Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

S0ngD0g13

Jackson Graves grabbed Jones by the collar and pulled him aside, tossing a short 'I got this' wave to Constitution. "Jones, you wouldn't want her mad at you; she's not averse to keelhauling folk if she's pushed."

"And just what would you know, Graves?" Jones snapped, jerking free.

Gravedigger grinned and shrugged. "Better'n to antagonize Ol' Ironsides without cause, for a start. The last poor bastard that tried jammin' Constitution up was me, over her stealin' cable. It ain't end well." His southern accent was on full display.

"All the same we've got a job to do; that No-Maj-" Jones checked up as Graves grabbed his wrist.

"Jones, has Anderson there been facin' the same direction this whole time?"

"Yes, he has."

"He ain't turned around? Not nary a bit?"

"Not once. Your point?"

"Well, if he's been lookin' away this whole time, then he obviously hasn't seen anything he ought not, eh? So put your wand away and go report all's well, Rookie."

After Jones toddled off to make his report, Jackson adjusted his denim jacket and walked over to Anderson. "Nice view, eh?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Jackson Graves, formerly of First o' the Seventy-Fifth. Connie can vouch for me. You ain't see shit?"

"Not a thing."

"Fair'nuff. Have a good one, Soldier. Give my regards to the Lobster Boats, and keep your powder dry."

Graves walked back to his post and shrugged. "Helluva day, bein' MACUSA's 'liaison' to Constitution..."

 

[darthcourt10]

SoulessScotsman

Next bit. Short, but I'm working on building up these characters before I do anything longer.
-----------------------------------
When Maine (ACR-1) entered the waiting room for the Admiral's office on the base that had been built into Bath Iron Works, she was utterly unsurprised to see Anderson waiting patiently for her mother.

"Hello, Crowe. I take it Mother is busy?"

The younger man nodded, "Hey, Miss Miranda. Miss Connie's talkin' to Admiral Bailey, but she should be out in a minute or two."

Maine glanced at the holster sitting on the small coffee table in front of him, as well as a thermos, "Don't tell me that she still refuses to carry her sidearm."

"Yes, Ma'am. I've been given strict orders by Admiral Williams, who was ordered by SECNAV, who had it politely suggested to him by POTUS that he get her to reconsider. They even got a Springfield M1911A1 and refurbed it for her. Apparently a 101st vet from WWII donated it. With a message."

Maine let out a bark of laughter, "Oh, she'll love that."

"Of course she will," he agreed, "Or she wont get anymore tea from me."

Maine quickly lost a semblance of humor, "Williams must not be happy."

"No, Ma'am. He was very emphatic that she take it and wear it."

Not even a moment after he finished that statement, Connie came storming out of Bailey's office, face red and set in an extremely agitated glower.

"And take the damn pistol!"

Connie spun on her heel, spat an insult best not repeated, and slammed the door to the Admiral's office.

Lieutenant Anderson rose from his seat and held out both the holstered sidearm and the thermos.

Connie snatched the pistol from him and removed her Service Blue coat to secure the shoulder holster.

Anderson coughed, "Previous owner has a message, Ma'am."

Connie shrugged her coat back on and grunted, grabbing the thermos from him, "Carry on, Lieutenant."

"Message from First Sergeant James MacAndrew, Retired, formerly of the Army 101st Airborne follows as such: Suck it up, Sailor."

Connie's face scrunched up like she'd just bitten into a lemon, "Message received, Lieutenant."

Muffled guffaws of laughter came from Maine as she hunched over the side of a chair.

Connie rolled her eyes, "Laugh it up, Miri. Laugh it up. Just you wait, I have baby pictures your father gave me, and I plan on showing them to Molly and Ari. See who's laughing, then."

"Me!" Maine giggled, still bent over, "I was an adorable baby, Mother, I have nothing to be embarrassed about!"

Connie just grumbled.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 115: S0ngD0g13

Kaylee anchored the Boston Whaler just off the coast of Spider Island and sailed ashore under her own power. She had work to do that day...

There hadn't been much luck finding a shrink for Shipgirls; the closest they had was Crowning out in Washington. So, Kaylee had decided to take a page out of her dad's book and find a hobby to distract herself. Hence her presence on the Isle of Spiders, continuing her improvements. The ironclad hung her coat up on a peg inside the one-room palm-log cabin she'd built on the edge of the forest and walked out and around the back. She checked on the status of her mash and smiled as she fired the still.

"The next task, now that my still's warming up, is getting that wood floor started in the cabin." Kaylee took an axe and a whetstone, and headed just down the coast to a swampy area where she'd seen cypress trees during her spider-hunt. "Swamp Cypress ought to make good water-resistant boards, and another I'll split for shingles to roof it." She found her first tree and began to cut, humming a song as she swung the axe.

After the first tree was felled, Kaylee got a rope around the trunk and tied it off to another tree onshore, then went back to the cabin and the corral nearby it. She walked into the corral and got the tack ready on the pair of creatures within.

"G'yup! Trek, Conn; Trek, Cullen!" she called, the pair of black Kuchinoshima steers pulling in their yoke. Kaylee stopped them by the water and connected the traces to the cypress log, then the oxen dragged it up onto level ground where Kaylee could cut away the branches. Ten minutes later Kaylee removed the last limb and hooked the log back up. "Trek, boys! G'yup!"

The oxen pulled the log up the beach to the cabin and Kaylee unyoked them, turning the pair out to graze while she set to work with sawbuck and bow-saw, maul and froe and hand-plane cutting the log into sections and then splitting those sections into boards she could plane smooth and use for flooring.

As she worked, Kaylee couldn't help but chuckle thinking about how she'd come to have the idea of building a homestead on the island; she'd come back to Spider Island just before her trip to Scotland with intent to build a still and found a wrecked ship on the north shore, likely Magical given the rarity of old-time sailing junks and the Potions and Care of Magical Creatures texts she found onboard.

The ship's cargo had been livestock, and while all but two sows of its dozen-strong cargo of swine had been drowned in the wreck, the eighteen head of cattle onboard had gotten free and made it to shore. Kaylee had decided that if there was stock, she might as well just set up a farm.

After catching the two steers she'd named Conn and Cullen, Kaylee had used a salvaged yoke and a flat-bottomed boat from the wreck to drag in wood and stone to build a hog-lot, and driven the sows inside. Next came the pole-corral and open-sided, canvas-roofed shed for the oxen; the other cows roamed free on the island.

Kaylee had ended up butchering both sows not long after getting them penned, since she wouldn't be able to feed them every day while in Scotland, and while she could turn the oxen loose to free-range, the teenage ironclad would be damned before she inflicted feral hogs on an island without any predators to keep them in check.

The cabin was the most-recent addition, built in the edge of the forest of notched palm logs pegged together, the roof ready for shingles; a door salvaged from the shipwreck after a long, rambling, and one-sided talk with the junk during Kaylee's post-wedding bender hung in the door frame.

Kaylee stacked the boards to dry and checked her still, then pulled out a chunk of beef jerky and a canteen of water for lunch as she sat with her back to her gatepost.

Overhead, the flags of Japan, the USA, and the CSA, the three nations she had served, snapped in the breeze over the carved sign that proclaimed...

Rocking-M Cattle Company and Finishing-School for Bullwhackers

 

[darthcourt10]

SoulessScotsman

Warships at a smallarms range? What are you thinking?
--------------------------------------
As Anderson stood outside the on-base Firearms Range at the reactivated Boston Naval Shipyard, he thumbed the hammer of his holstered MK23 pistol. He then picked up the two guncases and headed for the front door.

"Mornin', Eltee," the Marine Rangemaster greeted, "Miss Connie and the Maineacs are waiting for you on the range. You've got the range reserved all day, if you need it. What kinda ammo you gonna need?"

"Morning, Sergeant Lowe. Gonna need forty-five ACP, seven-six-two and thirty-ought-six. Thousand rounds, maybe."

The sergeant nodded, "As you need it, then? We can do that. Forbes! O'Reilly! Get moving!"

Exiting the building and entering the range, Anderson hefted the two guncases onto a set of tables lined against the wall parallel to the range. Flipping the latches on the cases and opening them up, he then turned to face the assembled shipgirls.

"Right. So. Williams wants you four proficient with both pistols and rifles. Molly, I assume I don't have to work all that hard with you?"

"Military brat," she deadpanned.

He nodded, "Miss Miranda?"

The oldest Maine gave him a level look, "I was the one who taught her, Crowe. I was actually Army for about ten years, remember? The shipgirl thing is relatively new."

Anderson snorted, "Then that leaves Miss Connie and Minnie."

Minnie looked a bit embarrassed while Connie looked a bit taken aback, "Excuse me? I know how to use a gun, thank you."

Both Natural Born Maines snerked in barely contained laughter. Connie glared at them.

"All respect, Ma'am, but Massachusetts told me what happened the last time you went to a range. The most modern thing you used was some sort of cap-and-ball Navy Colt. That's not even mentioning the flintlocks. It's my job to train you to use a modern firearm to modern standards."

Connie's face soured, "I have to fire that detestable autopistol, don't I?" Molly squawked in indignation.

Anderson's face didn't even twitch, "Until I'm satisfied you know the M1911 better than you do your own cannon, yes Ma'am."

"I notice you brought rifles, as well," Miranda gestured to the guncases, "What did you bring?"

"Some personal projects," Anderson grunted as he lifted the longest rifle out, "This beauty is a slightly modified M1918 BAR. Uses a closed bolt and fire control system from Ohio Ordinance and a pistol grip from a Polish wz. 1928. Fires .30-06 at a fairly slow 600 RPM. Can't tell you how long that took to fine-tune."

He set that back down and lifted a rifle everyone recognized, "M1 Garand. A rifle that needs no introduction," Anderson hefted the rifle and cleared the chamber before setting it down, "I'd warn you about it being called the 'Thumb Buster', but I imagine none of you will have to worry about that."

"Dibs," Molly said.

"You'll be using all of them, Molly, you'll get your chance. Next, we have another personal project," Anderson lifted another very familiar rifle up, "M14 with twenty round box magazine, select fire and a pistol grip stock. Stock's based on an E2, minus that funky foregrip. I've even got a rail I can mount on it to use an M203."

Minnie practically salivated at the rifle, "Can I have one?"

"I can work on one with Chief Petty Officer Rosnik," Anderson smiled a bit, "She's been itching to work on her engraving and woodworking. I think she'd be happy to do some custom work. Any preference on design?"

"Ooh, Celtic, please! And checkering on the grip and handguard! Ooh, ooh! And reinforced mounts for a removable pictany rail so I can mount a grenade launcher!"

"Birthday present, then. Got a few on hand, just because seven-six-two is dirt common and because I used an M14 I'd modified during my first tour and kept it for all my subsequent tours of the sandbox. And, for arguments sake, the range also has some AR-15s and AR-10s of varying types, as well as a few M240s and M249s."

Molly quirked a brow, "Don't you have a few shotguns, too?"

"A Winchester M12 Trench Gun and an Ithaca M37 DSPS. I don't shoot the M12 anymore, and the M37 is a 'Rainy Day' gun."

Miranda hefted the M1 and smiled, "I remember when I first shot an M1. Rangemaster kept lamenting the fact I was a woman, because I was a better shot than anyone else on the base. Could have been a markswoman or even a sniper, but, well. The whole woman thing."

Molly blinked a bit before turning to her mother, "Weren't you Spec-Ops, though? I distinctly remember you mentioning that."

Miranda's smile turned a bit brittle, "No, I wasn't. Women only just started getting Combat MOSs, remember? Certainly not back in the 70's, when I served."

"But-"

"Molly."

Connie snorted, "Leave it be, sweetie. You know Miri was a spook, she can't talk about most of what she did."

Molly scowled and snatched an M14 from a case.

Miranda turned a gimlet eye towards Anderson, who in turn leveled a flat look at her.

"I seem to have gone rather inexplicably temporarily deaf. It seems to have cleared up, though," he made a show of cleaning out his ear, "Where were we?"

"You were about to teach Minnie and I how to shoot these damnable self-loading pistols," Connie sighed, "Then on to the rifles, I suppose."

"Right! First off, proper gun safety..."

 

[darthcourt10]

RBomber

The Little Carrier That Could, Part III

------

Pain.

Delirium.

Waking dream.

Sinking would be much, much of reprieve.

But somehow, she's alive. And still sailing.

Somehow.

----

With her boiler barely working, hulls full of holes, the pump was not working at all, Little Carrier death was almost certain.

Almost.

If she had been alone, she would be dead long ago. But she's not alone.

Even if what remains just a bunch of planes and Shades. Very determined Abyssal Planes and Shades. With nothing to guide them, they works themselves to exhaustion and beyond, dragging her hull to safety powered by mostly spite and sheer pluck. Well, spite, pluck and throwing everything they can throw, mostly useless armor.

And somehow, they succeeded.

They found a floated... constructs of sorts, a floating husk made of debris, plastic and everything, remains of age where humans just carelessly throwing everything inconvenient to sea.

It was not, by any means of stretch, a proper shelter. But at least their Young Lady won't in any danger of sinking in close future. Somehow.

Of course, if anything doing as much as sneezes against them....

----

The sea was on fire, with smell of burning meat and steel and other things filled the air. No survivors.

The Trench Princess was heavily injured, and now she's taking a retreat, while throwing her fleet on her pursuer. A single Re-Class.

Doesn't do her much good.

Just a moment before, her order came. Her Princess Intellegence had identified said Princess Fleet as collaborators of Aleutian Massacre. The verdict was clear.

Make them pay.

And collect their due, she did.

----

Close to the combat zone, hidden by low-light of dusk and smokes billowing in air, two Abyssal Scout Planes, having seen enough, decides to scram and retreat. Carefully.

----

The Great Big One, injured, but awake and determined, regards his other two... peers. He already told all he needed to know.

As much as they need... helps, asking that from... that... Thing... would be too much. For starters, said Re-Class that attacks their... pursuer... was entirely too bloodthirsty to even regard their attempt to surrender. One of them almost got grazed by her AA. Granted, it was unlucky stray shot, but still.

Now, there is nothing they can do but wait. And stabilize Young Lady, but it was given.

----

Night passes. Dawn came. Then Dusk, and through the Night, passes again, came Dawn.

It was like that for several night. The battle near them was relatively short, and they manages to weather it without attracting any attention.

New problem came, though. While they manage to keep their Little Lady alive and stable, repair her to functionality... was something else entirely. For starters, they had exhaust all their metals to stabilize her, repair her boiler and some of her innards to barely functional. They even sacrifice parts from their non-functional peers, and it's only barely enough.

More than half the fleet had crippled themselves, and it's only barely working.

So, after much debate, consideration, shouting and crying, all the functional planes decides to risk something more.

Time to salvage the battlefield, with all the dangers that entails.

----

The battlefield was smelled of death, oil, decayed blood and ashes everywhere. Nothing much left.

The Great Big One can only sighed. Of course nothing particular could be salvaged, it's alredy too long. Well, at least all the big fishes still going there, so there's not real worry to getting food.

Well, time to fishing and-Waaaaait a moment.

Oh My.

Ooooh My.

----

In the Shelter (because, in spite of how inadequate the condition, it is a shelter), a heated argument occurs. The Great Big One group bring lots of food, quite amount of salvaged metal... along with some... attachment. Some unallied Shades that somehow survived the destruction of their Host.

After several angry shouting, arguments, and Angry Birds-Levels of Hijinks, one of the Scout point out that if nothing else, if the... New Shadesmakes a mess somehow, then they can always just put them as biomaterials. Everyone adequately satisfied (barely), and then get goes on Repair.

----

Days passed into weeks. Months.

The repairing, while slow, are steady.

With foods available, some of the Shades can even began to expand their Shelter, adding random junk as foundation and covered it in Abyssals Creep, solidify it, and adding some odd bits like storage and Plane repairing workshop and the likes (Naturally, Abyssal Planes can heal themselves just fine, but modification and upgrade was other matters). Metals still a concern though.

And before long, before anyone else realizes what truly happened, The Little Carrier, in her slumber, changed. Grew.

Evolved.

----

Morning came, but most of the... Crew... didn't get much sleep. Granted, Abyssals rarely sleep, much more... working drones like them, but these several night had been tense. Strange... growth somehow covered Little Carrier these past 3 days, and nobody knows why. Some suspected foul plays, but even after extensively interrogating... Newcomers... and after assessing the situation with whatever pass as Chief Engineer on their group, nothing harmful can be found. In fact, they can felt Little Carrier actually at ease, the most peaceful, content she could be after these months.

So everyone was a bit tense while suddenly a Scout Plane, barged rudely into their meeting chamber, used as impromptu sleeping quarter, and being a stuttering fool.

The only intellegible words he can mutter was "Little Carrier".

So they all rushed outside....

And saw a... young girl with pale skin, white hair, attached Abyssals Carrier Deck and a cute little horn.

They felt so proud! Their Little Carrier had grown up so spendidly, she became a Princess!

That's it, until someone asked why Princess doesn't have any armor.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 116: S0ngD0g13

"You want... What?" asked Jintsuu.

Kaylee smoothed out the list of things she wanted, ironically written on the back of a Tractor-Supply receipt fished from the bottom of her sea-bag. "I need, if it's possible to get such, five pounds each of Tuscarora flour-corn seed and Silver Queen sweet-corn seed, as well as a hundred pounds of Japanese millet-seed, twenty cords of seasoned shag-bark hickory, a hundred pounds of yeast, fifty feet of three-quarter-inch copper tubing, and a single-furrow walking plow."

The Cruiser eyed the Ironclad. "Just what are you needing these for? The corn, yeast, and tubing makes me think you're..."

"Growing a corn-crop and bringing it to market in barrels as opposed to bushels?" Kaylee grinned. "You'd be mostly right. I was planning on asking about this anyway, so why not now; you recall Spider Island? I got sent there after that one scrap with Aso? I've got a bit of a farm started there; a cabin and some cattle that washed ashore from a wreck, 'bout eighteen head. By the look of them they're Kugoshima cows, too. I'll admit, I've got a still, but I mostly need the seed-corn and millet to grow for cattle-feed; there's forage but not quite enough for my comfort."

"You're raising cows on Spider Island?"

"Yup. For beef and draft; there's a reason the sign over my gate reads 'cattle company and finishing-school for bullwhackers', Jin."

Jintsuu gave Kaylee a look. "The corn I could swing as excess for the base farms, maybe even the millet, and the tubing for plumbing-supplies, but the wood, yeast, and plow are rather... specialized."

Kaylee nodded. "That they are. Of course, you haven't given me a flat 'no' yet, so maybe we could do some swapping? The hickory's for when I get a smokehouse built; good home-raised beef for the cooks sound fair? Plus the use of the cabin for any patrols out that way to overnight at, and good high-proof tanglefoot for whatever use you care to put it to. You reckon that plus a cut of whatever profit I could turn selling excess stock at market would offset the cost?"

Jintsuu checked prices on her computer and did some mental math. "It might, but that still leaves the issue of Spider Island belonging to the JSDF at the moment, Kaylee. By legal definition your farm counts as squatting."

Kaylee nodded slowly. "That's the thing I'd planned to ask about. Y'all have title to it, and I wondered if I could cut a deal to buy it. Say, thirty-five-hundred dollars down and ten-percent outta my paychecks each month until it's paid off?"

"I'll see what I can do. Before anything else..." Jintsuu paused. "Before anything else, I'd want to see your farm."

Kaylee smiled and nodded. "By all means, Jintsuu; we can go at your convenience. Hell, if you'd prefer more opinions, you could bring Ari, Jane and the others. Lord an' Lady know it's a pretty island; y'all could make a day of it."

"I'll see what I can do, Virginia," said Jintsuu with a smile.

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

Two days later, as Virginia, Monitor, and Azuma were settling in to overnight on the island during a patrol, a colossal shadow passed overhead and the oxen began to panic. Monitor rushed outside and tracked the object with binoculars.

"Dragon! Circling toward the north of the island!"

Kaylee grabbed one of her salvaged Creatures books. "Describe it, Monitor?"

"Red hide, smooth to my sight; gold-spike fringe and yellow eyes bugged-out. I make him... twenty feet, perhaps twenty-two, from snout to tail-tip."

"Chinese Fireball; Lion-Dragon. This is way out east o' their normal range, though... I'll fetch the radio; can't let this go unreported."

Kaylee keyed the HF radio in the cabin and relayed her report to Kure. "Kure Base, Kure Base, this is Iron Gray; Blue Steel reports Whiskey Wildlife on-site north end of Spider Isle. I say again, Whiskey Wildlife on Spider Isle, over."

"Roger, Iron Gray; Whiskey ID, over."

"Chinese Fireball, twenty-footer minimum, Kure Base, over."

"Roger that; abort patrol and RTB, out."

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

This was supposed to be cute.

Trust

-----

"It's all very pink," Nemo says, looking up at the trees. It's clear that their season is beginning to slowly fade away, but they haven't yet truly begun to fall away, allowing their place to be taken by more standard green foliage. She holds out her hand and a petal, dancing on the wind, lands gently on her palm. She examines it, closes her hand over it gently.

"Pink," Takumi replies. "Really? That's all that you care about? This—" he spreads his arms, "This is natural beauty here. You don't get a sight like this often, you understand?"

"I know, I know, it's very pretty," Nemo waves him off, and it's true. She'd seen pictures of rows and rows of white-pink trees in books that Takumi'd given her before, but experiencing it for herself is an experience she didn't think would be so wondrous.

"Am I supposed to say that you're even more gorgeous, or do you think that would be cliched?" Takumi muses, catching Nemo off-guard. Her face heats and she bats at his shoulder half-heartedly.

"H-hey, knock it off. We're here, we've got this, the Princesses actually agreed—" which had been an experience in and of itself, the White Princess had grinned in a manner that grew beyond maniacal to rend time and space and become the soul embodiment of the insane laugh that Takumi said villains in movies and television liked to give, "let's just take our time here and enjoy it." Takumi's hand reaches around, pulls her into his side gently.

"Hmm, let me think," he says thoughtfully. "No. This is how we enjoy things. It's our thing. How we do stuff. You know." He pauses, brings his hand up to cup his chin. "Huh. I think I lost that one." Nemo smiles, and leans against him.

"I guess you're right," she says affectionately.

"Though you know," Takumi admits, "considering how this is supposed to be a tour or something, there are a lot more places that I need to take you." Nemo perks up. "So maybe we'll stop by my school briefly. You were curious about that, weren't you?" And as he leans down and looks at her, Nemo stands on her tiptoes and plants her lips against his.

"Ark."

The two of them whip around. Nemo can't identify the girl, she's never seen her before, but Takumi's face twitches slightly. "Tachibana," he greets her, voice heavy with discomfort. Tachibana—the girl who spent a weekend relentlessly pranking him? Nemo looks at the girl more closely. She doesn't seem quite so evil as she'd expected she would—long black hair in a fancy braid, face a bit pale, shaking slightly. Oh wait, that's probably due to Nemo. She wonders why the people she's seen so far have mainly just stood back and whispered, or why she and Takumi haven't encountered as many people as they thought they would in a park on a Saturday afternoon. Then she remembers the little kid in the glasses, and she's not sure she wants to know the answer to that.

Tachibana startles to life. "Family… trouble?" she says, her voice shaking just as much as the rest of her. Takumi gives her another awkward look.

"In a broad manner of speaking, I guess," he replies. "So… I guess… Tachibana, this is Nemo. She's my girlfriend. Nemo, this is Tachibana…" He looks at Tachibana.

"I'm kind of freaking out right now," the girl says. "Still need to process this." Nemo gives her a flat look. Why is she making it so hard to dislike her?
-----

Yuzuki hears the thump against her door that says Haruka had one of those days. She briefly considers opening the door, letting her in, but the tangled web of feelings wins out again and she remains locked in her room.

Then she hears Haruka's voice, shaky and slightly stunned, muffled by the door but still audible. "So," she says, "Inoue's girlfriend. Yeah…"

And with a voice like that, how could she not know.

Yuzuki stands, walks over to the door. Opens it slowly, and sees Haruka standing in front of her, a bit shaky on her legs. "You saw it," she replies. Haruka nods hesitantly.

"It… she… yeah," she confirms. "I… guess it's a she, she's surprisingly not evil."

"He's dating a rage monster," Yuzuki replies flatly. "So… did you tell Sakurada?" She doesn't slam the door as Haruka steps into the room, but she's a bit more firm with it than she usually is.

"Huh?"

"Sakurada," Yuzuki replies, feeling her ire rise a bit, "did you tell her about Inoue's girlfriend? She deserves to know what's going on here!"

"They'll probably be on the internet by this evening," Haruka reasons. Looking down at her hands, Yuzuki notices that she's pressing her fingernails into the heels of her palms.

"She needs to hear it from you," she insists. "You know about this, you're her friend, you need to tell her." Haruka's shoulders heave slightly. A sigh. Why is she sighing, what's the big problem?

"I can't tell her," she says simply.

What?

"What are you talking about?" Yuzuki hisses. "You--she's important to you, you need to—"

"Tell her?" Haruka cuts her off. "About Inoue and… and Nemo?" By the pause, she's forcing herself to use a name she's not yet comfortable using, or maybe even knowing. "I can't, Yuzuki, it's not my secret to tell."

"What does that even mean?" Yuzuki demands.

"It means," her best friend replies a bit hotly herself, "that this is Inoue's business, and not mine. When Sakurada finds out, how they confront each other, it's not my purview, I don't have any right to make it my purview."

"Oh my gosh," Yuzuki smacks the palm of her hand to her forehead. "I can't believe you—do you even feel anything about this girl the way you've been acting?" She realizes what she's saying the moment the words leave her mouth, leaving a cold feeling behind. Haruka looks back at her, as if she's had a bucket of ice water poured over her head.

"H-Haruka, I—"

"Don't," she replies, cutting her off, "don't ever use that against me ever again. Believe it or not, there's more to trust than just telling people everything that's going on with everything else." Her voice doesn't rise at all. "I can understand why you would feel touchy about trust after what happened that day. But whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, you bear half the blame for that."

"Now wait a minute—" Haruka ignores her.

"Yuuki-kun only wanted to help you. I'll be the first to admit that it was in a misguided way, and at the worst possible time. But his intentions were good, and he cared about you, and you threw it in his face. Never even tried to make things right. You two knew each other since the second grade, and now you act like he's your mortal enemy, because he told you about his crush on a rough day."

"There was so much more to it," Yuzuki seethes, "than that."

"I'm sure," Haruka says, and her voice is still the same. "But that doesn't change the fact that you hurt him too. Never tried to fix things up. You just walked away, treated him like he was nothing, like he didn't exist, joking and laughing like you didn't throw someone who cared about you away. Actually—here's a question. When in the past three years have you acted your age? When have you ever stopped playing at being ten?"

Yuzuki glares helplessly, opening and closing her mouth. Haruka turns, grips the doorknob, and throws it open.

"Sakurada asked why you have trust issues," she says, still cool. "I didn't tell her, of course. That's between you and him. Aren't I trustworthy?"

And she sweeps out of the room.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting in his chair, Hadrian Siren leaned back and continued to watch the crew on his bridge work. Everything was bathed in the light of the glowing, magical crystals above. If it was a time when they were in danger, they would slide the covers that would turn the light red. Right now though, everything was normal running as they continued on their way with cargo holds full. All throughout the Submarine was the light murmur of the crew and other sounds of work as they made their journey from Saint Brendan's.

Hadrian himself gently hummed as he patted the armrest of his seat, a small vibration returning. Meanwhile the large whiskers on his upper lip, each stiff and long, twitched. Being a "Seal-Blood", his current position under the waves didn't bother him in the least. In fact, he was rather comfortable even in the close confines of the Submarine. Turning his head, he looked towards one of his crew who had an odd helmet on her head. From it, wires ran until they attached to the hull with an odd bulb on the top, like a Wizarding wireless. Reaching out, he tapped her on the shoulder. Something that was hard as said crew member was about the size of a twelve year old even if her uniform did not hide that she was a grown woman. When she turned and saw him gesture at her helmet, she reached up and took it off to reveal the large mouse ears that sat on her head. "Yes, Captain? Is something wrong?"

Amused, Hadrian glanced around as he knew more then one of the Bridge crew was listening. "Just wondering if all is alright so far, Sasha. Anything to report?"

Thinking it over, Sasha shook her head. "No, Sir. Just the usual traffic above us, though I will note that I heard two Battleships and a screen of Destroyers to the north of us. Not Abyssal thankfully. Oh, and there's a Uboat roughly six miles to the east, but they haven't noticed us."

Everyone could feel a thrum in the air and a sense of extreme amusement. Glancing around, Hadrian chuckled to himself. "Seems that she's extremely amused by that. Though I'm not surprised if we got this close without anyone noticing us so far."

Chuckling, the Navigation Officer turned in his own seat, a dolphin's grin on his face. "And probably excited as all get out to be nearly back home in Germany. We're about an hour out from Wilhelmshsven after all. We should be seeing more screening patrols soon enough." A shudder ran though the deck which made him nod. "Don't worry girl, we'll get there soon enough."

Out of the corner of his eye, Hadrian could see a young, teenager girl with some animal features in a swimsuit bouncing on her feet. But when he turned to look, there was nothing there. Head tilted to the side, he only shook his head. 'Always knew that she had a spirit. Though I suppose seeing her excited as a pup would embarrass her too much right now.'

A throat clearing made him turn to find his Second in Command there with a mug of coffee. "Picked this up on my way back, Sir. It's fresh from the galley."

Taking it gratefully while nodding in thanks, Hadrian took a moment to examine his Second. Like some of the crew, her animal blood ran more strongly then normal making her animal features come out more strongly then just ears or a tail. Two chocolate coloured eyes watched him as he smiled. "Thank you, Bethany. Some coffee sounds good right about now." Sipping it, he lowered his voice. "How are you handling things?"

With a sigh, Bethany shook her head. "I'm... taking it as well as possible I suppose. Dad... died the best way that any warship Captain could hope for in war, blasting fire and defiance at his foes and taking them with him. And Thunderchild let me speak to him before we left Saint Brendan's... So there is that, though it is a bit strange when all is said and done."

Simply humming, Hadrian nodded. "I will admit, there is something about never having to leave your ship that I like. Something... comforting that she'll embrace you after your gone." Getting a sound of agreement, he frowned. "Though I'm sorry to see you leave and we'll all be missing you here on the ship once we leave Germany."

Only shaking her head even as she felt tears prickle her eyes, Bethany gave him a smile, sad as it was. "And you won't be the only one, I'll miss Bremen and the crew here. But this is important for Saint Brendan's. Two more Transport Submarines for the island? I'll look them over, but I think that once we get them back and work them over properly, they'll do us proud."

Lips twitching, Hadrian snorted. "I think that the Germans think that perhaps we're nuts in a way. Or that was what I think considering the talk we had before we left the island on this cruise."

Unable to help herself, Bethany shook her head. "Well, they were supposed to be used for smuggling to Britain and such. Though why use Submarines in that case when it's just across the North Sea..."

All Hadrian did was shrug. "Why not? The waters were at one point crawling with Abyssal forces and even now are not completely safe. Not to mention that plenty of shipgirls as well as British and German warships and coast guard in the area would stop a suspicious ship. Combined with rationing in Britain making sure that there's plenty of money to be made smuggling? There's plenty of reason I think."

Still shaking her head, Bethany snorted. "Yes, so someone built two Submarines in secret in the Friesian Islands to smuggle material back and forth." Becoming thoughtful, she stroked her chin. "They're decent enough from what I saw of them, not death traps anyways. But it's not like there's a lot of civilian groups who would use large Submarines like them. Fifteen crew, several thousand mile range is not small."

Giving her the point, Hadrian scoffed. "True but their loss is our gain. Forty tons of cargo? We could easily double or even triple that with magic. Add in what else we'll do with them and they will fit perfectly in our fleet. Might even get some contracts from the various nations to transport material to islands under siege or what have you were they can't send normal cargo vessels. Also..."

Voice lowering, Bethany nodded as she leaned in. "Also, they would do very well for evacuating if we ever need to get off the island. Put some expanded trunks in the cargo area and we could carry a lot of people to at least the Azores or Canaries." As the Captain made a sound of agreement, she raised her voice back to normal levels. "Though I will admit, I did not expect to be made a Captain of my own Submarine this early."

Rather amused, Hadrian shook his head. "Early? You have been serving on the Bremen since you were seventeen. No, you are more then qualified to be a Captain of your own boat." Finger rapping on his thigh, he hummed. "Are you going to take the offer to go on a training patrol with one of the Deutsche Marine Submarines? The steel hulled ones?"

Head tilted to the side, she considered the question. "I won't lie, Sir... I am tempted, very tempted, to do so. After all, it would be interesting to see how their methods differ from ours due to how much more technological their Submarines are. And it will be a bit before the Germans release the Submarines to us as they want to investigate every bit of them to find out who made them and catch them. Not to mention that they want to have a look at our girl here to see what changes we made and how she runs. It's only fair after all." Crossing her arms, she frowned. "Assuming that once they see what I look like that the offer is still open."

Now grinning, Hadrian made an amused noise. "Considering how some of the military members reacted when they visited the island? I doubt that you'll have that much trouble." Clapping his hands at her own smirk as she did remember, he smiled. "Well then, only a few things remain to be said. Most will be when we leave you and the skeleton crews for the Submarines behind. But there is one thing that can be said until then." At her raised eyebrows, the Captain's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Don't be too active and stir up much trouble on shore."

That got him a barking laugh from Bethany. "Aye, Sir. Though you might as well say that to the rest of the crew here. Heck, from what I heard we might fit in with the Uboat shipgirls!"

It went without saying that both her and the Captain pretended not to see the matching grins on the rest of the Bridge Crew who were listening in. After a few moments, they went back to their duties. Anything regarding shore leave, in a port that they could freely go about in as well, could wait. Right now, they had cargo to see to it's destination and the Bremen and her crew would make sure it got there.

At the same time, Bremen herself sat upon her hull as they made their way deep under the waves. Towards the country where she first kissed the sea for, Germany. With every bit closer, she trembled a bit more in excitement. Yes, she loved her current home and crew, all of them since they first found her adrift. In fact, she would not give up Saint Brendan's for anything at all. They had taken good care of her over the years.

But she would not deny that her heart and soul aches for Germany, her birth place.

Even now though, there was some worry under her excitement. What would happen when she got there? Would any of her friends and younger sisters be there? The K.u.K Kriegsmarine girls had told her that a number had been. How would they react to her?

At least part of that worry was whether or not they would hate her. All of them, even the WWII Uboats, had been sunk or scrapped for a long time. And yet... here she was, Bremen, still cruising the ocean deeps almost a hundred years after her launch. Sneaking past Abyssal fleets and providing for her new home. Then there were the features she had picked up from her years serving Saint Brendan's. Like Thunderchild, she too had animal features to her due to her crews. Small, furry ears like an otter's poked out from her hair. Instead of normal fingernails, she had claws. If Bremen smiled, it would reveal fangs where normal canines would be.

Would they think her some sort of freak? Something disgusting? Not that she would give up her connection to her crew, what marked her as a child of the island. But still...

What would happen upon her arrival?

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 117: S0ngDog13

Akizuki walked over to Harry and tapped him on the shoulder. "Harry? Kaylee's on the phone; it sounded like she needed to ask you something."

"Sure." He took the Destroyer's phone and said, "Hi, Kaylee; how can I help you?"

"Your friend Ron's brother, Chuck, I think his name was? I recall hearing mention he works with dragons, right?"

"Charlie, and yes, he's a Dragon-Keeper. Why?"

"You mind asking him what's the proper laws about dealing with a dragon that's getting into someone's stock? There's a Chinese Fireball on Spider Island now, and pardon m' French but that big bitch has already made off with four of my cows."

"Give me one moment and I'll call you right back." Harry hung up the phone and strode over to the owl-box, scratched out a note, and sent it through.

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

Percy Weasley heard the alert-ward on the owl-box chime and walked over to check it. He saw the note from Harry and read...

Percy;

I need Charlie's advice for a friend. Rogue dragon, no human fatalities so far, and well-away from population-centers, but it's killing her livestock. What do we do?

Harry

Percy tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace before calling out, "Valea Focului Dragon Preserve!" He knelt and put his head through. "Charlie? Charlie Weasley, are you there?"

"Yeah, Percy?" asked Charlie, standing up from the chair he'd been napping in.

"Harry sent a letter to me asking for your advice; a friend of his has a rogue dragon in her livestock; he was sparse on details but said it hasn't turned maneater. Can you help?"

Charlie nodded sharply. "Let me tell my boss and I'll be right through."

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

Twenty minutes later, Charlie was at the Burrow and sending a letter by owl-box.

In Japan, Harry had called Kaylee back and read the note aloud to her. "I'm in England; please describe the situation in further detail. Signed, C. Weasley."

Kaylee rapidly described the situation and Harry transcribed it while Akizuki held the phone; a few moments later, Charlie read,

Location: island approx. one day's journey SSE of Kure, Japan. Specimen: Chinese Fireball, estimated twenty-foot length, female (confirmed by witnessing egg-laying via spyglass), solitary. No human/shipgirl casualties as yet, but Specimen has killed at minimum four cows since arriving on-island.

Options? Capture/Cull aff/neg?

K. McAmis

Charlie dashed off a letter and sent it; in Japan Harry relayed the message to Kaylee. "Charlie says unless it's a confirmed maneater or an immediate threat to human life, you can't kill it. He says he'll get in touch with the Chinese Preserve and the Hokkaido Preserve, and see about getting a team out to relocate the dragon; they should reimburse you for the livestock it's eaten. In the meantime, he says to keep an eye on it from a safe distance."

In England, a simple note arrived in the box for Charlie.

Message received; wilco. Many thanks, Mr. Weasley.

K. McAmis

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

Kaylee finished her call to Harry by inviting him, Nagato, and Hoppou down to Kure for supper one weekend, then hung up. She dialled Admirals Shimada and Richardson. "Ma'am, Sir, this is Lieutenant McAmis; I leaned on some of my specialized sources about that lizard problem out on Spider Isle. My source's contact put me in touch with an expert Herpetologist from the UK, who said he'd get some of his colleagues from out here to relocate the specimens. Yes, Ma'am, that species is apparently fairly-rare; they'd prefer it live over dead. Roger that; understood. Thank you both. Have a good day."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 118: S0ngD0g13

"Virginia? The dragon just took another cow," said Azuma.

Kaylee made another mark in her tally-book and scowled. "That's the last of the herd, then, except for Conn and Cullen. Those slow-goin' Wizards are gonna pay me back for sixteen head of cows, full-fuckin'-value, mark my words. Those were Kugoshima cows, too; they're not only a Japanese heritage-breed, they're one that's nigh-extinct. In the meantime, I don't want to lose my one yoke of good oxen, so Monitor, hail the Polly and tell'em we're swimmin' the oxen out to them."

Monitor hailed the Patrol-Tender offshore and the vessel moved closer to the beach, as Kaylee opened the corral and brought Conn and Cullen down to the water. Monitor took position by Cullen and Kaylee by Conn, and Fairies emerged from belowdecks to toss lines and lash the oxen to the shipgirls; the girls would help buoy the cattle as they swam out to the Polly.

"Kuso! 'Ware flyer! She's comin' back 'round from the north!" shouted Azuma. The Japanese ironclad manifested her rigging and her crew cranked a long, ratcheting burst off with her deck-mounted Gatling to try and ward the Fireball away.

The dragon wheeled away sharply and circled high above, watching, waiting...

Kaylee and Monitor swam the oxen out to the Tender, and all the while Monitor was wishing for guns that would bear on aerial threats and Virginia was wishing she had better AA than 'point the twelve-pounders as high as they'll go and load Canister or Shell'.

After the oxen were aboard the Polly, Kaylee reached into the locker in her pilothouse and drew out a cartridge-box and an Enfield rifle with an elaborately-carved stock.

The teenage ironclad pulled out a paper cartridge and bit the end off, spitting the paper to her left as the stock came to rest atop her right boot. She poured the powder down the barrel and then the greased cartridge-paper was inserted, and finally the .577-caliber lead Minie-bullet. Kaylee drew the ramrod and rammed the bullet home against the powder, returned the ramrod, and capped the priming-nipple; Sting was loaded and primed. Kaylee could see Monitor doing the same with the Springfield that the Union ironclad had taken to calling 'Thumper', and Azuma levered the first cartridge into her Spencer 'Blue-Light'. All the girls had their cannon primed and ready, and marksmen with rifles tracking the female Fireball...

"Keep a weather-eye, girls; we're pulling back toward Kure. If the Fireball tries following, well, use your own best judgement."

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

The Chinese Fireball landed over her nest, a low growl of pain escaping as the old female's many scars ached.

She was thin from lack of food, and near-invisible against her red hide a trail of blood ran sluggishly down her side; her rapid aerial wheel had reopened the wounds along her ribs.

If the Fireball had the ability to speak like a human, her last thoughts as her eyes closed would have been, "Oh, how far I've fallen, driven out by a younger female to die on this miserable little island... Oh, how far I've fallen, but I do not fear my end... I fear for my eggs..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

To either side of Bremen's hull, the waters of the North Sea parted as she entered the Jade Bight and slowly came into the view of Wilhelmshaven. Standing in the conning tower, Hadrian nodded and turned to Bethany. "Run up the flag, quick as you could now."

Only nodding, she turned and raised the flag that the people of Saint Brendan's had adopted for themselves up the small mast. Beneath the island's flag was another which was the ship's own. Said flag showed a rooster standing upon a cat, which stood upon a dog, and was itselt standing upon a donkey. With a smile as the flags moved and snapped in the breeze, Bethany turned to the Captain and smiled. "Flag raised, Sir."

A small smile of his own on his face, Hadrian leaned over the edge of the conning tower and looked down. "And how about you, Bremen? How are you doing so far?"

The Submarine's manifestation looked over her shoulder at the Captain and smiled back somewhat bashfully. "I'm a little excited..." At their looks of amusement, she blushed. "Okay, I am really excited right now. We're nearly back in Germany."

Leaning against the conning tower, Hadrian nodded. "A hell of a thing, isn't it? Can't say that you ever expected to be openly welcomed."

Head tilted to the side, Bremen chewed her lip and glanced around them. To her surprise, as soon as she had surfaced various members of the High Seas Fleet had journeyed out to escort her in, all of them greeting her warmly. More then that though, she found herself being shadowed by no less then a dozen Uboats. Something that Bremen was somewhat nervous over. "Nein, I did not."

Meanwhile, the third member of the crew in the conning tower frowned. He had been keeping silent, but now spoke up as he lowered his omniculars. "Sir? We got a boat approaching and they're aiming something at us."

All of them stiffened and turned to look, bringing their own omniculars up and zooming in. Moments later though, Hadrian growled a bit and gave the lookout a glare. "Don't be scaring me like that. What they have is one of those video cameras!"

Chuckles made them turn to find SMS Hindenburg there with a small smile. "It's nothing to be worried about, just one of the local news crews wanting to get a good look at you. If you want, we can try and get them to back off some?"

Frowning in thought, Hadrian considered her offer before shaking her head. "No, don't bother Miss Hindenburg. Especially on our accounts." He then waved at the flags they had. "Let them look, we are showing the flag as it's called."

With a hum, Hindenburg nodded. "As you wish." She then glanced around and looked up at him. "Before we get too close to Wilhelmshaven, there is a message that the rest of the Kaiserliche Marine would wish to pass on to you and your crew. A personal one."

Eyebrows raising, Hadrian glanced at not just Bethany and the look out, but also Bremen herself. "I see... Well, then I'm all ears."

Smile growing some, Hindenburg nodded. "From all of us, thank you. You gave Bremen a home and a purpose. For that, we can never thank you enough. Just please take care of our friend as you have."

Glancing at the shocked and now embarrassed Bremen, Hadrian nodded. "Of that, you can be sure. And you and the rest of the Kaiserliche Marine are very welcome." As Hindenburg nodded, he also noticed Tugs, actual ones come up alongside and called down. "Alright everyone, up and at them. Let's show them what we got!"

Less then forty minutes later, Hartmann was standing on the pier as the Submarine was brought in. Beside him, the person manning the small crane for the area was already performing his checks. With a thoughtful gaze, he watched the crew of the Bremen work quickly to secure her into place. 'Hmm... efficient.'

Once the gangplank was lowered, both Hadrian and Bethany walked up it and came to a stop in front of Hartmann and snapped to attention as they came to the top. "Sir! Permission to come ashore?"

Returning the salute, Hartmann nodded. "Permission granted, my friends." As they stepped off the pier, he smiled slightly and held out a hand. "Captain Hadrian, it's good to see you again. And the same to you, Commander Bethany."

A smile on his face, Hadrian took the hand and shook it as he tried to ignore the various cameras either recording or taking pictures. "And it is good to see you as well, Admiral Hartmann." When he let go, Bethany took the offered hand and shook it. "It's good to be here in Germany."

Shortly afterwards, the news groups had focused their attention on the various members of the crew as they opened the holds and began to offload. Off to the side, Hartmann shook his head. "Hard to believe that she can now hold fourteen hundred tons of cargo..."

Glancing at him, Bethany smirked a bit. "She can hold a bit more then that, especially if we use expanded trunks. Which we did, even if they are empty at the moment..." Her lips turned downwards into a frown. "Will we have enough credit for the supplies that she'll be taking on?"

In reply, Hartmann chuckled. "Ja, you will be getting all the supplies you need. Enough food to fill your holds, direct from our farmland to feed your people. Though the meat... that will be sent via aircraft I believe." That got him nods as he turned back to watch someone who looked like they were part shrew secure some cargo to be lifted off to a waiting truck. "Especially with the cargo you brought."

Somewhat amused, Hadrian shook his head. "Hopefully you'll find the Greek fire and other alchemical materials useful. Though we did bring along some alcoholic drinks and desert chocolate. Odd to think that you consider that the most valuable portion."

With a snort, Hartmann shook his head. "Chocolate is one of those things that everyone can agree on liking. And if it's anything as heat resistant as you claim..."

Head tilting to the side, Hadrian nodded. "You could walk across the Sahara with it in your pocket and it would be as solid as when you started out. Then you put it into your mouth and it chooses that moment to melt due to the saliva coming in contact with it. Wonderful stuff really."

Voice soft, Bethany spoke in a near whisper. "I think that the most valuable cargo though is in the ship's safe." At the confused look from the German, she continued. "Bremen's original flag she flew when she was on her maiden voyage."

That bit of information caused Hartmann's eyes to widen some before they became shrewd. "So you are offering to return it to Germany then?" At their nods, he hummed. "I shall bump it up the chain then."

Slowly nodding, Bethany smiled a bit at seeing Bremen walk up the gangplank onto the dock. "Ah, and here comes the guest of the hour."

Walking over, Bremen came to a standstill and then sharply saluted Hartmann. "Unterseeboot Bremen, formerly of the Imperial German Merchant Fleet and currently of the Saint Brendan's Naval Defence Force."

Simply examining her, Hartmann returned the salute with a small smile. "Welcome back to Germany, Bremen. At ease." Shaking the hand of the small shipgirl, his smile grew slightly as he spotted something from the corner of his eye. "It seems that I am not the only one to greet you."

Confused, Bremen looked in the direction that the German Admiral was looking and froze. There in front of her was a gathering of Uboats, some of them with water still dripping from them due to having followed her in. But in the front of the group was a face that was so familiar that it hurt. Nervous, Bremen slowly walked forward until she stopped in front of the other Uboat. "Schwester... Deutschland... I..."

Moments later, she found herself being pulled into a hug by her sister. Holding her tightly, Deutschland softly smiled. "Schwester, it is good to see you. And to hear what you have done... I am proud, so very proud of you!" Pulling back, she began to examine her. "Now, let me see you."

Blushing and unsure, Bremen coughed. "I know that I don't look quite the way I did when we last saw each other. And that I may look strange-"

With a snort, Deutschland clicked her tongue. "Nein, you do not look strange at all. You look..." Pausing to find a word, she nodded. "Exotic. It is a good look for you, Ja."

Another Uboat then stepped forward with a motherly smile on her face as she nodded. "She is right, Tochter. It is a good look for you."

Shocked, Bremen stared at her. "Mutti..."

In reply, SM-1 smiled at her before reaching up and feeling one ear. Stroking the Submarine's hair, her smile grew nodded. "A very good look actually. Makes you look fierce!" Gently, she kissed Bremen on the forehead. "It is good to see my Tochter has returned to us. Now, you must share with us all that has happened and the things that you have done and seen!"

To their surprise, Bremen shook her head. "Not until they have offloaded, Mutti. But it would be my honor."

Moments later, the other Uboats all surrounded her close and either pulled her into embraces or slapped her on the shoulder. All of them wanted to hear about her life so far. The places that she has been and the adventures that she has had. They wanted to hear about them all.

It went without saying that night drinks flowed freely, though Bremen was soon joined by her current crew. Her crew who easily fit in with the endless party that was going on in the Uboat section of the base. No one blamed her for the massive smile she had at seeing everyone there and having them hang onto her words as she told her story.

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

MageOhki said:
Actually, there will be less 'blowback' than you think Harry.
Barricade is dead right here.

Those that are are 'most nationalistic/xenophobic' (Side note, Japan is highly xenophobic, even now) are the ones also most traditional. Meaning, the 'yokai' are Japanese, just old Japanese.

So... exactly where will this 'not Japanese' movement come from? Add in hundreds of thousands of new taxpayers and workers. Most of which live centuries, in a economy and situation that needs bodies badly?​

*-*-*-*-*
Hanako stared at the principal. "I'm a what now?"

"An employee of this fine institution. Our new resident night guard."

There was a moment of silence.

"In general I would hope you to take a more active role in the school's maintenance, especially cleaning, but otherwise we would pay you a salary for what you're already doing."

For a few moments Hanako just stared at the principal. Then, slowly, she turned to look at Tenryuu, with a look of absolute confusion on her face. The light cruiser gave the small yokai an encouraging smile. "I'd say yes if I were you, Hanako-chan! Money's always a good thing!"

Slowly Hanako turned back towards the principal. "Umm..."

The man let out a cough. "Though I must inform you, Hanako-san, that we will withhold a part of your salary as a rent for a room and board at the school premises. And I would hope you'd eventually agree to fill the position of the advisor for the school's book club. At least after the current literature teacher retires in about five years."

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 119: S0ngD0g13

The Fireball was already cold by the time the ironclads and the 'Herpetologists' from Hokkaido arrived back on the island. Kaylee advanced cautiously and used the tip of Sting's bayonet to poke the dragon under the jaw. "She's dead," Kaylee said. "Merciful Mother o' Mares... Something tore her up." Kaylee grounded her rifle and traced a hand along the wounds on the female's neck and side. "From what I can tell, these are claw-marks; it looks like one," she noted as she gently pried the deepest gash open and felt along its interior, "nicked a vein. She bled out slowly..."

Kaylee inspected the wounds further, her experience with animals helping her read the injuries. "Saigo-san, look here; see how the edges of the wounds have broken scabbing? Her wounds had started to knit, I think. I think when Azuma turned her back with that Gatling burst that the dragon's sharp turn reopened the wounds."

"I concur," replied Saigo Oishi, the lead veterinarian at the Hokkaido Dragon Preserve.

Saigo's assistant, an intern named Katsu, looked up from his inspection of the clutch. "The eggs are all still viable, all twenty."

Saigo flinched. "A damned pity... To lose twenty dragon-eggs..."

Monitor paused from her own inspection of the carcass. "They're still viable, he said. Why would you lose them?"

"Without their mother to incubate them, they won't remain viable long; even if the eggs did hatch, the hatchlings would starve without their mother to feed them."

Kaylee frowned. "Couldn't you graft the eggs? Slip them in with another Fireball's clutch?"

Saigo shook his head. "Dragons can tell which eggs are their own by scent and by the feel of the magic; the surrogate mother would roll the eggs out of the nest and smash them to prevent the hatchlings competing with her own clutch. There's... Regrettably there's nothing we can do."

"Is it possible to bottle-feed a dragon hatchling, hand-rear it until it's big enough to survive on its own?" asked Azuma, kneeling by the nest. "To die without ever getting to live... That's a cruel fate."

Saigo nodded. "It's possible, but it's also very expensive, more than is practical especially during wartime, current peace or no. A dragon hatchling requires constant care and feeding, as well as round-the-clock supervision; they are deadly even fresh from the shell."

Katsu chimed in. "There is also the vast amount of permits and parchmentwork required to even attempt it; you wouldn't believe the red-tape and hoops dragon preserves have to deal with every year."

Kaylee cradled her chin in her hand as she mulled it over. "Okay, I see your point. Twenty new-hatched Chinese Fireballs would be too much for a single preserve to deal with as bottle-babies. What about spreading the clutch out? Some to Hokkaido, some to China, some to Romania, and so on?"

Saigo nodded as he listened. "It has merit, but it would depend entirely on the willingness and ability of the other preserves to take on the extra work. I'll contact them; nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Monitor noticed something and counted the eggs. "There's twenty-one eggs, not twenty. That last one is smaller than the rest, though."

Saigo saw the extra egg. "It's stunted; too small for the hatchling inside to survive, and even if it did, the dragonet would be itself too small and weak to survive long. If you wish, you may keep that one. Dragon eggs are valuable as Potions ingredients."

Kaylee watched as Azuma and Monitor wrapped the egg in a blanket, then turned to Saigo. "There is one other issue to be resolved. Would you be so kind, Saigo-san, as to let your employers know that they owe me for the sixteen head of two-year-old Kugoshima cattle that Big Mama there ate?"

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

That evening, the ironclads gathered around the egg, swaddled in a makeshift nest of woolen blankets with heat-lamps shining on it in the Kure Battleship Dormitory. "Y'all realize that if it hatches we won't be able to keep it, right?" said Kaylee. "I caught enough Hell trying to justify Charlotte; I'm scared to imagine the Admirals' reactions to a dragon on-base."

Azuma, who held the same rank as Monitor and Virginia but was the senior Ironclad by dint of time-in-service as a Shipgirl, sighed. "I know. I figure that that's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it. For now, how about we hash out a rotation to monitor the egg?"

After a few rounds of Rock-Paper-Scissors, Monitor and Azuma headed to bed and Kaylee sat down, reached over and gently stroked the eggshell. "You know, Little One, much as I'm annoyed at your mama, Gods Rest Her, for eating my cows, I can't be mad at her; she was just trying to survive. You've got my promise that if you hatch, we three will take the best care of you that we can."

"I even have names picked out for you, good strong dragon-names, too. If you hatch as a girl, I'll name you 'Iskierka', after a big fire-breather from a book series I like. And if you're a boy..."

Kaylee leaned in close and whispered, "If you're a boy I think I'll name you 'Kenta'."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing in the middle of the auditorium usually used for briefing groups of shipgirls, Haru fought down the urge to smooth out her skirt a bit as she glanced over the people in the front seats. The only people there in the entire auditorium really. Besides Goto and Mikasa, there were people from the non-magical government and military all with their eyes on her or softly discussing things. There was even a representative for the Imperial Household there.

As well, Ryuujou's boyfriend was also there as said Carrier was helping out and he was a folklorist.

It was not just them though as Admiral Richardson, Arizona, Admiral Shimada, Tanaka, and Akebono were also there. With her nervousness hidden under her soft smile, Haru bowed to them. "Thank you all for coming."
Bowing back, the various people smiled though one of them, an older gentleman from the government frowned a bit. "You are very welcome, Haru-San. Though I must admit... all of this is..."

Haru internally chewed her lip while considering something as she hummed. "Unbelievable? That all the tales of Yokai, Kami, and magic might well have been real at one point? And still are?"

A frown on his face, the man nodded. "Hai. Even you must admit so."

Coming to a decision, Haru glanced at Goto who slowly nodded. Then she looked at Ryuujou who winked and sent her a look that said that she had her back. "If you wish, I could give some proof." There were wide eyed looks at that and nods from various people. With a deep breath, Haru allowed herself to shift and could see the shock and hear the gasps as she transformed from a twenty-something year old woman into a pony sized fox with four tails behind her. Granted, even now, she could feel her fifth slowly trying to form. "As you can see, the old tales are true."

There was awe on the representative from the Imperial Household. "A Kitsune... you are real."

Even the Government Representative from before was stunned to silence before the auditorium exploded into whispers and murmurs. Waiting for a minute, Haru then stood onto her back legs, her clothing from before appearing around her. Granted, this time, they were obviously modified for her current body. With a nod to Ryuujou who started the projector, Haru grasped a glass of water in one of her tails and took a sip. Showing off? Well, yes. Effective as another way to prove her point?

Most definitely.

Once everyone's attention was on her, she nodded some. "Before we get to the modern day, I believe that it would be best to have an idea as to the background of the situation. I hope that you all excuse me for the boring history lesson, but it is sadly necessary." At their nods, the screen behind her showed a picture of kitsune from an ancient scroll. "Now, us Yokai have lived in Japan for many centuries, right alongside our human friends, brothers, and sisters." There were nods at that. "At times, some types of Yokai have gone extinct or transformed into other ones being as we are magical beings. Some new species have shown up as well, such as from just before the Second World War."

Behind her, a picture of Hanako appeared. "Hanako-San is one of those for example. And also one of the nicer examples for the most part."

Leaning back in his chair, Ryuujou's boyfriend frowned a bit and looked over his notes. "Excuse me, Haru-San?" At the nod, he continued. "Does belief in stories play any part in the creation of new Yokai species?"

For several moments, Haru considered the question before slowly nodding. "It does actually. Why that is, not even us Yokai know though some believe that the Kami themselves actually may be involved there. It does seem though that when new stories reach a certain level, they can spawn new kinds of Yokai. Hanako-San, for example..." She gestured at the picture behind her. "Most likely were all spawned from the original one, which might have been a form of Yuurei. Possibly from the combination of different Yuurei as well considering how different the various stories really are."

As she continued her lesson, more then one eyebrow was raised when she admitted there were yokai guarding Himiko's tomb, with the Imperial Household's representative whispering to his aid quickly. In less then twenty minutes, she gave a brief overview of Japanese history from the view point of the Yokai including several wars between Yokai clans. Finally though, she reached the Seventeenth Century. "Now, most of you likely know about Sakoku, when Japan became isolationist? Part of that was due to Yokai and Onmiyouji speaking with the Shogunate and convincing him to implement it due to events outside of Japan."

Eyebrows raised, Admiral Shimada leaned forward. "Events outside of Japan? How so?"

With another drink of water, Haru shook her head. "While the Statute of Secrecy would not be fully established until 1692, there were many rumblings in Europe heading in that direction by the 1630s. The other rumblings were war between magicals and non-magicals in Europe due to events such as the witch burnings. Often times, children were those targeted by 'Witch Hunters' as they were the easiest to deal with. The magical world was already pulling back on several fronts. One of the things that happened was that they started to place magical beings such as Veela and such, into isolated areas to keep them out of sight of non-magicals. And more then a few magical traders from Europe suggested that we do the same, or perhaps perform... campaigns... against the more dangerous Yokai."

Utter silence met her as they realized what was really meant by that.

Quickly moving on, Haru shook her head. "Now, Sakoku allowed for Japan's magical side to continue on as it had before. Even past the implementation of the Statute of Secrecy elsewhere due to the fact that Japan could argue that no one else would know. Right up until one event in particular... Which happened in the year 1853..."

Richardson growled a bit under his breath. "When Admiral Perry arrived in Japan." Suddenly, he frowned. "Was there any possibility of outside magical influence involved?"

To his relief, Haru shook her head. "No, despite everything MACUSA, despite the fact that they were one of the groups calling loudest for Japan to be brought into line, was not involved. Which is not to say that they did not take full advantage of the fact that now Japan was open to the world and magic and Yokai were a threat to the Statute. To that end, a international group of wizards and witches showed up in Japan to force compliance. And yes, Richardson-San, a large number did come from MACUSA. One needs to remember that at this time, MACUSA had passed laws to prevent even relationships between non-magicals and magicals. They would even wipe the memory of the parents to magical children after taking them away so they would not know that they even had children. They also looked down on the non-magical government itself at the time. So we cannot blame our American friends here for that."

If anything, the reminder of how MACUSA had treated his fellow countrymen made Richardson scowl as he remembered the stir that bit of information caused back in the US government when they heard even as he nodded at Haru. 'I suspect this is going to be making some people very unhappy...'

For several moments, Haru was quiet before she gave a nod to Ryuujou and she brought up another bunch of slides. Going through them as she spoke. "There was a major crackdown on Yokai especially at the time." Behind her was the haunting image of a female Kitsune trying to fight off a group tying her up as another grabbed her child. Then it went to a different slide which showed a Oni in chains. "Those who were not good enough at hiding, or disguising themselves, were rounded up and placed in Reserves in isolated areas of Japan. According to them, it was for our own 'Protection' from the non-magicals. In reality..."

A General from the JGSDF scowled. "In reality, it was to make sure that magic would not be considered to be real." Then his eyes narrowed. "Do these reserves still exist?"

Haru's nod got more then one glare, though not aimed at her. "Unfortunately so. And you can imagine just how full many of them are after more then a century." Another slide went up showing a map of Japan with sections shaded. "There are five major Yokai reserves and smaller ones. One is in Hokkaido, surrounded by mountains. Two more are located on Honshu, one in the northern and one in the southern half. Shikoku and Kyushu each have one and I believe that there is at least one in the Ryukyu Islands, though how well they survived Blood Week..." With a helpless shrug, she trailed off. "Besides that, there might be a further two dozen smaller ones in various places throughout Japan as a whole."

There was a frown on another representative from the government. "Question, how many Yokai are in these reserves and what is the general state of them, Haru-San? That will give us a decent idea of what may be needed to be done."

Grimacing as she knew that no one would like the answer, Haru shook her head. "Generally put, most of them live like they would in rural areas of Japan in the Eighteenth Century. As to numbers... the smaller reserves can have a couple hundred at the least to a few thousand. The larger ones can have tens of thousands of Yokai crammed into them. We are not about to stop having children after all."

Just boggling, Arizona slumped back and pinched her nose. "My God..."

Meanwhile, Haru cleared her throat and continued while ignoring the anger she could see. "This continued until at least the early 1890s when the number that they could catch dropped off. I lived through this and most of us went as far into our disguises as possible. Others fled into the wilderness... After all, it's far easier for a Kitsune or a Tanuki to pretend to be a fox or a racoon dog then a human. For them, the numbers could be in the tens of thousands as well."

Around him, Goto could see various looks at that as various people whispered to each other. 'To be expected really. But there is one question that has not been asked yet.'

Just then, another slide came up to show a Japanese man in robes which Haru narrowed her eyes at. "Now, the person on the slide was Minister of Magic for Japan, Kamo Hiroshi of the Kamo Clan. He rose to power in 1925 in the Magical government and waited. As Grindlewald caused chaos in America and Europe, Hiroshi-San made moves in Japan. He began to work closely with the non-magical government, something that only increased in the 1930s and 1940s. One of his first actions was to reopen several smaller magical schools. He also worked with the military to do such things as create hidden factories and dockyards. Later, he also began to lift restrictions on Yokai..."

One of the representatives who was there for the more nationalist faction smiled. "Hiroshi-San sounds like a true son of Japan." Not seeing Haru take a deep breath, he continued. "Perhaps once the Statute falls, we can-"

He was interrupted as Haru spoke, her voice dripping with scorn. "Hiroshi-San, did not care for us Yokai. Nor did he care much for his fellow Japanese magicals, rather he saw us as a means to an end to attack the world that he saw ruined his family during the 1850s. Any Yokai who took his offer also had to work in the magical army he was building up at the time. Oni did, and some of the more bloodthirsty others as well. I never did take his offer and spent most of my time as a nurse in Tokyo. And a good thing as that as soon as the war was over, a second crackdown, worse then the first, occurred by the ICW. Various forms of magic were also suppressed here in Japan. And this time, they reformed the government under their terms."

Now the Imperial Representative sat up. "Reformed you say? How so?"

With a deep breath, Haru shook her head. "One of the things they did was bring in people of Japanese descent from abroad, especially from America where they had been heavily influenced by MACUSA. Others came from Mahoutokoro, which had a heavily leaning pro-ICW and Pro-Statute education program. Officially, it stopped once we proved that we could govern ourselves without any more problems in the 1980s. But unofficially, it was too late and only those who were for what the ICW stood for and the Statute were the main ones who rose in the ranks. Those who had opinions contrary to that never spoke up. Another thing that occurred was moving the seat of the Magical Government from Kyoto to Tokyo. This state of affairs continued until Blood Week and the Second Battle of Tokyo Bay."

Leaning back in thought, Goto frowned. "I was there in the Battle at the time. In command of a Destroyer... What happened that changed things?"

Just glancing at him as she knew she had told him this, she cleared her throat. "At the time, the various magical governments were reacting and going full out to do what they could to limit casualties. Granted, keeping magic from being known was always first, which limited the response from some parties. Other, individual wizards and witches threw that out the window to save lives." There were nods at that as she frowned. "During the Second Battle of Tokyo Bay, the Magical Government were gathered in the Ministry. However, it was one of the places targeted by the Abyssal version of an Iowa that was in the bay at the time. There were few survivors of the Ministry that were there that day."

Everyone grimaced at that which caused more then one to take some notes. The first of the Government representatives then spoke up. "Unless I am mistaken, you are saying that the Abyssals decapitated the magical government during Blood Week? What does this mean for Japan as a whole?"

For several seconds, Haru was silent before another slide popped up. "While they tried to keep it together, currently the magical government is on the brink of collapse. All the small brush fires, and the deaths they took, meant that they have pulled off a number of guards for the reserves. Same with the ICW, which means that there's been a slow and steady leak of Yokai escaping at the first chance. With the ICW unable to continue supporting it as they were, from what I have found out, they are losing people who just quit or never show back up. Which puts more strain on those that remain." She then gestured as another slide came up. "Currently, some of the older Onmyouji families have gathered in Kyoto. Rumor has it that they are going to declare the old government gone and that they are forming a new one. If that happens, then one of two things happen. One is that the old government officially dissolves or just vanishes overnight. The other..."

Rubbing his face, one of the JASDF General groaned and rubbed her face. "The other is that we get a full blown civil war occur on the magical side. One which will spill over into the non-magical side of things."

Only nodding, Haru turned towards the Imperial Household's representative. "While a bit... unconventional, one way to prevent such a way might be for the Emperor to step in and speak to the Onmyouji families. They are of the old ways and would follow his word as law, just him asking for them to wait and possibly work with the non-magical government would likely be enough in this case to prevent full civil war."

There were murmurs at that as the Imperial Household's representative closed his eyes in thought before nodding. The first Government representative then spoke up. "And the Yokai? How is the situation on their side?"

Head tilting to the side, Haru hummed. "Generally? It is quite good. We've policed ourselves very effectively over the past few decades, though some issues have, ah, slipped through the cracks as it were." With a nod from her, another slide came up showing a map of Japan. This time though, various parts were in different colors. "Due to pressure from various sources, we do not really have a representative government. Rather, certain areas are, for lack of better words, ruled over by types of Yokai and the more prominent clans. For example, Hokkaido is mostly controlled by a group of Yuki-Onna and Tsurara Onna clans with Kawausu controlling the southern coast. Here in Honshu, we Kitsune control much of eastern and some of central Honshu with Bakeneko being in charge of northern and eastern Honshu. Tanuki mostly are those in charge of Yokai in Southern Honshu, especially areas across the Inland Sea from Shikoku. They act as a sort of Barrier between the Kitsune controlled areas and Shikoku."

More then one of the people there blinked at that information and confused looks were shared until Ryuujou's boyfriend sat up. "Wait, Shikoku? Would that because Shikoku is the main domain for Inugami?"

A small smile on her face, Haru tilted her head. "Hai, that is the reason. Us Kitsune and the Inugami have not gotten along with each other for a long time. There's reasons for this mind you and we can tolerate each other. Some Kitsune and Inugami have even become friends with each other and both kinds of Yokai can be found in each other's territory. But we have fought some rather nasty wars between us in the past and so it was decided to keep our areas mostly separated by a neutral party, the Tanuki." Once she answered a few other minor questions, she pointed towards Kyushu. "Now, Kyushu is mostly under the control on the Yokai portion of the Mujina clans located there. Besides those, there are waterways under the control of Kappa and Suiko, and mountains under the command of Daitengu. Generally put though, the various Yokai groups keep the peace in their areas and come down hard when they find someone stirring up trouble."

Looking over his notes, Tanaka raised his hand. "Do you know if it would be possible to contact any of the local Yokai?" At the looks, he shrugged his shoulders. "If they have a foot in on the magical side, it might help to get a rapport so they can maybe warn us if needed."

Haru gave him a small tilt of the head. "I can see what I can do there for you, Tanaka-San."

One of the Government representatives raised a hand. "How would you suggest that we approach the Yokai? None of us here would know enough about the situation even from what you told us today? Especially with how we have heard that the Statute might collapse soon."

The answer that Haru gave caused them all to fall into silence. "It might collapse sooner then you think." With a nod to Ryuujou, another slide came up with a picture of Japan with small colored dots. Above it was 2005, before it switched to another slide with a larger number of dots for 2006 before going to the next one. "As you can see, Yokai sightings are on the rise as others have begun to push back. Same with sightings of other magical phenomena going on, some of which might be minor Kami getting involved. Hidaka was one of those places with sightings of Kiyohime fighting Abyssals there."

With his head snapping up, one of the JGSDF Generals grimaced. "I can confirm that much." When everyone turned to him, he shook his head. "I was in Hidaka during Blood Week, I actually saw Kiyohime rise out of the water and slaughter a bunch of Abyssals. She burned them all alive, but then rescued a bunch of frightened people before disappearing."

Even Haru was surprised by this and became thoughtful. However, she shook it off. "It's not just Japan though." Behind her, other slides appeared. "As you can see here, sightings of magical beings and phenomena have gone through the roof. Each year, there's more and more of them... Right now, there's three places in total that could cause the collapse. Here in East Asia is one of those. There's more then a few magicals and magical beings taking advantage of chaos on the continent right now. And from what I have heard, Chinese forces in Tibet have been attacked by actual Yeti. Other possibilities include Africa, which has always been a thorn in the side of the ICW as a lot of magicals there don't care and often perform magic on non-magicals for kicks. South America is another possibility as well, for much the same reason. And the Middle East... Well, there's sightings of Efreet there as well as what is happening in Egypt. Optimistically, we're looking at maybe seven years. Personally? I doubt that we'll see three before it's fully breached."

Rubbing his face, the Government representative who first spoke shook his head. "Your opinion on what we should do, Haru-San? Speaking as a Yokai."

Quietly thinking it over, Haru sighed. "Approach it carefully and make no promises that you will not keep. As a group, we have been burned more then once after all and many of us are more then old enough to remember other times. I suppose that something as simple as citizenship like anyone else Japanese would go a long way. No giving it in exchange for something, simply acknowledging that we are citizens of our home. Incentives might also help, such as helping those of us who can start farms and such." At the surprise, she thinly smiled. "For many of those in the reserves, farming is something that they have done for a long time to support themselves. But they're mostly shared. Giving them a chance to own their own farm somewhere would go a long way. Now, some might not want to fully integrate in human towns and cities, they might want for their own communities and for some, like Oni, this is a good idea. It would cause less conflict that way..."

For the next hour, ideas were thrown back and forth between various members of the group. Haru was also asked further questions regarding things as all were told that there might be issues with her telling them more outside the meeting. After all, there was still risk of some magical showing up in such a case and trying to grab her, which would lead to various problems.

When she got home that night though, Haru smiled to herself and relaxed. If nothing else, it helped the hope in her chest that things might finally get better, that they might one day be able to walk down the street without a disguise. And that was worth almost anything.

 

[darthcourt10]

jhosmer1 Omake: "To catch a Russian"

Bill Falsename said:
I had a terrible thought, what if Gangut found out about the whole issue of burakumin and how they're treated?​

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

Goto sighed as he watched his girlfriend and fast battleship, the name ship of the Kongou class, put the finishing touches on her "cunning plan."

"Dear," he said, "I appreciate all your help. You know that, right?"

"Dess!"

"And yes, Gangut's recent talk of 'liberating the oppressed masses of Japan' is a major headache, both politically and militarily."

"Dess!"

"But I don't think she'll fall for a shipping container propped on a stick with several cases of vodka underneath it."

There was a mighty CLANG from just outside the alleyway Kongou and Goto were standing in. Goto, already knowing what had happened, just covered his eyes.

"At least don't send it back to Russia by COD?"

"Dess!"

Several weeks later, the Russian Navy returned an inebriated Verniy to Yokosuka and promised that Gangut would stay away from Japan for a while.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

I'd been thinking about this for a little while already, but then Harry came out with snippet the last, and I saw no further reason not to write it out.
-----

Nagawa Himeyuki stared intently at the stove. The buttons at the top controlled the heat of the small enclosure, that much she knew. She even had the general idea of which one did which. The problem was, she often forgot, or hit the wrong one by accident, or even simply forgot that the non-magical stove didn't simply work itself. And tonight, her mother-in-law would be showing her and the few of her sisters-in-law that were able to be in the area that night how to make sponge cake—Shikinami and Amagiri were both in the living room with their parents and Ichiro, and she would be joining them shortly.

Akebono had been trying to get some time off, hadn't she? For all that the Shipgirl was easy to read, it could still be a bit difficult to make sense of her words. Mai would be happy to see her again, in any case. And being able to make cake for her without the stove trying to murder her would be quite nice.

It all came down to the apartment, she supposed. It was larger than the single room that she had thought she'd be staying in with her husband and their first child, but Ichiro's sisters had stepped in and helped them get a nice place at a fair price that would be able to handle maybe two more children before they had to move. She would hate to damage it or set it on fire somehow, it would anger the landlord and make things harder for them.

Someone rapped at the door smartly. Setting the stove to back of her mind, Himeyuki walked over to the door and began to open it, before freezing at the sight of the tall man with thin, dark hair and a set jaw.

"Ani-ue," she said, unconsciously stiffening and setting her own face.

"Himeyuki," he replied, stepping away from the door. "We must talk."

"Is that so," she said levelly.

"Hime? What's wrong?" Shikinami called out from the living room.

"Nothing," she called back blithely, turning and flashing a smile at her family, "Just someone I need to talk to. I'll be right back in!" Turning back to her older brother, she stepped out the door and pulled it closed.

"What do you want with me," she demanded curtly. Her brother stepped away, seemingly taken aback by her response for a second. What was so surprising? She had been very clear in her decision to leave that life behind.

"Chichi-ue sent me," Ryunosuke said, catching and righting himself. "The reformist faction is gaining ground, and we and our allies must present our solidarity to counter him."

"Even so, what does this have to do with me," Himeyuki repeated. It was aggravating—was this going to devolve into a session of 'because I told you so?' She had much better things to do with her time, such as getting used to the idea that her mother-in-law's camera wasn't going to eat her soul somehow. "As I recall, I made my position on this very clear."

"You dueled Ojii-sama and destroyed the west wing of our ancestral home," Ryunosuke said flatly.

"As I said," Himeyuki replied equally flatly. "My name is Nagawa Himeyuki. I am the wife of a police officer, and the mother of his daughter. The world that you live in is not mine, and has not been mine for a very long time."

"You are not raising your child in our traditions?" Ryunosuke asked. Himeyuki snorted mockingly. "Chichi-ue will not be happy with that." And her blood ran cold.

"What are you implying," she said, her voice frigid. Her older brother looked back at her, aloof in his face, and triumphant in his eyes.

"I'm not implying anything," he replied. "I am merely pointing out what may happen if you continue to refuse. Your children deserve to know of their legacy, of the powers that come from our side of the family."

Loose, loose, stay loose. Do not let him know how this touches me. Himeyuki caught her sharp intake of breath, drew it in slowly, and let it out. Did he think for one second that threatening to strip away her children, steal them from her arms, would endear his family to her? No, it was an ultimatum—but one delivered clumsily and too soon in their negotiations. On the other hand, she supposed, she would never have responded positively to the negotiations no matter how he cajoled her.

"Do you think that I would allow that?" she asked. "Do you think Chichi-ue has enough pull in what remains of your government to do so?"

"He is one of our party's leaders now," Ryunosuke said, "There is no limit to what—"

The door swung open, and Amagiri stepped out. A howling Mai was cradled in her arm. "Hey sis," she said casually, "Your kid had an accident. Are the diapers in the same place?" Himeyuki felt herself relax, and turned to look at her sister in law. There was something oddly comical about interrupting so tense a moment with so mundane a matter.

"Of course they are, Amagiri," she said warmly. "Why would we have moved them?" Amagiri nodded. Normally the motion was a bit larger and more exaggerated, but she was still holding a crying baby so the motion came out thankfully more subdued.

"Of course," she laughed, "why indeed? Hurry up, Mom's ready with her lesson." And then she disappeared back into the apartment.

"That—" Himeyuki turned back to her brother. His face was slightly stunned, as if he had recognized the interloper in her conversation. "That was…"

Did he not know? Had he come to threaten her without knowing one of the most important facts of her family? A vindictive flame lit itself within Himeyuki's stomach. "One of Ichiro's sisters," she replied brightly. "He has eight. Maybe more, if the rest of the class is summoned. It's always fun having them over, they love Mai very much." She paused, pressing a finger to her chin. "I'm sorry, where were we?"

"It's nothing," Ryunosuke said shortly. "Imouto, you must consider returning to our side. In leaving, you have hurt our position and—"

"Ryunosuke-sama," Himeyuki cut him off. "The world of magic has never done ought but bring me greater misery. I have washed my hands of it, as I said long ago to any who asked." She looked up at the sky, noticing the roiling clouds. "It looks like it will be stormy tonight. I wish you safe travels."

And she swept back into the apartment, to the younger sisters who protected her family from all dangers, to the parents who gave her a place to stay and sorely needed help, to the first child she had borne, and to the young police officer who, when he was still in the academy, had stopped on his way to classes to help a horribly, horribly lost young woman find her way again.
-----
Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hands clenched, Aso let out a low hiss of breath as she stepped onto the waters of the Seto Inland Sea. Around her, the Carrier's rigging formed as she pushed out into the waves. More then one shipgirl had shrugged as she passed them by. After all, Aso had been in a mood and a half since the recent marriage had occurred. Despite her thoughts though, she had kept quiet as she was promised.

But that did not mean that she liked it.

Inside her body, her boilers burned red hot with anger. Some of that anger was directed at Houshou for what seemed like a "Betrayal". The rest? Everything else for the most part. More then a bit was directed at the other shipgirls for how they were acting. Like how they were lucky for how the Americans were now "Friends". Did none of them remember a thing about what happened? About the war?

As she got further out into the Inland Sea, Aso could just see the city of Hiroshima not too far away. That sight caused her anger to spike at her fellow shipgirls. Their "Friends" had destroyed an entire city!

Shivers ran down Aso's back as she remembered her one and only visit to the city.

Like most summoned shipgirls, she was given some history after her appearance and then taken on a tour of the local area. Also like many shipgirls, Aso was unsure what to think about the new Japan. She could remember how hated the Americans were, and now they were friends? They had destroyed mass areas of Japan, Tokyo had been turned into a cinder by their fire bombs.

However, at the same time, she remembered how her own people had treated her. She could remember being confused as she was towed out of her slipway. Dragged out into the Inland Sea as some of her sisters watched. They were going to test some new weapons, she had heard. At first, she had thought that she was going to be used for a launch platform, incomplete as she was. With the Americans so close to the Home Islands, it made sense to use her rather then a full blown ship. And perhaps, they would soon finish her!

Oh, how Aso had wished that she was right.

Rather, they were going to use her as a target to test the effectiveness of said weapons. Horrified, Aso had still decided to meet her fate. If... if it was effective, then perhaps Japan would be saved. As long as Japan was kept safe, she could meet such a horrible fate as this. And... and she was not the only warship to be used in tests of new weapons. Why, she remembered Zuikaku telling them about Kaga, the ship she looked up to. Wasn't her own sister used as such?

While being towed, she made justification after justifications. One after another went through her. She was going to be used to save Japan... even if not in the way that she had hoped. That... that counted for something, right?
Her spirit had sobbed and cried on her deck... a deck that would never be completed or see aircraft fly from it.

But then things got worse once she found out what sort of weapons were going to be used. They were not normal shells or torpedoes. Or even bombs, such as that one she had heard the Germans had used.

No, in her case they were going to use her to test to see how effective "Kamikaze" weapons would be. A nice name for such a thing. For something that was nothing more then a suicide weapon. In her mind eye, Aso could see them. Young men piloting their planes, loaded with explosives into American ships. Others would pilot fast boats and Submarines also loaded with explosives. All in a desperate attempt to do something, anything, to stave off defeat.

Something... something broke in her that day, as she slipped under the waves.

There was a brief time after that when she became aware once more. When her hull was raised from the seabed. But not to be used to defend Japan, no, she learned that Japan had lost and was now under American occupation. And the reason that she was pulled from the seabed became apparent very quickly as she felt the bite of the saws, the burning of the torches as they cut away at her. Thankfully, it was over quickly and she... lost awareness, crying the whole time at how unfair it was. How they had killed her, and who knows how many other brave men of Japan.

All of it for nothing.

That was what she took with her to her death.

However, time passed and she found herself summoned, as a shipgirl. She, Aso, could finally serve Japan! And properly this time. But even that was rapidly soured as she found out that she would be working a lot with the Americans. The same ones who forced her own people to do the unthinkable, to do what they did to her. Who... who cared that they did it to themselves. That it was their own free will. It was the Americans who drove them to such measures...

Right?

Shortly after her summoning, she was taken on a small tour of sorts. In fact, it was not even scheduled at the time. But it was a pilot program. One of the places that they visited, while Aso fought with herself as to what to do, was Hiroshima. She had become separated from the rest of the group and ended up by the Peace Memorial. Looking at it, she felt her inner turmoil increase as the Sun slowly set. Just as it sank beneath the horizon, she had a chill run up her keel. Whispers tickled her ears and she could feel phantom hands grasp at her. Looking around, she saw shadows on the ground. Men, women, children, all of them there. But no bodies making them.
Her group found her an hour later shivering on a bench and they retired for the night.

It was then that she decided that the Americans were in the wrong. They were at fault for the war in the end. Everything about crimes and such had to be a lie. Crimes such as... such as what happened to her. It was not a crime, no! She did a great service! She did!

Or that was what she told herself, late at night when she laid awake on her futon, staring at nothing. Tears in her eyes as she relived her sinking. Her raising and then second death. Snippets of Japanese pilots and others throwing themselves, willingly, at Americans. All of them, like her dying for nothing...

For nothing...

In the present, Aso shook her head. "No, no... I served the Emperor. I did, I gave myself for him..." With a deep breath, Aso ignored the shivers as she pulled her uniform closer to herself. She was not cold, that was not the touch of the cold ocean. Nor did she feel the phantom torches and saws, or feel an explosion. Focusing on something else, Aso took a deep breath and forced it down, deep down.

Eyes closed, Aso performed various breathing exercises to calm herself and shove such thoughts, ones not fitting for a shipgirl of Japan, deep down. No, she had a purpose to be out here. To get away from what was happening in Kure, she took a week's worth of leave. Before she exploded and did something to make her mother more angry at her. Admiral Shimada had suggested some place in Hiroshima...

Once more, she felt a shiver down her back.

Instead, she decided to simply spend her time on the Inland Sea, she had told, Shimada. To clear her head some. In reality though, she was after something else. By the time that late afternoon had rolled by, she finally reached the island with the A-150 guns on it. Silent, they stood there despite the time they had spent. Aso could only look on them with a small bit of awe.

But they were not her destination.

Passing by, she entered the area that they were seemingly protecting and brought up her bow. A single arrow was all she needed and her scouts went out. Any other shipgirl would have not known where to look. But... but she remembered something. A fleeting glimpse into the past, just as she was getting prepared for her death. Something... some project in case Japan fell. People talking around a map, one of whom was from Unit-731. A glasses wearing man with a cruel smile.

Another shiver ran down her back as she remembered what had happened when he left. He patted her steel and smiled, but it was not a nice one. Chuckling coldly, he stated that he hoped that she did her job well when they tested. Because they were going to use what they learned to kill as many Americans as possible. And then he was gone.

Suddenly, her attention was grabbed by the fact that her pilot had spotted something. Heading in that direction, it did not take her long to feel the familiar tingles of magic. Some sort of protection, and yet... Her eyebrows furrowed. Something was not quite right, it felt like instead of repelling, it was drawing her in. But that could not be right... could it?

Finally breaking through the wards, she blinked at the island in front of her. Much of it was overgrown, but she could see... something. Reaching the shore, she stepped onto the beach and dismissed her rigging. There was no more need for it, right?

As she climbed the island, she frowned at buildings. Something about them made her shiver, something dark. But she drove onwards. Curiosity made her come here, and a burning need to prove the others wrong. If... if this was a military installation, like she suspected, some of the paperwork would still be here. She could find it and then show them all that everything was a lie! No doctored documents that were changed after the war. And... and it would prove her right. Maybe silence that voice in her head that kept telling her that she was as worthless now as she was back then.

That it was not all for nothing... that they could have won...

Behind her, the Sun was already setting as she reached what looked like the main building and felt her eyes widen. It was huge. Off to the side though she blinked as she also spotted various metal boats piled up. That was... odd. Walking over to one, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, while some were a bit rusty, more then one was not. Also, they looked like they were actually being taken apart. But that made no sense at all, why would someone take them apart here? And who...?

Glancing at the large building, Aso frowned and walked towards it. With a shaking hand, she reached out and took the door's handle in hand and opened it. The inside of the building was dark, but she could hear something. "Hello?" Sounds continuing, she looked around and felt the hairs on her neck raise. Taking a step inside, she frowned some and looked around. Even in the gloom though, she could see large shapes and things moving around. Pulling out her flashlight, she turned it on and boggled at the massive tank in front of her. It was huge! Bigger then even the American tanks she had seen in the present day! More confusing, painted on the side was the symbol for the Rising Sun.

A shuffle nearby made her turn with her flashlight and she nearly screamed at the sight of the walking corpse working on another tank. Hands shaking, she tried to say something, anything. But... right in front of her she could see something that was considered abhorrent to any Japanese person. Using the dead in a manner that went way beyond impure.

Which, of course was when she heard a clang and turned to find a object hit the ground behind her. Some kind of smoke sprayed from it and she started coughing and choking. Inside her chest, her crews kept trying to keep her boilers from sputtering out while spots danced in her vision. Sinking to her knees, Aso tried her best to suck in breaths, but... but it just did not work and she fell onto her back. Looking up at the ceiling, she found a figure walking towards her and looking down. "Hmm... interesting. You're still conscious despite being exposed to something that would make an Oni collapse. Perhaps you have some non-human blood? No matter..." The man smiled as darkness danced on the edges of Aso's vision. "That just makes you a strong subject for what I need."

Part of Aso noticed he had something, a needle of some sort. Then she felt a prick and darkness rushed over her vision as the man smiled even more. A cruel smile.

"And I do so love strong subjects..."

 

[darthcourt10]

S0ngD0g13

Three long weeks had passed since the arrival of the egg, and Monitor was startled out of her borrowed copy of Guns of the South by the sound of the eggshell cracking. She woke Kaylee and Azuma, and the three gathered around as the dragonet broke free of the egg and looked around the room.

Kaylee consulted a text on dragon breeds she'd borrowed from Charlie Weasley and examined the tiny Fireball. "Male. Okay, first, a name, then the harness, and then his first meal."

Azuma knelt and held her hand out to the Chihuahua-sized hatchling. "See, Little One; I won't hurt you. You're a pretty one, sleek and trim. I bet you'll be a beauty to see flying... Bonaparte."

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

Bonaparte was harnessed, and the tiny dragonet grew rapidly over the next few weeks, fed on a steady diet of fish, small-game, and milk fortified with powdered calf-starter. He'd reached three weeks old and the size of a large dog, and the ironclads were beginning to notice a problem; he didn't seem to want to fly. According to the books a dragonet should be flapping their wings often to strengthen the flight muscles, but Bonaparte didn't, and more-concerning was how easily he seemed to become tired...

Kaylee bribed one of the vets from the MWD Kennels with a gallon of clear-corn to let her use the clinic and put her farm-girl upbringing to use. X-Rays showed no deformities in the wingbones; careful manipulation of the wings revealed no visible issues in the musculature. Kaylee took a stethoscope and listened to Bonaparte's breathing, and when she heard another sound she frowned and moved the stethoscope up...

"Shit... Azuma, Monitor, come here and listen; I want to confirm something." She passed the earpieces to each in turn and touched the rim of the stethoscope to Bonaparte's chest. After each had listened for a few beats, Kaylee removed the stethoscope and sighed. "You two heard it as well? A sound on the diastolic beat that went from low-pitched to high and had a musical quality to it?" They nodded. "Cooing-Dove heart-murmur, and moreover the fact that it was loud with a thrill palpable with just the stethoscope's rim means it rates a Five on the Levine Scale for intensity. I'd want a professional second-opinion, but in a human or most livestock a murmur like that means either the mitral- or aortic valve in the heart is bad. That's why Bonaparte tires so easily; the heart murmur means it's not pumping at peak efficiency, so not enough oxygen goes out into his body. He tires quickly and gets short of breath."

Azuma hugged Bonaparte where he lay, fed full and sleeping. Monitor nodded. "If the professional agrees, what kind of treatment could be applied?"

"At first-guess, surgery to replace the bad valve. Other than that, I'm not sure. For certain, though, if it's left untreated Bonaparte will probably never have the wind to fly, and left untreated long enough it'll worsen and kill him." Kaylee sighed. "Let me make some calls, see what I can do. I'm not a trained veterinarian, so I might be wrong in my diagnosis, and if I'm not wrong then I certainly don't have the training to do open-heart surgery on Bonaparte."

As the group split up, all three offered up silent prayers for Bonaparte...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Aso slowly woke up with her head pounding, her fairies told her that almost eighteen hours had passed which made her wince. Said wince also had another effect, which was to make the manacles and chains that bound her clank. Looking down at them, and thankfully finding that her modesty was still there, Aso blinked. "What in the world..."

Frowning, the Carrier tested the manacles for herself, only for a chuckle to be heard. "Look, new girl, don't even bother. Those are made to restrain Oni after all."

Her head whipping up, Aso blinked as she realized that she was in some sort of cell. Even though she could not move far, she made her way to the bars and frowned. "Hello? Is someone there?"

Moments later, the form in the cell moved. Once it entered the dim light, Aso held back a gasp at the female figure, in particular her face. "Yeah, you could say that."

Eyes looking from the horns, to the demonic face, Aso swallowed. "A... A Hannya..."

Looking down, the female Oni gave a shrug. "Sure, now I am." With a sigh, she shook her head and looked at Aso in thought. "I was human once, like you. And then these bastards got a hold of me.... Oh, must be about forty years ago now. I was out boating with my husband when night fell and we anchored nearby. Now? Well... it's sort of obvious what they did to me."

Only staring, Aso boggled a bit. "They turned you from a human into..." At the nod, she felt her fuel tanks drop to her feet. Then she noted others in the other cells, including what looked like young children. All Hannya and looking at her in sadness. "Who..."

Closing her eyes, the Hannya gave a snort before sneering. "Japanese patriots. Bastards were apparently part of Unit-731 or something. All for some sort of plan of theirs..."

With a glance at the others, Aso swallowed. This was... this was not what people did to others! And especially Japanese to fellow Japanese. But the bit with them being "Patriots" hit her hard. "I... see..." Glancing around, she took a deep breath. "What about... what about your husband."

A tear slipped down the Hannya's face as she shook her head. "They killed him in front of me to make sure that I 'Knew my place'. Then they brought me down here like the others, like you, until they were ready." Leaning towards the bar, she sighed. "Look, this is a horrible situation and when they come for you... when you come back, we'll be here for you. We've all be there. In this living hell of ours."

Over the next two hours, Aso talked with them through the bars. Each one of them had their own stories, though the ones with little ones were a punch to the gut. They were all born here, in these dungeons. Never seeing the Sun or Moon, feeling the wind against them. Aso wasn't told how they were born, that much was obvious. More then that though, what sickened her was when they described their captors. How they told them that their suffering was for the betterment of Japan. How in time, when Japan claimed it's rightful place, they would all be rewarded.

It hit far too close to her own past for Aso.

Finally, twenty four hours after being captured, she heard clanking and tried to see through the bars. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the others try and push themselves as far back in their cells as possible. She didn't need to even try though, as a man in a Imperial Japanese Army outfit came to a stop in front of her cell. But on either side of him stood two Oni, in similar outfits. With a sneer at the other cells, the man gestured at Aso. "Take her, Tatsuda wants to work on his newest subject."

Neither one was very gentle as they hauled her out of the cell and began to push her down the hallway. In the various cells, Aso could see the saddened looks on the others as she walked. At one point, they passed a room with a projector which was going on about how great Japan would be in the future. How they would reclaim the place that they were knocked down from.

Aso... felt sick to her stomach.

Unnoticed by either of her captors, every so often one of her fairies would slip out of her pants and scramble off. Said fairies slipped out of view and Aso could feel and see out of their eyes as they searched the base. One of them slipped into what looked like the office of the Commanding Officer for this place and others followed. Soon enough, they were going through the files and Aso felt herself getting more and more ill.

Before she could do anything though, she found herself in a laboratory and there was another young man. With a chill, Aso recognized him as the same one who had stood on her deck all those years ago. Except he had not aged in the slightest. Then he smiled and Aso could see the pointed teeth in his mouth and the red tinge to his eyes. "Ah, and here's our newest subject. Hmm... quite the strong one it looks like. Yes, she will do very nicely."

Turning, he didn't react as Aso was strapped onto a table, steel encasing her wrists and ankles. A frown on her face, she tested one and narrowed her eyes. However, laughter caused her to look to where the man who had brought her there grinned at her, also with fangs in his mouth while the two Oni took up positions by the door. "Who are you people?"

Softly snorting, the second man sneered. "We're the last of the true government, not the fake ones who act as the American dogs." Walking around, he hummed a bit. "I suppose that you are wondering why? Seems a rather common question."

Eyes narrowed, Aso growled. "That would be a help. Especially with what you have done here! And to your fellow Japanese no less!"

However, he simply shrugged some, uncaring. "A necessary sacrifice for our work here, I'm afraid. They will understand in time once we sweep the islands free of Gaijin influence." With a sigh, he shook his head. "It's a shame though that we did not have more time!" Slamming down a fist, the desk under his hand dented. "We could have driven the Gaijin back into the sea if not for the cowards who surrendered. I almost had it! But at least I am now able to take as much time as needed."

Still watching her fairies as they went through file after file, Aso tried to keep herself calm. What she was finding out... "I... Almost had what?"

Mistaking the hitch for fear, he hummed. "The perfected formula."

Not saying anymore, he continued his preparations. But Aso didn't care as her fairies had come across one last file. And opening it, she felt the world fall out from under her. According to it, they were originally going to give this formula to those civilians facing the American invasion. Not telling them what it was, or would do to them. But the Americans would find themselves facing an army of Oni.

If the first part kicked the world out from under her, the second part shattered it. A signed document by several Generals, stating that the project was to continue. And, in time, be used in a rebellion against the American occupation and any groups aiding them. Even as simple as having an American in their home was a crime in it. Head hanging, Aso muttered to herself. "It... it really was all madness then. All the deaths... everything..."

Pausing in his work, the doctor blinked. "What?"

A sob escaped from Aso as her fairies continued to read further. Things like making the Imperial Family into puppets for the new regime until they knew what place Japan was to have. "All of it, madness. No reason besides that... they were right..."

There was a scowl on the doctor's face as he walked forward. "Shut up, you stupid woman!"

Pulling back his fist, he was about to backhand her when instead, he choked after the sound of metal snapping filled the room. Looking down, he stared at the fist that went into his chest. Then, slowly, he turned to look back at Aso who was staring at him with remorseless eyes. "It was all so useless... Such a waste." Ripping her hand back out, she looked down at the dying vampire. "But... there is one thing that I can do. And that is serve Japan... Serve the Emperor and stop this madness."

Even as the Oni rushed her with the other vampire yelling commands, Aso easily tore the rest of her limbs free. Then she got off the table and stared at them with eyes nearly blank before taking a few steps forward...
____________________________________________________________________

Knees pulled up under her chin, Aso just stared at the waters in front of her. No words passed her lips and it was not like she was actually looking at the waves. The movement beside her was barely acknowledged as the Hannya sat down. Looking up at the stars, she frowned. "It's... so different then what I remember."

For several moments, Aso didn't say anything before she blinked. "I... yes. I suppose so."

Glancing at the blood splatters on the shipgirl, the Hannya only shook her head. "And we have you to thank." Giggles made her turn where some of the younger ones were running in the grass. Up on the hill, smoke still rose upwards. "We're free."

Slowly, Aso nodded. "Hai, you're free."

Now looking at her directly, the Hannya frowned. "And so are you, Aso-Sama. So are you."

Only scoffing even as she felt her eyes grow wet, Aso shook her head. "Am I? Am I really free of my past? All my justifications... less then dust in the wind." Still looking out at the waves, she blinked. "It was all there. They never really expected the Kamikaze to be much more then holding back the Americans. Same with other weapons. No, they were only a distraction for the real madness. And my death... it meant nothing!"

There was a crunch as the stone in her hand shattered. Briefly glancing at it, the Hannya shook her head. "Perhaps it did in the end. Was not your steel used to rebuild Japan? I do not understand it myself, but you have been given a new life, Aso-Sama. One free of the past." Pulling away her hand, she too, turned to the sea. "From where will you go?"

Shrugging, Aso stared some. "I... do not know. You?"

With a sigh, she looked down at herself. "Much the same, I suppose. We are no longer human after all, we are... Oni, in a way. Not able to be accepted by humans. But I do know that we cannot stay on this island."

Holding out her rigging, Aso waited as her crew lowered a lifeboat down to the water. One that became full sized with a shadowy figure in it. "Then here, one of my boats will take you wherever you wish from here. And the Lieutenant here will take you there... If you want, there is an abandoned fishing village not too far from here. They left it behind during Blood Week and no one has lived there since. It might not be the greatest, but it is shelter and you'll be warm. There is also fishing gear and abandoned gardens."

Almost a minute passed before the Hannya reached over and pulled Aso into a hug. "Thank you, Aso-Sama. Thank you."

It took several minutes, but eventually they all got into the boat and pushed off. As it vanished from her view, Aso blinked as she felt tears trail along her cheeks. "Don't thank me, I do not deserve it with my actions before now."

Then a sob escaped her as she put her head in her arms and shook.

It was in that position, hours later after the Sun had risen that Zuikaku and Shoukaku found her. Both of them were sent out after hearing reports of a plume of smoke rising in the air out of seemingly nowhere. Having found Aso at a previously unknown hidden island, Zuikaku's lips turned downwards into a scowl. "What the fuck did you do this time, Aso-San?" Not getting a response, Zuikaku's scowl disappeared. "Hey, Aso-San! I'm talking to you!"

Despite that, there was still no response from Aso and Shoukaku gave her sister a nervous look. "Zuikaku-Chan.... I..."

Slowly, Zuikaku nodded as she spotted what looked like bloodstains. "I know, Shoukaku-Nee. I don't like this..." Making her way over, she came to a stop in front of Aso and snapped her fingers. "Yo, Aso-San, what's the matter?"

When Aso did turn to her, Zuikaku froze at the look in her eyes. "Up there... It's..."

Then, without finishing, she placed her head back in her arms. Glancing at Shoukaku, Zuikaku gestured at Aso. "Stay here with her. Do not let her out of sight for anything. I'll be right back." As Shoukaku sat down beside the silent Aso, Zuikaku headed off to the top of the island at a jog. It was only three hours later that Zuikaku returned with a haunted look on her face. Seeing Shoukaku about to say something, she held up a hand. "You don't want to know what I found in there..." Turning to Aso, she swallowed. "How were you...?"

Aso blinked slowly once more. "They captured me, and were about to do things when... when I discovered the truth. Never again will they do such things to anyone else."

Glancing back up the hill, Zuikaku grimaced and shook her head. "I suppose that is one way of putting it..." She then sent off a radio burst to Kure before looking at Aso. "Well, let's get going then."

This time when Aso looked at her, Zuikaku felt her boilers run cold. Same with her tone when she spoke. "Why? You could just leave me here with the ghosts of the past. I was useless then and now all I do is cause trouble believing in madness."

Zuikaku could easily see how frightened that made Shoukaku and then shook her head. "Oh, hell no. You're coming back to us and getting some good food into you." Hauling Aso to her feet, Zuikaku took one arm with Shoukaku taking the other. Neither of them liking how little Aso was reacting. "And once we do that..."

However, Aso did not pay much attention to that. Nor did she realize when they arrived back in Kure to a bunch of worried shipgirls. Everything was a blur to her, right up to when she was laying on her back staring at the ceiling. Out of sight, she could hear Houshou softly speaking to someone. The only thing that Aso could bring up was how she was sorry to make her mother worry.

So deep in her turmoil she was, that Aso did not hear the patter of feet until a small face came into view. "Aso-Nee? What wrong?"

Blinking, Aso looked at Katsuragi and just breathed for several moments. "Everything... Me, I'm wrong, Nee-Chan. Everything about me. I'm... broken."

Katsuragi tilted her head in confusion. Then her expression softened before putting her arms around Aso. "Then... then Katsuragi will make Aso-Nee all better! Make her not broken with lotsa hugs!"

Eyes wide as she felt that, Aso held her breath before tears fell from her eyes and a choked sob escaped from her. Then the Carrier held tightly to the smaller Natural Born, not seeing a stricken Houshou, who had heard the whole thing looking on. Enough of the rumor mill had let out what had happened that everyone had an idea.

Leaning against the wall, Zuikaku listened to the sobs before groaning. 'Kami, I hated how the little shit acted. But that? She did not deserve that. No one does...'

 

[darthcourt10]

sasahara17

Hey all. Here's a quick snippet to get off my chest. Enjoy!

-=-

Hermione Jane Granger was in a bit of a pickle.

It was a mess that she, the smartest and most gifted Royal Navy ship witch-girl of her generation (by virtue of being the only Royal Navy ship witch-girl of her generation), had never expected that she would ever have to experience. As a person of repute, as a person of basic human decency, it had been unimaginable to Hermione that she would ever wind up in this situation.

Yet here she was, and Hermione Jane Granger remembered quite clear what had been the start of her downfall. It had begun with a simple, innocuous request.

"Hermione, Spartan hasn't been back since going out to that party with those German friends of hers," Hermione's mother had innocently said while the extended Granger family had been on vacation in Munich, "It is getting pretty late. Could you be a dear and go find her for me?"

That earnest request had been followed up with a simple answer.

"Yes, mother. I'll get her and be back soon." Hermione had replied, putting on her coat and charting a course towards Spartan's last known location.

It hadn't seemed like a hard thing to do. The Matriarch of the Granger-Dido family had asked her most dutiful daughter to find their youngest, who had stayed out a little longer than had been expected. A fairly normal situation for any family. Hermione hadn't even expected too much trouble, as Spartan's friends were German ship girls, whom she knew were of a responsible and sensible sort.

What could have possibly gone wrong?

Then, after getting directions from the local Naval Base about where German ship girls tended to hang out, Hermione walked into the 'party' and got the shock of her life.

"Drink! D-Drink for Ro-chan, Dec-chi! Drink for Val-Valhalla!" A deliriously happy U-Boat in a sunhat and the cutest sundress Hermione had ever seen… was trying to shove a mug of beer the size of Hermione's head into the arms of a pink haired Japanese submarine who did not want it.

"NO, Dechi! This is underage drinking, Dechi!" Goya refused, doing her very best to stay dry and actually succeeding, "If you like it so much, you drink it-WAIT NO! DON'T DRINK IT, DECHI!"

"DECHI, BEER IS GOOD! HAVE SOME, DECHI! IS GOOD!"

Hermione could only look at the two submarines at the entrance of the building, the very first things she'd noticed upon walking through the doors of this 'establishment', in utter horror. Was this what her sister Spartan had walked into? Was this the party Spartan had attended?

Then against every instinct, and the fact her fairy crew were telling her to drop everything and make flank speed for the English Channel, Hermione began to look around… automatically walking further and further into this madhouse as if pulled there by an unnatural force.

There were half naked ship girls all over the establishment passed out over furniture. More ship girls still were awake and drinking. Then Hermione began to notice faces that she knew.

There were several U-Boats wearing funny outfits running around trying to put another Japanese submarine in that outfit. One of Harry's Onmyōdō teachers, Jun'you if Hermione remembered correctly, was seated ON the ceiling and drinking in pure defiance of gravity. Iowa's soaked clothes, soaked in beer of all things, were hanging from a one of the ceiling fans, owner no where in sight. A Japanese submarine was screaming something horrid out on the Karoke machine, and…

One of the doors to the side rooms was violently thrown open, and Ark Royal came flying out of it.

"GET OUT!" Hood and Bismarck's enraged voices could be heard from inside the room.

"We can make it a threesome!" Ark Royal said as she scrambled back to her knees and started bowing, "I know some cool stuff that can make it worth your whi-"

A flying purple, vibrating object smacked Ark Royal in the head, knocking the carrier out completely.

"STAY OUT!" Hood and Bismarck roared once more before the door slammed shut. The purple object rolled off the unconscious Ark Royal's face, along the floor, somehow missing dozens of people who could have stopped it from rolling, until it came to a stop at Hermione's feet.

She recognized the purple, vibrating 'toy' almost instantly.

Having witnessed something she knew would haunt her to the end of her days, Hermione could only turn her head stare at the unconscious Ark Royal in dumbstruck horror.

"This… this is madhouse!" Hermione recoiled in horror, the perfect student in her absolutely dismayed at the mere notion she was now in such a place. Inside her, general quarters sounded as every member of her crew went to full alert. "I need to find Spartan and get out of here!"

Realizing she was now in more danger that she ever had been in her entire life, Hermione turned around to move away from the center of the room, the kill zone as it were, towards the flanks where she would at least be safer… when she noticed the conclusion of an arm wrestling contest that she had somehow missed until this very moment.

And suddenly the solution to Hermione's problems presented itself.

"YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS! The N-Neighs of th-th Under-Underpants wins!" An all too familiar submarine, clad only in her 'Monty Pyton Spamalot' underwear cheered, lording her victory over USS Harder (who was now doubled over the table puking into a conveniently placed bucket, evidently having lost the arm wrestling match because of the need to need to puke), "I-I have d-done it! I-I am Veee-Vic… I am WINN-DER!"

"Hip-hip-hooray!" The German ship girls around the victory cheered.

"Th-this is g-goode." The submarine said gleefully, grabbing a nearby mug from one of the unlookers and raising it high into the air "As.. As a N-Neight of th-the Undersoap, I de-dedi-dei…"

"…dedicate." Hermione said, walking right up behind the submarine in question.

"DEDICATE, yes thank yoush mi-laydee, thi-is winnings to mine lay-dee… lady Hermione?"

Hermione would late reflect that it was a supremely amusing sight to see Upholder go from 'completely sloshed' to 'stone cold sober' in less time it took for Harry to catch a Snitch.

Ha! Rare was the chance for Hermione to catch Upholder with her pants down, and there was no way she was going to pass on a chance like this. Heck, finding upholder here could be a stroke of good fortune, since Hermione knew the submarine would stop at nothing to help her!

"Hello, Upholder," Hermione greeted cordially, putting on a radiant smile, "I was wondering if you could help me find my sister."

"Of… of course, m-most beautiful Daughter of Troy!" Upholder stammered out, flinging the mug of beer away from her person like it was on fire, "I'll help you! Right away, ma'am!"

"Thank you, Upholder. You might want to get dressed first." Hermione said, "Why, I do believe you are almost out of uniform!"

Hermione Jane Granger would never get tired of seeing Upholder's flustered expression.

It was just so adorable!

-=-

Elsewhere in Munich, in a certain establishment by the name of 'Obletter'…

"Oh dear, I didn't realize it was this late," Spartan frowned when she'd briefly looked up from the still ongoing game of Settlers of Catan to check the time, "I'd better call my mum and let her know where I am, or she might send one of my sisters out to fetch me."

"That's a good idea, Spartan. Why don't you go make that phone call? We can wait while you make it," Prinz Eugen suggested helpfully.

"Okay, then! Nobody do anything while my back is turned, okay?" Spartan chirped before walking away to a quiet spot in the board games store to make her phone call.

"Ah, what a good kid. I really wish we had more gaming friends like her so we could do this more often." Prinz Eugen sighed happily.

"It's a good thing she came right?" Hanna noted, "If we did, we'd have had to go to that other party. Don't get me wrong, it's fun and all, but sometimes I prefer something quieter, like this."

"Yes, yes indeed." Prinz Eugen nodded.

Hm, maybe next time they should invite Spartan's sister, Hermione. Prinz knew that Hermione was of the studious, sensible sort. Maybe she'd appreciate a good board game like they did!

-=-

A/N – Decided to revisit the whole 'German Ship Girls Party Hard' idea that Shaithan came up with. I hope everyone enjoyed this random little snippet of mine. Cheers!

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

At work in his potion's lab, Harry frowned some as he glanced at the potion's book open beside him. Something had happened, of that he had no doubt. What that something was though? Harry did not know.

Was he curious about it? Of course he was! But due to having lived on a base for so long he knew that if it was something important, he would likely learn about it at some point. But what he was doing currently was a sign that gave him an idea. Earlier, Goto had come to him asking him if there was some potion that he could make that would help calm someone down. Most potions that did such were well out of his range, but he was able to make a minor calming draught.

He was never so happy that he had been looking through A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery. Several Fourth Years were studying it the past year and once they were done, he checked it out himself. A number of them were too complicated, but out of three hundred different potions, there was a large number that were well within his capabilities. In fact, due to their age, a number were easier to make then modern potions.

Such as the calming one that he was making.

Yes, it would not do much more then calm one's emotions. It was mostly used to make someone who had experienced some sort of shock more relaxed. Harry was still waiting for a response from Snape regarding some advice on it, but he had gotten nothing as such.

Needless to say, he blinked at the knock on his door and looked up. "Hello? You can come on in, it's safe since the light is off."

Moments later, Harry got a shock as said door opened to reveal Snape there with a small frown on his face. "Potter, I got your letter." Stepping inside, the Potion's Professor took a moment to look around the small lab before slowly nodding. 'Interesting...'

Harry though was just blinking. "Professor? What are you doing here?" Seeing the raised eyebrow, he weakly chuckled. "Not that I mind, but it's, um, kind of a surprise..."

Softly snorting, Snape frowned. "As I stated, I got your letter regarding having a sample of a calming draught that you are working on sent to me for testing as it was needed somewhere. The one that you are working on is one that I did not think that one of your age would normally work on as it's Fourth Year work."

Blushing, Harry shrugged a bit and glanced back at the cauldron that was simmering. After all, he knew that if Snape had not asked for permission, then he would not have been there. No one would allow for a civilian to walk around in this area and it was always under watch. "Well... I was asked to make one and that seems to be about right for my capabilities? I've made other potions from Fourth Year after all. But I wanted to be safe and send you a sample first."

Only raising his eyebrow a bit further, Snape gave him a small nod. "Yes, I suppose that is true. And you are less a dunderhead then most Gryffindors." There was a look of remembrance on his face briefly. "Much like your mother."

Rapidly blinking, Harry looked over at him. "Mum? My biological one?" At Snape's nod, he smiled a bit. "I'm happy to share in one thing then with her."

Now, Harry could have sworn that there was a small smile on Snape's face. "Yes, it was one of Lily's better qualities." Then it was gone and he took a further step into the small lab and looked around. "And I must admit, for an effort by someone who likely did not know how to build a potion's lab, this one is much better then most that I have seen."

Taking that as a compliment that it was, Harry smiled a bit as he now began to stir once he noticed the stop watch get to the point needed. "Thank you, Professor. I'll pass it on to Akashi-Oba." Having spotted the interested look, he shrugged. "She's the Repair Ship for Yokosuka and built this for me so that I could practice potions and make some of the more useful ones for her."

Eyebrow raising, Snape frowned. "Indeed? Very intelligent of her then as most of my students prefer not to practice outside of school except for more... fun potions."

Only shrugging, Harry shook his head. "I'm not most students. Besides, they're useful and help out, so why wouldn't I make them?"

Snape had the image of a red haired fourteen year old girl overlaying Harry's own and saying the exact same thing. Voice soft, he sighed. "Yes, why wouldn't you make such."

Even though he was confused about the sadness in his Professor's voice, Harry glanced at the stop watch again and nodded as he stopped stirring. Then reaching over, took a vial of one of the ingredients and poured it in slowly. "Um, so Professor... did you come because I stated that I needed an opinion as soon as possible on if it was safe to use or not?"

Nodding, Snape stood back from Harry with his eyes examining every step that Harry performed. "Yes, it sounded rather urgent. And the potion that you are making, if it goes wrong could instead make one violent. May I know why you need to rush?"

A frown on his face, Harry shook his head. "I don't really know, Teitoku asked if I knew and could make any potions that could calm and relax someone. He didn't say why, but..."

With a small snort, Snape shook his head. "It is not hard to realize why he would need such. Someone, most likely a shipgirl, had a breakdown. Yes, that potion in particular would be well suited for such a situation."

Interested as he now began to stir in the opposite direction, Harry glanced at him. "Really, Professor? How so? I mean, I picked it because it was the simplest one that I've seen."

There was a small look of amusement on the normally dour Potion's Professor's face as his voice took on a very droll tone. "Because it only evens out emotions, it does not fully calm them. Calming Draughts are good for someone going through a lot of stress, Mister Potter. But they are not so good for victims of some sort of emotional shock, though they are often used as such. Most don't use the older potions for that though."

Considering that for a moment, Harry nodded. "I can see why that would be. Evening out emotions would be better then just getting rid of them." Now changing the direction of his stirring, he frowned some. "Since you're here... any suggestions on my lab?"

Rather amused at the question, especially as he knew that most would not ask, Snape began to look around. "When I came here, you stated it was safe since the light was off. If I may ask what you meant by that?"

With a blink, Harry sat back and waited for the next stage of the potion, turning over an egg timer. "Um, you noticed the two light bulbs outside the door?" At his professor's nod, he frowned. "Well, the Blue Light is on when I am working on a step which requires no interruptions. That way everyone will wait until I turn it off. The Red Light is for when there's been an accident and no one is allowed in here until it's been cleared up." Harry then pointed at the fan, which had sense been replaced by non-reactive materials. "The fan there will suck out any fumes that might be made. Might not last long, but it can be replaced."

Glancing at it, Snape nodded some. "Hmm... Yes, I can see why you would need such as you do not have the ability yet to cast the air clearing charm." Walking over at the table, he nodded once again. "And I see that your table top is made of stone and... tilted? With Channels?" Leaning to the side, he noted the earthenware container. "Ah, now this is something that I have not seen before. Yes, this would work well with a potion's accident that creates a spill." Looking at a cabinet and drawers, Snape nodded again. "And you have your ingredients all sorted and in their own spots. Most forget that small detail and leave them laying around."

All Harry did was shrug a bit. "Well, potions is like chemistry or cooking. You do not want your ingredients to touch each other or, Kami forbid, mix."

Just snorting, Snape shook his head. "No, you do not."

Several minutes later, Harry took the completed potion off the burner and let it cool. Once it had cooled down enough, he dipped a ladle into it and then poured it into a glass bottle. Looking between it and the description in the book, he frowned some. "It looks like it should..." Sniffing the open end, Harry frowned. "And smells like it as well."

Holding out a hand, Snape examined the bottle himself and narrowed his eyes. For almost a minute, he looked it over. Shaking it, he frowned as he watched what was in the bottle slide down the sides and then nodded as he smelled it. "Yes, it does seem to be correct." Handing it back to Harry, he gave him a pleased look. "Congratulations, Mister Potter, you brewed a Fourth Year level potion. And one from an old book."

Now with his stress leaving him, Harry sighed. "That's good. Now I can pack this up into other portions and give them to Mum to be sent to where they're needed."

Only humming, Snape gave him a nod. "Yes, I suppose so. And now, I must be off, Mister Potter. I do have other business and since I am here in Japan, I should check out a certain place for potions ingredients in Kyoto." Seeing the intrigued look, Snape looked around for a piece of paper and then wrote down an address on it. "This is the premiere apothecary here in Japan, Mister Potter. If you are unable to reach Diagon, they should have what you need and also have a few native Japanese potion books. As well, if you look at page 600 of the book you are using, there is a wound sealing potion that could be useful if you manage it, though it is more Fifth Year level. It does not heal the wound, merely seals it to prevent bleeding out until a healer can be reached."

Bowing a bit, Harry smiled. "Thank you for your help, Professor."

Lips curled upwards a bit, Snape tilted his head in acknowledgement. "You are welcome, Mister Potter. Please, do not become one of the average dunderheads in my class and keep practicing. I believe that you would make your mother most proud by following in her footsteps. Now, a good day to you."

With Harry also telling him to have a good day, Snape walked out of the potion's lab and nodded at two white haired Destroyers there. They had been following him since he first fire flashed in via Fawkes and had spoken to Admiral Goto. A part of him was rather amused at the fact that they did so. Another part was happy though, as it meant that Lily's son was well protected here. Upon reaching the gate, he twisted around and Apparated to Kyoto. The Apothecary in question did carry a number of Asian ingredients that were rather hard to get in Britain after all and it would behoove him to get some while he was here.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 122: S0ngD0g13

Zuikaku watched as Jaw strode down the hall toward Aso's room, his face set in a tense mask.

When the pair arrived, James and Houshou were already there. "Aso? How you doing, Aso-nee?" asked Jaw.

"I'm... I don't know," the Carrier responded tiredly. "I don't know how I feel right now."

Jaw sat down by Aso's bed and started speaking quietly with her, Houshou and James. Zui looked toward the door as Kaylee came in quietly. The ironclad gestured toward Aso and motioned as if to ask what had happened.

Zuikaku nodded toward Aso and brought her hands together as if bound. Aso was taken prisoner. She jerked her hands apart slightly. She broke free.

Kaylee tapped her upper arm where an American-Flag patch rode her coat-sleeve, then tilted her head. Who?

Zuikaku nodded toward the Hinomaru patch on the opposite sleeve of the bomber-jacket Jaw was wearing. Japanese. A clenched, gripping fist extended slightly away from her. Holdouts.

Kaylee tapped the Seventh-Fleet patch on her coat. Unit?

A swish-flick motion with an index finger, then Zuikaku flashed three numbers with her hands. Magicals. Seven-Three-One.

Kaylee shivered from head-to-foot, then her expression stilled into a flat killing-mask. She tapped the fleet-patch, then drew a thumb across her throat before flashing a thumbs-up-thumbs-down. They dead? Yes/No?

Zui mimicked the throat-cut and thumbs-up. Dead yes.

Kaylee nodded slowly. Good. Kaylee moved up by Jaw.

"Hey, Aso; I heard you had some trouble," the ironclad said softly. "I... Listen, I know you ain't especially fond of us Americans, but I want you to know something. You're Houshou's daughter, which makes you Jaw's sister (there ain't any 'step-' in this family), which means you're my cousin, too. You're family, plain an' simple, and I don't care, day or night; you need anything, Aso, an ear to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, a drinking-buddy or a sparring-partner, you call me, you hear? You hear me, Aso?"

"Why, Kaylee?"

"You're family, Aso. You might not share our name or blood but you're a McAmis, and we McAmis folk never abandon family."

Jaw nodded. "See, Aso-nee? I told you the rest of us were with you. We're a lot like the Sacketts from the old Louis L'Amour novels, you see."

James nodded and laid a hand gently on his daughter's shoulder. "So long as there's even one other person in all the world who's of our family, no McAmis in need will ever face trouble alone."

Jaw and Kaylee each held one of Aso's hands, speaking in sync. "Step on the toes of one McAmis, and we all holler..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Harry stared at Aeroprin in more then a little bit of shock, and then looked at her Destroyers. The Abyssals stared back unblinking before they tilted their heads, well, the Destroyers tilted their avatar's heads and real heads to the side but still. While Harry had been shocked at the idea of suddenly becoming an "Uncle", that was nothing compared to now. "I... You're joking right?"

Confused, Aeroprin slowly shook her head with a befuddled look on her face. "Um, no, Uncle Harry. We're not."

Now looking between each of the Abyssals, Harry could feel the stare of Regina at the back of his head as the Re-Class just blinked in confusion. "So, none of you have ever been to a hot spring? At all?"

Once more, Aeroprin shook her head and shared a look with her Destroyers. "No, we haven't, Uncle Harry. We haven't."

When Harry looked at the other Abyssal Destroyers, they also shook their heads and he frowned deeply. Seeing their nervousness, he waved them off. "I'm not angry or anything. It's just... someone should have taken you to one."

Blinking, Nighty Moon frowned and looked at Harry. "Is a hot spring that big of a deal, Uncle Harry? We've been to springs on islands for fresh water and they were okay... But nothing great."

Regina then raised her hand to get their attention. "Er... they are really nice." With everyone now focused on her, Regina gave a small eep before continuing. "We went to a hot spring when Lady Wanko came to Japan for the first Christmas. And, um, we really liked it."

Eyebrow raising, Aeroprin looked from Regina to Harry and back with a frown. "How nice was it? How nice was it?"

Glancing at Harry who shrugged, Regina chewed her lip. "Well... Lady Wanko was utterly relaxed in it and so was Lady Hoppou, both enjoyed it as did Lady Supprin. And, um... they didn't want to leave it because it was nice." Squirming a bit, Regina continued in a softer tone. "I didn't want to leave it either..."

All of the Abyssal Destroyers were wide eyed at that and were imagining things in their mind. Then they noticed that Harry was typing something on his phone and smiling a bit. At their confusion, he put away his phone and smiled wider. "Just talking with Mum. She's free so she's going to get some things together and we'll be able to head to Hot Spring Island." Gesturing, the black haired boy shook his head. "It's out there on one of the hidden islands."

For a few seconds, Regina thought it over before her eyes widened some. "Um, that's the island that Miss Mikasa and the others built stuff on, right? Which is for shipgirls?"

Slowly, Harry nodded at that. "Yeah, Mikasa-Oba and some of the older shipgirls went and rebuilt some of the old buildings and such on it. I know that Kaga-Oba and the others when they get too stressed out head over there to relax in the hot springs." At their looks, he shrugged. "It's way out of the way and no one really can get to it unless a shipgirl is with them holding onto them or unless their a magical like me due to the spells around it. So they don't need to worry about people staring at them or such like with a regular hot spring."

Only nodding, the Abyssals outside of Regina frowned. They didn't really understand what Harry meant by that, but internally shrugged. Meanwhile, Harry was frowning as he remembered once when he went to the local hot springs with Nagato and a number of the others. No one was rude, but... he could feel the stares and such as could the shipgirls.

It was one of the reasons why Onsen Shima was so popular among the girls at Yokosuka and with visiting shipgirls often heading over there to relax.

Roughly a half hour later found Nagato with all their supplies and an excited Hoppou meeting them at the waterfront. Bouncing around the legs of the others, Hoppou was all smiles. "Hot Springs! Hot Springs! Hoppou loves hot springs!"

A smile on her face at seeing Hoppou so happy, Aeroprin tilted her head. "Uncle Harry was telling us about them. And said that they are really nice..." She then frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. "He was also telling us about the rules?"

Nodding, Hoppou wagged a finger at her. "Listen to Big Brother, he knows about this. But Hoppou knows that Blackie Smokie and others will like hot springs. Just like Hoppou!"

Eyes wide, Aeroprin nodded some. With that, they all stepped out onto the water with their rigging deployed. Once it was, Nagato turned to Harry and frowned a bit. "So, who is going to carry you, Harry?"

Before he could say anything, Hoppou raised her hand. "Ooo! Ooo! Hoppou knows!" When they turned to her, she pointed at Aeroprin who blinked. "Big Brother can be with Blackie Smokie in her big chair!"

Scratching his head, Harry frowned a bit and looked over Aeroprin's throne like rigging. "Um, sure? But only if it's okay with Blackie Smokie here, Hoppou. She should be the one to decide that."

When they turned to her, Aeroprin blushed some. However, then she nodded with a small smile on her face. "I do not mind carrying Uncle Harry. And I will make sure that Uncle Harry is also safe." Bringing her rigging up against the dock, Aeroprin smiled at Harry and held out a hand. "Come on, Uncle Harry!"

In reply, Harry shook his head and grasped her hand before taking one step onto the rigging. Seconds later, he was sitting in Aeroprin's lap looking up at her with a smile. "Okay, here I am."

Brightly smiling, Aeroprin nodded before making a gesture with her hand and her rigging began to move alongside Nagato and the others. As they went, none of them noticed the curious looks being given to the group by various people on the harbor. After all, they were a bit of an odd group. But Yokosuka had long since gotten used to weirdness ever since shipgirls had begun appearing. Even the arrival of the allied Abyssals was met with trepidation, but not much more. Most simply wrote it off as maybe some sort of combined exercise.

Meanwhile, Harry couldn't have cared less about that sort of thing as he was grinning so much it hurt. Around them, the Abyssal Destroyers kept breaching like whales as they moved into a defensive formation with Nagato, the Princesses, and Harry in the center. Something that made Nagato nod in approval. It did not take them long to reach Onsen Shima though and as they came in close, they looked around. A flash of purple made Harry smile and wave to where he could see Ashigara and Yonehara walking along. Most likely, the two were on a date. Ashigara for her part raised an eyebrow at the group but jabbed Yonehara in the ribs and then waved at them followed by her boyfriend.

Eventually, they reached one spot on the island and the Abyssals outside of Hoppou blinked. It was a large, softly steaming pool right next to the sea. More a small pond really enclosed on the seaward side by boulders and the like with steps leading to it. Harry only nodded and looked at his mother. "So that's our pool?"

Nagato chuckled, but then nodded. "Hai, that is our pool, Harry. I thought that with the amount of people we should have one of the larger hot springs. And it's one of the nicer ones as well since the boulders let sea water mix in with the hot spring water."

When Aeroprin and the Destroyers looked at him, Harry pointed at the small "Cliff" along the back of the pool where they could see water bubbling out of the ground. Nearby, there was a clay pipe lined trough also bringing water. "The main hot spring for the pool is there, but some of the other hot springs also empty into it to prevent them from possibly overflowing. There's a similar pool on the other side of the island, but that one was made when they drilled down a bit to get at the hot spring water."

Only nodding, Aeroprin pulled up at the nearby floating dock to let Harry off her rigging. After he did get off, she climbed onto it herself with a small smile. "I see. So did you enjoy the ride, Uncle Harry? Did you enjoy it?"

Lightly laughing, Harry nodded. "Yup! I enjoyed it quite a bit, Blackie Smokie. Thanks for carrying me here."

Blushing a bit, the Abyssal only nodded before her attention was grabbed by Nagato who gestured at a small, wooden building above the hot spring itself. "That's the changing room for the hot spring and we can get clean before we enter there as well."

It was hard to miss that the area in front was covered in tiles with a small drain set into it. Moments later, they could all hear the sounds of the Destroyers releasing their humanoid avatars who smiled up at Harry and Nagato before they moved forward. They, along with Aeroprin, were curious though. Just how good were hot springs?

As it turned out, very, very good.

Much to Harry's amusement, as soon as they sat down in the water, all the Abyssals utterly relaxed into the heated, mineralized water. Eyes hooded, Aeroprin let out a sigh. 'This is very, very nice. Mommy and Uncle Harry were right.'

Less then fifteen minutes later, Wokyuu also showed up and joined them in the hot spring. At the look from Nagato, Hoppou grinned back at her. "Hoppou thought that whole family could come! Though Hoppou wishes at Miss Rose was not out on date with Miss Haruna. But that's okay." She did blink though as Harry picked up a small stone and held it in his hand. Moments later, said stone shot off the hand and smacked into the water about fifty feet away. "Big Brother?"

However, all Harry did was shrug a bit. "Just having a bit of fun, that's all, Hoppou." Once she turned and began to chat with Wokyuu, Harry shot a quick glare in the direction he had shot the rock. 'Hopefully that teaches you a lesson.'

Meanwhile, under the surface, a Tako nyūdō groaned as he rubbed his head. How the heck did that human even spot him while he was watching the females in the hot spring?

 

[darthcourt10]

SoulessScotsman

New Snip! Connie drives Anderson up the wall.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connie. And Victory. Out on the town.

FuckfuckfuckityfuckFUCK!

Last eyes-on had been near the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, but there was no way to know where the old ships had gone.

"All callsigns, situation update: No sign of Connie and Victory near usual suspects. Didn't go on a bar-crawl. Check in with updates."

Even as quiet as Boston could be on a Wednesday, if Connie was out on the town it should have been a cacophony of celebration and food vendors bragging about how much "Old Ironsides" loved their food. But it wasn't.

"Preacher, here. No sign near Fenway."

"This is Nomad. My team and I didn't find any signs in the South End. Shifting to next AO."

Charleston was clear, Cambridge was clear, Somerville was clear, where the fuck was she?

"USS Massachusetts, here. She's not out on the water. I'll keep looking on base, she's got a few hidey-holes she thinks I don't know about."

Actually, come to think of it, why was the Marketplace empty? Hours of operation had been extended, in an effort ot boost morale and the good spirit of troops on leave and even the locals, to a lesser extent...

"Sierra-Four, reporting! Shore's all clear, but we've got a situation. Whiskeys are trying to cover up something, and it look's like Hood's tearing into them about it. Pretty sure we've escaped their notice, but sending a battlewagon down might be a good idea. Marking coordinates and bugging out."

"Goddammit. This is USS Indiana. I hear ya. On my way."

Probably nothing, but with how twisty the minds of wizards could be it would be better safe than dead wrong.

"Osprey, here. No sign of the crazy old bat, but we didn't really expect her to be at Logan. Requesting new orders."

Admiral Shepard made her displeasure known when she growled over the comms, "Return to base, then my office. We'll be having words, Osprey."

A timid squeak that sounded like an affirmative was her reply.

Anderson keyed his commlink, "Wolf, checking in. I'm about to enter the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, but there's no real sign. Place would be jumping if she had come here, but it's…quiet. Empty, too. Wouldn't rule out Whiskeys, but I don't know if it's because of Connie."

"Read you. Graves?"

The Southerner's voice could be faintly heard in the background, "Uh. Well."

"I don't like that answer. What's in the Marketplace that I don't know about?"

"A, uh...club?"

The awkward silence was almost painful when Admiral Shepard exasperatedly broke it.

"For fucksake," she groaned, "Is there a wizard strip club in the Marketplace? One of the most heavily tourist infested places in the entirety of Boston?"

"No!...Not technically. It's hard to explain."

Anderson pinched the bridge of his nose and tried very hard not to have a coronary.

"I don't care," the Admiral snapped, "Go there and back up Anderson so he can retrieve Connie and Victory."

"All respect, Ma'am, I can't follow your orders. And we don't even know that that's where they went!"

"Did I fucking stutter, soldier?"

"Going!" a sharp crack from both his comms and right next to him sounded and he gave Graves a smug look.

"Shut up," Graves snapped.

"Didn't say anything. Anyway, what can we expect?"

Graves suddenly looked very nervous.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Fun fact; this snip was originally so edgy a shipgirl could have used it to shave and would have made Tenryū weep in envy at how chuuni it was.

I fixed that.

 

[darthcourt10]

eagle109

Just to switch to a bit of lighter fluff tracks... Since we're past the Gregorian New Year and approaching the East Asian Lunar New Year, Ron somehow commissions a New Year kimono for Warspite.*

= = =

"...measurements?"

"Jane's."

"...of course. The colors?"

"Our national flag, although I think the 'blue' got mistranslated somehow or one of the workers grabbed the wrong bottle."

"The roses?"

"Our national flower."

*raised eyebrow* "I'm impressed, Ronald."

"Yeah, well..." <///< >///> "Hermione all but called me a prat for not studying up on the Muggle history of the UK, and given the SoS, she had a point."

"That she does, Ronald. Also, where did you find this?"

"The hairpiece? Made it myself. Mum had initially suggested making it with magic, but Dad found one of those tabletop sewing machines, and, well, it was a good excuse to test it out after we fixed it. Took bloody forever to get the stitches right and match up the design that I saw in one of those old ladies fashion catalogs from back then."

*discretely adjusts the hairpiece a bit higher*
Spoiler

* Mind that a woman's kimono plus all the accessories can easily run up to $10,000.00 USD if you want to go full hog in the vein of traditional silk, and the obi is easily the most expensive item of the set. Second-hand kimono, on the other hand, is much cheaper and there's renting them for whatever occasions, not that dissimilar to tux rentals. Alternatively, find friends that know friends that know friends, or use cheaper materials - a friend of mine had her cosplay kimono done for about $500 USD in plain cotton, obi included (well, that was done as a giant clip-on, since it would've taken her forever to tie it properly).

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Leaning back in the hot water, Harry softly sighed as he felt himself relax. Much like shipgirls, hot springs and repair fluid both worked wonders on him. Which meant that if offered a trip to a hot spring, Harry would jump at it like any shipgirl. Several moments after he sighed though, Harry felt a sight against his head and opened his eyes to see Regina leaning her head against his. Lips twitching, Harry reached up and gently patted her head before looking around without disturbing her too much. When he came to Wokyuu though, he noticed something that made him tilt his head in confusion. "Wokyuu? Can I ask you a question?"

The Wo-Class blinked and then nodded her head in curiosity. "Wokyuu."

Slowly, Harry raised one hand out of the water and pointed it at her head. "Why do you still have your head gear still on? Or can't you take it off?"

Once more Wokyuu blinked, this time in confusion. Then she tilted her head back and rolled her eyes upward to look at the Abyssal organism on her head. Frowning, she considered the question before shrugging. "Wokyuu, wokyuu wokyuu." Then to both Harry's and Nagato's surprise, she reached up and plucked it from her head to reveal pure silver hair underneath it as she set it aside. Smiling at them, she nodded. "Wokyuu!"

Mouth opening and closing, Nagato pointed for a moment before frowning. "Wait, so you can detach it?" When Wokyuu nodded, the Battleship became thoughtful. "That's... interesting. Extremely interesting as a matter of fact."

Confused, Wokyuu turned to the one who might answer her question, Hoppou. "Wokyuu?"

Hoppou just shrugged in confusion herself. "Hoppou not know either. So Hoppou is just as confused as you are, Wokyuu." Then she smiled and raised her hand to drip some water over Wokyuu's now exposed silver hair. "Here! Get it all nice and wet, Wokyuu!"

At the same time, Harry watched as Wokyuu's head gear stood up on it's tentacles. Walking around the pool, it found a spot and slipped in before grabbing a towel and folding it. Then the Abyssal organism placed the towel on its head before sighing and seemingly going to sleep. 'Huh, that's sort of neat.'

While Harry was watching Wokyuu's hat do what it was doing, Regina's kind drifted a bit due to the hot, mineralized water relaxing her. She felt a lot of strain just leave her as she sat there which made her softly smile. 'This is really nice... Shinano was right.' Glancing at Harry who was softly talking with Aeroprin, Regina's smile widened a touch as she closed her eyes. 'I really have to thank Lady Wanko for giving me this mission. And if Harry does become my Admiral, I wonder if his sort of thing would happen more often? And with our friends?'

Within her mind, the scene shifted until she was leaning against an older Harry. And instead of Nagato, Hoppou and the other Abyssals, it was Shinano along with Louisiana and Hibiki with the Submarine girls she had met. Natsumi was also there and being teased by Louisiana. For some odd reason though, Regina was not bothered in the least. Especially as Shinano was one of her friends and back home, being with other members of the Timor Fleet in such a situation was not unknown.

The idea of being around her friend Shinano in the same fleet always made her feel warm inside, especially when combined with the idea of Harry as their Admiral commanding them.

Eventually, Regina was brought out of her daydream by Harry shaking her out of her doze gently. Once she opened her eyes though, she met Harry's green ones looking back at her. Needless to say she flushed some and it was not due to the heat. "Um, yes, Harry?"

Smiling, Harry chuckled a bit and mussed her hair much to her enjoyment. "Relaxed some?" Getting a nod and happy hum, his smile widened. "That's good to hear." Seconds later though, at seeing her chew her lip the black haired boy frowned some. "Is something wrong, Regina?"

With a glance at the others, Regina twiddled her fingers due to the thought that went through her head. It was something that Shinano had told her when they were talking about hot springs. "I'm, it's... it's just something that Shinano told me about hot springs." Upon seeing Harry's curious look, she ducked her head some. "She said that neck and shoulder rubs are really nice when in hot springs."

That caused Harry to blink before he smiled a bit. "Really? And I guess that you would like to try it?" When she nodded shyly, he considered the issue. "Hmm... Well, I could give you one I guess, but, um..." Eyebrows furrowing, the wizard frowned. "But it might be a bit hard to do."

Not having expected an answer like that, the Re-Class blinked though there was some disappointment on her face. "What do you mean, Harry? Why would it, um, be hard to give one?"

Rather amused, Harry looks up at her. While the water at Hoppou's end was shallow enough for said Princess to sit comfortably, where Harry and Regina sat it came up to his neck. But that meant that Regina, though where she sat was slightly deeper, the water came up to chest height. "Well... you're kind of taller then I am, so..."

Suddenly realizing the issue, Regina's eyes widened before she became thoughtful. Looking at the water in front of them, she frowned. "Would it work if, um, I sat down in front of you? It is a bit deeper..."

It took Harry a few seconds to think it over before he nodded. "That should work out pretty well. If you sit there then I can reach your shoulders easily. Same with your neck." With a nod, Regina moved until she was seated in front of Harry and, sure enough, the water reached just below her chin. After she settled in though, her tail rose up out of the water and gave Harry a "Look" that made him chuckle. Patting it, Harry nodded. "I'll give you a tail rub as well, I guess."

As the tail made happy growls, Regina let out a soft eep and blushed deeply. Thankfully for her, Harry just assumed that it was due to the heat of the water and asked if she was only. "Y-yes, I'm okay." Once he was sure that she was though, he scooted forward until his knees touched her back before he reached out and began his work. Within moments, much to his amusement, Regina utterly relaxed with happy sounds. Inside Regina's head, she sighed. 'Shinano was right... this is really nice.' Feeling Harry work out a knot, she let out an actual sigh. 'Really nice...'

From where she sat, Nagato only sighed and rolled her eyes as she watched the other Abyssals beside Hoppou watch curiously. 'Why am I not surprised this is happening?'

It turned out, as Harry discovered later, that a tail rub had much the same effect on Regina's tail as a shoulder and neck rub had on her. Granted, it left Regina heavily blushing as her tail made happy sounds and in the water up to her nose.
_________________________________________________________________________

Aso... felt drained. Utterly and completely drained of everything. Laying in her bed, she felt as if her body was once more composed of steel and she was unable to do much with it. No energy left in her to work with even if she cared to. The walls she had put up between her and the truth, the self-deception, the lies she had told herself? All of them gone, shattered.

It felt like she herself was also shattered and laying on the bottom of the sea looking towards the distant surface.

Somewhere in the room, a clock ticked onwards as the night deepened and Aso's mind wandered. What now? What would she do now? There was nothing, absolutely nothing for her at this moment.

The Carrier was startled for a moment by an odd sound. That was, until she realized that the sound was a choked sob that had come from her. As she realized that, another choked sob escaped from her and she fought against her tears. After all, she had cried far too much as it was already.

But... she was unable to help herself. Once, she had hated self-pity. Which did not help matters as, at this moment ironically, that Aso hated herself. Absolutely, and positively hated herself. Yes, over the past two days people had come to see her. To softly talk with her and so forth. Katsuragi was a balm for her hurt and so was Houshou. But the others? People that she had sneered at, insulted, and here they were coming to see her when she was at her weakest.

Right now though? In the dark of the night? Aso found that she could not lie to herself. Not now, not after what had happened. She felt alone, completely alone, despite everything. Despite people coming to visit her. Realizing that she had pushed everyone away, Aso felt tears gather in her eyes. How could they mean their kind words to her? How could the care for her? Her actions had left her alone.

And that hurt far more then the weapons used to sink her long ago.

No one needed her, no one really wanted her. Their seemingly kind words now felt bitter to her. She, Aso, in the end had nothing to her. Nothing but anger and hate. Who could possibly need or want her-

Suddenly, at that moment, Aso had an image in her mind. A flashback to just two days before, shortly after the Hannya reached the surface. One of them, who seemed to be five years old had shaded her eyes as she looked up at the bright Sun before looking at the Carrier with a smile equally as bright. "It's so bright... and warm, just like Kaa-San said!" coming from her lips had made Aso blink at the time. Now, in the present, it made her stare for a moment at what she felt. Then another memory came, this time of one of the older ones, who had been transformed. She had hugged the Carrier tightly, sobbing as she thanked her over and over again.

Unnoticed by Aso, she felt her strength return to her.

Now she had the image of the leader of the Hannya, bowing deeply to her. Young ones playing in the Sun, happy that they were no longer in the dark and cold. Amazed at the breeze that they felt on their bare skin. Other ones, the older Hannya who were once human women, thanking her for rescuing them from their living nightmare. For protecting them from their tormentors and ending the darkness.

Inside Aso, her boilers burning low began to slowly grow hotter.

Perhaps... perhaps she was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, she did have something. Someone, or rather someones, who needed her.

A flash of the Hannya as they boarded her Launch flashed across her mind's eye as she set down one hand beside her body.

Someone who looked up to her.

In her mind, she could see one of the young ones offering her a flower, one she now had in her Captain's cabin.

Maybe someone she could protect.

Once more an image came. This time it was her standing in the dungeons. She stood between the last remnants of the monsters of that place and the Hannya who she fought as they moved to liquidate the women. A last screw you to Aso. And her, Aso, standing between the Hannya and certain death. The looks of despair transforming as the Carrier protected them into awe, making sure that none passed her.

Aso's other hand came down and she lifted herself for the first time in two days into a sitting position by herself.

Because now... because now she had a purpose. Yes, she had saved them from their captors and got them to safety. Her Launch had gotten them to that abandoned village, which was in decent enough shape even though there were no signs that anyone had been there in years. And her Launch had also had food in it from her own stores. Enough for a few days. Some would have thought that was enough. That there was nothing more to do...

However, that was not what Aso thought. Yes, they were safe for now. And that was the thing, they were safe for now.

With that thought, Aso now had a purpose. A proper purpose in fact and one that she grabbed hold of with all the strength of a drowning person grabbing a lifeline. Everything else could wait, she had enough with her actions so far. Right now, she had something to focus on. On those young faces, innocent despite what they had gone through, enjoying something as simple as feeling a breeze. At the faces of the older ones, full of hope for likely the first time in years.

A purpose.

Quietly, Aso got out of her futon, careful not to wake anyone watching over her. She then made her way out of the room and down the hall of the dorms. Due to her relationship with others, she often found herself needing to get around without anyone noticing and causing problems. Skills that she used to their fullest right now. Right now, she had a mission to accomplish and her mind was a whirl as she fashioned a plan.

The first part of said plan was to head down to the food stores. Walking in, Aso looked around with a small frown until she found the area set aside for the Carriers. In particular, the spot where there were bags of white rice. On a table beside them was a logbook for a Carrier to sign for anything that they took. While she had never bothered herself, Aso knew that some of the other Carriers sometimes grabbed food to take back to their quarters to keep as something to cook up themselves. Taking three of the large bags, Aso signed her name and what she took before pausing as she looked around.

When she left, she had a lot of food. Not enough to raise eyebrows considering how some of the Carriers were considered, and rightfully so, as big eaters. But there was more then plenty there for what she needed. Her next stop was the Commissary which was open twenty four hours in case some shipgirl came back from patrol needing something late at night. If anyone cared about her being there that late, they did not show it. A quick trip around better her several large blankets, sleeping bags for camping, and pots and pans also used for camping. Utensils as well went into her cart as for her more food.

Just as she was about to reach the checkout, manned by a sleepy clerk, Aso paused as she noticed something. A thoughtful frown crossed her face as she looked at what caught her eye. Then the image of smiling children crossed her mind and she nodded. While the items did get her an odd look, a glare from her made the clerk swallow any questions and instead accept her payment card. Is that was done, Aso left the Commissary behind and made her way to the waterfront with the items safely in her hull. The whole way she dodged around various patrols and shipgirls up and about even at this late hour. None of them saw or noticed her...

Except, that was, a Light Cruiser named Kiso, who raised an eyebrow.

After all, she had heard what had happened to Aso. And despite her own dislike for the Carrier, she would never have wished that on her own worst enemy let alone the Carrier. Seeing the Carrier sneaking around though made her pause in some confusion. Not to mention a bit of fear. What reason would Aso have in sneaking around, late at night after what happened? Why would she unless...

Kiso froze as she had that thought and felt a shiver down her keel. 'The Lass wouldn't do that, would she? She couldn't... but considering what she went through...' Expression steeling, Kiso began to follow the Carrier around through the base. While Maruyu had learned a lot from her "Nee-San", Kiso had also learned a lot from the little Submarine. Keeping to the shadows, she watched as Aso reached one of the unused boat ramps and walked down until she reached the water's edge. Doing her best not to be noticed, Kiso frowned a bit as she strained her hearing. 'What are you doing, Lass?'

Glancing around, Aso took a deep breath and summoned her rigging. But, much to Kiso's surprise, Aso instead used it to bring out her Motor Launch. Then the Carrier began to hand items to the spirits that crewed it. Eyebrow raising, Kiso watched as bags of rice were placed into it along with other foodstuffs. Some of which she was certain came from Aso's own stores. Then came a box full of camping pots and pans, sleeping bags, rolls of blankets. Jugs of water were also loaded onto the Launch. By the time she was done, the Launch was heavily laden with cargo.

Finally, Aso held out two bags which the spirits took and confused the observing Kiso. "These are for the children, make sure that they get them. Tell the adults that I will try to get them more supplies when I can and..." For a moment, Aso looked lost before she took a deep breath. "And tell them that I will make sure that they are protected and will be kept in good health even if no one else will. Make sure not to be seen and possible lead someone to them. I do not trust that it will not get back to the Magicals and with what I have heard..." Aso then gave a look to one of the spirits. "You are one of my doctors, there's some medical supplies from myself in here. Give them all checkups and if needed do what you can."

Said spirit in question nodded and gave a bow. With that done, Aso pushed the Launch several dozen meters before heading back to shore. With her eyesight and from where she hid, Kiso could see the Launch drift slowly out into the waters of the Inland Sea. She could also see when it turned on it's engines and soon it was gone from sight. Rubbing her chin in thought, Kiso frowned thoughtfully. 'Now wasn't that interesting...'

Meanwhile, Aso felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. And she also felt like she had taken the first step on some great journey. Nodding to herself, she dismissed her rigging and made her way back to the Carrier Dorm. Unknown to her, Kiso followed her the whole way back to make sure that she was okay. For the rest of the night, she sat on her futon and waited and, just an hour after daybreak, her Launch dismissed itself. Tears once more came to her eyes, but these were of the happy sort. Her provisions had been met with profuse thanks. But it was the look on the children's faces that really made her spirits rise. Their simple joy at receiving the gift of a few bags of oranges made her feel as if everything would turn out okay.

Laying back down, Aso drifted back to sleep. This time, for the first time in two days, she did so with a smile on her face.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Waking up from a light, fitful sleep, Norihara barely held back a yawn as she turned her head and looked at her clock. 'Five in the morning... How much sleep did I get?' After a moment, the doctor sighed. 'Not enough, obviously. But get some coffee in me and I will be just fine.' Glancing to the side of the large bed, she could see Tanya's chest rising and falling, her eyes closed. 'Sort of wish that I was more like her and be able to just sleep without... everything.'

Oh, she knew that she might get some looks if people knew that she slept in the same bed as her long term patient and friend. For one thing, she always made sure to have the one of the bigger beds with her at one side and Tanya on the other. Ever since that one night six months into her taking care of Tanya when the Battleship had awoken and begin crying because she needed help, but could not reach Norihara despite being in the same room, the doctor simply brought their futons together so that she could be easily awoken.

Something that had happened many, many times over the years though she had never minded.

Her lips did bring a smile though at the sight of the flannel pajamas she wore though. They were something that Norihara had picked out for her that first year. With rationing and the like, there was not a whole lot of choice for her. But Tanya had acted like it was the greatest thing ever. And she made sure that Norihara dressed her in them as often as she could.

That memory made Norihara smile as she laid back some. Other memories also came to the forefront of her mind. Both of them sitting on the couch watching cheesy movies as Norihara fed them both. Tanya asking various odd questions, some of which Norihara had to think about. And even her simply holding Tanya when the Abyssal was feeling down.

All of which was why right now, Norihara was not exactly sure of what was going to happen. However, she was startled by a quiet voice. "Is there something... wrong, Norihara?" Turning, the doctor could see Tanya was now awake and staring at her best that she could. ""You look worried..."

Opening her mouth, Norihara was about to brush her off with a smile. At the look in Tanya's eyes though, she sighed some and threw off her covers before standing. "I... give me a moment."

With a nod, Tanya waited as Norihara pulled back the blankets on Tanya's side of the bed. Placing one arm under the Abyssal's, she placed the other under her knee and with a grunt lifted her up. It went without saying that Tanya softly blushed some as Norihara carried her to the bathroom. The Battleship could remember the early days when the human had issues with moving her around. But that was years ago and now Norihara was able to carry her for short distances.

Such as, in this case, from the bedroom to the bathroom.

Norihara walked through the door and then set Tanya down onto a stool backed against the wall. The Abyssal's body was leaned into the wall to support her being upright. With practiced ease, Norihara began to remove the pajamas. "Okay, we'll just give you a nice bath to get you all clean before... what happens."

Frowning, Tanya tilted her head some. "Yes, before I am fixed by the Princess." Due to long association, Tanya caught the small hesitation in Norihara's movements at those words which made her blink. "Do you not want me to be fixed?"

The tone in the voice made Norihara look up into Tanya's eyes and the human shook her head. "No! I mean, no, I do want you to be fixed." Going back to undoing the buttons, she let a frown appear on her face. "I want you to be fixed, Tanya. Don't get me wrong on that. But this operation is still experimental. I... I have never heard of something like this before. And it could be dangerous."

Eyebrows furrowing, Tanya had a confused look on her face. "But Northern Ocean Princess stated that she had done so before. And Wokyuu said the same thing."

Letting out a breath, Norihara shook her head. "Yes, she said that she had done this sort of thing." At the continuing confusion, Norihara shook her head as she finished undressing Tanya. "But to me? It's still experimental. It's dangerous and..." Pausing, she didn't say anything else as she pulled Tanya close. "I don't want to lose you, Tanya. I just don't."

Confused, and yet wanting to comfort her friend, Tanya leaned her head against Norihara's. If anything, she became worried for the doctor as she could feel the trembles in her. "You're... wrong. You won't lose me."

Minutes later, Norihara pulled away with a sad chuckle and wiped her eyes. "I'm a doctor, Tanya. If there was anyone who would know the dangers of a operation, it is me. And I have read up about what would be needed in regards to healing you." Beginning her own preparations, she sighed. "What is the vertebrae in a human is a keel on the ship. And shipgirls as well as Abyssals heal from injuries in much the way that one would repair a ship. Fixing a broken and twisted keel, like what happened to you is extremely hard. And the higher the displacement of the hull, the harder it becomes to fix. In some cases..."

At the pause, Tanya blinked as Norihara filled a bucket with warm water, testing it first. "In some cases...?"

Shoulders slumping, Norihara shook her head. "The ship is practically stripped down to almost nothing to fix the keel. It might as well be a brand new ship in a number of cases. And with you..."

Lips turned downwards into a frown, the Ta class shook her head. "I would not... change. I would still be... me."

Dumping the warm water over Tanya, Norihara smiled. "That is what I would hope. But a doctor, remember? I trust Hoppou in this case to know what she is doing, however there is still a small worry there for me." She started to gently scrub the Abyssal clean, every so often making mental notes of how the Abyssal's muscles felt. After all, ever since taking Tanya into her care, Norihara had performed exercises to keep the muscular tone best that she could. But there was some softness there that was not when Tanya was still a prisoner. "I am thankful that Hoppou will allow for me to stay there the whole time that she is working on you."

Not having known that, Tanya's eyes widened. "The whole time, Norihara?"

Simply humming as she soaped under the Abyssal's armpits, Norihara nodded. "Hai, I will be right there in case she needs me or for any other reason. Once she puts you under, it will be at least twelve hours, maybe longer. But I'll be there." She then gave Tanya a smile. "You're my best friend, Tanya. I'm going to be there for you."

Blushing, Tanya looked down as she felt her boilers warm. 'That feels... nice.'

Finally finishing with her scrubbing, Norihara nodded before dumping another bucket of warm water over Tanya to wash away the suds. Then the doctor began to shampoo the Abyssal's hair. All the while, Tanya was smiling happily. Once they were both clean and relaxing in the bath though, Norihara was looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Something on your mind, Tanya?"

Head tilting, Tanya blinked. "I was wondering... What would happen if I was healed."

Norihara froze for a brief moment as she thought it over before shrugging. "Oh? Like what?"

Still thinking, Tanya did not notice the emotion that flashed across Norihara's face nor her tone. "Would we... Now go out for ramen more often?"

It was Norihara's turn to be confused as she stared at Tanya for a little bit. Then she stared a bit. "I... What? Ramen?"

With a nod, Tanya frowned. "Yes, ramen. Would we go to a ramen bar after I was healed? And could walk?" Then she perked up some. "I could... feed you now!" At the coughs and sputters, Tanya blinked. "Did I say something... wrong?"

Clearing her throat, Norihara shook her head. "N-no, you didn't. Not really, it's just that, well... I'm your doctor, Tanya."

Only blinking, Tanya tilted her head to the side. "Why would that matter, Norihara? You feed me."

Despite herself, Norihara wanted to sigh. "We've been over this, Tanya. I'm your doctor and... You feeding me when it's not needed is not right."

Tanya just stared at her in utter befuddlement.

 

[darthcourt10]

Snippet 123: S0ngD0g13

"Alright, that one's a bust as well..." Kaylee finished reading the letter from the Chief Veterinarian of the Shenyang Dragon Preserve, a man widely-regarded according to Chuck Weasley as the foremost authority on Chinese Fireballs.

"No luck?" asked Azuma, cradling Bonaparte in her arms.

"No luck. He said that if the intensity were a Two at most, then there are potions to repair the bad valve, but an Intensity-Five Heart-Murmur is beyond treatment by potions, and to date no one's ever considered, much less attempted, doing actual open-heart surgery to repair the murmur."

Azuma looked down at the sleeping dragonet she held. "I don't want to lose him, and you said that it would worsen..."

"A murmur that bad; might be years down the line, might be months, might be weeks, but yeah, it'd kill him." Kaylee closed her eyes and breathed deeply, pacing her mental decks as she contemplated options...

No one's tried surgery, but then 'not having tried' isn't the same as 'not having worked', now is it? We'd need a Dragon-Vet on-hand, gas-passers or Wizard equivalent, a replacement valve, and a cutter...

Virginia opened her eyes and nodded firmly. "Azuma, you've got my word I'm going to exhaust all my options before hoisting the white flag; that said, I have an idea, and it's a risky one I think, but let me do some more leg-work to check."

Kaylee drafted a series of letters in her best hand and sealed them...

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

Charles 'Charlie' Weasley opened the letter addressed to him in a neat, precise hand and read, his eyebrows lifting steadily toward his hairline as he progressed...

Mister Weasley;

I am writing to you in your professional capacity as a Keeper of Dragons in order to solicit your expertise in the matter of the infant Chinese Fireball we had previously discussed. Having exhausted all options for purely-Magical treatment of the dragonet's heart-murmur, and being utterly unwilling to concede defeat in this endeavor, I turn now to possible options of a more... Unconventional... sort, at least from a purely-Wizarding perspective, and to that end I have taken the liberty of sending similar missives to this one, to several others of my acquaintance in the Wizarding World, including the Care of Magical Creatures and Potions Professors of Hogwarts, as well as the Hogwarts Chief Healer.

I hope to ask your assistance in finding one or more Veterinary Healers willing to assist in performing a Muggle surgical procedure known as a Pulmonary Autograft on the dragonet.

For purposes of explanation, the procedure would entail putting the dragon under sedation and on life-support while his heart is temporarily stopped and his chest and heart cut open to expose the Aortic- and Pulmonary Valves. The damaged Aortic Valve would be removed, and the dragonet's healthy Pulmonary Valve implanted to replace it; the Pulmonary Valve's original place would be filled by implantation of a Pulmonary Valve from a previously-deceased dragon, thus allowing both valves to grow naturally with the dragonet's own growth. The incisions would then be closed and the heart restarted, thus ending the actual operation.

This procedure, also known as the 'Ross Procedure', has been in use for several decades in the Muggle Medical Field, both Human- and Veterinary-, with no small degree of success when properly performed and the patient receiving proper post-operative care.

I hope to hear from you soon, and regardless of the outcome I thank you for your time and effort.

Respectfully,
Kaylee Virginia McAmis, Lt. USNR

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Pedelling his bike, Harry gave a wave to various people as he passed by. A smile on his face, he came to a stop as he spotted one shipgirl in particular. "Hey, Kashima-Oba! Coming home from work?"

With a blink, Kashima looked over and then gave him a smile and chuckle. "Hai, Harry-Chan." Stretching some, she sighed. "Had to pull a double at the store. Higurashi-San fell ill and I had to take his shift."

Only nodding, Harry gave her a sympathic look. He was still not sure why Kashima worked at the Lawson right outside the base, but she did. All the Light Cruiser ever said was that she liked working there and Lawson had no issue with her being flexible with her hours. Especially as she worked at the same one that Tenryuu had and was a Natural Born as well.

Said store was somewhat famous due to the odds of two Natural Borns having worked there was.

Meanwhile, as said thoughts went through his head, Kashima looked at his bike trailer in interest. "Making some deliveries, Harry-Chan? Where to if you don't mind me asking?"

Blinking, Harry gave a small shrug before answering. "Last one of the day actually, which is the school." At her confusion, he nodded. "Yeah, that was what I was thinking."

Now looking from the trailer to the bike, Kashima frowned. "The school? But it's still closed for several days, isn't it? No one is using it..." Her frown then deepened a bit. "Can you even get into it?"

In reply, Harry held up a key chain and flicked one key in particular. "Asked Ooyodo-Oba if I could have the key so that I can make my delivery. She seemed kind of amused and mumbled about Tenryuu-Oba collecting more kids."

Eyebrow raising, Kashima hummed in thought. "Looks like I'll have something to ask some of the other Light Cruisers then... Wait, it was Ryoko-San who is having you go there?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Harry looked up at the sky in thought. "Yup! She asked me to last night before her and DesDiv6 and Tatsuta-Oba went out on some mission to an island. Not really sure why, but..." He then glanced at Minagato who held out a paper. "And her instructions are kind of odd, but whatever."

With a chuckle, Kashima ruffled his hair. "Well then, I'll leave you to it, Harry-Chan. Meanwhile..." Stretching out, she let out a yawn. "I got to head to bed. Got a training mission with, well... Naka-α. And she's doing pretty well so far."

Just nodding, Harry gave her a wave and goodbye before heading off. As he continued to bike through the base, he had to shake his head. When he had first arrived in Yokosuka, he had been amazed with how big the place was. It was almost the size of Little Whinging! In fact, with how some areas of the city were wrecked, it was expanded somewhat.

Of course, not all the areas were taken over. There was one area outside one of the gates where a bunch of food carts and food trucks liked to set themselves up. In fact, there was even a few small hut-like restaurants as well. All there to take advantage of shipgirl appetites. Nagato had more then once taken Harry and, later, Hoppou there for meals outside the Mess Hall.

It did not take Harry long to reach the school after leaving Kashima behind. Looking up at the building, he could not help but feel somewhat nostalgic for his younger days. While he had problems at the school from the fact that most were Japanese students and he was a foreigner, Harry still enjoyed his time there. With the war going on, he was one of the few not born in Japan going to the school and it was opened to Yokosuka residents due to other schools being wrecked during the first battles against the Abyssals. Despite that though? It was a lot better then the school at Little Whinging after all. Anything was limited to mostly taunts and maybe mild pushing if that. And they were punished if they were caught doing so.

Which made it far better then his old Primary School.

Even his homeroom teacher did not tolerate bullying in her class and came down especially hard on it when she caught it. Then Natsumi transferred in and he made a best friend. Way better then his old school.

Shaking off his thoughts, Harry drove up to where the bike rack was and locked his bike into it. A glint out of the corner of his eye made him turn and look. From where he stood he could easily see the School's bomb shelter. The glint had come from the plaque stating that the metal used had been recovered from several American warships that had been too badly wrecked and sunk at their moorings during Blood Week which had been used to build the shelter. Harry could still remember one time sheltering there with a number of kids when the shelter had taken a direct bomb hit. And yet, even though there was a bunch of scared kids, no one was hurt and the shelter had withstood it.

At the time though, him and most of the kids had seen what looked like ghostly women in the shelter. Each of them had blurred features, but there was anger there and determination as well. The ghosts, though Harry had his own suspicions on who they were, had their hands on the ceiling as if to hold it up. And they only vanished after the bombs stopped falling with none of the adults having seen them.

Roughly two minutes passed as Harry looked at the shelter before shaking it off. With a look at his shoulder, he raised an eyebrow. "Minagato? Mind giving me a hand?"

The Smol gave him a salute before hopping down from his shoulder and then landing on the ground. "GATO!" Walking over, it took one of the boxes, a pizza box of all things, and then began walking to the door. "Gato! Gato gato gato gato."

With a nod, Harry grabbed a bag with a bottle of soda in it and another with several manga in it. "Hai! You are certainly showing the might of the Big Seven Smols." Walking up to the door, he shifted a bit before he opened the door and allowed Minagato in. Then entering himself, he closed the door behind him and locked it to make sure that no one else would enter while he was inside unless they also had a key. "Hmm..."

Below him, the pizza box shifted a bit to reveal Minagato looking up at him. "Gato?"

Glancing at her, Harry shook his head. "It's nothing, Minagato. Just thinking about some things is all." At her curious look, he started to walk with the Smol keeping up despite her stubby legs. "Well, Hoppou is actually going to start coming here apparently when it starts up again."

Surprised, Minagato let him know it. "Gato? Gato gato gato?"

Only shaking his head, Harry chuckled. "She'll be fine. Hoppou is not one to really hurt anyone. Also, Mum made sure that she has the same homeroom teacher as I did, and I know that she will not tolerate bullying here." Still walking, Harry glanced around in remembrance. "Hoppou is pretty excited over it and I know that she'll enjoy it a lot. I know that I did." Pulling out a note, Harry raised his eyebrow. "Though I am wondering why Tenryuu-Oba asked me to do this... I mean..."

Having seen his blush, Minagato raised one tiny eyebrow as she hopped up the stairs. "Gato?"

As he winced, Harry nodded. "Yeah, heading into a girl's washroom on the third floor. Not to mention the rest which seems like a way to summon Hanako-San. I would think that it was a prank or something, but..." Shaking it off as they continued up the stairs, he only shrugged. "It's from Tenryuu-Oba."

Even as Minagato nodded, they reached the third floor and Harry walked to the girl's washroom. Looking first one way and then another, he looked down at the Smol. "Stay here and keep a look out, will you?"

Giving a salute, Minagato frowned. "GATO!"

Simply returning it with a wave, Harry walked in. 'Let's see... one... two... and three.' Placing the note into his pocket, he took a deep breath. 'You can do this Harry, you know that Tenryuu-Oba would not send you into danger willingly. And also hang out with Aunt Myrtle, and she's a washroom ghost as well." Reaching up, the black haired boy paused for a moment before knocking three times. "Hanako-San? Are you there?"

For several moments there was nothing before a voice spoke up. "{I am here.}"

Taking a deep breath, Harry glanced around. "You are?"

Once more, almost a minute passed before a voice spoke up. "Yes."
Gently, Harry opened the stall and blinked in confusion. "Okay... she's not there? But I..." Closing his eyes, he sighed. "Right, I can guess." As he opened his eyes, he turned and found Hanako right there behind him. "Um... hi? I take it that you're Hanako-San?"

Confused, Hanako nodded as she furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes? But what are you doing here? And in the girl's bathroom?" Then she narrowed her eyes. "Unless you are some sort of pervert."

By now, Harry's fear was gone and he just held back from his eyebrow twitching. "No, I'm not. Not in the least as a matter of fact." He then frowned. "You wouldn't happen to know Tenryuu-Oba, do you?"

Hanako's eyes widened before her expression shifted to one of happiness. "Tenryuu-San?" Then she blinked and looked him over before gasping. "You must be Harry-San! Tenryuu-San told me all about you!"

Slowly nodding, Harry held up the bags he had with a small smile. "Hai, that's me alright. Um, Tenryuu-Oba asked for me to deliver some items? Some food, drink, and new manga."

With a blink, Hanako took the bag with the manga and gasped in happiness. "Eee! The copy of the newest issue of 'Yūrei no kōkan gakusei, Myrtle-Chan!' came in! Now I can read it before school starts!" Even as Harry stared at her, she opened it and began to read. "Oh wow... this looks like a good one."

Feeling more then a little awkward, Harry coughed into his fist and gestured at the door to the washroom. "Um, Tenyuu-Oba also asked for some pizza to be delivered and to be kept hot. It's right outside the door..."

Just blinking, Hanako closed the manga and blushed. "That would be smart, wouldn't it? Um... Currently I'm in the library."

All Harry did was nod and lift up his bag as he opened the door. "Well then, let's head down there so that you can have something to eat." Spotting her stopping, Harry looked down and saw Minagato looking at Hanako. "Oh, this is Minagato. She's a Smol."

Only looking from Harry to the Smol, Hanako nodded. "I see..."

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

This may spoil the end of the snippet, but I feel that I should explain that one of my favorite manga is Yozakura Quartet. If you're familiar with the title...

Explanations and Expansions

-----

"Miya and I can help with moving your stuff," Miko said, looking over the notepad she was writing on. "If there's any furniture or other stuff that you want, we can go over to your apartment and get it." Yae looked down at her knees, sticking out her lower lip.

"I don't know if I'm gonna need that much," she admitted, shaking her head. "I'm moving back in with my parents temporarily, until I give birth and I'm able to live on my own again." It was odd seeing her old friend behave so seriously—most memories of her involved some sort of ludicrous or childish behavior, sometimes inappropriate to the moment. It was good that she was taking this seriously, but it felt a bit jarring all the same.

"But," Miko responded, gesturing with her pen, "you're going to move in to your own place eventually, aren't you? Then you'll probably want all that stuff…" She paused, lowering her pen and glancing at Yae uncomfortably. "Unless," she continued, "You have reasons not to want that furniture anymore…" Yae pulled her legs in to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Sorry," she said. "Maybe in another few months, or when I'm all ready to move, but…" She left the sentence unfinished—she didn't need to say anymore.

Too many memories.

Miya stepped behind Yae and leaned down, wrapping her arms around her smaller classmate. "It's okay," she said gently. Miko rolled her eyes. Her stepsister had grown into a relentless hugger over the years, especially of those she considered to be adorable, but on this occasion the habit was a fairly welcome one.

"In any case," Mamiya cut in, "The matter of the furniture can be shelved until later. We should also take into account that Yae's parents will probably need help around the house as she comes closer to term."

"Point." Miko turned her attention back to the notepad. "I'd suggest a slot system… everyone picks days that they can help out. Unless… they'd not want help in that way…"

Chisaki slapped a paper down on the table. "Finished," she announced. "And I'm sorry to say that if it's a slot system, I won't be able to help very often. Teacher's schedule and all."

"You've got a month in summer, right?" Miko asked incredulously. Chisaki shook her head regretfully.

"I help out with summer school," she explained. "Sakura-shinmachi has a few… problem students. One or two of them are kind of long term projects of mine, and I can't leave them alone or else their grades might slip and—"

The door slammed open and Tatsuya stalked in, followed by the weird ice cube girl and another, with long black hair that would have made her a stunning beauty if it weren't unkempt and hanging down over her eyes the way it was. Chisaki trailed off, staring in shock.

"Reiko?" she asked. The girl's head swiveled almost unnaturally. She stared at the teacher, and slowly raised her hands. It looked like she was panicking. And then Chisaki was beside her, pulling her away from the door and shutting it with a great slam. Miko started, and a glance around the room showed that she was not the only one startled by Chisaki's sudden burst of motion and energy.

"I'm sorry," she said in a clipped, desperate tone, hand clamping around Reiko's forearm, "Is there a room that we can use to talk privately?"

"Y-you could use mine," Tatsuya stammered, stepping away, "It's upstairs, on the left—"

"Great. Thanks." And then they were gone. Tatsuya stared after them, then turned to look the ice cube girl in the eye.

"What just happened?" Miya asked. Miko found that she legitimately could not answer.
-----

Ushio glanced down at her phone, looking at the text she had just sent to Saki, and the one she had received in turn.

I'm going to do it.

Good luck.

She pocketed her phone and squared her shoulders. Then she pushed the door to her room open and stepped in. Umi was sitting on the bed, hands stretched behind her head. She glanced up as Ushio stepped in and closed the door. "Something the matter?" she asked. Ushio cast about for her desk chair, and pulled it over to herself.

"Umi, there's something I need to tell you about," she said, sitting slowly and leaning forward. "And I need you… I need you to be open. To just, take it seriously, listen to my thoughts, and think about it."

Umi considered her words, then nodded. "You've been telling me to be more sensitive," she pointed out. "Guess this is a good start for that." Ushio nodded in return, taking a breath. That was the hard part. Time for the harder part.

"The other day," she said, "the day after we saw Yae, I… I went up to Hokkaido and met Haneoka." Umi blinked, eyes widening slightly. "I didn't really know why on the way up, and when I saw him… I found out that all I could ask was why he did it." Ushio shook her head. She could feel the tears forming already—she had already cried for Saki, it seemed that she had saved a few without noticing.

"He was scared," she spat out, hating how the word tasted in her mouth. "He was pathetic, and stupid, and scared. That was it, that was all there was to him. And I just… I just couldn't stand it, couldn't stand looking at him, I couldn't take it. I just…" she shrugged helplessly. "Why couldn't he be some kind of horrible pervert, or a playboy, or… or something! Why did he have to be so… small?"

Umi sighed, and rose from the bed. Stepping forward, she leaned down and hugged Ushio. "I guess that's the way people are," she said. "Small. So small that they can't see other people over their own troubles."

"It's terrible," Ushio sobbed, leaning into Umi's shoulder.

"Yeah, it can be," Umi agreed, resting her chin on Ushio's shoulder. "You know, you could have told me this earlier."

"I felt like you'd end up blowing it off," Ushio admitted. She felt Umi's jaw shift, considering her words. Maybe she should have said something different? Before she could open her mouth, though, Umi pulled her in more tightly.

"Not if you need me," she replied. "Never if you need me."
-----

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sensei demanded, crushing Reiko's shoulders in her hands. "You know what will happen if you're found! Why are you here?" Reiko tried to wriggle free, nearly breaking her disguise to push the woman off.

"I had to leave," she replied, trying to push her voice beyond a whisper. "It was stifling back home, I was feeling squeezed." Sensei's hands left her, and she stepped back, almost pressing herself against the wall. Her teacher pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead.

"And you… Sweet, merciful kami," she groaned. "Your mother is not going to be happy. No one is going to be happy, please tell me you didn't try to eat anyone." Reiko looked down at her feet. Small, shod, human. Disguised, powerless. She could feel the walls begin to close in on her, mocking her helplessness. "Great. That's… that's just great. The only way this could get any worse—"

The door slid open, and Tatsuya leaned in.

"You should know," he said, and Reiko hoped that her expression could show the relief he had given her, "You're being a bit loud. They can't hear you downstairs, but you might want to be more careful." Sensei gave him an accusatory look.

"What. Did you hear," she demanded, and he stepped into the room followed by Benio who pulled the door shut. Reiko gave her a momentary glare—she knew that the two were more interested in mutual survival than any romance at the moment, the han'you had been quite clear on the matter, but it was just as obvious that if Reiko would be able to pursue Tatsuya she would be her greatest rival.

"Before you say anything else," she said, forestalling any angry ranting from Sensei, "You should know that Kumogai-san is not our first supernatural encounter. My mother is a Yuki-onna," she pulled at her thin tank-top and fanned herself, "And Tatsuya-kun has been dealing with supernatural threats to his life since he was nine. We know that there is more to this world than what you see on the surface." Sensei, who had seemed ready to go off on them moments earlier, paused. She looked back and forth between the two as if trying to determine if they would turn into mirages and disappear.

"Our first encounter with Kumogai-san may have ended with us trying to burn her on a garbage dump," Tatsuya continued. Sensei turned, stepped over directly in front of Reiko, and tapped her gently on the stomach. Reiko's vision went white, her ears rang, and she began gasping for breath. Sensei groaned, and Tatsuya exhaled and continued. "But… If there's some kind of trouble that she—that both of you—are in, we want to be able to do something to help."

And Reiko fell in love all over again.

Sensei shook her head, looked Reiko in the eyes. Reiko caught her glance and returned it, trying to plead with her. For a brief moment, they looked at each other. Then Sensei nodded subtly and turned back to the two. Warmth blossomed in Reiko's stomach in spite of the pain—somehow, foolishly, she felt less alone now.

"You know about magical creatures," Sensei said curtly. "What do you know about magic?"

"This is going to be one of those weeks, isn't it," Benio replied, deadpan.

"Not much, I suppose," Sensei deadpanned in return. "Well, the basic is that magic, wizards, and witches are real, living in secret in their own society. They consider it their duty to control and regulate the magical creatures that live in this world with us, and they take this duty very seriously, and their methods..." She looked between the two. "Have either of you two heard of the Trail of Tears?" Tatsuya and Benio went pale, glancing at each other. "Good. You understand, then. Yokai, fairies, and others were forced onto reservations that are too small, stringently regulated and not always cared for." She turned to the window—closed, with the blinds drawn. The way it had been when she entered the room. She stepped over, glanced around them. "Families were split apart, mortal enemies grouped together. With all the chaos of the Abyssals in recent years, things have begun to shift, but it does not change the fact that Reiko put a lot more on the line than her freedom when she came out here.

"So," Tatsuya cut in, raising a hand, "what's going on here is…" Sensei stepped away from the window.

"Sakura-shinmachi," she said, keeping her voice low and level. "Is not just a town. It is a hiding place—if someone like Reiko finds themselves in some kind of danger, if they can't go to the bureaucrats with their troubles, they can flee, and they can find us. We have sympathetic wizards among us, and the whole town is in on the secret. There, in some tiny capacity, they can be free."

"A safe haven," Benio said, turning to look at Reiko.

"Yeah," she confirmed, "I guess it is."

"The point is," Sensei growled, "Part of why it's safe is that it's secret from Japan's magical government—or whoever's in charge at the moment, it's a bit of a long story. The point is, Reiko didn't just place herself in danger—she placed everyone in Sakura-shinmachi in danger." Reiko looked down at her feet sullenly.

"It's little better than a reservation, anyways," she grumbled, "People are just nicer about it." Sensei glared at her.

"Have you heard," she hissed, "the stories your mother has been telling you? Have you ever once listened to her?" She stepped in closer. "Do you want her to go through that again?" Reiko stared up. Her mother… lost by some governmental accident, stumbled over the border, forced back with spells and fire into the prison she had been forced onto… she felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

"We know a Shipgirl," Tatsuya said. Through bleary eyes, Reiko turned and looked at him. He was staring at Benio.

"We know a Miko," she replied, "who knows Shipgirls."

"Who knows an admiral," Tatsuya added. Sensei glanced between the two, puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. The two ignored her—caught up in whatever curious synergy they shared.

"You think it'll work?"

"I don't know."

"Even then."

"Definitely."

Yes, Reiko thought, lowering her hands to her pockets and trying not to brush her stomach, Benio would probably be her greatest rival.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?