Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hands in his pockets, Harry gave his adopted mother an odd look on his face. Almost as soon as he had gotten off the train, she had given him a hug and was soon followed by Imuya, Shioi, and Hachi. But before he could ask anything else though, she had taken the large box in his hands and raised an eyebrow which he shrugged at. "Um, they're treats from the cart. She had them ready for me when we got to the end of the train ride."

As he yawned, she guided him towards the portal between the two sides of Kings Cross. "Well then, I know for a fact that the others will enjoy them when we get back to Japan." Seeing his look, she only shook her head some. "Now then, we should probably hurry up since we do have others waiting on us."

They had just gotten through the portal with Harry opening his mouth when a voice shouted. "Big Brother!" Before he could react, a small missile impacted him in the stomach and two arms reached around him as the small body shook. "Big Brother..."

Nearly automatically, his arms came up to hug Hoppou close as he turned to Nagato who shook her head slightly. "She was worried about you, Harry. And I knew that if I did not find some way for her to come, she would find a way."

Softly sighing, Harry looked down and hugged his smaller sister who was shaking some. "Hey now, I'm alright. See? Perfectly alright, Hoppou."

Red eyes stared right back up to him and Harry had to hide a small smile. Hoppou was after all dressed in thick clothing and with a large, woolen hat to disguise what she was. Slowly, Hoppou reached up and then booped him on the nose which made him laugh and Hoppou finally smile as she snuggled back into her brother's arms. "Hoppou is glad."

It was then that another voice spoke up and Harry turned to see Natsumi there. "And she's not the only one." Walking forward, the twelve year old hugged her friend close. "I was pretty worried from everything as well."

Eventually though a cough caused them to turn and Natsumi blushed at seeing the amused look on her mother's face. "Quite, and I hope that you don't make it a habit of making my Musume worry."

Whinning a bit, Natsumi gave her mother a disbelieving look. "Haha-ue..."

All Harry did though was shake his head and met her stare evenly. "I'll try my best not to." Even as she pulled away from the hug, Natsumi found that she couldn't move far as Harry still had an arm around her waist. "I promise."

Suddenly, Natsumi's mother hummed and nodded. "Oh, I think that you'll certainly try, Harry-San." Turning, she gestured for Harry to follow. "Anyways, Nagato-San was kind enough to get us transport in the form of a van and a driver to take us to this... Leaky Cauldron place. Do you know much about our plans?"

Not having taken his arm away from where it was around Natsumi's waist nor noticing her leaning into him a bit, Harry frowned a bit. "Um, well, Mum said that she was thinking of us visiting Stonehenge for the Winter Solstice tomorrow for sunrise. And then some shopping?" When he looked at her, Nagato nodded. "And then we'll head up to Bath for some relaxation before we head home."

There was a thoughtful look on Sakuya's face as she nodded. "That is what she told us as well. I will admit that we have done some sightseeing while here though. For example, we saw the Tower of London, which was rather interesting..."

On Natsumi's face there was a small frown as she rubbed her arms. "It was a bit creepy though. All that place has seen and gone through has seeped into it's very stones and..." She looked around before leaning in towards Harry. "We saw one of the ghosts there, some woman with her head chopped off."

It took a few moments, but Harry nodded as he realized who she must have seen. "Oh, that must have been Anne Boleyn. She was a Queen and one of Henry the Eighth's wives... I think he had her head cut off so he could marry someone else since she couldn't give him a son or something."

Grimacing, Natsumi shook her head as Imuya scowled and commented on it. "That's a stupid reason to kill someone."

Harry simply shrugged before Hachi frowned thoughtfully. "Do you know why there was so many ravens there, Harry-Chan? It seemed like they were really being cared for."

From her spot buried in his side, Hoppou nodded. "Hoppou liked the black birdies. They were really nice to Hoppou and sat on her head!"

With a smile on his face, Harry nodded some. "There's this old legend about the ravens. Um..." Humming, he slowly nodded some. "From what I remember, there must always be ravens in the Tower. If they should happen to all leave, then the Kingdom shall fall."

That only caused Natsumi's mother to slowly nod. "I see... That is a rather interesting legend." Quickly shaking off any thoughts as they left the station, she glanced around the bustling city and shook her head. Though she did watch with some amusement as Harry was suddenly stumbling as Imuya jumped onto his back. 'Oh yes, Haru-Nee was quite correct when she said that things might become rather amusing in the future. And I don't think that I might mind certain possible aspects all too much.'
_______________________________________________________________________

A sigh escaped from the kitsune as she flopped back onto the bed and bounced a bit. For several moments, she stared up at the ceiling and smiled as she patted her now full belly. The feeling of which was already making her eyes close halfway. On the bed that he was sharing with his wife, Kensuke let out a breath. "Now that... was a rather good meal, though heavy. Thank you, Harry-San for treating us."

From their own bed, Natsumi's younger sisters bounced and giggled some before yawning. "Yes, thank you, Harry-Nii-San!"

With a jab to his side, Taichi rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, thanks for that." He then paused some and frowned as he internally counted the beds. "Uh... guys? I don't think that we have enough unless Natsumi's sharing the same bed as either Haha-Ue and Chichi-ue, or mine."

Softly chuckling, Haru shook her head some. "No, Oi. After all, your Imoutos shall be sharing the bed with your parents while I shall be in this bed along with you." At Taichi turn towards Nagato who had already laid down on her bed with Hamakaze and a curious Urakaze as well as Hoppou, Haru became more amused. "No, I'm afraid that she will not be in that bed either."

Everyone there could see his mind ticking before his eyes widened and he noticed Harry walk out of the bathroom in his pajamas. The fact that a smiling Shinano and the two Submarines were also ignored. "... No, hell no."

Just scowling, Natsumi picked up a shirt from the floor and threw it at her brother's face. "Yes, and there's nothing that you can do. Now shut up, I want to go to sleep and I'm sure that the rest of us want to as well."

Looking towards his father, Taichi's eyebrow twitched as the older kitsune shrugged. "I have no problem with it..." Internally, he continued without saying the rest. 'After all, I do approve of her choice.' Shaking that off, Kensuke rolled his eyes at his oldest. "And according to Haru-San, this is not the first time. So I shall trust them for nothing to happen."

Confused, Harry tilted his head and blinked. "Poi?"

All Natsumi did was pat him on the head some. "Don't worry about it, Harry-Chan. Onii-Chan is just being a baka as per usual."

Sputtering some, Taichi looked at her in disbelief before leaning towards his father and whispering. "But Chichi-Ue, they're not kids anymore. He's practically a teen!"

Eyes flicking towards Harry, Kensuke was about to say something back when Sakuya stepped in and whispered low enough that while her son heard her, Harry did not. "And as your father has stated, neither of us have any issues. Now relax some and have a good night's sleep, Taichi-Chan. We do need to get up rather early in the morning."

Unable to quite believe what he was hearing, Taichi grasped at his final straws. "There's no way that they'll all fit on the bed though. They're all too big."

A grin then spread across Natsumi's face as she snickered. "Oh yeah, Onii-Chan? Just watch!" Clearing her throat, she turned towards Shinano who looked utterly lost at what was going on and somewhat unsure. "Um, Shinano-Chan? Could you lie back?"

With a small frown and a glance at Natsumi's confused brother, Shinano gave a small smile. "Okay, Natsumi-Chan." Shifting her large body around, she tossed the covers to one side and then laid down on the bed. "Is this good?"

Giving her a thumbs up, Natsumi nodded. "That's great! Okay, Harry-Chan, now it's our turn."

Taichi's jaw dropped as the two twelve year olds climbed up onto Shinano's body and then laid down on top, their heads pillowed on her chest as the Carrier hummed happily. Before he could say anything though, Imuya and Hachi slipped in beside Shinano and placed their heads on her shoulders with Shioi placing her head on Harry's thigh and the Yamato's arms around all of them. Then Hachi pulled the covers over all six of them and snuggled into the cuddle pile. 'Ah... I've missed this.'

Eyebrow twitching, Taichi could only watch as Natsumi stuck her tongue out at him. 'I don't believe this... I really don't believe this...' Only internally grumbling as he knew that he had lost, the kitsune climbed into his own bed. 'Bah, I'll take care of it in the morning.'

Several minutes later, the dark room was filled with the sounds of sleeping, though Hamakaze was still awake and keeping an eye out. Meanwhile, in their bed, Harry sighed and snuggled in a bit. "I'm glad that you're here like Natsumi-Chan, Shinano-Chan, Hachi-Chan, Imuya-Chan."

One eye open, the red haired Submarine chuckled a bit. "And trust me, Harry-Chan, we're pretty happy about being here."

Nodding, Shinano happily smiled a bit at feeling some of her closest friends cuddled into her. "Hai, thank you for inviting us. I know that it was supposed to be originally Natsumi-Chan's family only, but, um..."

As she snorted, Natsumi shook her head. "I really don't mind too much. Besides, you're a good friend and such. Also, you're here to protect Harry-Chan just in case."

Upon Shinano's face was a small, soft smile. "I'm really thankful to Teitoku that he let us go since... you know." When Harry nodded, Shinano bit her lip and glanced around. Not seeing anyone else up, she leaned down and gave a kiss to the top of Harry's head and then Natsumi's. Soon that was followed by her doing the same with Hachi and Imuya. "I'm really glad though."

With a yawn, Natsumi nodded and hummed a bit. "So am I. But we really do need to get to sleep for... the morning. We got a lot... to do."

Her eyes closing, Shinano nodded with a soft sigh. "Hai, Natsumi-Chan... Pleasent dreams."

Mutters of much the same were her answer and, soon enough, she drifted off into slumber alongside the others. All of them looking forward to the morning.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Snow crunching underneath her boots, Natsumi was looking around in the darkness as they trundged up the hill towards Stonehenge. A glance over at the horizon showed a small lightening before she turned towards Harry. "I can't believe that you got us tickets to this! Everyone at school will be so jealous!"

With snickers, Harry shrugged as he looked around himself "No problem, Natsumi-Chan. Besides, it is pretty awesome." Hearing a yawn though, he turned towards Natsumi's younger sisters who were rubbing their eyes some. "You two okay?"

Blinking away some of the sleepiness, Rei nodded with a smile. "Uh-huh. But why is it so early?"

There was a small smile on Haru's face as she ruffled her neice's hair. "That way we get here before it really becomes too crowded. And so that we get a good spot to watch the sunrise." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and hummed. "Can you feel that, Natsumi-Chan? What is in the air?"

A little bit confused, Natsumi furrowed her eyebrows and then took a deep breath herself and let her senses expand without revealing her true nature. Then she opened her eyes and let out her breath. "Oh... wow..."

Hands in her sleeves, Haru looked around Salisbury Plains. "That is the weight of ages that you are feeling, Natsumi-Chan. It may not be the same as some places in Japan, but this is an ancient place. One where the local Kami were observed long ago and may yet again." Looking at the silent stones standing ahead, the kitsune hummed. "It would have been something, I think, to see it in it's heyday so many centuries ago."

Giggles though caused her to turn to see Hachi there with a book open in her hands. "A bit older then a few centuries ago, I think." Running a finger along one part of her book, she shook her head. "After all, a good chunk of Stonehenge was built more then 4,000 years ago."

Eyes widening, Shinano looked around in awe. "This place is that old? Really?"

When Hachi shook her head though, Shinano calmed down a bit only for freeze at her next words. "There was earlier things built going back about 8,000 years ago."

Beside her, Harry nodded a bit. "I remember one time when I was with, um... the Dursleys. The teacher had us watch a video on it..." There was a small frown on his face. "They didn't really like that for some reason. Anyways... from what I remember Stonehenge was just one small part of it." Harry then pointed off in one direction. "There's a hill over there I think that's part of it and was constructed by the same people who made Stonehenge."

Slowly noddng, Hachi smiled. "And that would be correct, Harry-Chan. Silbury Hill is part of it and some think that they were part of the ceremonies here at Stonehenge. And then there's all sorts of other spots here as well."

There was a smile on Natsumi's face as she looked around. "Oh wow..."

Just behind her, Taichi shrugged. "Yeah, that's pretty cool I guess but..." He then turned to his aunt with a frown. "Is there any place like that in Japan? That's as old?"

Humming, Haru tapped one finger against her arm as she deeply thought about the question. "There are a few truly ancient sites in Japan, yes. However, getting to them is another issue as some were buried by volcanoes and others... Others have been hidden. Some are newer then that though."

Never having heard about this, Nagato raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? What sort of places are we talking about?"

Only waving a hand around, Haru shook her head. "Ancient places of worship, others are burials... The Mound of Queen Himiko being one such place as is the old site of her capital city."

Almost as one, every single shipgirl turned and stared at her as did her neices, nephew, and Harry as they spoke at once. "Wait, what!?"

Chuckling, she slowly nodded. "Hai, Queen Himiko did once exist long ago. And there is some of us who know where her city once stood as well as her burial mound." There was a far off look on her face as she grimaced. "When Japan was opened, there was a short window of time when the older magicals and those yokai knowledgable in the mystic arts attempted to hide as many of our most treasured places. Not just from outsiders as one fear was one of our own telling someone about them. As it was, nine months later, the goblins sent their first 'Treasure Hunting' team in an attempt to raid Queen Himiko's burial mound. They were met by a small army of Oni guarding it and buying time. By the time the army was finally put down, it was too late and even the goblins could not find either her burial mound or where her city once was."

Urakaze stared at her in stunned disbelief before hissing. "They were going to... to... dig up Queen Himiko and rob her!?"

Very slowly, Haru nodded with a far off look in her eyes. "Hai, they were going to do that. The British goblins... do not have much respect for other cultures I'm afraid from my own experience. Egypt has seen quite a bit of them pillaging tombs there until the shipgirls of the Ancient Egyptian tombs woke up and fought back. And I would not be too surprised if they did much the same with other such places elsewhere... And yet, at least one goblin rebellion was started when a wizard dug up a goblin tomb and took the treasure inside."

Frowning, Harry scratched his head. "You know, I have to wonder what they do with what they take from the tombs? Where does it all go?"

Silent for a moment, Haru had a deep frown on her face. "I am afraid that it's not exactly a secret." Quickly shaking it off, the kitsune let out a sigh. "Now let's not think anymore of such things. After all, we got a ceremony to observe after all."

As one, they turned towards the stones and Natsumi walked up to one and gently laid her hand on it. Closing her eyes, she stood there for a few minutes before gesturing for Harry to come over. Once he did though, she grabbed his arm and laid it against the stones. "Feel that, Harry-Chan?"

Confused, Harry stood there for a moment before he blinked. There was... something there. Almost like being near a high voltage wire, but it was just at the edges of his senses. "Hai, what is that?"

Eyes closed, Natsumi just smiled a bit. "That Harry-Chan, is all the energy that has seeped into the stones over time. All of it."

There was an awed look as Harry looked over the stone. "Wow..." Roughly forty minutes later though found Harry and the others as close to the center of the stone circle as possible. Up on Harry's shoulders, Hoppou was staring at the brightening horizon as Hachi, Imuya, Shioi were beside him. Crouched down a bit, Shinano was right behind him with Rei and Asuka on her shoulders while the others watched. Shinano hugged him best that she could as Harry pointed. "Hey, there's the sunrise!"

All of them had various expressions as the Sun finally broke over the horizon, sending a beam of light right through the stone circle. Harry then noticed at Natsumi was holding his hand and he smiled at her... Which was when things went strange for the group.

One moment, they were in a ruined stone circle with thousands of other people as the Sun rose. And then there was a second of a high pitched hum before they blinked and found themselves elsewhere, or rather elsewhen. Around them, Stonehenge as it once stood rose up while a large fire burned just behind them. In the distance, other large fires could be seen including one upon Silbury Hill, having done their duties driving back the darkness of the night. Meanwhile, around them, there were silhouettes of people and whispers of ancient music that reached their ears as the Sun rose higher and higher.

And then, when it finally broke the horizon, so too did the spell and they were all back in the present. From the mutters of surprise and shock around them, it seemed that they were not the only ones who experienced it. Blinking, Taichi slowly lowered his phone and blinked as he replayed the video he had taken... and found out that what had happened was on it as well. "...Okay, that was unexpected."

Glancing at the television camera crew broadcasting live, Haru chuckled a bit. "Yes, it was. And somehow, I doubt very much that the Ministry is going to try hard to cover this up. Yet another crack in the wall, as it were..."

Nagato just shook her head in disbelief before keeping an eye out for any Obliviators. Best not to rock the boat too much.
______________________________________________________________________

Walking along Diagon Alley, Harry looked up at Shinano who was looking around. On eithe side, Hamakaze and Urakaze were walking. Unnoticed by him though, Urakaze kept turning back to regard him with a slightly odd look on her face as he continued to talk with Shinano. "So any ideas what you want to buy for Christmas gifts?"

Just biting her lip, Shinano shook her head a bit with a hum. "I... don't really know, Harry-Chan. And I feel sort of bad since you gave me money to buy some gifts. You didn't have to."

Harry only shook his head though, not caring in the slightest. "And like I said, Shinano-Chan... I really don't mind. Besides, you can always repay me later."

Sniffling a bit, Shinano leaned down and enveloped one of her oldest friends in a tight hug. "Thank you, Harry-Chan." When she stood back up though, she chewed her lip a bit. "Though isn't this cutting into your own gift shopping?"

Much to her surprise though, Harry shook his head with a smile. "Nope! I actually got it all done already. And I just finished your gift."

To Hamakaze's silent amusement, Shinano flushed deeply though there was a smile on her face. Then she looked around and leaned down. "Really? What did you make me, Harry-Chan?"

Chuckling, Harry reached up best as he could and tapped her on the nose. "I can't tell you, Shinano-Chan. You'll just have to wait until Christmas... though I promise that you'll love it."

Now even Hamakaze began to chuckle as Shinano pouted a bit though her eyes sparkled in happiness. "Mou, you sure that you can't tell me?" When a grinning Harry shook her head, she huffed a bit. "Then I won't tell you what I got for you!"

It was now Harry's turn to pout a little which made Shinano smile victoriously. Lips twitching, Harry turned away and looked around at the various small stands and such. "Um, is there anything that you can think of though?"

Frowning, Shinano glanced around. "Um... I don't really know." Furrowing her eyebrows, she suddenly smiled. "I know that Onee-Sama likes birdsong..."

Eyes brightening, Harry grabbed her hand and dragged her along. "Then I know the perfect spot!" Blushing, Shinano allowed herself to be pulled along until they reached a small shop. Walking inside, Shinano's eyes widened some at all the various small boxes on display. On one, a man dressed as a Prince danced with a Princess. But Harry dragged her towards a different section and pointed. "Here we go, Shinano-Chan!"

Moments passed before Shinano smiled at the sight of what looked like tiny birds who sat in various ornate boxes. But what caught Shinano's attention was one in particular which looked like a Sakura tree's in bloom, with a group of birds on it. Seeing a switch, she flicked it and they all came to life and began to sing. As they did so, Harry could only smile at the wonder on his friend's face. "Well?"

Softly squealing, Shinano hugged him. "This is perfect for Onee-Sama! I know that she'll love it!"

All Harry did was grin at the happiness in his friend's face. By the time they left the Alley, not just Shinano had bags of gifts. And so did Hamakaze and Urakaze, though those two tried to argue it with him. But they were shot down by Harry who told him that he was not going to shop and not let them have a chance either. As they entered the Leaky Cauldron, Hamakaze only sighed with a small smile as her fairies placed the various gifts into her hold. "Thank you, Harry-San, I apppreciate it and I think that Isokaze-Chan and Yukikaze-Chan will as well when they get their gifts."

Harry just smiled back only to blink as Urakaze gave him a smile of her own and bowed a bit. "And ah thank you as well, Harry-San. An' don't be worryin', I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

Trying to see where the others were waiting for the trip to the Baths, Shinano nodded before she frowned. "Did you get Natsumi-Chan a gift as well?"

Just shaking his head, Harry chuckled. "I made hers as well, it's just waiting for Christmas. When I get back, I've got to try something that I came across."

Interested, Urakaze raised an eyebrow at him. "Wha' did you come across?"

Grinning, Harry glanced around again. "I found a recipe for Cauldron Cakes, but I think that I can replace the normal cream filling with peanut butter. From what I can see, it should turn out really good!"

For a few seconds, Shinano considered it and then began to giggle. "I think that Natsumi-Chan will like that a lot, Harry-Chan. I think that she'll like it alot..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 17: S0ngD0g13

Houshou's First Date, Part 2...
..........................................

James offered Houshou his arm and escorted Houshou out to the car he'd borrowed from Corporal McCoy; how the Corporal had gotten a '39 LaSalle ragtop to Japan was beyond him, but Kenneth McCoy owed him a favor, anyway. "Gods Above an' Below, Houshou, you look like you just stepped off the Silver Screen," he said quietly as he opened the door for her.

Houshou blushed and smiled. "You look good yourself, James; very dapper."

James smiled and they drove off-base to the Black Butterfly.

...............................

When the pair arrived, the band was onstage and in full swing, playing Take the 'A' Train, and James escorted Houshou to a table and pulled her chair out for her. "Would you like a drink, Houshou?"

The Carrier glanced over the menu and then back up at her date. "I'm not sure... What would you recommend?"

James looked over the menu himself and then nodded. "For you, I would recommend a Jack Rose. Apple brandy, lime juice, and grenadine, shaken over ice and served in a cocktail glass."

Houshou smiled and nodded as the band began to play Stompin' at the Savoy, and teased James. "And you? What will you drink, James?"

"I was always one for simple drinks. I always order the same drink."

"Oh?"

James lifted two fingers to call a waitress. "A Jack Rose for the lady, Miss, and two fingers Jameson's on the rocks for me, please."

The two sipped their drinks and listened to the band for a while; Houshou enjoyed the taste of her Jack Rose.

James looked over the room, watching couples dancing and smiling, and smiled wistfully. "Had a place like this in my hometown, back in the States. The Blind Pig, in Greeneville."

Right then the band struck up a Vera Lynn tune, and James stood. "Care to dance?" he asked, offering his hand.

As the couples danced, forgetting the Abyssal War in the hopeful lyrics of an earlier time...

The band-leader sang out,

"There'll be Blue-Birds over,
The White Cliffs of Dover,
Tomorrow,
Just you wait and see..."

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, that looks so much more than wonderful. I'm afraid that my offering is going to be significantly less so. You see, I've been thinking about someone having a conversation with Malfoy the Elder for some time now, but I couldn't figure out who would do it. Then I remembered: Revina is Abyssal Pinkie Pie. The key word is not Pinkie Pie.

I honestly don't know if Hogwarts uses coaches like this, but I liked the idea too much to pass up.
-----

Lucius Malfoy stormed through the halls of his Alma Mater in a fury. The Potter brat had ruined the plan that he had been forming ever since that diary found its way into his hands. He all but outed Malfoy as the perpetrator of Hogwarts' troubles throughout the year. And just now, the boy and his… allies had inflicted one final humiliation on him: the loss of his house elf. Harry Potter would pay for this insult. Already, Malfoy was setting plans in order.

He slammed the doors open with a wave of his wand. It was not nearly so satisfying as shoving them open with his bare hands, but why should he dirty himself? He stomps down the path to the carriage. Potter would not simply have to suffer. He would have his allies, his friends, stripped away little by little. He would feel the agony of being alone, truly alone. Malfoy yanked the door open, climbed in, slammed the door.

"Hello, Mister Lucius Malfoy!"

Malfoy plastered himself against the door he had just closed, grasping desperately for the wand in his cane. Sitting beside him, where there had been no one, was a young woman with an almost albino complexion smiling at him with glowing golden eyes. On her lap sat the fattest, ugliest snake Malfoy had ever seen. There was no flash, no noise, no sudden movement. In the split second he had looked away, she had simply appeared.

The carriage began rolling.

"That is you, right?" she said, extending a hand in greeting. "Lucius Malfoy, Draco's daddy?"

Malfoy eased himself back into his seat, carefully on guard. Whatever the woman was, she was not human.

"And what if it is?" he said. Not explicitly naming himself. There were fey who could turn that against you.

"I'm a friend of Harry's!" she replied in that same, cheery tone. She must have noticed the sneer forming on Malfoy's lip, because she continued on. "Ah, I see you've heard of him. Wonderful kid, isn't he!"

"Then why aren't you up there with him?" he asked, tightly controlling his voice. Angering one of Potter's pets would serve him no purpose here and now. Unless…

"Oh, he doesn't know I'm here," she replied blithely. "I kind of like to drop by while no one's looking, make sure everything's okay. She stroked her snake's back. "You know how it is, right?"

"I can't say that I do," he replied. The woman was obviously naïve and childlike. He could work that to his advantage, make her angry enough to strike him. It would give him power against Potter and his ilk—

"Well! As I came over to check up on dear Harry, I couldn't help but notice that you were quite… apoplectic?" She stared at the ceiling briefly, losing herself in thought for a moment. "That's a good word. Apoplectic about his victory. Shall we put that down as victory over you?"

Either she was expertly evading his needling, or she was driving to another point. Lucius steeled himself, preparing for—

"I saw that look on your face," the woman continued. Her smile shrank gradually. Lucius, realizing what the look in her eyes meant, felt for the tip of his cane.

"I didn't like that look."

The woman slid around to face him, and suddenly all of his instincts were screaming for him to flee, her movement was wrong and unnatural and that's not a snake holy merlin that's not a snake, her tail snaked across and closed its teeth ever so gently around the hand that had found its way to his cane wand. Her eyes bored deep into his, and he felt himself gazing through the light into a deep, all-consuming darkness that was looking back at him through the girl and it was hungry for him it was going to eat him it was

"Let's get one thing straight, Mister Malfoy." Somehow, it only made it worse that she spoke in the same happy, cutesy voice. "I believe I got your measure just about now. You're the type who wants to be the big villain. You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth, and you tell yourself that today's the day! You're finally gonna be Sauron or Emperor Palpatine, or whatever crap you wizards have. But you know something? You're the one who will never make the cut. Because you are afraid. And you are showing me that fear. Sure, you throw a book in a little girl's hands, and you nearly took out some students you didn't think ought to be there."

The tail' began to bite down harder.

"But that was the book doing that. You were never in danger, no, you were far away from the danger. I'd bet that, were you heading into the danger, you'd be safe and secure with your best mates surrounding you. Which shows that you will never be the nightmare you want to be. Because you?"

She poked him in the chest.

"You. Haven't. The Nerve."

Lucius held his silence. Rather, he COULDN'T say anything. Fear had frozen him solid.

"So. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to go back to your big fancy house and your ordinary life. You play with your kid, you read your books, you mess around with your wife." She threw an amicable hand over his shoulder, and the tail withdrew slowly from Malfoy's hand. "Heck, give little Lizardo some kid siblings. None of my business, amirite?"

The hand over his shoulder squeezed down with bone crushing force.

"And you leave Harry the hell alone. Cause if you do… That life I mentioned?" She gestured, a grand, wide sweep of her free hand. "Kid, books, wife, manor?" She smiled again. Or rather, she bared her teeth.

"All gone. Poof, just like that." Her voice finally shifted from its cheery tone, which somehow only made it worse. "And then you get to follow it."

"You… wouldn't," Lucius attempted, speaking past the agony of the hand clamped onto him. "You're… with… the light…"

"Yeah, funny thing that." The woman says. Her smile turns demonic. "See, the light? Yeah, I'm kind of on their side. But me, and them, we… Well. I'm not some shining example of some paladin type character."

Suddenly, her face is in his, and Lucius feels her eyes again, feels himself burned by the flames and torn to pieces by the void, consumed by the nothing.

"I'm not a good girl, Mister Malfoy. I'm the monster they keep in the basement. I'm the one they lock away, because if I get out?"

She grins too wide.

"There's hell to pay before they put me back."

Suddenly, she was sitting serenely on her half of the carriage again. "Good talk?" she said. "Good talk. Laters, Mister M!"

She kicked the door of the carriage from its hinges, and leaped out. Lucius heard an insane cackle that was swiftly swallowed up by distance.

He daren't look back after her.
-----
What do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, I'm a bit of a basket case, so I'm not sure how that's going to go. Hope what comes next doesn't count. Now then, time for action!

Waking Up

-----

Laughter. School girls chattering back and forth excitedly, like so many parakeets in a pet store. The low rumble of wheels on tracks straining through for one final burst, and vanishing. End of the line.

Namiko slowly let go of her legs and lowered them to the floor of the train car. Around her, the members of her school's Kanmusu Tracking Club leapt to their feet and began milling about, pulling luggage down from the overhead compartments. They were less like parakeets now than they were mice. Namiko held herself back from the press of humanity, stretching her legs out from her sitting position and letting the relief wash over her.

"Hey, hey, Nagawa-san!" Hoshikawa Umi said, sticking her head over the seat and grabbing Namiko by the shoulders. She stifled a shriek and looked up into her excited classmate's eyes. "You're excited, right? We finally get to see real live Kanmusu! How do you think Nijima-sensei was able to set this up?"

"I-I couldn't venture to say," Namiko replied, praying that her startlement didn't show through. She'd been steeling herself for this trip ever since the beginning of the month, when Nijima-sensei had announced where their training camp would be this year.

Why do we have a training camp? All we do is research Kanmusu, and all you need for that is the internet.

"Hey, MizuMizu! Get moving!" someone yells. Namiko stood bolt upright with a shriek and Umi laughed.

The MizuMizu name was a joke; Namiko's name was written with the kanji for "wave" and Umi's the kanji for "ocean." When combined with the way Umi followed her around trying to get her to play, it didn't take long for someone to name their little comedy act.

The two wrestled their overnight bags from the rack and walked from the train car. Umi began chattering excitedly, because they were in Yokosuka, where Nagato and Yamato and Kongou were stationed, and do you think maybe we'll see one of them around town? Namiko laughed carefully along, wondering where she'd be able to retreat to for privacy. Ahead of them, Nijima-sensei was calling the girls to order so that she could do a headcount.

And then the train exploded.

Namiko's ears EXPLODED and she was thrown forward into a tangle of limbs. As the ringing subsided, she heard sirens blaring and a voice on an intercom.

"… proceed calmly to one of the bunkers and wait there until the all clear is given. Warning. An Abyssal attack has broken the safety net and made land fall. Please proceed calmly—"

"Stand up! Nagawa-san, stand up!" She was pulled to her feet suddenly—Umi, her face dirty and eyes wide with terror. Nijima-sensei was calling out instructions, trying to calm down the girls who were screaming hysterically and move them towards wherever the bunkers were. Namiko felt heat around her and slowly realized with growing horror that it was coming from the station and the flaming debris. She stumbled forward, knelt next to a girl who is huddled on the ground weeping unabashedly.

"It's okay, Miko-chi," she said gently. "We're all going to be fine. Alright?"

Miko held back her tears long enough to nod hesitantly.

"Good. Now I need you to stand up, Miko-chi. We need to get to safety. Can you do that?"

Soon Miko was wobbling like a baby bird, but she was standing and that's what was important. Around her, Nijima-sensei had motivated the students to stand and move, and luggage forgotten, they fled down the steps towards the town. Around them, they saw people exiting shops and houses, walking towards the center of town.

Continuing further, it became obvious that they were at the tail-end of the crowds fleeing, and they seemed to be the most frantic of them to boot. There was an air around them of, if not calm, then acceptance. The locals made it seem as if they've experienced these before, had lost no one and nothing every time. A large man with arms bigger than Namiko casually asked Umi what she and her classmates were doing in town.

"Training camp," she replied. He smiled, a big craggy grin that seems to make his face unfold.

"Heck of a time to arrive," he said, and Namiko found she quite agreed with him.

At last, they found a low concrete building that seemed to sink into the earth. People spilled into it, walking down staircases deeper into the ground, where the rooms they were required to hide in probably were. Miya, Miko, Umi, one by one the girls entered until finally, Nijima-sensei and Namiko were the last two to start down.

"Is that everybody?" Nijima-sensei called out, running away from the bunker to hurriedly scan the area.

"Sensei!" Namiko shrieked, and Nijima-sensei responded, turning back towards the door and beginning to run to safety. Then she stumbled when a whining sound began to grow louder, fell, and looked up towards the shell that was falling right at her, and Namiko threw herself forward—

-----

The sound of the explosion sent Umi stumbling (thankfully, she was a safer distance away this time). Behind her, she could hear the bunker doors grinding shut and she turns to Nagawa-san. The girl was a nervous wreck at the best of times and as her (self-proclaimed) protecter she's WASN'T THERE.

Umi turned on her heels to see the subsiding fireball and the view slowly being closed off by the doors. No. She stumbled, then began running only to be scooped up by the dockworker she had spoken with earlier.

"You can't do that, kid. We'll be safe down here—

"No, no, Nagawa-san!" Umi gasped. "NAGAWA-SAN AND SENSEI ARE STILL OUT THERE!"

Dockworker-san's eyes widened, and his head snapped up just in time to glimpse an approaching silhouette before the door closed.

-----

The Ta-class battleship stretched lazily. Her sister followed behind her at a more leisurely pace, taking great interest in the destruction her last shot caused. Well, she didn't fault her for enjoying her job. She could take some satisfaction herself, she supposed. Sneaking onto land a day earlier while a skirmish distracted the coastal defenders, then waiting until another, large-scale fight began so that they could enter town unopposed. A very touch and go operation, and one she felt they had performed to perfection.

The battleship looked down, examining the ground at her feet. Torn scorched earth met untouched ground right where her foot had just fallen. Almost as if something had risen from the ground to intercept the shot. That couldn't be right. She looked up, at the structure where her targets, what her sister would call prey, were hiding to see two humans lying against the door. One an adult, breathing shallowly, painfully, blood dripping down from a head wound. One a child with black, shoulder-length hair who… Okay, now she was messed up.

But breathing, the battleship observed, her chest rising and falling with greater strength than her companion's. That was strange. She walked forward and crouched down, examining the girl more closely.

And then cold steel was shoved into her mouth, and the girl's eyes open.

"Back off," Ushio snarled, and fired.

-----

The Ta-class stumbled back, falling away, black oily ichor pouring from her mouth. Ushio wasn't strong enough to do enough damage to kill her, but she was close enough and she put her shot where there was nothing to defend her. The Abyssal was incapacitated, out of the fight. The second Ta-class stared at her, a gaze that ought to leave Ushio frozen like a frog before a snake.

Ushio struggled to her feet, and put herself between the Ta-class and Sensei.

The Ta-class brought her weapons to bear, but Ushio was already directly in front of her, pushing the cannons aside. The shots went wide, punching through buildings and exploding Ushio didn't know where. The Abyssal stood taller than her, and Ushio didn't trust her ability to jump up, so instead she grabbed her arm and hoisted herself up to kick her in the face. The Abyssal reeled back, then planted her feet and began to swing her arm around. Ushio held on as best she could, and then suddenly she was thrown wide and pulled in and the Abyssal's foot came up to catch her in the stomach.

The kick sent her flying through a storefront, and the Abyssal glared, rubbing her abused cheek. She turned and looked towards the bunker and grinned darkly.

Sensei.

As the Abyssal stepped forward, Ushio dragged herself up again. Inside her, fairies screamed in alarm and warning. She couldn't take too much more of this.

She ignored them.

Charging again, she went low—so low that her chest nearly skimmed the ground—and threw herself into a tackle, wrapping her arms around the Ta-class's legs and sending them both to the ground. Pulling herself forward, Ushio took aim at the Abyssal's head and prepared to fire, but a pale arm snaked around to grab her hair and slam her head against the ground.

Stars danced before Ushio's eyes and, as she looked up, she found herself staring into the monster's livid gaze. Now standing, the Abyssal's turrets turned in to face her and Ushio knew that she couldn't dodge, not at that distance.

And then another cannon roared. Another storefront exploded, and Ushio's opponent was sent flipping through the air. The first Ta-class cried out in a gurgling scream, trying to drag herself towards her compatriot. There was no real point—it was pretty obvious that, with the left half of her head gone, she wouldn't be getting back up. Ushio looked around weakly, trying to catch a glimpse of her savior as she stepped through her own carnage to survey the scene.

"I'm here," said Kongou, looking over the wreckage. "Two Ta-classes. There could be more, so sweep the area. I—" She trailed off, seeing Ushio lying before her and Sensei resting against the bunker door. "And medics. I need a medic team. Stat!" Somewhere in the back of her head, Ushio could hear radio chatter in response.

Ushio lowered her head to the ground with a sigh. She barely heard Kongou racing towards her, crying out "Hey! Stay with me!" Sensei was safe. Everyone was safe. That was all that matters.

She drifted into blissful unconsciousness.

-----

What do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

There was the sound of displaced air as the group appeared not far from a large stone in the earth. Looking around, Nagato slowly raised an eyebrow as her breath misted in the cold, winter air before nodding. "Right where we were supposed to be."

Frowning, Kensuke adjust his glasses some and looked around before noticing the stone and leaning close. "What's this now? There's some sort of marking on it..."

Also looking, Harry suddenly smiled. "That's a Roman milestone! The road is just over there."

With a blink, the Support Carrier of the group got up on her tip toes to try and see before frowning. "I don't see anything..."

Grabbing her hand as well as Natsumi's, and not noticing how the two blushed, Harry began to pull them along. "It's probably the magic of the place."

However, the fact that he didn't climb over the hills, but around it caught the attention of Rei and Asuka who were skipping around the two. "Hey! Hey! Harry-Nii-San! Why don't we just walk over the hill? It's quicker!"

Behind them, the adults besides Nagato were listening closely as were the other shipgirls and Hoppou. Slowing down some, Harry pointed at the first hill that was beside them and shrugged. "It's a Barrow." At their confusion, he shook his head. "It's an ancient tomb for someone, or a lot of someones." With a frown, Harry shrugged some. "I... don't know if there's anything in these though."

Chuckling, Nagato shook her head a bit as various people in their group gave the now known graves as wide a berth as possible. "From what I have read, they're still intact at the moment."

Less then five minutes later though, they stepped out from between the two barrows and found themselves before a stone paved road. Stepping on it, the air seemed to shimmer around them and suddenly buildings nearby appeared. Above them, steam could be seen rising some into the air above and disappating within a hundred feet. Their eyes following the road in front of them, they could see it go nearly straight to the buildings. With an interested look, Hamakaze crouched down and examined the stone paved road. "This is a rather well constructed..."

Stepping up onto it, Harry nodded some as he turned back to Hamakaze. "Well, this is a section of the original Roman road."

That got him blinks from all of them before Natsumi stared at the road and pointed. "Wait... this is the same road that has been here since more then a thousand years!? Seriously!?"

His lips twitching, Harry chuckled. "Yup! The Romans built things to last." Reaching down, he grabbed Natsumi's hand as well as Shinano's and once more began to pull them along. "Anyways, let's go!"

It did not take the group long to reach the steps of the building, though Haru stopped and walked over to a tree not far in front of it. At their looks, she reached out and placed a hand onto the massive oak. "By the Kami... you're positively ancient, aren't you...?"

Light laughter caused Haru to turn and freeze at the sight of a woman who was dressed in what looked like a cross between a toga and a wizarding cloak. "That she is as a matter of fact." Walking over, the woman looked up into the bare broughs with a small smile. "She is over a thousand years old, having stood here since before Hogwarts was built. Legend holds that she was once an acorn in the supplies of an immortal witch who used the baths here for ten years. She had slipped out when the witch arrived and was growing when she had left." With a sweep of the arms, the woman smiled some. "The other oaks you see here are her daughters, the youngest being four hundred years old. All of them healthy from drinking in the mineral rich ground water in this spot."

Bowing some, Haru gave the seemingly human woman in front of her a slightly hooded gaze. "Then I was wrong as she is far more impressive then I had thought..."

Slightly smiling, the woman hummed. "I am Bethany, the Druidess in charge of the baths here. My line has taken care of it for untold centuries, one Druidess after the other."

Eyes narrowing some, Haru nodded some. "Thank you, I am Ono Haru. With me is my family, my sister Ono Sakuya, her husband Ono Kensuke, and their children, Taichi, Natsumi, and the twins, Rei and Asuka." As she introduced them, each one bowed deeply, which was returned. Then Haru gestured at Harry's. "Bringing us here is our Benefactor, Harry Potter, his adopted mother Nagato, and also Shinano, Hamakaze, Urakaze, Hachi, Imuya, and Shioi."

Once more, each of them gave a bow which was returned by Bethany who smiled at them. "Welcome, each and every one of you. Please, follow me." As she walked forwards, each of them stepped into line behind her as she began to speak. "Now, the baths here are quite ancient, with the Romans themselves building these bathhouses nearly two thousand years ago. But this was an important place long before then. The hot springs here are due to deep cracks in the earth. Water flows down into the ground in the caves and caverns of the Mendips, where ancient secrets and things lie and sleep. From there, they go deep until the rocks grow hot and then rise up through cracks to here in Bath. And so I do hope that you enjoy your visit, I know that Mister Potter's grandparents always enjoyed their visits and that his parents enjoyed their honeymoon here."

That caused Harry to jump a bit. "Wait, my grandparents and parents went here? Really?"

Gently smiling, Bethany nodded some. "They did, according to your grandparents the waters here helped the worst of their aches and pains. And your parents..." Giggles burst from her and she shook her head. "Well, perhaps it's a good thing that they had booked the private baths at the time."

Even though Harry and some of the others were confused, Kensuke and Taichi blushed some while Nagato had a smirk on her face. At the same time, both Haru and Sakuya snickered. Shaking his head, he turned back to Bethany as she continued to talk. 'Wonder what she could tell about my parents...'

But when they entered the building though, all their eyes widened at the sight of fluted columns and the like along the walls as Bethany continued. "Now, while it was somewhat run down come the twelvth century, Mister Potter's ancestors helped fund rebuilding here along with some familes. Due to that, they are given preference for the private section of the baths. Now... for the first part of your experience as you are all new, we shall enter the apodyterium, or the undressing room."

Walking in, they were met with a large, open room with stone benches as well as pegs and small cubbyholes. As well, there were two young women there waiting with smiles on their faces. Both of them wore clothing not too different from Bethany's own, but their hair was white and their skin pale as they bowed. "Welcome."

Just smiling, Bethany gestured at them. "These are two of my fellows here at the baths and they shall attend to any need you might have in here. We do pay attention to the old ways here. Jess and Amelia, this is the group who have booked the private baths for the day. Please take care of them."

And with a small bow, Bethany stepped out with a small smirk as she noticed how even Harry could sense something different about them, just like with Bethany. Not missing a beat though, Amelia nodded her head slightly. "Welcome to the Apodyterium. You may pick a cubbyhole for your items along with an extra pair of sandles and a peg for your clothing. In the closet to the side, there are robes for you to choose from."

Humming, Jess motioned to a door nearby. "Through that door there are showers if you wish to use them before bathing, which we do suggest. Some things, after all, have changed from ancient days."

With a slight frown as she picked a spot for her and Hoppou, Nagato looked over her shoulder. "Is it safe for us to leave our items here? We wouldn't want to have them taken after all."

Suddenly, something about their smiles sent shivers down Nagato's back as the two attendents spoke as one and shook their heads. "You do not need to worry about thieves here, Ma'am. Any would be thieves would find themselves... regretting such actions."

That got her a hum from Sakuya though the kitsune slowly nodded. "That does help calm some fears, thank you."

As she got ready herself, Natsumi watched as her sisters got their washing supplies from her mother. "What about the other openings? I mean, there's more then one door after all."

On Jess' face there was a small smile as she gestured towards one door. " At the end of the room, there is the entryway to Tepidarium which is through that door. It leads on to the rest of the baths here." She then gestured to another door beside her. "Through this one is an exercise room where you can do various things such as running and so on. There is even a spellfire range and a dueling platform for those who wish such pursuits and each of us is fully qualified as a referee. I will admit that it has seen some use to solve... disagreements among the patrons."

Amelia then pointed to another door. "Right through this door there is a large swimming pool. I have heard it described by some Muggleborns as being... Olympic sized. The waters within it are from the springs here though cooled down." Ignoring the widened eyes now staring at her, she smiled. "Of course, the waters are not chilled to the same point as those in the pools of the Frigidarium, the cold water pools which one enters after you have gone through the hot springs. They're chilled to help close the pores opened by the hot waters you'll be bathing in."

Striding to another door, Jess gestured with one hand. "In here, there is the theatre where various people perform plays. While most are not here, we could still put one on and while I may be a bit biased, I will say that our Shakespearian ones are quite the treat to watch. We also have other plays. Albus Dumbledore himself has enjoyed our version of the 'Fountain of Fair Fortune'."

For several moments, they all just stare at her before Taichi jerkily walks to another door and looks in. "Uh... there's stone tables in there. Why are there stone tables...?" Getting giggles from the two women, he blinked. "Um..."

There was a smile on Amelia's face as she shook her head. "That would be the massage room. Once you have gone through all the baths, you then enter that room where we then massage you and annoint you with various oils and other lotions. Some skip it, but for the full experience I would suggest it."

Unable to help themselves, the two women giggled at the flushed look on Taichi while they ignored that Sakuya and Haru were doing much the same to Kensuke. Harry meanwhile blinked and turned to a stunned Natsumi. "Sounds pretty great, huh, Natsumi-Chan?" Getting silence from not just her, but also noticing how the glasses on Shinano's and Hachi's nose slipped some, he blinked and tilted his head. "Poi?"

 

[darthcourt10]

mikelima777

So, this is based on Harry's scene within the Slytherin Commons: Harry And The Shipgirls: A HP/KanColle Snippet Collection

The Second Years Slytherins at Hogwarts roughly fell into three categories. The first group, and the most annoying to the other houses was Malfoy and his posse which usually comprised Crabbe and Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson. They were the most openly bigoted of their Slytherin cohort, and become a recurrent irritant to Harry and his friends. The second group, which included students like Blaise Zambini, Theodore Nott, and Millicent Bulstrode, had similar views of pureblood superiority, but usually kept to themselves. The remaining Slytherins generally kept to themselves, studying or staying away from the inter-house drama. Among the latter were two girls that were arguably the sanest in their cohort.

The evening saw Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis quietly studying and chatting in a corner of the Slytherin Commons Room. Tracey had finished glaring at a third-year who tried to intimidate her ever since her sorting, given her parentage. Her father was a full on pureblood, but her mother was a muggle-born from a well-off family. To some Slytherin, she was seen as a "filthy half-blood" and had had to deal with the prejudices in her own house, even though her mother had become a traditionalist, perhaps more so than Tracey's father.

Daphne smirked as the bully stomped away in annoyance, glad that she and Tracey could return to their own conversation. Tonight, it was mostly about Harry Potter and the duel that revealed something interesting about the Gryffindor in their year.

"Harry Potter's a Parselmouth," Tracey commented, "well I'll be. Hey, think we could switch Malfoy for Potter? I'm sure Potter would be less aggravating."

"You wish," Daphne replied. "Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. Remember, we heard the Lions talk about Harry having a snake as a pet." Tracy nodded.

"I remember Potter said that Snakes are considered messengers of the Gods in Japan. And besides, muggles can have a pet snake. My Mom's cousin owned that pet shop we visited years ago, and he had dozens of snakes." Just as they were about to continue, the doors opened, revealing Malfoy and his two goons. Crabbe and Goyle waddled behind their "leader," who was blabbering nonsense as usual. However, Daphne narrowed her eyes as she felt something was off with the goons. Both girls decided to listen in.

"...Something about Potter being Heir of Slytherin."

Malfoy sat down and snarled. "Potter's not the Heir. He's too damn goody-two-boots or something. Besides, he's always hanging out with that blasted Mudblood, Granger... Not to mention being a Half-Blood himself! Like the Heir of Slytherin would be a dirty Halfblood."

A 'half-blood' that seems to be less annoying that you tosser, Daphne thought, and a Second World War cruiser that could wipe him out with a single shot.

Goyle blinked. "So... You're the Heir?"

Scoffing, Draco crossed his arms. "Don't I wish, no, I'm not as I've told you many times before. If I knew who it was I would be giving them a hand with cleansing this school of the Mudblood trash in its halls."

If only Granger heard that right now, Daphne mused, I wonder if Malfoy can dodge five-inch shells and machine gun fire. Then, Daphne heard Draco respond to something from Goyle.

Draco grinned maliciously. "Father? Of course he probably knows." His expression then darkened. "Not that he will tell me. All I know from him is that the Chamber was opened fifty years ago and some Mudblood died. Hopefully some more die this time, like that Granger... or even Potter as he's about as good as a Mudblood."

Tracey was writing furiously trying to control her anger, while Daphne noted what Draco said about the Chamber of Secrets. Something to investigate, Daphne thought.

Goyle suddenly groaned and clutched at his stomach. "Ooh... I don't feel so good..."

Draco told them to get out of the Commons Room. Daphne noted that both goons stumbled into the male second-year dorms and closed the door.

The two girls shrugged and started talking about Daphne's plan this year for helping students with rationing. Then, the same door opened, but no one came out. Things clicked as they remembered something.

"Daphne?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when we thought someone followed us into here? Ever get that feeling of deja vu?"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Those weren't Crabbe and Goyle."

"Hmm... Polyjuice, perhaps? Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley?"

"Well, they're friends with Hermione Granger, and if anyone could make polyjuice, it'd probably be her." They also noticed the doors to the commons open slightly before closing, again, without anyone entering or leaving.

"Hmmm..." Tracey tapped her chin. "Disillusionment charm or Invisibility cloak?"

"I'd say cloak. You can buy those if you got the money."

Then, the two watched as Draco went to his dorm room. Daphne turned to Tracey with an amused face.

"Why do I have a feeling Malfoy just got pranked?"

"Because he's a loud-mouthed, bigoted idiot?"

"Probably."

Cue Malfoy running out of the male dorms coughing and wheezing. Daphne calmly drank some water. "Judging by his panic, I say we get out of here, like now?"

"Yup."

xxxxx

In the hallway outside of the Slytherin Common room and dorms, Daphne looked amused as many of their housemates ran out some coughing and wheezing, either from the mysterious odour, or lack of exercise. Daphne sipped her cup of water as Tracey quirked an eyebrow.

"So what would your father say about this?"

xxxxx

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUR POI AND EAT SHIT!"

On the screen, Cyrus's Friedrich der Große fired an entire broadside at the nearest Shiratsuyu, not noticing as another Poi-boat crept in for a full torpedo salvo....

xxxxx

Daphne shrugged. "Beats me. Something cunning?"

xxxxx

"FFFFUU-!!!"

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

So as a combo breaker, have a bit more Warspite. No Ron this time around, at least not directly. Hope you enjoy.

------

It was an early morning in the English Channel, the fog still thick enough to obscure vision even with the sun threatening to burn it away shortly. The sound of waves filled the air, the occasional call of seabirds rising above them. HMS Warspite stood amongst the waves, taking a deep breath as she prepared to try to summon her hull for the first time.

"Would you like some privacy ma'am?" came a voice from behind her, reminding her of her escorts.

She looked over at them, HMS Delhi, Brecon and Blankney, a Danae class cruiser and two Hunt class destroyers respectively. She would have preferred to do this alone but even in the essentially secured Channel she was considered too valuable to go un-escorted. Thankfully all three of them had been available… there were few she trusted to see what was about to happen.

"No Delhi but thank you for the offer," she said, managing a wan smile.

"It's the least I can do ma'am," Delhi said, "If there's anything else?"

Warspite paused, then handed Delhi the exquisitely crafted walking stick that Ron had crafted for her.

"Take this," she said, "I need to be myself."

"Yes," said Delhi, cradling the object like a newborn child, "Best of luck ma'am."

Warpsite smile a bit more at that, even as Delhi moved away to give her a bit of space.

The process Hibiki had described to her was less a step by step guide and more like meditation practice from a particularly obscure Yogi. She had to "be herself" down to the last nut and bolt. Of all the things in the world that Warspite liked least, it was the thought of her hull, especially at the end of her life.

"Belli dura despicio," she muttered under her breath, her motto falling from her lips easily as she brought up the easiest of all her memory's, the feeling of pain.

Her first experience with the unfamiliar sensation had been during peace, when she'd run aground and then run into Barham. Those had been embarrassing and painful but not crippling. Twinges of pain filled her but they were nothing to what she knew would come next.

Jutland had left scars in many, not just her but hers had been longer lasting than most. The initial pain from the bombardment she'd sustained had been brutal but the lifetime of pain and suffering made a bigger impression. She could feel the pain in her ankles already, the normal relief that she had gone along with Ron's walking stick.

Several more collisions, the explosion of Vanguard, and a boiler room fire filled out the rest of WWI for her, then finally some peace. Until she was again rammed in 33 by a passenger ship. The rest of the interbellum had been peaceful, normal operating procedures and a thorough overhaul… which had not managed to fix her steering issues.

Then another war, more damage that she could remember. Several bomb hits in the Mediterranean sent her to America for repairs, where she was present when word of Pearl Harbor came through. Though she hadn't been present it had still ripped into her heart, ships like her, comrades who could have been her killed at their slips.

More service, more deaths and killing. More allies this time, Americans and then some Italians even as they bombarded Italian soil. Further damage, first by normal bombs and then by new weapons. Fritz-X guided bombs came after her, one hit and one near miss ripping her open and nearly causing her to sink. She'd survived, only to have that unforgettable plug put in her. It was a sign of the times, a sign of her age. She was done, the age of the battleship almost over. A few more shore bombardments and then she was done, her mission complete, service to her nation over.

Except hers was not to rest, not peacefully. She didn't even make it to the breakers properly, running aground once again only to wait years for final salvaging. It was a life of pain, of wounds and scars.

Yet it was a good life, one she did not begrudge. She'd done her duty, serving her country to the best of her ability. There had been good times, battles won, friends celebrated and peace protected. She'd been built well, crewed well, surviving damage that would have killed most other ships. She'd been Warspite, the Grand Old Lady of the fleet, celebrated even in her dotage. She'd gone peacefully in the end, however long it took. Even now, she'd been given another chance, to serve, to protect, to feel.

She savored the feelings, the new life she'd been given. The memories she'd made with friends new and old. The sight of a redheaded boy filled her mind for a minute, warming her with the conviction that this would be worth it, no matter the pain.

So she focused, focused on the pain that had filled her life. Yet the pain was only a building block, a place to anchor the rest of her memories. Of pounding surf and pouring rain, of the roar of guns and the sounds of battle, of her crewmen laughing and working inside of her. All of it wrapped up in the gentle arms of a life she still had to live.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been focusing when she felt it. She couldn't even describe "it" properly, Hibiki had said as much. How do you describe a flicker of your soul, of your own life to someone who hadn't lived the same life, walked the same steps? Still she felt it, just a flicker in the space between between moments. It was shocking enough that it snapped her out of her revere, her long closed eyes opening with a shock and a gasp of air.

She looked around, the morning fog long gone. A further look and a brief sweep of her radar had Brecon and Blankney off doing search patterns, Delhi hovering nearby. The cruiser looked over to her as she cleared her eyes of the sudden brightness of the sun. A quick check of her internal clock and…

"Was I really out of it for an hour?" she asked Delhi.

"Yes ma'am," said the cruiser, sailing closer and handing back her stick.

"Well… thank you," she said to the cruiser, letting out a sigh as relief filled her from the walking stick.

"Anytime ma'am," Delhi said, "Are we done for the day?"

"For now," she said, "We are busy."

"Yes ma'am," said Delhi, falling back in with her as she began to steam towards home.

Hibiki had told her that it would take some time, to go from that spark to a thread and even further, to summon her hull in full. She would need an anchor, a reason to summon it. She already had hers, a smiling redheaded boy who had promised, sworn to her that he would make all the lingering pain go away. She believed him and every bit of pain she would experience from now until whatever day that was would be worth it when she could sweep him up in her arms and stand on her own two feet without worry for the first time in over one hundred years.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing just outside the doors to the baths, Bethany smiled as she held out a finger. On said finger, a tiny bird perched and sang to her. Nodding, Bethany gave a chuckle and shook her head. "I thank you, my little friend. Now, off you go! There is some berries in the bushes nearby that you may feed upon." Letting out a sigh, she slowly shook her head and turned to see Haru there with a curious look on her face. "Miss Haru. I must admit that I am a bit surprised that you are not inside with the others."

Only humming, Haru walked up beside her and watched Bethany out of the corner of her eye. "My Onee-San and her husband decided to have the twins burn off some energy in the exercise room before we entered the showers. Which has given me some time for other pursuits while we're here."

Chuckling, Bethany shook her head with a smile. "Ah, the wonders of youth. And such darling little ones as well." Placing one hand on a column, she smiled a bit more. "I will say that they are perfectly safe here. None will harm them under my watch if that is what you are worried over."

Haru in return tilted her head slightly. "I will not deny that such crossed my mind. But it does make me feel much better. And I do believe you when they say that they would be safe, no mortal would be able to harm them."

Laughter that sounded like bubbling water sprang from Bethany's mouth. "Ah! Figured it out have you? The first in centuries that has happened."

With a slight shake of her head, Haru snorted a bit. "It was not hard in the end. As a matter of fact, I suspect that all of us have an idea that you are not what you appear to be... Though I will admit that I did not expect to meet someone of your personage on this trip."

Yet more laughter came from the woman as she grinned. Inside her eyes was the light of her soul which sparkles like the waters of the hot springs. "So do you know who I am then? Especially as you sound like it"
Humming, Haru rubbed her chin before giving her a cheeky grin. "Well, not a Bethany I believe, unless my guess is wrong."

If the laughter from before was grand, the laughter now washed against Haru. From her very inside it warmed her. "Oh, I think not! Or perhaps, I am... But as to who I am..." Calming down, she gave Haru a look. "That answer ties into your next question, I believe."

Even more curious, Haru could not help but stare at the woman in front of her. At a spiritual level, she was a bright flame. Tapping her chin, the kitsune nodded. "I do know that you are a Kami, a local one. Which as I said, does surprise me, especially meeting you at a bathhouse that you are in charge of. But I suppose the question is..." Gesturing at the clothing of the woman in front of her, Haru nodded. "Why wear the clothing of the Romans and claim to be a Druid? Not a Druidess, but a Druid as we both know it's the true term."

Her expression softening, the woman turned back towards the distant town. "I have been here so very long, my dear Fox. I saw the humans when they first came, wearing the skins of animals and using tools of bone and stone. I have seen the fighting between them and those who were there before, the Fae and others. But through that, I did not have a name. Many seasons passed as it were until a pig farmer came. In reality, he was the son of a King but had come down with a disease and thus thrown out."

Tilting her head to the side, Haru frowned. "A disease you say? One that saw him..." Her eyes widening, Haru hissed as she connected the dots in her head. "You don't mean..."

Only nodding, Bethany sighed. "What the mortals now call leprosy, yes. At the time, I did not have too much power gathered to myself, formless as I was. But he noticed that his pigs were healed of skin ills when they wallowed in the mud of my springs. And so, he jumped in and I used much of my power that I had to heal him. So hurt he was due to what had happened to him that I was moved to do so. Then he left and journeyed home. I thought that was the last of it, and so I went back to what I normally did... but then he returned with others. And built a temple to me and gave me a name..." For a moment, the air itself stilled as if to listen. "Sul, the goddess who heals."

Rolling that around on her tongue, Haru nodded. "Sul... a lovely name for a Kami, I think."

Lips twitching, Sul nodded. "That was what I thought then and now. And I was always thankful to him..." her expression then saddened slightly. "Though his son did kill himself in my temple by throwing himself into my springs. I was unable to save him though I did try. But those who came, I healed. And since I could relieve problems with pregnancy, they believed me to be a goddess of fertility as well. Many worshipped me."

As a piece of the puzzle slid into place, Haru gave a short nod. "That would explain how you know to be a Druid. You were around during the same time they were... And from my admittedly limited knowledge, they would be the ones to act as priests to worship you. But, what about the Toga I believe it is called?"

Softly chuckling, Sul shook her head. "You know about the Romans, correct? And how they invaded Britain?" At Haru's nod, she hummed. "Then I shall not bore you with details of those events. However, what is important is what the Romans did. You see, they had the habit of incorporating local deities such as myself into their own pantheon. To combine their worship with gods and goddesses that they knew. All to civilize the locals and make them more Roman... In my case, they believed I must be an aspect of Minerva. Sulis Minerva, they called me and raised a great temple to me here in Bath." Upon her face was a look of far off remembrance. "I will not deny that I was pleased with it. For due to such I was elevated far above where I was before. My waters, great for healing, became even greater for such with the influx of power. And I helped as many as I could. Some asked for other things though that I would not grant. Such as cursing people who had done them wrong."

In reply, Haru snorted and rolled her eyes. "You are a kami of healing, not vengeance. Such things are not what one like you would do."

While softly scoffing, Sul shook her head. "Tell that to them." Then she shrugged. "I suspect though that the actual Minerva may have granted their requests though, she was rather like that."

Blinking, Haru frowned and raised an eyebrow. "The Roman goddess? You know her?"

Tone dry, Sul rolled her eyes. "I met her once, long ago. Let me just say that... I did not enjoy such a meeting and have no issue with her current silence as such." Quickly shaking off whatever thoughts were in her head, Sul continued. "Anyways... At the time though my temple was here, my fame spread far and wide. My name was known in Germany and as far as the halls of Rome itself! Thus..." She gestured at her Toga before sighing. "I still have my helmet somewhere around, but I prefer not to wear it."

Haru felt a small smirk tug at her lips before shaking her head with a snicker. 'Oh, I can imagine why you prefer not to wear it.'

Seemingly not noticing, Sul sighed sadly. "But... with time all things fade, I suppose. And those whose ancestors worshipped me turned away. And worship of those like I fell out of favor." Seeing the look on Haru's face, Sul laughed and shook a finger. "I have never bid them ill for such a thing, Miss Haru. Nor would I ever. My waters will still heal as much as they can and I did, and still do, get thanked. Even if such things are not as common as they were back then..." Her tone becoming one of deep thought, she frowned. "There was once, I will admit, shortly after that I was curious when I was at my saddest. I questioned much about myself... You see, my last follower at the time was a woman who wished to be with child but had failed many times despite her and her husband trying as much as they could. And so, hearing her plea... I gave her one. Myself."

Thoughtful, Haru nodded though she was surprised with what she was hearing. "You were reborn as a human? To understand?"

On Sul's face there was a gentle expression. "Yes, and I grew to love my human mother and father. He did not believe in the old ways and gave me the name Bethany, or as close to it. Hence why I said that I am a Bethany." She smirked a bit as Haru snorted. "I grew as humans would and met a young man, a leader of men. We fell in love with each other and I bore him a strong son and an daughter, who turned out to be a witch. My son would have a son of his own, and a son of his own. Until my great-great grandson, Uther was born..."

Jerking, Haru stared at her before giving a bark-like laugh. "Urther? As in King Arthur's father?"

Giggling, Sul grinned and inclined her head. "The very same, which might have interested the Lady of the Lake I think, if she sensed some of my blood in him." With a happy sigh, she shook her head. "Of course, that was long after my human life was 'Over' mind you. Eventually, I realized that I did not age and my memories did come back. I used magics to appear to grow old, like my husband. Then... I came back here after his death, peaceful as I could make it as I kept sickness away from him. It was a cold, winter's night when his time finally came..." Blinking away a tear, she took a deep breath and let it out before gesturing around them to bury the memory. "With these hands I rebuilt this place, pretending to be a normal Druid. Of course, my daughter's family eventually moved in. I watched life move on, pretending to age and then 'pass on' my duties to a female 'Relative' at some point. So much I have seen, including how the Lady of the Lake gave Arthur his sword, the great king's reign and final battle. And centuries later, immortal servant, born from something that was faithful to him, arrived." Winking at Haru, she chuckled. "After all, not everyone would be allowed to bath for ten years, no matter the amount of gold they had. I did not mind though as we were family of some kind... Though I did not expect the others to create a bath specifically for her! Of course, then some time later we fell on hard times and then Mister Potter's family and others came to our aid..."

Simply chuckling, Haru had to shake her head. "And since Harry-Chan's family helped you, it's obvious where the cloak comes from. It symbolizes the fact that wizards have been a good portion of your history, correct." Getting a nod, Haru nodded herself. "And your attendants? They are the spirits of the trees here?"

Waggling her hand back and forth, Sul hummed. "Some indeed are, such as Jess and Amelia. They are my daughters to me as much as my own mortal daughter was, may she rest. Others are distant descendants of mine."

Suddenly, Haru laughed before shaking her head. "And of course, said spirits do much the same as you! They age slowly and have long lives before dying after any who saw them in their 'Youth' are close to death, only to pass the torch to a 'Younger relative'. The whole time giving proof to the idea that the waters of the spring help provide longevity and health!"

More then a little sheepish, Sul shrugged with a small smile. "Well... it's not exactly untrue... The waters can help one's health and so do help extend life. Not much, mind you, but a still!"

If anything though, that caused Haru to laugh even more. And soon, she was joined by Sul before the two went back inside.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 495: Harry Leferts

Cinching her robe shut, and brushing some of her still wet hair out of her eyes, Natsumi frowned as she leaned towards Harry while watching her aunt talk quietly with Bethany. She didn't know what, but something about the druid in charge of the baths caused instincts in her to state to respect her. "What do you think that Oba-Chan is talking to Bethany-San about?"

Harry only shrugged a bit as he looked to see Hachi walk out of the showers as well. "Um, maybe she's asking about the springs here?" Seeing the look, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Mineral waters can be used in potions after all."

For a moment, Natsumi considered this thought before slowly nodded. Before she could say anything though, Shioi walked up and drapped herself over Harry with a bright smile. "You know what, Harry-Chan? This trip was worth it just for those showers." A shudder ran through her and she hummed. "I don't know what it was in them, but it reminded me of the repair fluid in the docks, but better."

With a soft giggle, Hachi walked up with Imuya and shook her head. "Well, the waters here are full of dissolved minerals and around some of the springs you get orange coloration from the iron dissolved in it."

Rubbing Hachi's hair, which caused the other Submarine to swat her hand away, Imuya grinned. "Yeah, in other words thanks for bringing us, Harry-Chan. We really appreciate it." Gently pushing Shioi to the side, Imuya then also hugged Harry which caused Natsumi to roll her eyes. "Maybe we might come back one day with the others!"

Chuckles escaped from Harry as all three Submarines had a blissful look on their faces before he shook his head. "Sure, I don't think that would be a problem."

All of them jumped though at a voice behind them. "You are, of course, all welcome to return at any time you so wish. The Baths here will welcome defenders such as yourselves whenever you may arrive."

Turning, they blinked to see that Bethany had somehow snuck up behind them and was now looking at them with a mischivious sparkle in her eye. A blush on her face at being surprised, Hachi tilted her head to the side. "How much is it for the baths here anyways?" Getting a raised eyebrow, the Submarine grinned sheepishly. "So that we don't need to bother Harry-Chan about it."

Only humming, Bethany frowned in thought before nodding. "The public baths as around five Galleons per person. More private ones, such as what you are experiencing can run around a fifty per person."

Eyes widening, from where he stood nearby speaking with his wife, Kensuke froze. Internally, he glanced around and did a quick count in his head and paled slightly. And from the raised eyebrows of his wife, he knew that she had the same thought in her head. '300 Galleons... Just for us that would cost 300 Galleons...'

Meanwhile, Bethany continued. "Of course, Mister Potter and his family can do so at a much reduced rate as can others such as the Longbottoms, the Bones, the Blacks, and so on. The non-Magical Royal Family would be another as well, if they knew of this place." Seeing that everyone was around, she slowly nodded. "Ah, it seems that you are all ready to move onto the next room in the baths. Far be it for me to be a bad hostess and keep you from them."

When she gestured, Harry and the others turned to see Amelia and Jess near the curtained doorway. Both women bowed and smiled at the group as they pulled open the curtains. "Please follow us into the Tepidarium."

Just smiling, the group walked into the room and most of their eyes widened some. For Shinano, her felt warm, scented air hit her and she looked around in interest. The room itself was arched upwards with light provided by braziers on tripods that lines the walls. Along the walls, there were stone seats and even stone beds. But it was the reliefs on the walls that caught Shinano's attention. Some were of warriors and wizards, side by side, fighting monsters. Others were of them doing things such as talking. "Oh wow..."

At the awed look on Shinano's face, Hamakaze felt her own lips curl upwards some and she began to walk further in to provide more room for those behind them. Coming to a stop in the middle, Hamakaze frowned up at the statue on a pedistle there. The woman on it had an odd helmet with a crest on it while her armor had an odd head upon it's breast. A head, that looking closer looked like a snarling man's head with snake-like tendrils coming from it. 'There's something about her... something familiar.'

At the chuckles, she turned to find Amelia staring up at the statue. "Sulis Minerva, she was the goddess who was worshipped here many centuries ago. These springs, it was said, were her home."

Unseen by many, a heavily blushing Bethany jerked her head out of the room. Haru though had noticed and held back snickers before waving off Natsumi's questioning look. "I shall tell you later."

Raising an eyebrow, Natsumi frowned but didn't say anything as Jess cleared her throat and stood in the middle of the room. "As we said, this is the Tepidarium. The purpose of this room is to help guests adjust to the heat of the baths or to the cooler air when they leave by having a room heated to a temperature between the two."

With a smile, Amelia gestured to the braziers along the wall. "The heat for the room come from two main sources. One is the braziers you see, and to which we add scented wood and herbs to provide a lovely atmosphere. The other is what is known as a hypocaust, a heated floor. We have a furnance with Gubraithain fire in it which blows hot air into the space beneath the floor below and through pipes in the walls. Thus, preventing the stones from becoming chill to the touch and possibly sickening our guests. You may sit down on the benches or lounge on the beds, they are provided for such as we will be in this room for a time to allow for adjustment."

Just walking over to one of the beds, Nagato sighed as she got up onto it and hummed as she laid down. There was a small smile on her face as she rested her hands on her stomach and closed her eyes. "Mmm... rather comfortable."

Giggling, Amelia nodded. "We use cushioning charms to provide for a nice, restful time." With a wink, she shook her head. "Only the best for our honored guests here."

For several seconds, Nagato watched as Harry sat down on one of the benches and began talking with Natsumi, Shinano, and the others. Hoppou then climbed up into his lap and looked up to her brother before she tilted her head in confusion as Harry began to tell them about some sort of potion.Turning to Amelia, Nagato frowned thoughtfully. "May I ask you something if it would not be too much trouble?" Getting a nod, she continued. "Why are you not bothered by my daughter? Most would after all."

After a moment, Amelia glanced at Hoppou before shaking her head. "We do not discriminate here at the baths. They are open to anyone who wishes it, human or otherwise. And your daughter is as welcome a guest as any other as long as she keeps the peace."

That got her a nod from Nagato before the Battleship raised her finger. "A second question, I have a sister who will be getting married soon, though her husband is non-magical as is her soon to be step-daughter. She is pregnant with child though and I was wondering..."

Nodding, Amelia smiled. "If she would be able to visit the baths here with her family?" At Nagato's nod, there was a twinkle in the attendant's eye. "As we said, we welcome anyone who comes. We don't ask questions of our visitors who may arrive. But, if hypothetically someone without magic was to come, they would find us awaiting with open arms. We also have special baths for expectant mothers as normal hot springs are too hot for them. It is said that the waters, and the magic within them, help ease the pains of pregnancy as well."

It was a thoughtful Nagato who began to nod as she turned back and blinked as Hoppou was now frowning and spritzing a laughing Harry. Beside Harry, Natsumi was shaking her head while the shipgirls... were blushing. 'What did I just miss?' However, she did have to smile as suddenly Harry held his hands in front of his face as Hoppou increased her "Attack" on him. Then he sputtered and climbed into Shinano's lap before hiding his face in her chest, the Carrier blushing as Hoppou began to hop around him, still trying to spritz his face. Meanwhile, Harry's shoulders shook from silent laughter.

Laughter that moments later was no longer silent as Imuya and a smirking Hamakaze grabbed his arms and pulled him away so that Hoppou could spritz his face more. From where she was sitting beside Nagato, Urakaze frowned as she watched. "Ah don't get it."

Raising an eyebrow and turning towards Urakaze, Nagato raised an eyebrow. "What don't you get, Urakaze-Chan?'

All the Destroyer did was gesture to where Harry was. "About Harry-San over there. Ah didn't quite know what to expect from what Hamakaze-Chan and the others said... but Ah didn't expect this." Following Urakaze's gaze, Nagato softly smiled as she realized that the Destroyer was watching her sister. "Hamakaze-Chan is different around him, I don't see her smile like that around many people. And yet... she does it so easily around him."

With a hum, Nagato leaned back some and allowed herself to enjoy the heated air. "My son understands certain things, Urakaze-Chan. When I found him years ago, he was a lonely child who was not given the love he should have been. And when I brought him to Yokosuka, at first he was so shy. But now?" Her smile became much gentler. "He's created such strong bonds with others, some due to understanding and others by opening his heart to them. But strong bonds nonetheless. What those bonds are and where they may lead him and the others I'm not quite sure yet, but I have no trouble with it." Now turning to Urakaze, Nagato tilted her head towards Harry. "If you really want to know though, I would suggest getting to know him. Who knows? Perhaps you may find a true friend and future Teitoku in him."

For a minute, Urakaze seemed thoughtful before she got up and walked over to where Harry was and Nagato only watched as she soon began talking with Harry. Smirking, she only closed her eyes and sighed a bit as she enjoyed the heat in the air while looking forward to the hot springs.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, it's been a long day for me. I spent most of it at Metrocon Tampa. Actually got Vic Mignogna to sign a volume of FMA. Got back home after a 2+ hour drive and figured I'd finish my day by putting something to bed.

Come to think about it, this has been a very productive four days for me. Not sure if it will hold up, but here goes. Bit of warning, this touches on a headcanon that I have for Zuikaku.
-----

"… And I guess that's it," Kaga says.

"I see," Yorktown nods on the computer screen. She runs her hands through her hair and clasps them behind her neck. "Where's Enterprise now?"

"Yamato took her back to her bunk," Kaga replies. Yorktown does not ask whether it was Yamato or Enterprise's bunk, which Kaga appreciates. "Considering how she was when she first came over here, I thought that you might want to know."

"It's helpful to know," Yorktown agrees. She smiles slightly, which puzzles Kaga. Shouldn't she be worried about Enterprise after hearing about her sister breaking down like that? "She finally let herself cry."

Kaga frowns. "I beg your pardon?" she asks. The American carrier's words do not make much sense to her.

"Huh? Oh, just talking to myself," Yorktown waved it off. "Thanks for telling me. I'm hanging up now, it's late." Her image flickers out on the Skype window, and Kaga closes the program. She brings her face down to her hand, leaning against her desk briefly.

Occasionally, she has found, Yorktown's trains of thought can be a bit challenging for her to follow. Perhaps she thought that, by crying, Enterprise had reached some higher level of catharsis? It was one of the more believable options, to be sure. Kaga sighed, and decided to deal with a matter a bit closer at hand.

"Harry," she says, pitching her voice to reach through the door where the boy is listening, "You can come in now." She turns her chair to face the door.

A moment's hesitation, then the door slides open. Harry stands before her, shuffling uncomfortably like a six-year-old caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," he says apologetically, looking at his feet, "I just overheard."

"Of course," replies Kaga. "You were looking for Enterprise just now, weren't you?" Harry blinks and his eyes flicker wider for a moment, then he nods.

"She seemed… very upset when we talked earlier," he admits. "I couldn't sleep for thinking about it, so I wanted to check and make sure that she was alright." That's Harry for you. He raises a hand, grasping at something invisible. Kaga is already fairly sure of what it is he's thinking. "Kaga…"

She sighs, and stands. "Enterprise was summoned fairly early on. She wasn't one of the Big Seven, but it was still early enough that it hadn't quite sunk in how… human Shipgirls are. And Enterprise..." Kaga pauses and furrows her brow, trying to find the best way to make Harry understand. "Well, she wasn't in the best way."

She doesn't tell him, because she isn't sure she's allowed to, about what Yorktown has told her in the past. How, the first few months, Enterprise had switched from energetic and aggressive to quiet and melancholy as easily as putting on a hat. How once during those months she had asked Hoel if she thought it would be easy, simply slipping through the waves and disappearing.

(The terrified destroyer had thrown herself into Hornet's arms as soon as they got back. It was a long time before Enterprise was released from the scrutiny of every person, human and Shipgirl, on base.)

Instead, she continues from where she first met the "Big E."

"When she came here the first time… I guess you were too young to understand, or simply weren't around for it. She wandered around Yokosuka. Occasionally, she would apologize to someone if she realized she had sunk them. And she began accepting different invitations from all kinds of people for all kinds of different events." Actually, come to think of it? "I think that she was trying to find reasons to keep going."

Harry's face becomes distressed, and she moves to placate him. "Don't worry, she has gotten much better. In fact, Yorktown thinks that your talk was good for her. She's been a bit stuck in place, I suppose. Maybe now she'll be able to move a little farther."

"Really?" Harry says hopefully.

Kaga nods affirmative. "She's far from the only Shipgirl with troubles like that," she confirms. "Look at Zuikaku."

"Zuikaku?" Harry echoes. "What kind of problems—"

"It was before Nagato found you. You know how she was the last carrier from the Pearl Harbor attack to sink?" Kaga explains. When Harry nods, she continues. "When she was summoned, that translated as a slight fear of being alone. She would have nightmares about other carriers disappearing, and immediately seek them out upon waking up."

She can't begin to count the number of times the younger carrier would violate her privacy, bursting into her room to make sure she was safe or simply watching her sleep as if afraid that Kaga would simply vanish if she took her eyes of her.

In retrospect, that was probably the beginning of her issues with Zuikaku.

"The point is, Harry," Kaga says, returning to the issue at hand, "that Zuikaku has learned to cope with the problems she had then. She's better now. Enterprise isn't completely better yet, but she's improving a little at a time."
-----

Standing beside the bed, Yamato watches Enterprise change from her uniform into her pajamas. Movements that she imagines would usually be deft and easy are clumsy tonight, as if the American's intense crying fit sapped her strength. Given the way she had been hanging onto Yamato as if she would fall if not assisted, it's not hard to believe.

Enterprise is the room's only inhabitant, by virtue of being the sole American shipgirl in Yokosuka on this particular night. Iowa is in Kure preparing for an operation that promises to be slightly more complicated than usual, and someone else (Yamato finds she has forgotten to ask who) will be arriving at Yokosuka in the morning.

Enterprise does not even have the strength to pull her covers back, just flopping face-down on her bed like the metaphorical marionette with its strings cut. Yamato watches her briefly, and then turns to leave.

A hand closes around her wrist. She turns and looks down. Enterprise is staring pleadingly at her. Her request is obvious.

Yamato smiles, and walks over to the (currently) sole chair in the room, an old blue armchair that creaks uncomfortably when you sit in it. She carries it over beside the bed, and lowers herself into it.

It is implicit that she will stay until Enterprise falls asleep.

It is also implicit that she needn't stay the whole night watching over her.

She figures she might as well do it anyways.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 496: Harry Leferts

Walking through the final doorway, Natsumi sucked in a breath of hot, humid air as the temperature difference hit her. As the others join her, the non-shipgirl members of their group could feel sweat beging to trickle down from the heat in the air. Stepping in front of them, Jess smiled a bit at their reaction, in particular how Haru was mopping a bit at her brow. "Welcome to the Caldarium, where our hot baths are. While here, we would advise you to keep your sandles on unless in the water as the floor can be quite hot."

Bemused, Taichi bent down and placed his hand against the stone only to yank it away. "Yeah... more like burning." Shaking his hand in the air, he stood up a bit. "Um where are... the... hot springs..."

Confused at why her brother was trailing off, Natsumi turned and then her eyes widened some. She had expected a bath and instead what was in front of her was what looked like a small swimming pool with underwater benches. The floor of the pool was a mosaic of water life such as an odd fish with what looked like an overbite of sharp fangs. It was roughly triangular in shape with one end having water streaming in from what must have been the hot spring from the mineral smell. At the other end, the water fell off a spout and disappeared down it into the floor. "Uh..."

His own eyes wide, Harry stared at that and the fluted columns that rose around the pool to the ceiling, which was done up a mosiac of the sky. And above the pool itself, light came through crystal glass windows set high above while braziers added their own light. "Yeah, agreed."

Kensuke meanwhile blinked and removed his glasses before rubbing them on his robe and then staring at a statue. "Um, why do you have a statue of an adult Saber here?"

Blinking, Harry and Natsumi turned and then stared for a moment before blinking again. Mainly because, sure enough, there was a statue of an adult Saber from Nasuverse there in a marble so white it seemed to glow. "What."

Now it was the two attendants' turn to be confused as they looked back and forth between them before Amelia coughed into one hand. "I'm... afraid that I do not know who you're speaking of. That statue is of an immortal witch and knight who once came here to the baths. She stayed in the bath before you, though it has been fully restored since then, for ten years more then a thousand years ago. In fact, this bath is open to her return whenever that might be."

Meanwhile, Sakuya just raised an eyebrow before jabbing her husband in the stomach as he was still staring at the statue. "She stayed in the bath for a decade? Really?"

With smiles, the two attendants nodded as they spoke as one. "That is correct, Ma'am. The story has been passed down through the centuries, but she did indeed not leave that bath for ten years."

Scratching his head, Taichi glanced at the statue and blushed a bit before shoving those thoughts out of his head. 'That's some dedication I guess...'

As the conversation, and the subject, was becoming rather too odd even for her, Nagato looked around for a distraction. One that she soon found in the form of another door which she pointed at. "Excuse me, but what is through there?"

Only perking up, Amelia chuckled a bit and motioned for them to follow her. Upon reaching the doorway, and ignoring how Sakuya was dragging along both Kensuke and Taichi to giggles from her twin daughters, Amelia gestured inside. "This is the Laconium, please don't touch the walls in here."

If the Caldarium was hot, the Laconium was roasting. What had been trickles of sweat on the kitsunes and Harry turned into rivulets that began to soak their robes. Even the shipgirls had begun to sweat as they looked around the room, which was circular in shape. At each axis of the room though, there was another circular cut in the walls with what looked like rectangular beams going up the walls. A gasp though caused them to stare at Imuya who pointed up. "Look at that..."

Heads tilted back, eyes widened as they looked towards the ceiling. At first, they thought that they were looking at a painting of the night sky until they realized that it really was the night sky as stars twinkled brightly. Across it, one could even see a portion of the Milky Way. Right at the top though, there was a thin circle of light from outside with what looked like a bronze dish attached to a chain. The twinkles of the stars were matched only by the ones in Jess' eyes as she gestured at the dish. "That is a shield belonging to a knight who once lived nearby and gave it to us when he hung up his sword. We lower it or pull it more up to make things hotter or cooler as it allows hot air to escape. Right now though, it is about midway."

Chuckling weakly as she rubbed at her forehead, Haru blinked away some sweat. "Midway you say... I would hate to see it at full temperature."

A thin smile on their faces, Amelia answered the question for both of them. "You might be surprised, there have been those who enjoyed it." She then guestured at the "Beams" that rose from the floor to the ceiling. "Those are flues made of ceramic which channels the heat of the Gulbraithian fire which heats the whole building which is set just off from this room below. Due to that, the walls get extremely hot themselves and can burn if one was to touch them with bare skin for too long, which is why we advise people to please keep their clothes on in here. We also have spells monitoring this room so that if someone is having health problems, we can get to them quickly. An attendant is always seconds away if one uses this room and usually we are just outside the door, though we suggest any period of time to bring in something to drink."

With an eye on Hoppou as well as her two youngest, Sakuya slowly nodded. "That would be a wonderful idea, though I don't think that any of us would spend much time in here."

Rubbing her fingers together, Nagato hummed a bit before tilting her head to the side. "I don't know, I might spend a bit of time in here. After all, it does remind me of the sauna I once used on a trip with Tirpitz up in Norway which she had built. The Swedish shipgirls were also rather fond of it as well... Though it is much drier in here then I would have expected."

Slightly nodding, Jess gestured at the curtain. "There are enchantments which prevents much of the wetness from entering this room."

Just sighing in the heat, Haru finally shook her head and walked back through the curtain. "Well, I don't think that I need much more time in here."

Huffing some, Hoppou nodded and followed. "It's too hot in here! Hoppou want to go to the bath now."

Only sighing, Nagato shook her head. "Hoppou, mind your manners."

From the other side of the curtain, one could almost hear the pout on Hoppou's face. "Sorry, Mommy. Hoppou would like to go to the bath now, please."

When they had all crossed back over, Kensuke shook is head some and turned to Amelia. "Would there be some way for us to quickly wash off the sweat before we go into the bath? Just so that we're clean?"

To his relief, instead of looking insulted Amelia only shook her head and produced a ladle from somewhere before pointing at a section near the main bath where there was a drain. "A number of our patrons have asked for much the same thing. If you wish, you may use this to rinse yourself of sweat before entering the bath." As he took it with a sigh of happiness, she tilted her head to the side. "Would you like any refreshments? We have quite the selection of food and drink to enjoy during your bathing though normally we only have light, finger foods. Such as small cuts of various fine meats or honeyed nuts."

Blinking, Hamakaze furrowed her eyebrows as she turned to the attendant. "Food? Drink? In the baths?"

Not quite sure what the issue was, or why she was getting stares, Amelia slowly nodded. "Yes, it is not uncommon for those partaking of the baths here to have a light snack or meal with their soak... Is something wrong?"

Softly clearing her throat to catch her attention, Nagato took a deep breath before releasing it with hum. "Back in Japan, one doesn't eat when bathing. Nor do they often drink, rather they wait until afterwards."

Eyes widening, both attendants bowed a bit. "Our sincerest apologies, we had not realized such and hope that you can forgive us for this."

Waving her hands around, Sakuya shook her head before gently grasping their shoulders. "You have nothing to apologize for. After all, Japan is quite a bit different from Britain and so things might be different." For a moment, she shared a look with her husband who gave a small nod. "But perhaps something halfway? After everything I should think we might all do with a small drink before we enter the bath. Just to stay hydrated."

Just nodding, the two attendants rose before Jess spoke to them. "Of course, and thank you just the same. Now, we have a selection of drinks available for those who want them, including non-alcoholic ones. We can even bring you some spring water, though I must warn you that the taste does leave something to be desired."

Slowly taking a list of drinks from Amelia for the younger members, Harry suddenly gasped and looked at one before pointing at it. "They got Elderflower cordial, Natsumi-Chan! How about we try that?"

Rather confused, Natsumi leaned in and frowned. "Elderflower cordial? I... What is Elderflower cordial, Harry-Chan?" At his look, she raised one eyebrow. "I'm not familiar with British drinks, Harry-Chan, you know that."

Blushing, Harry gave a weak chuckle. "Um, sorry... I forgot. Anyways, it's this drink made from elderflowers."

With a snort, Taichi rolled his eyes. "A drink? Made from flowers? And you like it?"

Moments later, the teenaged kitsune let out a hiss and Harry looked up to find a pained look on his face. At the same time, Harry missed an annoyed Natsumi retracting her own foot from her brother's. "Um, yeah, I actually had some once a long time ago when this woman at the shopping store was giving out samples. They..." Looking down some, he shrugged. "The Dursleys weren't going to let me have any until she asked if I wanted to try some."

Feeling a hand on his sleeve, he looked down to find Asuka looking up at him with wide eyes. "Don't be sad, Harry-Nii-San." Hugging him, both her and Rei sighed. "We don't want you to be sad..."

Her hand squeezing his shoulder, Natsumi nodded. "They're right, you know." At his nod, she scratched her head. "So, um... is it any good? I mean, it sounds like it, but..."

Now smiling, Harry nodded. "Yeah, it's really good. It kind of tastes like... summer should, I guess."

With a blink, Natsumi raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "O-kay... Well, we are in Britain, so might as well try it."

A bright smile on her face, Rei nodded along with her sister as they bounced a bit. "We want to drink the flower stuff too, Nee-Chan! We want to drink some too!"

Beside them, Hoppou nodded with a interested look on her face. "Can Hoppou try some too, Big Brother? Hoppou wants to taste the flowers too."

Gently patting her on the head, Harry smiled a bit. "Sure, Hoppou. I don't think that will be a problem."

Meanwhile, Kensuke was frowning as he was looking at another list. "What is... Rosa Solis?" Getting giggles and small blushes from the attendants, he glanced at his wife who hummed. Then she whispered something and Amelia whispered back. The blush Sakuya had gained though caused him to frown. 'I just missed something, I know it.'

Several minutes later, Natsumi was staring down at the small glass filled with a pale, yellow liquid. When she sniffed it though, the smell was somewhat fruity and caused her to shrug and take a sip. As the kitsune smacked her lips, Harry watched her. "Well? Do you like it?"

Humming, Natsumi tilted her head from one side to the other before finally shrugging and taking another sip. "It's not bad, I guess. And at least it's cool." Glancing at Shinano, Natsumi could only shake her head as the shipgirl happily sipped water brought from the spring. And she was not the only one as the other shipgirls were doing the same. 'Weird.'

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 18: S0ngD0g13

A Houshou snippet for your reading pleasure...
.........................................

"You really want to brace me over this?" the lean young man growled, his hand hovering over the butt of the pistol on his hip.

"I'll be your huckleberry," his opponent said lightly, fingers idly drumming on a pistol-butt. "Say when."

The young man went for his gun only to see his adversary's pistol whip from its holster like lightning and come level. Too fast!

POP!

Jaw winced as the airsoft bb raised a welt on his cheek. Meanwhile, Kaylee was doing a victory-dance over having out-drawn him for the prize they both wanted; Houshou had brought in a gallon of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream from a creamery near Yokosuka, and they were down to the last portion.

The Carrier herself was giggling from the table, having watched the whole display. The teens laughed and Kaylee holstered her Navy before taking the airsoft Peacemaker from her cousin and slipping it back into its skeleton-rig shoulder-holster. "How did you get so fast, Kaylee-chan? That was like something from a Western, there."

"Practice, Miz Houshou. Diligent practice." Kaylee shrugged out of the shoulder-rig and hung it and her kepi on the back of her chair before sitting down. "So, how was your date the other night. My reprobate uncle behaved himself?"

Houshou smiled and nodded. "He was a perfect gentleman. It was..." She trailed off with a blush. "I felt like..."

"I hope you enjoyed yourself, Houshou," said James from the kitchen door, "because I sure did. I ain't had that much fun in a long while. Kaylee, how's the beans lookin'?"

Kaylee stood and checked the crock-pot, stirring the contents. "Smelling heavenly and near-nuff ready, Uncle James."

Jaw opened the oven and checked his baking. "The bread's done, too." He reached in with an oven-mitt and pulled the cast-iron skillet out of the oven.

James pulled a Tupperware bowl out of the fridge and set it on the table, then watched as the teens set the table. He sat down, giving Houshou's hand a gentle squeeze as he did, and grinned. "You're in for a treat, Houshou; tonight's menu is gen-u-ine Appalachian home-cooking. Soup beans, a dodger of scratch-made cornbread, and a batch of pickle-salad."

"Pickle-salad?" asked Houshou curiously.

Jaw nodded, smiling. "It's a recipe Dad learned from his dad, Grandpa Mike, and his mom, my Great-Grandma Juanita. Sliced cucumbers and onions, and halved cherry-tomatoes, in apple-cider vinegar that's had black pepper, a bit of salt, and a little sugar added, and let to sit and soak a few days in the refrigerator. It's good; try some."

"I think I will." Houshou dipped some out into her bowl and tried a bite. "This is quite good; could I get the recipe, James?"

James smiled and nodded. "I'll write it down for you after supper."

Jaw's eyes widened. "Holy Crap on a Cracker, the end o' the world's on us; Dad guards his family recipes like a dragon on his hoa- Yeow!" he suddenly yelped as Kaylee drew the Navy at her belt below the table and shot him in the top of his bare foot.

"Hush up, Cousin; you're spoiling the moment."

After that, bowls were dished up with beans and cornbread, and the quartet settled in to eat. To an outside observer, they likely looked like a typical happy family having supper...

 

[darthcourt10]

Azzaciel

The Once and Future Ship, Part 15

Interlude 2 - Worried Warden

__________

Sitting in her study, Rovena looked upon the private pensive on her desk, once more contemplating the dire situation that had befallen the castle. At first she hadn't thought much of the stranger seeking knowledge, there were lots of them after all, it was only when she used her diadem to review the day that she noticed the underlying wrongness of her interactions with the wandering witch.

Dubious reasoning she accepted far too easily, the 'payment' for Pwerdyn's stay being located too far to be of any practical use unless they introduced month-long excursions to the curriculum, yet the offer seeming like a good exchange in spite of that.
Taking statements as fact without doubt or hesitation, such as the claim of ownership to the land to be leased to Hogwarts.

Following that revelation, she had made sure to tell the other three to stay away from their guest and to ensure that the students do the same until she could find out what had happened during that negotiation. The results of her investigation were as worrying as they were baiting her instincts as a researcher, for the effect wasn't founded in magic, yet was able to work even when viewing a memory unprotected.

While it would be possible to negate the effect entirely by force of will or via permanently active mind shields, most of the students wouldn't have either and would as a result have to be kept away from Pwerdyn. While Helena had become a guide and shadow to her, Rovena had already thought her to shield her mind and would as such be a good point of contact.

The problem as such was solved, but Pwerdyn could not stay too long at the castle, as she was a danger to the students even if she was as clueless about her effect on others as she could deduce with the diadem. Therefore the best way to get rid of her was to give her what she wanted, which would be a specific piece of knowledge. The question as to which piece she sought would in most likelihood be answered by asking her.

Rovena checked the time and put the pensive away once she saw that it was time to go to the regular monthly conference, where she would present her friends with her findings and her own advice as to the situation's solution.

__________

The others had agreed with her proposition after witnessing their guests effect in the school pensive for themselves. Salazar had gone as far as wanting to keep the knowledge and research of this 'aura', as he called it, suppressed in apparent fear of anyone else acquiring and misusing it. Much to her chagrin, Godric and Helga agreed with him.

The following day she had instructed Helena to inquire as to the knowledge Pwerdyn had come to Hogwarts to acquire. Her daughter had at first seemed hesitant and undecided, but that evening Rovena was busy collecting everything concerning magical architecture in an unused classroom, including notes on where some of the enchantments and runic sequences could be found within use inside the castle. She hoped that whatever their guest was searching for could be found somewhere in this mountain of paper, and if it wasn't possible then at least they'd all know and Pwerdyn could go look somewhere else.

…

Maybe they could arrange for the library to be sorted after themes like this to make future visitors stay shorter too?

__________

A/N: Yorokobe, thread! I have returned.
Gotta go and write stuff before the F/GO summer event appears.
Sneaky Salazar is sneaky and doesnt want anyone else but himself to have access to easily misused knowledge.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hydrated, Natsumi slowly walked up to the top of the bath and waited as the shipgirls slipped into the water with an internal curse. After all, they could just slip into the water without needing to wait for the temperature to adjust. Moments later though, both her eyebrows raised as all of them groaned as the water reached their necks and, slowly, she stared down at the water. 'Okay... that must be some hot spring.'

A splash caused her to turn to see Harry now slip in with a sigh before he opened one eye and smiled up at her. "You should try this, Natsumi-Chan! This is amazing!"

Unable to help herself, Natsumi smiled back at her even as she could feel the phantom tingles from the water that she had used to rinse herself off. And then, slowly, she entered the bath herself with a groan. "Oh... wow..."

Glancing at her, Harry had to bite back a laugh at how blissed out his old friend looked as the water washed over her. 'I didn't expect that.' With a look around though, he realized that she was not the only one as not just the shipgirls, but Natsumi's family also had looks of pure relaxation on their faces. 'Huh.'

With a sigh, Haru shifted a bit on the stone bench to allow the waters to reach her neck with a soft hum. "I agree with you, Natsumi-Chan." Lifting a hand out of the water, she watched as it flowed off. "These waters carry a lot of energy in them."

Eyes closed, Natsumi sighed a bit. "Hai, Oba-Chan." Lips curling, she felt herself drift away a bit as her whole body tingled in the water. Usually, keeping up her disguise of being a normal human was a bit draining, but right now she felt like she could keep it up for days with little effort. Opening her eyes, she turned towards Harry and gave him a smile. "Thank you for bringing us here, Harry-Chan. This is amazing."

That got her a smile from Harry. "You're welcome, Natsumi-Chan. I'm just glad that everyone is enjoying themselves right now."

From where he sat, Taichi snorted a bit. "This is good enough that I take back everything that I thought about you today." Moments later, he flinched as Haru without missing a beat flicked him in the ear. "Ow!"

Rolling her eyes, she huffed a bit. "Behave, Taichi-Chan. Or else Oba-Chan may need to punish you... or your Haha-ue will do so."

Suddenly freezing, Taichi turned to see his mother giving him an even look which he gulped at. 'Okay, that? That right there is terrifying. I'd rather face off against an Abyssal then that.'

Meanwhile, Shinano moved along the pool until she was sitting beside Harry. Due to her height, of course, that meant that she mostly sat on the lowest portion of the pool with her head still above water. "Um, Harry-Chan?"

Just blinking, Harry looked over at her with a slight smile and nodded. "Hai, Shinano-Chan? What is it?"

The Carrier blushed a bit before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek much to his surprise. "Thank you for bringing me along, Harry-Chan. This is really wonderful."

On Harry's other side, Natsumi sighed and rolled her eyes a bit as said boy blinked in confusion as Shinano slipped down until her nose was nearly touching the water in order to hide the massive blush on her face. 'Seriously? I mean seriously?' Looking towards the Carrier who was now looking up at the confused Harry, Natsumi pinched her nose. 'And I can't even be annoyed at her for it.'

Not far away, Hamakaze smiled down at Shinano as Harry reached over and patted her on the head. 'You've done well, Shinano-Sama. Yamato-Sama would be proud of you.'

A sort distance away, Shioi put her hands into the air as she stretched with a happy sigh. "Now this is what I call a great break. Awesome hot springs, food, and rest."

Letting her arms drop back into the water, she shook her head. "The others back home will be so jealous."

Beside her, Hachi nodded some as she inched along the bench towards Harry much to the watching Haru's amusement. "Hai, Iku-Chan especially will be sad that she missed this. Maybe another day though."

Having heard her, Harry turned and leaned forward a bit. "Sure! We can always have another hot spring trip sometime."

From where she was stretched out on the floor of the pool, Nagato turned away from where Hoppou, Rei, and Asuka were deep in discussion about something and frowned. "Not too soon, Harry. This sort of thing is best used as a treat or else it loses it's lustre." Tilting her head back, she stared up at the ceiling in thought. "Though I am surprised that the Royal Navy did not know about this place before now."

That caused Taichi to frown and turn towards her. "Wait, they didn't know about these hot springs? How? I mean, we are in England and these have been around for some time."

Eyes closed as she relaxed and allowed the waters to wash the tension in her body away, Haru raised a finger. "It's not too surprising, Taichi-Chan. Until fairly recently, the Royal Navy did not have much contact with the magical side of things. Even with several people helping them along, they would not know about this place unless it came up in a conversation. But now that they do, I expect that some may use this as a place to rest and relax at. Especially after the harder missions."

Softly snorting, Nagato shook her head. "I expect that a number back in Japan would also ask to come here for breaks. And I can tell already that these springs would help out greatly for recovering shipgirls."

Chuckling, Haru gave a small nod. "Oh yes, that is true enough. I expect that using these springs would be of massive help."

Laying back some, Imuya smirked. "I, for one, would be far more then willing to come here to recover. Seriously, I can already feel the normal wear and tear almost gone!"

A splash suddenly caught their attention and they all looked to Taichi who was now giving Harry a look. "Okay, I got to ask it. As much as I hate to ruin the relaxation going on with this, what is with you?"

Rapidly blinking, Harry tilted his head to the side in utter confusion. "Poi?"

Off to the side, Sakuya hissed at him. "Taichi! That is enough!"

Much to her surprise though, her son snorted. "No, Haha-Ue. I know that you're going to be angry, but I need to know!" Frowning, Taichi shook his head as he turned to Harry and narrowed his eyes some as he began to tick off on his fingers. "You gave Natsumi-Chan, my Imouto, a pearl necklace one year. Sure, it was a 'Make your own' thing, but still. Then you gave her that knife she's always carting around. Now, I'm not anything like a shaman or something, but I can sense the power and history of that thing. Seriously, it's got some weight to it. I won't get into her birthday gift. But last year, you gave her painting brushes made of unicorn hair. And this year, you bring us to a multi-thousand year old hot spring. I got to ask... why? Why do all these things for her? I would if it was me, but that's because I'm her Onii-San. What do you get from it?"

Silence descended on the bath as there were various reactions. But all of them were ignored by Taichi except as Harry leaned back and stared at the ceiling. However, before anything happened, Harry spoke up. "Because... she's my friend."

That caused everyone to stop and turn to him as Taichi frowned and crossed his arms. "Because she's your friend? You do all this? What? Are you showing off?"

Shaking his head, Harry frowned some. "I... Before I met Mum, I was alone. No one cared about me or wanted me. I didn't have any friends or anything because I was 'That Potter Boy' thanks to stuff my Aunt spread about my birth parents. Others thought I was too strange and the few who might have been my friend... always got chased off by my cousin. He would beat them up or threaten them. But then I met Mum and my life changed a lot. I made friends on the base like Shinano-Chan!"

As he reached over and ran his hands through Shinano's hair, Taichi frowned a bit. 'Huh. Well that was a sucky life to say the least.'

Harry though just continued with a shrug. "Off base though, I was still lonely. Most of the other students avoided me because I was a foreign boy if they were Japanese, or because my Mum is Nagato. But then Natsumi-Chan came and, well..." He turned to look at her and she was staring at him in his eyes which he smiled at. "And she became my first friend who wasn't a shipgirl or someone on the base. Natsumi-Chan didn't care that I was a foreigner or that my Mum was a super awesome Battleship who kicked Abyssal stern. She just wanted to be my friend because... I looked lonely and needed someone."

Blinking away some tears, Natsumi gave him a watery smile. "And I would do it again, Harry-Chan. You're my best friend too, in the whole world." Moments later, Harry found Natsumi hugging him. "I'll never leave you, Harry-Chan. Never, ever."

For a moment, Harry felt like his heart was about to burst as Natsumi sniffled into his shoulder. Then he turned back to Taichi. "Stuff like this? I couldn't do any of it at the Dursleys. There wasn't anyone who I could share a gift with or give one to even if I made it with all my heart... No one that I could go out on a trip to a place like this. But now I can give great gifts, like ones that I made. Or give them stuff like that knife to protect them. And this... trip. I could do it by myself, but... I want to do it with Natsumi-Chan. To share it with her and my other friends and their family. Because I can do that now when I couldn't before." Blinking away tears, Harry looked down at his reflection as he felt Natsumi take one hand and Shinano take the other. The Carrier rising out of the water as Harry felt his smile grow. "I can give them these things and do these things with them..." Bringing his head up, Harry stared right at Taichi. "And it feels so good to do that and there's no one else I would do it with but my friends like Natsumi-Chan, Shinano-Chan, Hachi-Chan, Imuya-Chan, Shioi-Chan, Hamakaze-Chan, and Urakaze-Chan... Or with Mum and Hoppou. It's so good."

The last sentence was soft and barely heard. Staring across from him, Taichi took a deep breath... and then let it out, almost seeming to deflate as he scratched his head. "Fucking dammit. What the hell can you say to that?"

Somewhat amused, Haru hummed a bit. "Not much, I think."

Letting his hand drop into the water, the teenaged kitsune blew out a sigh. "Screw it, kid? I guess that I got no problem with you then. Just keep my Imouto happy, okay?"

Confused, Harry only nodded and shrugged. "Um, sure?" Feeling a weight on his shoulder, he turned and frowned as Shinano laid her head on his shoulder before shaking it off as Natsumi did so on the other side. Both of them having sad smiles on their faces. 'Wonder what that is all about...'

Meanwhile, a short distance away, Urakaze held a hand to her chest as she stared at him. 'He... considers me a good friend? Already?' Glancing at her sister, the blue haired Destroyer frowned a bit before smiling. 'I think... I think that I understand a bit better now...'
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cutting a piece of the battered meat in front of her, Natsumi frowned a bit before popping it in her mouth. For several moments, she chewed it before swallowing with a thoughtful look. Beside her, Harry had an amused look on his face. "Well? How is it?"

Just having taking another bite, Natsumi tilted her head from one side to the other before giving a nod. "It's not bad." Looking down, had a confused expression on her face. "So this is Pike?"

As he nodded, Harry chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that's cooked Pike. It's pretty good though you need to filet it correctly to avoid all the little bones it normally has."

That caused the twelve year old next to him to turn and stare at the similarly aged boy beside her. "Wait, this normally has a lot of little bones."

Having taken his own bite, Harry nodded. "Well, yes? Pike has a lot of them though once your used to it... well, it's not that hard to debone."

On Natsumi's face was a frown as she slowly nodded. "Huh." Looking elsewhere on the table she smiled though. Their baths done, including the cold water dip which was not too much fun though it certainly woke her up! With all that done, they had decided on trying a meal at the bathhouse which is what found them all sitting around a table eating. Internally, Natsumi snorted at the sight of how her brother was guarding his pheasant while her aunt and parents were eating roast rabbit with expressions of pure enjoyment.

The whole time the kitsune ignored the fact that there were also pheasant and rabbit bones on her plate.

Meanwhile, Harry had turned to talk with Shinano who was sipping a dark drink from a bowl. At seeing Harry looking up at her, Shinano blushed a bit. For some reason, Hamakaze had stated that due to how little room there was, Shinano needed to be pressed right up against Harry to the Carrier's embarrassment, though she did look rather happy as well. "How's the mulled punch, Shinano-Chan? Good?"

Putting down her empty bowl, and giving a nod of thanks as Amelia refilled it, Shinano brightly smiled. "Hai! It's actually really good." Her smile becoming thoughtful, she adjusted her glasses some. "Do you know how to make it? Because, um, it would be nice to have at the Christmas party back on base..."

A thoughtful look on his own face as he set down his own bowl, Harry frowned a bit. "I think that I can come up with something. I know how to make mulled wine... so a mulled punch wouldn't be too hard." Shaking that off, he chuckled a bit. "I'm definitely going to be doing that write up that Naka-Nee wanted though."

From her position across the table from him, Shioi looked up from her own meal of mutton. "Write up? Why would Naka-San want you to do a write up?"

Looking around for their hostesses, Harry leaned forward with everyone leaning in. "You know how the Statute is coming down, right?" At their nods, he continued. "Naka-Nee, when she found out that we were coming here asked me to write something about how good the place is. She'll hold onto it until the SoS falls and then post it online with Aoba-Nee." For a moment, Harry looked confused. "Aoba said something about getting in at the ground level or something..."

That just got him shrugs from the others until Harry felt something come up beneath the table and watched as Hoppou wiggled up until she was sitting in his lap. He could see Rei and Asuka doing the same on the other side with Natsumi. Seconds passed as their younger siblings looked up at them before as one they turned and began to eat some of Harry's and Natsumi's food. "Yum! Hoppou likes this!"

Rapidly blinking, Natsumi looked down at her sisters as she tried, fruitlessly, to rescue her food. All the while ignoring the looks and sounds of amusement from the adults. "Hey! That's mine!"

Quickly swallowing what was in her mouth, Rei looked up at her older sister and grinned. "Now anymore, Nee-Chan! It's ours now!"

Beside her, Asuka nodded some. "Hai! Hoppou-Chan! Nee-Chan picked really good food!"

Grunting bit as she snatched another bit of food, the small Abyssal shook her head. "No, Big Brother picks better food." At their looks, she grabbed a bit of food from Natsumi's plate and ate it. And then she nodded some. "But Natsumi also has good food."

Now mollified, the twins went back to snatching the choicest bits of Natsumi's meal as the kitsune gave Harry and exasperated look. "Your Imouto corrupted them, Harry-Chan. She corrupted them."

Unable to help himself, Harry snickered a bit and shook his head. "Watch and learn, Natsumi-Chan." Clearing his throat, he caught the three dinner thieves' attention. "You should keep some room you know. For dessert." Then Harry hummed a bit. "But I suppose that there would be more for Natsumi-Chan and I then..."

Eyes wide, the three youngsters shared a look and then disappeared back under the table. Slowly, Natsumi turned and gave Harry an amused look. "You're terrible you know. You really are."

All Harry did was grin.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

And here we are again. I had been planning to write about the Akatsuki sisters finding a stray kitten and trying to secretly adopt it, but this wanted to come out instead. Oh well, I'll be able to put it together eventually.

I have to admit, I'm not sure how well I wrote Kongou in this snip and I'm a History major instead of Medicine. Here goes nothing.
The Next Day

-----

Beep… Beep… Beep…

"Hey there, Saeko-chan. You're not looking so hot."

Nijima Saeko cracked open her eyes, wincing at the light that shone through. Leaning down in front of her, she saw a familiar face come into focus. The hospital, then? The last thing that had happened…

"Speak for yourself—" She began, and immediately halted, sucking in a breath as her chest and sides burned. "… Sempai…" She looked down at herself, and winced at the sight of the mass of bandages and plaster that wrapped over her body. From the itching on her face, it was probably there as well.

Tenryuu's grin widened. "I thought I told you, Saeko-chan. It's just Ryoko." She straightened her back, and stretched her arms out. "Sorry about your camp. And after we spent so long setting it up, too."

Ah, right. That was what happened… She was pretty sure. The picture hadn't come back completely. Saeko thought on it while Tenryuu leaned out a doorway and began shouting for a doctor.

"My apologies, Ryoko-sempai," she said. Speaking quietly and in short breaths seemed to make it easier. "It seems I've caused you… a lot of trouble." Tenryuu turned back to look at her.

"Don't worry about it," she said, making the flicking motion that universally indicated waving a problem off. "You just wanted me to drop by and say hello, as I recall. I was the one who thought this would be a better idea."

"I got… the principal… to agree," Saeko pointed out. The principal… Parents would want to blame someone for this disaster, come to think about it. She was probably staring the end of her job in the face.

"But man," Tenryuu continued, "It was weird hearing back from you after all these years. I almost didn't recognize Nijima Saeko. You must have gotten… wait." A hand comes up to Tenryuu's chin. "Nijima. I know that name from somewhere…" A woman in a white uniform steps into the room quietly.

Tenryuu's face suddenly brightened in comprehension.

"Oh my gosh," she giggled. "Oh my gosh. I can't believe you actually… You hooked up with the Kansai-Baka?"

"I told you… stop calling him that…" Saeko complained.

"The guy was a real life. Freaking. Harem protagonist," Tenryuu said, giggles growing into guffaws. "I'll call him whatever I want!" Then she collapsed into laughter. The woman in white, probably the Doctor who she had called for, stepped gingerly around her.

"Hello, Ma'am," she said. Looking at her, Saeko realized that the woman was quite a few years younger than her, with mousy brown hair and Japanese features, but also bright blue eyes. Japanese-American, perhaps? "I'm Doctor Norihara. I'm going to need you to answer some questions for me?"

Questions… right. Name, age, how many fingers, what was the last thing she—

Nagawa.

"Ryoko-sempai," she said, desperation beginning to leak into her voice. "Nagawa Namiko. The girl I was with." Tenryuu's exposed eye—why was she even wearing that eye-patch in the first place?—darkened and her laughter began to slow. "What happened to her?"
-----

Where are my clothes?

It was, perhaps, an odd question to ask yourself when you woke up, but Ushio felt she was justified in it. Even if she was waking up in a bath, she—wait, a bath?

Pulling herself upright, she looked around her. Rather than a more traditional Japanese bathhouse, the walls were lined with small, individual tubs that were carved from the floor. The larger bath that she lay in was the center of the room, and the two people standing behind her were whoa whoa whoa WHAT WHAT WHAT HAPPENED

"Hello there," The woman with honey-colored hair and the odd headdress smiled gently. "It's good to see you're alright, Ushio." At her side, Kongou—KONGOU?!?—grinned down at her in a show of positivity so overwhelming that Ushio immediately felt driven into a corner with nowhere to run—still missing clothes, as well. Which meant that the other woman… dressed like… That meant…

"Ushio?" she said, pushing herself away from the pair. "I-I'm afraid you've got the-the wrong person. My name is Nagawa Nami—"

She stopped. She was Nagawa Namiko, right? Wasn't she? Then why was there so much more that felt… it wasn't? That she was more, and different and… and… What was it that had happened last night? Her memories told of charging an Abyssal with her bare hands, but that could never have been right, could it?

"… ko…" she finished lamely.

"Yes. Nagawa Namiko. You came in with the school group yesterday evening" Mutsu agreed. "You're still a bit confused about what's going on, and our other Natural-Borns are otherwise occupied at the moment…" She continued on, but one word stuck out at Ushio above the others.

"Natural… born?" she asked hoarsely. "Me?" The situation was spiraling further and further out of control, and she found herself increasingly terrified.

"You better believe it!" Kongou said, crouching down at the side of the bath and sending Ushio scrambling away again. "You're Namawa Nagiko—sorry, Namiko, alright. But you're also the destroyer named Ushio, reborn in human form."

Nagawa Namiko was a member of a group of girls who had devoted their after-school lives to naming and cataloguing the Shipgirls that they so idolized. Her classmates ate, breathed, and dreamed Shipgirls. If one of them had found out that they were a Natural-Born, they probably would have celebrated and embraced it wholeheartedly.

It is very telling that Ushio's first thought as the facts began to sink in was not one of joy. Instead, it was What am I supposed to do now?
-----

She couldn't feel her legs.

She lay on a bed that lay in the center of the room, which could barely be called big enough. All around her lay medical equipment and strange machines. Through the curtain that shrouded one side of the room, she could hear bits and snatches of a whispered conversation.

"… clipped the spine…"

"How high…"

"… sure she'll survive?"

From what she had extrapolated, the destroyer girl's shot had been at been at just the right angle with just the right strength to cause minor damage to her spine. After the fight—the fight—had ended, two of the Shipgirls had given her an impromptu field surgery to make sure she wouldn't bleed out or drown in her own blood before she made it back to a "bath." Something had gone wrong, and minor spinal damage that no one had time to notice was aggravated by the surgery. Thus.

She found it slightly odd that someone was asking about her survival. She was an Abyssal, hardier than paralyzed limbs could lay low.

Survival…

Her first reason to survive: Her job. Her princess commanded, and so must she follow. Someone had to do it. Her second reason to survive: Her sister. The younger, less mature Ta who reveled in battle and needed a firm hand to guide her, keep her on track.

The first Shipgirl had claimed her first reason. The second Shipgirl had taken the other from her. So what was she supposed to do now?

"TANYA?" an incredulous voice rung through the room. She started, tried to sit up, but she couldn't. Legs. And some kind of strap across her stomach and arms. She tried to wriggle in place, and her vision went white with pain. Brilliant.

"Well yeah," a second, indignant voice followed. "I mean, she's a Ta-class, and we gotta call her something."

"We can call her "the Ta-Class!" the first voice shot back. It had the long-suffering air of a babysitter dealing with a particularly unruly charge.

"Besides," a third voice continued in a stern voice. It sounded wise and knowledgeable, like an old mentor just returned from a long journey. "She's not even a Nekomimi!"

…

What was that about wise and knowledgeable again? Better yet, what the crap was Nekomimi?

(Behind the curtain, an irate Ooyodo whacked Kirishima over the head as Hiei looked on).
-----

"… I believe that's the basics," Mutsu finished. Ushio was no longer looking up at the two battleships. She was looking down at her knees with a sorrow approaching stoicism.

Everything she thought she knew about herself had been torn out from under her feet. Sure, Mutsu had spoken of options, but what did it matter? She was a Shipgirl now. Did she have a place anywhere that she had belonged to before? If she wanted to go back, would she ever be capable of it?

"Hey," Kongou's voice came from behind her. Ushio craned her neck up to see the battleship crouching down behind her. Her grin had been replaced by a more maternal expression. She reached down to give Ushio's arm a reassuring pat.

"I can't say that I've ever experienced it for myself," Kongou said, "but I know some Natural-Borns pretty well myself. Believe me when I say that I know what you're going through. So, I'm going to repeat this a little more clearly. You do have a choice. Your nature does not take who you are away from you. You're still Namiko. You're just Ushio now too."

As much as she wanted to believe it, and as much as Kongou's eyes said it was true, Ushio was uncertain. It was one thing to say that you understood what it meant to be someone more than yourself, and another thing altogether to actually understand.

Heaven above, she didn't want to understand.

"My parents," Ushio said lamely, looking back down at her knees. She needed a reason, any reason, to by time for herself to actually put her thoughts together. "And my older brother. I have to…"

"Don't worry, they'll be informed," Mutsu reassured her gently.

"We kind of have to," Kongou added cheerfully. She had switched back to fun-loving in the span of a minute. "Required by law and all that." Mutsu gave her a flat look. "Aw, come on. Is it really so bad?" Mutsu's flat look grew flatter and she subsided.

"If you still need time to think about it, we'll leave now," She said to Ushio. "You're just about done in here. You'll find some new clothes in the changing room, since your old ones were pretty much torn to shreds in your fight. After that… Well, I suggest finding a quiet spot to just wait and think. Is that okay?" She turned, and walked out of the bathhouse. Kongou followed her, but stopped short at the doorway.

"Hey, kid," she said. Ushio perked up slightly. "You did good, in that fight."

"I… beg your pardon?"

"When you awakened," Kongou clarified. "You did everything in your power to make sure those cruisers didn't hurt anyone. It was crazy, and it was reckless, and if you were military you'd be scrubbing toilets for the rest of the year." Ushio cringed. "But you did right by your teacher and your friends, and that's what matters. Don't let anyone tell you different, okay?"

"Ah…" Ushio stammered, "R-right…"

"And I know what Mutsu said has some merit to it," she continued, "but you should probably go and find your classmates. They're probably worried sick about you."

Then she was gone, and Ushio was alone. Alone with her thoughts, which spiraled into turmoil and folded back into order, until finally a light on one side of the bath turned on with a buzz that sent her jumping to her feet.

Find the other club members. That would do for a start.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

There was the sound of a gust of wind when on the path leading to the Shrine at Yokosuka, Harry and the others appeared. Stumbling a bit, Harry grumbled as Natsumi giggled and held him up. "Careful there, Harry-Chan."

Grumbling as he straightened a bit, Harry scowled. "I hate Portkeys." That only got him snickers and giggles from the others before he looked around at the darkened surroundings. "Um, what time is it?"

Softly smiling, Nagato quickly one of the apps on her phone and nodded. "Right now, it's about Oh-Five hundred in the morning of the twenty second." Looking down at the sleepy Hoppou in her arms, the Battleship shook her head. "We really should be heading home to put someone to bed."

For her part, Hoppou muttered as she snuggled into Nagato's shoulder. "Hoppou s'not sleepy... But should put Big Brother to bed."

Only chuckling, Nagato nuzzled her adopted daughter's hair. "I suppose so."

Rolling his eyes as the Battleship winked at him, Harry only smiled. At the same time, Sakuya shifted Rei around in her arms as the young girl yawned widely at the same time her twin did, who was in her father's arms. "We should get going as well, Nagato-San. It seems that our little Rei-Chan and Asuka-Chan are about to slip into a food coma from all they ate and the excitement of the day."

As Nagato nodded, she turned as Harry tapped her on the arm. "Yes, Harry? What is it?"

His hand rubbing the back of his head, Harry glanced around. "Um, can I walk Natsumi-Chan and the others back home? I mean, it's kind of dark out but... I got to meet Hibiki-Chan too."

Considering it for a moment, Nagato looked over both Harry and Natsumi as she thought. 'Hmm... well, it would be the polite thing to do in Harry's case.' Her lips twitched a bit at how Natsumi was close to him. 'And he is joining Hibiki for her Kai Ni rebuild so will be away for a few hours where he can sleep...' Slowly, Nagato nodded with a small smile. "I don't see the problem with that. Just be careful."

With a salute, Harry nodded. "Will do, Mum!"

Just beside him, Hachi nodded some. "I'll make sure that he gets where he needs to, Nagato-San. Don't worry, Hacchan will take care of him."

A chuckle escaped Nagato as she nodded before watching as Shinano hugged Harry tightly with Hamakaze doing the same. After that, both Shioi and Imuya did the same while reminding him that he was supposed to visit them on Christmas Day for some present opening before going to the general gift exchange. Once they walked off, Natsumi gave a loud yawn before blinking. "Oh, wow... I'm more tired then I thought."

Only smiling, Harry shook his head at her. "Well, we've kind of had a long day." He then began to snicker as they walked along the path. "And you did eat a lot at dinner."

Swatting away the finger that poked her in the stomach, Natsumi gave a sniff. "What? Dinner was delicious and I am a growing girl."

Eyes becoming half-lidded as she could feel herself both relaxed from the baths, warm from the amount of food she had eaten, and from the happiness due to spending the whole day with her closest friend... and somewhat secret crush. Moments later though, her eyes opened a bit as she stumbled, only to be caught by Harry's arm around her waist. "Whoa! Careful there, Natsumi-Chan. Are you okay?"

Unable to help herself, the kitsune flushed as she nodded. "Hai, just a bit more tired then I thought." Feeling the arm around her waist still there, she blinked a bit. "Um... Harry-Chan?"

There was a small twinkle in Harry's eyes as he snickered. "Just making sure that you don't trip, Natsumi-Chan."

Pouting even as her cheeks reddened more, Natsumi huffed a bit. "Mou, stop being mean, Harry-Chan." But despite her protest, she didn't pull away. Rather, she placed her own arm around his waist and then laid her head on Harry's shoulder which caused him to blink some. 'This is nice.'

Ahead of them, Sakuya glanced back and had to hold back a soft coo at the sight of Natsumi and Harry walking together. Turning towards Haru, she grinned a bit. "My hands are full at the moment, could you...?"

Simply grinning, Haru pulled out her phone and, unnoticed by Natsumi, took a picture of the two. "Not a problem, Onee-Chan. Besides, I couldn't pass this up anyways."

Lips twitching, Sakuya continued to watch her daughter and Harry softly talk, with Hachi joining in every once in a while. "The joys of youth, hmm? It rather reminds me of when I met Kensuke-Kun when we were kits."

Beside her, Kensuke blushed a bit. "I don't think that one could call you a kit as you were sixty years old and I was fifteen when we met."

That got him a scoff from his wife. "Nonesense, we were still cute and adorable kits back then. And it still reminds me of our long walks during our courtship back then. Ah, those were the days, just the two of us walking through untouched wilderness paths..."

With a snort, Haru shook her head. "Except in this case I very much doubt that it would take the two of them a hundred and fifty years to get to the point." As her sister waved her off, Haru hummed thoughtfully as she looked back at Natsumi and Harry. "Of course, if there is other possibilities... I do wonder how you feel about such things."

Bemused, Sakuya shook her head. "I assume that you mean the shipgirls that seem to have an interest as well?" At Haru's nod, she chuckled. "Need I remind you, Imouto, of the time in history that we grew up in? While possibilities like you are hinting at were not extremely common, they were far from rare as well until fairly recently."

Shaking her head, Haru chuckled some. "'Fairly recently', of course, being about a hundred and forty five years ago."

Lightly laughing, Sakuya shook her head. "Well, of course it's recent. It wasn't even a hundred and fifty years ago when such practices died out. Not something that I really expected for Natsumi-Chan, I will admit. And I will also admit that I would much rather it be just the two of them and hope so... But it is their decision in the end and how the fates decide. In any case, I would hope that Natsumi-Chan is his wife though, just the same."

When Haru turned towards him, Kensuke scratched his head with the only hand that was free as the other arm had one of his two sleeping daughters in it. "Ah... I'm not sure how to feel about it. Sure, when we were younger it happened frequently among the richer class. But it's not the sort of thing that I ever saw happening to one of my daughters. And I don't really see it happening or Natsumi-Chan letting it. As it stands... I'll just place my trust in them and wait." Deciding to change the subject, he raised an eyebrow at his sister-in-law. "Anyways, what's with you? You've been rather antsy since partway through the bath and I would have thought that it would have relaxed you."

Just shifting a bit, Haru glanced around and then sighed as she dropped her voice a bit. "I am only two decades younger then Onee-Chan, Kensuke-Kun. Two, and she gained her fifth tail nineteen years ago..."

It quickly connected together in their heads with Sakuya letting out a quiet squee. "Ha-Chan! You mean to tell me that you're about to reach your fifth tail? Oh my! This is a cause for celebration! My cute little Imouto is growing up!"

Unknown to Haru, what she felt at that moment was much the same as Natsumi often felt around her when she was in a mischivious mood directed at her niece. Not that she realized that fact really. And if she was in either her true form or her fox state, her ears would be flattened against her head as she hissed. "Onee-Chan!" Looking around, she gave a sigh as Taichi seemed to be covering his ears, obviously not wanting to listen to the previous conversation. "Anyways... those springs were so charged with spiritual and magical energy that I think it might make it happen a bit sooner then normal."

Snorting, Kensuke shook his head. "Not that much sooner. And it's not like there is not some varience for when one gains tails. Every hundred years is just the average the time between tails. Some can get them ninty five years after their last tail, or a hundred and ten years. They come when they come, so it's not that odd."

The three continued their chat until they reached the gate to the Shrine and walked through it on the way towards Haru's and Natsumi's residence. However, they did turn and watch as Harry reached the gate and stopped before looking at Natsumi and shaking her slightly. "Natsumi-Chan, we're here?"

With a blink, Natsumi straightened a bit. "Oh..." An almost disappointed look crossed her face before she shook it off and turned towards Harry. Part of her noted that he was a bit taller then she was now, which she did not mind too much. "Thank you, Harry-Chan. For the trip and everything... I really enjoyed myself."

Only smiling back at her, Harry shrugged. "I didn't mind and I enjoyed it too. And like I said, we can always go back some time."

Her lips curling upwards into a soft smile, Natsumi nodded some. "I'd like that, Harry-Chan. I'd really like that." Then, before he could react, she leaned upwards and kissed him on the cheek. "Chu! Good night." Giggles escaped her as she shook her head at his expression. "Or good morning I guess. Later, Harry-Chan!"

Natsumi did not go far before Harry's hand grabbed hers and stopped her. She was turning when she felt something press against her cheek and her eyes shot wide open as Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek. With a smile, he pulled back and began walking away. "Good morning, Natsumi-Chan! I'll see you later."

Rapidly blinking, Natsumi didn't hear the snickers from her aunt and mother, nor see the facepalm from her brother as she waved back slowly. "Um, hai, I'll see you later..." Her face feeling like it was on fire, Natsumi quickly walked away once Harry was out of sight and past her amused relatives. When she did fall asleep shortly after though, she did so to images of an adult version of her and Harry back in the hot springs at Bath. This time though, they were alone except for some kitsune kits with suspicious messy hair and green eyes...

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Now that sounds like an art.

In other news, I decided to take another stab at that cat snippet. My muse was being slightly uncooperative, so I... muse-ed myself and put something together. It didn't turn out entirely how I'd hoped, but here it is.
-----

The kitten was small, and black with a white nose and a white patch that started at the front of its neck and trailed down to its stomach. It looked up at Inazuma with bright yellow eyes and mewed.

"I'm sorry," Inazuma said, looking at her blood and adopted sisters. "Where did you say you found it, nanodesu?"

"In a dumpster!" Akatsuki replied pridefully, hands folded in front of her. "I heard it crying so I climbed up and there it was, so I brought it home."

"And I said it must have had quite a set of lungs to attract you," Ikazuchi said flatly. They must have had the conversation multiple times before Inazuma got there. She should probably defuse it before it got too—

The kitten mewed right as she opened her mouth, and the two immediately began cooing over it. Inazuma watched, blinking, before she decided to leave that alone and move along to the more pertinent matter. "Why did you decide to bring it here, nanodesu?"

"Because," Akatsuki said, her voice taking a slightly petulant tone, "a cat is an elephant, lady-like pet!" Inazuma didn't bother to correct her English. She just kept making the mistake, no matter what they did. After the first year, people had just gradually stopped caring.

"Also," Ikazuchi said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I was kinda hoping we could give it to Harry. His second year at magic school is getting even weirder than the first one, so I thought we should do something nice for him. I mean…" she shrugged and smiled awkwardly. "He's always doing nice stuff for us, isn't he?"

Inazuma and Akatsuki looked at her. Especially Akatsuki who, by the look on her face, had not considered doing this and was now trying to figure out how to make it seem this had always been her intention. Off to one side, where she was sitting in one of the corners, Hibiki looked up. The visit with Harry had helped her, but by the way she would pause in consideration when she thought no one was looking? She was still nervous about the upcoming Kai Ni.

"Yes!" Akatsuki said, seemingly having found a good way to switch gears. "We should definitely do that! Harry would love a kitty!"

"Would Kaasan let us keep a cat, though?" Inazuma pointed out. Ikazuchi and Akatsuki, previously riding the good feelings of the moment and the idea, slumped.

"That's mean, Ami," Ikazuchi groused.

A quiet shuffling from the corner caught their attentions. As one, the three looked towards Hibiki. The kitten had wandered over to her as they spoke, and was rubbing its head against her hand. Hibiki scrutinized it quietly, and made her contribution to the ongoing discussion.

"Khorosho," she said, shifting in place and moving her hand to scratch behind it's ears.

The others turned to look at Inazuma expectantly with a new gleam in their eyes. A gleam that… Oh no. Inazuma knew that look. She had had that look. That was the look of siblings who had just come up with an idea that was guaranteed to get all of them in trouble with no repentance.

"… nano," she said weakly.
-----

Slowly, quietly, as her mother and aunt talked about days and admirals and politics, Ikazuchi scraped a carrot from her plate into the napkin on her lap. Good. They hadn't—

"Cats don't eat carrots," Akatsuki whispered to her.
-----

At the sound of a mighty crash outside their dorm room and Inazuma's shriek, Fubuki was rolling out of bed. As Yuudachi leapt down beside her and Mutsuki struggled to free herself from her sheets, she ran to the door and threw it wide open.

"What's wrong?" she cried out, sending the smaller destroyer in front of her scrambling away in shock.

"N-Nothing's wrong!" Inazuma stammered. "Just a-a ghost is all! Just a ghost, nanodesu!" Out of the corner of her eye, Fubuki saw something white disappear and heard the sound of running feet. Another door slammed open to reveal Yuubari, clad in a battered brown coverall and swaying drunkenly. In one hand she held a lighter, and the other clutched an aerosol can.

"Ghost?" she slurred, half-asleep. "Lemme atem! I'll get the dirty ghost! For science!"

"KYAAAAAAAAH!!"


-----

Hibiki sat on the floor with a book. The kitten was nestled securely in her lap, purring. The door opened and closed, and Inazuma walked up beside her. Her sister placed a canned drink beside Hibiki, and took a sip of her own. Hibiki smiled slightly, and set her book down.

"Hey, Inazuma," said Miyuki, slamming the door open. "I was wondering if you could… a… is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong." Hibiki said, crouched over comically on the floor as Inazuma wailed over her. "I tripped. That is all."

A bead of sweat rolled down Miyuki's neck. "Oooh… kay?"
-----

"In conclusion," Tatsuta said brightly, "there was nothing you could do to make it more obvious!"

"We're sorry," Desdiv 6 chorused, bowing. On the table before them, the kitten looked up at Tatsuta and mewled. Tenryuu groaned, shaking her head.

"You four… what was this all about, even?"

"We weren't sure you'd let us," Akatsuki said miserably. Even her own words felt like a condemnation. At her mother's glare, she continued. "We wanted to give it to Harry after he's done at magic school… because he's been having a tough year."

Tenryuu's glare softened, and she sighed heavily. "Well, I guess I can't fault your sentiment. But this little fellow?" She raised a hand to the kitten's face and, after a moment, it began to lick her fingers. "He's too friendly to be a stray. He probably has an owner who's worried sick about him right now." At Akatsuki's sides, her sisters' crestfallen faces fell lower. Akatsuki's probably did, too.

"Also," Tatsuta said, "This is a military base. Things like pets should be cleared with the Admiral beforehand." Why hadn't they thought of that?

Glancing up at Inazuma, Akatsuki tracked her gaze to Hibiki, who seemed a bit lower than the rest.

"Da," she said in a small voice.
-----

Looking out over the river, Haru reached into her sleeve and pulled out a long, green cucumber. Natsumi watched as she cranked one of her arms back and hurled the vegetable out over the water. It went spinning through the air, and she reflected that Harry would probably tell them off for wasting food.

The cucumber plopped into the water and was gone.

Seconds passed, and the water in front of the two Kitsune exploded.

The yokai in front of them looked like a horse, if it were a crocodile with the skin of a frog. On its head rested a small bowl filled with water. It gazed balefully at Natsumi for a moment, and then turned its eyes on her aunt.

Miko. It said as if the two had been throwing rocks at its window all night. What a response to being given the gift of a valuable cucumber. What is it that you want?

"Yes, of course," Haru said, nodding politely. "Do you know if anyone around here is missing a small black kitten with a white patch on its chest?"

What.

"Ah, that's as a pet. Not to eat," she clarified.

What.
-----

Hibiki sat watching the water, her feet hanging over the side of the dock.

A small blue car had rolled up to the base earlier that afternoon, carrying a man with graying hair and a small girl who had tearfully embraced the kitten, calling it "Sherlock." They had thanked her for caring for it the past week, but all it had done was leave her with a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Footprints came down towards her, and the shuffling sound of someone sitting beside her.

"You know," Tenryuu said, "If you wanted, I could probably talk to the Admiral—"

"It's okay," said Hibiki. "Don't bother."

Tenryuu trailed off and was silent a moment. Then she placed an arm over Hibiki's shoulders. Hibiki appreciated it.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 19: S0ngD0g13

Christmas Prep in Kure...
.......................................

James looked up from sharpening his axe and pocketed his whetstone when he heard Jaw whistle. "Dad, I found our tree!" the teen shouted from up the hill.

"Be right there!" James called back. When he reached the tree and looked, the transplanted Tennesseean could tell it was a good choice, a cedar in good health, stout and vividly green. James laid his hand on the trunk and, after a moment, nodded to himself.

It was the work of a few minutes to fell the cedar, and then the McAmis men carried it down the hillside to the Jeep and tied it down...

.................................................

At Houshou's house, the Carrier was hard at work wrapping gifts. She'd found matching dragon-print scarves for Soryuu and Hiryuu, and similar gifts for the other Carriers at Kure. She'd already sent her gifts to the Carriers at Yokosuka and Sasebo along with Maruyu.

Right then, Japan's First Carrier was wrapping her present to Jaw, an RC plane; she, the Crane Sisters, and Jaw had enjoyed flying some of his other planes and she knew he'd had his eye on an A5M for a while...

For Kaylee, Houshou had bought a greatcoat in Confederate Gray, and had embroidered it with crossed pistols on one sleeve and crossed arrows on the other...

For James... Houshou blushed slightly...

...................................

That evening, Kaylee looked over at where he was wrapping his presents for Shoukaku and Zuikaku, and chuckled. "You realize Zuikaku's gonna kill you, right? I mean, seriously, you know she hates that nickname, and you somehow found wrapping-paper with a Christmas Turkey print? Your girlfriend is gonna flatten you."

"She ain'm'girlfrien'," he mumbled around the ribbon in his teeth as he finished wrapping the gift for Shoukaku. He still had the gifts for Zuikaku and Houshou to wrap, and the teen bet Houshou would enjoy the RC plane he'd bought and custom-painted for her...

Kaylee turned back to her gift and looked it over one last time, checking that her needlework was good before folding the embroidered obi carefully and placing it in its box to wrap. She'd caught sight of her uncle's gift for Houshou the day before; she really hoped Houshou liked it...

....................................

James slid his gift for Kaylee into an envelope and sealed it, then started wrapping Jaw's gift. His eldest boy, Mike, was headed to Tennessee to spend Christmas with the rest of the family this year, so James had shipped his gift back to the States. It might not arrive on Christmas Day, but it'd get there...

After he got the car-stereo for Jaw wrapped, James pulled out his gift for Houshou...

I hope she likes it... He thought to himself as he folded the wrapping paper around the box, and the logo of the jeweler where he'd bought it...

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, it's official. I am seriously enjoying writing these snippets. Word of warning, as always: I am not qualified in these fields, so my accuracy is suspect. Also, less Ushio this time.

Let's go.
Starting Off

-----

Yumeno Norihara wanted her blasted coffee break.

She had started at Yokosuka's local hospital earlier that Spring and if there was one thing that she knew, living near and being personally familiar with actual real life Shipgirls did not make up for the absolute crap that she often had to deal with because of them.

It was fairly well known that Military Personnel were fairly creative when dealing with boredom, and Shipgirls were no exception. The difference lay in the fact that Shipgirls were battleships and aircraft carriers packed into a five-to-six foot package capable of selectively ignoring the laws of physics where it suited them. When they got up to antics they got up to serious antics. So the hospital sometimes had to deal with the fallout when antics got out of control.

Another thing that no one told you about Yokosuka (assuming that you already knew, probably) was that living near Shipgirls meant that you lived where the Abyssals really, really wanted to blow up as soon as possible. And dealing with that meant people who were stupid enough to fail at the science that the citizens had gotten evacuation down to as well as the people who hurt themselves doing something stupid while cleaning up.

Was she being unfair? Very likely. Somewhat irrational? Also likely. Why was that? Because she STILL HADN'T HAD HER COFFEE!

At least Tenryuu's friend had been perfectly cooperative enough. Somewhat concussed, but after being smashed into the bunker doors like that it was a miracle she wasn't worse off. Right now, the two were playing the classic parental game of "Who's Kids Are Cuter" which Tenryuu usually one by way of Desdiv 6, but Teacher Lady was gaining an unexpected advantage with stories of her six-year-old son. Yumeno had been called away to help with a young girl who had been locked in a closet as part of a prank and forgotten by her siblings. Their apartment having been hit by a stray shot, the girl had dropped down through the second floor and broken her leg. The siblings were probably getting their hides very rightly tanned.

A hand closed around her wrist, snapping her out of her cranky caffeine-less reverie. She looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of…

"Doctor! Need you!" barked Hiei, breaking into a run. Yumeno tried to plant her feet but against someone like this her efforts translated to something in the area of French toast: flimsy and inherently nonsensical.

Yep. Definitely needed her coffee break.

-----

"I'm telling you," Yumeno said, much-needed coffee now in hand, "I am in no way qualified to deal with spinal injuries. If you wanted someone who could help you with this…" With her free hand, she gestured to the small gap in the curtain that showed her the Abyssal (Abyssal) that lay strapped to the table. "… You should have gotten Doctor Misaki."

Ooyodo, the one kind enough to give Yumeno precious caffeine, gave Hiei one of her looks. Many of the administrators and higher-level ships had them, for dealing with people who did something especially ridiculous. Some, Yumeno heard, had turned it into an art. Palming her face, the dark-haired Shipgirl turned to face her.

"Be that as it may," she said, "We would appreciate you giving her a… I guess a preliminary checkup or something? While Hiei here goes and actually ASKS who she should bring back here." She shot the offending battleship another look, and Hiei looked appreciably sheepish.

"Guess I might as well," Yumeno groused, raising her coffee to her lips. "Wouldn't want to get dragged out here for no reason." She took a long sip, then lowered the mug. It tasted terrible, but she wasn't going to complain. "I have to ask, though…"

"Shoot," Ooyodo said graciously.

"Why grab a civilian doctor? Wouldn't you generally get someone military for this stuff?"

Ooyodo sighed. "Actually, we usually would have put her in the docks." The door slammed as Hiei ran through. "Problem is, though, Akashi and Yuubari had no idea what they were doing, and they knew it. We wanted to put her in one of the baths, but…"

"Not certain something wouldn't heal wrong?" Yumeno shrugged. "Wouldn't you normally put her in anyway? And again, why not a military doctor?"

"Because we don't have anyone on base who's qualified," Ooyodo replied, an ironic smirk on her lips. "The guy who IS qualified just got the call that he's flying over tonight. And as for the other problem… Let's just say that genetics is a tricky business." For all the similarities she implied, Yumeno supposed, there was some fundamental difference that made even a calculated risk tricky that avoiding it would be better.

"Huh." Yumeno downed the last of her coffee. "Let's do this."

"I'll call in backup. And the Admiral."

-----

Umi sat in a corner, knees pulled up tightly to her chest. Worry tore at her gut, and the breakfast she had been given lay untouched beside her. They were at the house where their Training Camp was meant to take place, having been quietly rushed there the night before. Sleep had been frantic and short, or absent entirely. Without Sensei, Umi silently doubted that they were going to get anything done.

"Do you think they're alright?" Miko asked quietly. She was resting against a wall herself, this one directly under a window. Yae jumped down from where she was sitting on a table and walked over to her.

"Don't worry about it!" Yae said. "The military lady said that Sensei woke up earlier!" The tomboy stood arms crossed and feet planted in a pastiche of a shonen character. Having trouble coping herself. It was the only time that she would act like that.

"But she didn't say anything about Nagawa-san!" Miya said mournfully. She was huddled in one of the chairs at the table. "All she said was 'don't worry about it,' which doesn't tell us anything!"

"Like MizuMizu would be split up that way!" Yae said desperately. Umi looked up, looked over her fellow students, and let her forehead drop back down to her knees. MizuMizu… right, that silly nickname. Her and Nagawa-san.

She was supposed to protect Nagawa-san. Help her not to feel lonely and stop people from picking on her. And now, her friend had been locked out of the only safe place to be when Abyssals had attacked. Where Umi couldn't protect her. And now…

She stood and began to walk out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Miko called after her.

"Out," she said simply. And left the room past her friends' protests.
-----

She didn't know when they walked into the room—she was a little beyond paying attention to the time. The curtain, slightly open, had been pushed further open, allowing a light cruiser and another into the room. The second individual carried herself differently. Actually, she moved differently altogether, as if she were not restraining power inside her—she was… she was…

An opportunity!

She waited. Tensed her muscles, regardless of pain. Waited. Waited. Prepared. Focused her attention, all of her being on the HUMAN before her, waited for her to be in range, prepared…

And suddenly the human was right where she could reach.

Her head snapped forward, faster than the human eye could travel, and the human's own began to widen, just an inestimably small amount by her perspective, and she could finally do her duty, pain searing at her or not.

A hand grabbed her by the forehead and pulled her back. No! A carrier? When had she—when she was distracted by the human. She hadn't even noticed her enter the room. She could feel her eyes tear up. No! She had been close—so close! And they…

She couldn't fulfill her duty. She couldn't save her sister. She couldn't do anything.
-----

The clothes, it turned out, were an old sailor uniform. Ushio did her best not to roll her eyes at the pun, intentional or not, and grabbed the underwear that had been thankfully left there with it. She dressed quickly and efficiently until she was putting on the ribbon and realized that she hadn't accidentally tried to put her head through one of the sleeves in her haste. The way she tended to when putting on her blazer.

She did her best to stave off the thoughts that followed. She'd mulled over them plenty in the baths, and she still wasn't ready to make a decision yet.

The Club. The Club came first.
-----

Twenty minutes later, after wandering unfamiliar halls and getting herself lost twice, Ushio came to the realization that the Club wasn't necessarily on Base. She palmed her face and turned to examine the walls. If she could figure out where she was in here…

One of the doors opened, and a girl of her own age stepped out into the halls. "Oh," she said, surprised. "You-You're Nagawa-san, right?" She offered her hand to Ushio, who looked at it uncomfortably before gradually extending her own hand.

"You… know my name?" she asked.

"Of course I do!" the girl replied brightly. "You're all everyone on base has talked about this morning. Oh—Sorry!" She stood at ramrod attention, startling Ushio into taking a step back. "I'm Fubuki! It's nice to meet you."

Fubuki. The name of an IJN destroyer. Which meant that this girl was…

"I…" Ushio said. "I'm looking for my Club. The girls I came here with? Oh, and…"

"Oh, really?" Fubuki replied. "I'll help you look."

"You really don't—"

"It's okay! Really!" Fubuki reassured her. Then she looked back at the room she had just exited. "Oh… except…"

"I've got this, Fubuki," a voice that Ushio had heard on so many videos and so many soundbites called from the room. A shapely woman stepped into view, resting a hand on the door frame. Oh. Um. Oh.

Big Seven. Nagato. Wow. I. Uh.

"… on the hill. You know, the one that Mister Kikuchi rents out sometimes," she said. Ushio realized her jaw was hanging open. Absentmindedly, she raised her right hand and pushed it closed.

"Great! Thanks!" Then Fubuki's hand was grasping hers and she was being pulled away.

"I… That was…" Ushio said haltingly as she was dragged along. Fubuki slowed, and looked back down the hall they had run through.

"Nagato? Yeah. I was helping her pack."

"Pack?" Ushio asked, trying to put her thoughts back in order.

"Yeah, she's got to fly out to Great Britain tonight," Fubuki explained. "She'd rather wait until a little later and help fix things up from the attack, but it's too late to change the schedule."

"Ah," Ushio said. And allowed Fubuki to pull her along to wherever Nagato had said the Club was.
-----

Ooyodo helped Yumeno up as Shouhou held the Abyssal's head in place. Tears poured down the sides of the battleship's head, and her mouth was opened in a bestial, shrieking wail. Yumeno stared, suddenly reminded of a child she had seen once, during her internship, who had lost an arm in a car accident.

What was she doing here? She wasn't looking at a monster.

Just a patient.

Shrugging off Ooyodo's warding arm, she stepped forward.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking together with their breath misting in the pre-dawn air, Hachi could only look at the boy beside her and smile. "Thank you, Harry-Chan." At his confused look, she continued as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "For bringing Hacchan and the others along on the trip. I really enjoyed it and so did they. Especially with how we got to spend time with you."

Slowly, Harry nodded before he stopped. Much to Hachi's confusion, Harry hung his head a bit. "Um, I'm really, really sorry, Hachi-Chan. I... guess that I've not been, you know..."

Now blinking, the Submarine turned to him with a small frown on her face. "Not been what, Harry-Chan? And what are you saying sorry for?"

Chewing his lip, the black haired twelve year old shuffled a bit. "I guess that I haven't been that good of a friend to you. Between school and stuff I haven't been spending as much time with you as I normally would and... I'm away for several months-"

Before he could continue, Harry found himself grabbed into a hug and pulled close by Hachi. "You got absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Harry-Chan. Nothing."

His arms coming up automatically and wrapping themselves around Hachi's waist, Harry blinked some. "But I-"

Quickly leaning down, Hachi kissed him on the top of the head before speaking. "But nothing, Harry-Chan." Pulling away some, Hachi reached up with one hand and cupped Harry's cheek, moving his head so that he was looking at her in the eyes. "You have always, always made time for us, Harry-Chan. For Hacchan and the others. Even when the others ignored us, you didn't. And you still make time for us whenever you can and when you're on base."

Still frowning, Harry kept looking up at her. "But I'm normally at school, Hachi-Chan. For the whole year even! And I do a lot of schoolwork when I'm here too."

With a hum, Hachi raised an eyebrow. "Hai? And who sends us all sorts of letters as often as ours reach him? You. Not a day goes by when we're on the base that we're not reading a letter from you, Harry-Chan, that you wrote for us. You have no idea what that means to us... And you also Skype with us when you can or PM us on Shipgirls Online." A small smile on her face, Hachi shook her head. "Even when you're thousands of miles away, you still do your best to give us attention."

For some odd reason, Harry blushed some though he didn't know why. Chuckling some, he glanced away from Hachi and so missed her lips twitching some more. "You're my friends, Hachi-Chan. Of course I would still do that. It's just... I don't know if I'm spending enough time with you."

If he had known how much that warmed Hachi, he would have been confused. As it was, the Subgirl's eyes were watery. "You're spending more then enough time with us, Harry-Chan. You always have, and that is why us Submarines... really care about you. Because you care right back and show us."

Looking down some, Harry took a deep breath. "Even though I'm not there when you have a bad nightmare?"

That brought a blush to Hachi's face as she remembered the times when, after having a nightmare of her past, she had often snuck into Harry's room to use him as a teddy bear. Nagato and the others had known, but never said anything about that fact and Harry himself had simply accepted it as a way to help his friend. Something that Hachi never had told him how much it meant to her along with his simple acceptence of her. "Hacchan... won't deny that she misses Harry-Chan when nightmares happen. But, I have the others who can help me. And you don't mind talking to me through letters about it. Hacchan... I can't tell you how much that helps, Harry-Chan. So you are still there for me in any way you can be."

His hug on her tightening, Harry muttered into Hachi's chest. "And I'll always try to be. As much as I can be."

Unknown to him, Hachi's face lit up both in a blush and a bright smile of pure happiness. Internally checking her clock, she smiled a bit and then looked around to see a nearby bench. "Harry-Chan? You don't need to meet Hibiki-Chan for a little bit so... could we, um, go sit down over there?"

With a raised eyebrow, Harry turned in the direction that Hachi was looking in and nodded as he saw the bench before pulling her along with her hand in his. "Sure! I don't mind at all."

Once they settled down though, Hachi shifted beside him until she was able to lay her head on his with one arm around his waist and vice versa. At the same time, they just continued to hold hands as the two of them spent some time just talking softly about various things.
________________________________________________________

Ignoring her sisters' various attempts to get her to talk, Hibiki just stared out at the slowly lightening horizon silently. Today... today it was going to happen. In a short time, she was going to enter the docks and receive her rebuild, transforming her from Hibiki to Verniy.

And it scared her so very much.

Just thinking about it brought back memories that she would rather not see. Of her sisters sinking along with most everyone else she knew. Of the days spent at anchor while awaiting her fate, expecting to be scrapped and to join her sisters wherever they were. But then... being given to the Soviets. For a few short years, her spirit tried to fill the hole in it with new memories. And, to an extent, it worked. She threw herself so much into being Verniy that she became slightly different, a change that stuck around even when she returned. But then came later days and she eventually became nothing more then a hulk floating. Just clinging on til the day that the Soviets finally used her for target practice.

While she would never admit it, for how the others might react, she was happy as she sunk beneath the waves. Always faithful she was, she could finally join her friends and family on the other side.
Could finally rest with them as the world continued to turn onwards.

Eventually though, her spirit stirred when the Abyssals appeared and attacked. More then once, she nearly rose with others, but was always held back. Her sisters were gone, what more could she do? Why couldn't she rest with them in the eternallly sunlit sea with gentle swells.

Which was when she sensed them, Inazuma and Ikazuchi calling her. Asking for her to come back, even if they did not know that they were doing so. They were there. Once more fighting in a war which might see them sink. A war harsher then the one before against those who would do them harm. One which might see their lives ended... and them sunk.

At that thought, her boilers lit and she rose through the water. Something to hold her back. To stop her from continuing to where her sisters were. She could even feel Akatsuki now, which made her fight all the harder against what was trying to stop her. It grabbbed onto her and tried to pull her back. In her ears, it whispered it was not time yet for her, that she could return eventually, but not yet.

It tried to stop her...

No.

Hibiki... Verniy... the Pheonix... Always Faithful. Not this time, she would not be stopped!

She would protect her sisters and stop them from sinking even if she had to fight through hell itself to do so.

Needless to say, whatever it was must have been surprised when Hibiki gave it the spiritual equivalent of a slug to the face and kick to the balls. And then the Destroyer tore her way out of it's weakening grasp, though not before giving it another spiritual kick to the face for trying to stop her. Then with a gasp and an explosion of water, she broke the surface to reveal that she was no longer just a steel hulled, but had the body of a ten year old girl. Her white hair moved in the breeze and she looked around before her eyes locked on first a surprised look Inazuma and Ikazuchi, also in the bodies of ten year old girls though there was something different about them.

And then a gasp caused her to whip her head around and see a teary Akatsuki who was looking her over. "H-Hibiki-Chan? Is that... you?"

Blinking away her own tears, Hibiki rushed over and grabbed her sister in a tight hug, letting out sobs as she did so. Soon, she was joined by a happy, though crying, Inazuma and Ikazuchi. Then she felt two strong arms encircle them and looked up to see a Light Cruiser who was softly smiling down at them with one eye covered by an eyepatch. Hibiki recognized her as Tenryuu. Said Light Cruiser looked down at Akatsuki first, then Hibiki, and then to another Light Cruiser who was looking on confused before she tightened the hug some. "Welcome home, Akatsuki-Chan, Hibiki-Chan, Tatsuta-Chan... Welcome home."

What happened next was a whirlwind of activity as they were once more sorted into "Destroyer Division Six", this time with Tenryuu and Tatsuta in command. But no matter what, no matter the blood, pain, or how dark days in the future got, there was one thing in Hibiki's boilers that made her stand tall as an impenterable wall. An unyielding force and immovable object.

Her sisters were alive and she was with them once more.

Though things were different now, they were both human and ship. Hibiki was surprised to learn that Ikazuchi and Inazuma had reincarnated as normal human girls, twins and their human mother was in fact Tenryuu. But she had accepted that and even held on all the tighter to it. Especially after one incident that had Tenryuu verbally rip apart a Russian who could not take no for an answer when he demanded to know why she would not return to Russia.

Even the talking to could not dull the smile on her face from that. A smile that got brighter when she remembered how the local Russian embassy issued an apology for what happened. And then she met Harry, who she already decided would be her Admiral in the future... and maybe more. While this new life was strange, it was good.

Which is why she was so scared about her Kai Ni. She would once more be Verniy, something she became only after her sisters were sunk. After Tenryuu and Tatsuta were long gone. When many of her own crew were gone. If... if she became Verniy, would she still be her? Would it be a sign of what had happened was going to happen again? That she would lose everyone who she had found once more to the Abyss?

Would her happiness come to an end with her only once more just existing? Drifting upon the waves? Especially as it was now December considering her final name...

Suddenly, she was pulled out of her thoughts by two arms around her. Familiar arms that she had felt many times before and Hibiki opened her eyes only for her light bluish ones to meet emerald green ones. Green eyes filled with care and understanding that was meant for her. While she had never really let her family know, she had let him know.

And slowly, Hibiki brought her own arms up to hug her Anchor in the hurricane of emotions that swirled around her and tried to tear her from her moorings. Her Captain that could guide her through it with a steady hand past the rocks that so wished for her to be dashed upon them. And her future Admiral in whom she could place her trust that things would turn out alright as he said.

Her Harry.

In reply, all Harry did was tighten his own hug as she buried her face in his neck and took what comfort she could in him. "It's okay, Hibiki-Chan. It's okay... Everything will turn out great, you'll see."

Perhaps... perhaps he was right.

She would trust him in this. After all, she was Always Faithful and he was Always Faithful when she needed someone to talk to. Especially now, when he did not need to, he was there.

Faithfully.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Knowing that Hibiki was nervous as they walked along with how she was squeezing his, Harry cleared his throat and decided to distract her. "So... anything interesting on your expeditions?"

There was a small smile on Tenryuu's face as she could guess what he was really trying to do, but shrugged. "Not too much really. It's mostly been the same old, same old. Raiding Abyssal stockpiles on various islands and the like for resources." Scratching her cheek, she shook her head. "You'd be surprised at how much they seem to get from the sea. Pretty sure that they've been draining shipwrecks of oil to get the amount that they have..."

Quickly nodding, Inazuma didn't even notice that Hedwig landed on her head with the owl closing her eyes. "Yeah, Nanodesu. There's lots of stuff at those storage dumps. And there's also manganese nodules and stuff we can bring back to be refined. Hoppou-Chan's been munching on some though..."

Frowning a bit, Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "I wonder why Hoppou's doing that?" Getting more shrugs, he glanced at Hibiki who was still silent. "Um, anything else?"

Akatsuki suddenly perked up some. "We think that we found a yokai village!"

Now that caused Harry to blink and turn towards the purple haired Destroyer with a look of confusion. "A yokai village? Where?"

Reaching into her shirt, Akatsuki brought out a picture and showed it to Harry who leaned over a bit to look. "See? Right here!"

Eyebrows furrowing, it was only due to the look on her face and having known her for years that Harry could tell that she was not trying to pull a joke on him. "Uh, Akatsuki-Chan? That looks like a sea stack... Though there is what looks like a forest on top?"

Hands held behind her head, Ikazuchi grinned. "It's not really a hidden island, but... there's spells to keep people away you know? But we thought the same as well you know and often passed it on our expeditions since there was no signs of habitation, except..." She closed her eyes and then smirked. "We went by one night with our lights turned off during Saury season. And we saw what looked like lanterns just above the water."

For the first time, Hibiki nodded some. "They must have spotted us when we got close because they all suddenly died out. But we could just make out small boats heading for the island." She then frowned some in thought. "Shinano-San had her planes survey it, but there was nothing but trees on top of the island and a small lake."

It took a few moments for Harry to figure it out and frown. "Underground?"

Slowly, Tatsuta nodded some in thought. "That is what we were thinking. Apparently it was an outpost for Japanese magicals during World War Two. But as to where the boats came from... look right here."

Leaning in, Harry blinked at the small, black dots. Then his eyes widened some. "Sea caves?"

With a slight smile, Tatsuta nodded. "Sea caves. They're likely got their boats hidden deep inside them from both Abyssals and any magicals in the area. After all, technically they're there illegally under the magical laws. The shoals around the island make it harder to reach them as well, unless one knew the way through... or can just walk over them."

Inazuma nodded some which made Hedwig, still not noticed by her, crack open one eye. "Hwawawa! It's really cool! And when we asked Haru-San, she said that there's small communities like that all over the place, hidden from everyone."

Softly, Hibiki added her own bit. "Teitoku stated that we can investigate later though. After..."

At the look on her face, Harry frowned some before his eyes lit up and he pulled out his phone. "Hey, hey, Hibiki-Chan! Look at this now. It was posted just a bit ago on the forum."

Giving Harry a confused look, Hibiki leaned in and blinked as it started. "... What is with Enterprise-San and Yamato-San? And... they're drunk? Why are they running drunk?"

His tone dry, Harry barely held back a snort. "Apparently Johnston and the others decided that, in celebration of the victory of Iwo Jima after they killed the Princess there to prank the two. That's why the two of them are covered in, um... syrup."

Eyes widening some, Ikazuchi shook her head. "Are they trying to get their asses kicked? Because that is one way to get their asses kicked."

Only turning to her, Harry blinked. "It's Taffy 3."

Bringing up one finger, Ikazuchi looked like she was about to argue the point when she stopped and then shrugged. "True enough I guess." It was then that the video reached the point where Taffy 3 had closed and locked a door behind them with Yamato and Enterprise banging on it. Then the obviously drunk Yamato said something to Enterprise who grinned and nodded before the Battleship made her move. "Uh... is she putting her hand up Enterprise's shirt?!"

That caught Tenryuu's attention and her head whipped around. "Say what now?! You bunch should not be..." Having caught sight of the video, she blinked some. "Wait, she's just putting her hand up it to grip Enterprise's shirt by the collar from the inside?"

All of them were now watching the video as Yamato lifted up the madly grinning Enterprise before rearing her hand back. Then she punched forward with Enterprise's face slamming into, and through the door as the two of them shouted. "BATTLESHIP-CARRIER COMBINATION ATTACK! MACROSS ATTACK!"

Facepalming as the cackling Enterprise's head was still in the door over the screaming Taffy 3, Tenryuu only shook her head as the Carrier slurred out her next words. "HEEERE'S JOHNNY!"

But then Tenryuu winced as the obviously concussed Enterprised was ripped out of the door by Yamato, only to have her face driven into it again, this time knocking down the door. "My fucking Kami... Those two did that, they actually did that. I.. I have no words, except that they had to be drunk."

With a nod, Ikazuchi nodded. "Yeah! Kaa-San's chunni, but she's not that chunni!"

Unable to help himself, Harry snickered a bit at both what Tenryuu had said as well as what Ikazuchi had and the ear flick her mother had given her. "Really drunk actually as the two of them had been in a drinking contest that Enterprise roped Yamato-Oba into. Apparently Enterprise suffered a broken nose from the whole thing along with a concussion... but it was worth it."

Just as Tatsuta was about say something, she blinked and then furrowed her eyebrows as Yamato ran out of the room with Enterprise still hanging off her arm. "... Is that Johnston's skirt in Enterprise's mouth?"

On the video, the two leapt through a window and into the air to screams from Taffy 3 as Harry nodded. "Hai, apparently Johnston was partway through the window when Enterprise tried to... um... bite her."

Utter silence met him at that as the sound of steel hitting steel could be heard from various facepalms.
______________________________________________________________________________

As it turned out, Harry's goal of making Hibiki forgetting what was going to happen and raising her mood worked. That was, right up until they reached the docks to find Akashi there with a kindly expression on her face. "Good morning, Hibiki-Chan. Ready for your rebuild?"

Internally, Hibiki did not feel so good. Seeing the look on Hibiki's face, Harry's eyes widened a bit and he brought his hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay, Hibiki-Chan? You look kind of green..."

Swallowing, the nearly white haired Destroyer shook her head. "I-it feels like someone dumped fuel that I should not be using into my boilers and... M-my boilers air intakes are fluttering."

Akashi frowned a bit at the symptoms and looked confused until Tenryuu placed her hand on Hibiki's shoulder. "Sounds like you're really nervous, kiddo. Those are what we call getting 'Butterflies in your stomach', nothing to worry about."

Eyebrows furrowing, Hibiki frowned a bit. "Butterflies... in your stomach?"

Only noddng, Harry chuckled weakly. "Yeah, that's what it sounds like. I've gotten them before too, but just take some deep breaths and they should calm down some."

Her expression still gentle, Akashi crouched down some and placed her hand on Hibiki's shoulder. "Hey, look at me." When the Destroyer did so, Akashi shook her head. "You have nothing to worry about. Your family is going to be right there in the same building while Harry-Chan is going to be holding your hand."

When Hibiki looked at the people in question, they all nodded with Harry giving her hand a squeeze. Closing her eyes, Hibiki gave a nod. "L-let's just get this over. It's not Khorosho to drag it out too much."

Guiding Hibiki and Harry into the docks, Akashi frowned and looked over her shoulder at Inazuma. The Destroyer blinked back and was about to say something when Akashi spoke up. "Inazuma-San, while it's not a huge deal, I would like to ask you to please not bring Hedwig-San into the docks."

Rapidly blinking, Inazuma tilted her head back to see Hedwig looking down at her. "... Owl-San? When did you get up there?"

Hedwig just gave her a bark and then flapped to a nearby tree and went to sleep. As Inazuma cocked her head to the side in confusion, Harry glanced at Hibiki who had a small smile on her face. "See? Even Hedwig will be waiting for you."

All Hibiki did was nod at that. "Da." Giving Harry's hand a squeeze, she took a deep breath. "It's time."

Several minutes later found Hibiki laid out in the "Dry Dock" for shipgirls. In her hand, she still held Harry's hand in hers as Akashi shuffled around the area. A clearing of a throat from Harry caught her attention though and Akashi turned towards him to see him trying to open a knapsack with one hand. "Yes, Harry-Chan? What is it?"

On Harry's face there was a frown as he finally managed to open it and held it out. "I, um, got some stuff here for Hibiki-Chan. To be used in her rebuild I mean."

Curious, Akashi walked over and took the offered knapsack. Looking inside, she paused for several seconds before pulling out one of the objects which caused Hibiki to look on in confusion at what looked like a steel bar, something that Akashi confirmed a moment later. "A... steel bar?" Then her eyes widened as it clicked. "This is one of the ones that you made with your magic, right? So it's saturated in magic from what you used in it."

Unnoticing of the shocked look on Hibiki's face, Harry nodded. "Yup! I made it specifically for Hibiki-Chan to be used in her rebuild. When I made it, I made sure to concentrate on it being the best for Hibiki-Chan that it could be."

By now, the shocked look on Hibiki's face had turned to a slightly embarrassed one with a small blush. Sitting up for a moment, Hibiki gave him a kiss on the cheek before smiling a bit. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

With a blink, Harry nodded some as he considered what had just happened. Before he could come to any real conclusion, Akashi walked over with her rigging out and placed several fairies on Hibiki's stomach, which soon vanished into her. "Well, I can use those as a matter of fact, so thank you. And they should help out a lot from my understanding of sympathetic magic." Ignoring the raised eyebrows on both Harry's and Hibiki's faces, she looked right in the Destroyer's eyes. "Now, just like when you got your Kai Rebuild, they're going to shut off your boilers one by one, Hibiki-Chan. You'll be in a very, very deep sleep while I work, so you'll just wake up when it's all done."

As she nodded, Hibiki suddenly paused as Harry leaned down and then kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be right here the whole time, Hibiki-Chan. I won't let go of your hand, I promise."

Looking up, Hibiki only nodded as she felt Akashi's fairies reach her engine room. "Da, I know that, Harry-Chan." Then she felt one boiler go offline. "I... know that..." Another boiler went off as she felt herself slowly drifting to sleep and, as her last boiler was taken offline, her last sight was of green eyes looking down at her filled with kindness.

Her last sensation being of the warm hand holding hers giving it a comforting squeeze...

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Okay, I think I've got it. Basically, I have trouble making decisions. I think part of it is just mental disorders, but I still have trouble. But even if I end up waffling, or if I'm actually on point when deciding, there's a point about partway through the action where I commit to the action and put everything behind it. Hibiki walking to the docks, accepting Harry's gift, and going under was her stepping up and committing. That's what I meant by "here goes everything."

And now, I think this next snip is one of my longest yet. I'm normally averse to writing two in a series one after the other for some reason, but the only other idea I had that had finished cooking was... disturbing. Thus.
Looking Up

-----

Umi leaned back against the wall, making a token attempt at people-watching. It wasn't hard—though the low hill that the house stood on was in one of the areas of town left more or less unharmed by the Abyssal rampage, many people were still running to or from the cleanup, or simply bustling about on what they considered to be a slightly unusual day. Maybe it was, for them. Maybe Abyssals were a fact of life, and what was there to do with a fact of life except for live with it?

The thought was a sobering one.

Her attempts were unsuccessful besides halfhearted. Even with all the people running back and forth, her eyes would stop focusing and she would slide back to Nagawa-san. How she had stopped paying attention for a handful of seconds, and now she had more or less disappeared completely. She had made the decision to protect the girl on the first day of middle school, realizing that she was the sort of girl who bullies went after in manga and anime, and those had to have some sort of basis, right? So she did her best to offer friendship, include her, and make sure that those who would hurt her didn't get the chance to. And now she was gone. Umi didn't know whether she was alive or dead.

"It's up this way, the third on the right. Come on!"

Umi looked up to see two approaching schoolgirls of her own age, wearing what she assumed to be the uniform of a local middle school. One had short brown hair tied into a ponytail, and the other had neck-length black hair, which she allowed to hang free. She looked very like—maybe she was—Umi blinked, squinted—

It was.

It was Nagawa-san.

Umi threw herself forward, screaming her name at the top of her lungs. Nagawa-san jerked back, making the startled-cat face that she wore when called out. Umi slammed into her at full force, and bounced off, the impact knocking the wind from her. Nagawa-san dropped to her knees, reaching out to help her up, and Umi accepted her hand as she coughed air back into her lungs.

"H-Hoshikawa-san!" Nagawa-san said, voice tinged with worry. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I—"

"Namikooooo!" Umi wailed, throwing her arms around her. "You're okay! You're really okay! Everyone was so scared, but you're alive," Nagawa-san started, but then started to lower her arms around Umi as well, "and you came back, and is something wrong there's something strange about you—" and then Nagawa-san stood bolt upright and Umi was thrown flat on her back again. "Nagawa… san?"

Nagawa-san looked down on her. Her face was a raging sea of emotion, anger washed away by sorrow and pain, subsumed briefly by fear, shock, distress, but gradually molding itself into a look off absolute betrayal. Her hands shook so hard they started to blur, and she slowly raised them to her eyes. Then she spun on her heels and was gone.

"Nagawa-san?" Umi asked again, staring after her. "What… What did I do?"

The unfamiliar girl crouched down beside her and offered a hand of her own. "Nagawa-san… Something just happened to her. I guess it's really scary and confusing for her—Hey, wait! You don't know where she's going!"

"Explain it on the way!" Umi said, following the direction Nagawa-san had taken as best she could.


-----

The human approached her again. After she had just tried her best to kill her, successful or no? Was she insane? The human raised a hand to her face, and brushed the tears away from her hand. She picked up a small light, raised it to her eye, and turned it on. Her crying halted suddenly in her confusion, and frantic breathing set her sides on fire with pain. Attempts at breathing slowly and shallowly set her coughing briefly, and the human switched to her other eye, and then began examining her ears.

What was going on? What was she trying to do? Was this something humans did? What did it… What was it supposed to mean?

"I'm sorry," the human said, "but can you get her to open her mouth? Ah-ah-ah—" she added, reaching out to stop the carrier from yanking and holding it open. "NO. Don't do that. Just let her—Ah, like that. Good." As she let her mouth hang open, the human scrutinized the cavity. She didn't try anything. She couldn't in the carrier's iron grip. "Wow. You weren't kidding when you said they didn't know what they were doing."

The cruiser was staring at the two of them, as if the world had suddenly turned sideways and it was only just sinking in now. "You…" she attempted, before realizing that she had lost her words. "You're taking this a lot calmer than most people would have."

"Well of course," the human replied, reaching down to grab a plastic strap of some kind from a nearby table. "She's not a monster. Just a patient."

What?

"What?" echoed the carrier behind her.

"Just a patient," the human repeated, wrapping the strap around her arm as best she could. "You asked me to care for her, so that's what she is. Besides," she added, pumping a bulb attached to the strap, "I'm a doctor, remember? There's an oath. Most people have heard about it."

"I… that's… wow," the cruiser replied. She raised a hand to her brow and ran it to the back of her head.

She didn't… She couldn't… There were humans like that? That just… She didn't… How… She didn't, she couldn't… There was something wrong here, wasn't there? There had to be. This had to be fake. Humans were small, and weak, and targets. They ran, and they feared, and they hated. They didn't… lightly feel along the jaw and neck before saying "well that's fine" and looking for a strange contraption made of wires and discs, or—inspect like this, like they actually wanted something good to come of things, did they? She… she…

She couldn't understand.
-----

Ushio thought that she might have run through a wall at some point. She was a little bit past worrying about it.

Umi… How could she? How could she just thoughtlessly tear open all the pain, everything that Ushio was trying to put together and understand, and dump it there on the ground? Why did she hurt her like that? How could she? And why Umi? Why did it matter so much that Umi was the one who had done this to her? She was just someone who followed her around and pestered her. Why did she hurt her?

Ushio picked up speed, and the pavement began to crack at her feet. She heard people call out, and ignored them. Or maybe she just couldn't hear them right. There was too much in her head spinning around to make complete sense of the world around her. She was just… She just…

How COULD SHE?!?

She tripped, and fell through a guard rail. There was the rush of falling, and the feeling of sand. Slowly, Ushio realized that she was sobbing, tears instantly wetting the sand her face rested against. Footprints slowly approached, then stopped right next to her.

"Hey," a voice said, "You okay?"

Ushio turned to see a short girl, who seemed a few years younger than her reaching out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out in turn, taking it and gathering her legs under her. With the newcomer's help, she pulled herself back to her feet. Raising a hand to her eye, she felt sand and realized her face and clothes were caked with the stuff. She spent the next few moments brushing the stuff from her body, then turned to her helper.

"I'm… thank you for helping me," she said, bowing. "My name is U—I mean, I'm Nagawa Namiko." The younger girl adopted a comically solemn expression, and nodded sagely.

"I see—actually, I kind of wanted to meet you. My name is Ikazuchi." She grinned mischievously. "Though I've also been known to go by Matsuda Aki."

Ushio blinked. What was she saying? A Shipgirl? But why did she—oh. Oh.

"You—" she stammered, raising a hand to point. "You're a—a—"

"A Natural-Born?" Ikazuchi finished for her, still grinning. She waved a mock salute to Ushio, who continued gaping like a fish. "That's what they tell me! It helps that I can fire cannons and skate around on water." Ushio lowered her hand, feeling ever-so-vaguely like an idiot. "So," Ikazuchi continued, "What were you running like that for? Usually that means something's wrong."

Ushio's shock began to ebb away. In its place, all she found was an unbelievable sorrow. She raised a hand, starting to speak, then stopped. The words that she grasped for—she knew what they were, but she couldn't find them. How could she make the other girl understand what she was going through? She grimaced, and then started.

"My… my friend, she…" she said, still dragging words out where she could find them and trying to fit them together. "She said something, and it hurt… It hurt because, I don't… I can't figure it out… What's going on, I don't… It's like I… I…" A hand closed over her shoulder, and she looked down into bright, smiling eyes.

"I get it," Ikazuchi said with a grin. "You feel like someone pulled you out of yourself and rewrote everything you were, and then shoved you back in." She turned her back to Ushio and began to walk in circles, spinning her finger in air like she was a professor giving a lecture. "And all the emotions are jumbled up inside you and you can't understand them, because you can't even begin to understand what you're supposed to feel. Is that about right?"

It wasn't "about" right, Ushio realized. It was like the smaller girl had reached into her, taken everything that she was trying to put together about herself, and arranged it perfectly for her to do so. It was uncanny, so much so that she was once again utterly lost for words. She felt her knees go weak, as if whatever had been holding her on her feet had been dragged away from her.

"How… How did you know?" she asked. Ikazuchi grinned again, and kicked some sand up.

"Well, that's what I felt," she replied, crossing her arms confidently. "And my sister. And my mother, too. And Naka, come to feel about it. And that American girl, too, the swimmer. Willy Porter, I think her name was. Suddenly waking up one day and being a Shipgirl… Well, it's not something simple to go through—though I suppose I don't need to tell you that, do I?" She looked closer at Ushio, scrutinizing her face. "Wait… You're okay, right?" Now that her attention was brought to it, Ushio realized that something wet was tickling her face again.

She hadn't even realized that she was crying again. Or still. Ushio honestly couldn't tell, now.

She looked back at Ikazuchi, who was speaking again. "Hey, Fubuki? I found her. She's down at the beach. About half a kilometer away from that old beach house. Okay, thanks. Bye."

Fubuki was looking for her. Fubuki, who she had left with…

"Hey, down here," Ikazuchi said, waving a hand in her face. Ushio started again. "Yeah, me. Now look. This isn't something I'd normally do, you understand?" Ikazuchi's face was serious again. Not the goofy parody of seriousness that she had worn earlier, but the kind of gentle firmness that you expected from an older sister. Not something that Ushio would have expected from someone who looked that much younger than her. "I can help you with Natural-Born type things, but your friend? That's something you're going to have to deal with yourself. She'll be here in a few minutes."

Which probably meant that Fubuki was bringing Umi with her. And to get ready.
-----

Yumeno removed her stethoscope and set it on the table. She brushed her hair from her sweaty forehead and cracked her neck.

"Well, she's healthy as far as I can figure," she said. "You'll need to get those stitches redone as soon as possible, it looks like they'll tear open as soon as she tries to swallow something—Actually, with all the crying she was doing, I'm surprised that she hasn't torn them open again somehow. And she's definitely in pain, I don't know how anesthetics work with Shipgirls, but… Ah, right." She cut off, realizing the answer to her own question. "Questions of biology."

"Pretty much," Ooyodo agreed, stepping forward briskly to Yumeno's side. "We wanted to sedate her, but in the end we couldn't risk it. And we don't want to put anyone in danger feeding her, but we're not sure about an IV drip either. Not sure what counts as nutrition for Abyssals."

"Same thing as Shipgirls, I'd think, but it never hurt to be a little extra cautious," Yumeno replied thoughtfully, tapping her arm. "In any case, I'd say that… What did Hiei call her, Tanya? Tanya here is ready for whenever Doctor Misaki arrives."

Ooyodo groaned. In a voice that was nearly petulant, she said "Oh by all the… It's spreading. That ridiculous name is spreading."

As Yumeno and Ooyodo discussed feeding and what to start her off on, the doctor glanced over at her patient. Shouhou had long released "Tanya's" head, but the Abyssal had done nothing. She had simply stared relentlessly at Yumeno. Stared with a mixture of wonder, confusion, and something sad that Yumeno hadn't been able to identify.
-----

The storm inside Ushio had quieted, but she still felt disquiet. She didn't know what she would say to Umi when she arrived. Would she ask why she had said that—actually, by all indicators, Umi hadn't known. Or did she? Ushio somehow hoped she didn't, that she wasn't simply making some kind of cruel, insensitive joke. But what if she did?

Footsteps on stairs behind her told her that her time was up. She turned around to see Fubuki and her classmate rushing down the steps. Umi tripped on the sand, stumbled but caught herself. She ran further, and pulled to a halt in front of Ushio, hands on her knees to hold herself up. She was coughing hard enough to spit out internal organs, and her shirt was a soggy mess with sweat. She must have been running very hard to get there, Ushio realized, and a sense of guilt was mixed in with her anxiety.

"Nagawa-san… I'm… I'm sorry," Umi panted. "Fubuki-san… said I had to ask… for myself, but… Whatever it was… Whatever I did…"

Then relief poured over Ushio, as if she were bathing in it. She didn't know, she thought, her anxiety washing away in favor of pure catharsis. She took a deep breath, and once—just once—started, knowing the words that she needed to say.

"Hoshikawa-san, there's something I need to tell you," she said, calm and ordered. "Actually, I should tell the whole Club, but I was being unfair to you, so I think I should tell you first…"
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Opening her eyes, Hibiki blinked a bit at the sight of nothing above but blue sky. From somewhere nearby she could hear the sound of waves crashing against a wharf and the sound of workmen hard at work. Slowly, the Destroyer sat up and found herself on an odd pier and frowned. "Where am I?"

Chuckles caused her to start and spring to her feet. "Now that, my dear, is a very good question." Twisting around, Hibiki blinked at a familiar black haired person there. "Good reflexes, though not surprising I guess."

Blinking, the Destroyer frowned a bit. "Harry-Chan? But what are you..." Her mouth then dried as she realized that despite the resemblance, the person was several years older then Harry and had hazel eyes. There were several other differences, but Hibiki growled as she shifted into a different stance. "Who are you? You're not Harry-Chan!"

For a moment the man seemed more amused then anything and then chuckled. "Well, I suppose that my son does get told he looks a lot like me. First time for me to be mistaken for him though, I guess."

It was then that it clicked in Hibiki's head along with what Nagato had told her happened when she had gotten her Kai rebuild. "I... You're Harry-Chan's Otou-San, aren't you?"

Rather amused, the man nodded before doing a flamboyant bow. "That's right, I am James Potter, father to the boy that you love." At her sputters, he shook his head. "Is something wrong?"

Unable to help herself, Hibiki was blushing deeply. "I... I don't..."

That only got her waved off by James. "Look, do your boilers flutter at the thought of Harry? Do you get all flustered, but pleased when he does something really nice? Can you imagine the two of you raising some little boats together?"

In between blinks, Hibiki had the image of an older her and Harry together. By them, a little girl with Harry's green eyes but who looked like her otherwise wearing giant earphones stood. "I... well..."

Suddenly James was in front of her and stage whispered. "And don't you sometimes imagine Harry taking you to a bunk with his muscular arms around you and-"

Next thing he knew, he was flying head over heels in the air and landing in a heap as a flustered Hibiki shouting at him, her fist in the air. "D-DON'T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT! HARRY-CHAN IS NOT FOR LEWDING! IT IS NOT KHOROSHO!"

All James did was raise a hand into the air with one finger up. "Not yet, you mean." Before the embarrassed Hibiki could do anything, or say anything due to the images now put into her head, James sat up. Wiggling his nose, he rubbed it a bit. "You know, it's a good thing that I'm dead. Because that would have really hurt otherwise."

Puffing up her reddened cheeks, Hibiki finally let it out. "Is there a reason that you're visiting me here... wherever this is?"

With a hum, James got back to his feet before tapping his chin as if in deep thought. "A few reasons. One was that I wanted to meet one of the girls seeking my son's heart. Seriously, I still have trouble believing his luck. On the one hand, he's got a lot of girls after him, some of whom might be up to, uh... making a fleet." Then he shook his head. "On the other hand... he's got a lot of girls after him, some of whom would be up to making a fleet. He'd end up being exhausted and looking like a vampire made him into a bit of a meal."

Eyebrow twitching, Hibiki took a deep breath. 'Great... Harry-Chan's Tou-San is a hentai.'

Meanwhile, having dusted himself off, James walked back towards her. "And trust me, you don't want to know what Lily thinks. She's fully into this whole... 'Grandma does not care where the grandbabies come, just that they come.' And my Mum is just as scary." With a sigh, James shook his head. "Second reason that I showed up here, I figured that you might need someone to talk to." At her odd look, he rolled his eyes and pointed to the Destroyer in a drydock nearby. Hibiki's eyes widened as she recognized it as her hull. "Especially why you're here. So..." Raising an eyebrow and turning, James regarded her with a kind expression. "You want to talk about it, Kiddo?"

Looking down, Hibiki stared at the bottom of the dry dock. Then one drop splashed followed by another. Hibiki by that point was squeezng her eyes shut as she tried to stop crying before feeling two arms encircle her. When she looked up, she could see an expression on James' face that she had seen on Harry's before she burrowed her face into his chest. "D-do you know what it's like...?"

Only humming as he rubbed her back gently, James shook his head. "I'm sorry to say that I don't, not in the way that you might." His voice lowering, he sighed. "I lost a lot of friends in the war, but no family members. My parents died of dragonpox, though my Mum and Dad would have given their lives to save Harry, just as Lily and I did." James frowned some as Hibiki spilled her worries out to him, what she was afraid of. Finally though, he took a deep breath. "Tell me something, Hibiki... If Harry was to change his name to... I don't know, Hikaru or something. Would that make him different?"

That only caused Hibiki to pull away some and frown at him. "No, it would not. But it's not the same. It's more then just a name change."

Scratching his cheek, James frowned a bit. "What if he became known Hikaru because he was no longer Harry? Such as he had an accident like his friend Hermione, but it was not able to be reversed. Would he still be the same? Or if he needed to replace limbs with artificial ones? Would you still love him and care for him? Would you see him any different from before?"

Hibiki was about to comment when she frowned and furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Eventually, she shook her head. "Nyet, it would not make him different. Maybe on the outside, but not where it counts."

Very slowly, James nodded some. "Right, so you wouldn't be different, just the same where it counts. As to your fears about it being a sign, a premonition? I'm dead, Hibiki. And we do know some things... so trust me when I say that, no, it is not a sign of things to come. There is a good chance, as long as you fight alongside one another, that all of you will get through this war. Nothing is set in stone except the past and the future is what one makes of it. A future that you can make different from the past if you truly want and work for it. If you do work for it, and manage it, then trust me when I say that all of you would be around for a very long time." James' gaze then swept to a certain place on Hibiki's hull and his lips curled up a bit. "And this time you won't be alone at all."

Confused, Hibiki turned to where he was looking. After a few seconds, her eyes widened at seeing a black haired twelve year old there helping emplace a AA gun on her hull. "T-that's Harry-Chan! But what is he doing here!?"

Lips twitching a bit, James chuckled as he continued to watch. "Harry did add his own magic to the mixture you know. And considering that the two of you added him to your crew list..." Seeing the coming freakout, he grabbed Hibiki's shoulder. "Hibiki, he's not dead before you worry too much. That's more an... impression of him then Harry himself. Right now he's asleep with his hand holding yours." At the surprise, James shook his head. "Yes, he's still holding your hand just like he promised he would. Even when he's asleep... but that impression serves the purpose of what I have been telling you. Harry is right there for you, every step of the way. So are your sisters, and your mother... and your aunt. They are not about to leave you just as you are not about to leave them."

Staring at the sight of Harry helping to fit the AA gun into place, Hibiki slowly nodded some. "I... see." Her eyes lower a bit as she continued to turn it over in her head until James tapped her on the shoulder. "Hmm?"

There was an odd expression on his face as he pointed to the side. "Someone else wants to talk to you. Someone that... you need to accept."

Not knowing what he meant, Hibiki turned and her eyes widened at seeing a twin to herself there. Unlike what she expected though, said girl had an air of saddeness around her and grief seemed to pour off her. The eyes though caused Hibiki to start as they were ones belonging to someone who was only making the motions. Slowly, Hibiki took a step and then another closer to her. Eventually, they stood close enough that they could stare at each other with Hibiki noting that the girl's hat was white with a golden hammer and sickle on it. Before Hibiki could say anything though, the girl let out a deep breath. "Da, I am... you."

As she searched the girl's face, Hibiki felt a small shiver run up her keel. "... I did not expect this. For you to be so..."

Verniy finished for her. "To be sad? To not have anything to live for?" At Hibiki's nod, she sighed. "Da, I can see that. But I am, and was you. And so once you were like me as you are me. Yet now, you have so much to live for. You will not be so foolish as to repeat the tragedy and have escaped the sea of sadness."

Head tilting to the side, Hibiki hummed a bit. "And yet, when I get some vodka in me, you..." Cheeks reddening, she coughed a bit. "Come out and are very different from me."

Smiling thinly, Verniy shook her head. "Can you blame me, so long have I done without our them? Back then, yearning I set sail for Russia. Dispair, loss, parting, we crossed the sea with countless sorrows. When I could... I would let them fall away. Even if you could not accept me, and what it stood for, I was alright. Because they were there in the end and I could see them."

Taking another step closer, the two seemed to have a silent conversation with each other as Hibiki stared her older, more tired counterpart in the eyes. "If we do this... If I accept you, what then?"

For a moment, the world around them stilled and Verniy smiled widely with tears in her eyes. "Then I will put all I have into this blow, and my whole memory will melt away into the color of the sea and disappear into the light of the past for you. And this time... this time we shall change things. You will make it so that we do not lose them in this miraculous time." Closing her eyes, she let out a sob. "Please... please, I do not want to lose them. I can't lose them again."

Bringing her arms up, Hibiki held her other self close. "Nyet, this time we won't lost them. Not now, not again. We shall stand against Hell for them."

Her own arms coming up, Verniy let out a sniffle. "Hai, we won't lose them, not with us standing between them and what may threaten them. With them who are so precious to me reborn again, I can now walk on... We can walk on."

Off to the side, James blinked some and then turned away slightly as Hibiki and Verniy began to glow brighter and brighter. Squinting, he watched through his fingers and shook his head a bit at what he was seeing. 'Well, Harry, you know how to pick them, you really know how to pick them...'

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

Well, I honestly didn't have any ideas for today. I'm still figuring out a starting point for the next Ushio snippet, and the only other idea I have, as I've said before, disturbs me like nothing else. I was looking at the end of my daily streak of snippets... And then a thunderstorm rolled in.
-----

The rain comes down in sheets from a dark grey sky. Sitting by the door, feet hanging down from the ledge, Fubuki can feel the water splash against the ground to wet her legs. The sounds create a sort of monotonous symphony—dull splashes against the earth, tinny spangs from metal, and a hollow rumbling from the roof above her.

She hears footsteps through the water, and looks up to see Haru and Natsumi approaching. They approach together under a white and orange-striped umbrella. As they approach, Natsumi breaks away and sprints for the shelter that the roof provides. She yanks the shoes from her feet and trips herself. Haru follows at a more sedate pace, slips her sandals off, and folds her umbrella. She leans it against the wall, and the two go inside.

The rain keeps pouring down. Fubuki holds out a hand, and lets the droplets wet her hand. She notes that it doesn't ring off her hand like it would off of metal—instead, it's the little "plop" noises that it would make against flesh. Just another wonder of being a Ship and a human both.

Steps approach again, this time from the shelter of the base. She turns her shoulder to see Admiral Goto, looking out at the rain with a pensive look on his face. Seconds tick past—one, two, five, ten—and then he turns away, returning his attention to whatever duties he still has left to perform. Fubuki returns her attention to the rain.

This time, she sees them before she can hear their footsteps. This is partially due to Hoppou's luminescent yellow raincoat and boots. The Princess received them just last month and fell in love on sight—the hood has been stitched to form cat ears. She runs circles around her mother, who follows carrying bulging grocery bags. Presumably for whatever Harry is going to be cooking tonight. Hoppou struggles to pull her feet from her boots, and runs indoors still wearing the dripping coat. Nagato shouts after her, kicking her own footwear off and follows.

The next person to join her is Yuudachi, who sits down next to her with her knees tucked up under her chin. The rain drones on, and Yuudachi's eyelids begin to droop. As one minute, then another, pass, her eyes go bleary and slide closed. Then she slowly, slowly pitches to the side and flops up against Fubuki, resting her head in the crook of her shoulder. The sudden contact startles her awake, and she pulls away blinking. She pulls herself back to her feet and goes back inside. Most likely, she's looking for either something to drink that will keep her from napping. Failing that, a more comfortable place to do so.

The forecast had said rain, but it hadn't warned of its intensity or duration. It started in the noon as a drizzle, then dark, shadowy clouds rolled in and haven't gone away in the hours and hours that followed. There's no birdsong or cicadas, just the odd music of the rain. And Fubuki, sitting and watching.

Another person arrives, and it's Harry this time. He's carrying a tray and holds it out to her, showing a cup of green tea. She takes him up and accepts the hot drink, taking tiny sips as she waits for it to cool sufficiently for her to drink more deeply. Harry waits beside her, watching the rain himself. As she becomes used to the drink's heat, Fubuki takes longer sips and suddenly she's finished. Throwing her head all the way back, she empties the cup of the last few drops and replaces it on the tray. Harry bows graciously and walks back in, leaving Fubuki alone once again.

Once again, she hears the people coming before she sees them. This time it's because Kongou is shouting at the top of her lungs. Fubuki's heart bounces in her chest, filling her with a new kind of heat. Now she sees them, running for the base and for shelter. Lowering her feet to the ground, Fubuki runs into the rain herself. She passes Kongou and Sendai, because the one she's running to is slowing to a stop as she runs. And the moment they're one in front of the other, she throws her arms around Mutsuki's neck in a hug, which the other accepts and wraps her own arms around Fubuki.

"Tadaima," Mutsuki says, her voice nearly lost in the rain. Fubuki smiles, and squeezes a little harder.

"Okaeri," she replies.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

As one of her boilers relit, Hibiki, or rather Verniy now, came out of her coma. Then another boiler was relit and her eyes slowly fluttered open to see a blurry source of light above her before it cleared as her final boiler was relit. For several moments, Verniy laid there as her chest rose and fell before turning her head to see a softly smiling Akashi there. "Hey there, how are you feeling?"

Blinking, Verniy opened her mouth before taking a deep breath. "I... suppose that I am feeling very Khorosho right now..." Feeling some in her hand, she turned and her eyes widened some at the sight of Harry sleeping in the chair beside her, his hand still holding hers. "He..."

With a quiet chuckle, Akashi nodded. "He didn't let go of your hand through the whole thing. Even as he fell asleep, he didn't. And that was four hours ago."

Eyes widening even more, Verniy checked her internal clocks and felt her cheeks flush. "Eight hours... Harry-Chan has been here for eight hours..."

Humming, Akashi's rigging dismissed itself after she had gathered her fairies up. "He has, I have to admit, I am impressed. Having someone sit beside me and hold my hand for eight hours straight without leaving my side is something that I only wish would happen to me." At the bright blush on Verniy's face, Akashi shook her head as she examined Verniy with narrowed eyes. "Hmm..."

Just as Verniy was about to ask though, Harry jerked a bit and started away. Rubbing his eyes with his free hand, he yawned before turning to see Verniy staring back at him. At that sight, Harry's face broke into a broad smile. "Hibiki-Chan!" Moving, Harry got as close as he could and then hugged her. "You're awake!"

In reply, Verniy hugged him back with a small smile. "Da, I am. And thank you, Harry-Chan for being there for me."

Softly snorting, Harry shook his head and pulled back some with a grin. "Of course I would be there for you, Hibiki-Chan." When she frowned slightly, he tilted his head to the side. "Is something wrong, Hibiki-Chan?"

After a few moments, Verniy slowly shook her head, her mouth dry. "I... no, nothing is really wrong but, you still see me as Hibiki?"

Raising an eyebrow, Harry frowned but then nodded. "Um, yes? I mean, you're Hibiki-Chan, one of my best friends...." He then furrowed his eyebrows some. "Unless you want me to call you Verniy-Chan now?"

There was silence for several moments before Verniy/Hibiki finally shook her head. "I... honestly do not know. But... you can call me Verniy-Chan if you want, Harry-Chan. I do not mind it and it is my name now I suppose..."

Harry was no real fool though and had caught the hesitance in his friend's voice. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Harry leaned in close. "It is only your name if you want it to be, Hibiki-Chan. If you want to be Verniy, then you're Verniy. If you want to be Hibiki, then you are Hibiki. Want to be both? Why not? It's all up to you."

Looking into the green eyes staring into hers, Verniy could only see earnestness and kindness there. The very same things she had seen many times before and which had made her reach out first with her friendship all those years ago. And more recently, what had made her take the step she had and had him be signed into her crewbook as a member of her crew. Rubbing her thumb along the back of his hand, Verniy looking into those eyes not noticing Akashi's lips twitch as the Repair Ship turned. "I... got to contact Teitoku about something. Be right back."

Not really making any reply, Verniy finally closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. Remembering what happened in that odd place between life and death, she nodded and opened her eyes and then smiled which made Harry's eyes widen some. "Da, you can call me Hibiki-Chan if you want in private. Verniy-Chan elsewhere though... Like with Ami-Chan and Aki-Chan. They got two names after all."

With a slow nod, Harry smiled back at her. "I can do that, Hibiki-Chan."

The smile he got from her for that was blinding and the black haired boy slowly helped her out of the dry dock and to her feet. Still not letting go of her hand, the two walked over to a large mirror and the white haired Destroyer blinked at catching sight of herself in it for the first time. For one thing, she was a bit taller then she had been, once more she was equal in height with Harry. There were a few other differences, such as when she patted herself with a small frown. 'Torpedo bulges?'

But when she reached into her pocket though and pulled out her hat, her eyes widened some as Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "You got two hats now, Hibiki-Chan?"

Sure enough, in Verniy's hands were two hats. One was the same one she always wore as Hibiki. The other though was a white hat with a gold hammer and sickle image on it which made her swallow. "Da, they are both... mine." Examining them both, she softly sighed a bit before placing the white one upon her head. With a nod at her reflection, which for a moment was herself before her Kai Ni which nodded back, she turned towards Harry and offered her old hat to him. "Harry-Chan? Could you... hold onto this for me?"

Gently, Harry took the hat with all the solemnity that he could and nodded. "I can do that, Hibiki-Chan. Don't worry, I'll keep it safe."

Lips twitching, Verniy reached over and then took the hat from him. Before he could say anything or react, she placed it onto his head. "There, now it is Khorosho and where it would be best."

Tears in his eyes, Harry gave her a watery smile before nodding. "Very Khorosho, Hibiki-Chan." Grabbing her into a hug, Harry held her close as she returned it. "Very Khorosho."

A gasp though made them pull back and turn to see Inazuma there staring at Hibiki with wide eyes. Behind her, the rest of the Matsudas were much the same though Tenryuu had a thoughtful look on her face. "Hi-Hibiki-Chan? Is that you...?" Then shaking herself, Inazuma huffed a bit. "Well, I mean, I know that it's you, Nanodesu. But I mean..."

Head tilting to the side, Hibiki only nodded some. "I am Verniy now but... I am still Hibiki. Just like you are still Ami but also Inazuma."

Chuckling, Tenryuu rubbed Akatsuki's head as the purple haired Destroyer stared at her sister in confusion. "Yeah, I figured as much. Anyways, looking pretty good there, Hibiki-Chan."

In reply to them still using her old name, much like Tenryuu still used Inazuma's and Ikazuchi's human name, Verniy gave her a smile. For some odd reason, it warmed her boilers that none of them reacted more then that. At the suspicious look on Ikazuchi's face though, Verniy blinked. "Is... something wrong, Ikazuchi-Chan?"

Keeping a distance, Ikazuchi narrowed her eyes at her sister. "You're not going to kiss us or anything, are you? I mean, being Verniy and all... Though since Harry-Chan is already there..."

That got a blush on both Harry's and Verniy's faces as they remembered a certain day years ago. Said blush on Verniy's cheeks were not helped as Harry mumbled to himself some. "Soft..."

Barely able to keep from laughing, Tenryuu shook her head and ruffled Ikazuchi's hair. "Somehow, kiddo, I don't think that we need to really worry too much about that."

Smiling beside her sister, Tatsuta nodded some before jabbing her elbow into Tenryuu's side. "I must admit, you do look quite good, Hibiki-Chan. You've grown up some."

However, before the group could really get too much into it, Akashi cleared her throat and gestured at a door. "I hate to interrupt at the moment but... I think that Harry-Chan has something he needs to do since he was waiting here beside Hibi... I mean, Verniy-San during her rebuild." She smirked a bit at Tenryuu who had become thoughtful. "He did not leave her side at all and held her hand through it."

Face lighting up, Akatsuki hopped a bit. "Oh wow! That's a real gentleman thing, Harry-Chan! It really is!"

At the blush on Harry's face, the Repair Ship shook her head. "Anyways, there's some food for us in the meeting room and Teitoku is on his way for the after rebuild briefing. We do have items to talk about after all."

While Harry rushed off towards the bathroom, Tenryuu leaned towards Akashi with a small frown on her face. "Nothing bad, I hope. Because there shouldn't have been any issues during it."

Seeing Tatsuta's eyelid cracked open slightly, as well as the look in Tenryuu's own eye, Akashi shook her head with a bead of sweat running off her forehead. "No, no. Nothing bad at all. A bit odd, but nothing bad... Trust me on that." As Tenryuu narrowed her eye, Akashi swallowed nervously as she remembered that this was someone who gutted a Re-Class with a sword when it threatened her kids. But then, the Light Cruiser nodded some and Akashi relaxed. 'Oh, thank the Kami.'

Even though she was extremely amused at how Akashi was reacting, Tenryuu hid it and then sighed. "As long as it's nothing bad, I guess..."
__________________________________________________________________

Walking into the meeting room, Harry waved at the person there. "Rose!"

A small smile on her face, Rose giggled a bit and walked over to give Harry a hug. "Welcome home, Master." She then turned to Verniy and tilted her head. "Do I call you Hibiki still or is it, um..."

When Rose trailed off in confusion, Verniy shook her head some. "Verniy. And either is fine I think. I am not bothered at all."

Nodding, the tsukumogami only hummed. "Miss Verniy then, I suppose." Much to the Destroyer's surprise, Rose let go of Harry and then hugged her. "It is so very good to see you both well and in good spirits. And I have some treats for you."

Tenryuu raised an eyebrow and looked at the table before chuckling at the baked goods there. "Gingerbread stuff, huh? But no fruitcake?"

The smaller woman frowned a bit at her which made Tenryuu smile. "I do believe that you mean Christmas cake. And no, Christmas cake is meant to be eaten on Christmas. Just like the Yule Logs that I am also making or Christmas Pudding. It is a treat after all."

Only holding up her hands in surrender, Tenryuu shook her head. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just used to how the Americans call it still, you know?" Then scratching her cheek, she frowned some in confusion. "I still don't know how you make it taste so damn good though."

Softly giggling now, Rose shook her head before wagging one finger at the Light Cruiser. "Really, as I have explained before they do it wrong. One needs to let the cake age for more then a month. And they also need to feed it rum to give it a nice, lovely texture and taste. I'm quite happy though as this year I have some marzipan to use with the cakes."

For a moment, Akatsuki frowned some before she shook her head. "Still don't get it. How does a cake eat?"

In reply, Rose only patted her head gently before nodding at the table. "Now then, there should be plenty of gingerbread and parkin for you all as well as some lovely hot cocoa. As much as I would like to stay though, I must be going. There is a lot of baking to be done." On her face was a soft expression along with a smile. "And Haruna is waiting for me to get back so that we can bake together.

With some final goodbyes, and a promise to see Harry later, Rose left and soon the four Destroyers and one boy fell onto the treats left behind with enjoyment. While Harry and the others ate their fill, Verniy was munching away with a smile on her face while enjoying when Harry raised a mug. "To Hibiki-Chan and her Kai Ni!"

Lips twitching, the others clicked their mugs against his with loud agreement much to Verniy's pleasure and embarrassment. Several minutes later though, Akashi walked in followed by Goto and Ooyodo. After greetings, Akashi waited until they were all sat down before she started. "Now then, it is my pleasure to announce that Hibiki-San's rebuild was a full success. Even more so then I expected... though I suspect that MSWB played a part there."

Eyebrow raised, Tatsuta frowned a bit. "MSWB?"

Slowly grinning, the Repair Ship gestured at Harry. "Magical Sparkly Wizard Bullshit. Basically, because of Harry-Chan here." When Harry sat up a bit straighter, Akashi smirked some. "Some very odd, but good things appeared on Verniy-San during the rebuild. Very good things."

Leaning forward, there was an interested look on Goto's face. "Good things? What sort of good things are we talking about here? And why do you think that Harry is involved?"

Only nodding, Akashi turned towards Verniy and cleared her throat. "Verniy-San? Could you come up and summon your rigging?"

Confused, Verniy put down the food in her hands and walked over. Upon summoning it though, she gave it a glance before her eyes widened some. Simply nodding, Akashi whipped out a pointer stick and gestured at the bulges along the hull. "Now, historically when Hibiki became Verniy, she had been disarmed by the Americans through means of taking out the turrets and cutting the torpedo mounts off. This meant that the Soviets had to add their own equipment to her. The torpedo bulge here is to help with stabilty, while she was given six 130mm guns, seven 25mm AA guns, and about six 12.7mm machine guns. Now, she has both the 130mm guns and the 12.7mm guns, but..."

It took only a moment but Ooyodo stared a bit. "Wait a moment... But she doesn't have the 25mm guns. Those look like Bofors on her!"

Laughing lightly, Akashi's eyes took on a slightly insane glint. "Yes... and no. What you are seeing are 4cm/60 Type 5s. A Japanese version of the 40mm Bofors which we based on captured British examples. Technically, they were never finished by the end of the war, but if they had been, it would not be impossible for the Soviets to grab some and use them. They likely just flew in under the radar because we were working on them, and Harry's magic helped them come into being. This is huge because with working examples, I can replicate them and spread them among the fleet. I've been working on them for years, and yet here they are!"

Utter silence met her as more then one sat back and thought about what she had just said. Finally, Goto nodded some with a frown. "That's some good news, hopefully you can get production up fast for them. But..." He focused on Akashi directly. "I suspect that is not all."

Still grinning, Akashi shook her head and then pointed to two box like objects on Verniy's "Bow" of her rigging. "These are even better. I'm sure that you have all heard of Hedgehogs, as in the ASW weapon?" At the nods which froze, the Repair Ship smirked. "Most don't know is that the Soviets made a copy of it in 1949 they called the MBU-200. It was pretty close to the British version, which means it's World War Two technology. Once more, it probably just slips under the radar due to being technically from the right era and being of the right nationality, in this case Soviet."

It took only moments for Inazuma to put it together and blink in surprise. "But they're also British! Just like Harry-Chan is!"

Now her smirk fading to a smile, Akashi nodded. "That's basically right in a sense. Both are systems descended directly from a British version. I suspect that Harry's magic, due to his mother, had something to do with them appearing. He did say that he when he made the materials I used, that he focused on Hibiki and Verniy being as safe and protected as possible. Also, Hibiki-San before undergoing her rebuild was, and still is, focused on protecting her sisters as well as Tenryuu-San and Tatsuta-San. And intent matters as much in magic as anything else, so..." She then shrugged. "We get this sort of thing. A good AA suite and a good ASW one to boot considering what issues Submarines caused historically with her family."

Reaching over to hide her own flinch, Tenryuu grinned and ruffled his hair. "Fufufufu. You did good, Kiddo. Ya did good."

All Harry did at that was blush though he smiled back at Verniy who also had a smile on her face as she looked at him.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 4: Jaegerkin

right, ill just go for it.
more of an outline of a snippet really, but it is what it is.

------

Sometime during blood week:

The barrack door burst open as sgt Arnesen strode in to roust the troops from their wait.
"Alright boys, KNM Fridtjof Nansen found whatever has been taking out the Fishing boats, butshe is taking Heavy fire, and the f-16 are not in ground attack configuration.
her captain has a plan, and he needs Our help.
Everyone head to the armory and Draw as many tow launchers as you can then meet up at the Hueys."

when they arrived at the drop off point, and set up, it took a surprisingly shot time before what they had been hearing showed up.
the rolling sound of naval rifles had greeted them even over the rotors of the hueys peeling off and heading for safety once they had disembarked in the shade of a Ridge.
the terrain sheltering the helicopters from any aa as they were dropped off.

around the point of the Cliff, almost scraping the sea floor in its haste to move out of the line of fire came KNM Fridtjof Nansen, and it was Clear to the troops that she was losing, and badly.
they could see through her in one Place, and thick black smoke was pouring out of rents in the superstructure. several plumes of water chased her and there was a Heavy boom as something impacted the other side of the Ridge.
the frigate immediately hard overed again to bring its lone 76mm gun to bear even as it launched its last torpedoes at what was chasing it.

and following the frigate was... a tall albino woman?
the woman was striding calmly across the Waves, stepping between the trails left by the torpedoes, raised her hands, and fired her guns.
it seemed she had grown tired of toying With the Nansen as most of the bow of the ship vanished in the blast.
the frigate lost speed before violently grounding itself as it erratically floundered about.

the soldiers on the shore did not hesitate longer, and the smoke trails of missile launches leapt towards the albino woman.
she turned her gaze on them, and simply swatted aside the TOW missiles that looked like they might hit her With one hand, before pausing thoughtfully. looking at her hand.
and as the second volley of missiles streaked in from the shore, she turned around, and simply left
leaving the burning frigate behind as she walked off into the storm that was still increasing in strength.

---------
some time later, after News of shipgirl summoning made its way to norway:

after some debate, the Method of attempting to summon was decided upon, and king Harald and his royal guard made the trip to Narvik.
no summoning pool was constructed, the king stood at the end of the dock as the royal guard musicians started playing.
the king gazed over the waters of narvik harbour, to where the hulls of two Norwegian warships still rested on the sea floor, where they fell in defense of the nation so many years ago.
as the musicans paused after their first set, the king spoke.

"I was just a small boy when my father called you to action, and asked you to sell Your lives dearly. I remember the flight to sweden as they chased us With planes and cars. how more and more soldiers would peel off Our Entourage to stay behind and give us hours more to run."
he paused
"rather than fellow men, this time, we face demons from the deeps, blood has been shed, and we ask you again to take up Your Shields and Spears."
a Young girl dressed in black and carrying an urn walked up to the king, and handed the urn to him before standing silently by his side.
the urn contained the Ashes of the fallen captain of the KNM Fridtjof Nansen, and Harald held up the urn as the sun shone Down upon them.
"captain" he adressed the urn
"I have one final service to ask of you. when you Reach the halls of valhall, tell them to set Down their mugs, and push their plates aside. tell them of Our plight, and that the time has come. their king has need of them"
and With that, King Harald scattered the Ashes over the sea as favorable Winds blew from behind him, and the royal guards saluted the fallen man.

And a barely heard whisper of "goodbye daddy" from the little girl.

The Winds picked up in strength as the ashes spread across the waters and clouds started to come in.
once more, the royal guards musicians started playing, as the crowds and king waited.
And as they played, the sky was completely covered by clouds, before a single bolt of Lightning struck the center of Narvik harbour.

As soon as the king recovered from the light and noise, he could see women and girls standing on the water.
four young looking women wearing chain hauberks and twenty young Girls dressed in the deep blue uniform of the war era Norwegian navy, each sporting the black cap.
All of them surrounded by packs of Norwegian Elkhounds.

And one by one, the girls walked up to King Harald, bent knee, and made themselves known to him

Eidsvold
Norge
Tordenskjold
Harald Haarfagre

Draug
Troll
Garm

Sleipner
Æger
Gyller
Balder
Odin
Tor

Svenner
Stord

Oslo
Bergen
Trondheim
Stavanger

Arendal
Haugesund
Tromsø

Narvik
Eskdale

and Harald welcomed them back, and accepted their oaths to help him defend the nation.

-----


because if the king asked, they would come.
the Norwegian king has a higher than 80% approval rating among the People every time the media run their polls

Not exceptionally happy With it, and this page has a very random spell checker that keeps capitalizing odd words. but i thought i would throw in an idea that unlike the poor Japanese, who lets face it, have a lot of ships to ask for.
The Norwegian ww2 era ships all came at the start.
because lets face it, with our coastline, we would be pretty doomed without defenders enough to keep the abyssals on their toes.
But in balance, there really arent enough of them to cover everything anyway. And the four big ones are pre dreads as old as Mikasa.

Fairly certain the second set of Draug, Troll and Garm, the river class ships would likely be summoned as the HMCS Penetang HMCS Toronto and HMCS Prestonian, as we only purchased them in the 50's when the Canadians were done with them.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Tapping one finger on the table top, Goto frowned a bit as he thought over what he had just heard. It did not take long before he spoke up. "Harry?" When the black haired boy looked over at him, Goto took a deep breath. "Did you do anything else to the materials? When you made them I mean."

If anything, that made Akatsuki frown a bit and look between them in confusion. "Um, what do you mean, Teitoku?"

Simply giving her a small smile, the Admiral sighed a bit and leaned back. "I ask mainly because it does seem a bit much all for some wizard magic. I've seen it help out a bit, and I have no doubt that Harry's magic helped out a lot in what happened. But, I can't help but think that there may be more to this. Hence why I'm asking if anything a bit different happened."

When everyone turned towards him, Harry frowned and began to think back when he was making the steel bars from the old cans that he bought. Each one he transfigured slowly, making sure that the tin in them separated from the steel first. Then he would flatten the can with a small hammer and fold it before using transfiguration again to meld it into a steel bar. After several moments, Harry looked up at the ceiling. "Um... actually there was one thing that happened."

That caught Akashi's attention and she leaned forward some. "Really? What happened?"

Frowning, the black haired boy raised his thumb up and frowned at it. "Someone must have messed up when opening one of the cans I was using. Because when I went to crush it flat, I cut my thumb on the edge. It was kind of bad and I had to get one of the older years to heal it which they did pretty quickly after I cleaned it."

Confused, Akashi was tapping her fingers against the table in thought. "That's odd, but it shouldn't have..." Then she paused and turned to Harry who now had Verniy beside him and examining his thumb. "Harry-Chan, did you clean the blood off the cans? And were you angry about it at Hibiki-San?"

Harry thouught back and then shook his head. "No, I didn't really bother because it was just blood. I mean, there's iron and stuff and I asked one of the older years and they said it wouldn't mess with the transfiguration. So I just transfigured them as they were after wiping it off. As to being angry at Hibiki-Chan, why would I be? It just happened because I wasn't careful enough? And I was more focused on making it as good as possible." At the stares he got, Harry blinked. "Um, did I do something wrong?"

Sighing, Akashi rubbed her forehead and chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't say that you did something wrong, Harry-Chan. But... you know about sympathetic magic, right?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry nodded some as Verniy was now staring at Akashi intensly. "Yeah, Law of Similarity right? Like attracts like?"

With a slow nod, Akashi looked around before smiling a bit. "Well, yes. Professor Crowning back in the US thinks that sympathetic magic might play a role in summoning us shipgirls. Steel for our hulls, ammunition for our weapons, and oil or coal for fuel. Add in the thoughts and hopes of those calling us, and you can bring us forth or Awaken a Natural Born. But... there is another aspect, the Law of Contagion."

Now interested, Goto frowned some and was looking at Akashi directly as was the others. But it was Tatsuta who spoke up. "Law of Contagion?"

Startling, Inazuma waved her hands around. "Hwawawa! Does that mean that it might make us sick with something magical? Because that doesn't sound good, Nanodesu."

Much to her surprise though, Akashi only chuckled and shook her head. "Nothing of the sort actually." There was a far off look on her face as she continued. "According to the Law of Contagion, what goes into something can affect it. So steel forged specifically to summon us is more likely to get us then just plain scrap for example. Or a summoning ritual with everyone focused is more likely to get something then, say, just walking up to a pond and demanding a shipgirl come."

A soft sigh escaping her, Tenryuu leaned against one closed fist with a frown on her face. "As interesting as this is, and I guess it is.... What's your point? I can see that whole contagion thing due to Harry-Chan pouring his magic in, so what?"

To her confusion, Akashi chuckled and shook her head. Then she became somewhat annoyed as the Repair Ship wagged a finger at her. "I was getting to that. Now, you're not exactly wrong, that much is true. Harry-Chan poured a lot of his magic into it as well as his thoughts that he wanted the rebuild to go as well as possible and to make Verniy-San here as strong as it could."

Clinching Harry's hand, Verniy looked at him and blushed some. 'Harry-Chan...'

But then her eyes widened and her attention was fully on Akashi as she continued. "However, Harry added something else to the whole process... His own blood, willingly shed to make her stronger. A blood sacrifice of sorts done for the right reason." She then shrugged a bit and shook her head. "From my understanding, the symbolism would be pretty damn powerful. I'll have to quietly check with Junyou and Ryuujou about, but I am pretty sure that is what happened here."

With a frown, Harry looked around. "Um, does that mean that I should do that? Or that you want me to do that?"

Everyone was surprised though as Akashi shook her head. "No, I do not want you to do that, Harry-Chan. As helpful as it was, it probably worked because you did not think of it being a big deal. This sort of thing might well be hit and miss and I am not going to be messing around with it until I am absolutely, one hundred and ten percent sure that nothing could go wrong. And even then, I would not ask it of you as doing so could... twist it somehow." At the looks, she rolled her eyes. "Look, I may be a 'Science Shipgirl', but I know what not to mess with. Same with Yuubari if she was here or any of the others. We all know better then to fuck with shit like this..." Turning towards Goto, Akashi frowned. "So with your permission, I would like to classify this, Teitoku."

Only nodding, Goto chuckled a bit. "As a matter of fact, I was going to ask you to do so. There might be some out there who would be willing to use this for the wrong reasons after all." Getting nods from the others, he nodded before turning back to Ooyodo who only tilted her head before giving it a slight incline. Turning back to Akashi, he smiled a bit. "Now with that out of the way... I would like to finish the debriefing." Goto's expression turned a sheepish. "Kongou is waiting at my home for the two of us to go on a date after all."

He got grins and chuckles for that.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 12: NotHimAgain

Well, well, well. Another day, another snippet. I think that I might be trying to get it done before I have to go back to college. I'm not sure that one is quite as... emotional as the past ones were, but I'm putting it up anyways. Let's go.
Set Up

-----

The human hadn't come back yet.

It was all right with her. She didn't want the human to come back. Because the human had said things, and the things were tearing her apart.

What had she meant, patient? She was a prisoner. Of course they were going to try to keep her alive, right? She would be pumped for any information that she had on the movements of her people, and then disposed of. Failing that, she would be turned over to their scientists for experimentation or torture. That was what they did when they found themselves with live humans.

But… patient.

As if her life mattered to her somehow. As if she had some reason… as if…

She couldn't put it into words.
-----

"I think she's broken," Hiei said, watching intently from behind the curtains. "She's just been staring up at the ceiling this entire time."

"She barely moved at all before we brought Doctor Norihara in," Ooyodo pointed out. It was true: the one burst of energy that the Ta-class had shown was when the doctor had entered the room. A desperate attempt to kill her, and then broken tears… and then a near catatonic state that had deepened after she had left.

"Yeah, but… It's different this time," Hiei said, swirling her hands in front of her as if she was trying to pull abstracts out of midair. "Before, it was more… Grouchy. Like… how do I put this…"

"Hiei," Admiral Goto cut her off. Ooyodo gave him a thankful glance, and he gave a brief nod in her direction. Then he turned his attention back to the Abyssal. "This is turning out to be a bit of a crazy day."

"Right. She just seems kinda stuck in place now." Hiei reported, and looked at their guest in askance. "You don't think Doctor Norihara… did something?"

The man standing next to Admiral Goto snorted. Doctor Misaki Yousuke was a man with grey-white hair and a piercing glare—in other words, the archetypal "Grumpy Doctor" popularized by American medical dramas, if he was Japanese instead of Caucasian. "Norihara-kun may be a naïve child," he growled, "but she's a professional through and through. There is no way on this Earth that she would harm that thing in any way, not if you asked her to take care of it."

"Then what's wrong with Tanya?" Hiei whined, pointing at the Abyssal dramatically.

"Maybe you should get her to come back and take a look," Doctor Misaki said. He grit his teeth and muttered something under his breath about a smoke. Ooyodo gave him a baleful look, and he raised an unapologetic eyebrow. She returned her attention back to the curtain with a huff.

But yes, there had been a difference after Norihara had left if she thought about it. Before the lady doctor had come, the Abyssal had been like an unstrung bow—although capable of great power, even when crippled, she had been in a slackened state incapable of unleashing it. Now, she seemed lessened. The Ta-class just lay there, looking at the ceiling with that look on her face. The one that asked "Why, why?"

Actually, come to think about it, when had that face appeared on the Abyssal? She had been wearing it as she had spoken with the doctor about how to feed her, which meant… before that… She had been looking like that during the checkup? She would have to ask Shouhou… wait.

"She's not a monster," Ooyodo said, drawing up the memory. "Just a patient." Her fellow observers turned to look at her, Hiei's face one of puzzlement, and Doctor Misaki's one that asked if she was joking. "It's what Doctor Norihara said," Ooyodo explained quickly. "I asked her why she was so calm when caring for the Abyssal, and that's what she said in response. I think…" she replied, slowing down and glancing at their faces hopefully. "I think that's when she started looking like that."

"Sounds like Norihara-kun," Doctor Misaki agreed gruffly. "Damn idealistic brat that she is."

"So, to Doctor Norihara, Tanya was just another day at the office?" Hiei said, lips beginning to form a crooked grin that was only too familiar to Ooyodo. "What kind of hospital do you work at?" Doctor Misaki snorted, and his lips curled up into something that halfway resembled a smile.

"You know," Ooyodo growled, trying to restrain the impulse to punch her colleague through a wall or five, "sooner or later something is going to snap you out of that attitude."

"Not gonna happen," Hiei said cheekily.

"I'm serious. Someone's going to get hurt, or you'll meet someone you really, really like, and you'll just…" Ooyodo made a stopping motion with her hands. "Just like that," she finished, smirking darkly.

"Never gonna happen," Hiei laughed.

"Yes," Admiral Goto deadpanned. "With your observational skills, you'll never get the chance."

The two shipgirls froze at this. Slowly, slowly, they turned as one to face back at the Abyssal—the Abyssal who was now looking directly at them with an intensity that couldn't be matched by anything human, so far as Ooyodo knew.

Oh no. Was it responding to that silly name Hiei had given it?

"In any case," Doctor Misaki continued, turning away, "I don't think I can help you here."

"You can't?" Ooyodo asked, confused. "But Doctor Norihara--"

"Kid," Doctor Misaki said in a tired voice, "I've been a doctor thirty years. I was in there, during Blood Week. Patching wounded, setting limbs, comforting... Comforting the people we couldn't help." His hand grasped for a phantom cigarette. "I can still hear them crying. Can still smell the blood. That thing out there?" He waved out towards the Abyssal. "That thing, and things like it, were the ones that did that. And I can't help you." He sighed, and began walking for the door. Hiei jumped and followed after him. "I need a damn smoke."
-----

Norihara. The human was called Norihara.

The human who had confused her so, who had done things that she had believed impossible of her kind, was named Norihara. And… was she going to come back? Would she come to make her question herself even more?

Or maybe to explain?

She couldn't have the answers to the troubles that she had inspired in the Ta-class. But then, she had inspired the questions in the first place. So maybe she did? Maybe she could… could stop the chaos tearing her apart from the inside? But… how…

She would find her way to the Norihara human. She would get the Shipgirls and their commander humans to bring Norihara back to her. Failing that, she would escape somehow. She would drag herself through the dirt and the refuse and she would find Norihara. And she would ask her questions, and Norihara would answer them.

Norihara would help her understand. She knew she would.
-----

Umi quietly slid the door open and stepped inside. Then she stopped. In front of her, Ushio could hear the other club members yelling, a twisted jumble of voices that she couldn't decipher. She could see Umi's hands clench into fists, squeeze until her knuckles turned white, and then she sucked in a deep breath.

"Who's that behind you, is that Nagawa?" one of the girls, Ushio was fairly sure she was named Chisaki, said, her voice managing to cut through the confusion and reach Umi's ears. She let out the breath she was holding, and held her arms out straight, her hands perpendicular to the floor. The girls trailed off and stopped, looking at her with baited breath. And Umi stood aside, and let Ushio walk in.

And then Ushio had to restrain herself from jumping through the ceiling. The members of the Kanmasu Tracking Club ran to her and embraced her as one—or at least they tried to. Chisaki, Miko, and Yae were the ones who were able to get close enough to do so. The other four were jumping up and down shrieking for joy and relief and what have you. The one that really stuck out to Ushio was Miya saying "Oh thank God you're alive, which means you're not dead, which means Umi isn't going to die too keep MizuMizu from breaking up!"

Ushio couldn't help it. She started laughing.

"Oh," she gasped, "there is something that I need to tell you all so badly." Behind her, Umi slid the door shut. Gently, gently, she pushed the other girls away. They stepped back, watching nervously. Ushio took a deep breath. Somehow, this was different from telling Umi. Then, the relief from not being hurt, from not being alone had opened her mouth and let the words pour out.

"Ahahaha… what?" Umi asked.

"A Shipgirl. Me. I was born as a normal human, but I'm a Shipgirl." Apprehension was starting to set into her voice, and she began to cast about. What could she do, how could she make her believe… Of course! She thrust out her hand and searched, searched for it, the part of herself she knew existed—

Umi gaped as a smoking, steaming backpack formed on Ushio's back, torpedo tubes attached themselves to her thighs, and on her hand—

"NO!" Ikazuchi yelped, grabbing her arm and forcing her turret down. "Don't do that! You get in SO MUCH TROUBLE for firing cannons without authorization—and don't ask how I know that!"

Umi flopped down on her butt, a goldfish expression on her face.

"… Wow, she's taking this a lot better than Matsuhiro," Ikazuchi said quickly, as if her casual tone was an attempt to distract Ushio from what she had just said.

"Oh hey," Fubuki said, planting her fist in the palm of her hand. "Wasn't that the one guy you told me about in your art class?"

"Oh, you remember that?"

"Okay, so just a refresher… What do you know about Natural-Borns?" Ushio asked. Hopefully, this would help her segue smoothly into her explanation.

The girls were silent for a second, then two. Ushio began to worry that this wasn't going to work. Thankfully, Ichika raised a hand. She let herself breath an internal sigh of relief. Ichika was the one who some of the girls jokingly called the "lore master," which she was pretty sure meant that she knew a lot of things about Shipgirls. She should be able to answer.

"Natural-Borns are Shipgirls who are born as normal humans," Ichika said, rewarding Ushio's faith. "They're not summoned, they're awakened through a special ceremony when other Shipgirls identify them, though there've been stories about them awakening under duress. They're able to stay off the front lines if they want, and… Why did you ask?"

Ushio could see on the other girls faces that they were coming to the same conclusions. She smiled hopefully (what she thought was hopefully, Umi had told her before that her smiles looked more like she was pleading "please don't eat me") and nodded. She steeled herself. This definitely wasn't as easy.

"I was born Nagawa Namiko," she confirmed. She sucked in a deep breath, shut her eyes, clenched her fists. She needed to get this over with, like ripping off a bandage, but it was getting harder every second she spent trying. "And just last night… I awakened. As Ushio."

Confirming the Club's suspicions did little to aid in their reactions. Or rather, their lack thereof. It seemed to be slowly sinking in, as their brains picked the new information apart, and put it back together.

"Are you…" Miko began, tapping her fingers together. She seemed to be the first to put thing together, judging by how her expression had shifted to a sort of hopeful disbelief.

"She did," Umi confirmed, her eyes going wide and her grin slightly wild at the memory. "She really is. And she…"

Someone knocked at the door. Ushio turned and slid it open to reveal Fubuki. Ikazuchi had left "before anyone missed her" so Fubuki had agreed to guide them back to the house considering Ushio hadn't been looking where she was going, and Umi had once gotten lost in a broom closet (which Ushio had always thought was probably made up).

"So, is everything under control?" she asked.

"It's all fine," Ushio replied. Behind her, she could hear gasps as the members of her club identified another Shipgirl

"Great!" Fubuki said cheerily. "In that case, I should really be going, I've got patrol with—Ah! Someone will probably be along later to pick you up. You probably got the basics from Mutsu and Kongou, but there's a lot of little legal things that they'll want to discuss with you."

"Thank you," Ushio replied. "I'm… Oh no, I'm going to have to call my parents. I'm going to have to tell them I forgot all about it—" Her panic began to pour through her body. Every time she told someone it seemed, the next person to inform would be even more difficult.

"It's okay, really," Fubuki reassured her. "I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something, I gotta go, bye see you later!" She turned and began to walk briskly away.

Yae's shriek set the windows all rattling. Ushio wasn't sure, turning back to face her club as she was, but Fubuki may have tripped over her own feet in surprise. Mamiya, the club president, put her hand on her shoulder, and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"I think," she said, and Ushio admired that she was able to hold together the way she was, "That we all need to sit down for a minute. Or maybe more." She looked around the different club members, and Ushio thought for a moment that maybe she was gauging their reactions. "Heaven knows I need to," she added in a quieter voice.

"Yes! Sitting… Sitting down is good," Ushio agreed. She was going to have to get her story together. Who knew what her parents were going to say about all of this.
-----

The family telephone fell from nerveless fingers.

"Ma'am? Hello?" the nice lady who said she was from the Navy said. She dropped to her knees and fumbled for the phone, holding it back up to her ear first upside down, then sideways, and finally properly. It did not occur to her for a second that she had accidentally wrapped the cord around her arms several times.

"Yes, yes, sorry. What did you say was wrong with Namiko?" Nagawa Sasami asked.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 20: S0ngD0g13

A Kure Snippet: Stick-Time with the Phoenix and the Cranes...
...........................................

"Okay, why are we here, Mom?" asked Zuikaku as she, her sister, and Houshou walked up the path to an unused field on base.

"Jaw said he had a surprise for us. Well," she said with a wry grin, much like her beau's, "he said it was a surprise for me, but that if I wished I could also extend the invitation to 'Shoukaku, that Most Graceful of Cranes', and 'Zuikaku, that Prime Specimen of the Fan-Tailed Marianas Turkey'."

Zui went red in the face. "That, that, AGH!!!" She yelped and ducked as a tiny shape screamed down out of the mid-morning sun and buzzed her before shooting away in a steep climb.

A radio message came in right then, James A.W. McAmis' voice laughing. "Good evasion, Zuikaku."

Shoukaku summoned her rigging and a plane descended out of the sky. The radio-controlled model BF-109 passed overhead and rubbed salt in Zuikaku's embarrassment by doing a victory-roll before touching down nearby. Jaw jogged over from his place near the field's edge and waved. "Hey, girls!"

Houshou smiled as she laughed and waved back. "Hello, Jaw," she said. "I didn't know you flew; buzzing Zuikaku was a bit mean, though..." She froze the teenager in place with a disapproving look.

Jaw shivered and dropped his eyes. "I'm very sorry, Miss Zuikaku. I meant no harm by it, but Houshou's right; it was mean of me."

Zuikaku stood a bit straighter and glared. "Apology accepted. So, RC planes?"

Jaw grinned wide. "I figured I'd see if Houshou wanted to fly some, and y'all are the only other flat-tops I know well. Figured we'd make a competition of it."

Shoukaku perked up. "What kind of competition?"

"A ribbon-dogfight competition," replied Jaw as he showed them to a table with his collection of aircraft arrayed on and around it. "To add difficulty, we'll draw our aircraft out of a hat. The planes' nose-art names are written on the slips so just call them out when you draw. After we've all got birds I'll explain the rules."

Zuikaku went first, and pulled a slip out of the upturned ballcap on the table. "I drew... 'Nacht und Nebel'?"

Jaw pulled a Fw-190 out of the lineup and showed the black horse painted on the nose. "A Focke-Wulf for Zuikaku."

Shoukaku reached in and drew. "I pulled 'Tiger by the Tail'."

Jaw pulled her plane, a P-40 Warhawk in Flying Tigers livery, out of the lineup and grinned wider. "A Warhawk for Shoukaku."

Houshou reached into the hat, swirled her hand around, and drew. "My plane is... 'Queen of Swords', Jaw."

Jaw grinned wide and bright. "Ah, one of my favorite planes, that one." He pulled a Spitfire out of the lineup and set it before Houshou, its nose-art showing a warrior-queen pointing her blade forward in full charge.

Jaw then drew and laughed. "Looks like I drew 'Jack of Diamonds'." He pulled his assigned fighter out; it was a J2M Raiden, what the Allies had called a 'Jack'. "Okay, we've all got our planes; let me explain the rules." He unrolled a streamer of light ribbon twenty feet long, divided into four five-foot sections that were colored black, red, yellow, and green. "This gets clipped to the tail of each plane, and the object is to cut your opponent's ribbon with your prop. The colors are mostly for timed matches; green for 'minor damage', yellow for 'moderate damage', and red for 'shot down'. The black is a safety-buffer, so please don't cut that. Winner is the first to fifteen 'kills', lowest count buys lunch at the cafe. Sound fair?" A round of nods was his answer. "Now, feel free to take the planes up and get a feel for them for a few minutes. If you have trouble, I'll be happy to help."

.........................................

Jaw howled with glee as his Jack rolled in behind Zuikaku's Focke-Wulf and razored through the red portion of her ribbon. "That's fourteen for me, Zuikaku!"

His joy was short-lived, however, as Shoukaku's Warhawk dove out of the sun and barely missed cutting his ribbon as the teen broke hard to the right. Jaw came around in a low yo-yo and got on the P-40's tail.

Shoukaku broke left and Jaw followed, clipping away her ribbon to halfway up the yellow, before the pair found themselves in a graceful rolling-scissors, each waiting for the other to make the first mistake...

Houshou's Spitfire fell out of the clouds like a thunderbolt, clipped Shoukaku's ribbon, then powered into a zoom-climb and severed Jaw's ribbon as he tried to evade.

"That's fifteen for me. I believe I win." Houshou was smiling warmly as she brought her plane down and passed over the field, then launched into a long succession of fifteen victory-rolls before landing.

Jaw brought his own plane down and waggled his wings in salute.

The final score was Houshou: 15, Jaw: 14, Zuikaku: 11, and Shoukaku: 10.

"Good match, y'all," said Jaw as he gathered in the planes. "I had fun; hope y'all did too."

Houshou gave Jaw a smile and a hug. "I had fun, Jaw. Thank you for inviting me."

Shoukaku smiled, flushed from the adrenaline of her match. "It was excellent, Jaw; I really enjoyed myself."

Zuikaku grinned a wry grin and shook his hand. "It was fun. I want a rematch, though, Boy."

Jaw just smiled wide. "But of course; same time next week? I still have to introduce you to FPV goggles, and I'm thinking a few rounds of Dive-Bomber Darts will make for a fine afternoon, Turkey."