou was torn between embarrassment and wanting to do something to Iowa. Now, whether that was to kill her or not was up in the air. The fact that she was being also compared to other shipgirls caused her to blush even more. Hearing him actually say that he loved her as he continued to sing caused her boilers to sputter to a stop as she leaned against the door. 'He... he actually loves me... O-oh...'

Even as the song ended, Kongou continued to stand there frozen in her own little world. But before she could say anything though, the door suddenly was yanked open by a smirking Haru who looked at Goto. "What do we have here, now?"

For several moments, Goto stared at Kongou who stared back at him with a red face before he looked at Haru and growled. "I fucking-"

Haru just raised a finger and gave him a look that silenced him. "You may hate me now, but you'll thank me later." Eyes softening, she looked off at the ocean through the window with a sigh. "Trust me... it's better to know then to go through life not knowing. It's... less painful if you lose the one you love if the last words you speak are 'I love you'." Shaking her head, she gave Goto a look that caused him to blink. "It's what helps me each day."

With that, she swept out of the room and closed the door behind her as Kongou looked anywhere but Goto. "Um... Dess?"

Sighing, Goto reached up and rubbed his face. "This... is going to be a long conversation..."

The next day, Harry was confused at how Goto told him thank you and so did Kongou later on. Meanwhile, Haru just smirked at the two.

 

Harry Leferts

"I AM SURROUNDED BY BLOODY MORONIC INCOMPETENTS!"

As birds took flight from the nearby trees in the forest, an elderly looking woman in a shawl just chuckled. "Well, you did choose to become a member of the... illustrious Ministry of Magic, my dear Amelia."

Scowling, Amelia Bones just looked to the woman beside her. "Oh do shut up, Calypso."

The elderly woman just chuckled as she bent down to examine a plant. "Mmm, you do realize that telling those who disagree with you to shut up is the first step down the road that leads to our grand Minister, Fudge, correct?"

Despite herself, Amelia just snorted in a unlady-like manner. "Merlin forbid that I ever get to that point, I should happen to hope that you would pull my head out of my arse, old friend." Sighing, she plucked her monocle from her eye and cleaned it. "Just the same, I cannot help but have the same... opinion on Cornelius as you. Then again, he was a compromise candidate so we got what we all wanted."

Raising a finger, Calypso just grinned. "Ah! But I never voted for him." Plucking another herb, she placed it into her basket. "Then again, I try not to concern myself over much with the affairs of the Ministry. After all, such things are ephemeral in the end."

Amelia just gave her companion an odd, searching look. "I see..." Shaking it off though, she looked up as the other woman continued her work in collecting herbs. "Still... Have you kept track much about the current crisis?"

A hum escaped from the woman as she glanced over her shoulder. "I know quite a bit about the Abyssals and Shipgirls, after all, one can pick up a large amount of information from listening in the marketplace when one knows how to get the wheat from the chaff." She then turned back to her work. "Also, I have a subscription to The Quibbler. Xeno is a much more insightful man then some may think. Pandora made a good choice when she married him."

Softly snorting, Amelia shook her head. "You always did like your Great-granddaughter's husband." Her expression then softened. "Luna does seem to resemble a much younger you though."

Laughing lightly, Calypso nodded. "She does at that...." Her finger then raised upwards. "But you didn't come just to complain though."

Once more, Amelia sighed. "No, I did not." Following as Calypso stood up and began to walk, the head of the DMLE frowned. "I worry over what is going to happen in the future, Calypso. The shipgirls and the Abyssals are just the tip. My Aurors are either busy stamping out flare ups or are sitting around twiddling their thumbs up their arses. The Obliviators are not much different as they're often out in groups as that seems to be the only way to wipe memories now. About the only one who is doing well would be Arthur, and he is mostly excited over the whole business in his 'research'. I swear that I have not seen him so lively in years, and he spends time chatting with shipgirls... Though I suppose that it's of no surprise that he would be doing quite well." Amelia frowned in thought before she shook it off. "However, he is one of the few. And it certainly does not help that Cornelius keeps trying to act as if things have not changed while listening to advisors... At least Dumbledore gives him good advice, though I may not always agree with the old man."

For a moment, Calypso stilled before she sighed. "Yet, with all his responsibilities, I suppose that Albus is too busy to be there all the time. Between being Headmaster, Supreme Mugwump, and Chief Warlock... Well, it's no surprise that he does not have much free time. However, judging by your words, you are about to tell me that Cornelius has been seeking alternative sources of advice."

Grimacing, Amelia frowned. "One of which is Lucius, I'm afraid."

All Calypso did was shake her head. "I have always thought it a shame that he had not died in the war. But alas, I suppose that Tyche chooses as she wills. Just the same, it does not surprise me that Lucius is making a move, he can see how things are moving as well as I can. And people will always listen to and follow those who seem to know more then they do or seem to have a plan. It is the way of things, and it certainly does not help that one can grease a few palms to help!"

Scowl on her face, Amelia nodded at that. "Unfortunately, Lucius is both. I believe that he is one of those whispering into Fudge's ear that all will turn out well..."

Looking over her shoulder as she straightened, Calpyso gave Amelia a searching look. "Something that you do not believe then?"

Much to her surprise, the witch just scoffed at that. "I'm not a fool, Calypso. What is the muggle saying? Once the genie is out of the bottle, it's near impossible to stuff him back in?" At the chuckle from the other woman, Amelia shook her head. "All the same, thanks to these Abyssals, things have changed and will continue to do so. The only question that remains is how do we prepare and what the outcome shall be."

Calypso turned and watched her carefully. "I see, very farsighted. I suppose that one way is with Arthur? Despite how it may seem, he does know more about muggles then most."

While she continued to walk beside Calypso, Amelia nodded with her hands behind her back as she watched the woods around them. "I have been bouncing some thoughts off him, yes. And he must have been sent from Merlin as some of the ideas that we have come up with have worked. But I have been making preparations in my own way..." At the gesture to continue, Amelia smiled. "I managed to convince my brother to hire on a tutor, a muggle sister to a muggleborn Auror of mine. As it turns out, she's a young teacher and she'll also be teaching Susan's friend, Hannah Abott and Neville Longbottom. Augusta understands as well as I do about being prepared..."

Frowning, Calypso snorted. "Though perhaps some of it is from worry that her grandson is a squib..." When Amelia was about to say something though, Calypso held up a hand. "I'm just a little sour over how they treat the poor boy is all, Amelia. But I do think that I understand what your plan is." Coming to a stop, the elderly woman looked down into a stream. "If the worst is to happen and the magical world being revealed takes a turn for the worse... then them having a muggle education and records should allow for them to slip into the muggle world unseen, correct?"

A sigh escaped from Amelia as she also stared into the stream. "Quite, and with some of the things that Cornelius has done, I can only hope that the worst does not come true."

Slowly, Calypso turned and frowned. "And what has that fool of a Minister done?"

Hands behind her, Amelia only shook her head. "As of yet? Nothing too bad. But some of the... ideas he has had?" Shaking her head, Amelia glared at the stream. "That fool actually brought up the idea of casting a few spells to make the muggles... make some bad decisions during battle and lose some of their shipgirls."

Whipping around, Calypso hissed through clinched teeth. "Say what?! Does that moron have any idea what that would cause!?"

In reply, Amelia snorted. "I frankly do not think that he would care, or really consider the consequences. No, the whole idea reeked of Lucius and his ilk or Delores. That said, the other Department heads all shot it down and explained things to him. Just the same, I've decided to use some Aurors that I trust to keep an eye on those Muggles involved in such decisions just in case." Grumbling under her breath, Amelia clinched her fists. "Yet more manpower wasted due to foolishness. Manpower better put to use defending."

For the next hour, the two talked with Amelia bouncing ideas off Calypso. However, soon after, Amelia left as Calypso entered her small house on the edge of a lake and straightened her back. As she did so though, instead of the normal pops there was the creak of timber. "Ah, much better."

Hearing giggling, she turned to where a young woman roughly in her late teens stood. "Serves you good for walking around with your back hunched like that, sister!"

Softly snorting, Calypso shook her head. "One does need to pretend to be bent with the weight of years. And remember, I'm your Great-Aunt this life, not sister!" Walking past, she wagged a finger at the amused woman. "You should remember that! After all, slipups like that can cause problems, or do I need to remind you of that one witchhunter back in the 1500s? Nearly burnt you at the stake after all. Or perhaps that Malfoy back in 1788?"

Expression turning solemn, her sister sighed. "I know, I know. Still..." Looking out the window, there was a wistful look on her face. "I have to wonder if it's not getting dangerous to hide as we have been. After all, the other nymphs that have arisen might see us and know what we are. Or one of the wizards might figure us out."

Humming, Calypso nodded. "Perhaps you are right, Selene. And they're called 'Shipgirls' nowadays. As for wizards and witches... Few bother with us 'Squibs' besides our descendants seeking advice. Even Virgil had to be told what we are by us when he wrote down the story we told him." Glancing at a clock, Calypso frowned. "Now come over here and help me sort and prepare these herbs. Pandora will be bringing Luna over later and I want to be able to spend some time with my Great-Great Granddaughter..." A tear came to her eye as she sniffed. "They grow and age so fast and then they're gone... best to spend what time we can with them."

Coming up behind her, Selene hugged her, the sound of two wooden hulls hitting each other. "They live on in us, sister. Remember that. Even when others forget their names and their remains are bones and dust, we remember them as they were."

With a deep breath, Calypso turned and nodded, seeing not just the woman, but also the form of an Ancient Greek style ship. "I know, but it never does get easy..."

 

Harry Leferts

After knocking at the door, Nagato entered the small office where a pink haired, young woman was typing away on a laptop. Part of Nagato recognized it as being an older military laptop but before she could say anything, the woman raised a finger. "Just one moment and I'll be with you...." Several seconds later, she nodded and tapped a few other keys. "And... Done! Well, except for encryption anyways." Twisting her chair around, the woman smiled. "So then, I guess that you're here for the report on Harry-Chan?"

That caused Nagato to pause. "Should I ask why you think that is the case, Akashi?"

Softly snorting, Akashi grabbed a box from beside and her and held it out. "Because for one thing, he's your son and any mother would want to know... and for the other, Teitoku told me that you might ask and I was to let you know. Pocky?"

Reaching over, Nagato took one of the sticks of pocky and placed it between her lips as Akashi did the same. "I see... now then, I assume that your research into my son is complete? It has been several months after all."

Gently humming, Akashi moved the stick of pocky from one side of her mouth to the other as she leaned back in the chair and put her hands behind her head. "My research isn't done, not yet anyways... and with how things are, it's likely to not be done for years if ever." Seeing the expression on Nagato's face, she held up a hand. "Buuuut, I do have enough information to make a few guesses. Though hopefully Teitoku approves of an attempt to summon Sōya. A real research ship would be a great help in this case."

There was a frown on Nagato's face as she tapped her fingers on the cabinet she was leaning against. "I will... consider throwing my support behind it. But we'll need a reason..." Seeing Akashi about to speak, Nagato held up a hand. "Give me some time and I'll come up with enough reasons." Chewing the end of the pocky in her mouth, Nagato raised an eyebrow. "Now then, what have you found out about my son?"

Akashi leaned back some in thought before she shook her head. "I've been running tests since Teitoku asked for me to do so. Mainly tests to see what he can and cannot operate. For example, he can't use a shipgirl's full rigging. We tested it with Inazuma's seeing as she was human before awakening as a shipgirl. But nothing happened besides it weighing Harry down enough he was unable to move. At best, it seems that Harry can operate a very limited amount of equipment at best. And even then, there's... issues."

Eyes narrowing, Nagato clinched her fist a bit. "What kind of issues...?"

Just raising a hand, Akashi tilted it back and forth. "Nothing like that, Nagato-San. Just issues such as him getting only limited use out of weapons. For example, Fubuki's guns. Harry's shown that he can use them already of course, but then we tested them. As it turns out, once all the ammo inside the turret has been used up, that's it. Harry can't reload it and needs to hand it back to Fubuki in order for it to be reloaded. Another issue is that Harry can only use it in the same way that a human would a normal gun. So he can't fire it anywhere near as far as Fubuki could, just practically point blank range."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Nagato chewed the rest of the pocky and swallowed. "And what about using other methods? Range finders? Radar?"

Hands clasped on her stomach, Akashi frowned. "Range finders operate much the same way that human ones do. As far radar..." She winced a bit. "We did test it on him, never again." Seeing that Nagato was about to say something, Akashi raised a hand. "It was one of the times that you were away helping the Americans. We gave him a radar array and turned it on... we turned it off in less then a minute and it gave Harry a splitting migraine for the rest of the day. It was not fun and all we can figure is that his brain is unable to handle the stimulus and I'm not about to allow for a second attempt."

Nagato grimaced at that and part of her beat herself up over not being there for Harry. "I see..."

Waiting for a moment, Akashi tapped her fingers on her chair's armrest. "However, Sonar is something a bit different he can use it to an extent when in the water. Best he could describe it is being able to tell where a sound was roughly coming from." Softly smiling, Akashi chuckled. "Hydrophones are better though, and he's been using the one that RO-Chan gave him from when she called herself Yuu. He can pretty much hear anything underwater for several miles with it. The only other thing that we tested is if he can use aircraft and he can. But floatplanes such as the ones you use work best as they don't need a large amount of space to take off."

Just nodding, Nagato frowned a bit. "That's rather... interesting. And the reason why?"

All she got though was a shrug. "Honestly? That's the biggest mystery. I thought that, maybe, he might be a ship himself for a while, but we've had enough shipgirls from different navies coming through that none of them noticed him as such... Another one is that he's a chimera who had a twin sister he absorbed in the womb that was an unawakened shipgirl. But there's no real evidence for that as it would have shown up in blood tests and some of the samples we took. So Teitoku's idea is probably right, his mother was likely a unawakened shipgirl. Though I am hoping that perhaps I might be allowed to talk with a few of my contacts among some of the American shipgirls..."

If she had not expected Nagato to narrow her eyes and glare, she was sorely mistaken. Not that it seemed to bother her much. "Why?"

Taking out another stick of pocky, Akashi shrugged. "I only got Harry-Chan as a basis and if I'm to come up with any ideas, then I need more examples or possible ones. And I can name off one possible example from the top of my head." Seeing Nagato motion her on, she frowned. "I am sure that you know of the twin brother to William D. Porter? Thanks to Harry, I do wonder if it might be possible for him to use some rigging as well. Unlikely mind you, but it would give me more data to work with. And we're not going to be able to keep a lid on this for too long anyways. After all, if Harry-Chan is one, it stands to reason that there's others. And with how many ships there's been throughout history and how many have been known to be reborn as humans, I wouldn't be surprised if those like Harry number in the dozens or hundreds. We just don't know. And it's likely that they'll show up as well before too long."

Grimacing, Nagato shook her head. "I am just... unsure of letting too many know. There could be groups out there who would try and take him for experimentation."

Akashi paused before she shook her head. "Unit-731 is in the dustbin of history where it belongs, Nagato."

Her only answer was for Nagato to frown and look off into the past. "And yet the shadows it cast..." Shaking it off, Nagato took a deep breath. "However, despite my own feelings, it is up to Teitoku to come to any such decision. One that I would abide by in any case."

Leaning forward, Akashi supported her chin on her clasped hands. "I'll just put it into my report anyways." The two continued to talk for several minutes about Nagato's coming rebuild before the Battleship had to leave for her next appointment, a thoughtful Akashi being left behind before she opened a notebook began drawing a Daihatsu Landing Craft and then began modifications that made it look more like a shoe. 'I wonder...'

 

crazyidiot78

Harry Leferts said:
Naka? Never seen that done actually. Though it could make some sense... Hmm, perhaps Naka was one of those girls who would look up to idols and the like, but never built up the courage or due to her background was unable to. Which would explain her throwing herself full in... I'll consider it.​

Well I might just beat you to it. At least in terms of the idea.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"And done," Sora exclaimed striking a cutesy pose as she finished yet another audition to become an idol singer.

"Thank you miss," the panel of judges said.

"So how did I do," Sora asked.

"We'll be in touch," the lead judge stated.

"Oh come on they always say that," Sora protested.

"And we will contact you at a later if you make the cut," the second judge said.

"Geeze how am I supposed to know what to improve if you guys never tell me anything," Sora grumbled moving to cut the judges off in a rare bout of defiance.

"And the fact that you have been turned down numerous times didn't tell you anything," the lead judge said.

"Well no since I'm at the top of the charts on nico nico, youtube, and twitch, so clearly its not my voice," Sora said.

"And you would be correct," the second judge said.

"Well then whats the problem," Sora exclaimed.

"You are the problem," the third judge said.

"Me....... what did I do," Sora said recoiling in shock.

"You don't fit the right mold for an idol," the third judge said pointing to a small fold of fat poking through a small rip in her outfit.

"So I to heavy," a red faced Sora squeaked trying to cover up the rip in her clothing.

"Among other things," the third judge continued.

"We could have dealt with your physical issues, however it is your rather outspoken personality that we truly have a problem with," the second judge said.

"And whats wrong with my personality," Sora growled.

"You have been quite active in some issues, and that is not the role of an idol," the lead judge said.

"So you jerks expect me to just a some vapid pretty face," Sora shot back.

"Yes," the lead judge said.

"Well screw you," Sora exclaimed before storming off.

"Well that could have gone better," the third judge said.

"True, but at least we won't have to worry about her again," the first judge said.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"Stupid judges, who needs them. I'll be an even bigger star and help make real change in the world," Sora growled as she boarded the ferry back across Tokyo bay. The abyssals had been a thing for a while now, but she had yet to actually see one in person, let alone one of the ship girls that were the only things that could fight them. At least as far as Sora was able to determine while digging through the internet. "Oh man I didn't know it was supposed to rain today," Sora grumbled looking at the mass of black clouds moving in from the ocean as the Ferry moved across the bay.

"Move it get this boat back to shore," a rather stunning young woman with long brown hair said sliding up next to the ferry.

"A ship girl," Sora gasped looking down at the new arrival, and yet having never seen the woman before, she couldn't help but think she knew her from somewhere.

"The abyssals are in the bay," a crewman shouted.

"Yes, but we've got you covered," a purple haired woman added as the ferry slowly turned back to shore.

Sora could just make out what looked like pitch black, mutated retarded whale mecha thingies, followed by what could only be described as a rejected villian from a C grade anime or video game that only the worst otaku could like, before the world exploded around her. Shells bracketed the ferry as the ship girls returned fire trying to drive the abyssals away from the ferry. Despite the screams and shellfire around her, Sora's gaze was stuck on two of the ship girls, the long brown haired girl, from before as a similar looking girl who threw torpedoes as if they were ninja weapons. She could feel the ferry slam against the dock, and despite her brain telling her to run off the boat she continued to look towards the bay, her eyes transfixed on the battle.

A horrendous explosion rocked the ferry, as a woman screamed out in pain, Sora moving before she even knew what was happening, as she clumsily dove into the water. The water tasted like oil as she chased after a black oil slick the faint outline of a hand sticking out of it. Logically she knew what she was doing was insane, but she couldn't sit by and do nothing after the woman fought so hard to save them. "Wow she's a lot lighter than I thought," Sora thought as she swam towards the surface the battered ship girl in tow, with the remains of her rigging still intact. She broke the surface with a gasp and a rather surprised looking ship girl.

"Impossible," Jinjustuu gasped shocked that she was once again above the waves.

"A little help," Sora called out as she began dragging Jinjutsu to shore.

"Jinutsu," another similar looking ship girl cried out racing towards them. "But I saw you sink,"

"It appears you were mistaken, so be a dear and help us to shore," Jinjustuu said.

"Right," Sendai said lifting Jinjustu out of the water, she might be the older sister, but Sendai new better than to argue with Jinjutsu.

Angered by the rescue of a ship girl they thought was down for good the abyssals redoubled their efforts sending a fresh wave towards the girls just off the shore of Odiba park. "Look out," Sora yelled leaping back into the water to push a blond haired girl out of the of a trio of torpedoes.

"Poi?" Yudachi exclaimed as the girl caught her cannon and returned fire as if it was an everyday thing nailing a destroy in the magazine causing it to detonate ripping the abyssal apart.

"Are normal people supposed to be able to do that," Harusame asked as Sora stared at the cannon in her hand.

"No," Sendai yelled. "So just what the hell is going on here? Ok I can maybe buy her pulling Jinjutsu out of the water if her rigging was off, but it wasn't and now she is using Yuudachi's cannons."

"Well I couldn't just let them hurt her," Sora squeaked looking for somewhere to hide.

"That's because she is an emerging ship girl, and if I'm not mistaken she is Naka, the third ship of the Sendai class," Tenryuu explained.

"Oh ok," the destroyers shrugged before returning to the battle at hand.

"Oh come on," Sendai groaned.

"Poi, its not like its the strangest thing we've ever seen poi," Yuudachi said.

"So how do I put on the rigging," Sora asked never one to turn her back on people in need.

"Well you see," Tenryuu began.

"Oh is it like magical girls, Naka armor set up," Sora yelled as an explosion of light filled their vision. As the light cleared a new and improved Sora was left in its wake. She was still herself, but more like a perfect version of herself with no imperfections wearing a cute orange and black dress, plus ship girl rigging. "Woohoo this is so cool."

"Don't even tell me this isn't the strangest thing you've seen," Sendai groaned.

"But it's not," Yuudachi said as a Ta class battle ship was crushed like a tin can before exploding.

"I thought I told you jackasses to stay the hell away from my home," Shinano roared. The last ship of the Yamato class was the support carrier Shinano and another one of the human born ship girls. In this case she was an American born Japanese woman, who was also a giant of a woman standing over 2 meters before manifesting as a ship girl. she hadn't quite gotten a hang of aircraft carrier combat, but her armored deck made an excellent close combat weapon.

"Would someone mind getting me to the dock please before I bleed out all over the bay," Jinjustu said with a smile as the battle came to a close.

-+-+-+-+-

I had a further idea that the 3 judges from before now want to sign naka as an idol since she is a ship girl, only to have her refuse and Shinano carting them out. However I have work to do and want to see what people think before continuing.

 

Harry Leferts

Leaning up against the tree, Harry was rather happy that it had not rained for several days as the last thing he wanted to do was to wash his school uniform. Hearing a grunt though, he opened his eyes to see Natsumi sit down next to him with a frown. "You okay there, Natsumi-Chan?"

The girl just blew her bangs out of her eyes before she glanced over at Harry, who was struck at how her eyes were such an odd shade of amber before he shook it off. After all, he had been told that his own eyes were a brilliant emerald. "It's White Day, what do you think?"

All the eight year old did was tilt his head a bit with a frown on his face. "Got lots of stuff then?"

Snorting, Natsumi shifted a bit until she was leaning against him. "Don't even get me started on that. Some of those guys... ugh! They can't even realize the difference between honmei-choco and giri-choco! Freaking, baka boys!"

With a blink, Harry raised an finger. "Um, Natsumi-Chan? But I'm a boy..."

In reply she only gave him a look before she rolled her eyes. "Oh, really? Wow, I never noticed that you were a boy before, Harry-Chan. Are you positive?"

Making a show of looking himself over, Harry's tone turned rather dry. "I am pretty sure that I'm a boy, yes."

Several moments passed, before Natsumi let out an odd cross between a giggle and a snort and shook her head. "What about you, Harry-Chan? It is White Day..."

Harry blinked a bit and then scratched his chin before shrugging. "Well... I got most of the shipgirls some chocolate I made, though Shinano got really red when I gave her triple chocolate cookies... and the submarines really liked the white fudge I made them. They got pretty red too, don't know why though."

Just nodding, Natsumi clasped her hands onto her lap hummed. "Oh? No one else?"

For a few seconds, Harry tilted his head to the side and blinked. "Uh... just some store bought ones for the girls at school..."

Taking a slow breath, Natsumi turned and gave him a glare before growling. "Really..."

It seemed, for once though, Harry actually guessed what she meant when he held up his hands. "Um... didn't you just say that you didn't really want anything...?"

Natsumi just stared at him before she placed her face in her hands and groaned. "Oh for..." Suddenly, she was poked in the side and turned her head only to stare at the bag that was in Harry's hand he was holding out with a smile. "... What?"

However, Harry just nodded his head at it. "Happy White Day, Natsumi-Chan."

Blushing, Natsumi took the bag and then opened it before her eyes widened. "... Fudge!"

Even as he scratched his head, Harry shrugged. "Marshmellow fudge."

A choking sound came from Natsumi's mouth before she turned and stared at Harry in surprise. "W-w-why didn't you give it to me at school?"

Softly, Harry snorted a bit as he enjoyed the March breeze. "I'm not stupid, Natsumi-Chan, I can guess how that would turn out if they noticed something from me to you."

There was an odd expression on Natsumi's face before her expression softened some and she leaned against a slightly surprised Harry. "Yeah, I can guess how some of the boys at school would have reacted, those stupid arses."

Blinking, Harry just stared at her as she took a piece of fudge and began to eat it. "I think that you've been hanging out with Kongou-Oba a bit much, Natsumi-Chan."

She just shrugged though and then smiled. "Kongou-San's pretty cool though. She knows all sorts of cool insults."

As Natsumi took another bite, Harry raised an eyebrow. "Any good?"

In reply, Natsumi looked at him before punching him softly in the shoulder. "Of course it is, you made it."

For the first time in the conversation, now it was Harry's turn to have a blush on his face, though a light one. Despite it being more then a year since Nagato adopted him, he was still not used to people complimenting him on anything. All Natsumi did was laugh though in the odd barking way that she shared with her aunt before turning back to her fudge with a smirk.

 

Harry Leferts

Walking alongside the girl beside her, the older one gave a soft smile to both her and the couple following her. "I understand that you do have a few questions, little sis?"

Just raising an eyebrow, Hermione's mother cleared her throat. "A bit early to be calling her that... Miss Phoebe, correct?"

With a blink, the girl blushed slightly and grimaced. "Sorry about that, it's just..." Letting out a sigh, she stopped and looked first down at Hermione and then at her parents. "You have to understand, now that we know about her? To myself and our fellow Didos and Bellonas? Hermione is our sister, no matter what you and her might decide. Even if it's decided that she'll stay as a human, that won't change in the least."

Despite herself, Hermione scuffed her shoe a bit as she softly smiled and muttered under her breath. "Always wanted sisters..."

Bending down, Phoebe reached over and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulders. "Well, now you got 15 of us." After a few moments, Phoebe stood up and straightened her skirt. "I may have been summoned, but I do understand your worries, Mr. and Miss. Granger. It's why I'm here, so go ahead and ask anything and I'll try my very best to put your worries to rest."

As they began to walk along the sidewalk in the base, both adult Grangers took a moment to let their thoughts congeal before they shared a look and Hermione's mother hummed. "Well, there is one thing that we are worried about..."

Seeing Phoebe turn toward them, it was Mr. Granger who continued. "You have to understand, we've heard things about shipgirls, in particular... quirks... let's just say."

That got them a sigh from Phoebe who sucked her teeth for a moment before she shook her head. "I can understand where you might be worried in regards to that. You think that Hermione might change a lot in personality?"

Looking up, Hermione frowned a bit. "Is that possible?"

Much to their relief though, Phoebe shook her head with a slight smile. "Not really." Gesturing with her hand, the Light Cruiser continued. "I may not personally know many natural borns, but I have done my research." Seeing Hermione perk up at the word, Phoebe had to bite back a chuckle. "For some of them, the quirks are relatively minor things, sometimes things that they had before they became shipgirls. For example... natural borns who are Cruisers are often times a bit more... studious. It comes with the territory as our job is to be ahead of the fleets to gather intelligence."

Both of Hermione's parents looked at their daughter and shared a amused look with each other before her mother bit back a laugh. "I see, that does sound awfully familiar, I must admit."

A blush on her face, Hermione huffed a bit. "Mother!"

In reply, her father reached out and patted her on the head. "You have to admit, it is rather true." When her daughter huffed, he turned back to Phoebe. "What about other possible quirks?"

Tilting her head, Phoebe tapped her chin in thought before shrugging. "It depends from ship to ship and mainly has to deal with the history of said ship. For example, if you have a ship whose reputation was that of, say, a scrapper? Then they might develop something along the lines of being one of those first in to a fight. Another example, sadly, would be that those ships who were torpedoed by a submarine might get nervous around them. I have heard that the United States has a returned Coast Guard Cutter who is natural born and is more predisposed to rescuing people. Our time as ships do shape us." Her lips then turned upwards. "But usually it's relatively minor."

Right then, there was a shout and everyone blinked. "YOU GODDAMNED OLD ARSEHOLE! GET BACK HERE!"

Nearly as one, they turned and blinked at an odd sight. There was an old man on, of all things, a Segway rushing by. He was followed by none other then Victory on a Segway of her own. "Ah, I'm afraid that I must disappoint you, Vicky my dear. I really must be going."

Eyes nearly popping out of her head, Victory brought out a sword from somewhere and began to swing it. "THAT WAS MY LAST CHOCOLATE BISCUIT, YOU BLASTED BUMBLEBEE! AND YOU ATE IT! AND DON'T CALL ME VICKY!"

Simply nodding, the man just chuckled. "And such a delicious biscuit it was. We really should have some more the next time."

Face red, Victory continued to chase the man, who wore a rather colorful outfit, through the base. 'WHY YOU! I'M GOING TO KEELHAUL YOUR BONY ARSE!"

The man just waved her off. "Promises, promises. And must I remind you that you're quite a bit older then me? Why, in fact I think that you're positively ancient."

All he got was a wordless scream of rage followed by several threats, curses, and insults which caused Hermione's mother to cover her daughter's ears as the two continued their chase until they were out of sight. In the utter silence that followed, both adult Grangers turned to look at Phoebe who winced and rubbed the back of her neck. "Um... usually minor... for the most part..."

 

Harry Leferts

Harry blinked and looked up at Shinano who was glumly looking at the sheet of paper in front of her, his own homework forgotten for the moment in favor of figuring out how to cheer up his friend. "What do you mean that your pilots are still having problems?"

Sighing, Shinano nibbled a bit at the cookie she held before putting it down. Then a moment later, her head hit the table hard enough for Harry to wince at, though she didn't feel anything from it. "They still can't land on me." Her head then turned so that she could more clearly look at Harry. "And I've tried everything!"

There was a frown on Harry's face as he reached over and began to run his hands through the Carrier's hair, not noticing how her cheeks gained a bit of redness. "Hmm... you tried everything?"

Even though she was enjoying what Harry was doing, Shinano just nodded and sniffled a bit. "Yes..."

Humming, Harry frowned a bit, though he didn't stop rubbing her head. "Huh... I would have thought that the practice that they were getting would help..."

As her eyes drifted close a bit, Shinano softly sighed. "No, because I can't really use my rigging that often because my dumb stomach starts up and I need to eat more. And there's ones who need the food more then me so I can only practice for a little bit. Mostly to let them fly so that they can practice landing on land..."

With a frown on his face, Harry shook his head. "Well, then we'll just have to come up with a way for them to practice landing on a Carrier!"

Looking up at him, Shinano's eyes shone a bit. "Really?"

In reply, Harry only gave her a nod. "Yeah! Besides, once that's done, you'll be even more awesome then you already are, Shinano-Chan!"

Once more, Shinano felt her cheeks warm a bit and more thankfulness toward Harry. "Thank you..."

All Harry did was give her a grin. "You're welcome, Shinano-Chan! Besides, since I'm going to be your Admiral, it's my job to help you out as much as I can!"

Shinano just blushed even more at the reminder that Harry had declared that one day he was going to be her Admiral. At least this time Nagato wasn't around as the Battleship had given her the strangest look the last time, though she did seem amused... "Hm-mm..."

For several moments, the two sat there with the eight year old stroking the Support Carrier's hair before he blinked. "Um... Shinano-Chan?" At her nod, he frowned a bit. "Why are your fairies playing volleyball in that box filled with sand? And why are half of them without shirts?"

It went without saying that Shinano's face went red as she bit her lip. "Um..."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking up from where she was examining some plans, Akashi blinked at the man who had entered her workshop. "Hmm? What are you doing here Captain Yonehara?"

With a frown on his face, Yonehara just looked down at his tablet and frowned. "It says here that there's an order for some old tires? And some plywood?"

Quickly wiping her hands free of grease, Akashi walked over and then blinked as she looked at the orders before she frowned. "Odd... who..." Then she spotted the end and called out. "Yo! Harry-Chan! Your materials just arrived!?"

There was the sound of boots against the concrete before Harry's head poked out from behind a tarp covered area. "Really?" At Akashi's nod, he came out and soon bowed to Yonehara once he signed for his order. "Thank you!"

As the eight year old once more disappeared behind the tarp, this time with several fairies carrying the plywood sheets as the human rolled the tires, Yonehara just scratched his head and looked toward the shipgirl in askance. "What... does he need those materials for?"

Much to his surprise though, Akashi just shrugged. "Not a clue, just know that he's making something is all for someone." Suddenly, her smile became a grin that looked like it better belonged on a shark then on someone who looked human. "Now then... how are you and the hungry wolf getting along? She still not realize it yet?"

Just as she waggled her eyes though, a foam bat came down on her head as Harry was right there. "Bad! Bad Akashi-San! You know that Ashigara-Oba doesn't like that name!" He then turned toward Yonehara and gave him a look. "And you better treat Ashigara-Oba right!"

Then he was off again to whatever project he was working on as Yonehara facepalmed. "Is it just her that doesn't know... you know what? I've got to be elsewhere..."

And with that, Yonehara left the area, though he muttered about various things as he went.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shinano slowly walked along as careful as she could. Mainly because Harry was perched on her shoulders with his hands over her eyes. "Can I look now?"

However, Harry only shook his head and grinned a bit. "No... but almost! Now, turn 130 degrees starboard and move forward ten feet!"

Giggling slightly, Shinano brought up one hand. "Aye-aye, Teitoku!" Once her navigation fairies told her to come to a stop, she did so. "What now?"

What she didn't expect was for Harry to pull his hands away to reveal one of the sheltered cove areas of the base. "PANPAKAPAN!" Still perched on Shinano's shoulders, Harry bent over so that his eyes were looking into hers as he smiled. "Well?"

For a few seconds, Shinano was confused as to why Harry brought her out here for a 'Special Surprise'. But then she spotted something floating in the water and walked toward it. Thanks to her height, the water didn't reach past her waist, which meant that Harry was perfectly dry where he was. And being a shipgirl, Shinano wasn't worried about becoming wet. Once she reached the object, she blinked. It looked like someone had taken two shipping pallets and then nailed them together, end to end before tying rubber tires to the bottom to act as floats. Then they had placed several layers of plywood on top and painted them to resemble. "... A flight deck..." Looking up at Harry, Shinano stuttered a bit. "Is this...?"

Still smiling, Harry nodded. "Yup! It's a practice flight deck for your pilots to land on! See, right there?"

Bending over, Shinano's eyes widened a bit as she spotted her name beside a line that cut across the painted on flight deck. Then she ran her gaze along it and blinked. "That's mine... and it's... b-but how? Tape measurers don't work on our rigging and yet, you got it right!"

If anything, that just made Harry's smile grow a bit more at the awe filled look she was giving him. "Oh, I just remembered that you can use string to measure, so, um, I used that." Now becoming bashful, Harry placed his hands on his much taller friend's head. "D-do you like it? I... said that I was going to help and I thought..."

Rapidly blinking away some wetness, Shinano just nodded. "Y-yes, I like this Harry. I like this a lot... Now my pilots can practice as much as they want. And there's even room if they miss the line." She nodded a bit as she continued to examine it before she tilted her head back to smile at Harry. "Thank you!"

Harry just smiled down at her, neither of them noticing White behind them with a large smile on her face as she nodded as well.

 

Harry Leferts

Pausing for a moment on the path, Harry looked around with narrowed eyes. 'Hmm...' The eight year old after a few moments began to walk when he heard another sound and stopped. 'Wait a moment...' Slowly, Harry walked over to some bushes and, quickly, pushed them apart only to find that nothing was there. "I could have sworn-"

Before he could react though, the bushes beside him suddenly parted and a blur snatched the squealing boy up. "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER WITH YOUR ASW THEN THAT, HARRY-CHAN!"

At seeing the reddish colored hair of his capture, Harry's expression lit up and he somehow twisted around in the arms that held him. "Imuya-Chan!"

Eyes closed as she grinned, Imuya just nodded. "Yup, I'm back from my long distance cruise." A moment later though she stumbled as Harry wiggled out of her grip and moved until she was giving him a piggy back ride. "Oof..." Blinking, she looked over her shoulder at Harry. 'Like a freaking octopus at times...'

Harry meanwhile just smiled back as he put his arms over her shoulders. Giving her a squeeze, he buried his face into her hair. "I'm glad that you're back."

Blushing, Imuya had an odd expression cross over her face before a soft smile appeared on her lips and she reached back and patted Harry on the head. It never failed to warm her engine room how Harry simply cared in regards to her and the others. To her and the other subs, it was something precious. "And I'm glad to be back. Now..." Looking over her shoulder again, she frowned and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I just did my debriefing so... is any of the others around?"

Just as Harry was about to answer, a giggle caused both of them to turn to see Hachi there winking at them. "It's just Hacchan, the others are all out on their own missions." She then stuck her tongue out at Imuya with one eye closed. "Hacchan thinks that Imuya-Chan needs to brush up on her ASW as well."

With a huff, Imuya looked away though one could see the slight twinkle of amusement in her eyes before she began to walk with Hachi as Harry continued his piggyback ride. "Damn, and here I was hoping to talk with the others."

Sharing a shrug with Harry, Hachi smiled. "Sorry about that."

All Imuya did though was roll her eyes a bit. "Nothing to be sorry for." Sighing, she just shook her head and shrugged with her hands in the air. "Whatever, can't be helped I guess." Grasping Harry's legs, she bounced him a bit to boost him up a bit more. "Anyways, as much as I would like to keep walking, my shafts are getting tired so if we could find a place to sit down..."

Looking around, Harry pointed at a tree nearby. "How about there?"

Head tilted to the side, Imuya just nodded after a moment. "Sounds good to me." Soon after, the subgirl sat down with a slight groan, though not before letting Harry off her back. "That's better... only one thing could make this perfect though."

Confused, Harry looked at Harry who had snickered a bit. "Um, what?"

Suddenly, Imuya moved and then grabbed Harry before pulling him into a hug. "Why, having my favorite teddy to cuddle with."

For a moment, Harry just blinked and then looked up at the grinning sub with a pout and a blush on his face. "Imuya-chan!"

However, she simply shrugged as she laid her chin down on his head. "Not my fault that you're so damn cuddly. You're just a big teddy bear to me." Grumbling, Harry crossed his arms across his chest as Imuya took a deep breath of the spring air and then let it out in a sigh. "Now this is nice after a cruise."

Stretching, Hachi nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."

Just enjoying the moment, Imuya looked around the small park before she hummed a bit at the sight of one of the cherry blossom trees. "I wonder how much longer before the sakura blooms..."

Pulling out her phone, Hachi quickly checked it and nodded. "If the forecasts are right, should only be a few weeks and Iku, Shioi, and RO should also be here."

That got her a hum from Imuya who looked down at Harry. "We should do something then, maybe you might come with us for Hanami then, Harry-Chan?"

Harry frowned for a moment in thought, his expression causing both Hachi and Imuya to giggle some, before he nodded. "Sure! I'll just need to talk with Mum first."

Yawning a bit, Imuya looked between the two. "So, anything happen recently?"

Tapping her chin, Hachi looked up at the clouds above before nodding. "I heard that the Americans found another natural born." At the interest from both Harry and Imuya, she continued. "She's the third of the Alaska class, USS Hawaii."

Imuya just blinked at her close friend in confusion. "I thought that the Americans only launched two of their Battlecruisers though..."

Tilting his head back, Harry frowned a bit. "Didn't Miss Alaska say that they were Large Cruisers though? Not Battlecruisers?"

However, the red haired subgirl just waved him off. "I call them as I see them. As O'Bannon is so fond of saying... Po-ta-toe, pot-at-oe... or however it goes anyways."

Giggling a bit at the byplay, Hachi shook her head. "They had a third one almost ready for launching, but... it got cancelled and they eventually scrapped her. Turns out that she was reborn as a human and they found her when Abyssals attacked Kauai. From what I heard, she's... uh... kind of like Shinano in some ways and like Alaska in others."

That caused Imuya to wince a bit. "Ah... I see..." She shared a look with Hachi who nodded. 'In other words, almost no experience like with Shinano and a bit of a derp like Alaska... ouch.' Shaking it off her eyes became hooded, Imuya hummed. "Anything else?"

Several seconds later, Harry nodded a bit. "I'm going to be helping out with the communal gardens."

Blinking, Imuya looked down at him. "Gardens?"

With a smile on his face, Harry began to explain. "Yeah! We're going to be planting some vegetable gardens to grow things. Miss Ooyodo says that it's to help out with supplies and stuff." As Harry continued, Imuya just listened even as she relaxed some more. Suddenly she blinked as she yawned a bit and Harry looked up. "You okay, Imuya-Chan?"

Smacking her lips, she shrugged a bit. "Sorry about that, Harry-Chan. Just tired I guess... You wouldn't mind if I napped a bit, would you?" Getting a shake of his head, she tightened her hug and placed her chin back on his head. "Mmm... thanks."

The last words she heard as her eyes closed and she drifted off was from Harry. "You're welcome, pleasant dreams."

Giggling softly, Hachi smiled a bit. 'I'm sure that she'll have good ones.' Then she glanced at Harry who seemed confused. "Hacchan guesses that she really was tired." Becoming thoughtful, she then turned and laid down her her head supported by both Imuya's and Harry's thighs. "And Hacchan is a bit tired to."

In reply, Harry just reached down and ran his hand through her hair which caused Hachi to smile before he nodded with a yawn. "Yeah... it's perfect for a nap."

Fifteen minutes later, Fubuki, Mutsuki, and Yuudachi were walking past when suddenly Mutsuki spotted the three nappers and grinned. "Hey, look at that."

Turing her head, Fubuki let out a soft giggle as Yuudachi cooed a bit. "Kawaii, poi."

Fubuki then shook her head. "They look so relaxed."

At seeing Fubuki pulling out her phone though, Mutsuki frowned a bit. "Are you really taking a picture of them, Fubuki-Chan?"

Humming, Fubuki just tilted her head. "Yeah, but not for anything bad. I think that Imuya and Hachi might like the picture..." She then bit her lip. "And it would look good in that album that Nagato-San is putting together."

Once she gave it some thought, Mutsuki just nodded and after the picture was taken, the three Destroyers went on their way.

 

Harry Leferts

Harry swung his legs as he waited outside the closed door, above which there was a red light lit. Suddenly, a sigh caused him to turn to see Natsumi leading against the chair's armrest as she grumbled. "How long does this sort of thing take? We've been here for..." Pulling out her phone, she frowned a bit. "Forty minutes, and they were going on when we got here."

All the boy did though was shrug. "Depends... but hours sometimes."

Yet another groan escaped from Natsumi as she got up and then walked over to a vending machine before punching out some juice. One of the cans, she tossed to Harry who caught it out of the air barely even looking at it. A snort caused him to look at Natsumi who shook her head in amusement. "Are you sure that you don't want to join the school's baseball team? It might help people accept you."

Popping the top, Harry just rolled his eyes. "No thank you, I got enough stuff to do." Once he took a sip, he shrugged. "Besides, Mum told me not to worry about people like that."

There was an odd look before Natsumi smirked. "Your certainly spirited." Pretending not to see the confusion on Harry's face, she looked up and pointed. "Hey, the light turned green."

Now smiling, Harry got off the chair only to blink as a bunch of disappointed base personnel came out. That basically told him all he needed to know as he walked into the summoning room which was also clearing out through various other exits. His nose twitched a bit from the smell of incense and he could feel a weight in the room that was not physical. Even in the flickering lights of the candles as well as through the crowd, it didn't take long to spot Nagato speaking with Goto and Haru. Walking over, Harry waited until Nagato looked in his direction with a smile before breaking into a run. "MUM!"

Softly chuckling, Nagato swept him up into her arms and nuzzled his hair. "Sorry about missing picking you up." She then bounced him a bit and hummed. "So, you have a good day at school, you two?"

From where she was on the ground, Natsumi just shrugged before she grinned. "Yeah, was pretty fun. Hojo got his ass kicked when he mouthed off to the wrong guy."

Rolling her eyes at the mention of one of the school bullies, one who's parents she had butted heads with a number of times, Nagato just shook her head. "Of course he did..."

With a smile on his face, Harry hugged Nagato around her neck before he pulled away. "Oh! And Natsumi and I are partners on a project."

Haru looked between her niece and Harry before she raised an eyebrow. "What sort of project?"

Sticking her hands into her pocket, Natsumi let out a sigh. "We're supposed to do a report on a rare animal. But everyone else took the good ones before we got a turn... though Harry remembered something that Hachi-San told him.

At the looks, Harry grinned a bit as he tilted his head in the direction of where Hachi was talking with the other submarines. "Hachi-Chan told me about how when she visited the US, she heard this weird whale... She said it was a 52 hertz whale."

Just shaking his head, Goto shared a look with Kongou who hid her smile behind her sleeves. "I heard about that actually... I thought that it was supposed to be dead."

Harry just shook his head. "Nope! Hachi even gave me a recording she made!"

Now that caught Goto's interest as he leaned forward a bit to look at Harry's phone. "How did she do that now? I would have thought that she wouldn't be able to since her systems are... well, incompatible."

All the young boy did though was shrug. "MSSB?"

The sound of steel meeting steel could be heard as Nagato facepalmed and muttered to herself. "I'm going to need to have a long chat with some people..."

Meanwhile, Harry went through his files and then tapped on the screen before a odd whale song could be heard drifting out of the speakers. Listening, all the adults tilted their heads to listen to it, and even the submarines walked over. After a few moments, Hachi smiled and leaned over. "You're listening to the recording I made?"

During the time that Harry explained to Hachi, no one was paying attention to the slight shift in the atmosphere or how some of the summoning materials were vanishing in sparkles of light as the whale song continued to play. None of them noticing until a voice called out. "Um... hello?"

Nearly as one, all their heads as well as those of the remaining personnel in the summoning room snapped to look over at the summoning pool before rushing to the railing and looking down. There, standing on the water, was a young woman with purple hair and red eyes. She had rigging out but strangely had an apron on and a bucket with what looked like vegetables in it and a basket with torpedoes. Then she spotted Goto and snapped into a salute. "U-uh, hello, Sir! Teitoku, I mean..."

To forstal the slight breakdown, Goto held up a hand. "Name?"

However, before she could answer, Iku called out with glee. "TAIGEI! YOU'RE BACK!"

Similar exclamations from the other submarines besides Shioi who looked confused drew looks to them, but then the shipgirl bowed a bit. "Th-that's right." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Good day, I'm Submarine Tender Taigei, I might be inexperienced but I am glad to be of service..." It was then that she noticed that she was no longer a ship and looked herself over in awe. "What happened...?"

Goto just sighed and rubbed his head. "Well... that's a long story..."

 

Harry Leferts

Walking into what amounted to the main room in their quarters, Harry blinked at the sight of the large trunk that Nagato was examining. "Mum? You said that you wanted me home?"

For a brief moment, surprise flickered across Nagato's face before she gestured at the table. "Harry... We need to have a talk about some things." Once Harry sat down with curiosity written across his face, but he just waited for Nagato to explain things to him. Meanwhile, Nagato took a deep breath before she poured some hot chocolate which caused Harry to blink even more. That done, she took a slow sip before letting out a sigh. "To get the first item out of the way, your relatives' trial is done and they've both been sentenced. Both of them are getting two years for ration fraud due to how they treated you."

Harry considered that for several moments before he shrugged. It had been months since he had even thought of the Dursleys after all. "Um... I guess that's okay. I just want them to leave me alone."

Expression softening, Nagato patted her lap and Harry quickly moved over and sat on it. Then the Battleship bent down and gently kissed him on the head. "That's very mature of you, Harry. I'm proud of you." Seeing him smile, she smiled right back before she frowned. "Which brings us to another item. During their investigation, a few items came up that raised eyebrows. Now, there's someone that you should meet." Moving only slightly, Nagato brought out a laptop and then opened it. Not even a minute there was an elderly gentleman on the screen smiling at Harry. "Harry? I would like you to meet Jacob Derrick, he's a... solicitor I think it's called?"

Simply nodding, the man hummed. "That's correct, in particular I was a friend of your grandfather, Harold Evens. Tell me something, Harry. Did Petunia ever mention much about your grandparents?"

Looking up at Nagato, he then turned back to the screen and shook his head. "Not much, just that they didn't really like me..."

Now a frown crossed the man's face and a stormy look was on Nagato's before the solicitor coughed. "Trust me, your grandparents loved you even though they died shortly after you were born. Harold especially. Now, Harold and myself were old friends going back decades you must understand. We even did a stint in the Royal Navy together. So... several years before his death, he came to me to ask for a favor. That favor was to help him write up a will for both him and Matilda, your grandmother. To me, it wasn't even a favor and I was happy to do so. However, I retired two years before his death, which happened two months before your mother's. Sadly, and to my shame, it seems that the solicitor who I left the duty of fulfilling the will instead allowed Petunia to run roughshod over it in a sense. They were carrying out the letter, not the intent."

Confused, Harry looked back and forth between Nagato and Jacob. "Er... what does that mean, Mr. Derrick?"

Still with a frown on his face, Jacob leaned forward. "Tell me something, lad. Have you ever seen that trunk before?"

If he was not confused before, Harry was definitely confused now. "No..."

As if that explained a mystery, the solicitor took a deep breath, though Nagato could detect a tremble of anger. "I shall get to that issue momentarily. Now, in regards to what I mean, several things were left to you as your mother passed away. Due to a loophole your grandfather had me placed in the will, if you did not claim your portion by the time that you were eighteen, then you would forfeit it to Petunia and Dudley. I suspect that telling you about the will would 'slip' Petunia's mind and so once you turned eighteen, you wouldn't claim your portion. First among these were a trust fund that your grandparents left like they left one for Dudley."

That caused Harry to sit up a bit more. "I have money?"

Nagato narrowed her eyes. "How much of a trust fund?"

Leaning back, Jacob looked through some papers. "Not much. Harold and Matilda, rest their souls, were not rich. They did live comfortably though and left their life savings as well as money gained via the sale of their home after their deaths. All told, both you and Dudley have £30,000 each in a trust fund to be used for schooling. Now, yours has had no activity in it despite what some might think. Dudley's though, and normally I would certainly not disclose this in any other circumstance, does. Mainly that it shows that it was used to pay for him to go to a school named Smeltings in the future." He then turned his gaze onto Nagato. "I'm afraid that you can't actually access it except to pay for his education. You can however, if you so wish, use twelve percent if you know anyone who has a knowledge of stocks."

With a hum, Nagato tapped her fingers on the table. "I might have a few ideas..." Neither Harry nor Jacob understood the gleam in her eye. 'Now how to convince Yukikaze to do a little trading...'

Quickly shaking it off, Jacob chuckled. "And now, for the mysterious chest. Miss Nagato, I believe that you have the key?" As the now smiling Nagato held up said key, he nodded. "If you would give that to Harry, I believe that it's time for the young lad to get what his grandfather left him."

Taking the key, Harry walked over to the trunk and unlocked it with a click. With one last look, Harry lifted the top and then blinked at the picture. "Who's that?"

Jacob just smiled at the sight of the man and the woman beside him. "That would be your grandfather and grandmother." His eyes softened a bit before he shook it off. "Now, the steamer trunk itself is actually a antique from the turn of the twentieth century. However, if you would look in the first large compartment, you should see one of the heirlooms passed down.'

Even though he looked at Nagato, said Battleship just shrugged and Harry moved the lid and his eyes widened. "Wow..."

Moving over, Nagato looked in and blinked before she gently reached in and began to pull out the wrapped objects. Unwrapping them one by one alongside Harry, she set them down and shook her head in disbelief. "Are... is this a real silver tea set? It must have cost a fortune..."

On the screen, Jacob shook his head. "Not quite." Seeing them look toward him, he continued. "That tea set was passed down through Matilda's side of the family. Now, according to her, her Great-grandfather worked on the railways way in the Nineteenth century. Now, he had worked for quite some time as a guard and when his daughter announced her wedding, he was allowed to take one of the hollowware sets from the train he worked on and give it to her as a wedding gift. Since then, it was passed down. I believe that Petunia was looking for it, but as it was willed to you, how about we keep it our little secret, hmm?"

Just nodding, Harry turned the teapot in his hands over and frowned. "I'm going to need to polish you..." Then he smiled as he set it down. "But I'll make sure to do a good job and make you pretty again."

Giving it a glance, Nagato turned back to the screen. "If you're right about the age, that means that it's over a hundred years old, correct?" After getting a sound of acknowledgment, Nagato just became thoughtful. "I wonder if Kongou or Mikasa-Sama had ever seen one of these..."

A laugh caused her to turn to see Harry open a small box. "Mum, look at these!" Harry then pulled out a tin soldier. "These are so cool!"

Taking one gently, Nagato just examined it closely before she nodded. "You're right..."

It was the sound of a throat being cleared that brought the two back and they turned to see Jacob watching them amusedly on the screen of the laptop. "Perhaps I should just send you a list and small bits of information regarding the history of the items? Part of the fun is discovering the history of one's family, after all."

Sharing a look with Harry, Nagato nodded. "Thank you, for both the work you've already done and for any further help."

The solicitor just waved her off. "It's a pleasure to help out my old friend's grandson."

For the rest of the night after he signed off, Harry and Nagato went through the chest, examining each piece that came to light. Both of them spending the time bonding, though Nagato would deny ever cuddling the teddy they found in the chest.

Harry just took a picture though.

 

Tiypo

Here's the joke B-Day snippet, the real one will be worked on when I can access my home computer this weekend.

Written on my phone, so sorry for format issues.

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He had worked for weeks on it in secret; researched blueprints, making sure each detail was perfect, and even traded some favors with the local high school metal working club to machine the parts. And while he was still optimistic, Harry was starting to become concerned with the various shades of red that Iku was turning after opening the present. It didn't help that as Nimu led her unresponsive sister into the next room over that Imuya sank to knees, then fell on her side before curling up into a shuddering ball and making stuttering statements about how her stomach hurt.

---------

Nimu had barely gotten the door to the shared living room closed when her sister suddenly reanimated and started shaking her violently in panic.

"Nimu! My heart can't handle this! I- I've been lewded by Harry-chan!"

"Don't think about it like that Iku. Think of it like... A 3D photo! Yes! A diorama is nothing more than a 3D photo!"

The commentary didn't seem to help. Iku backed off but her eye's seemingly spun as her brain attempted to find something to ground on.

"He looked at my blueprints... And hull from every single angle... It's too perfect... So lewd... The lewdest...."

Her mind seemed to connect to something and while spinning more than ever her eyes shine with a dangerous light.

"Yes... I just have to lewd him back!"

--------

Imuya had recovered and Harry waited with the other subs for Iku and Nimu's return. Their quiet chatting was suddenly interrupted as the door that the two had gone through was slammed open to reveal Iku being desperately held back from entering by a struggling Nimu.

"Run Harry! I can't stop her forever!"

Harry bolted for the front door of the subs home and Iku's wails of displeasure at her prey escaping echoed behind him.

 

Harry Leferts

Checking her watch, Nagato blinked as she looked up. "Harry, we've got to be going if we're going to meet up with the others and find a spot!"

The sound of fast footsteps could be heard before Harry came down hallway lugging a large picnic basket with him. "Coming Mum!"

Just as he slipped on his shoes though, Nagato swept him up into a hug which Harry returned. Despite the amount of times the two had done this, they simply enjoyed showing their affection for each other every chance they had. After nearly a minute though, Nagato placed him back down and kissed him on the head before she straightened. "Excited for Hanami?"

Looking up as he picked up the picnic basket, Harry just nodded. "Yeah, I can't wait."

A soft smile crossed Nagato's face as she picked up her own, much larger basket. Though calling what she was carrying a "Basket" was putting it mildly. Also on her shoulder was a duffle bag which she quickly looked over and gave a nod. "Well, I'm ready. And you got your jacket, so that's good."

Blinking, Harry looked up at his adopted mother and tilted his head. "What about you?"

Nagato just smiled and gestured at her civilian clothing. "I'm wearing a sweater, Harry. That'll keep me warm enough." Ruffling his hair, Nagato gently guided him toward the door. "Now then, the others are probably waiting for us, so we should get going."

Once they got outside, Harry looked around and spotted the submarines and Taigei heading toward them and waved. "HEY GUYS!"

Quickly jogging up, Iku and the other subs left a slightly nervous Taigei behind. Grinning, Iku was the first one to reach Harry and picked him up in a hug. "Hey yourself!"

Standing off to the side, Taigei didn't seem to know what quite to do, only to notice that Nagato was watching her. Bowing, she gulped. "U-um, hello, Nagato-San... Thank you for inviting us to Hanami."

Not even two seconds later, she felt a tug on her sleeve and looked to see Harry smiling up at her. "It's okay, you don't need to be nervous, Miss Taigei."

The Battleship crossed her arms as Taigei looked at her. "He's right you know. You can relax a little."

With a nod, Harry blinked. "Miss Taigei? Have you ever gone to Hanami?"

For a few seconds, Taigei thought it over before blushing as she poked her fingers together. "Well, I haven't, but my crew did and... I guess that I can kind of remember it." She then scrunched up her face a bit. "It's so odd..." Once she shook it off, she lifted her own basket, which was a similar size to Nagato's. "I've brought some food... hopefully it's it enough."

Someone then clapped and they turned in time for Inazuma to do a tackle hug of Harry, Tenryuu along with the rest of DesDiv6 following with Shinano. Inazuma just picked Harry up as she swung him around slightly. "Hawawawa! We're all going to see the Sakura! Nanodesu!"

Meanwhile, Harry just blinked and swallowed. "Wha... I think that I might be sick..."

Blinking, Inazuma rapidly set him down and blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that, Harry-Chan..."

Despite her amusement, which showed in her eyes, Nagato kept her face blank besides a raised eyebrow. "I would like it if you didn't manhandle my son, Inazuma." Then her expression softened some at the embarrassment that the Destroyer showed. "Just be more careful, hmm?"

Just nodding, Inazuma chuckled weakly. "Will do."

Taking Harry by the hand, she dragged him over to her sisters as Tenryuu walked up before giving a nod to Nagato. "Well, it seems that we're all here now. If we make some good time we should be at the park in time to claim a spot." With a smirk, she nodded at Taigei. "As to food, I think that we might have just enough for all of us."

At the sound of laughter, the three older shipgirls turned to see Harry hugging a blushing Shinano who ran her hand through his hair. Humming, Nagato shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder..."

Lightly laughing, Tenryuu shot Nagato a smirk before she cupped her hands. "Okay, let's head out everyone!" Much to her amusement, it seemed that the shipgirls automatically formed up into what looked like a classic escort pattern, with Harry in the middle by Shinano. "I wonder if they notice what they're even doing at times."

Nagato just let out a snort of amusement. "Doubtful." The three then joined the group as they passed them, Nagato being just behind Harry as Taigei was on one side of him and Shinano on the other. Her lips quirked upwards a touch as she spotted Harry chatting with the two slightly confused shipgirls about going to Hanami and asking them both questions. As he continued, Nagato's smile grew some as she spotted the two relaxing and figured out what he was doing, even if it was unconsciously.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Walking along the path, Harry looked around in awe at the flowering trees around them. "Wow..."

Her own eyes wide, Taigei just nodded. "It's certainly something to see..." Reaching up, she gently caught a floating petal in her hands and brought it close. "So different from my crew's memories..."

For her part, Hibiki just nodded as a thermos bounced against her hip. "Khorosho."

After a few moments, Harry glanced between Nagato and Shinano before he nodded and lightly tugged on Shinano's sleeve. "Um, Shinano-Chan?"

Looking down, Shinano blinked before she understood and crouched down so she could help Harry onto her shoulder before standing up. "There we go."

Softly humming, Harry nodded. "Thank you, Shinano-Chan! Now I can see everything!"

There was a slight blush on Shinano's cheeks as she scratched them, but she was also smiling at the same time. "You're welcome, Harry-Chan."

With a light laugh, RO twirled past before she walked backwards with her hands behind her back as she looked up at Harry with a wink. "Just be careful that you don't faint from a lack of oxygen from being so high up, okay?" In reply, Harry gave her a thumbs up and caused her to grin. "That's the spirit!"

It was then that Harry noticed something and pointed. "Hey, look, it's Fubuki-Nee, Yuudachi-Nee, and Mutsuki-Nee!"

Various members looked in the direction that Harry was looking and could see the three Destroyers relaxing under one of the trees. Fubuki was leaning against the trunk with Mutsuki leaning into her shoulder as the two observed the cherry blossom petals. On Fubuki's lap meanwhile, Yuudachi seemed to be dozing in contentment. Nagato just nodded as she smiled. "So it is. And you know better then to point at someone, Harry. It's rude."

Sheepish, Harry dropped his arm. "Sorry, Mum."

Meanwhile, having spotted them, Fubuki gave them a wave with Mutsuki joining her a moment later. It was only a few minutes later that the group found their own spot under the blossoms and set up, Hibiki finally pulling the thermos from her waist and filling several cups up with a thick, liquid before she passed it around. At the looks, she smiled. "I made some baked milk. It is very good, very khorosho."

Taking the small, plastic glass Hibiki gave him, Harry took a sip before nodding. "Thanks, Hibiki-Chan!"

Shinano reached into her own basket and then pulled out a bag with a smile. "I brought some of my pancakes for anyone who wants some since it's still early... We'll have the actual picnic in a bit, I think..."

Having spotted the glance from Shinano, Nagato nodded. "That sounds fine."

As it turned out, they all enjoyed their day off just enjoying each others' company and that of any of the other shipgirls or base personnel that dropped by. Though at least once Nagato spotted what she could have sworn was Goto and Kongou, though if it was, then Kongou let her hair out of it's usual style and was wearing normal clothes, same with Goto. Hence why she decided to ignore it for now.

 

Harry Leferts

MadGreenSon said:
Just imagining it was enough to make my remaining teeth fall out, you heartless kaiju.​

Congrats, somehow you inspired me to actually make it work...
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Laughter could be heard as the adults stopped their chat to look over to where Harry, the Destroyers, and even the Submarines were chasing each other in an odd game of tag through the falling petals. Every once in a while, one of them would jump on the back of another and more laughter burst out. Meanwhile, Nagato, Tenryuu, Taigei, and Shinano watched in bemusement. Though Shinano looked like she wanted to get up and join in, even though she was certain that she might not be wanted. Leaning back on her hands, Tenryuu hummed a bit and glanced at the basket. "Got anything good to drink in there?"

With a smile in her hand, Nagato reached in and pulled out a wine bottle. "Of course I would." Twisting the top off, she pulled out some plastic cups and poured the wine into them before giving them to each of the adults who thanked her. Nagato then raised the cup and nodded. "Kanpai."

Nodding, the others all took a drink as they continued to watch the group play. Finally, Tenryuu frowned slightly before she glanced at Taigei and Shinano, but then she shook her head. "You know, it's good to see the girls and Harry happy like that. Just being kids."

There was a slight smile on Nagato's face as she turned her head slightly. "Oh?"

Grinning, Tenryuu looked towards the Battleship and chuckled. "Fufufufu, you want some awesome insights from the Heavenly Dragon?"

All Nagato did though was roll her eyes at the "Chunniboat" before humming. "Perhaps."

It went without saying that Tenryuu just widened her grin before taking another sip of wine, pretending not to notice the confusion on both Shinano's and Taigei's faces. "Well now, lucky for you, I'm willing to part with some insights without wanting a price." Her expression then softened a bit. "In this case though? Look at him for a moment, Nagato. Your son's eight and going to turn nine in, what? July?"

Slowly, Nagato nodded. "End of July, but yes."

Grunting, Tenryuu made a note in her logbook just in case her daughters forgot. "Right. Anyways, look at him, he's enjoying being a kid. And you enjoy spending time with him..." Seeing the confusion in Nagato's face, the Light Cruiser rolled her visible eye. "What I'm trying to say is imprint these times in your memories. Tuck them away in your heart as they're precious as all hell. More precious then silver, gold, or any diamond. Because once they're gone, they're gone. In a few short years, Harry's going to be a teenager, not a cute little kid... I'll still call him kiddo though."

With a chuckle, the Battleship shot her fellow shipgirl momboat a smile. "Mmm."

Somehow, Tenryuu knew exactly what Nagato was saying and nodded. "And then, a few years after that, he'll be an adult. Sure, he has stated that he'll join up with the navy and become an Officer, and eventually a Admiral commanding shipgirls, but-"

Before she could finish, Shinano spoke up, steel underlaying her soft voice. "He will, I know that Harry-Chan will succeed in that, just like he's said and promised."

Needless to say, Tenryuu was just bemused as she looked at Shinano who suddenly wilted a bit and withdrew into her usual shyness. 'Yeah, she's a Yamato, no doubt about that.' Clearing her throat, Tenryuu tried to hide her smile. "Oh, I don't doubt he will if he wants to. But all the same, he'll be a grown man. Maybe he'll marry and have several grandchildren for you to spoil, Nagato. But..." Tenryuu held up a finger. "These days? Him being a child that laughs and plays as well as being able to be carried on your shoulders? These days will be gone with only the memory of them remaining."

For several moments, Nagato watched her before she turned back to where a winded Harry was being carried around on Inazuma's back. "I suppose then... that the metaphor of the sakura is apt in this case."

Tenryuu just nodded as she looked up at the pinkish blossoms above them. "Yeah..." She didn't, however, finish her thought. 'Especially if what I'm beginning to suspect about how long us Kanmusu will be around for is right...' A moment later, she shook off her malencholy as Inazuma reached them, easily carrying Harry as the rest of DesDiv6 and the Subgirls followed. "Heh, you bunch were looking like you were having fun."

Grinning around her slight blush, though she was not in the least bit winded, Inazuma nodded. "Yup! We had a lot of fun, Nanodesu!"

Simply nodding, Nagato patted the mat they had placed down for their picnic and smiled. "Well then, perhaps you might want to drink something and have a bite. We still got some food after all."

Once he was off Inazuma's back, Harry walked over to his own basket and waved for the others to come over. "And I got the best drink for us!"

Interested, Ikazuchi sat down and looked over the basket as the adults turned back to their conversation, only to blink and turn at her exclaimation. "Wow! Okay, that looks pretty awesome."

Turning, Nagato and the others for a moment thought that Harry had a wine or Champaign bottle at first. Mainly due to how it looked thanks to the shape and label. Their suspicions were not helped by the golden foil that covered the top and neck of the bottle. That is, until they looked at the label and Harry spoke up. "Yeah, sparkling apple and cranberry juice! I had Hoel bring it from the States." As he unwrapped the top, Nagato and the others all looked at their own bottle of wine, which looked a lot less fancy. Then Harry used a decorker to open the bottle with a pop before bringing out some items in his basket.

Mainly plastic wine glasses.

Which, of course, caused the larger displacement shipgirls to first look at the top that Nagato had twisted off, and then at their ordinary, plastic cups. Moments later, Harry poured the bubbly, reddish juice into one of the wine glasses and held it out to Akatsuki. "Here you go."

All of the subgirls, Harry, and DesDiv6 leaned in as Akatsuki first looked over the juice before holding it up toward the Sun and swishing it around. "Hmm... Nice coloration..." Bringing the glass up to her nose, she took a delicate sniff with her eyes closed and a slight frown on her lips. "Good smell..." Akatsuki then took a small, dainty sip of the juice and everyone could see that she was moving it back and forth over her tongue for almost a minute before she swallowed. Then she brought a hand up to her cheek. "And such an elephant taste! Harry-Chan, this is wonderful!"

Smiling, Harry began to pour more into other glasses before passing them around as Ikazuchi corrected her sister that it was "Elegant", not "Elephant". Then they all clinked their wine glasses together. "Kanpai!"

For her part, Tenryuu held a hand over her mouth as she shook somewhat at what was going on, a small bit of redness visible on her face. At the same time, Nagato just closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh.

Taigei and Shinano just looked utterly confused and lost meanwhile.

 

Harry Leferts

Laying in her bed, Shinano let out a soft sigh. After spending several days in the docks, she had finally had her repairs finished and stumbled into her room the night before utterly exhausted. She was so tired that she barely made a word against White helping her to get ready for bed before slipping under the covers and being out like a light. However, despite all that and the pain she had gone through, she could not help the smile on her face that was so large, her cheeks hurt. A smile that Shinano had been wearing for several days. Even though she was still mostly useless, she had managed, while injured, to send out a flight of her planes that had stop an Abyssal aircraft raid in it's tracks. More then that, Musashi and Yamato had both told her that they were proud of her.

That had made her year right there. Even more so when the two stated that she proved that no matter what, she was a Yamato. Them saying that was worth more gold then if her old hull was made of the precious metal.

In fact, the only downside was the worried expression on Harry's face when he had seen her until he was convinced that she was alright. Soon he busied himself making sure that she was taken care of. All Shinano wanted to do was to relax for a little while And then a smell reached her nose that caused it to twitch before her stomach began to grumble, which sounded like her supply officer at the same time. Sitting up, the Support Carrier wiped a bit of drool away from her mouth as she looked sleepily around. Not too long after, she stumbled to the door for the bedroom and pulled it to the side and stopped before her eyes got wide. "Eep! Harry-Chan!"

Blinking, Harry looked to the door to see Shinano peaking from the other side at him. "Morning, Shinano-Chan!"

Slowly, the door opened and Shinano glanced at the small table to see White there sipping strawberry milk before she turned her attention back onto Harry. "U-uh, what are you doing here?"

His head tilting to the side, Harry blinked for a moment. "Victory breakfast!"

With a blink, Shinano focused fully on him and had to swallow to keep from drooling as she finally noticed the breakfast cart and how Harry was cooking on a portable electric stove. "V-Victory breakfast..."

Nodding, Harry wagged a spatula at her. "Yup! Because you deserve it and now everyone else now knows how awesome me and White have known you always were!"

Eyes wide, Shinano blushed before she shyly poked her fingers together. "I... I wouldn't say that..."

It was then that White piped up with a large smile on her face. "I would!"

Still blushing, Shinano hung her head as she walked over to hide her smile before sitting down. "Thank you, White-Sensei... Harry-Chan..." Glancing around, Shinano rubbed her growling stomach before something occurred to her. "Wait... couldn't we have it in the cafeteria?"

Both Harry and White shared a grimace before Harry pointed outside. "Um... yeah... but, uh, there's a couple of reporters outside even though Musashi-Oba has been chasing them around every time she's found one..."

Wincing, Shinano withdrew into herself as she imagined meeting reporters before she nodded. "Oh... breakfast here is fine then." Once she sat down though, she blinked as Harry walked over to the breakfast cart where there was an expensive looking silver tea set and made Shinano a cup of tea. "Where did you get that, Harry-Chan? I've never seen Kongou using that one."

Harry just looked over his shoulder and blinked. "Oh, this is mine... well, my family's." Finishing the tea, he brought it over to where Shinano was sitting. "It belonged to my grandmother and it's been in my family. I just finished polishing it a few days ago."

Gently, Shinano took the cup and looked down at it. "Um... should you be using it then? Especially for me...?"

That only got her a frown from Harry before he shook his head. "It's a special breakfast! Besides, tea sets are made to be used and it's too pretty to just leave around and never to enjoy." All three of them turned to look at the tea pot at the sound of the lid moving to see the lid stop shaking and a small cloud of steam raising from it. "Huh... that's weird. Didn't know that steam could do that..."

Before Shinano could comment though, Harry reached for and grabbed a covered plate before placing it in front of her and pulling off the lid. Almost immediately there was the smell of cinnamon. Shinano and White felt their mouths water at the sight of the waffles there before Harry opened another covered plate to show hot cinnamon rolls that dripped icing. Slowly, White raised her hand with as she gave Harry puppy dog eyes. "Can I have some?"

All Harry did though was blink at her. "I was planning for you to since all three of us are eating."

Softly squealing, White grabbed a plate and began to place various things on it with Shinano joining her. At the same time, Harry finished up cooking up the eggs and other things. The whole time, Shinano had a large smile on her face as she enjoyed both the food and the company.